Spas for Dummies, questions about Spa Etiquette

[tbo]

Hello,

 

I'm very excited about our upcoming cruise on the Epic in January. We have purchased the Thermal Suite Pass, the pictures look like it's amazing. Confession time-I've never set foot in a spa on land or sea! So while I'm very excited about the opportunity, I'm starting to have questions pop up. I want to be able to enjoy the spa and I definitely want to be sure I'm doing what I should and following the rules, not just the ones that are posted, but the ones that are unwritten. Some of these questions may seem silly, but I'd rather look silly now than when I'm in the spa.

 

So first would be dress-I'm not comfortable with the idea of being undressed at all. My plan is to go in a bathing suit for the Thalassotherapy pool/hot tubs. What about the saunas/steam rooms-bathing suits or towels ok there?

Ok to wear flip flops everywhere?

I notice in pictures that there are open showers next to the loungers, on what occasion are those used?

The pool and tubs I see in the picture are those all warm water? And what is the purpose of the 3 different pool/hot tub areas? I assume suggested time limits are posted.

Is there a recommended order to use saunas/steam rooms/pools?

Any other thoughts, comments, suggestions are appreciated!

 

[mjkacmom]

It’s co-ed, you definitely want to be wearing a bathing suit.

[tallnthensome]

Wearing a bathing suit is the typical attire .... Nude for me. The showers sometimes have different scented elements. Those showers are usually my last stop before leaving the spa. 

[Jldevlin]

I have never seen anyone naked in the main spa rooms ...but in the womens side I have seen some women in the steam room without a suit ...and not even putting a towel down before sitting ....The open showers in the main room are generally for cleaning off before getting into the hot tubs and for rinsing off after ....

[Son of a son of a ...]

You wear a bathing suit - no one is nude unless you are in the locker room.  You grab a towel and dry off when exiting pools - no one wants to walk in your puddles.  Etiquette is to rinse before entering the pool, sauna, etc.  If returning to the chairs/loungers, then please rinse.  Put a towel down before you sit if your suit is wet - we use their bathrobes.  Don’t be a spa hog if heated loungers are full.  Try not to talk too loud.

 

Undoubtedly, you will be on a multi-national cruise ... be patient, tolerant, and wear ear buds ... culturals differ on etiquette.

[Steff79]

i like the spa, too. Never was at the Epic but bought a spa pass at every cruise i made. Hope things are at the epic like at the others ships that i write nothing wrong.

 

At NCL you wear swim wear ( at jade for example there a seperate areas for men / women only sauna, some men were naked in the man area at my cruise) , for me it is kind of strange with bath suits in sauna because in germany you are always naked in saunas, at the Aida cruise ships too.

 

At the locker rooms you find bathrobes and towels. You should shower there before going into the spa. Towels are in the spa too, so you can change them often. In the sauna i would sit on a towel and not direkt at the wood ( and change the towel after the sauna ). going with swim wear or swim wear and a towel with you in the sauna ( not with bath robe ). enjoy the sauna about 10 Minutes or how long you feel good but not to long. i think the Epic is the only NCL ship with a spa with balcony. i like to go outside to take fresh air and cool a little down direct after the sauna  and then go to the shower ( i think the open shower are for that ) for a cold shower. if you are a beginner best is the cold water from outside hands and legs to the heart ( do not start with head or heart, like you shower normal maybe ). After the shower you should rest for about 20 Minutes at a lounger.

 

And then go again, to steam or pool.

 

I have some plastic shower shoes with me and use them to walk in the spa around ( not in the pool and sauna ). If you walk there around or sitting in a lounger i wear the bathrobe.

 

Pool and tubes are with nice warm water. At the thalasso pool at the ships i was therre are some white push buttons with them you can start a massage beam or if you are in the tube the bubbles. Never heard of a time limit at the tubes. you can start them how offten you want.

[BirdTravels]

The Epic has the best Theal Suite in the fleet!  Enjoy!

 

There are unisex saunas and steam rooms in the lockerrooms. Those are clothing optional. Most people bypass those facilities and head out into the coed areas. Bathing suits are “required” in the coed areas. 

