Thalassotherapy Pool on Galaxy

[SanFranBayCruiser]

We're probably going to go on Galaxy for the Holiday sailing in 2006 and most of the family on both sides will be joining us. I know there is a charge on Galaxy for the Thalassotherapy Pool, can anyone tell me the price for an 11 night cruise to use the pool?

[Vistadeck]

We just did the Christmas Cruise on Galaxy .. Its $20 per day and if you do the package for the cruise the discount comes to about half .. the last couple of days of our cruise they charged $20 for 2 days. If you are Elite or in a Suite its Complimentary, maybe CC class as well but someone would have to confirm that or not.

[Texed]

I believe it is $10.00 a day, but they give a discount if you buy an entire cruise package.

[pmts]

We paid $90 for the pool this summer on our 11 day Med cruise. It was worth every penny!

[trcori]

it was either $100 for the whole 7-day cruise OR $20 a **session** (not per individual day with unlimited sessions that day, as had been the case on a previous cruise). Someone on the board posted that they were allowed to pay the session rate and then apply it toward a full-cruise pass if they liked it -- so if you're not sure about buying the pass up front, you might ask about that -- TR, C-class T-pool fan

[signman]

When I was onboard in Oct 04, I just walked in from the men's locker room. No one ever said a thing. Did it twice.

[heyjude27]

On my Galaxy Christmas Cruise 2005, it was $120 for the entire cruise. I was told it would also be $20 per session but when I went to use it, I was told it would be $20 per day. If you want to buy a pass, they'll put your first day at $20 towards the purchase of the pass.

 

I "sampled" it for about 10-15 minutes; they didn't charge me. I was also told by the staff that they capped sales of the $120 per cruise passes at 50 passengers. Suite passengers automatically get a pass. The pass price decreases about half way through the cruise if they haven't sold all 50 passes.

 

It was very nice. Crowded at times I noticed.

J

[greydog]

In the past, if you scheduled a spa treatment you were allowed to arrive early and use T-pool before treatment. This is a way to 'check it out" assuming you do spa. We love t-pool - its usually not crowded but you can check with staff for lower use times. WEAR OLD SUIT since chemicals in T-pool water have given many a suit the "dementors' kiss".;)

[babylene]

How does it compare to the pools on the m-class ships?

[LV2COOK]

We paid $100 for 12 days on the Galaxy in Dec 2004

[canderson]

How does it compare to the pools on the m-class ships?

NO comparison! Having just returned from Galaxy, I was once again reminded how much more I enjoyed the C-Class T-pools over the M-Class pools. Between the truly serious "hydrotherapy" power and the relaxing but "energtic" "bubble bed", there's no beating it. Never had a crowd there, either. It's just a good thing I can't have one at home. I'd be waterlogged and broke since you'd never get me out of it!

[babylene]

Thanks!

[eeagli1]

San,

 

I hope you join us! We have a pretty good roll call going right now, and I bet the party on board will be great :)

 

Could someone clue me in? What is the Thalassotherapy Pool? Would it be worth the $100.00, or should it be skipped?

 

~Libby

[eeagli1]

By the way, San, you better sign up quickly! The suites and balcony cabins are completely sold out, as are many of the inside state rooms. This one is selling out quickly. ~Libby

[SheilaNC]

We loved the Thalassotherapy pool on the Galaxy and thought it work the money (depending on where you're sailing). When in the Caribbean, we visited every day and sometimes more than once a day. But in the Med where it's so port intensive, we didn't make it but 3 times except on sea days and that was on the Millie where it was much larger and free. Must admit that I like the smaller area on the Galaxy better...never crowded or noisy. It's like a very large, salt (mineral) water warm tub with bubbles and an area where you can lay down on some warm pipes and really relax. Also some good water massage areas. Not a great explanation but can't think of the right descriptors. You used to be able to buy a day pass to try it out before putting up the big bucks.

[canderson]

San,

 

I hope you join us! We have a pretty good roll call going right now, and I bet the party on board will be great :)

 

Could someone clue me in? What is the Thalassotherapy Pool? Would it be worth the $100.00, or should it be skipped?

 

~Libby

Especially if you've got some at-sea days, you may well find it worth the money. It's the cheapest massage on the ship. As the poster above notes, it's a little hard to explain how it feels, even though it's simple enough to describe the mechanics. Takes a bit of imagination.

