Spas With All the Trimmings

Among the best things about sailing on a ship are the full spa services. For about the same amount you’d spend at a land-based spa, you get a daily fitness and beauty program, spa menus--and a cruise.

Savvy passengers know to book their spa and beauty treatments for the whole cruise as soon as possible after boarding, or even ahead of time, when available, through a travel agent. Usually, appointments that fill up first are massages and beauty salon services, especially on days when formal evening attire is required. Be aware when scheduling, however, that you may have to pay a penalty for canceling appointments without 24 hours notice.

The best times to schedule spa appointments are in the late afternoon, when fewer shipboard activities are scheduled, and during days at sea.

Check your daily program on the first day or two aboard for a free demonstration of spa treatments, so you’ll know what to try. Sometimes passengers can volunteer for a demonstration and get a free facial.

The major shipboard spa operator, with about 100 vessels, is Steiner Transocean Ltd., formed by a merger of the two top spa concessionaires that dominated the cruise industry in the 1980s. Steiner spas are aboard most ships from major cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean International, Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd., as well as some smaller luxury lines.

Steiner spas usually offer facials, firming and toning treatments, personal training sessions, aromatherapy treatments and full hairdressing services performed by their British staff. On Celebrity ships, single passengers or a couple together can sign up for a treatment with mud and seaweed, followed by a herbal steam bath and shower, and occupants of top-priced suites can order a full body massage in the privacy of their staterooms.

While Steiner operates the spas aboard all the Windstar ships, the new Wind Surf, which debuts this month, will offer a more intensive program patterned after land spas and specially designed for its 10,000-square-foot spa. A Wind Surf package for women might include a facial, full body massage, manicure, pedicure, shampoo and hair styling and a hydrotherapy spa bath for $259. A man’s package called the Energizer is $299, with three 50-minute massages, a personal training session, a body composition analysis with nutritional consultation and hydrotherapy.

Aboard Radisson Seven Seas’ new Paul Gauguin, based in Tahiti, the spa is operated by Carita of Paris. We felt a twinge of concern when we read the other locations of the company’s shops--Cannes; Tokyo; and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--all places where the dollar doesn’t go very far. And our suspicions were correct when we learned Carita charges $60 for a shampoo and set or blow dry, twice the going price at most Steiner salons.

On P&O;’s Oriana, the spa operator is Britain’s Champneys group, which offers special half-day packages for men and women that include massage, facial and hydrotherapy spa baths, or an afternoon of beauty services such as a mini-facial, manicure and makeup. Prices are about $120.

Royal Olympic Cruises’ Stella Solaris has the Daphne Spa and Beauty Salon with classic, aromatherapy and shiatsu massages; facials; exfoliating treatments; Turkish baths; sauna; mud treatments; and herbal body wraps.

Royal Caribbean International has a high-profile fitness reputation. A particularly attractive spa area is the indoor/outdoor Solarium with sliding glass roof, raised swimming pool, whirlpools and a full series of beauty and exercise treatments aboard RCI’s Project Vision series--on Legend of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas, Splendour of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas, Enchantment of the Seas and Vision of the Seas.