Spa Service Prices?

I'll be cruising on Sovereign of the Seas in mid-September. My wife is
thinking that she may want to utilize the spa services onboard. Does anyone
know of a list of the services and pricing? Can reservations be made before
the trip, or only after boarding? I could find almost no information on
RCCL's site.

Thanks for any help.

Joe M

JoeM wrote:
I'll be cruising on Sovereign of the Seas in mid-September. My wife is
thinking that she may want to utilize the spa services onboard. Does anyone
know of a list of the services and pricing? Can reservations be made before
the trip, or only after boarding? I could find almost no information on
RCCL's site.

Thanks for any help.

Joe M

I can't give you specific pricing, but expect to pay about double what
you'd consider customary and reasonable...I'm not even kidding. For
instance, a Japanese collagen facial ran about $145 a few weeks ago on
the Zuiderdam. At the very high end spa at home, they charge $110. But,
I can find the same general facial at a less upscale place for $70-80.
Honestly, I think cruise spa pricing has crossed the line from being
just terribly inflated to downright obscene.

That being said, I still treat myself to something at the spa. It is,
afterall, my vacation. I'm not a big shopper, so I guess I "save" money
there that I can spend at the spa.

Overall, the services I've had in cruise spas have been excellent;
massage (traditional and reflexology), facials (variety), seaweed body
wraps, etc. Have never used the "salon" for hair cuts/color and have
only had a re-polish on my toes so can't comment on manis/pedis.

A lot of the spa revenue comes from products they'll try to sell you
after the service. Some of the spa employees are pushier than others,
but, unless you're wanting to buy the product (also very expensive), a
simple know works, or say you'll give it some thought. I had a facial
pretty early on in my cruise and told the woman that I wanted to see
how my skin reacted to the product over the next few days before I made
any buying decisions. And, I also told her I'd have to see how I did at
the casino. Unfortunately for her, my big casino winnings came very
late on the very last night. Alas, the spa was already closed.

Can't help you with the pre-booking question. There was a thread about
this a few days ago. I believe it was Princess that allows pre-booking.
If you make the spa your first stop when you board (go there before you
hit the buffet) you should be able to get the service and time slot
you're looking for. Also, there's sometimes a raffle (free) that first
day, where you can luck into prizes like discounted spa services. When
you go up to the spa, ask if they'll be running any specials on port
days. I guess Princess discontinued this, but RCI might offer
something. I know HAL had daily specials posted on a chalk board at the
spa entrance.

Lee

Joe M wrote:
I'll be cruising on Sovereign of the Seas in mid-September. My wife is
thinking that she may want to utilize the spa services onboard. Does anyone
know of a list of the services and pricing? Can reservations be made before
the trip, or only after boarding? I could find almost no information on
RCCL's site.

NCL seems to be the only cruise line that puts it all out there and
lists all spa prices on their web site:
http://www.ncl.com/more/spa_intro.htm

Click on the menu on the right and you'll get a list of prices, Royal
Caribbean's are probably similar.

How B