Bad Massage Experiences???

[Jay arrrrgh!!!!]

Just wondering if anyone else has had a bad experience with the massages on DCL??? My sister in-law (A licensed massage therapist herself) had a Cabana Massage at Castaway Cay on 9/16. She came out to the adult beach calling it the worst massage she's ever had. She was asked no questions prior to the rub-down, such as "Do you have any medical problems? Any area to stay away from or work on?" The therapist did not warm her muscles up with gentle rubbing, as necessary, but went right into very painful jabbing and rubbing. My sister in-law received quite a few hard elbows to her shoulder blades before asking the therapist to stop and cutting her massage short. Not only did she find it unenjoyable, she, as a therapist, knew that this girl giving her the massage could seriously injure someone. Upon returning to the ship, she did alert the spa manager of the problem but he didn't seem terribly concerned.
Now, on the other hand, my hubby and I did have a couples massage a few days later on the ship. Luckily we did not have the problems that my sister in-law did. We filled out questionaires about our medical history and the therapists asked us how hard we wanted to be rubbed, etc.
Just wondering if anyone else has experienced a problem. If that girl really was that bad, I'm sure someone else has complained. -Jenn

 

[disneybride96]

We have had some better than others. It's kind of like at home, you just have to find one that you like. I did have a couple of bruises on my shoulders from one massage, although I do bruise rather easily. I'm trying the wrap this time.

 

[Muushka]

PPPhhhhheeeewww! I thought I was the only one! We had the couples massage last year and I must say, it was not an enjoyable experience for me. I was a little biased though, I really wasn't interested in getting the massage, but I was talked into it by my husband and the booking people (we did the REAS and I wanted him to get both massages).

My experience was that they did ask about any medical problems. But my therapist (sadist?) started the deep tissue stuff right away also, no warming up. Very painful. I said 'ouch' several times and could not wait for the time to be up. She reminded me of my dental hygienest. Ouch

 

[yazee1]

I didn't care for the massage I was given at all. My husband gives better massages.

 

[daisy112878]

We had good massages on the ship the other week. Not the best I've had at home but they were decent. We did fill out the forms and they went over them with us before hand. They asked several times if the pressure was okay to both of us.

 

[Echo queen]

I had a strang message insident this summer but it was not DCL so I will leave it at that.

 

[NCRedding]

I had my first massage at one of the cabana massages on our cruise in 2002, and swore off massages after that one. It was so painful, and when I winced, she asked me "are you ticklish, or does that hurt". When I said that I hurt, she said "then you really need this" and then hurt me some more. I ended up taking lots of aspirin after that massage.

I tried another massage last year at home, and LOVED it.

 

[trivial]

It sounds pretty unanimous: stay the heck away from the massage "therapists" on DCL. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[KarenMom]

I thought I was the only one too. In 4/05 I had a terrible massage on board the Wonder. I kept telling her, that hurts - please don't do it so hard, she refused to listen and only cut it short. My neck hurt for the rest of the cruise and several months afterward. I even had to go to my doctor when I got home to make sure there wasn't any damage and had to have three visits to a "real" massage therapist to correct what the massage therapist did on board. Never again!

 

[MrsMork]

I would not say it is unanimous. DH and I have had massages on 5 out of our 6 cruises and LOVED every one. Our DS and DDIL are both massage therapists and they both had a DCL massage in Dec 2004 and they too loved them. However, if ya'll will just spread the word to not get one, that will make scheduling alot easier for those of us who have had wonderful experiences.

 

[missmulan]

count me in as one who will never do another massage with DCL. not only was the massage not good (i've had better) but I forgot to tell them "no sales pitch".

 

[jordanyosh]

I have only had great experiences with my DCL massages, but then again I am easy to please.

 

[BuzzBoyMom]

I've been going to massage therapists for 10 years. Both cruises and at home. You get some good ones and you get some not so good ones. Sounds to me like there may be a few therapists who are not properly trained. And that is unfortunate since they can hurt people. I'd recommend speaking up whenever it hurts. For a one time relaxation massage, it should not hurt. If you are going for treatments on a consistent basis or need some sports massage done, then it understandably might hurt.

My personal DCL experience - it wasn't worth the cost. I'd rather do other spa treatments and go to a massage therapist at home where they WANT you to be happy for the repeat business. I have to say I didn't feel that the DCL massage therapists cared much whether I was satisfied or not.

JMHO.

 

[Muushka]

I'd recommend speaking up whenever it hurts

I did!! That is the sad part. I guess that is why I called her a sadist!

 

[Dreamer04]

I was hesitant about booking a massage before, now I am sure I won't!
Unless someone can drop some names, I'm not taking any chances on ruining my vacation with a bad therapist.

 

[clten]

My sister, a trained massage therapist, didn't even make it through the Spa tour before she found out they didn't really know what they were doing.

She asked a lot of questions only to have them sloughed off. After the whole tour, she didn't think she would have a massage but thought maybe the girl giving the tour was just inexperienced and still had hope that someone would be able to do a decent job. Another two therapists were brought out to speak with her and just kept emphasizing the aromatherapy of each treatment. My sister told the therapists that she was very sensitive to some aromatherapy oils used in their treatments, did they custom-blend it? They said yes but when she further inquired (because if they custom blended per client, they would have aroma-free oil they could use for her), she found out it was inaccurate and in fact some of the aromatherapy oils they used on pregnant women are contraindicated for pregnancy. When she heard that and couldn't convince them they might want to look up some information, we left the spa, never to return.

 

[auntie k]

I have a cabana massage scheduled on our upcoming trip - if I'm unhappy and it isn't relaxing - what do you think my chances are of getting a refund?

 

[slindamood]

I did not think the person knew what she was doing. I will not honor her with the title of massage therapist because the session was primarily one long sales pitch. The session was not as long as advertised, and at the end she was gone a long time before bringing the bill to sign. It was not itemized (I had agreed to buy a few things). I asked for itemized, which she did, and when home and could look at the product webpage found that she had way overcharged for the products. If you buy products, go back later and buy when you get an honest price.

 

[mom+3girls]

I couldn't decide if I wanted to spend the money to get the massage while on the cruise, because I could get 3 here at home for what one costs on the ship, decided just to wait until I got home and get one for the next 3 months, boy am I glad I waited.
Love the info you can get on these boards.

 

[fltink]

Well, my sister in-law complained and she got 50% taken off but who knows? You could get more, you could get nothing.