Massage on upcoming cruise

[nanseev]

For years, I’ve steered away from Royal’s spa - mainly because I’ve read so many people comment on the average experience plus the brutal “hard sell” after the spa experience - and I’d rather spend my extra money in the casino 😂.  I’m going on Wonder (Eastern Caribbean) soon…and really contemplating booking a couples massage for my husband and myself.  We are NOT spa people regularly, so I think I’d be happy with “average.”  But…what’s the best type of massage to get?  There’s different options for massages, and don’t know if one is better than the other.  Also, is 50 minutes enough, or is 75 better?  Is is better to book ahead of time, or cheaper if I wait for a Port Day special (open to any day since we’ve been to the ports numerous times, and I know port days are less expensive than sea days).  Trying to get the best value if I splurge on this. Thanks!

[Thisguylikestocruise]

12 minutes ago, nanseev said:

For years, I’ve steered away from Royal’s spa - mainly because I’ve read so many people comment on the average experience plus the brutal “hard sell” after the spa experience - and I’d rather spend my extra money in the casino 😂.  I’m going on Wonder (Eastern Caribbean) soon…and really contemplating booking a couples massage for my husband and myself.  We are NOT spa people regularly, so I think I’d be happy with “average.”  But…what’s the best type of massage to get?  There’s different options for massages, and don’t know if one is better than the other.  Also, is 50 minutes enough, or is 75 better?  Is is better to book ahead of time, or cheaper if I wait for a Port Day special (open to any day since we’ve been to the ports numerous times, and I know port days are less expensive than sea days).  Trying to get the best value if I splurge on this. Thanks!

We just did a couples aroma hot stone massage on Wonder 3 weeks ago. First massage on a ship. Have had several on land previously, with mixed results.
 

Day 1 at 2:30pm was $271 including tips for 50 minutes. It was the perfect amount of time. Wife and I agreed it was the best massage we’ve ever experienced. Head to toe massage and very relaxing. I have chronic back pain so the heat from the stones felt amazing. I told them medium pressure and that’s what I got. 
 

The spa employees left the room after the massage and came back a couple minutes later for the sales pitch. I simply said no thank you, no product sales today. And that was it.

[RobInMN]

On the pre-massage questionnaire, write "no sales pitch please" somewhere in the notes. In our experience, they've followed that.

I believe that there's less options for couple's massages than solo. I think we've done the hot stone couple's massage, and I put deep pressure for mine. Not sure what my wife put.

There's usually an embarkation day special that will give you the longer massage time for the shorter time's price (or something like that) for that same day.

[LEMJMcC]

We've had similar experiences as above on our cruises.  I made one mistake telling the masseuse to go really deep...wow, what she did to me!  I had to bite into the towel to keep from crying out!  Anywho, my mistake.  Others have been really enjoyable and a great way to start the cruise on day 1.  As far as the sales pitch goes, I have simply said thank you, but we're not interested in anything else and that was that.

 

We have a couples' massage lined up for our upcoming Alaska cruise on day 1 right before sail away.  I hope we can board earlier enough to get a workout in beforehand though.

 

If you want a relaxing massage as opposed to a therapeutic one, I'd suggest a Swedish massage.  Deep tissue is great for stripping out tight muscles, but can be painful!  Either way enjoy!

[SbbquilterUT]

I would suggest you try a couple's massage at home before investing in an overpriced spa - my husband hated his massage (for me I get an 80" deep tissue every 3 weeks).  

[wolfcathorse]

I haven't had an upsell after my massage in the last 2 years. But as others have noted, just write "no upsell" on your survey when you check in for your massage. As for the best massage, a gazillion minutes isn't long enough for me! If your DH hasn't had a massage then stick with 50 minutes. You might get an upsell if you do the Salt & Lime scrub or seaweed one. Hot stone massages are more expensive so I'd stick with the basic 50 minute Swedish couples massage. I skip the bamboo or herbal poultice massages too.