rockbock

Don't mean to be rude, but please ... live a little !!! There are grouser and much less sanitary things out there that we come in contact with on a daily basis !

While I agree with the other poster that I wouldn't want to knowingly soak in a pool which was contaminated with fluids, it's just one of those things in life that I choose to not think about when I get into a public hot tub or pool. I'm sure that anytime any one of us enters a public hot tub or pool, we are soaking in other peoples' urine. Yes, it's gross; however, it's a "gross" that I live with and try not to think about in order to enjoy the water. I view other fluids the same as I view urine. Yes, it's gross, but I'd be naive to think that it's never happened, so it's better to just not think about it.

Rockbock:

 

Do you get any preferred boarding when booked on the spa deck?

No. But we were Zone 10 for debarkation and I think the zones went up into the 50s.

Ok, I just realized there is something I forgot to mention about the Spa cabin. It comes with two free "pay-per" classes. The only choices offered on the Dream were Yoga or Pilates. Signup sheets were left out on a table near the Spa Desk. I was interested in doing two of the Yoga classes, but then I saw the times...it was only offered at 9am. That was too late for me and would have broken up my day too much. I'm a morning person, so I would have done a 6am or 7am class, but 9am was waaaaaaaaaay too late for me!

We also received 4 extra Elemis products in the room. A shampoo, conditioner, soap and a linen spray.

I kind of thought it was cheesy that they advertised the Elemis products as being a "perk" of booking a spa cabin, and then they only gave me two little samples. Clearly I got ripped off :p Although I would have been equally unimpressed if I had received four tiny samples. If they want to advertise it as a perk of the cabin, they should give full-size products. If they only want them to be samples to try to generate sales of the full-size products, then they should be putting them in every cabin on the ship to maximize their advertising.

Great !!! Sounds like you could be discretely done. We are on the Breeze next year and will get a weekly pass for the wife; now I have an incentive to at least get a day pass for myself !!!

Weekly pass, plus one day pass would cost $190. At that rate, you're better off just spending the $250 and having the entire week for yourself too. Plus there's never a guarantee that day passes will be offered.

This, along with your full review of your cruise, is just amazing and fantastic so thank you. Just a question about the SPA: sounds like it was not very crowded. So, where there semi private rooms, like the showers, were those couples inclined to do so, could engage in some "discrete" fun?

LOL interesting question! :p

It's possible if you got there at 8am when most people weren't there yet, or maybe during a port day when most people are off the ship, that you could "enjoy" the rooms a bit. I'd be careful though, because the privacy is limited. The steam baths and saunas were pretty open-looking rooms. If somebody peeked in the doors, they could see most of the seating areas. In addition, there seems to always be a spa worker folder towels somewhere, so they pop into the rooms fairly regularly. The first steam bath is VERY steamy, so it would probably provide the most time to make everything look innocent if somebody entered the room.

The showers would be a little easier, as long as you stay in the very back of it (where you aren't visible from the main hallway). Even though the shower is "open," the noise of the shower, I'm guessing, would alert people that somebody is using it, so they wouldn't bother to walk into it. At least I know I wouldn't walk into the shower if it was obviously turned on, but I guess I can't speak for other people lol.

As long as all the jets are turned on, the Thalasso pool would be pretty easy, even if a few other people were using it. The power of the jets is so forceful that you can't see anything under the surface of the water.

Would be great if people who have taken advantage of the Cloud 9 Spa on other ships could add their experiences and/or photos. And also anybody who used the Dream Spa and might have had a different experience than me. I'll be looking very closely at spa cabin pricing on all of my future cruises, so I'd love to hear about everyone else's experiences too.

Is the $35 per day fee, per person? Do they have a couple rate or any other day pass deals? I can't see us paying $249 for the week, considering we didn't even make it to the Serenity deck on the last cruise. But I wouldn't mind trying it out one day.

As best I knew, it was $35 per person, per day. However, the price might have recently changed to $40 per person, per day. Just today I saw a post where somebody said it was $40 and not $35. To the best of my knowledge, no "couples deals" are offered on the daily rates and daily passes are only offered if the spa doesn't sell out all of the alotted weekly passes.

Two questions, as we have in inside spa cabin on the Breeze.

 

Both are about toiletries.

 

1. Is there conditioner either in the dressing room or in the cabin?

 

2. These toiletries are supposed to be Elemis and an upgrade. Are they? I am packing for Europe and 30 days, so this does matter for my packing. And I fly out in days!

