Hydrotherapy Pool

[DeRon]

What is a hydrotherapy pool? Is it just like a giant hot tub?

 

And in photos, I see a round silver area in the middle. What does that do? Do you get in that area?

[knitlady037]

The water in the therapy pool is not as hot as a regular hot tub. It is set at about body temp. You can stay in much longer. The round area in the center has additional jets that have stronger bubbles. If you like peace and quiet, purchasing this package is a very good idea. I spent alot of time there.

[DeRon]

Thank you for the post. How much is it per person for the week? Or do you pay per day? Also, is it ever crowded?

[knitlady037]

We paid $199 for 2 people on the Noordam in March. This also included the thermal suite with the heated loungers and saunas and special showers. You can buy a pass for the day. I think it was $40. the rooms are almost never too crowded, especially on port days. There is only a limited amount of passes sold. If you do a search, there are great pics from other passengers.The virtual tour on the HAL web site gives you a good look also.

[TracieABD]

It is a very large circular soaking tub. Because it is not really hot, you can stay in for a really long time. I would watch the Alaska scenery from the tub and it was wonderful. Also, as the water composition has minerals, I did not wrinkle up like a prune!

[djhsolara]

The best money that you would spend on the ship!! This is our favorite part of the HAL ships!! :) :)

[cruzfan200]

We paid $199 for 2 people on the Noordam in March. This also included the thermal suite with the heated loungers and saunas and special showers. You can buy a pass for the day. I think it was $40. the rooms are almost never too crowded, especially on port days. There is only a limited amount of passes sold. If you do a search, there are great pics from other passengers.The virtual tour on the HAL web site gives you a good look also.

 

:confused: Love Noordam, love the thermal suites, just went online to start registering for a January 2011 10-day cruise and came across some sort of 'reservation' system indicating that they are now taking reservations for half day or 2 hour increments of use. Hoping that this is NOT a change to how they have always sold the "per person unlimited pass" per cruise - we LOVE using this area and would be dismayed to discover the other is not available. They did not list any "all cruise, per person" Thermal Suite pass as an option in the "pre-booking" area for spa services under Thermal Suite, despite the hourly increments appearing in the drop down menu. And when I tried to book one of the hourly slots just to see how it might show up price-wise, the system gave me a booking error.

 

Does anyone have any info on what is up? Otherwise, we would gladly have pre-ordered our "All-Cruise" Thermal Suite passes in advance. We always go book everything right when we board so I am not thinking we won't be able to do this if nec, just worried that they might be changing the program :(

[govgurl]

:confused: Love Noordam, love the thermal suites, just went online to start registering for a January 2011 10-day cruise and came across some sort of 'reservation' system indicating that they are now taking reservations for half day or 2 hour increments of use. Hoping that this is NOT a change to how they have always sold the "per person unlimited pass" per cruise - we LOVE using this area and would be dismayed to discover the other is not available. They did not list any "all cruise, per person" Thermal Suite pass as an option in the "pre-booking" area for spa services under Thermal Suite, despite the hourly increments appearing in the drop down menu. And when I tried to book one of the hourly slots just to see how it might show up price-wise, the system gave me a booking error.

 

Does anyone have any info on what is up? Otherwise, we would gladly have pre-ordered our "All-Cruise" Thermal Suite passes in advance. We always go book everything right when we board so I am not thinking we won't be able to do this if nec, just worried that they might be changing the program :(

 

I ran into this same problem when booking for the Rotterdam. It's just an example of HAL not having a very good online booking set up. It appears that what they did is added the thermal suite to the booking page under the same code that they use to book the massages, and then they just give you errors because of course, you can only use the thermal suite by the day/week. Don't worry they are NOT starting some weird new thing where you book thermal suite time in tiny chunks or just for one. It's a computer problem. Maybe they'll get around to fixing it this fall, but I get the feeling (based on my experiences with the website and on the really high internet pricing on board) HAL's main customer base isn't really comfortable using computers often anyway, so they don't seem to have prioritized having a smoothly running website or speedy onboard internet (or even browsers on the ship's computers that are updated to use tabs). Probably not enough complaints.

 

Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked. My main message is don't panic. When you get on board, just go right to the spa and sign up then. I did, it was smooth and easy and even though I boarded late I was only the second person to sign up. Or you can call and book it ahead of time if you really want.

 

Incidentally on the Rotterdam 7-day Alaska cruise, it cost $179 for two people for the week, or $99 for one. It cost $40 for a day pass for one person. I had a week pass and went every day with my kindle in tow. Lying on the loungers watching the voyage out the bow windows is a great way to spend an afternoon at sea. The hydrotherapy pool on the Rotterdam however is just a small whirlpool/hot tub, not a proper hydrotherapy pool. I didn't mind however, since there was usually either no one in it other than me and it had a great view.

[cruzfan200]

Thanks, govgurl, great news. And love the idea of the Kindle in hand, just been considering buying one, may be what pushes me over the edge. Do agree with the outdated attitudes about internet on HAL, but rest is so enjoyable, I still favor them as one of the best values at sea...

[djhsolara]

When we booked the week-long pass on our last HAL sailing we did it via email to ship services rather than through the website.

[AZNative2000]

The best money that you would spend on the ship!! This is our favorite part of the HAL ships!! :) :)

 

I know the advantage of the Thermal package for Alaska but how is it in the Caribbean ... too hot:confused:?? Thanks.

[Linda&Vern]

I know the advantage of the Thermal package for Alaska but how is it in the Caribbean ... too hot:confused:?? Thanks.

Thank you for asking this question. I would also like to know!

[flying fingers]

Has anybody every purchased this package? It includes the thermal suite pass for the week as well as 1 spa treatent, 1 alpha capsule treatment, fitness classes, fresh fruit delivered to stateroom each afternoon and a monogrammed robe. I am wondering if it is worth the price of $379 for my week on the Westerdam - eastern carribean itinerary.

[RuthC]

I know the advantage of the Thermal package for Alaska but how is it in the Caribbean ... too hot:confused:?? Thanks.

I didn't think so. The water in the T-pool was cooler than a hot tub (cooler is what it's supposed to be), so I found it comfortable. My aching joints loved the buoyancy of the water, and the soothing heat from the recliners.

Now, on my Med cruise the entire ship was too hot, as well as the water temperature in the T-pool. After leaving the spa I went to the Lido pool to cool down.

[Steph27]

Govgurl - Thanks so much for your explanation about booking on the HAL website. Could not figure out why I kept getting that weird message. I now have the email address for someone in guest services (on the Eurodam). I will see if that works. I am guessing the majority if HAL passengers do not use a computer.

[djhsolara]

I've only ever sailing in the Caribbean...and get the package every time. This is something for relaxation and is not determined by the outside temperature...it is inside.