Thermal Suite on Enchanted Princess

[JamieLogical]

I am looking at booking a 7-day pass on our upcoming sailing. Can anyone tell me what all is included in the pass? What areas will I have access to? If you have experienced the thermal spa pass on other cruise lines/ships, how does it compare?

[FLAlaska]

Im a big fan of the Thermal suites on the Royal ships. ITs called the Enclave and includes heated loungers, a hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steam room

 

here is a quick video that shows you

 

 

[JamieLogical]

4 hours ago, FLAlaska said:

Im a big fan of the Thermal suites on the Royal ships. ITs called the Enclave and includes heated loungers, a hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steam room

 

here is a quick video that shows you

 

 

 

Do you need to make reservations if you have the 7-day pass?

[FLAlaska]

No. You can come and go as you please. Stay as long or little as you like. They have a lockerroom where you can change and get a robe if you like as well.

[galensgrl]

I just booked the weekly pass for our Summer cruise on the Enchanted Princess. It cost $149 for the week.

Lorie

[JGmf]

Confirming what others said: come and go as you please, wonderful large hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steam room, (third room that I think was cooler), and 4 showers.  I'm not a "spa guy", but I was impressed and used it more than I thought I would.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

2 hours ago, galensgrl said:

I just booked the weekly pass for our Summer cruise on the Enchanted Princess. It cost $149 for the week.

Lorie

Is that a typical price? I am on Sky at the end of April on a Norway Fjords cruise. At that price I'd do it 🙂 

[FLAlaska]

Yes thats a typical price. I just paid that for a week on the Sun. 

[jeromep]

Well..., we were on Discovery last July and my wife and I both purchased the full cruise pass to the Enclave.  The facility is nice, but compared to the spas on the older Grand class ships, I don't like either the overall location of the Lotus Spa or the cramped quarters the whole complex exists in.

 

The Enclave is different than the thermal suites on the Grand class ships.  First off, the centerpiece is a hydrotherapy pool that has a number of jetted stations where you let the water blast against various muscle groups, typically back and legs, along with some underwater loungers.  It is a nice feature, when the pumps are running it is loud and kind of breaks the peace of the location.  When the pumps' timer turns off, the room becomes library quiet, but somebody always turns it all back on.  It has a similar collection of steam and thermal rooms, as compared to the thermal suites on Grand class ships, on the periphery of the hydrotherapy pool.  And then there is a small selection of heated loungers on the port side of the Enclave.

 

Relative to the number of people on board, the facility is way too small and was busy and crowded every time we visited.  Not just on sea days, but on port days.  And since it is part of the spa, it is only available during spa hours.  Once the spa closes, well, your access does too.

 

Once you purchase your pass, it is linked to your account and your medallion is what gets you in.  They will verify your pass through your medalion when you arrive at the front desk, then hand you a key card that lets you come and go from the Enclave.  My wife and I would change into swimwear in our cabin and then head down to the spa.  It is usual procedure to head to the locker room, grab a robe and spa slippers, put your shirt and shoes in a locker and then head down the hallway to the enclave.  The locker rooms are tiny and when it is busy you are rubbing shoulders with the guy next to you.  Lockers have electronic locks that allowed for self coding, but they were not working, so nothing left behind in the locker was secured.  I hope they got that fixed.

 

After that, it was always chance if you would be able to find open loungers or if the Enclave was packed or not.  When leaving you'd head back to the locker room, grab your things, put used robes, towels and sandals in the dirty hamper, and give your keycard to a spa staffer at the front desk.

 

Would I purchase a pass again?  Maybe, if I was fairly certain that the place wasn't jam packed with users at every visit.  The major difference between the Enclave and regular thermal suites is basically just the presence of the hydrotherapy pool.  Note that suite passengers get free access to thermal suites on the Grand class ships, but on the Royals with the Enclave, suite passengers still have to pay for the pass.  Considering that the only major difference between the two is the presence of the hydrotherapy pool, I don't consider that a good exchange or amenity change, at least for those of us who typically book suites.

 

I mentioned earlier that I liked the Lotus Spas on the Grand class over the Spa on the Royals.  Simply put, the Spa on the Royals is low down on the ship, and the public areas are very dark, since they are all inside with no external lighting.  The design cues that have been chosen for the new Lotus Spas are attractive, however it doesn't make up for the fact that the spa is basically a long rambling hallway with rooms on either side and no exterior views.  The Lotus Spa on the Grand class is up high with natural light coming in from the windows that encircle the Lotus Pool, and waiting areas and treatment room access all get natural light from this space.  Plus the treatment rooms in the Spa on the Grand class ships all have exterior windows allowing them to be light and bright inside.  The treatment rooms on the Royals are a mix of outside rooms and inside rooms, which can be very dark.

 

I haven't looked closely at where the spa is on the new Sun class ships, but I hope Princess made the choice to give them a lot more natural light and larger public spaces than what they did to the Spa on the Royals.

