On Millennium- and Solstice-class ships, the legacy Canyon Ranch Spa and Persian Garden thermal suite provide equally immersive luxury. The Persian Garden features aromatic steam, Finnish and herbal saunas, sensory showers, and heated tile benches—available complimentary to AquaClass guests or by day pass for others.
MSC Cruises
Onboard MSC Cruises, the Aurea Spa offers an immersive wellness experience that transforms the ship into a floating sanctuary. With its exotic interiors of natural stone, rich mosaics, and warm wood accents, the spa exudes a serene ambiance, inviting guests to embark on a journey of relaxation and rejuvenation.
At the heart of the Aurea Spa is the exclusive Thermal Area, accessible to adults only and available by reservation. This tranquil space features a hydrotherapy pool with soothing jets, aromatic steam rooms, Finnish saunas, and an ice fountain, each designed to promote relaxation and detoxification. The Thermal Area serves as the perfect prelude to the spa’s extensive menu of treatments.
Guests can indulge in a variety of services, including traditional Balinese and Thai massages, hot stone therapies, and advanced facial and body treatments. The spa also offers innovative options such as the Mya Advance body sculpting alternative and Q-Frequency radiofrequency treatments, providing non-invasive skin nourishment.
For those seeking a comprehensive wellness experience, the Aurea Experience package includes unlimited access to the Thermal Area, a private wellness consultation, a 60-minute massage of choice, a tanning shower session, and a welcome spa cocktail.
Enhancing the spa experience, MSC Cruises has developed its signature fragrance, Med by MSC, which subtly infuses the ship’s ambiance with notes of luxurious fig, sweet bergamot, and earthy vetiver. This exclusive scent is available as a room diffuser, room spray, or Eau de Toilette, should guests want to carry a piece of their journey home.
Regent Seven Seas
Asking someone to fork over $9,000 per day for unlimited spa treatments supervised by the legendary Canyon Ranch might seem like a big request, but it’s worth it. The 4,443-square-foot Regent Suite aboard the Regent Seven Seas Explorer has a no-holds-barred approach to its comprehensive therapies: There’s a personal therapist, complimentary fitness classes, and a customized spa menu that taps into the magic of local flora (e.g. Arctic berry and evergreen oils). Plus, you can frolic like a water sprite under experiential showers that mimic monsoons, Atlantic storms or even the gentle spring rain.
Uniworld
This boutique river cruise line has a dedicated wellness coach appointed on every ship: he or she will encourage you to try something new after you’ve, say, kayaked beneath an ancient Roman aqueduct or presumably swum laps in the salty pool. All Serenity river spas have their own organic massage oils under the Rituals brand umbrella. The treatments read like some global aesthetic bazaar, harnessed from all nooks of the world: You’ll find Ayurveda-based massages from ancient Indian philosophies as well as Sakura cherry blossom rituals from Japan. If you’re sensitive about scents, you can request plain olive oil or almond oil with your treatments.
Tauck Small Ship Cruises
Tauck offers soothing spa treatments to its many guests as they sail on the Rhine, Rhone, Danube or on the silver seas. Spas can be found on every single vessel (eight river cruise ships and eight ocean ones), often in the lower level of the ship, where it’s often quieter and cooler. Guests often opt for the basic Swedish massage, but there are also expanded treatments that will tempt you to skip the shore excursions in favor of a spa day: Larger vessels like Le Boréal and L’Austral have treatments done in conjunction with the beauty house Sothys Paris. There’s even a Turkish hammam onboard the larger ships, as well as facials done with spa thermal water that will leave your skin supple and radiant, and energizing options like an Oriental massage with an exfoliating rub made up of invigorating spices.
Seadream Yacht Club
Bob Lepisto, president of the SeaDream Yacht Club, had an idea for upping Seadream’s offerings: “We said, let’s develop a yachting experience not a traditional cruise experience.” That includes the spa, which is fully owned and managed by the brand, and is located on the fourth deck on the forward side, which means that guests can even get an open-air massage on the private deck. The spa also boasts the highest therapist-to-guest ratio at sea, with eight aestheticians onboard. There was a conscious choice to focus on quality Asian therapies like traditional Thai massage, and yoga and Tai chi lessons are offered daily.
Viking
The first snow grotto on the silver seas (there is even a snow-making machine) is just one example of how every aspect of Viking’s therapeutic experience ties back to the brand’s Nordic roots. There’s a simplicity to the LiVNordic spa—much like a folk melody—and the trick here is to allow your body to adjust to rapid hot and cold temperature changes in the sauna and cold pool. With treatments neatly divided into categories to promote mindfulness, rest, and detox, you can customize your treatments and float, spirited and carefree like a Norse god or goddess.
Crystal
As the only feng shui–inspired spa at sea, the Crystal Spa is all about balance and harmony. The encyclopedic number of menu choices include traditional as well as Medi-spa treatments like wrinkle and dermal fillers (these are always performed by a licensed medical doctor). Aroma stone therapies and Japanese silk booster facials are just two examples of the nuanced ways that this spa does things; pre- and post-treatment indulgences involve showers with special mist and rain functions in the spa’s aft deck.
This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date.