 

Thanks in advance!

Thanks for asking this question. I should have made a bigger deal about the "cabin upgrades" in my review, but I didn't want to sound like I was making complaint.

To answer your first question, there is no conditioner in either the cabin or the spa showers.

As for the Elemis products and "upgrades" to the spa cabins in general, I hope the photo below gives you a good idea of how insignificant this "upgrade" truly is. I added the dollar bill for perspective. These are the only two Elemis products I received during the entire cruise. The Body Wash smells like mint and I like the smell. The lotion has an smell which I can't identify, but it isn't especially pleasant. Carnival makes a big deal out of advertising the Elemis products because they want you to buy the full size products in the spa. They also think that by advertising these products (as well as the upgraded decor, robes, slippers, and towels), that people will book the spa cabins in order to get the upgraded spa experience. The spa experience in the cabin isn't really much of an upgrade though...

I really don't know how to say this without it sounding like a complaint (and the last thing I want to do is complain about my amazing cabin), but here goes:

DO NOT book a spa cabin because you are expecting a more luxurious cabin experience. The decor in the hallways and in the cabins is "different" from other areas of the ship, but it isn't nicer or more luxurious. The bedding is the same as every other cabin on the ship. That's not a bad thing, since ALL Carnival cabins have very comfortable beds, but don't expect an upgrade in the spa cabins. The shampoo and body wash in the cabin shower and in the spa showers is exactly the same as what you get in the dispensers in a non-spa cabin. Again, not a bad thing, since I like the products, but don't expect to get Elemis products in your dispensers. The robes and towels in the cabin are the same quality as what you get in other cabins. The difference is that the towels are yellow and say "Serenity" on them, instead of being blue and saying "Carnival" on them, and the robes say, "Cloud 9 Spa" instead of "Carnival." The slippers are a bonus that you don't get in a normal cabin, but we wore them exactly once, the first day that we visited the spa area. NOTHING else about these cabins is different than any other cabin on the ship, except that I received fewer toiletries (e.g., toothpaste samples, etc.) than other cabins. That might have been because I had a bad steward though, and not because of the spa level cabin.

So my advice is to not book a spa cabin UNLESS:

(1) You plan to buy spa access anyway and the cost of booking the spa cabin is less than $249/couple more than booking a non-spa cabin

(2) You manage to snag one of the amazing OV cabins, since they are HUGE and the size/location of the cabin adds a lot of value to the package

(3) The upgrade to the spa cabin costs more than the cost of buying spa access for the week ($249), but you don't mind paying a premium to have a cabin which is in close proximity to the spa.

(4) The upgrade to the spa cabin costs more than the cost of buying spa access for the week ($249), but you are the kind of person who wants to stand out in the crowd by having a different color towel or a robe that tells everyone you booked a premium cabin lol.

I was so surprised to see your review because I am booked on the Dream in 11203 come March 2013. Your review was perfect :) Can you tell me how the motion is on the ship in this room location? I have been middle and aft but never the very front. I heard being so high up you feel a lot of movement. Is this true?

I was shocked at how little motion we felt...truly shocked! We were about as high and forward as you can get, but I felt nothing. I take one ginger pill every day beginning the day before the cruise. I'm sure it helps, but I'm sure it was also just a very smooth trip. I would not hesitate to book high and forward again!

Oh man...after reading your review I REALLY want a spa cabin. My family of four is looking at the 6/22 sailing of the Breeze and I just might have to do it. The only OV cabins for four though are handicapped. Oh well guess we will book inside....never have but will give it a try!

There are only four OV spa cabins on the entire ship and all of them are handicapped. Two of them can accommodate 4 passengers. If either of them are still available, you can book them. You will just be told that there is a chance you will be bumped to another cabin. If they bump you, it has to be an equivalent or better cabin, which means you will likely be bumped into a Spa Balcony.

Great review! We are booked in a Spa Inside Cabin on the 12th deck on the Magic in April and now I am even more excited! I am already looking forward to relaxing in the spa before dinner!

Did you say that the spa does not open until 8am?

Yes, I actually meant to comment on the Cloud 9 Spa hours in my review and I didn't remember to do it. The hours were probably my biggest disappointment with the spa. Perhaps I'm not "normal," but I would have gotten sooooooooooo much more use of the spa if the hours from from 5am or 6am until midnight or 1am, rather than 8am until 10pm. I am always awake VERY early and I would have used to spa every single morning if it was open between 5am and 7am. By opening at 8am, it basically ruled out the ability to use the spa in the morning on port days. Likewise, I would have loved to have the option to use the spa after the evening shows, but it closes at 10pm each night.

