Cloud 9 spa on the Carnival Breeze - current pass price & differences vs. Dream?

[mikeerdas]

I seem to recall a week-long pass was between $200 and $250 per couple on the Carnival Dream. Some friends are interested in sailing the Carnival Breeze. Some questions:

 

1) What's the current price of a week long pass to the spa on the Breeze for a couple?

 

2) Can you purchase the pass in advance? And does the price vary if you purchase it ahead of time or while on the ship (we purchased one for the Dream after doing a tour of the spa on ship)

 

3) Are there any significant differences between the Breeze's Cloud 9 spa and the one on the Dream?

 

4) Friends are interested in booking a balcony cabin. Are there any spa balcony cabins? And if so, would it be a better deal to book a spa cabin or a non-spa balcony and pay for the pass?

[mikeerdas]

To clarify on question #3, e.g. differences between the spa on the Breeze vs. the Dream, are both roughly the same square footage and have all the same general-use rooms, e.g. the same steam rooms, the two heated chair rooms, thassalo pool, etc? *Not* interested in the number and size of treatment rooms--as I recall, those were in the upstairs portion of the Dream's Cloud 9.

Edited November 30, 2013 by mikeerdas

[Cmildenb]

Bumping since I would also like to know this info

[alrichards4003]

We had spa passes for both the Dream and Breeze. We always think the thermal suites are a good value since we both use it every day and it is nice on a ship of that size to go to a space that is not overcrowded.

 

We paid $249 for a couples pass for 8 days in April on the Breeze, it was the same price as 7 days for the Dream the year before.

 

If the Spa balcony is $250 or less it is worth it, if more you would need to determine if the 2 free classes and different decor and toiletries is worth it.

 

I think they are exactly the same, the positioning of the T-pool may be a little different.

 

I cannot imagine selling on a ship with a T-pool and not buying the spa pass, we feel it enhances the experience, while others don't think it is worth it. Just depends on what is important to you.

[Colorado Kat]

Should be $249-269 per couple for a week. I think it has gone up recently.

 

Breeze spa mostly the same as Dream spa.

 

Yes, there are Spa Balcony cabins. No smoking allowed in Spa cabins/balconies.

[mikeerdas]

Thanks CK and ALRichards. We feel much the same. The spa on the Dream felt like a sanctuary--it was never crowded. Felt especially great when we escaped to it on rainy days. Used it every day regardless.

 

My wife and I really aren't Ship People--we select cruises to maximize port days and by which ports are of most interest to us (vs. those whose ideal is a Cruise To Nowhere). But if we happen to end up on a Carnival ship having the large co-ed Cloud 9 spa, we'll buy the pass every time now.

 

Fortunately (too tempting) or unfortunately, I've never seen anything like the Cloud 9 spa on any other ships. Non co-ed spas don't interest me and my wife. We're not "treatment room people" and so we exclusively use the shared thermal rooms. Seems the spas on all other ships and lines are largely non co-ed. Having a single co-ed room, like a whirlpool / jacuzzi, isn't enough of a draw for us to buy a spa pass elsewhere.

 

If I'm wrong and other ships and lines have followed Carnival's lead on having large co-ed Cloud 9-like spas, please, someone, let me know.

 

Come to think of it, not sure there are very many on-land co-ed spas with thermal rooms either.

 

We had spa passes for both the Dream and Breeze. We always think the thermal suites are a good value since we both use it every day and it is nice on a ship of that size to go to a space that is not overcrowded.

 

We paid $249 for a couples pass for 8 days in April on the Breeze, it was the same price as 7 days for the Dream the year before.

 

If the Spa balcony is $250 or less it is worth it, if more you would need to determine if the 2 free classes and different decor and toiletries is worth it.

 

I think they are exactly the same, the positioning of the T-pool may be a little different.

 

I cannot imagine selling on a ship with a T-pool and not buying the spa pass, we feel it enhances the experience, while others don't think it is worth it. Just depends on what is important to you.

[Cmildenb]

I am having trouble imagining using the spa. Could you elaborate on which things in the spa you most enjoy and why?

 

Are all of the available spa amenities hot, and is it a heat comparable to a hot tub? Do you wear swimsuits, towels, or go nude?

 

Please excuse my ignorance in these things. The idea of relaxing away from crowds appeals to me, and I love massages, but I generally can't tolerate the heat in hot tubs for more than 10 min.

[Tantra1]

Fortunately (too tempting) or unfortunately, I've never seen anything like the Cloud 9 spa on any other ships. Non co-ed spas don't interest me and my wife. We're not "treatment room people" and so we exclusively use the shared thermal rooms. Seems the spas on all other ships and lines are largely non co-ed. Having a single co-ed room, like a whirlpool / jacuzzi, isn't enough of a draw for us to buy a spa pass elsewhere.

 

If I'm wrong and other ships and lines have followed Carnival's lead on having large co-ed Cloud 9-like spas, please, someone, let me know.

