Mark-up on HAL Spa Services

[Roz]

Greetings from Rotterdam and Happy NYE!

 

I'm doing back to back river cruises on Tauck's ms Grace through The Netherlands and Belgium. 

 

The price of HAL's spa services have always baffled me, and I try not to use them.  A basic manicure at my neighborhood salon is $25.  HAL charges $59.  Last week I had a manicure onboard the riverboat and it was $32.  I assume Tauck is paying the manicurist and making a profit on the service, which gives you an idea of the mark-up.

 

If the weather cooperates, we'll be able to watch the national fireworks 🎆 of The Netherlands from the top deck of our ship.  They shoot them off over the harbor where we're docked. 

[mawvkysc]

It’s nice to hear that the riverboat has a more reasonable price. I find all cruise ship spas have outrageous prices. 

[Gunther1]

Basic capitalism supply and demand…..they have a (temporary) captive audience and charge what they can.  
 

On the rare occasion when I get a haircut during a cruise, I always get one while on shore.  I realize that it’s entirely personal preference, but I am always astounded that people pay the huge mark-up for a haircut, watch, jewelry, etc, on a ship.

 

One of my favorite sayings: “No one is holding a gun to my head 😏”.

 

 

[Hlitner]

Certain onboard services are operated by third party companies that contract with the cruise lines to provide the service.  The Spa is operated by one of these outside contractions (i.e. Steiner Group).  The third party determine the prices which are sufficient for the to pay their staff and make a nice profit.  The cruise line then marks-up the real Spa price to the price that is paid by the cruiser.  It is the same in the onboard shops, photo center, art auctions, tour desk, etc.  The cruise lines do take advantage of their captive clients to impose outrageous mark-ups.  If you want reasonable spa prices, go to land-based outfits that must deal with some real competition.

 

We live in Puerto Vallarta, part of the year, where various spa services can be had for a fraction of what it costs on HAL (or any ship).  Consider that I pay about 100 pesos (which includes a generous tip) for a haircut (that is about $6) and I am overpaying!  DW pays less than $20 for a decent haircut (and she is also overpaying).  Bottom line is that if the onboard prices are too steep, simply take advantage of deals in some of your ports.  Not only will you save a lot of money on the services, but you will also save even more money by not booking the marked-up cruise line excursions.

 

Han

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, Roz said:

Greetings from Rotterdam and Happy NYE!

 

I'm doing back to back river cruises on Tauck's ms Grace through The Netherlands and Belgium. 

 

The price of HAL's spa services have always baffled me, and I try not to use them.  A basic manicure at my neighborhood salon is $25.  HAL charges $59.  Last week I had a manicure onboard the riverboat and it was $32.  I assume Tauck is paying the manicurist and making a profit on the service, which gives you an idea of the mark-up.

 

If the weather cooperates, we'll be able to watch the national fireworks 🎆 of The Netherlands from the top deck of our ship.  They shoot them off over the harbor where we're docked. 

 

All spa services on ocean vessels are provided by a 3rd party contractor, with Steiner providing the service on most cruise ships. Liv Nordic have also entered the business, on at least 1 cruise line. Years ago I recall seeing another non-Steiner vendor, but can't recall the name.

 

The spa employees are all hired, trained and employed by the 3rd party contractors, so while they are crew members, they are not HAL employees. On Princess ships, the Steiner's employees had to pay the cruise line a daily room & board fee.

 

Spa pricing is not set by the cruise line, it is set by the 3rd party contractor, with the cruise lines also adding a mark-up.

[sandiego1]

I think the mani/pedis are overpriced, but similar to hotel prices. The price for haircut and color is a bit less than I pay at home. Massage prices are also higher than I pay at home. However I’ve found it’s similar to hotels.

[Mary229]

I pay for many things others would not but then there are things I don’t care to pay for at all.  It is not in the cost of admission so I consider it at the discretion of the user and not up for criticism.  
 

There are things we all have to pay for regardless if we find value, things like stage shows, musical productions and so on.  

 

I do a price comparison before leaving home so instead of squeezing in one more task the week before I travel I can use a sea day to have those services accomplished on ship. Then there are a few services I just splurge on just because having salon blown hair updos make me feel good. 😊 

[OlsSalt]

I found the same thing: onboard pedicures far more expensive, and hair coloring services similar or even less than on land.

 

Next time, I WILL try those fish nibbling pedicures on land, for sure. Looked, but did not touch last times.

[sunviking90]

I see the manicure/pedicure prices as similar to the prices at home in a “full spa” type establishment, where they can be as high as $90 for a manicure.  I pay about $35-$40 at home for a basic manicure in a nail bar. There are cheaper places, but they are a little too “sweatshop” for me.

Nice to hear the pricing is reasonable on the River cruise. I would guess like others have said that there is no Steiner middleman involved.

Edited December 31, 2023 by sunviking90

[Taters]

I usually get my hair cut in the salon on board the ship twice per year.  I have medium long hair, all the same length, and if I book a spot prior to the cruise for embarkation day it is $67.  Here at home no one will touch me for under $125.  It's a bargain on board!

[Blackduck59]

I'm with the "If you don't like the price, don't use the service" comparing the price of ship board spa services to that on shore is ridiculous. The price ashore varies dramatically by which spa you go to. I just bought gift certificates for my wife to have 2 special pedicures to help with diabetic neuropathy. They cost $85.00 each at her favourite spa. There are at least 2 other spas here where they would cost upwards of $150.00 each. After my wife's one and only spa experience on board a cruise ship (Celebrity) the work done was so shoddy and the pressure to spend even more money (to fix their earlier bad work) we decided that spa services at sea were not in our future.

Edited January 1 by Blackduck59

[oakridger]

My last shipboard pedicure on Nieuw Amsterdam was done very well. Yes, it was more expensive than here in the San Francisco Bay area in a mom-and-pop salon.  She didn't try to upsell me with products!  Maybe she read my mind that I would have shut the sales pitch down immediately, but I was happy with the experience.

 

Steiner spa services is now called "One Spa World" and is on 20 cruise lines, including HAL.

 

Spas at Sea - OneSpaWorld

 

If I was on a long cruise and had time in port, I would get my mani/pedi done in port.  I think that would be fun!

 

~Nancy

 

 

 

[Haljo1935]

17 hours ago, Hlitner said:

...Bottom line is that if the onboard prices are too steep, simply take advantage of deals in some of your ports.  Not only will you save a lot of money on the services, but you will also save even more money by not booking the marked-up cruise line excursions.

And contribute directly to the local economy. 

We try to do that with services, food, souvenirs...

[Roz]

In case anyone is interested,  the fireworks in Rotterdam last night were phenomenal. 

[Roz]

I would never get a manicure in a port where I wasn't confident that the local/regional sanitation standards were equivalent to what they are at home.  I don't want to risk an infection,  or worse yet,  hepatitis. 

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, Roz said:

I would never get a manicure in a port where I wasn't confident that the local/regional sanitation standards were equivalent to what they are at home.  I don't want to risk an infection,  or worse yet,  hepatitis. 

I agree and there are some services I personally wouldn’t chance with anyone except my local stylist/colorist.  It took me years to find the “one” and I will go natural before I mess with her color. 

 

Edited January 1 by Mary229

[oakridger]

3 hours ago, Roz said:

I don't want to risk an infection,  or worse yet,  hepatitis. 

 

Good point @Roz.  When I was looking into a port pedicure it was in Auckland, New Zealand, so I wasn't even considering the sanitation aspect at all since I would think theirs is excellent.  Some other ports, not so much!  Thanks for bringing that to our attention.

 

~Nancy