Welcome to my guest writer today Maria Lisella @MLJourneys
The Carnival’s third Dream class ship, the Breeze was born in 2012; it sleeps 3,690 passengers, and was tagged as “boisterous” to quote a Cruise Critic report. I stepped aboard anyway. Had I ever taken a Carnival cruise? No, and as a long-time travel professional, one of my colleagues said, “There’s a reason everyone on a Carnival cruise ship is smiling, believe me, if you have not traveled with them, go now.”
So I did. I had heard about the giant buffets, the taco tripping, the chocolate fountains of excess but none of that appealed to me. I was after the adult pleasures I knew were waiting for me in one place: the Elemis Spa. I took my Sail & Sign Card, your passport to everything on board, and headed for the top tier of the ship called the Serenity Adult-Only Retreat and ultimately for the Cloud 9 Spa.
On my first visit, I stepped in to a lecture. It was packed. Picture this: we are on the open seas headed for Cozumel, the Cayman Islands or Jamaica, the sun was out and maybe 50 of us were sitting in aluminim folding chairs listening to a speaker talk about what else: losing weight, how toxins are to blame. Maybe he was right but, I was interested in more immediate rewards.
On to the signature treatment that combines a number of pleasure-principled disciplines way beyond the standard Swedish massage (nothing wrong with that either). Spa Director, Claire Beckett said that Elemis is the brand behind Cloud 9 that premiered first on the Queen Mary; and can be found on Holland America Lines, Cunard, Seaborn, Royal Caribbean and five of Carnival’s Dream Ships.
My Elemis Aroma Spa Ocean Wrap began on an undulating float or water bed, with a seaweed wrap made of algae activated with water that penetrates the skin. You basically cook in this for quite some times so that both your mind and muscles are, well, turned off for the time being. You are encouraged to inhale, exhale deeply to get your own internal detoxification program going.
This was followed by a massage, body brush that including lymphatic drainage to prepare the body for cellular dexofying, and muscle ease. After about an hour and a half, my body, which is an average, fairly active vessel itself, felt shiny, new and swooning with lightness. The 100-minute treatment cost $260, plus tip.
Have teens in tow? Drag them up and they won’t leave once they have tried Teen-Only treatments like the Bodylicious scrubs, Styling Sessions, Skintastic Facials and Knot Your Average Massage.
Would I recommend visiting Cloud 9 instead of the endless chocolate fountain? Well you can do both, just don’t tell the Cloud 9 staff what you have been up to that morning and surrender to this delightfully bright oasis of 22,000 square feet designed to tickle every part of you: from the thalassotherapy pool with a glass roof, a suite of heated rooms that go from desert to rainforest, fabulous gym equipment, Pilates, yoga, boot camp and spinning classes for $12. Watch for deals on port days like a free haircut thrown into a Pamper Package;or on special cruises savings can be phenomenal: single VIP Pass for eight days might cost $320 but goes for $189 or Couples Cruise Pass usually goes for $640 could cost just $291 giving you unlimited pool and thermal suite use throughout the entire cruise.