 

The main hydrotherapy pool has warm bubbling water. The jacuzzi a bit warmer. We enjoy the saunas on the Epic since they have large picture windows that allow you to look out over the ocean. 

[tbo]

9 minutes ago, Son of a son of a ... said:

You wear a bathing suit - no one is nude unless you are in the locker room.  You grab a towel and dry off when exiting pools - no one wants to walk in your puddles.  Etiquette is to rinse before entering the pool, sauna, etc.  If returning to the chairs/loungers, then please rinse.  Put a towel down before you sit if your suit is wet - we use their bathrobes.  Don’t be a spa hog if heated loungers are full.  Try not to talk too loud.

 

Undoubtedly, you will be on a multi-national cruise ... be patient, tolerant, and wear ear buds ... culturals differ on etiquette.

 

Thank you I will be sure to rinse off each time before and after, and promise not to be a spa hog.

 

 

10 minutes ago, Jldevlin said:

I have never seen anyone naked in the main spa rooms ...but in the womens side I have seen some women in the steam room without a suit ...and not even putting a towel down before sitting ....The open showers in the main room are generally for cleaning off before getting into the hot tubs and for rinsing off after ....

 

Can't imagine not putting a towel down not just out of courtesy for the next person, but for my own peace of mind. Thank you for the tip!

 

6 minutes ago, Steff79 said:

i like the spa, too. Never was at the Epic but bought a spa pass at every cruise i made. Hope things are at the epic like at the others ships that i write nothing wrong.

 

At NCL you wear swim wear ( at jade for example there a seperate areas for men / women only sauna, some men were naked in the man area at my cruise) , for me it is kind of strange with bath suits in sauna because in germany you are always naked in saunas, at the Aida cruise ships too.

 

At the locker rooms you find bathrobes and towels. You should shower there before going into the spa. Towels are in the spa too, so you can change them often. In the sauna i would sit on a towel and not direkt at the wood ( and change the towel after the sauna ). going with swim wear or swim wear and a towel with you in the sauna ( not with bath robe ). enjoy the sauna about 10 Minutes or how long you feel good but not to long. i think the Epic is the only NCL ship with a spa with balcony. i like to go outside to take fresh air and cool a little down direct after the sauna  and then go to the shower ( i think the open shower are for that ) for a cold shower. if you are a beginner best is the cold water from outside hands and legs to the heart ( do not start with head or heart, like you shower normal maybe ). After the shower you should rest for about 20 Minutes at a lounger.

 

And then go again, to steam or pool.

 

I have some plastic shower shoes with me and use them to walk in the spa around ( not in the pool and sauna ). If you walk there around or sitting in a lounger i wear the bathrobe.

 

Pool and tubes are with nice warm water. At the thalasso pool at the ships i was therre are some white push buttons with them you can start a massage beam or if you are in the tube the bubbles. Never heard of a time limit at the tubes. you can start them how offten you want.

 

So much good information here, thank you so much for taking the time to answer. Bathrobes sound wonderful 🙂

 

[rtkenmore]

1 hour ago, tbo said:

Hello,

 

I'm very excited about our upcoming cruise on the Epic in January. We have purchased the Thermal Suite Pass, the pictures look like it's amazing. Confession time-I've never set foot in a spa on land or sea! So while I'm very excited about the opportunity, I'm starting to have questions pop up. I want to be able to enjoy the spa and I definitely want to be sure I'm doing what I should and following the rules, not just the ones that are posted, but the ones that are unwritten. Some of these questions may seem silly, but I'd rather look silly now than when I'm in the spa.

 

You're in for a treat!  To me, Epic is one of the best in the fleet.  I love the private covered deck area on the back of the ship with the loungers and day beds to just chill out on.

 

1 hour ago, tbo said:

 

So first would be dress-I'm not comfortable with the idea of being undressed at all. My plan is to go in a bathing suit for the Thalassotherapy pool/hot tubs. What about the saunas/steam rooms-bathing suits or towels ok there?

