Best luxury cruises with spas
Offering traditional Nordic rituals and new age treatments, these cruises are redefining wellness on the high seas.
High summer on the Mediterranean, somewhere between Rhodes and Crete, and I’m standing in the snow in my swimsuit. The temperature inversion is part of Viking’s elaborate spa offering, which is redefining wellness on the high seas.
The traditional Nordic ritual – designed to reduce stress, elevate energy and spark endorphins – alternates hot and cold therapies. It begins with bracing dry body-brushing, an exfoliating birch scrub and a calming cloudberry facial mask. So far, so spa. But when the temperature plummets 60 ̊C or more, my resolve also takes a dive.
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The cold plunge pool aboard Viking Sky is jarring and the only thing that gets me through is knowing I’ll be back in the toasty sauna soon enough. Singing the chorus to Katy Perry’s “Hot ’n’ Cold” is another coping mechanism I adopt in the snow grotto. In this blue- toned, glassed-in chamber, snow falls from the ceiling, pricking the skin like icy volts of electricity. Guest are advised to wear bathing suits and slippers for maximum benefit, though some commitment-phobes add a robe as a layer of protection. Then it’s back to the sauna before repeating the process – hot, cold, yes, no, in, out – as often as desired.
Devotees of thermotherapy say it works wonders on immunity, circulation, metabolism, and mood, and after my first session I’m officially a convert. Despite the willpower it takes to move from one extreme to another, I feel revitalised – even a little smug – each time I complete the full 60-minute circuit.
On days when I have less time for life-changing Nordic bathing, I make use of the other highlight in the spa’s communal area: a thalassotherapy pool with powerful massage jets strategically positioned to pummel tense and tired muscles. Or you can take it easy on one of the in-built, underwater recliners and let the saltwater do all its healing work. Also recommended is LivNordic’s individual beauty therapies, all based on traditional Norwegian ingredients and therapeutic practices.
When I first board the ship, to release the kinks of the long-haul flight I opt for the “varm” massage in which the masseuse alternates hot stones and water bottles with a cooling oil made of mint and eucalyptus. Later in the week I opt for the “stille”, a remedial massage and purifying blueberry body wrap, while “dybde” or deep tissue massages are paired with a cranberry body scrub to invigorate and release tension.
Rounding out my commitment to use this voyage to reanimate my post-lockdown self are regular sessions in the fitness centre, daily loops on the top-deck walking track, and sampling the many nutritious and delicious options in the restaurants on the ship.
Standout dishes include white-bean soup, zucchini and fennel salad and poached Norwegian salmon, When I wake each morning on the week-long cruise, I can claim one more health benefit: an uninterrupted night’s sleep. I usually rejoice if I can get five or six hours, but clocking eight is like a holiday within a holiday.
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The best spas on board cruise ships
Ponant’s Biologique Recherche spa
Just back on Le Commandant Charcot after a polar plunge in Antarctica or windswept from kayaking in the North Pole? The Biologique Recherche spa on Ponant’s icebreaker offers healing treatments tailormade for adventurers. Choose from the refreshingly literal “return from expedition” facial, designed to regenerate skin exposed to the cold, and “return from exploration” massage to soothe sore muscles. For lovers of the beauty brand’s cult Lotion P50 exfoliator, there’s an all-over body treatment and detoxifying snow-and-algae ritual.
Celebrity’s Elemis Spa
You know a cruise line is serious about health when it dedicates an entire guest and room category – AquaClass – to it, as well as marquee fitness brands F45 and Peloton. But when it anoints the queen of clean living, Goop’s Gwyneth Paltrow, as its official well-being advisor, it’s officially time to break out the jade eggs. In addition to 120 treatments in the Elemis Spa, Celebrity’s Edge-class ships feature the Sea Thermal Suite with eight healing stations inspired by nature including a crystalarium, salt room and rainfall water therapy.
Oceania’s Aquamar Spa and Vitality Centre
Regular visits to the Aquamar Spa and Vitality Centre are the start to staying fit with Oceania, but beyond the sea lavender and samphire body wrap and caviar facial or daily appointment with a personal trainer or yoga mat are on-shore tours. Available on select itineraries, these experiences are designed to educate guests on local wellness practices. Try reflexology on a rice barge in Thailand, or in Seville enjoy an introduction to apitherapy in which bee products such as honey, royal jelly, wax and venom are used for their healing properties.
Silversea’s Otium
If you love the Champagne life but not 24/7, Silversea’s Otium (pictured above) is for you. Named after the Roman love of leisure and pleasure, this wellness program purports to help you unwind while acknowledging the desire for sybaritic pursuits. The Apollonian Spirit massage, named after the god of healing, mixes hot and cold therapies, and the Hedone Delight, inspired by the goddess of pleasure, invigorates the skin and refresh the body.
The writer was a guest of Viking Cruises.