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If there is a thermal spa on a cruise ship, there’s a very good chance I’m going to find it.
This is just who I am now. 😂
I cruise often, and somewhere along the way, cruise ship spas became one of my favorite parts of cruising. I’ve bought thermal suite passes, stayed in spa cabins, booked massages and mani-pedis, tried spa treatments because a lobby teaser got me, and booked a spa appointment from a beach chair when my port day wasn’t exactly going according to plan.
And apparently, I now buy thermal spa passes in bulk.
The good news for you?
I have opinions. Lots of them.
This Cruise Spa Guide is where I’m bringing together all of my firsthand cruise spa experiences, including thermal suite reviews, spa cabins, treatments, real prices I’ve paid, deals I’ve found and the little things I like packing to make a cruise spa day even better.
My basic philosophy is the same one I use everywhere else on No Point Left Behind:
Save where it doesn’t matter to you so you have more room to spend where it does.
For me?
The spa very definitely counts.
Start Here: How I Actually Find Cruise Spa Deals
One of the questions I get with cruise spas is essentially:
When should I book?
And unfortunately, I don’t have one magical answer.
Some of my best spa deals have happened before the cruise. Others appeared once I was onboard. I’ve found deals on port days. I’ve taken advantage of early booking offers. And when thermal suite passes for cruises I already had booked went on sale?
Let’s just say I moved quickly. 😂
→ Read: How I Actually Score Cruise Spa Deals: Real Deals From My Cruises
That post walks through what has actually worked for me rather than giving you a bunch of hypothetical “cruise spa hacks.”
My biggest rule is incredibly simple:
Check more than once.
Princess Cruises Spas & Thermal Suites
It probably won't surprise anyone who spends much time on No Point Left Behind that Princess Cruises gets its own section.
Princess is my happy place, and the spa situation certainly does not hurt.
I’ve spent enough time in Lotus Spa and Princess thermal suites that I have an entire Princess Spa Hub dedicated to them. My existing Princess spa content covers Lotus Spa, The Enclave, thermal suites, packing, and individual ship experiences
Start with my Princess Spa Guide
→ Princess Cruises Lotus Spa & Thermal Suite Guide
This is your starting point if you want to dive into my Princess-specific spa content rather than searching around the site trying to find everything.
From there, you can explore:
My Princess Lotus Spa experiences
The Enclave and thermal suite guides
Ship-specific spa reviews
Thermal spa passes
Spa packing
Spa treatments and pricing
What I personally think is worth the money
I’ll continue adding individual ships as I cruise them because clearly I have no intention of stopping my very serious thermal-spa research. 😂
Carnival Cloud 9 Spa
is where my cruise-spa obsession took a slightly different turn because I didn’t just visit Cloud 9 Spa.
I stayed practically next door to it.
On Carnival Magic, my bestie and I stayed in Cloud 9 Spa Interior Cabin 12012, and it ended up being one of my favorite examples of why “luxury” does not necessarily require booking the fanciest cabin on the ship.
We scored our cabin for $359 per person through a casino offer, and cruise-long thermal suite access was included.
Considering thermal suite passes were selling for $149 per person on our sailing, that was a perk we genuinely valued.
And believe me.
We used it.
My Carnival Spa Reviews
→ Carnival Magic Cloud 9 Spa Review
Come inside the actual spa with me and see what I thought of the Cloud 9 thermal experience.
→ Carnival Magic Cloud 9 Spa Interior Cabin Review
Cabin 12012, what we paid, the perks we received, the location, the nighttime noise and whether I’d book a Cloud 9 spa cabin again.
Spoiler alert: yes.
→ My Carnival Magic Fire & Ice Mani/Pedi
This one happened because my Celebration Key port day basically got blown away by the wind.
So naturally I turned it into a spa day.
That’s travel hacking too, people.
Holland America Cruise Spas
My spa adventures are definitely not limited to Princess and Carnival.
I’ve also tested spa experiences while sailing Holland America Line, including my experience aboard Zuiderdam.
In fact, my Holland America content already includes my look at whether the Zuiderdam spa pass is worth it.
→ Read My Zuiderdam Spa Review
Holland America also gets credit for one of those moments when the spa marketing worked on me exactly as intended.
There was a little spa teaser.
I tried it.
They got me. 😂
But that’s actually an important part of my spa deal philosophy. I’m perfectly happy spending money on something I genuinely want and value.
I just don’t think the word SALE automatically turns something into a good deal.
Are Cruise Thermal Spa Passes Worth It?
This might be my favorite cruise-spa question because there’s no universal answer.
For me? Usually, yes.
But that's because I actually use them.
A thermal spa pass and a massage are very different purchases in my travel budget.
A massage is one experience.
A cruise-long thermal pass is something I can potentially enjoy again and again during the sailing.
And I will.
Put me near a steam room and heated lounger and I'll figure out the rest. 😂
When you’re deciding if a spa pass is worth it, I’d think less about whether other cruisers think it’s worth the money and more about whether you are actually going to use it.
Maybe you'd rather put that money toward an excursion.
Maybe specialty dining matters more to you.
Maybe you'd rather upgrade your cabin.