 

We feel the same way. We even have two cruises booked Cloud 9 on the Dream (one in Jan. and one in Feb.) before she leaves Port Canaveral for New Orleans just to enjoy the co-ed T-pool, steam rooms, heated tile lounge etc.

 

We have only been on one other cruise line, Celebrity, and the 90k ton ships like the Constellation have a free T-pool. If they have any of the othr amenities you pay extra.

 

Cheers!

[beachbratt]

I am having trouble imagining using the spa. Could you elaborate on which things in the spa you most enjoy and why?

 

Are all of the available spa amenities hot, and is it a heat comparable to a hot tub? Do you wear swimsuits, towels, or go nude?

 

Please excuse my ignorance in these things. The idea of relaxing away from crowds appeals to me, and I love massages, but I generally can't tolerate the heat in hot tubs for more than 10 min.

 

I have done the spa cabin on both the Dream and Breeze yes you wear a swimsuit in all areas now if you book a massage it is private and clothing would be optional the T-pool is hotter then the hot tubs on the ship but for me not to hot but I enjoy the heat and if you tolerate 10 min that is good because I think the sign states not to stay in for more then 15 but you can go in and out multiple times through the day

 

the heated tile loungers are very relaxing just put a towel down and enjoy some quiet time or even read a book overall it is a very nice area to get away from everything and relax :)

[alrichards4003]

NCL depending on ship has various features. Epic had a huge co-ed area with large T- pool with various stations and a hot tub and heated tile loungers. The Dawn and Star have a lap pool, T-pool and hot tub, but no heated tile loungers. The Jewel had the T-pool and heated tile loungers in the co-ed area. The sauna and steam room are non-co-ed.

 

The spa pass on Carnival has the T- pool, heated tile loungers, aromatherapy steam room, sauna and heated chair loungers in a different room and huge rainshowers.

 

image by alrichards4003, on Flickr

[mikeerdas]

Thanks ALR.

 

Here's a thread with lots of pictures of the spa:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1721126

 

Be sure to at least click through to the second page of posts in the thread above to get to pictures of the steam rooms, etc. The photos go on for at least 4 pages, giving you a nice idea of what all the rooms look like. Photos don't do it justice though. Didn't see any night photos of the steam rooms, etc, and that gives a nice ambiance.

 

@CM, my feeling is that the T-pool on the Dream was actually lukewarm rather than hot. I personally wanted it to be a lot hotter, but it was pleasant.

 

My wife and I most enjoy the two co-ed steam rooms on the Dream so I'm not sure we'd book a spa pass on ships without those. Also enjoy the t-pool, the heated loungers (and view from them)--the Dream has two heated lounger rooms. There's also a separate room where you can sit and have tea / read a book. The best part is probably hopping from room to room in the spa, enjoying a variety of things. As well as the serenity and under-booking (never crowded). Again, probably spoiled for any other set-up now. If they did not limit the total # of general spa passes purchased, my feelings about the spa would change. I was really pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed it.

 

Not sure why other lines don't have all co-ed non-treatment rooms. Cloud 9 on the Dream didn't feel lecherous or unsavory at all (if that's the rationale for non co-ed spas). If it was otherwise, that would be my last time in that given spa. Carnival turned me into a spa customer. Ordinarily it's not something I'd ever been interested in.

 

The Western Caribbean ports on our itinerary turned out to be so-so. Having spa access helped compensate a lot with that and made our cruise special.

 

@CM, why not plan to take a free tour of the spa on your embarkation day to get a feel for what it's like? It may or may not be for you.

 

One last advantage--we rarely take advantage of pool hot tubs due to crowding and, worst of all, kids in them (even if marked as off limits to kids). No offense to children, but ruins any ambiance in my personal opinion. Even though the spa is a shared facility, there's no significant crowding. And I don't recall any kids at all. If we felt one room was "filling up" and wanted more relative privacy, we'd hop to another room. Not the type of thing we've been able to do in general ship areas; e.g. one hot tub fills with kids, you search for another, then that might be full by the time you reach it. A spa pass removes that particular frustration-point.

 

NCL depending on ship has various features. Epic had a huge co-ed area with large T- pool with various stations and a hot tub and heated tile loungers. The Dawn and Star have a lap pool, T-pool and hot tub, but no heated tile loungers. The Jewel had the T-pool and heated tile loungers in the co-ed area. The sauna and steam room are non-co-ed.

 

The spa pass on Carnival has the T- pool, heated tile loungers, aromatherapy steam room, sauna and heated chair loungers in a different room and huge rainshowers.

 

image by alrichards4003, on Flickr

Edited December 1, 2013 by mikeerdas

[mikeerdas]

Are there any *co-ed* spas on land similar to Cloud 9? And by co-ed, I mean that, aside from treatment rooms, that all or most of the common rooms are co-ed.

 

For example, Istanbul is known for hammam spas. Wondering if any place in Istanbul has co-ed hammams.