Shellac manicure on Nieuw Amsterdam

We're soon to begin our 1st HAL cruise - 24 night Magic of Mediterranean on the NA - leaving Barcelona on Sept 13 and getting very excited! I very rarely have manicures but treat myself prior to special occasions (and I figure that 6 weeks in Europe is special!). I've just had a shellac manicure in Sydney which should last 3 weeks or so. This lines up with one of the rare 'at sea' days on the cruise. Has anyone had a shellac manicure recently on the NA, and if so how was it? Would you recommend a particular beautician in the Spa? I'm really hoping the answers are positive as my nails could look really tatty at the end of 6 weeks without re polishing:)

Thanks

Not on the Nieuw Amsterdam (yet), and not all that recently (last spring), but I can say that I have had shellac manicures several times on a variety of HAL ships. I have been pleased every time, and thrilled once or twice.

No matter the ship, the manicurists all work for the same company, so use the same materials & procedure, and have similar training and standards to meet.

I suggest you get your nails done with confidence that all will be well.

We're soon to begin our 1st HAL cruise - 24 night Magic of Mediterranean on the NA - leaving Barcelona on Sept 13 and getting very excited! I very rarely have manicures but treat myself prior to special occasions (and I figure that 6 weeks in Europe is special!). I've just had a shellac manicure in Sydney which should last 3 weeks or so. This lines up with one of the rare 'at sea' days on the cruise. Has anyone had a shellac manicure recently on the NA, and if so how was it? Would you recommend a particular beautician in the Spa? I'm really hoping the answers are positive as my nails could look really tatty at the end of 6 weeks without re polishing:)

Thanks

Is a shellac manicure the same as a gel? And does it require professional help in removing it?

My daughter had a shellac pedicure on the NA and she loved it. It also lasted a long time. However, I don't recommend an acrylic fill done over gel nails. My manicure looked awful after about a week. It also took over an hour for my regular nail lady to file down the acrylic to redo my gel nails. This was in no way the fault of the technician. I believe the products they are obligated to use were at fault. After a week, I understood why the technician was so curious about gel nails. They look as good one month later as the day they were done. That was not my experience with acrylics. So I do recommend the shellac mani/pedi but not the acrylics.

Is a shellac manicure the same as a gel? And does it require professional help in removing it?

It takes ages to remove the shellac to redo it and there is usually an extra cost. As I understand it, the shellac is a coating over the gel nails. I had it done for my pedi before a cruise, and my next appointment took forever to remove it. I wouldn't bother again.

Is a shellac manicure the same as a gel? And does it require professional help in removing it?

I think, strictly speaking gel and shellac are different (according to the wonderful world wide web!) and its to do with the coating. I've checked the Spa menu for our cruise on the NA and it specifies 'shellac' so I'm taking that to be what Ive had done here in Oz. It does need a professional to remove properly so hopefully I'll be encouraged by Ruth's reply (thanks Ruth:)) and go ahead and book.

Any thoughts as to whether I should book now or wait until we board? Do the spa spots fill up quickly?

Thanks for your replies.

My daughter had a shellac pedicure on the NA and she loved it. It also lasted a long time. However, I don't recommend an acrylic fill done over gel nails. My manicure looked awful after about a week. It also took over an hour for my regular nail lady to file down the acrylic to redo my gel nails. This was in no way the fault of the technician. I believe the products they are obligated to use were at fault. After a week, I understood why the technician was so curious about gel nails. They look as good one month later as the day they were done. That was not my experience with acrylics. So I do recommend the shellac mani/pedi but not the acrylics.

Thanks for the reply - I'm gaining in confidence that I'll be able to have my nails redone before I get back to Oz!

I've never had gel nails, and believe the shellac nails I had done on the ships are not the same. They aren't as hard, and leave a little flexibility in the nail. I like that.

The color will chip off on its own eventually, especially with a little help picking it off. ;) You can also take it off yourself the same way the technician did:

Get out ten cotton balls, ten pieces of aluminum foil large enough to wrap around your finger to the knuckle, and some nail polish remover with acetone.

Soak one cotton ball with the remover, place on the nail, then wrap it in foil. Do all ten nails. Let them sit for at least 10 minutes. This will soften the polish.

Then, one at a time, remove the foil and wipe clean with the cotton ball. Use more remover as necessary.

I've had gels--these are the ones that need fills, just like the acrylics (a different product). I've had Shellac (a BRAND, by CND) manis, many times. And I've had Gellish, another brand that that markets as a Shellac alternative (NOT).

Shellac is way different from gels--less brittle but harder than nail polish. It's practically indestructible, lasts at least 2 weeks. Plus it dries & hardens instantly! No need to be delicate after the mani. You don't fill! Removal doesn't require a tech; follow Ruth C's directions. But try not to pick it off: that will pull off the top layer of your nail with it. Re: Shellac pedi: fine, but why? My regular pedicures last nearly a month--and I'm barefoot a lot. It will last 2 weeks (or more), but you'll still need the heavy-duty removal and it's $$$...

Gellish isn't nearly as good. Less flexible, hideously damaging to the nail to remove. Tech or you have to soak in remover twice as long--bad for nails & cuticles--then scrape & dig with a tool to get it off.

PS--any tech who says she has to buff the shine off the nail to give the polish more grip is dead wrong! CND's instructions specifically say it's unnecessary; don't do it. (Again, it's damaging to nail.) The tech will just be in the gel application mindset.

All that said, any of these will ultimately damage nail health compared to regular nail polish or (best) bare nails. Tho you could argue that since Shellac lasts longer than regular polish, you aren't applying remover so often...

I've never had gel nails, and believe the shellac nails I had done on the ships are not the same. They aren't as hard, and leave a little flexibility in the nail. I like that.

 

The color will chip off on its own eventually, especially with a little help picking it off. ;) You can also take it off yourself the same way the technician did:

Get out ten cotton balls, ten pieces of aluminum foil large enough to wrap around your finger to the knuckle, and some nail polish remover with acetone.

Soak one cotton ball with the remover, place on the nail, then wrap it in foil. Do all ten nails. Let them sit for at least 10 minutes. This will soften the polish.

Then, one at a time, remove the foil and wipe clean with the cotton ball. Use more remover as necessary.

Thanks Ruth. Yes, I've had shellac in the past and it has been removed as you've mentioned in your post. I've also removed it myself with less than successful results! The main problem that I encounter is wrapping them tightly with the foil, particularly on my right hand - my left hand doesn't seem to as co-ordinated as my right:(

As a couple of others have mentioned shellac is more flexible and easier to manage. I think I'll go ahead and pre-book. I can always reschedule once we get on board if I find that the day or time doesn't suit.

Many thanks for everyones input - I know its not exactly a major problem in the scheme of things, but every little thing helps when you're going to be away from home for 6 weeks.:D

I've had shellac done on my hands and feet and the results are not the same. On my feet, I actually had them chip in about 8 days from shoes rubbing against my big toe. Didn't have the problem of any edge chipping on my finger nails and they lasted over a month - just had to touch up the new nail growth.

Will do shellac on my hands on the cruise, but regular polish on my toes.

I'll also add that the *very best* shellac manis I've had were on the ships! I think that's because the techs were actually trained by CND reps on correct application. A key aspect is to seal the edge of the nail with the polish. Occasionally on land, I've had a shellac manicure where they didn't do that & the shellac ended up chipping sooner than it should.