NCL Getaway thermal spa pass and wifi

[cusematt4]

Hi,

 

I am going to be sailing with family on the Getaway for 8 nights with family during the winter.  A few questions for anyone familiar with the ship

 

-Is the spa thermal pass worth it, especially during the winter if we may have 2-4 colder days?  Is there a hot tub or just a pool within the thermal spa?  Is this the only indoor pool onboard?

 

-If we buy one pas for $310, could anyone in our family technically walk in?  Would it be worth it to buy one pass for our family to use?

 

-Does anyone know if this ever goes on sale?  Is it cheaper, more expensive or the same to buy in advance vs onboard?

 

-For free at sea wifi - it’s offering us the ability to upgrade to unlimited regular wifi for about $250 for two of us from the 150 minutes.  Does anyone know if the price for this ever goes down more prior to the cruise and what it would be to upgrade to unlimited once onboard?  Would it be more or less?

 

-If we have a $200 onboard credit, is there any way we can apply that to advance purchases online from our NCL account prior to the cruise?  It is coming from Amex platinum.  If I have to wait until we are onboard to have our credit applied to a purchase, I would hate for the thermal spa pass or wifi to be more than if we buy in advance but not sure if we have another option if we want to use this credit towards one of these things.

 

Thank you very much.

[IronRobi]

Whether the thermal pass is worth it or not is up to the user. Personally, we get it on every cruise because we love going down and just relaxing before a night out, or after a big excursion, etc..

 

No you would not be able to buy one pass for the cabin. The pass gets tied to your sail card, and when you arrive you turn it in at the spa desk. So they'll have your picture up on the screen when you check in.

 

And it is always cheaper to buy in advance. One thing you could weigh out would be upgrading to a spa balcony. In our situation for our next cruise, it was cheaper to book a spa balcony than a regular balcony + thermal pass.

 

For the WiFi, pricing should be the same to upgrade on board I believe. You may be able to save some by not using the WiFi on day 1 and then upgrading on day 2 since you'll have the same credit applied but 1 less day of unlimited to pay for. Doing it on board is the only way to use your OBC towards the upgrade. Cannot be used prior.

[BirdTravels]

19 hours ago, cusematt4 said:

I am going to be sailing with family on the Getaway for 8 nights with family during the winter.  A few questions for anyone familiar with the ship

 

-Is the spa thermal pass worth it, especially during the winter if we may have 2-4 colder days?  Is there a hot tub or just a pool within the thermal spa?  Is this the only indoor pool onboard?

 

The value of the Thermal Suite is up to you. We never sail without one. There is a large hydro therapy pool with high pressure jets along the side (see below). There is a hot tub and a large area of hot, bubbling jetted water on the other side of the steps. This is the only indoor pool on the ship. 

 

The thermal suite also includes a wet sauna, dry sauna, steam room, and salt bath along with hot stone loungers and regular loungers with beautiful forward facing views above the bridge. 

 

-If we buy one pas for $310, could anyone in our family technically walk in?  Would it be worth it to buy one pass for our family to use?

 

The pass is on your room key and no one else can use it. 

 

-Does anyone know if this ever goes on sale?  Is it cheaper, more expensive or the same to buy in advance vs onboard?

 

The online price has a small discount. Unlike Royal who has a new sale sale sale every other day, NCL does not run sales. 

 

-For free at sea wifi - it’s offering us the ability to upgrade to unlimited regular wifi for about $250 for two of us from the 150 minutes.  Does anyone know if the price for this ever goes down more prior to the cruise and what it would be to upgrade to unlimited once onboard?  Would it be more or less?

 

Unlike Royal who has a new sale sale sale every other day, NCL does not run sales. 

 

That being said, it has to do with how much you need internet. For example, we upgrade a single account to unlimited. We can share that account between multiple devices, only one logged on at a time. We share one account across 4 phones (2 personal and 2 work), an iPad, and a laptop when we sail. We don't need to be constantly connected, just check and respond to emails parodically during the day. 

 

-If we have a $200 onboard credit, is there any way we can apply that to advance purchases online from our NCL account prior to the cruise?  It is coming from Amex platinum.  If I have to wait until we are onboard to have our credit applied to a purchase, I would hate for the thermal spa pass or wifi to be more than if we buy in advance but not sure if we have another option if we want to use this credit towards one of these things.

