They equated cruises with excess, so these first-timers set sail with a focus on wellness
But now, I’ve become a travel and a wellness editor who no longer finds socializing with retirees a foreign concept. And I’ve learned that the cruise industry has gone all in on the wellness trend: Mainstream lines have added fancy spas, the latest in health and fitness equipment, and lighter meal options to their ships, while high-end lines are designing whole itineraries around health, fitness, yoga and meditation. Plus, dress codes have become less formal throughout the industry, and the average age of cruise ship passengers dropped from 65 in 1995 to 45 in 2005. It seemed time to test my potentially outdated prejudices about cruises as waistline-ruining bacchanals thinly disguised as travel opportunities.
After a lot of research, I discovered that the Celebrity Cruise line, which is generally seen as a mainstream but upscale operation with good food, has a Canyon Ranch spa aboard most of its ships (probably the closest I’d ever get to Canyon Ranch, I thought). It also offers a cabin class called Aqua with exclusive use of a sauna/steam room area and dining at a restaurant that serves “spalike cuisine.” Plus, one of its ships, the Summit, had been recently refurbished and was making a seven-night round trip to Bermuda from Cape Liberty, N.J., about a four-hour drive from our home. This would give my husband and me almost three days in a single port — a destination we’d always wanted to visit. And if we went in September, hurricane season, we could save a little money.
We decided to find out whether two somewhat reluctant and completely inexperienced sea voyagers could, excuse the pun, cruise into wellness. Could we return from a trip more relaxed, no heavier than and about as fit as when we left? I decided to look at each element of our cruise — besides Bermuda itself, which is a whole other story — through a wellness lens. Using a rating from 1 (miserable) to 10 (blissed out), and rounding for simplicity, here are the answers.
The ship
Built in 2001, the Summit holds about 2,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members and is powered by gas turbine engines, which burn cleaner fuel, making the trip seem slightly less decadent. It was completely renovated earlier this year, part of a $500 million fleetwide upgrade. Everything felt clean and new, even if some spaces were a tad over the top. (When Norwegian Cruise Line’s ungainly Escape docked next to us in Bermuda, twice the size of our ship and crowned with a yellow waterslide, we realized how relatively sleek and elegant the Summit was.) The pool area was pleasant, though the music was too loud and it was often tough to find chairs; the indoor, adults-only solarium was quite peaceful. We enjoyed walking around the 965-foot vessel and, because there were usually long lines at the elevator, almost always took the stairs when moving among the 11 passenger-accessible decks. This alone provided exercise.
Wellness factor: 8
The stateroom
Celebrity prefers this more elegant term to cabin. As Aqua-class members, we were on Deck 9, away from the noisier parts of the ship and just one floor down from the spa and gym. The 194-square-foot cabin felt spacious enough once we had put our suitcases under the bed. It had a relaxed, clean vibe, with a balcony large enough for two chairs and a small table (we sneaked peeks at other rooms; I think I would have felt quite claustrophobic in a cabin without a balcony). The bed, like all on the ship, was king-size (they can be converted to two twins), with a cashmere mattress; we slept very well. The cabin did not have the aromatherapy diffuser, extra toiletries or spa showerhead that I’d read came with Aqua class, but we did receive the advertised canapes (so-so) and iced tea (cool and tasty) every afternoon. The best thing about our stateroom, however, was the attendant, Conrad, who did an amazingly thorough job of servicing the cabin — twice a day! — so it always seemed fresh when we returned.
Wellness factor: 9
Canyon Ranch SpaClub
Because there are so many elements to the spa, I rated them separately.
Fitness Center: This was well-equipped, with a row of treadmills overlooking the water, bikes, a rowing machine, ellipticals, weight machines, free weights, stability balls and mats, plus a group fitness room. Water, towels, disinfecting wipes and even cooled washcloths were provided. I took one class, an okay yoga session, which cost $15, plus the mandatory 18 percent service charge. Wellness factor: 8
Persian Garden: Aqua-class members receive unlimited access to this “thermal suite” with several treatment rooms at no added cost. The online photograph showed people in robes stretched out on heated tiled lounge chairs looking through glass walls at the water. It was the part of our package I was most anticipating, so it was a huge letdown to be ushered into an interior brown-tiled room with one large bench; I had apparently missed the fine print that said, “Persian Garden designs and amenities vary on each vessel.” We only used the facility twice — we enjoyed the steam room and sauna and didn’t see the point of the salt room — but I’m sure if the Summit had had a Persian Garden like the one I’d seen online, I would have been there almost every day. (Lesson learned: If an amenity is advertised, check out the specific version on your ship. Also, inquire about purchasing a pass — you might not need the cabin designation.) Still, it was nice to have a relaxing, uncrowded space, and my husband, who had no preconceived notions and loves heat treatments, liked it a lot. Wellness factor: 6
Spa treatments: There are three pages of wellness options, and the prices are enough to knock the Zen right out of you: A regular pedicure was $69; the cheapest 50-minute massage was $150. The peroxide-free teeth-whitening laser treatment is a common offering on cruise ships, so I thought I’d check it out, and, thankfully, the price had dropped. (Lesson learned: Consider waiting to book your spa treatments — there are deals on port days and even better ones at the end of the trip.) The $129 treatment (biting down on a gel-filled gum tray while a light was aimed at my teeth) was uncomfortable, the results were modest, and it turned out that if I really wanted whiter teeth, I would have to buy two follow-up treatments that cost $80 apiece. Sigh.
