twallo

Hi Kevin and Jim! Marc here from Toronto Canada, looking forward to this cruise. We just got our first snow last week and I’m already done with winter haha. Say hello if you see me onboard. 

Hi!

Hubby and I just booked this cruise for his birthday.  It's our first time to these islands and on Explorer OTS, we been on other Voyager class ships.

Is anyone else on this cruise?

--Marc 

2 hours ago, TexasCruiseDude said:

Royal Caribbean - Liberty of the Seas - any changes? 

 

I will be on the Liberty of the Seas for the December 29th 2019 sailing from Galveston. Was on this ship in 2016. I have not heard of any changes to the men's locker room and sauna area. Any changes you know of?

 

Thanks!

I was on liberty just over a year ago it still had a large sauna and steam both easily seat 10+ guys. It’s probably my favourite men’s facility outside of the paid Norwegian jewel class ships.  Hope you have fun let us know how it looks when you get back. I might have to book something out of Galveston again 🙂 

Hi Gary!

My husband and I will be joining you on this cruise.  

It just started snowing up here today and I can't wait to get away from it, even if it's just for a few days 🙂

--Marc

6 hours ago, Cruise Stud said:

Yes, it was actually a couple of weeks ago that they sent this email 😕

That is actually worse than I thought. I was on the ship back in march! Clearly the customer service reps are not provided with updated information 😞

54 minutes ago, Cruise Stud said:

I emailed RCI directly and here is their response:

"Thank you for your email. It is my pleasure to respond to your inquiry.

At this point in time, single-sex complimentary sauna and steam room usage is available on both the Explorer of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas. The Symphony of the Seas instead offers Thermal Suites that can be used for a fee that offer sauna, wet and dry steam rooms, showers and heated beds. With that said, the complimentary men's sauna and steam room is also offered on the following ships:

Adventure of the Seas
Brilliance of the Seas
Freedom of the Seas
Grandeur of the Seas
Independence of the Seas
Jewel of the Seas
Liberty of the Seas
Mariner of the Seas
Navigator of the Seas
Radiance of the Seas
Rhapsody of the Seas
Vision of the Seas
Voyager of the Seas"

Was this response recent? I ask because I can confirm that Navigator of the Seas no longer has a free men’s sauna and steam room. After it’s remodel the only men’s steam room available is a small one in the spa men’s locker room, which is only accessible if you have a booked spa treatment. . The gym was moved during the remodel and the free steam and sauna were not put back in. 

2 hours ago, CntPAcruiser said:

 

Thanks again for the info. It used to be easy to know which of Royal's ships I liked, and now many of them will be different from the rest of their class. When Oasis first came out, it was difficult to get information, even from (or should that be "especially from") the cruise line itself about whether there were locker rooms and free steam/sauna facilities in the fitness center. We booked not knowing for sure and found ourselves disappointed. At the time they were saying Oasis had both the thermal suite and free facilities, which we of course found out wasn't the case.

Since the fitness centre doesn’t look like it will open this cruise I decided to get a massage and use the stream in the spa. Attached are a few pics of the renovated spa on Navigator of the Seas. The locker room is tiny you really can’t have more than a couple of guys in there at a time since it’s very narrow. There is 6 lockers, two toilets, two showers and a very small steam room which can sit 3 guys knocking knees together. The finishes are very nice. Hopefully there will be something similar in the fitness centre once it opens. 

19 hours ago, CntPAcruiser said:

 

Thanks much. Could you perhaps also check in the spa to see if they now have a thermal suite? They might also have some information as to whether the new fitness center locker rooms, if they have any, have a sauna/steam room.

Talked to the spa receptionist this morning. Navigator does not have a thermal suite. They do have a steam room for use before or after a treatment. She didn’t have information about the fitness centre facilities as she hasn’t seen them yet. I guess we all have to wait and see. I’ll post an update if the fitness centre opens before the end of the cruise.

