Exercise and Spa Pampering Play Bigger Part of Shipboard Rituals

Not many years ago, the typical shipboard spa was a small, windowless gym set in the bowels of the vessel with a couple of exercise machines and a water cooler. If the ship was a former ocean liner, there might also be an indoor swimming pool. The beauty salon, staffed by a couple of hairdressers and a manicurist, was in a more populous part of the ship.

But as cruisers got younger and more active, cruise lines began devoting more space to spa facilities, giving them prime upper-deck space with windows facing the sea. Today, spas can be as large as 25,000 square feet. Celebrity Cruises’ AquaSpas, on the Millennium, Infinity, Summit and new Constellation, are the largest.

The spa, operated by Elemis Ltd., contains a fitness area with more than 40 pieces of exercise equipment; two fitness instructors to offer personal training; a beauty suite with hairstyling, manicure and pedicure service; eight rooms for full-body treatments, plus one with disabled access; a Turkish bath with sauna, steam and fog-like showers; a thalassotherapy pool to soothe sports injuries or arthritis; a quiet, private sensory retreat with fresh sea air and cups of herbal tea; a facial center; four-hands massage; massage instruction for couples; seaweed wraps; hand and foot treatments; milk baths ... the pampering list goes on and on.

The spa is set high atop the ship and forward, with a captain’s-eye view through the glass walls, and indoor and outdoor swimming pools and gardens. You can even have a healthy lunch at the Aqua- Spa Cafe.

Second in size to the AquaSpas are the ShipShape Spas aboard Royal Caribbean International’s giant 3,114-passenger ships Voyager of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas.

The 16,100-square-foot spas occupy spots forward on decks 11 and 12 and have a huge gym, with exercise machines that face the sea.

The same line’s Radiance of the Seas, in its 15,500-square-foot spa, provides a knockout two-deck solarium with an African safari theme. Flanked by waterfalls, three 16-foot-high stone elephants flanked by waterfalls watch over the solarium pool and whirlpools, while a retractable glass roof can be opened or closed depending on the weather. With 12 treatment rooms, 18 treadmills and a unisex full-service beauty salon, passengers get more options for treatments and a full schedule of classes and workouts.

Echoing the popular Asian theme in spas is the 15,156-square-foot Lotus Spa aboard Princess Cruises’ new Star Princess, based in Los Angeles for Mexican Riviera winter cruises and in Vancouver, Canada, for Alaska summer sailings.

The spa offers a tempting menu of treatments. We indulged in a treatment apiece when we were aboard in March, a foot treatment and pedicure ($55) and chakra stone therapy massage ($158). Both were excellent but pricey.

Carnival’s largest ships, the Destiny, Triumph and Victory, have 15,000-square-foot Nautica Spas with aerobics room, juice bars, separate men’s and women’s treatment areas, saunas, steam rooms and a top-deck jogging track. Spa menus are featured at every meal for passengers who want to control calorie and fat intake.

The Barong Spa on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Star, operated by Mandara Spa, fills 11,517 square feet with Asian-accented services in 21 treatment rooms, three of them for couples.

From a Balinese coffee scrub to a coconut body polish, the theme is exotic. An indoor lap pool is part of the spa, along with a Jacuzzi, hot and cold baths in the men’s area, and a sauna and steam bath in the men’s and women’s areas.

Outdoor massages on the isolated beaches of Fanning Island during a port call are another specialty.

The 10,000-square-foot WindSpa on Windstar Cruises’ 312-passenger Wind Surf provides the biggest spa space per passenger of all the ships at sea, 320 square feet per guest.

Besides a fitness room with exercise machines, the WindSpa has an aerobics room, pool, ocean-view exercise space, and treatment rooms for massage, facials and body wraps. Yoga, step aerobics, mineral baths and menus of light and healthy and vegetarian meals planned by nutritional consultant Jeanne Jones are on the agenda.

Vista Spa and Salon aboard Disney Cruise Line’s ships Magic and Wonder fill 9,000 square feet with a fitness center and beauty salon.

Steiner of London created one of the first luxury spas at sea aboard Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1989. The 8,127-square-foot space, divided between decks 6 and 7, includes an indoor pool, gym, spa and thalassotherapy center.

Steiner operates many seagoing spas, sometimes under the Elemis or Lotus labels. It also owns a major percentage of Mandara Spas.

Crystal Cruises’ Harmony and Symphony consulted a feng shui expert to arrange and decorate the 3,000-square-foot Crystal Spa and Salon aboard each ship. From massages to beauty services, low-impact body-stretching classes to high-energy aerobics, every day offers a program of classes and treatments.

Radisson Seven Seas Cruise Line, with five top-of-the-line luxury vessels that carry from 180 to 700 passengers, has contracted with smaller boutique-spa operators such as Carita of Paris on the Paul Gauguin in Tahiti and Connecticut-based Judith Jackson, sometimes called “the queen of aromatherapy,” on the Seven Seas Mariner and Seven Seas Navigator.

*

Shirley Slater and Harry Basch travel as guests of the cruise lines. Cruise Views appears twice a month.