Skip Canyon Ranch services

[vanredmond]

I had a Swedish massage and a coffee body scrub this week aboard the Marina. The massage was good but nothing spectacular. The massage is occasionally on special for $109 but I paid the normal price of $149 + 18%.

The body scrub was also $149 + 18%. The scrub consisted of a twenty minute application of product, ten minutes of just laying on the table and then twenty minutes of soaking in a tub where I was told to rinse off and apply a bowl of some unknown substance to all of my skin. At the end of my twenty minute soak the therapist came back in and told me I could dry off and I was done. This was the saddest excuse for a spa treatment ever. When leaving, I did mention my disappointment to the spa manager and he was not sympathetic at all and explained that was the procedure by the book. If that is what everyone should expect then I have to strongly recommend everyone avoid any type of exfoliation service. What I also was insulted by is paying a $27 automatic gratuity on 20 minutes worth of actual service.

Buyer beware!!

[pacheco18]

I see you are relatively new to CC. Welcome.

 

There have been many posts about spa services on Oceania.

 

They are extremely expensive, even for cruise spa services. You should not have been surprised.

 

As for the quality of the treatment, it is only as good as the individual operator. I hope you noted the poor quality of the operator on your comment card.

 

I am sure others have had better experiences. These things will vary based on the sailing, the ship and the staff in the spa.

[DaveFr]

If you were charged an added gratuity of 18%, it appears that you were ripped off. According to the Oceania website, an 18% gratuity is already included in the price of each treatment.

 

Gratuities

An 18 percent service charge is included in all listed prices. Any additional gratuities for exceptional service are appreciated, but not expected.

 

See: http://www.oceaniacruises.com/ships/marina/lifestyle/default.aspx and click on "General Information."

 

Dave

[SellaVee]

Thank you for posting. I haven't read that many posts on spa services but I have used the Canyon Ranch Spa on Regatta. I'd have been disappointed too. We know cruise ship spa prices are expensive and you knew what this treatment cost before you booked it. The disappointment came with the amount of actual treatment you received. I think if the treatment had ended with the therapist applying the body cream at the end you'd have felt much happier.

 

The whole point of having a spa treatment is that someone else does the treating. Sounds like you could have done most of that yourself in the cabin!

 

Having said that I did have a body treatment at a spa in Italy and quite a lot of it involved lying around wrapped in cling film and then showering off a load of gunk. I did finish up on the table though to complete the treatment with an application of some lotion or other.

 

The things we do I'm the name of keeping young and beautiful! Ever since then I've made do with my Jo Malone soap and one of those bits of net curtain on a string :) .

[ChatKat in Ca.]

I used to love to go to the Spa on a cruise; Regent for years had a special massage, body scrub and facial. Not cheap but very luxe.

 

The last time I had a spa treatment on board I felt that it was so over priced I gave them up. Now if I want to have spa time, I go local and make a day of it so I have a mini vacation. Totally refreshing and because they want my repeat business - they try harder.

[vanredmond]

Price is not the issue. I was ok with the price. Higher prices on the ship are to be expected. I was totally disappointed with the quality of service and put off by managements response to my review when they asked me what I thought. The gratuity was just adding insult to injury. Save your money, make a statement with your wallet and maybe they will resolve this weak point on Oceania. I cancelled two other services I had planned for later in the cruise so I voted with my wallet.

[Caroldoll]

I had Sarinya and I hope she is still there as we will be back on board in June. She was excellent. It was a facial with deep cleaning of the pores. She worked the entire time and I did not feel the price was out of line.

[dundeene]

I experienced facials on both Riviera and Marina. They were both high quality ingredients and skilled staff. Prices are high but look at the Currents flyer in your cabin for specials.

 

I am sorry your experience was disappointing. Did you tell any of the staff in addition to the spa manager?

 

Was there a description in the service menu that was different from what you received? If so I would have requested that the service be given as described. Some spa services are more hands-on, some are more time spend wrapped or soaking.

[ChappChapp]

I have had 2 massages on the Riviera now and both were big disappointments. The most recent was in March. First up the reception area. The people at the desk always seem to be extremely busy and hardly acknowledge you. Then when you do book they write it down in a big ledger and always have a problem finding it. Come on in this age why don't they have a computer terminal? I was then left standing there for a few minutes thinking I would get a maybe, reminder card, until someone looked up and asked could they help me. Guess not. On the day of the appointment I was given a key and pointed down the hall to the men's locker. After wandering around the towel attendant showed me where to go and change and where to wait for the therapist. The therapist arrived and confirmed that I had a 20 minute massage. Only problem was I had booked 1 hr. It took three trips to the front desk to to resolve this.After that the massage was so-so. My friend had a mani/pedi and was told by the manicurist that the tip was not included, so he tipped twice.Compare this to a trip to Cabo last week where they took you every step of the way, came and found you when it was time and bought drinks to you everywhere. The massage was wonderful, the spa beautiful and the reception warm and friendly. Now that is SERVICE.

[hehny]

I'm so sorry to hear that you had a bad experience. Blaming an entire company is a bit odd. Rather focus in those who personally handled your experience. Spa staff change contracts frequently. It's the service provider you should be disappointed with.

[brian_uk]

If you were charged an added gratuity of 18%, it appears that you were ripped off. According to the Oceania website, an 18% gratuity is already included in the price of each treatment.

 

Gratuities

An 18 percent service charge is included in all listed prices. Any additional gratuities for exceptional service are appreciated, but not expected.

 

See: http://www.oceaniacruises.com/ships/marina/lifestyle/default.aspx and click on "General Information."

 

Dave

I am curious about this......you are saying that if a service is advertised at say $100 it actually INCLUDES the tip. If you are correct why then is a further 18% added afterwards !!

 

Brian

[joan24]

I always get a hot stone massage on Oceania. It's relaxing and really good. I've had them on Regatta, Insignia, and Riviera. I also found that there was little or no pressure to buy products after the massage. This was a nice change of pace from the high pressure sales pitch that used to be the norm. I'm lucky,because I have never had a bad massage on Oceania.

Joan

[pinotlover]

It was my understanding that spa services are provided by CanyonRanch Spas, which is a separate company to Oceania, working as a subcontractor on the ships. They do their own billing and reservations. As suggested above, I have not seen this contractor change, although they may rotate and change personnel on the ships. Complaints about their services should be addressed to CanyonRanch, with perhaps a cc to O to let them know how their contractors are performing.