17 minutes ago, CntPAcruiser said:

 

I'm still waiting for confirmation from someone who's been on board since the reno, but all indications are that Royal is going the direction they did with Oasis-class ships. Smaller fitness center with no real locker room, no free sauna/steam, and a thermal suite in the spa with the only saunas/steam room (for a fee).

 

So far the reports I've seen from Navigator have said that the fitness center isn't even done yet, and there is workout equipment in the solarium. Hopefully we will hear some confirmation soon, but I fear it will not be good news regarding the sauna/steam.

 

I would love to be wrong.

I just boarded Navigator today and will be doing a 5 day charter cruise. I can confirm that the fitness centre is closed and still under renovations.  I talked to one of the gym instructors and he said they are almost complete and are waiting for inspections to pass their safety checks. He said that he didn’t believe it would be open for this cruise and I was welcome to use the 6 treadmills they have setup in the solarium, but there is always a possiblity it will open. If it does I’ll grab some pics and write up an update. The next cruise is a Zumba charter so I hope it’s open for that or there are going to be a lot of angry people 😝

16 minutes ago, RydingWaves said:

I just got off of the Summit on Saturday October 27th, 2018 and they are going to renovate the entire spa area when the ship goes into dry dock early in 2019.  They are removing the free saunas from the locker rooms and replacing them with balcony cabins.  To use a sauna you will have to purchase the Persian Gardens Spa for $119 for a 6-day cruise.  I for one will not be sailing on the Summit again.

That is very disappointing to hear.  The Summit is probably my favourite Celebrity ship.  Personally I don't like the Persian Gardens on the Summit as its small and has no windows.  The dry sauna in the mens room was great, large and with large windows to the outside.  I agree with you, I will not be sailing Summit again if they make these changes.

Hi, Im going on NCL Sky for a short cruise 9th April to Cuba from Miami

Anyone know what the Sauna steam room is like , and is it used much ?

Thanks for any info

I was last on the Sky in 2017 and the steam and sauna is in the men’s locker room. It was free to use, you just had to ask at the spa desk for access. They are small, 4-6 guys can fit in each, but normally there was only 2 or 3 at a time. Enjoy you cruise!

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Hey! This info is really helpful. Can you advise if they also have lockers?

 

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Yes they have lots of lockers, over 50 at least. They are the smaller cubby hole style and have a key lock. You can get the keys from an attendant at the spa by leaving you key card. I’d say about half the guys will get a key the rest just grab an open empty locker and leave their stuff unlocked while they use the sauna.

Have a fun cruise!

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Will be traveling on Celebrity Reflection from Rome on August 21, 2017. I've been on Solstice class ships before, but not Reflection. Have booked an Aquaclass stateroom and am looking forward to some relaxation. What can I expect in terms of facilities that are coed versus separate? Thanks!

Being in aqua gives you access to the Persian garden. The entire area is coed, this includes various steam and sauna rooms, and loungers. There is also a men's change room which is open to everyone, there is a men's only sauna inside.

Have fun!

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The Summit is a great ship, one of my favourites actually.

The men's change room by the indoor pool has a large sauna with a large window so you can watch the sea go by as you relax. It seats 8-12 men comfortably and is free to use. There is an open shower area outside the sauna to cool off between sessions and three large private showers which many men use to get ready in the evenings before dinner.

There is also the Persian garden which is by the spa, this is a pay area and is co-ed. It has several saunas and steam rooms plus heated tiled loungers. Unlike other Celebrity ships this Persian Garden is relatively small and all inside with no windows so it isn't an area I particularly enjoy.

If you are in an Aqua class stateroom you will have free access to the Persian Garden and also access to the Blu dining room, which for me is very nice. The food is at par or better than the main dining room with its own menu each night, but the service is much better since it's a smaller restaurant, think of it as your own speciality dining restaurant.

Have fun! I'm sure you'll have a great time.