 

Your onboard credit can only be used onboard.

 

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by BirdTravels

[cruiseny4life]

-Is the spa thermal pass worth it, especially during the winter if we may have 2-4 colder days?  Is there a hot tub or just a pool within the thermal spa?  Is this the only indoor pool onboard? It's amazing and it'll be worth it. Sure, I suppose the worthiness of it is in the eye of the beholder, but I'll make the decision for you that it's worth it. There's a hot tub, there's a super duper jetted tub attached to the therolassopy pool (however you spell it), and there's lot of bubbled places to stand/float around the pool, as well as a really uncomfy metal bench with even more bubbles. You can also use the cool waterfall feature that feels heavenly on your neck and head! 

 

-If we buy one pas for $310, could anyone in our family technically walk in?  Would it be worth it to buy one pass for our family to use? Legally, no. Realistically, yes, if the check-in is as it has been on the Getaway back in April and September when I cruised. On the first day, go to the suite and let them know your name. They'll put a sticker on your card and cross your name off the list. Then, just show them the back of your card. They don't scan it. They don't really even look at the card. They just make sure you have a sticker on the back. You might get caught, but probably not. For the record, my husband and I have both purchased our own spa passes, but I can totally see someone getting away with this. 

 

-Does anyone know if this ever goes on sale?  Is it cheaper, more expensive or the same to buy in advance vs onboard? Hahahahaha sales...they don't happen on NCL, until they do. 

 

-For free at sea wifi - it’s offering us the ability to upgrade to unlimited regular wifi for about $250 for two of us from the 150 minutes.  Does anyone know if the price for this ever goes down more prior to the cruise and what it would be to upgrade to unlimited once onboard?  Would it be more or less? We always upgrade one of our accounts to unlimited. We're terrible Millennials that want access to the internet and are fine being chastised by the olds for being on our phones. 

 

-If we have a $200 onboard credit, is there any way we can apply that to advance purchases online from our NCL account prior to the cruise?  It is coming from Amex platinum.  If I have to wait until we are onboard to have our credit applied to a purchase, I would hate for the thermal spa pass or wifi to be more than if we buy in advance but not sure if we have another option if we want to use this credit towards one of these things. I've never had OBC, so don't have a clue what you do with this before a cruise.

[JamieLogical]

I always get the spa pass on NCL. Especially on a cold weather cruise, it will be very nice to have. I bought one for my Canada & NE cruise next week and I am looking forward to the peace and serenity in the spa on our FIVE port days. The spa tends to be a lot less crowded on port days than on sea days (like pretty much every other venue on the ship). I have my spa routine of hanging out in the salt room for a bit, then spending a crazy amount of time in the "lobster pot" (that's what I call the deep, super bubbly area of the pool, the area on the right in @BirdTravels pic above), then I try to stay in the dry sauna as long as I can physically tolerate, and then I lay on one of the heated loungers and read my book until I am mostly dry. It is an incredibly rejuvenating experience!

 

As for OBC, for reasons I cannot comprehend, unlike other cruise lines, NCL will not let you use it when pre-purchasing things online. Were I you, I would hold off on upgrading the wifi until onboard so you can use your OBC for that. I would buy the spa passes ahead of sailing in case they sell out.

 

 

[Laszlo]

On 10/23/2022 at 12:32 AM, cusematt4 said:

Hi,

 

I am going to be sailing with family on the Getaway for 8 nights with family during the winter.  A few questions for anyone familiar with the ship

 

-Is the spa thermal pass worth it, especially during the winter if we may have 2-4 colder days?  Is there a hot tub or just a pool within the thermal spa?  Is this the only indoor pool onboard?

 

-If we buy one pas for $310, could anyone in our family technically walk in?  Would it be worth it to buy one pass for our family to use?

 

-Does anyone know if this ever goes on sale?  Is it cheaper, more expensive or the same to buy in advance vs onboard?

 

-For free at sea wifi - it’s offering us the ability to upgrade to unlimited regular wifi for about $250 for two of us from the 150 minutes.  Does anyone know if the price for this ever goes down more prior to the cruise and what it would be to upgrade to unlimited once onboard?  Would it be more or less?

 

-If we have a $200 onboard credit, is there any way we can apply that to advance purchases online from our NCL account prior to the cruise?  It is coming from Amex platinum.  If I have to wait until we are onboard to have our credit applied to a purchase, I would hate for the thermal spa pass or wifi to be more than if we buy in advance but not sure if we have another option if we want to use this credit towards one of these things.

