The Spa Experience on the Riviera

[flaminkokid]

 

Canyon Ranch is no longer the spa on Oceania. It's now called "Aquamar." OneSpaWorld, which operates something like 80% of all cruise ship spas took over the franchise a couple of years ago. How is that working out? We took our 15th cruise on Riviera and we reached “gold” in the loyalty program and received two spa certificates worth $150 each. They say “Don’t look a gift horse in mouth.” You might find out it hasn’t got teeth. This was the first time I ever got a massage that left me more stressed when I left than when I arrived. 

 

 We proceeded to see how we could get the biggest bang for the buck. This required numerous trips to the spa because prices aren’t published in any brochure or on the tv in the cabin. (There is a price list available at the spa desk if you know enough to ask for it. Trust me, no one is going to offer it up unsolicited.) Apparently they ascribe to the philosophy that if you have to ask, you can’t afford it. We did ask and we got lots of different answers about how we could use the spa credit. 

 

There is a different spa special advertised in the Currents every day and it actually includes the price! (There is also a verbal special on port days of either "free extra minutes" or "10 or 20% off" (but turns out only on their "signature services" which are indicated by a faint mandala symbol on the price sheet.) You know what they say about verbal contracts.

 

 Get out your calculator. I decided on a 75 minute Swedish massage (not one of their signature services so never 20% off) “regular $249 today only $219.” (A 12% discount.) Small print: “For your convenience, a 20% service charge will automatically be added to all services.” Well, if it’s for my convenience. . .

That brought the total to $262.80—$3.50 a minute. Yes, you can use your spa credit for the special, No, you can’t use the spa credit for the special. Finally, we thought we had the definitive answer that we could use it.  When I arrived at the spa I figured it would be good idea to verify but the bored girl at the desk told me to discuss it with the masseuse.   There seemed to be an extraordinary reluctance to answer straight-forward questions. The masseuse came to fetch me and I told her I was getting “the special” and that I was using a certificate. After she escorted me to the massage room she told me that the special was not valid with the credit despite this having been verified numerous times prior. In other words, it would cost just about $420 or I could select an alternative. I said, “No. I want to cancel the appointment. I’ll get dressed and think about how I want to use the credit.” 

“No, no, I will tell my manager I forgot and you will get the special.”

I strongly suspect this is standard operating procedure.

Most people when faced with this situation will just accept being ripped off. You’re already vulnerable—sitting in a little dark room naked with only a bathrobe with someone who has been tutored in how to upsell you. I think they learned their techniques from time-share presentations.  I’m probably the anomaly--I'm not susceptible. This is not in the category of payday loans in Arizona. Oceania is a semi-luxurious line and it ain’t cheap. If rich folks get clipped an extra 50 bucks it’s not got going to break the bank or anyone’s heart. Nevertheless. . . .

 

I got the massage. It wasn’t so great. What did I expect? The poor girl was ticked off and unhappy and so was I. It wasn’t until I signed the bill that I discovered yet another exclusion. The spa credit does not include the service fee. The $48 was charged to shipboard credit. (They really keep this information close to vest).

 

Forgive the painful details of this little foray into OneWorld Spa. Canyon Ranch is looking mighty good in retrospect.

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2023 by flaminkokid
deleting incorrect information

[ORV]

9 minutes ago, flaminkokid said:

 

Looking at the Oceania loyalty info, we discovered that any mention of the spa credit has been scrubbed from the website.

I guess I'm imagining this page. Click on Gold Member(or above) and look at bottom left. 

 

Oceania Club Cruise Loyalty Program & Cruise Deals | Oceania Cruises

 

 

Edited February 5, 2023 by ORV

[LHT28]

I am still seeing the spa  credit on the Canadian site

 

They have always added  the Gratuity  on top of the service

 Did they add an extra "service  fee"  on top of the Gratuity??

 

[flaminkokid]

6 minutes ago, ORV said:

I guess I'm imagining this page. Click on Gold Member(or above) and look at bottom left. 

