Men's Spa Facilities on Cruise ships: Which ones do you think are the best?

Maybe Virgin Voyages will shake up the industry and offer a co-ed clothing optional spa area. Have to wait until 2020 when their first ship sails. Early reveals certainly show a large outdoor area as part of the fitness area. Maybe a European-style sun bathing area? :confused:

I was a bit surprised to find only 2-3 of us would use the steam and sauna naked. Everyone else wore swim suits. I thought Europeans were more open. Not on the Independence.

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Surprised - maybe a bunch of Americans on a European itinerary. Most I've talked to from European countries find wearing bathing suits pretty silly.

Surprised - maybe a bunch of Americans on a European itinerary. Most I've talked to from European countries find wearing bathing suits pretty silly.

They were mostly Brits. Other than me, there was another American, a German, and a Brit.

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Hmm - guess those Brits were being a bit too "proper". I believe those from Germany and certainly those from countries further north, like Norway, use the sauna naked, many times with men and women together. Not a big deal.

I watched the entire video on the Mein Schiff spa. A short bullet-point summary on which of the areas shown were co-ed and which were men or women only would be helpful.

Does anyone have any information not the spa facilities for Oceania please? On the Sirena in late August for 16 nights and wondering if the steam and sauna are co-ed (swim suits required?), locker facilities, etc..?

Thanks!

All Oceania small ships (Insignia, Nauitica, Regatta and Sirena) are the same as the three Azamara ships. They do not have a sauna but there is a steam room in each locker room ( so single sex). It is octagonal in shape . The Azamara ships have seven seats but Nautica ( and I assume the others) have a single bench around the octagon and more could be seated without being squashed ( need to watch out for the steam inlet(s) under benches).

No clothing required. Most wore or sat on a towel. Not heavily used.

There are also two fancy showers which are quite nice. Oceania also provide a fridge with cold drinks in in the locker room.

Their larger ships (Marina and Riviera) have both sauna and steam room, both single sex and free. The sauna is quite large, the steam room smaller.

Thank you!

All Oceania small ships (Insignia, Nauitica, Regatta and Sirena) are the same as the three Azamara ships. They do not have a sauna but there is a steam room in each locker room ( so single sex). It is octagonal in shape . The Azamara ships have seven seats but Nautica ( and I assume the others) have a single bench around the octagon and more could be seated without being squashed ( need to watch out for the steam inlet(s) under benches).

No clothing required. Most wore or sat on a towel. Not heavily used.

There are also two fancy showers which are quite nice. Oceania also provide a fridge with cold drinks in in the locker room.

Their larger ships (Marina and Riviera) have both sauna and steam room, both single sex and free. The sauna is quite large, the steam room smaller.

Hello again, gents.

Have any of you sailed on the Mariner of the Seas after her recent refurbishment? I’ll be sailing that ship in December and I’m concerned they’ve torn-out the wonderful men’s lockeroom area that ship used to have.

As a follow-up to my previous query: I posted the same question about the status of the steam and sauna on the Mariner of the Seas (Are those amenities still there after her renovations last month?) to the Amplified Mariner thread and someone who claimed to have sailed on her 6/25 stated the men’s locker room remained intact. If anyone here can confirm that claim, it’d still be great to validate. The Voyager and Freedom-class ships have some of the best steam and sauna rooms at sea and RCI is not offering the same on their newer ships. I was concerned they might begin removing that portion of the fitness/spa area to squeeze in more cabins or opportunities for onboard revenue.

All Oceania small ships (Insignia, Nauitica, Regatta and Sirena) are the same as the three Azamara ships. They do not have a sauna but there is a steam room in each locker room ( so single sex). It is octagonal in shape . The Azamara ships have seven seats but Nautica ( and I assume the others) have a single bench around the octagon and more could be seated without being squashed ( need to watch out for the steam inlet(s) under benches).

No clothing required. Most wore or sat on a towel. Not heavily used.

There are also two fancy showers which are quite nice. Oceania also provide a fridge with cold drinks in in the locker room.

Their larger ships (Marina and Riviera) have both sauna and steam room, both single sex and free. The sauna is quite large, the steam room smaller.

Great level of detail, Porkpie421! Thank you!

Does anyone know what the facilities are like on P&O (Australia) Pacific Eden? I'll be on her last cruise (Adelaide to Singapore in March 2019) before she is rebranded.

First, my apologies for asking something that has probably already been covered in this forum, but a search of the forum didn't return anything.

I've just booked Navigator of the Seas sailing on Nov. 18, 2018.  It's been a very long time since I sailed on this ship, and I'm hoping one of you kind folks can fill me in on the current state of the men's spa facilities on this ship.  Since we'll be sailing over Thanksgiving, I'm anticipating a need to escape for some "me" time.  :-)

Anyone have any recent experience with this ship?