 

Thank you very much.

The Getaway and Breakaway Thermal Spa's are very similar 

 

 

 

 

[603NHCruiser]

53 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

We're terrible Millennials that want access to the internet and are fine being chastised by the olds for being on our phones. 

@cruiseny4life I always love your humor, and find so much of it to be relevant... I will never understand why the "olds" feel the need to post negatively about people wanting to stay connected on a cruise. that's great that grandma wants to put her phone away and relax. I'm not retired, so if two hours of answering emails means that I don't have to use that as a vacation day, I am certainly going to be MORE relaxed for the other 22 hours. 

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, 603NHCruiser said:

@cruiseny4life I always love your humor, and find so much of it to be relevant... I will never understand why the "olds" feel the need to post negatively about people wanting to stay connected on a cruise. that's great that grandma wants to put her phone away and relax. I'm not retired, so if two hours of answering emails means that I don't have to use that as a vacation day, I am certainly going to be MORE relaxed for the other 22 hours. 

Well thank you! I'm glad you read it with my intended humor. I almost didn't write it, because it seemed a little rude, but it's more or less true. Alas, I hope to be one of those olds as that means I'll have made it successfully through life to hit 80, 90, or my personal goal of 125! I want to see a few years of the 2100's. 🙂 I can't wait til I'm telling the whipper snappers to get off my lawn. 

 

@JamieLogical I love the thought of that glorious rectangle being called a "lobster pot!" I think I'm stealing that phrase from you. 

Edited October 24, 2022 by cruiseny4life

[JGmf]

2 hours ago, 603NHCruiser said:

I'm not retired, so if two hours of answering emails means that I don't have to use that as a vacation day, I am certainly going to be MORE relaxed for the other 22 hours. 

 

This ^^^^^^.  So true. Do what you need to do to maximize your "off" time....if that's even a thing anymore.

[cusematt4]

Thanks for all the info.

 

Just out of curiosity - is the room key activated for the thermal suite or do we have to actually give the room key in each time and get a special key from the spa's front desk?

 

Does the spa front desk stop us every time we come into the spa to use the thermal suite, or do we go directly to the door to swipe our room key(s)?

[cruiseny4life]

2 minutes ago, cusematt4 said:

Thanks for all the info.

 

Just out of curiosity - is the room key activated for the thermal suite or do we have to actually give the room key in each time and get a special key from the spa's front desk?

 

Does the spa front desk stop us every time we come into the spa to use the thermal suite, or do we go directly to the door to swipe our room key(s)?

No. No. No. 

 

Yes, not really a stop. More like a walk by with a wave and flash of the back of your card. No. 

Edited October 24, 2022 by cruiseny4life

[cusematt4]

Thank you very much.  Not trying to cheat the system at all, just more trying to figure out what we should do if 1 or 2 of us might use it regularly and 1 or 2 of us may stop by once or twice for a few minutes on an off day or hour.

[JamieLogical]

2 hours ago, cusematt4 said:

Thanks for all the info.

 

Just out of curiosity - is the room key activated for the thermal suite or do we have to actually give the room key in each time and get a special key from the spa's front desk?

 

Does the spa front desk stop us every time we come into the spa to use the thermal suite, or do we go directly to the door to swipe our room key(s)?

 

In my experience, you leave your room key with the desk staff when you "check in" and then pick it back up from them on your way out. You do not bring it into the thermal suite area with you.

[mtrancher]

What are the typical hours the spa is open?

[cruiseny4life]

14 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

In my experience, you leave your room key with the desk staff when you "check in" and then pick it back up from them on your way out. You do not bring it into the thermal suite area with you.

I thought that's what would happen! Both times sailing on the Getaway, it's been just flash the card and keep on going. Probably one of the reasons I was whiny upon my return about the first unscheduled sea day on the cruise. The staff weren't even checking cards; anyone could just walk in, and that place was a zoo! On that cruise it did quiet down after the first day to a much more relaxing point, plus we learned to go early morning/late evening. 

[cruiseny4life]

12 hours ago, mtrancher said:

What are the typical hours the spa is open?

8 AM - 10 PM, while the last full day of the cruise is 8 AM - 8 PM...at least on the Getaway.