 

Oceania Club Cruise Loyalty Program & Cruise Deals | Oceania Cruises

 

 

Thank you ORV! I must have looked at that page 15 times and failed to see it. Gettin' old. Happy I could correct it quickly. 

[flaminkokid]

24 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I am still seeing the spa  credit on the Canadian site

My error. Thanks for spotting it so quickly.

[flaminkokid]

19 hours ago, LHT28 said:

 

 

They have always added  the Gratuity  on top of the service

 Did they add an extra "service  fee"  on top of the Gratuity??

There is a "service fee" of 20% (increased from 18%) which presumably includes the gratuity. 

[LHT28]

42 minutes ago, flaminkokid said:

There is a "service fee" of 20% (increased from 18%) which presumably includes the gratuity. 

yes it was increased  pre covid  along with the gratuity on drinks

[SophieM]

5 hours ago, flaminkokid said:

There is a "service fee" of 20% (increased from 18%) which presumably includes the gratuity. 

Actually,  when I asked whether the service fee was a gratuity to,the masseuse, I was told by reception that the service fee does not include the gratuity—something about that it goes to Oceania as their cut of the spa. May have misunderstood, but I’d love to have someone else ask the same question. 

[flaminkokid]

17 hours ago, SophieM said:

Actually,  when I asked whether the service fee was a gratuity to,the masseuse, I was told by reception that the service fee does not include the gratuity—something about that it goes to Oceania as their cut of the spa. May have misunderstood, but I’d love to have someone else ask the same question. 

I'm looking at a spa receipt in which the 20% came to $43.80. $16.20 was tip and $27.60 was service charge. I'll have to find something else to spend my shipboard credit on. One expects inflated prices on a cruise ship but I think they've gone a bridge too far. And the obfuscation is sooo irritating. 

[SophieM]

3 hours ago, flaminkokid said:

I'm looking at a spa receipt in which the 20% came to $43.80. $16.20 was tip and $27.60 was service charge. I'll have to find something else to spend my shipboard credit on. One expects inflated prices on a cruise ship but I think they've gone a bridge too far. And the obfuscation is sooo irritating. 

Ah, I should have looked more closely at my receipt. That probably makes a little more sense. Though I did enjoy my massage, I probably won’t do it again, unless I have loads of shipboard credit. 

[ORV]

21 hours ago, SophieM said:

Actually,  when I asked whether the service fee was a gratuity to,the masseuse, I was told by reception that the service fee does not include the gratuity—something about that it goes to Oceania as their cut of the spa. May have misunderstood, but I’d love to have someone else ask the same question. 

Sounds like they were trying to work you for more tip. 

[SophieM]

Oh, totally. She was pretty aggressive on that and booking another massage. I included that in my end of cruise comments. 

10 minutes ago, ORV said:

Sounds like they were trying to work you for more tip. 

 

[shepherd really]

I keep reading these stories of overpriced spa treatments hoping at least one will have a happy ending, but no.

[the more ports the better]

On 2/7/2023 at 1:45 PM, shepherd really said:

I keep reading these stories of overpriced spa treatments hoping at least one will have a happy ending, but no.

Sorry Shep, no happy news here either…. here is an abbreviated version of my post on the other spa thread.

 

On my sailing last week, while usually excellent, I had the first mediocre massage I’ve ever had on O.  My husband, however, said his was the best he ever had.  My therapist complained about the rest of the crew throughout the entire massage.

 

I knew prices were raised but this new pricing is over the top, an hour and a half massage with included gratuity was $418.00, $836.00 for the two of us.

 

Afterwards, I kind of felt like and idiot for spending that amount of money on a massage and didn’t book another one. 

[shepherd really]

8 hours ago, the more ports the better said:

Sorry Shep, no happy news here either…. here is an abbreviated version of my post on the other spa thread.

 

 

On my sailing last week, while usually excellent, I had the first mediocre massage I’ve ever had on O.  My husband, however, said his was the best he ever had.  My therapist complained about the rest of the crew throughout the entire massage.