It is mentioned that you can purchase a weekly spa pass for about $150 - do you buy that before you board the ship, or is this something that you purchase from the spa directly once you are on board? Thank you for your awesome review and pictures rockbock!

You have to purchase it after you board the ship. You just go up to the spa on embarkation day and ask for a free tour. If you like what you see, you can buy the weekly pass for $149 (or $249 for two people).

How do shower every day, with your swim suit on? Doesn't sound that hygienic to me. But what an awesome review nonetheless.

I didn't shower in my swimsuit. I used the showers in the Cloud 9 locker room. However, if I ever use this spa again, I will shower in my swimsuit using the semi-open showers. They have shampoo and body wash in them just like all of the other showers and there's enough privacy that I could adequately wash my private areas without having to actually remove my bikini. Admittedly, it would be a bit harder to wash my entire body if I wore a one-piece swimsuit, but it would be very easy to accomplish in a bikini.

Question: our cabin is closer to the front elevators rather than the private staircase (cabin 11244)...are we able to access the private areas from there as well?

Assuming this section of the Breeze is set up identical to the Dream, you should be able to use either set of stairs. If you choose to use the front stairs/elevators, you would approach the Spa Desk from the opposite side than the view you see in my photos. You would basically be looking at the spiral staircase as you approach the Spa Desk and the Spa Desk would be on your left.

Well, that's all folks! I've finally completed this extensive review of the Cloud 9 Spa facilities on the Carnival Dream. I hope I've been able to answer a lot of the questions that I was unable to find answers to before my own cruise. Please feel free to ask questions or post your own experiences here.

Gotta answer this one last question for everyone...

WAS THE CLOUD 9 SPA PACKAGE WORTH IT?

I'm going to answer this question as honestly and extensively as I possibly can, since the answer isn't completely black and white for me. FOR MY SITUATION, this was unquestionably the absolute best bargain of an upgrade I could have found. I basically paid $3.60 to upgrade my family of 5 from a Deluxe OV to this enormous Spa OV cabin, with semi-private deck, spa access, quiet location, amazing forward views, etc..

I am generally satisfied with an inside cabin, so I book the cheapest cabin I can find. On previous cruises, I have turned down upgrades to an OV cabin (from inside) when it would have cost $40 total for my family of 5. That's how cheap I am! I would never pay more than about $150 total to upgrade my family from an inside to a balcony...just isn't worth it to me. Keeping that in mind, here's what I'd be willing to pay for a Spa cabin:

Assuming I was booked in an inside cabin or porthole cabin, I would probably be willing to pay as much as $400 extra (total for the entire family) to move into one of the Spa OV cabins. This is because of the entire package deal (great room, great location, great deck, spa access, etc.). I would NOT pay that much to move from an inside cabin or porthole cabin to a Spa Balcony cabin. I know that sounds CRAZY, but I'm not nearly as impressed with the Spa Balcony cabins as I was with the Spa OV cabins. The Spa Balcony cabins are small (standard size) and the location of them isn't quite as amazing or convenient as the Spa OV cabins (which face out the front of the ship). I'd probably pay as much as $250 to $300 extra to upgrade my family to a Spa Balcony cabin from an inside or porthole cabin. I don't think I would pay more than $150 total for the family to upgrade from an inside or porthole cabin to a Spa Inside cabin. To me, the ONLY "upgrade" there is to a Spa inside cabin is the spa access itself, since the cabins themselves are no different than any other inside cabin on the ship.

So as you can see, I personally value the Spa Access at about $150 for the week (per couple). Based on our actual use, I would NOT pay the $250/couple to purchase access for the week. The Cloud 9 Spa is available from 5pm Saturday until 10pm Friday...That's more than $35 per day, per couple. On port days, we used the spa for about an hour. On the two sea days, it was closer to two hours per day. On one day, we never made it to the spa. I figure we were in the spa area for a total of 7-8 hours over the course of the cruise. That works out to about $30 to $35 per hour for a couple. To me, that's a VERY steep price to pay for a private hot tub and use of the steam baths/saunas. I guess I might reconsider the value if I were planning to stay on the ship during some of the port days, but I just didn't use the spa area enough to justify the cost of purchasing it without a spa cabin.

