Relax at sea: Norwegian Viva’s wellness cruise with luxury spa treatments
There’s a time and a place for wellness, even at sea, and this therapeutic oasis on a 3000-passenger ship dishes up some surprising therapies.
It looks as though there’s going to be a barbecue. A huge sheet of shimmering silver foil has been laid out on the table and there’s a bowl of green minty-looking marinade nearby. As for the meat? Well, that, it seems, will be me.
I’ve booked in for a seaweed massage, a treatment that Zhodia, my peppy South African therapist, promises will leave me “feeling like a noodle”. Before long I’m lying on the crinkly foil being basted with a marine concoction made from algae, sea buckthorn and sea fennel, and infused with warming essential oils. As Zhodia folds the foil over my body so I’m completely enveloped from neck to toe, there’s a pleasant murmur of heat from arnica, menthol and camphor. Combined with the ship’s gentle sway, I feel like a newborn baby, swaddled and being rocked to sleep.
I’m on board Norwegian Viva, a Prima-class ship in the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet. It’s day one of our voyage, beginning in Lisbon and calling at Gibraltar, Cadiz, Motril, Ibiza, Mallorca and Barcelona. But as enticing as the land-based destinations are, there’s plenty on the ship worth exploring, especially when it comes to health and wellbeing.
With wellness tourism predicted to grow more than 16 per cent by 2027, cruise lines have leapt on the bandwagon by outfitting their vessels with extensive spa facilities and a veritable smorgasbord of treatment options. On Viva, these centre on the Mandara Spa and the Thermal Suite.
The latter, with its curved black marble staircase and double-height waterfall lining the edge of two pools, feels as though it could be in any high-end bathhouse. The warm vitality pool has powerful underwater jets and is the perfect way to unwind. There’s a second, cooler salt pool, designed for people to weightlessly float in the 30C water.
Tucked next to both is an array of health-affirming rooms in which to detox and be invigorated (or perspire and freeze, depending on your constitution), including an aromatherapy steam room, a sunset-hued salt room, and charcoal, Finnish and infrared saunas. In true Scandinavian fashion, there are cold options to balance out the hot, and I find myself spending lots of time in the ice room where a chute channels chunks of ice into a pyramid. I grab handfuls of it and, working from my feet up, rub it on to my skin. It’s intended as an exfoliation and pore-closing exercise to finish off the sauna circuit but, with goosebumps raised, I can’t help jumping back into the warm vitality pool, which is a gorgeous skin-prickling 38C.
This part of the ship feels like a hidden oasis, even more so when I discover that just beyond the pools and saunas there’s a relaxation lounge that wraps around the vessel’s stern. Plentiful heated recliners offer floor-to-ceiling views of the ship’s wake and it’s here I find my happy place, stretching out on a warm lounger among other freshly bathed guests wrapped in robes reading, snoozing or simply watching the ocean unspool endlessly behind us. Although the ship’s capacity sits at just over 3000 guests, this area is never crowded during my trip and feels like a true retreat.
After my seaweed treatment at the Mandara Spa, I book in for another massage, this time opting for a relaxing hot stone treatment, which is the perfect remedy for a deeply soggy shore excursion on Ibiza. Less relaxing, however, is the gentle but noticeable nudge after the massages to book another treatment, purchase spa products or schedule an appointment with the ship’s acupuncturist.
Thankfully, not all aspects of the ship come with a hard sell. Some of Viva’s best features speak for themselves. There’s a wide variety of complimentary dining venues, from casual buffet to sit-down dining. My favourite is Indulge Food Hall, where food trucks serve tacos and an authentic Indian stall dishes up delicious curries and puffy naan from two enormous tandoor ovens. Speciality dining comes at an additional cost but the standout Mexican Los Lobos is worth it, with its fresh, punchy flavours and the added flourish of guacamole made at your table. There are more than 10 bars and lounges to choose from, and the entertainment options are non-stop, from rousing Fleetwood Mac and Billy Joel tributes, to nightly karaoke for those who’d prefer to be on stage rather than in the audience. Tony Award-nominated musical Beetlejuice made its debut on Viva in mid-2023 and is a spectacular Broadway adaptation of Tim Burton’s iconic 1988 film.
There’s also plenty to do for those who want to wind up, rather than wind down, with a three-storey racetrack for go-carts, dance and fitness classes, mini-golf, virtual-reality games and The Drop, said to be the first free-fall dry slide in the world. But for me, the great joy of this trip is the chance to unwind. From the gentle morning stretch classes in the gym to returning from shore excursions and heading straight to the Thermal Suite, it’s a treat to travel and only need to unpack my suitcase once and have so many dining, entertainment and wellness options on offer.
On the final evening, after spending the day exploring the charming Palma de Mallorca, I head to the thermal loungers to get my last glimpses of the historic city. Sea birds are whirling in the sky and the city is bathed in golden light. As the ship pulls away from the dock, I look at my watch and realise happily that there’s time for one final cleansing dip in the vitality pool.
In the know
Norwegian Cruise Line travels to more than 400 destinations worldwide. Unlimited access (between 8am and 10pm) to the Thermal Suite is available to guests who have purchased a pass (prices based on voyage length). Massages start from $US149 ($240), not including a compulsory 20 per cent gratuity.
Lindy Alexander was a guest of Norwegian Cruise Line.
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