 

I knew prices were raised but this new pricing is over the top, an hour and a half massage with included gratuity was $418.00, $836.00 for the two of us.

 

Afterwards, I kind of felt like and idiot for spending that amount of money on a massage and didn’t book another one. 

$836 is nearly what I spent on my first car, but I drove that for several years not 90 minutes.  Pricing like that makes me happy to continue my 60+ year streak of not getting a professional massage.    

[the more ports the better]

On 2/9/2023 at 6:43 AM, shepherd really said:

$836 is nearly what I spent on my first car, but I drove that for several years not 90 minutes.  Pricing like that makes me happy to continue my 60+ year streak of not getting a professional massage.    

Me too, $1200 for a 71 cherry red dodge charger 440 six pack.  Wish I held on to that one!  Would pay for a lot of spa treatments…… and a few of my grandkids college tuition!

[shepherd really]

14 minutes ago, the more ports the better said:

Me too, $1200 for a 71 cherry red dodge charger 440 six pack.  Wish I held on to that one!  Would pay for a lot of spa treatments…… and a few of my grandkids college tuition!

Mine was a 71 Road Runner 440, I smoked a lot of tires with it.  

[ORV]

You guys must be young, or had a lot more money than I did. I paid $125 for my first car, a 53 Chevy 2dr hd. But it was 22 years old at the time. Still one of my favorite cars I've owned. 

[LHT28]

Do they actually force you into the spa & make you have a massage 😲

[shepherd really]

13 hours ago, ORV said:

You guys must be young, or had a lot more money than I did. I paid $125 for my first car, a 53 Chevy 2dr hd. But it was 22 years old at the time. Still one of my favorite cars I've owned. 

Mine was 9 years old. I paid $1000 for it, drove it for several years and sold it for more than I paid for it.

[flaminkokid]

On 2/10/2023 at 9:15 PM, LHT28 said:

Do they actually force you into the spa & make you have a massage 😲

No, but they canceled quite a few excursions leaving us with nonrefundable credit to spend. I didn't want to buy purses or perfume so we opted for the massage. But even with the credit it wasn't worth it. But they would actually have to force me into the spa before I'd get another massage on oceania. 

p.s. why so snippy?

[flaminkokid]

On 2/8/2023 at 8:42 PM, the more ports the better said:

Sorry Shep, no happy news here either…. here is an abbreviated version of my post on the other spa thread.

 

 

On my sailing last week, while usually excellent, I had the first mediocre massage I’ve ever had on O.  My husband, however, said his was the best he ever had.  My therapist complained about the rest of the crew throughout the entire massage.

 

I knew prices were raised but this new pricing is over the top, an hour and a half massage with included gratuity was $418.00, $836.00 for the two of us.

 

Afterwards, I kind of felt like and idiot for spending that amount of money on a massage and didn’t book another one. 

On another cruise someone told me she had a massage and I asked how much it cost. She said she didn't know. She was on vacation and she didn't care. Different strokes for different folks. We all expect inflated prices on a cruise ship but I'm never ever going to spend $418 for a 50 minutes massage. I tend to look before I leap. 

I suppose if they lose enough business they'll re-evaluate  but that could take years. Too bad, I always looked forward to having a massage on a cruise.

[flaminkokid]

1 minute ago, flaminkokid said:

On another cruise someone told me she had a massage and I asked how much it cost. She said she didn't know. She was on vacation and she didn't care. Different strokes for different folks. We all expect inflated prices on a cruise ship but I'm never ever going to spend $418 for a 50 minutes massage. I tend to look before I leap. 

I suppose if they lose enough business they'll re-evaluate  but that could take years. Too bad, I always looked forward to having a massage on a cruise.

oops. $418 for 90 minutes. 

[SophieM]

Still a bit of a whopper. 

[LHT28]

42 minutes ago, flaminkokid said:

No, but they canceled quite a few excursions leaving us with nonrefundable credit to spend.

 

If  the cruise line canceled the excursions you should have gotten a refund  unless it was  an O Life  deal of course