Hey, guys... Have not seen any posts regarding one of my favorites ships, ms Pacific Princess (formerly a Rennaisance 640-pax vessel). Their gender-specific steam (no sauna) is very pleasant, seats about 8-10 guys on a circular bench. Two showers, plenty of amenities and big towels. Afternoons (and mornings, after breakfast) can get very social and friendly.  Just out the door from the steam/changing room is a small sun deck ($) that books up early on long cruises. Oceania has two of these R-Class ships, I can only assume they are the same.

BTW, thank you, fp60, for your notes on Oceania.

We'll be on the ms Volendam in Feb/2019 (60 days) and will check out the facilities after their 2017 re-fit. I've always found HAL's steam rooms agreeable and European in feeling.

On 3/19/2007 at 7:26 AM, sexyaznboy said:

Hey guys, going on Summit in a few weeks, can someone comment on the fitness facilities there? They are supposed to be well equipped. I'm rather confused regarding charges for the sauna and steam room, I've heard some say they charge and others say they don't charge. I think it is silly to charge patrons for anything other than spa services. Is it coed? As for that issue, I guess I am rather shy, not that I have a great body for people to gawk at :p but I prefer having men and women in their own saunas/steam rooms!

I just got off of the Summit on Saturday October 27th, 2018 and they are going to renovate the entire spa area when the ship goes into dry dock early in 2019.  They are removing the free saunas from the locker rooms and replacing them with balcony cabins.  To use a sauna you will have to purchase the Persian Gardens Spa for $119 for a 6-day cruise.  I for one will not be sailing on the Summit again.

16 minutes ago, RydingWaves said:

I just got off of the Summit on Saturday October 27th, 2018 and they are going to renovate the entire spa area when the ship goes into dry dock early in 2019.  They are removing the free saunas from the locker rooms and replacing them with balcony cabins.  To use a sauna you will have to purchase the Persian Gardens Spa for $119 for a 6-day cruise.  I for one will not be sailing on the Summit again.

That is very disappointing to hear.  The Summit is probably my favourite Celebrity ship.  Personally I don't like the Persian Gardens on the Summit as its small and has no windows.  The dry sauna in the mens room was great, large and with large windows to the outside.  I agree with you, I will not be sailing Summit again if they make these changes.

I'm recently back from a 7 night cruise to Bilbao on Navigator of the Seas, the male only steam/sauna set up is exactly the same as on my previous sailing on this ship 2 years ago. The sauna this voyage was missing a bucket with which to sprinkle water on the coals which meant that at times the temperature was lacking - this however meant I could sit & enjoy the warmth for longer periods than normal.  The steam room mostly lacked steam but was definately hot & damp enough to be pleasurable.

Bodywash/Shower gel in the 5 showers has been replaced with shampoo & the dispensers were often empty, the general tidiness of the area was also lacking with used towels littering the floor & locker room area at times, the used towel bin was also at times overflowing & attendants/cleaners visits seemed to be sparse.   Seating to cool off after a session was non existant & many including myself used the locker room benches which was I am sure a pain for those trying to access lockers!

I used the facility daily (twice on sea days) & met a great bunch of really friendy guys, it was nice to see all ages using the facility too (17-70+).

Rumour in the sauna was that RCCL are going to make this facility an extra & thus charge for use - can anyone shed anylight on this?

Thanks for posting about NOTS, billybeach!  Appreciate the insight.

As a previous passenger on Navigator it is sad to hear that this is similar to my recent experience on Brilliance, I think I’ll start exploring other cruise lines, sorry Royal Caribbean but I think it’s time I moved on to a line who provides a better experience. 

On 10/31/2018 at 3:40 PM, billybeachboy said:

I'm recently back from a 7 night cruise to Bilbao on Navigator of the Seas, the male only steam/sauna set up is exactly the same as on my previous sailing on this ship 2 years ago. The sauna this voyage was missing a bucket with which to sprinkle water on the coals which meant that at times the temperature was lacking - this however meant I could sit & enjoy the warmth for longer periods than normal.  The steam room mostly lacked steam but was definately hot & damp enough to be pleasurable.

 

Bodywash/Shower gel in the 5 showers has been replaced with shampoo & the dispensers were often empty, the general tidiness of the area was also lacking with used towels littering the floor & locker room area at times, the used towel bin was also at times overflowing & attendants/cleaners visits seemed to be sparse.   Seating to cool off after a session was non existant & many including myself used the locker room benches which was I am sure a pain for those trying to access lockers!

 

I used the facility daily (twice on sea days) & met a great bunch of really friendy guys, it was nice to see all ages using the facility too (17-70+).