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Anyone who's been on the Gem, did you try both the paid and free facilities?

 

 

 

Was the free steam any good?

The jewel class ships all have a similar layout. They have a small change room attached to the gym, which is free to use. The change room has a small number of lockers, a toilet, a urinal, and a shower. There is a small steam room which seats two people, three if we don't mind getting close. Personally I would pay for the spa access, it is well worth the money.

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Priscilla was amazing! I would say it's the best show we've seen on a ship.

We also loved the breakaway, it's a great ship aside from the spa. I just wish NCL would return to the spa layout of the jewel class ships. The separate male and female spa areas with full amenities are fantastic.

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Dennis,

On the Epic you will need to buy the week spa pass to have access to the steam and sauna.

Access to the spa is via the men's locker room. The locker room has three frosted glass showers and 50+ lockers plus a lounge area.

Inside the men's locker room you'll also find a large steam room with black tiled benches running along each wall. It fits 8-10 comfortably. But when I was on the Epic this summer I never saw more than 2 other guys in there at any time. There is also the smallest sauna I have ever seen, it seats 2 people and you have to crawl over each other to get in and out.

In the coed spa area there is a large pool with various jets and waterfalls. There is also a large steam room and two large saunas with floor to ceiling windows looking out the side of the ship.

I believe the Epic was the last ship in the NCL fleet which was designed with separate men's and women's steam and saunas. All the newer ships I have been on have coed facilities.

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Thank you!! We board tomorrow and are really looking forward to seeing what the ship is all about.

You're welcome kris816. I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time on board!

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Hi Twallo. Hope you are enjoying your cruise. I wondered if you know about this? The 3 diamond drinks loaded on the sea pass for cocktail hour. Is there a listing of the cocktails they will make? I know the list of liquors, wines and beers already. Just wondering.

Hi puggylicious,

Yes I'm having great cruise, it's a lovely small ship with an excellent crew.

I have not seen any drink list but I haven't asked either. I'm in a suite so I don't know if that makes a difference, but everything I've ordered at any bar during cocktail hour has been run through as if I have a deluxe drink package, so I'm assuming anything under the deluxe package would be covered.

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Does one of those nights happen to include lobster tails? I was trying to figure out what night to go to chops also. Thanks!

Yes the Gala night includes lobster tails and prime rib.

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I'm on the Empress right now and I asked our concierge the same question before boarding. We got this when we boarded with the menus for the week.

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Hey twallo, Are you back from Empress of the Seas yet? I know they were doing massive renovations on the ship, any feedback on the facilities?

Hey days@sea, I'm on the Empress right now and it's a lovely ship, the renovations have left her is good shape. But I am sad to say they didn't spend much on the spa or gym.

The gym is really an after thought, they placed it out in the open in the balcony area of the Viking Crown lounge. There is no change rooms or showers available, you basically have to walk your sweaty post workout self through the lounge to exit. It's a similar situation to get to the rock wall, you have to go through the lounge.

The spa in small, I believe I counted 6 treatment rooms, one being a couples massage room. Other than the showers in some of the rooms there is no wet area at all, no sauna or steam coed or single sexed.

From these two fronts the ship is a disappointment but elsewhere it is a perfect small ship for a short get away.

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Oh I know I was just kidding, we always meet a great group of guys on board :)

The extended weather forecast I've been looking at indicates better weather next week, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. We are flying in Friday morning so we can enjoy the weekend in Fort Lauderdale, as long as the rain clears up for the flight I'll be happy.

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Hi dbpickering! Glad to know we aren't the only gays on board :) I hope we get a chance to meet you on board.

Marc & Dean

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Hey twallo, Are you back from Empress of the Seas yet? I know they were doing massive renovations on the ship, any feedback on the facilities?

Hey day@sea we had to switch sailings we are now on the sept 12 sailing. I'll post what I find when I get back. But from I've heard they have no facilities at all :(