All completely reasonable.
Meanwhile, I'll be over here investigating the heated loungers.
Should You Book a Cruise Spa Cabin?
After staying in a Cloud 9 Spa cabin on Carnival Magic, I think this is another situation where the math matters more than the label.
I wouldn't pay substantially more for a room just because someone put the word spa in its name.
Instead, I’d look at:
The cost of the spa cabin
The cost of a comparable non-spa cabin
Which spa benefits are actually included
What thermal access would cost separately
Whether you actually plan to use those benefits
How much the spa location matters to you
On Carnival Magic, the numbers worked beautifully for us.
On another ship or sailing?
I'd do the math again.
That's No Point Left Behind math.
My Cruise Spa Deal Philosophy
Despite the amount of time I apparently spend researching cruise spas, my strategy is surprisingly uncomplicated.
Before the cruise
I look at what’s available.
If something I already know I want is offered at a price I'm happy with, I'm willing to book.
When I board
I visit the spa.
I want to see what I'm buying, and sometimes I've found worthwhile offers onboard.
During the cruise
I keep paying attention.
Plans change. Offers can appear. Sometimes my original plan for the day doesn't work.
Hello, Celebration Key mani-pedi. 😂
After I've booked
I don't necessarily stop looking.
If the terms of my particular purchase allow changes or cancellation and I later see a better offer, I can decide whether changing it makes sense.
Most importantly
I don't buy spa treatments simply because they're discounted.
A treatment I didn't want isn't suddenly a bargain because it's 30% off.
But something I already planned to buy suddenly costing less?
Now we're talking.
My Cruise Spa Favorites
Apparently I now pack for cruise spa days too. 😂
Over time, I’ve started bringing little extras that make my spa days and spa nights onboard more fun, including face masks, eye masks, scrubs and other easy indulgences.
I’ve put my favorites together so you don’t have to go hunting for them individually.
The Lazy Girl Cruise Spa List
→ Shop My Cruise Spa Favorites
My Cruise Spa Favorites
The little extras I like bringing along for thermal spa days, spa nights in the cabin, and maximum heated-lounger relaxation. Lazy Girl approved. 🧖♀️
Recreate the Thermal Spa at Home
There is, unfortunately, one major downside to a cruise ship thermal spa.
Eventually they make me get off the ship. 😂
So naturally I've also assembled some of my favorite things for bringing a little of that spa feeling home.
Recreate the Thermal Spa at Home
Because eventually they make me leave the ship. 😂 These are some of my favorite little luxuries for bringing that thermal-spa feeling home.
I can't actually install a cruise ship and heated lounger in your house.
But we can work with what we've got.
Latest Cruise Spa Reviews & Guides
Looking for a specific experience? Start here:
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises Lotus Spa & Thermal Suite Guide
My main Princess spa resource and your gateway into all of my Princess-specific spa content.
Sun Princess Thermal Spa Guide
My firsthand look at the thermal spa aboard Sun Princess.
Carnival
Carnival Magic Cloud 9 Spa Review
What the thermal spa experience was actually like.
Carnival Magic Cloud 9 Spa Interior Cabin 12012 Review
What we paid, what came with the cabin and whether I'd stay there again.
Carnival Magic Fire & Ice Mani/Pedi Review
How an unexpected spa deal helped rescue a disappointing port day.
Holland America
Zuiderdam Spa Review
My experience with the spa aboard Holland America’s Zuiderdam and whether I thought the spa pass was worth it.
Cruise Spa Deals
How I Actually Score Cruise Spa Deals: Real Deals From My Cruises
The real ways I've found spa deals before sailing, onboard and during the cruise.
Planning Your Own Cruise?
Of course, before you can stalk the spa deals, you have to actually book the cruise. 😂
If you're ready to start looking, head over to my Book Your Cruise page to see how and where I shop for cruises.
If you're still in research mode, my main Cruise Hub is the better place to start. That's where you'll find all of my cruise guides, reviews, real-trip experiences and planning resources.
My Final Take on Cruise Spas
I don’t think enjoying a cruise spa means you have to turn every sailing into some wildly expensive luxury vacation.
That's not how I travel.
Sometimes I'm in a nicer cabin.
Sometimes I’m in an interior.
Sometimes I book a massage.
Sometimes I spend my money on a thermal spa pass and eat the included food on the ship because the fancy dinner matters less to me.
That's the whole point.
Spend your travel budget on the parts of the trip that actually make the trip better for you.
For me, heated loungers apparently accomplish quite a lot. 😂
And as long as I keep cruising, I'm going to keep checking out the spas.
So bookmark this page.
The Lazy Girl cruise-spa research department is definitely still accepting assignments.
About the Author
Hi, I’m Julie Davis, creator of No Point Left Behind. I cruise frequently and share the real experiences, prices, points, perks, casino offers and deal hunting behind the trips I actually take.
Cruise ship thermal spas have become one of my favorite things to experience across different ships and cruise lines. I'm not interested in spending the least money possible on every trip. My philosophy is much simpler:
Save where it doesn't matter to you so you have more room to spend where it does.
For me, the spa very definitely counts. 😂