 

Rumour in the sauna was that RCCL are going to make this facility an extra & thus charge for use - can anyone shed anylight on this?

When the Navigator goes through the royal amplified upgrades/refurb in Feb. '19 they will be removing the Fitness Center AND both men's and women's locker rooms and placing cabins in that entire space on deck 11. The treatment rooms on deck 12 will remain. They will buildout a new fitness center by taking space from the the kids club on deck 12 aft. You can bet complementary steam & /or and saunas will NOT be part of the new Fitness Center. 

On 11/7/2018 at 11:07 PM, kwokpot said:

When the Navigator goes through the royal amplified upgrades/refurb in Feb. '19 they will be removing the Fitness Center AND both men's and women's locker rooms and placing cabins in that entire space on deck 11. The treatment rooms on deck 12 will remain. They will buildout a new fitness center by taking space from the the kids club on deck 12 aft. You can bet complementary steam & /or and saunas will NOT be part of the new Fitness Center. 

That is awful news. This class of ships (Voyager) and Freedom-class have some of the best locker/sauna/steam facilities in the fleet. I suppose it's only inevitable that the other ships will have their nice free facilities refurbed out of existence. Very disappointing.

We are on Adventure in January '19---someone please tell me they haven't already destroyed the facilities on there in the recent refurb.

On 11/9/2018 at 9:39 AM, CntPAcruiser said:

 

That is awful news. This class of ships (Voyager) and Freedom-class have some of the best locker/sauna/steam facilities in the fleet. I suppose it's only inevitable that the other ships will have their nice free facilities refurbed out of existence. Very disappointing.

 

We are on Adventure in January '19---someone please tell me they haven't already destroyed the facilities on there in the recent refurb.

I was on Adventure last week and all facilities are still there and in good shape.

The first day the steam room had a problem, but several complained that it kept shutting off and whatever had to be adjusted was, so the rest of the cruise was fine. Some thought that the dry sauna could have been a bit warmer,  but most found it to be fine.

Plenty of towels and the shampoo dispensers were always full.

45 minutes ago, RlrCstr said:

I was on Adventure last week and all facilities are still there and in good shape.

The first day the steam room had a problem, but several complained that it kept shutting off and whatever had to be adjusted was, so the rest of the cruise was fine. Some thought that the dry sauna could have been a bit warmer,  but most found it to be fine.

Plenty of towels and the shampoo dispensers were always full.

Thank you for the confirmation that all is still well, and I hope you enjoyed your cruise and sauna time. It's fairly common in my experience for the sauna on Voyager-class ships to be a little less than hot. Sometimes you can find the little sensor for the thermostat and trick it with a spritz of cold water to kick the heat on. I've rarely experienced a problem with the steam rooms---usually those are almost too hot. But if they're not, the sensor trick works there, too. 

I had seen in someone else's post that there were only shampoo dispensers (no more body wash), and it sounds like that might have been the case on Adventure. Glad to hear they kept the towels well supplied. That has been an issue on some of our recent cruises, but usually because guys are using three and four each and leaving them strewn about. I'd hate to make even more work for the attendants, so I always try to keep it neat. 

On 10/31/2018 at 3:40 PM, billybeachboy said:

I'm recently back from a 7 night cruise to Bilbao on Navigator of the Seas, the male only steam/sauna set up is exactly the same as on my previous sailing on this ship 2 years ago. The sauna this voyage was missing a bucket with which to sprinkle water on the coals which meant that at times the temperature was lacking - this however meant I could sit & enjoy the warmth for longer periods than normal.  The steam room mostly lacked steam but was definately hot & damp enough to be pleasurable.

 

Bodywash/Shower gel in the 5 showers has been replaced with shampoo & the dispensers were often empty, the general tidiness of the area was also lacking with used towels littering the floor & locker room area at times, the used towel bin was also at times overflowing & attendants/cleaners visits seemed to be sparse.   Seating to cool off after a session was non existant & many including myself used the locker room benches which was I am sure a pain for those trying to access lockers!

 

I used the facility daily (twice on sea days) & met a great bunch of really friendy guys, it was nice to see all ages using the facility too (17-70+).

 

Rumour in the sauna was that RCCL are going to make this facility an extra & thus charge for use - can anyone shed anylight on this?

According to the RCCL website the rumors about Navigator getting a new fitness center and coed steam seem to be correct. The new 2019 floor plan shows cabins where the fitness area is now. It also shows a new fitness center added at the back of the ship on Deck 13. It's not clear how the change rooms will be configured but considering every class or ship RCCL has built since Freedom Class has gone coed with a fee we should expect the same when they make this major change. Let's hope they're don't ruin their entire fleet with this unwelcomed change. 

Interestingly 2018 saw a major overall on Independence, that last of the Freedom class, but the fitness area was left as is.