A closer look at Spa Thermal Suites at Sea

Cruise vacations are the perfect opportunity to relax. Without the responsibilities of cooking or cleaning, it’s truly a time to rest and unwind. A visit to the spa is an ideal way to enhance your cruise vacation. If you haven’t been on a cruise in a while, the spas at sea have come a long way! While you can always get a massage or facial at your local home spa, almost every cruise line today has a thermal suite on their ships. These unique areas offer a variety of spa experiences that can add to your relaxation experience at sea! Please note that most cruise ships charge an additional fee for guests to visit the thermal suites in their spas. 

CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE:

Carnival Cruise Line has the Cloud 9 Spa on fourteen of their ships. Day passes are available for guests to visit the thermal suites on the ships that have them. Guests who book Cloud 9 Spa staterooms or suites have unlimited use of the thermal suite facilities. 

Depending on the ship, the Cloud 9 Spa thermal suite may have hydrotherapy pools, a large hot tub spa, dry heat chambers and/or a steam chamber. The space also has heated loungers and rain showers. Some of the rain showers are sensory experiences with hot and cold temperature changes and colored lights. 

CELEBRITY CRUISES:

Celebrity’s SEA thermal suite is an adults-only relaxation space on their Edge series ships. AquaClass guests have unlimited access to the thermal suite and other guests can purchase a pass. Many of the rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows for guests to enjoy the picturesque views. 

The thermal suite has eight distinct spaces including Hammam (Celebrity’s take on the traditional Turkish Bath), the Crystalarium (where a huge amethyst crystal conducts natural healing energy), the Salt Room, the Steam Room, the Infrared Sauna, the Float Room, the Heated Tile Loungers and a Rainfall Water Therapy Room. 

Celebrity is the only cruise line that I’ve seen with a Float Room in their spa space. In this room, guests can sit in a basket-style chair that hangs from the ceiling. These chairs offer floor-to-ceiling views of the ocean while guests can nap, relax, or even read a book.  

DISNEY CRUISE LINE:

Disney Cruise Lines has the Senses Spa on all of its ships. Their relaxation space is called the Rainforest Room and includes steam rooms, saunas, and more. There are three distinct sauna rooms: Laconium, Caldarium, and Hamam, each set at different temperatures. There are four different rain showers that vary in temperature and water experience. 

Disney Cruise Lines is one of the few cruise lines that has a youth spa. The Chill Youth Spa offers treatments like facials and massages to guests ages 13-17. However, an adult does need to be present for the duration of the experience. 

The Disney Wish is currently the only ship in the fleet that has a thermal suite onboard. The showers operate differently than those on other ships, where guests can control the water and temperature settings. The suite includes the frigidarium and a chilled ice room. This is one of the few cruise ships that has an outdoor area for spa visitors. Guests can enjoy hot tubs and loungers, including floating lounge beds during their visit. 

MSC CRUISES:

All of the MSC cruise ships have the MSC Aurea Spa onboard, which includes a thermal spa. This area is available to guests ages eighteen and older. Day passes are available for purchase to the thermal area where guests can enjoy steam rooms, saunas, rain showers, an ice room, and a salt room. The thermal spa also has heated loungers and jacuzzis.

NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE:

All of the Norwegian Cruise ships have the Mandara Spa and Salon. Services vary by ship and depending on the ship, the spa will have three to eleven single treatment rooms. The thermal suite includes loungers, steam rooms, salt rooms, therapy pools, and more. 

Several of the Norwegian ships offer a Zero Gravity Wellness Massage, where guests are suspended on a special treatment table that can adjust to eight different positions. The Norwegian Bliss and Norwegian Escape have Snow Rooms in their spas. These rooms are kept at a chilly 14 degrees and have actual snow.

Norwegian’s newest ships the Norwegian Prima and Norwegian Viva have some of the newest and more unique spa experiences at sea. The adult-only thermal suite has eight different rooms including an ice room, an infrared sauna and a charcoal sauna. The charcoal sauna is the first of its kind on a cruise ship.

After a three-week dry dock, the Norwegian Joy’s spa underwent an extensive renovation and now has the largest thermal suite of all the Breakaway-Plus class ships. New features include four senses loungers, a Biostation with IV drip therapy and Kneipp haptic foot therapy. 

ROYAL CARIBBEAN:

Royal Caribbean has the Vitality Spa on its ships. Guests can purchase a pass to the thermal suite where they can enjoy heated chaise lounges and aromatic steam and sauna grottos. 

Out of all of the cruise lines, Royal Caribbean’s spa offerings seem the most sparse. However, they are one of the few cruise lines that offer teen offerings. The YSpa program is a curated menu of spa treatments and services specifically catered towards teens and tweens.  

VIKING CRUISES:

Viking's ocean and expedition ships have LivNordic Spas. Viking is one of the few cruise lines where a visit to the thermal spa is included in the cruise fare. The spa area includes heated loungers, saunas, heated soaking tubs, steam rooms, and showers. There is also a Snow Grotto where real snow falls from the ceiling. 

VIRGIN VOYAGES:

Virgin Voyages have Redemption Spas on their ships. Their thermal suites, accessible through a purchasable day pass include a salt room, sauna, steam room, individual hot and cold plunge pools, and a mud room. In the mud room spa guests receive a small pot of mud to cover themselves with. After it is applied there is a steam experience. Once finished, a hose is used to rinse off the mud in this relaxing skin conditioning experience. 

Virgin Voyages is the first cruise ship to have heated quartz beds in their spa. Instead of heated loungers, as other ships have, this massive two-story slab of quartz is available for sitting and lounging. 

Have you been to the thermal suite on any of these cruise ships? Which is your favorite?