YngRetiredCruiser

2 hours ago, julia said:

It's post #210...

Thank you Julia….found it!

2 hours ago, julia said:

You can view the letter in Pete's GWV thread (The-Inside-Cabin).

I went to his site, and looked and looked and could not find the letter.  The latest blog post was 1/22 or 1/23.

On 1/18/2024 at 8:41 PM, julia said:

If you've been following the various threads from the GWC, you'll see that the Captain has already issued a letter to the passengers on this issue.  It was just a general statement, with nothing conclusive at this date.   But since you've asked for thoughts?  My thought is you'll be heading south around the cape.

Are you able to provide a copy of this letter, or a direct link to it?  Thanks

On 12/13/2019 at 12:42 AM, GigglewolfOfTheSeas said:

In the spirit of sharing some good information related to spa facilities, I’ll pivot to a land-based facility that I’d highly recommend: JW Marriott Desert Springs. If you should find yourself in the Palm Springs area, this resort currently offers day passes for approximately $35 for the wet area of the men’s locker room of the spa. You can stay as long as you like and the amenities include a handful of digital showers (and plenty more “analog” showers, including a large private ADA shower), very powerful 8-person steam room, mild 6-man sauna, 8-man indoor hot tub and (in my opinion, the best item) a citrus-scented hammam for 8-10 men. One also has access to the coed, outdoor pool (clothing required out there, of course); however, clothing is optional for the extensive indoor section. Standard grooming amenities are also on offer and you can even order meals or snacks from the spa café (at additional cost). It’s a great facility and the crowd is generally a bit more sophisticated & mature than the heathens we’ve seen wearing sneakers & gym clothes INSIDE the steam rooms onboard 😳.

Also in the Palm Springs area (downtown Palm Springs, to be precise) the Agua Caliente Tribe of Indians will be opening their Cultural Center and Bath House in 2020 (possibly in the fall). That spa is literally being built above the namesake hot springs and replaces the Spa Casino that had existed there since the 1960’s. That older facility was well-appointed and also had a great crowd of gents...so I can only imagine a state-of-the-art, 21st century facility will only take that further. I’ve seen early architectural renderings and there were definitely separate men’s and women’s areas, with a clothing/robe-required coed area. I’ll try to keep everyone appraised of this new facility once it opens.

Safe travels, gentlemen, and let’s continue to share our observations of these relaxing amenities found throughout our travels....whether shipboard or shoreside!! 😉😎😊

Hi..I live out in PS, and was just looking at the Desert Marriotts website.  Seems as is non-hotel guest day membership is $45, and parking (not even valet) is another $17.  That seems kind of pricey... am I reading that right, or is there some lower cost I’m missing?

On 2/24/2019 at 3:20 PM, Teacherloves2Cruise said:

It may have a single-gender sauna and or steam room in the locker room like some of the older ships. They post-reno deck plans don’t show that level or detail. However, they don’t show a thermal suite at all either. I will be on the US Inaugural April 26th and can report back. 

What is your report?  Does the Joy have free separate saunas on board for men and women?

I've been looking at a few Costa cruises in the Med, and it seems as it costa cruises have shorter days in port. For example, Costa is in Athens from 7 am to 2pm, in Katakalon from 1:30 pm to 7 pm.

Most other cruises I've looked at they're in port a full day....usually from 8 or 9 am until 5 or 6 pm...

Has anybody else noticed this? Why shorter days? Still enough time in each? Any insight would be great.

Thanks.