 

The pool is in two primary sections, and you enter from the middle. Somewhere in the bowels of the ship, there are two sets of pumps -- one whose job is to create some truly intense bubbles of air, and one whose job is to generate some truly amazing water pressure.

 

One end of the pool is made up of what I call the "bubble bed". It's a series of rows of tubular stainless steel, shaped more or less as a reclined lounger. These tubes are set up such that, when laying on them, your body is just barely under water. You can fit five or six across is easily enough. Under this structure is generated a huge volume of bubbles at some significant velocity. It's a gentle, relaxing sort of bubble massage. If you set your hands lightly on the tubes under you, you can just about stay in one position without floating away. If it weren't for that, I think some people (myself included) would probably fall asleep on it. The specific sensation of this one is hard to describe. You do feel like you're floating on a wave of bubbles.

 

The other end of the pool is the serious business end. There are several "stations" set up with high velocity water jets at various heights under the water. One seems to hit me in the lower back, one more towards the middle. In addition, there are two vertical streams of water that pour down into the pool. Each of these is of signficant volume and velocity. You can adjust what sort of pounding (or not) that you want from the underwater jets by positioning yourself closer or farther away from them. Since the jets tend to diffuse quickly in water, you can make a large adjustment within a few inches one way or the other. The vertical streams are best used for giving your neck and shoulders a workout.

 

The pool seems to be at about body temperature. While warm, so long as you stay reasonably hydrated, I should think you could safely stay until you turn into a prune. It's not 'hot' tub by any means, just comfortably warm.

[eeagli1]

Oh my goodness, that sounds wonderful! I might sign up for that for the week instead of going for a spa treatment.

 

Okay, I have just a few more questions. Is the t-pool inside the spa? Also, how is the spa atmosphere? Is it relaxing and pamerping, or more like a hair salon type of thing?

 

Do you have to register beforehand to use the t-pool, or can you sign up on your cruise? If so, where?

 

Is it usually crowded, or is there always room in the pool?

 

 

Sorry for all the questions, I've never been on a celebrity cruise before!

 

~Libby

[canderson]

Oh my goodness, that sounds wonderful! I might sign up for that for the week instead of going for a spa treatment.

 

Okay, I have just a few more questions. Is the t-pool inside the spa? Also, how is the spa atmosphere? Is it relaxing and pamerping, or more like a hair salon type of thing?

 

Do you have to register beforehand to use the t-pool, or can you sign up on your cruise? If so, where?

 

Is it usually crowded, or is there always room in the pool?

 

 

Sorry for all the questions, I've never been on a celebrity cruise before!

 

~Libby

The T-Pool on C-Class ships like Galaxy is indeed inside the spa area -- moreso than on the M-Class ships where it's really just outside the spa area, although they lump it all together. You go to the spa reservations desk, trade your cabin key for a locker key, and head on into the appropriate changing room. Nice, low key music, a couple of showers, a sauna area, and lots of towels there. From there, you head off into the T-Pool area which sits between the ladies/mens changing areas.

 

Relaxing? YOU BET! Not the "hair salon" sort of thing at all. Often, you'll never hear a word out of anyone in the pool for long stretches of time. Most are just too focused on the physical sensations and 'letting their brains run out of their ears' (an English translation of an apt expression I picked up at a Japanese "onsen" [hot spring]).

 

As far as payment goes, you sign up at the spa registration desk either for the visit or the cruise -- unless you're in a suite, in which case you just swap your suite card for the key.

 

I've yet to see more than 8 people in the T-Pool when I've been there, and there's plenty of room for a few more. I'm sure it gets more crowded at some point, but I've never seen this. I've been in the pool by myself more than once.

 

My habit has become to make sure I've got a full hour available. I do 45 minutes in the T-Pool, back and forth a couple of times between ends, then two minutes in the sauna, and off to the shower and a change of clothes (I always bring a fresh change along). My favorite time to make use of it is after a golf excursion.