That being said, I did LOVE the Cloud 9 Spa package and I will seek out future deals on Spa OV cabins. The cabin itself is what truly made this an amazing value for my family.

Aside from cost, since everybody has their own ideas of what's a good value, or whether value even matters, I'd rate the Cloud Spa a 9.5/10.

The only things I can say would really improve the spa area would be:

(1) Eliminate the annoying doors which require you to use two hands to open them (one to turn a little knob and the other hand to turn the door handle itself)

(2) Eliminate the need for brancelets and the need to turn in S&S cards in exchange for the VIP card by programming the S&S cards for Spa Guests to open the spa room doors. I know it isn't done this way because of the potential abuse of giving your S&S card away to non-spa guests, but there are very easy ways to circumvent the current system too if you really want to, so why not just simplify the process?

(3) The floor are always wet in the hallways and rooms. Most people went to the spa on the first day wearing their robes and slippers, because it seemed like "the thing to do." It was quickly realized by everybody that slippers and the spa area don't mix! Nor does lugging around a robe, even though there are hooks. Most people, after the first day, walked to the spa using the private staircase/elevator, wearing only flip flops and a swimsuit.

(4) Add some fruit and/or other healthy snacks to the relaxation room.

Upon leaving the area with the Relaxation Room and Locker Rooms, you'll pass the entry to the steam baths/saunas on your right and the Thalasso Pool is straight ahead at the end of the hallway. Also on your right are the spiral staircase up to the 14th and 15th floors (Serenity Decks!!!), the glass elevator, and the spiral staircase down to the 11th floor. Like most hotels, this ship does not have a 13th floor.

PHOTOS OF REGULAR SHOWER:

PHOTOS OF HANDICAPPED-ACCESSIBLE SHOWER:

PHOTOS OF HANDICAPPED-ACCESSIBLE RESTROOM:

PHOTO OF REGULAR RESTROOM:

MORE PHOTOS OF MAIN LOCKER ROOM AREA:

When leaving the Relaxation Room, the Cloud 9 Locker rooms are on your left. It's important to note that these locker rooms are private and only available to Cloud 9 Spa passengers. There are separate lockers rooms available to the general public.

I didn't ask my husband to photograph the Mens Locker Room; however, I'm assuming it is very similar to the Ladies Locker Room.

The locker room has a double-door entry. After you walk through the first door, you will be in a tiny area and you'll have to go through a second door.

Upon entering the locker room, you'll be in a large open area with four sinks, each with its own mirror and hair dryer. The hair dryers are nicer than the ones in the cabins. There are two walls of lockers available. The good news is that they are free to use. The bad news is that they BEEP nonstop. The beeping noise was present every time I entered the locker room for the entire week. It was definitely the most annoying thing about the entire Cloud 9 Spa. The large room also has a nice bench (would have been nice if there were 2 or 3 of them, since there was room), fresh towels, and access to 3 restrooms and two showers. One of the restrooms is handicapped accessible, as is one of the showers. The handicap shower is double the size of the other shower; however, the standard shower was large and I preferred it since it had a nice bench and glass doors. It was easier to keep my bags and clothes dry in this one, since the hadicapped-accessible shower was completely open. The handicap shower also did not have a tile bench. The showers were very nice, with rainfall shower head, handheld showerhead, and powerful side jets.

PHOTOS OF MAIN LOCKER ROOM AREA:

and all the cloud 9 saunas are coed? I assume bathing suits are required then? ;)

Correct...The Cloud 9 rooms are all co-ed, except for the locker rooms.

I never saw any signs requiring bathing suits, but everyone wore them and, quite honestly, I would have felt very uncomfortable if I had entered a room and saw somebody without one! :eek:

The Relaxation Room is maintained at a cool temperature. It has cloth-covered chairs with ottomans, all of which overlook the ocean. There is a table in the back of the room which has a selection of hot teas, as well as two types of iced fruit water (orange and lemon). Previous Cloud 9 Spa reviews mentioned that fresh fruit and yogurt were available in this room; however, there were never any food products provided in this room during the week that I was on the ship.

Now we'll move on to the Relaxation Room and the Cloud 9 Locker Room. The last time I posted the photo below, we entered the "private" area on the left to get to the steam baths and saunas. This time, we'll enter the private area on the right:

Once we get through that door, we'll pass the locker rooms on our right:

And the Relaxation Room will be at the end of the hallway, also marked as Private: