Thermal Suites, Excursions etc

[Scrufsmom]

Will be traveling in the next couple of months and trying to decide should I or shouldn't I?  Things to ponder and wonder......

 

Has anyone taken advantage of the Thermal Suites onboard the Allure?  Is it worth the amount and is it just lounge chairs or are there other experiences to take advantage of?  We are also trying to decide on excursions for St. Maarten such as a yacht cruise.  The hubs does have a certain disability in mobility, yet he can climb with assistance.  Has anyone in this kind of position experienced this?  We do like to gamble a little at specific tables and is the Casino constantly packed with people or can you say it allows everyone an opportunity to have some fun?  I would really appreciate any advice or suggestions for our upcoming trip.  Please if you have done another type of excursion do tell.  TIA

[Clarea]

With regard to excursions, you might also want to check out the port of call forums:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/456-caribbean/

[cb at sea]

The activity in the casino varies from cruise to cruise.  Sometimes, it's packed...many times, not.  The busiest times are after dinner...usually afternoons are fairly slow....it just depends on how many "gamblers" happen to be on the ship!

 

[CntPAcruiser]

The thermal suites on Oasis and Allure are inside spaces, so no sea views. There are a couple of heated ceramic loungers, a small steam room, sauna, and aromatherapy room, and two showers with different settings, such as waterfall, rainstorm, etc.

 

Because it is a mixed-sex space, bathing suits are required to be worn, even in the sauna/steam room. There are small locker rooms with toilets and showers down the hall from the thermal suite itself. You check in at the spa desk and get a robe (and possibly flip-flops if you need them), then change in the locker room and head to the thermal suite. We found the area to often be noisy and too crowded, and not relaxing at all. The steam room and sauna are quite small and awkwardly designed, so there is not much usable seating.

[Scrufsmom]

Wow, that was exactly the information I was looking for.  Thank you for being so specific in your description of this particular area.  Sounds like I won’t be spending money on this.   

[CntPAcruiser]

On 5/21/2019 at 12:54 PM, Scrufsmom said:

Wow, that was exactly the information I was looking for.  Thank you for being so specific in your description of this particular area.  Sounds like I won’t be spending money on this.   

 

When we gave Oasis and Allure a try shortly after they were launched, we paid for and used the thermal suites because relaxing in the sauna is a big part of our cruise vacation. While we really enjoyed the entertainment (especially Aqua Theater) on this class of ships, the food and service as well as having to pay for the thermal suite and not being particularly satisfied with it were reasons we do not book on these ships any more. Since Royal is now removing these free guest amenities from its ships with the so-called amplification (Navigator, for example), we will have fewer and fewer Royal ships to sail on, sadly. 

[Scrufsmom]

We've done a similar spa treatment like on RCCL on a different cruise line and it was well worth the money spent.  This will be our second adventure on a Royal class ship and a big ship to boot.  So far we can see that every little bit of fun comes at a price and we certainly aren't used to that.  So as you have written the 

1 hour ago, CntPAcruiser said:

so-called amplification (Navigator, for example), we will have fewer and fewer Royal ships to sail on, sadly. 

I'm not too sure what this entails and will have to do more research to understand RCCL cruising.    

[CntPAcruiser]

5 minutes ago, Scrufsmom said:

We've done a similar spa treatment like on RCCL on a different cruise line and it was well worth the money spent.  This will be our second adventure on a Royal class ship and a big ship to boot.  So far we can see that every little bit of fun comes at a price and we certainly aren't used to that.  So as you have written the so-called amplification (Navigator, for example), we will have fewer and fewer Royal ships to sail on, sadly. 

I'm not too sure what this entails and will have to do more research to understand RCCL cruising.    

 

If I've understood your comment, you've done something akin to the RCI thermal suite, but on a different line. From what I've read, these facilities on some other lines are beautiful, with ocean views and spacious rooms, and people report being very pleased with them. I also understand that the thermal suites on the even more recently built Royal ships are better than those originally done for the Oasis-class ships. As far as I know, the amplification does not affect existing thermal suites. What it has resulted in is the removal of very nice fitness center locker rooms that had free steam/sauna facilities for all guests. Apparently in the case of Navigator, they did not even put in a thermal suite, but merely a small steam room in the spa locker room for paying spa guests only. 

 

For your upcoming cruise, it sounds like you will be on a ship with a thermal suite (Allure, I believe), which is accessible only for an extra fee (plus the standard 18% gratuity). That's how those ships have always been. We choose not to sail on those, but all Royal ships have extra charges for certain extra services/products/etc. (like spa services, laundry service, special activities, kids' arcade games, and so on). Many things are included, though, such as much of the entertainment (make your reservations online asap once that is available for your sailing); some refreshments and snacks, like coffee, tea, flavored water, pizza, soft-serve ice cream, donuts, hot dogs, and so on;  the fitness center, running track, and some other sports activities and things like flow rider, ice skating, and water slides. Oh, and outdoor movies on the pool deck, but no free popcorn!