FRESH AS YOU LIKE

CRUSHED-ICE FOUNTAINS AND 18-CARAT-GOLD BODY SCRUBS? CAROL WRIGHT REVEALS THE BEST ONBOARD SPAS AND THE TREATMENTS TO MAKE YOU FEEL A MILLION DOLLARS

It’s funny to think that spas were once buried, dungeon-like, on the lower decks along with their lists of rudimentary treatments. But the art of pampering at sea has evolved: you can now expect 18-carat treatments, jawdropping views of the ocean and the latest medi-spa technology that guarantees your new look will get a standing ovation when you arrive back home. In fact, indulgent short-break cruises are even becoming the new spa weekends away.

Here are the ultimate spas and the treatments to book the second you embark.

QUEEN MARY
2 CANYON RANCH SPACLUB

Run by American celeb-favourite Canyon Ranch, this 20,000-square-foot space ticks all the massage and facial boxes but also boasts an acclaimed Aqua Therapy Centre and Thermal Suite for thalassotherapy (seawater therapy). There’s a 30×15-foot pool with muscle-soothing recliner lounges, “neck fountains” and a “deluge waterfall” where you simply let the pressure of a waterfall cascade down your back. Weary feet will enjoy the sunken reflexology basins.

Advanced spa-goers will love the decadent 18-carat gold body scrub, but the Ashiatsu massage, where your therapist hangs from an overhead bar and works the sides of her feet deep into your body, ironing out those knots, shouldn’t be missed either. And if you’re brave, rejuvenate energy levels with a brisk rub-down at the crushed-ice fountain – a delicious shock to the system.
WE LOVE THE ASHIATSU MASSAGE

OCEAN VILLAGE TWO
KARMA SPA


Mellow meditation
in Ocean Village
Two’s Karma Spa

Jemma Kidd swears Karma Spa is better than any onshore spa. Launched last year, the spa is the largest of its kind relative to the size of the ship. Jutting out over the bow, features such as the glass-walled sauna, gym and treatment rooms make the most of the exhilarating ocean views. There is an unlimited list of signature treatments but we love the Hammam ritual, where you’re taken into a Turkish steam room to be massaged and exfoliated.

If you’re after specific attention, treatments such as “lip blooming” and “eye supreme firming” will appeal. Men are also catered for with customised facials and Thai yoga massages. But the best thing about the spa? The scarlet, womb-like padded meditation room. Here, you can sit in egg-shaped chairs that are suspended from the ceiling with the changing colours of a fibre-optic obelisk to inspire your thoughts. Sound hippy? It’s the Karma Spa, it’s supposed to be, but it works.
WE LOVE THE HAMMAM RITUAL

 

SILVERSEA SILVER SHADOW
THE SPA AT SILVERSEA

Want to look and feel the best you can? Trainers at the recently launched Steiner spa (it had a complete overhaul last year) use “body age” assessment technology that tests body fat, cardiovascular health, strength and flexibility to see how the guest’s “body age” compares with their actual chronological age. They will then devise an appropriate range of diet, fitness and spa suggestions. There are treatments aimed at ageing skin, cellulite, arthritis, poor circulation, sore muscles and just sheer relaxation.

Elemis treatments are on offer here and the cruise line is the first to offer their Visible Brilliance facial which plumps the skin and reduces dark circles around the eyes. Don’t fancy leaving your cabin to be pampered? No problem, a massage therapist and a bath ritual will be dispatched to you.
WE LOVE THE ELEMIS VISIBLE BRILLIANCE FACIAL

COSTA CONCORDIA
SAMSARA SPA


Couples get an oriental-style
treatment room at Costa
Concordia’s palatial Samsara
Spa.

This is one of the biggest spas afloat at a whopping 23,000 square feet and has 55 cabins and 12 spa suites attached. These all come with Elemis accessories, unlimited access to the spa and thalassotherapy pool, two free fitness classes, a “wellness” consultation and two treatments. We love the oriental-style couples treatment rooms with their private verandahs, massage beds, whirlpool and showers.

If you really want to unwind and indulge, you can stay put. The spa has its own restaurant, a garden designed to catch the sun and a chill-out area in the candlelit Temple of Peace with lounger beds and big floor cushions. There is also a Tea House that serves deliciously hot soothers. It’s difficult not to sample the deck-wide thalassotherapy pool but follow it up with a dip in the Tepidarium (a thermal bath) to be gently reinvigorated on heated ceramic loungers.
WE LOVE THE SHIRODHARA BODY GLOW

CRYSTAL SERENITY
CRYSTAL SPA


Luxury pampering in
Serenity’s Crystal

Acclaimed for being one of the best onboard spas, Crystal Serenity’s offering is designed on Chinese Feng Shui principles. It features a Zen rock garden, fountains and a private seaview deck. Pure pamper-seekers will love treatments such as the dry float-bed, where during body wraps, you lie on a bed that makes you feel dreamily weightless, and their signature Japanese Silk Booster Facial. But those looking for a comprehensive wellbeing offering will also find it. The spa promotes nutrition and detox and, like Silversea, can devise a programme built around “body age” tests with personal training and lifestyle seminars.
WE LOVE THE JAPANESE SILK BOOSTER FACIAL

 

 

P&O AURORA OASIS

The second thing you should do after embarking Aurora (you just have time to unpack first) is book yourself an Oxyjet wrinkle-reducing facial, as hailed by Madonna and Jennifer Aniston. All treatments at the ship’s onboard spa fill up quickly and the “non-surgical facelift” is very popular. The Body Toning (detox for the body), seaweed wraps and aromatherapy treatments are blissful.

The fitness centre next door is also worth a look; the equipment can also be used by the disabled. Fitness trainers create a workout programme through aids such as special boards that use the body’s natural gravity. A personal trainer is also available at £30 an hour.

DEALS WITH TOP SPAS

TAPAS AND TOGAS
OCEAN VILLAGE TWO, 16 SEPT 08, SEVEN NIGHTS
Depart Palma, calling in at Tunis, Rome, Genoa, Monte Carlo and Barcelona
OUR PRICE FROM £679
EXCLUSIVE £100 onboard spend per cabin when you book through Cruise Thomas Cook

WINTER WONDERLAND
P&O’S AURORA, 10 DEC 08, 10 NIGHTS
From Southampton stopping in Hamburg, Oslo, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Bruges
OUR PRICE FROM £789
EXCLUSIVE £100 onboard spend per cabin when you book through Cruise Thomas Cook

WESTBOUND TRANSATLANTIC
CUNARD’S QUEEN MARY 2, 15 NOV 08, SIX NIGHTS
Depart Southampton, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean to New York
OUR PRICE FROM £829 (brochure price £1,629)
EXCLUSIVE $240 (£120) onboard spend per cabin when you book through Cruise Thomas Cook

MONTE CARLO TO ATHENS
CRYSTAL’S SERENITY, 24 SEPT 08, 12 NIGHTS
Cruising from Monte Carlo to Rome, Sorrento, Mykonos, Kusadasi, Istanbul and Athens
OUR PRICE FROM £3,249 (brochure price £6,112)
EXCLUSIVE Free category upgrade to a balcony stateroom when you book through Cruise Thomas Cook


BOOK WITH THE CRUISE SPECIALIST ON 0800 916 3233, CRUISETHOMASCOOK.COM, YOUR LOCAL THOMAS COOK OR GOING PLACES STORE, THOMAS COOK TV – SKY CHANNEL 645

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