Spa Pass (Thermal Suite)

[BeachyGirl64]

Hi, booked on an 8 day in December and interested in getting a spa pass for the entire week.  Has anyone recently been to the spa - older reviews make it seem unappealing.  Can you buy a week pass or only day by day (I understand the prices are different for port and sea days).  The VV website didn't list a price for a week pass so I'm looking to see if anyone is on the Scarlet Lady now or has a recent experience.  Any help would be appreciated!

[Cloud9 Bob]

Never done it myself, but I believe a total trip spa pass is available, but the cost varies according to trip length and can only be purchased once onboard. I'm sure someone will chime in with something more specific soon.

[kaysha2004]

The thermal suite/spa is the same layout on all the ships.  I was on the Valiant in February 2024, and I usually visit the spa once a cruise.  There is no weekly pass.  They are sold in 3-hour blocks of time with a capped number of guests in each time slot.  You can come and go anytime in that time.  Every three hours, they take an hour to clean between guests so everything is fresh and dry for the next guests.  The cost has increased to $39 on port days and $49 on sea days.

 

It's not a huge area, but there's what I call the mini pool with tepid water, no jets, and about 3-4 feet deep.  It's for soaking and not swimming.  Right next to the soaking pool, there are two cold plunge pools, which holds one person, and a hot tub that holds one person.  There's a mud room, sauna room, salt therapy room, and hot steam room.  There is also an area of heated ceramic tile loungers, although I've never found them to be very warm and not therapeutic for a sore back.

[jon81uk]

Others have reported a week pass is available but price depends on length of cruise and other factors. Normally three hour slots are $39-79 (prices have gone up and I’ve lost track but they are different on sea and port days).

 

The pool is terrible quite cold water and no jets, it really should have been either a proper hot tub or a proper jacuzzi like on deck 15. There are also two one person cool tubs and a one person hot tub which is almost constantly occupied. The salt room is great and we liked the mud room too, sauna and steam room are as expected. I find the heated marble quite nice but others would prefer if it was contoured couches instead of flat slab.

[cantgetin]

This situation has changed multiple times over the last 2 years, both in terms of cost for a single 3 hour block as well as whether or not there are multi-day passes available.  I think the price increases we saw were just that--an increase.  I don't know whether the availability of "length of cruise" passes relates to how full the ship is or some other factor.  All I can tell you for sure is that we've done many several cruises over the last 2 years and have not seen any consistency in thermal suite passes.....which is probably why you see so many different reports on line.

[jon81uk]

VV Insider have posted the price has gone up to $59 for the three hours on port days and $79 on sea days.

 

https://vvinsider.com/june-2024-virgin-voyages-rumor-tidbit-roundup/

[BeachyGirl64]

Thank you all for your responses!  I also appreciate you telling me about your experiences and what you liked and didn't like about it - it helps me to manage my expectations.

[-The-True-North-]

Wife and I did it while we were on the Honduras, Mexico, Bimini Itinerary.

 

Our Bimini day was cancelled due to weather, so we went to try it.

 

Virgin does a lot right, a lot wrong, and something that can't be judge because they are very unique. The spa is unfortunately on the list of things done wrong.

 

Pros: Mud Room, Salt Room (bring a towel or burn your buns BTW!!!) and the plunge pool are great.

 

Cons: Steam Room smelt like mould, not eucalyptus as suggested. The hot tub is the size of a thimble. Our experience was 2 ladies stayed in it for 1.5 straight and kept shaking for champagne. Defeats the purpose of "the circuit" and staff don't enforce anything even when advised. Also, ours was not a tranquil experience, if that's what you're hoping for. When we went, people were just drinking and mingling in the pool there as if it was a "cool club party". Again staff didn't enforce the noice level or disturbances to others, even when advised. I love a cocktail, being a drunk turd is another thing. Marble lounges are nice, when they are working, but many were not so I list it as a negative.

 

I don't mean to be a negative person, this was just our experience and we genuinely don't recommend it to friends and family. The Spa on Holland America was great tho.

 

Maybe get a day pass before committing to a week?

[BeachyGirl64]

Thank you for sharing your experience!  "...being a drunk turd is another thing."🤣   

 

Good advice - thank you 😊

[-The-True-North-]

5 minutes ago, BeachyGirl64 said:

Thank you for sharing your experience!  "...being a drunk turd is another thing."🤣   

 

Good advice - thank you 😊

Happy to provide one experience.

 

Really recommend try before buying a weeks worth.

 

I know my experience was a freak occurrence, but enough that we will never spend the $160 again. 

Edited yesterday at 12:41 AM by -The-True-North-

[kaysha2004]

I just read the VV Insider News and the prices, indeed, did go up to $59 and $79, and there is, in fact, a week pass now.  The price increase for me is not worth it, so I'm not going to use it again.  I agree with others; sometimes people come in in party mode, or they get on their phones and talk really loud.  It defeats the purpose of being in a relaxing area.  Having been mentioned by another person, I do remember the last time I was in the steam room it smelled like mold, so I didn't stay.

 

I've been sailing with VV since they launched in 2021, and in the early days, the spa experience was much more pleasant and there were no mold smells.  But the ships were sailing with just 800 guests back then, too.