The Mindful Dreams Organic Lavender + Seaweed Sugar Glow treatment, on the other hand, a 50-minute, $145 full-body exfoliating session, was quite pleasant; the scrubs and lotion smelled lovely. The $36 added-on scalp massage was nice, but the $36 revitalizing foot treatment, which I’d read involved acupressure and massage, turned out to just be application of more products to my feet. (Lesson learned: Ask exactly what is involved in each treatment before you reserve it.) Wellness factor: 5
Presentation: A talk advertised to be about “relieving back, hip and foot pain” was in actuality a sales pitch for Foot Doctor shoe inserts. They cost $109 a pair and seemed to be made for Canyon Ranch, so it’s tough to get a direct comparison, but L.L. Bean appears to sell a similar product for about half that price. I’d like those 45 minutes back. Wellness factor: 0
Overall wellness factor: 5
Blu
The Aqua class’s exclusive restaurant for breakfast and dinner is billed as having “clean, crisp flavors and inventive cuisine.” Its white room with blue accents, seaglass-like serpentine light fixture and large port windows was attractive and soothing, and we greatly preferred its intimacy and open seating to the cavernous two-story main dining room. In fact, some people told us they even preferred it to the special suite-class restaurant — which was only one of several parts of the ship reserved for these top-paying passengers. (Lesson learned: For some, cruising is about choosing to travel with thousands of other people and then walling yourself off from most of them.) The food in Blu wasn’t especially low in calories
, though the portions were smaller than in other dining venues and a bit more sophisticated. For example, when the main dining room offered broiled lobster tail with rice pilaf, steamed broccoli and drawn butter, Blu served oven-roasted whole lobster tail with saffron tomato rice, asparagus and lemon beurre blanc. One of the staff members explained that the goal wasn’t so much lower-calorie food as food prepared with fresh and healthy ingredients. The meals were delicious, the service impeccable, and we grew fond of our regular waiters; we liked Blu so much that we hardly ate anywhere else on the ship. (The Spa Café, which had small servings of fruit and salad, was perfect for lunch. Still, it was easy to overindulge on the cruise, with food and drink everywhere and at almost all hours; we gave in to the complimentary pastries at the coffee bar twice, for example.) In fact, many people we chatted with and many people online say Blu is the best perk of Aqua class.
Wellness factor: 10
Miscellaneous
The shore excursions weren’t worth the price. A trip and tour of St. George’s cost $109 per person and used the island ferry; we bought our own ferry tickets and took a tour with a local guide for $24.50 a person. (Lesson learned: Book tours on your own with local businesses.) A very persistent salesperson in the art gallery tried to talk us into spending $3,200 on a Chagall lithograph; I later found that the Georgetown Frame Gallery in Washington, D.C., sells the same item for $1,000, framed. (Lesson learned: Buying art on a ship is a very bad idea.) The entertainment was middling, though the audience seemed to enjoy it. Everywhere we went, it seemed, photographers tried to talk us into posing for pictures in front of banal backdrops (photo packages were $125 to $350), and if we entered the cafeteria for tea or a snack, crew members tried to get us to pay extra for special dinners.
What does this have to do with wellness, you ask? Well, the constant need to push back against upselling, ask whether something (a smoothie, for example, or a certain wine) was in our package, and check our statement (we were once mistakenly charged $4.20 for a bottle of Evian we didn’t order) was stressful.
On the other hand, the captain’s talk about keeping an eye on Hurricane Dorian — he sped up our approach to Bermuda and altered our route on the way back to avoid it — was excellent. And other than the people forced to try to separate us from more of our money, the crew was top-notch. While there was the occasional obnoxious or drunken person, most of our fellow passengers (yes, many retirement age or older — not surprising, because school had started) were lovely and eager to share inside tips; we returned with a wealth of information about cruising.
Wellness factor: 4
OVERALL CRUISE WELLNESS FACTOR: 7
Final thoughts
Walking around the ship, climbing the stairs, making several visits to the gym and having active days on land ensured we got plenty of exercise and seemed to counteract most of the effects of the enticing food and drink. Some elements of the spa were indeed relaxing, and Blu made dinner an intimate delight.
What we hadn’t even considered before we left, however, is how rejuvenating cruising itself can be: Although we ran into large swells at the edge of Dorian — up to 13 feet, we were told — we enjoyed the swaying of the ship and the sound of the waves breaking against the hull. We never got tired of gazing at the ocean or the scenery; Bermuda’s aqua waters were stunning, and seeing the New York City skyline reflect the early-morning sun on our return was unexpectedly moving.
We disembarked feeling happy and rested, if still a bit overstuffed, and, quite astonishingly, open to cruising again someday — though not necessarily on a ship with a spa, gym and special restaurant. All we really needed for a wellness cruise, we decided, was a sturdy ship, open waters and an intriguing destination to explore.
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If you go
Celebrity Summit Bermuda Cruise
888-751-7804
Next year, the cruise itinerary and dates change. Newport, R.I., will be added to the seven-day cruise (five sailings, June or July), and Newport and Charleston, S.C., will be added for a new 10-day cruise (two sailings, May or June). Aqua-class cabins start at $2,149 for a seven-night cruise and $3,079 for a 10-night cruise.
E.C.
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