Massage on Carnival ships (Victory)

My hubs and I booked a SHORT 4 day in Oct. It's a late bday for him, early bday for me/early anniversary cruise. Also our first just the 2 of us vacation no kids, no friend's in many many years. We may have a great time or hate each other by the end...lol. I'm debating booking a couples massage for us as a way to relax. I've never had a ship massage so looking for advice. What do you like or dislike? One I'm looking at is a wrap, aroma therapy, massage combo. Intrigued as it's not something Readily available back home.

So please blow up this thread with your experience on this ship or any other with the spa. Thanks in advance

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I had a massage (just me, Swedish massage) on Fantasy in July and it was glorious! I got a $50 coupon from my room steward for my birthday, so I booked it last minute. I loved the massage. I hated it after because it became a sales pitch for their fancy creams/detox crap. All I could think was "I'm not interested, I'm relaxed, leave me alone." But the massage was awesome!

Hate how they ruin a nice relaxed state with the sales pitch. Been there done that in the past with a facial. Has scared me away ever since. I want to do something fun and different as it's just us this time :)

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I had the aromatherapy hot stone massage on Valor last year and it was amazing. Probably one of the best massages I've ever had.

Loved: Getting the massage, it was done very well. However, it was not cheap!

Hated: Getting a sales pitch afterwards.

Just tell them up front , please no sales pitch I am here to relax and then let your tip reflect if they listen

Hi. My experience is limited to two shipboard massages, one on Disney a while ago and the other last month on the Carnival Liberty. They were pretty much the same, only minor differences.

The Disney experience kind of put me off getting one ever again. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't as relaxing as I thought it should have been. The masseuse had too light of a touch even when I told her I prefer a stronger massage. Also, I didn't know then to ask that I not be offered to buy additional products. I didn't buy any but like others have said, it was a sour note to end on. Overall, I felt like it was a big, fat waste of money.

The only reason I gave an on-board massage another try was because of the great deal offered on the Nassau day of our most recent Carnival cruise last month. On Nassau day, the 75 minute massage package was discounted nicely but not nicely enough to entice me to book it. THEN, later in the day, about 4:00, My daughter and I were sitting in the Flowers Lobby when the CD announced another price drop! That got my attention, because now it was about half-price. The catch was we had to book for that day. Since it was about 4:00, I was sure the Spa would be booked up by the time I found my husband and asked him if it was okay with him if I booked massages for my 16-year old daughter (she had a sofa-bed induced back ache) and me. BUT, it wasn't. I got us appointments. :)

Pros: Excellent massage. Both my daughter and I experienced a total relaxing of our tight, bunchy muscles. Her back felt better and my shoulders and neck (which I didn't realize needed it) felt great, and the effects lasted for days.

*added. I don't have naturally smooth, soft skin on my legs and arms, but I learned how to get it. After all these years of trying different lotions, I figured out from what the masseuse was doing that I need to exfoliate first. Also, I need to spend more time massaging my lotion into my skin that I had been.

Cons: Sometimes a really good, deep tissue massage makes a person feel kind of shaky afterward, and I did experience this for a short while.

As for the hard sell, I instructed my daughter to not check any areas of concern or health issues. That pretty much diminished the hard sell to a half-hearted offer to buy the massage oil and aromatherapy potion. I told the masseuse I didn't care for the scent and she dropped it.

I had a massage on my first cruise (Carnival Legend) and I haven't gone to a spa on a ship since. The first half hour was good (not great: the room was HOT and they didn't pipe in nice, quiet "spa music" like I'm used to) but then for the remaining 30 minutes, she talked non-stop about all the products I just had to buy for $300. At one point I asked her to stop talking as I wasn't going to buy anything, but she stated she had to go through the whole shtick. I've avoided the spa ever since but I'd probably try again but make it clear up front that I want it silent during the massage or I will not be tipping.