Thermal Spa - Viva

[Jennifire7]

Leaving in 16 days on the Viva and last minute just booked a thermal spa pass.  When I called, they said only one was available ($299). I booked it but now am starting to think it might not be worth it. 
 

What are the thermal spa hours?

 

Would it not be as “fun” by yourself?

 

We have plans/excursions every day except one and am second guessing how much time I would be able to go depending on the hours.

 

Thanks for all of your help CC!

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, Jennifire7 said:

Leaving in 16 days on the Viva and last minute just booked a thermal spa pass.  When I called, they said only one was available ($299). I booked it but now am starting to think it might not be worth it. 
 

What are the thermal spa hours?

 

Would it not be as “fun” by yourself?

 

We have plans/excursions every day except one and am second guessing how much time I would be able to go depending on the hours.

 

Thanks for all of your help CC!

 

$299 is an excellent price. It costs that much for a 7-day cruise. 
 

Open 8 am - 10 pm daily

 

It will be “relaxing”

[kalypso333]

38 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

$299 is an excellent price. It costs that much for a 7-day cruise. 
 

Open 8 am - 10 pm daily

 

It will be “relaxing”

Paid $419 for 19 nights. Go when you can and enjoy. Even for 1/2 hour. The showers are awesome. 
 

Kip

[Gertie17]

The pool and the tile beds are my fave.

[idocdlw]

Thanks for posting this question Jennifire7. I am still waffling yes or no to a spa pass on my upcoming cruise. My wallet is not overflowing, so like you, I have to ask myself "Is it worth it?". After reading posts about going from sauna to cold room to salt bath, etc, I am intrigued. I hope more peeps will give their input so that those of us who have to watch our budgets carefully can make educated choices. 

[Pookie2u]

I was waffling on my last trip, a very port intensive Mediterranean but was weak and spoiled myself with it.  I used the heck out of that pass, most days I went twice.  NCL has long thermal suit hours making it very easy to go ashore and still avoid busy times.  It was my place to recover after active tours, my place to retreat away from crowds, my place to relive the sights and edit photos, my place to send a quick message home to make sure all was well.  that cruise made me realize the spa is a big part of how I like cruise and I will always budget it as part of my cruises forever more.

@Jennifire7 IMO it's best alone.  You don't feel compelled to chit chat and can come and go as you please.  Enjoy your cruise!

[BirdTravels]

Post #38 has a few pictures of the Viva Thermal Suite. It was lovely. 

 

[Frogger22]

I used it every day on Bliss Mexican Rivera and Encore Caribbean. I booked it for March 24 viva. I love the therapy pool, loungers for reading.  

[idocdlw]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Post #38 has a few pictures of the Viva Thermal Suite. It was lovely. 

 

Thank you for sharing...as they say...a picture paints a thousand words...

[cruiseny4life]

On 3/1/2024 at 7:56 PM, Jennifire7 said:

Leaving in 16 days on the Viva and last minute just booked a thermal spa pass.  When I called, they said only one was available ($299). I booked it but now am starting to think it might not be worth it. 
 

What are the thermal spa hours?

 

Would it not be as “fun” by yourself?

 

We have plans/excursions every day except one and am second guessing how much time I would be able to go depending on the hours.

 

Thanks for all of your help CC!

Hours are 8 - 10 daily, except for embarkation day and the last day. On embarkation day, the hours are whenever sail away is scheduled to start - 10 PM. On the last day, it shuts down at 8 PM. 

 

I absolutely love the thermal suite. I have used the thermal suite on Pr1ma, which I believe is very close/identical to V!va. The different sauna rooms are great. I was able to get the Finnish Sauna up to the ideal 160 - 170 F one day. Other days it was more like 130 - 150, probably because of all the folks that go in and out. The charcoal sauna was interesting and I did enjoy sitting in there for a good 45 minutes or so. The infrared sauna is a waste of space.

 

And, the ice room was blissful! I enjoyed the steam room too. I loved the water dripping down from the ceiling. Enjoyed breathing in the hot steam and just relaxing. 

 

Finally, the salt room. Can we say cloudy! Salty! Perfection! I loved it. I spent at least three or four hours in there during the length of the cruise. It was really quite amazing. Long benches, gentle warmth (probably 70's or low 80's), and when you just keep the salt fan blowing, it gets to the point where you can hardly see a thing. It was mesmerizing. 

 

The massaging shower (forgot the name) was nice with different lights, temperatures, and the pulsing jets that would do different things to parts of your body. 

Unlike previous cruises, I did not enjoy the thalassotherapy pool as it was far too hot for my liking. It was also drained many times due to the seas (Transatlantic, after all). Also, you had to ask the spa staff to turn the jets on and then all the jets would turn on in the pool. The floating pool was super relaxing, provided it was just you in the pool. My husband and I did the floating thing, but bumped into each other a couple times. I wouldn't want to bump into other rando cruise passengers.

 

I really loved where the stone loungers were set up. It was way quieter than previous ships and seemed to be more of them. I never, ever waited for one which is quite a luxury compared to other spas.

 

My ideal rotation:

 

Thalassotherapy pool (~10 minutes)

Ice room (~5 minutes)

Finnish sauna (~15 minutes)

Ice room (~10 minutes)

Shower (~2 minutes)

Steam room (~15 minutes)

Shower (~2 minutes)

Salt room (~30 - 45 minutes)

Finnish Sauna (~15 minutes)

Ice room (~15 minutes)

Shower (~2 minutes)

 

At some point during the above routine, I'd probably go lay on the loungers for half an hour or so and I might go back to the pools for a few minutes. I spent a good three to four hours in the spa every day. My husband would be on the sundeck getting some rays or in Galaxy Pavilion challenging his hand-eye coordination with the games. 

 

Keep your reservation and enjoy just truly relaxing.