 

DRESSED.  The spa is co-ed except for the locker rooms. You may run into people who are changing or taking showers in the locker rooms but otherwise, everyone will be wearing a bathing suit.  Even the saunas/steam rooms/etc. are co-ed so everyone will be clothed.

 

1 hour ago, tbo said:

Ok to wear flip flops everywhere?

 

Yes and likely encouraged.  You want don't to pick up any foot fungus or anything.  Most people will leave their shoes by the pools/hot tubs as they enter for convenience.

 

1 hour ago, tbo said:

I notice in pictures that there are open showers next to the loungers, on what occasion are those used?

 

You're encouraged to rinse off/etc. prior to entering the pools.  Just like they recommend on the pool deck as well. They would rather people since off before hand and getting into the pools/etc.

 

1 hour ago, tbo said:

The pool and tubs I see in the picture are those all warm water? And what is the purpose of the 3 different pool/hot tub areas? I assume suggested time limits are posted.

 

The large pool ares is just that, a large pool with individual cubbies so to speak that are lined with jets.  It's a place to kind of stand/float and relax.  Along the back wall of that pool are loungers that have bubbles coming up through them.  There is a higher intensity bubble pool off the main pool and then also a hot tub that is separate.

 

1 hour ago, tbo said:

Is there a recommended order to use saunas/steam rooms/pools?

I don't think Epic has any type of cold plunge pools so I wouldn't worry about any order or anything. Just do what you enjoy and want to do.

 

1 hour ago, tbo said:

Any other thoughts, comments, suggestions are appreciated!

 

 

The waterfall features are very strong as well in the large pool and can feel great on sore shoulders/backs/etc.  Just be careful not to splash other people around you too much if you can help it.

 

Other than that, ENJOY!  We get thermal suite passes on every cruise if we're not in a spa balcony and usually end up spending an hour or two there almost every day.  Especially on sea days!

 

[spdwain]

Just curious if people bring alcoholic drinks into the spa.  I'm used to seeing people drinking in the pools and Jacuzzis on deck.  Not sure what to expect in the spa with all those beverage packages.

[DuckTollerFans]

My spa experience so far is only on the Gem, but I assume this will be true for all ships:

• There are lockers in the locker room. You make up your own code to use each time (4 digits or so) and then it will only open to your code.  You might want to try it first before actually putting your valuables in it. 
• If you're in an out of the hot water, be sure to take advantage of the water they have available to drink.  Usually with some lemons or such in it.

One downside for the Gem's spa -- the hot tub was challenging to enter/exit if you are short.  The steps were very far apart for me.  Our next cruise will be on the Escape and that doesn't look like a challenge there.

 

For some reason my shoulders have ached this week, and all I can think is how better they'd feel if I could stand in the Gem's spa pool and have the thundering water massage them a bit.

[BirdTravels]

6 hours ago, spdwain said:

Just curious if people bring alcoholic drinks into the spa.  I'm used to seeing people drinking in the pools and Jacuzzis on deck.  Not sure what to expect in the spa with all those beverage packages.

You can bring your own drinks (in plastic) into the spa. There is only water and tea in the spa. 

[Jldevlin]

6 hours ago, spdwain said:

Just curious if people bring alcoholic drinks into the spa.  I'm used to seeing people drinking in the pools and Jacuzzis on deck.  Not sure what to expect in the spa with all those beverage packages.

I would get a plastic glass of wine from the pool bar before I went in and spent some happy time on the heated loungers with my wine and book    

[Nola26]

Confession, on the Dawn I didn't realize there were separate Men/Women areas. I walked into the Men's area, grabbed a seat. There was one older gentlemen there, he said nothing to me. I cannot recall how I figured it out, but something was off, it dawned on me and a scurried out of there. OMG, thankfully he was not nude, though if he had been I would have figured it out without entering. 

 

I took the ship tour and they took us into that room, but I was in the mid to back of the group so the door was held open, I didn't see the "Men's" sign on the door and like you it was my first Thermal Suite experience. I may buy a pass for my upcoming Pearl cruise and I'll be a savvy veteran for that one, lol.