[Jnsplace1]

Which is why I generally "Google" Thermal spa X ship before I buy.   I've immensely enjoy my time in these spas.  Great way to unwind and slow down.

[Citizenxnz]

Have used the Enclave a number of times on Royal Class ships, always happy to pay for the pass and generally use it 1 or 2 times a day. Love the hydrotherapy pool and the scented showers.  Last time was a Trans Pacific 21 day sailing on Royal Princess in Sep last year.

 

@JamieLogical have been following a few of your threads over at MSC (thank you btw, they made a huge difference to us to help navigate the new experience) We did our first cruise on MSC in Jan on the Meraviglia.  We were in YC and had free access to the thermal pool area. We only went once over a 9 day sailing.  Didn't like the hydrotherapy pools on that ship, too shallow and way way busier.  We are basically 'hot water tourists' and would choose to live in a hot tub if I could.  We did try and go back a second time to see if the experience was better, but then they were doing maintenance and had closed most of it.  The Enclave is a lot better than the Aurea Thermal Area IMHO

[JamieLogical]

11 minutes ago, Citizenxnz said:

Have used the Enclave a number of times on Royal Class ships, always happy to pay for the pass and generally use it 1 or 2 times a day. Love the hydrotherapy pool and the scented showers.  Last time was a Trans Pacific 21 day sailing on Royal Princess in Sep last year.

 

@JamieLogical have been following a few of your threads over at MSC (thank you btw, they made a huge difference to us to help navigate the new experience) We did our first cruise on MSC in Jan on the Meraviglia.  We were in YC and had free access to the thermal pool area. We only went once over a 9 day sailing.  Didn't like the hydrotherapy pools on that ship, too shallow and way way busier.  We are basically 'hot water tourists' and would choose to live in a hot tub if I could.  We did try and go back a second time to see if the experience was better, but then they were doing maintenance and had closed most of it.  The Enclave is a lot better than the Aurea Thermal Area IMHO

 

I haven't had a thermal spa pass on any of my MSC sailings except for the one when I had Aurea access because I was in a Whirlpool Balcony Suite. In that instance, I never felt the need to go to the spa, because I had my own hot tub on my balcony. I did do a tour though and the spa was small and I anticipated it would be crowded with all Aurea and YC guests having access in addition to selling passes. To me, the videos of the Enclave on Enchanted looked similar to what was offered on the Meraviglia, so I am glad to hear you like the Enclave better.

[FLAlaska]

I love threads like this because you really can see how cruising is subjective. What one loves,another hates.

I never found the Royal enclaves dark and gloomy in a bad way. I loved the mood, it made it feel like a respite to the chaos in other areas. It was quiet, always used it before getting ready for dinner every day, and loved it.

[Titanfan22]

I’m booked on a 12 day cruise out of Galveston on the Regal next week. I don’t see anywhere online to pre book the enclave or a cost.  Does anyone know what they would charge per person for the 12 day voyage? Do you have to sign up in person at embarkation?  Tks

[FLAlaska]

24 minutes ago, Titanfan22 said:

I’m booked on a 12 day cruise out of Galveston on the Regal next week. I don’t see anywhere online to pre book the enclave or a cost.  Does anyone know what they would charge per person for the 12 day voyage? Do you have to sign up in person at embarkation?  Tks

You can find in on the website under your cruise personalizer or manage your booking., Click on SPA and look for relaxation area

[Titanfan22]

56 minutes ago, FLAlaska said:

You can find in on the website under your cruise personalizer or manage your booking., Click on SPA and look for relaxation area

When I go to Lotus Spa for information it goes into eternal search mode and nothing comes up. 
 

[FLAlaska]

6 minutes ago, Titanfan22 said:

When I go to Lotus Spa for information it goes into eternal search mode and nothing comes up. 
 

Go to manage booking and click on SPA at the top.  Then hit BROWSE SERVICES.  You should get a list of different categories. On of them is Relaxation Area. Click on that one and you should see View 1 Result

 

[Titanfan22]

24 minutes ago, FLAlaska said:

Go to manage booking and click on SPA at the top.  Then hit BROWSE SERVICES.  You should get a list of different categories. On of them is Relaxation Area. Click on that one and you should see View 1 Result

 

Keeps giving me a blank rolling search screen. Nothing comes up.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

[galensgrl]

22 hours ago, Snaxmuppet said:

Is that a typical price? I am on Sky at the end of April on a Norway Fjords cruise. At that price I'd do it 🙂 

My first time on a Princess cruise so I'm not sure if the $149 per week is fleetwide or not. I imagine it would be the same, but who knows with the pricing schemes cruise lines are coming up with since restarting after the Covid virus. I can't blame them, imagine how much profit they lost when cruising was shut down. I'll be doing my best to support them going forward. In August, in the Caribbean 🧜‍♀️🐬🐳 and hopefully next year too, if Princess is a comfortable fit. Happy travels!