[RCT]

We were also on the Christmas cruise on Galaxy. I would definitely suggest trying the T-pool before paying for the package deal ($120 for the 12 day cruise). I enjoyed it OK, but only ended up using it 4 times during the cruise. It just seemed like we had other things to do. It was never crowded when we went and it seemed to me that anyone could have just used it with no problem. I never saw anyone checking who was using it. The first day it seemed there were some mechanical problems when it kept cutting off every few minutes. We had no problems after that. As commented previously, the temperature is not as hot as a typical hot tub, more like 98 degrees. Personally, I would have liked it about a degree or 2 warmer. But it's suppose to be body temperature. Frankly, it wasn't really worth it to me, but my wife liked it better. So try it and decide for yourself.

[canderson]

I never saw anyone checking who was using it. The first day it seemed there were some mechanical problems when it kept cutting off every few minutes.

The person at the desk you have to pass on the way by is supposed to be on their toes in this regard. Also, you don't get a locker key -- one would necessarily have to be very careful about what they brought along, including their sign-and-sail card!

 

My previous and also most recent experiences on Galaxy were that the pool's pumps (both water and bubble) shut down simultaneously for a bit less than 1 minute every 30 as a matter of course. I have often wondered if that feature was designed just as a hint that it might be time to let others in the pool, but while I've been there, it's never been busy enough that this would have been an issue. If nothing else, if a person fell asleep on the bubble bed, it would be like being awakened by someone turning off the television.:p

[islandersx4]

Hello Everyone, We're thinking of booking this cruise, it looks great.

Are there activities for families?

I had no idea what the T pool was and appreciate all the explanations, would want to try it anyway....................

Help me decide!:)

[eeagli1]

Island,

 

If you do want to come on this cruise, you should sign up quickly. The balconies and suites have sold out. I am willing to bet that the inside staterooms will fill up soon also.

 

It sounds like an incredible deal to me, which is why our family signed up. 11 day cruises are nice because there is that little bit of extra time to relax and unwind. We were also looking at Princess cruises for a while, but this was only about $100 more for us to do. $100 is worth four extra days to us!

 

We wanted to go to Grenada and St. Kitts. That was the only thing that we were debating about, because this cruise doesn't go there. But other cruises do not go to Barbados, which we also wanted to see, and this cruise does go there.

 

We are also excited about spending both Christmas and New Years on board. I hear that there are special celebrations, and that will make our cruise all the more unique. Also, we are at sea on Christmas Day, so we will not run into closed stores on the islands.

 

I would encourage you to come! And if you do decide to come, now is the time to sign up. :D

 

~libby

 

(PS: I would also like to know what activities there are on board for families. Are there bingo nights? Anyone know?)

[suznf]

A thalasso "treatment" for 25 minutes at home is $65 for 25 minutes for 1 person, $85 for two! http://pacificwatersspa.com/spa_treatments.cfm Click on the "baths" link!

[islandersx4]

Hi Libby, I've got my ducks in a row, have talked directly to Celebrity and my TA. We just returned from the Radiance of the Seas, a 9 night Christmas/New Years and it was outstanding! So we're ready to go again. I liked this itinerary as well and the at sea days in between.

I grew up in Maryland and lived in Frederick for about 13 years. I still have some family there. I'll let you know our status and thanks for responding.

Cathy, aka Islandersx4:)

[canderson]

I'd add something about the value of the T-Pool. There are some people who are generally unable to slow down, and who require a great deal of stimulation in order to enjoy themselves. The Galaxy's T-Pool (and those of its sister ships) is probably a better experience for someone who can close their eyes, settle into the water and relax a bit (especially true for the "bubble bed").

 

Those who can't momentarily put aside thoughts of the business left undone at home, or what the final tab is going to be on their sign-and-sail cards, probably aren't going to place the same value on the experience. (Of course, for those with such thoughts who can put them aside, it's probably even a better experience than for the rest of us!)

 

Those who need some seriously rockin' music or visual stimulation to have a good time will find the deficit of both not to their liking.

 

That's not to say that your typical "Type A" (Who, me?) can't find this a great destressing experience and fully enjoy it, but they're going to have to "let it happen" in order to fully benefit from it. Try it once to see if you're able. If not, the investment hasn't been much -- and it's still a cheap massage for your tight muscles. If, on the other hand, you're able to relax enough to really appreciate the sensory experiences that the pool provides, you've just added a big additional bonus to your cruise.