A WWYD? Spa-related poll

[iloveeeyore]

Hubby and I will be cruising on the Dream to the Eastern Caribbean for 7 nights in April. The itinerary is - embarkation in Miami, 2 consecutive sea days, Tortola, St. Thomas, sea day, Castaway Cay. We are torn about the price of the Couples' Choice package (we did it once on the Fantasy and loved it). We're thinking perhaps in lieu of that, we'd do a regular Couples' Hot Stone Massage and try to get a Rainforest Room pass for the length of the cruise. We dont know what the exact cost of RR would be, but we estimate the cost of each option would be about equal. DCL spa enthusiasts, which would you choose?

What if we can't get to the spa early enough on boarding day to secure the passes? Will the RR be too crowded for us to enjoy it? Should we just splurge on the Couples' Choice?

Feeling blessed and lucky to be in such a predicament and appreciate your thoughts!

 

[auntlynne]

 

[iloveeeyore]

Are you a Rainforest Room enthusiast? Do you like hot stone massage (I prefer a good hands-on deep tissue one). One RR session is usually enough for me. And I really prefer a Ladies’ Only Session.

We have never tried RR but keep hearing great things. Wondering if we should give it a try. Love hot stone, but we could also go with Swedish.

 

[Flossbolna]

The rainforest room can be hit or miss in my experience. You never know how crowded it can get. Also on a hot day the hot tub area can be unpleasant. I think your enjoyment of the rainforest room depends a lot on how flexible you will be with your time. If you are happy to just come back three hours later if things are currently crazy, then try it out. But if you don’t have a lot of time open, then I think it’s risky.

 

[JWG]

I said RR room as we've done it on the Fantasy. It was never too crowded for us (empty, no, but never crowded). And that was over spring break (2019). I enjoyed the hot tub and views that you couldn't really get on the main decks due to crowds, the sauna, and the showers.

You have to be spending time on the ship for the length of cruise package to be worthwhile and want to go every day.

We were going to do on the Wish this past December but ended up having to cancel the 2nd of a B2B cruise due to an on land family emergency, but the outdoor area looked pretty amazing on that ship (other than being open to public view like a zoo enclosure).

 

[Calantha]

Okay, I'm not going to vote, but I am going to offer my opinion (money not considered, since I don't know how much things cost). On a 7 day standard cruise, I'd go with the rainforest room, because I wouldn't plan to get off the ship much/all day. If however, the cruise were port intensive, like the one I'm taking in May, I'd probably go for the 1 awesome thing, because I don't expect to be able to get to the rainforest room much.

 

[shananigans]

Hubby and I will be cruising on the Dream to the Eastern Caribbean for 7 nights in April. The itinerary is - embarkation in Miami, 2 consecutive sea days, Tortola, St. Thomas, sea day, Castaway Cay. We are torn about the price of the Couples' Choice package (we did it once on the Fantasy and loved it). We're thinking perhaps in lieu of that, we'd do a regular Couples' Hot Stone Massage and try to get a Rainforest Room pass for the length of the cruise. We dont know what the exact cost of RR would be, but we estimate the cost of each option would be about equal. DCL spa enthusiasts, which would you choose?

What if we can't get to the spa early enough on boarding day to secure the passes? Will the RR be too crowded for us to enjoy it? Should we just splurge on the Couples' Choice?

Feeling blessed and lucky to be in such a predicament and appreciate your thoughts!

I have done Alone Time & hot stone massages. I’ve also done the Rainforest Room experiences.

Unless you are an absolute lover of saunas and using one of three showers afterwards - it’s not that great. Enjoyed the heated loungers, but there aren’t that many. Always people in there - so you’ll be sharing the sauna areas and the showers and heated loungers with many other guests. You’re not going to feel pampered or relaxed necessarily. And taking out time every day to go sweat and shower didn’t really excite me.

If it were me - I’d splurge on the Couples Choice.

 

[iloveeeyore]

The rainforest room can be hit or miss in my experience. You never know how crowded it can get. Also on a hot day the hot tub area can be unpleasant. I think your enjoyment of the rainforest room depends a lot on how flexible you will be with your time. If you are happy to just come back three hours later if things are currently crazy, then try it out. But if you don’t have a lot of time open, then I think it’s risky.

We have something planned each day (brunch, tasting, etc) and we like to participate in a lot of the activities and never miss the shows...so while it seems we have a lot of time at sea, we are not too flexible. Thanks for this consideration.

I said RR room as we've done it on the Fantasy. It was never too crowded for us (empty, no, but never crowded). And that was over spring break (2019). I enjoyed the hot tub and views that you couldn't really get on the main decks due to crowds, the sauna, and the showers.

You have to be spending time on the ship for the length of cruise package to be worthwhile and want to go every day.

We were going to do on the Wish this past December but ended up having to cancel the 2nd of a B2B cruise due to an on land family emergency, but the outdoor area looked pretty amazing on that ship (other than being open to public view like a zoo enclosure).

Thank you for your thoughts! I hope everything ended up okay with your emergency!

Okay, I'm not going to vote, but I am going to offer my opinion (money not considered, since I don't know how much things cost). On a 7 day standard cruise, I'd go with the rainforest room, because I wouldn't plan to get off the ship much/all day. If however, the cruise were port intensive, like the one I'm taking in May, I'd probably go for the 1 awesome thing, because I don't expect to be able to get to the rainforest room much.

Thanks for this...it's not port intensive. That said, hard to say how much time we'd have for the RR. We like lounging at the adult pool and on our verandah also, and ultimately, our "free" time would come down to that choice- pool, verandah or RR.

I have done Alone Time & hot stone massages. I’ve also done the Rainforest Room experiences.

Unless you are an absolute lover of saunas and using one of three showers afterwards - it’s not that great. Enjoyed the heated loungers, but there aren’t that many. Always people in there - so you’ll be sharing the sauna areas and the showers and heated loungers with many other guests. You’re not going to feel pampered or relaxed necessarily. And taking out time every day to go sweat and shower didn’t really excite me.

If it were me - I’d splurge on the Couples Choice.

Hmmmm...despite the way the votes have gone so far...we are still torn. I mean yeah, we LIKE saunas...the showers are cool, right? We like HOT showers. The loungers look amazing but...so are the ones by the pool? IDK!!

 

[shananigans]

We have something planned each day (brunch, tasting, etc) and we like to participate in a lot of the activities and never miss the shows...so while it seems we have a lot of time at sea, we are not too flexible. Thanks for this consideration.

Thank you for your thoughts! I hope everything ended up okay with your emergency!

Thanks for this...it's not port intensive. That said, hard to say how much time we'd have for the RR. We like lounging at the adult pool and on our verandah also, and ultimately, our "free" time would come down to that choice- pool, verandah or RR.

Hmmmm...despite the way the votes have gone so far...we are still torn. I mean yeah, we LIKE saunas...the showers are cool, right? We like HOT showers. The loungers look amazing but...so are the ones by the pool? IDK!!

Showers are warm - but don’t feel very warm after the sauna. There is one that is more of a mist and it’s chilly. I didn’t like that one at all. We were on the Wonder and once had to stay in the sauna longer than we wanted because the heated chairs weren’t open. We found after a day or two, the novelty had worn off and the last two days we didn’t even go. As far as I know - you can use the sauna in the ladies changing room and the showers for free. Of course you’d be solo - but … I think it boils down to what you want. A relaxing shared experience that’s private, or potentially a group experience, with your partner.