FX Excursions

FX Excursions offers the chance for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in destinations around the world.

Set Sail on a Health and Wellness Cruise with Oceania, Celebrity and More

by Margaret Backenheimer and J.D. Brown

Sep 11, 2020

PHOTO: © CRYSTAL CRUISES

September 2020

Cruises offer a deluge of opportunities to overindulge, but cruise lines also increasingly cater to passengers who want to disembark in better shape than when they boarded. This means more than expanding gym space or updating exercise equipment. New programs to maintain (or even improve) health and wellness for mind as well as body are multiplying.

While buffet-and-booze cruises with Broadway-style shows and high-tech amusements are just the ticket for many holiday passengers, others seek more healthful alternatives. The “goop at Sea” cruise epitomizes this trend, as Gwyneth Paltrow brings her own health and wellness brand, goop, to a Barcelona-based Mediterranean voyage. The inaugural cruise — originally scheduled to depart in August but postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic — will sail aboard Celebrity Cruises’ new 2,910-passenger ship, Celebrity Apex. Talks and workshops will center on the wellness of mind, body and soul. Goop’s own staff will tailor healthful meals, and passengers can meet with trailblazing healers.

Likewise, Crystal Cruises’ massive 71-day sailing aboard Crystal Symphony from Athens to Auckland, departing Oct. 11, 2021, features a “Mind, Body & Spirit” theme. Experts on tai chi, yoga and Pilates will be on hand; the spa will utilize principles of feng shui to achieve stress reduction and rejuvenation; and passengers can employ weighted vests and walking poles for a “Walk-on-Water” on the 360-degree Promenade Deck. Meanwhile, Silversea Cruises also turned its spa and fitness facilities toward holistic and ancient wellness practices by adding programs in acupuncture and fat-burning nutrition. And Lindblad Expeditions now offers a wellness program on all its National Geographic ships with the philosophy that nature is revitalizing and the wilderness is its tonic. Certified Wellness Specialists lead morning stretching and exercise programs, aerobic shore walks and individualized spa and massage treatments.

PHOTO: © OCEANIA CRUISES

Oceania Cruises makes wellness a major focus on its cruises worldwide, both on board and on shore. Its Wellness Discovery Tours feature some 50 shore excursion options, from mineral baths in Rome and reflexology on a rice barge to meditation with a monk and traditional dance therapy. Passengers can also practice beach yoga and tai chi or partake of Chinese traditional medicine remedies. All of Oceania’s ships serve gourmet “Vitality Cuisine” in the Grand Dining Room and raw juices and smoothies at Waves Grill. The cruise line also moved beyond lobster and caviar with plant-based health-and-wellness treats including “cheese burgers,” “ice cream” and “crème brûlée.”

Since 2016 Dr. Andrew Weil, a pioneer in integrative medicine combining physical, social, environmental and spiritual well-being, has presided over the wellness and spa programs of Seabourn Cruises. Each of Seabourn’s ships has a Mindful Living Coach certified in yoga and meditation to conduct seminars and classes. The new spa treatments (an Earth Grounding Massage and a Restorative Salt Stone Massage) flow from a similar mind-body perspective. Seabourn’s two annual “Voyages to Wellness” cruises, one in Arabia, the other in the South Pacific, are often led by Dr. Weil himself. The cruises offer daily morning meditations, yoga exercises and stretch and Pilates classes, as well as seminars on managing stress, anxiety and chronic pain; heart health; diet and nutrition; hypnosis; aging; vitality; laughter; and sleep.

Nearly every major cruise line now offers its own menu of wellness programs, including New Age spa treatments, alternative health workshops, mind-body exercise sessions, plant-based dining options and special shore excursions. The newest luxury at sea, it seems, is self- improvement rather than self-indulgence.

TO SLEEP, PERCHANCE TO DREAM

Experts concur a good night’s sleep is key to health and wellness, especially on a cruise where the setting is new, the pace of life is unpredictable and the bed is unfamiliar, perhaps even uncomfortable.

To ensure sufficient shut-eye at sea, Regent Seven Seas Cruises goes the extra league. Exclusively for guests of the Regal Suite on the Seven Seas Splendor, the new “Restorative Sleep Ritual” should eliminate the need to count sheep (or dolphins). This wellness program begins with the Serene Spa & Wellness “Around the World Massage,” fusing a Swedish rubdown with treatments employ- ing bamboo stalks, heated volcanic rocks, coconut poultices, Moroccan argan oils and mind-soothing scents from India and Egypt.

The centerpiece of the ritual is a milk bath. Described as “transcendent” and “nourishing,” the milk bath is steeped in vitamins, amino acids and herbs designed to soften and rejuvenate the skin.

All that remains is a bed every bit as comforting as the spa treatment and milk bath, and Regent Seven Seas’ answer is a $200,000 Vividus bed, handcrafted in Sweden by certified bed artisans over a nine-week period, its many luxuriant layers handstitched together to create a zero-gravity, floating platform completely detached from all earthly cares.

With its “Restorative Sleep Ritual,” Regent Seven Seas believes it can deliver the “most natural, deeply relaxing sleep in the world.” Or, at least, at sea.

Introducing

FX Excursions

FX Excursions offers the chance for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in destinations around the world.

Explore Excursions

#globility

Insta Feed
Daily
Feb 13, 2025

Trendy Delano Miami Beach Hotel Reopens This Year

Ennismore and partner Cain International are expecting to reopen the well-known Delano Miami Beach hotel in 2025 after completing a full renovation.

A Word with Nat Pieper, oneworld CEO

Name: Nat Pieper Title: CEO at oneworld City: Dallas, Texas First job: Stadium vendor

Daily
Feb 13, 2025

Florida’s Amrit Ocean Resort Launches Wellness Retreat Series

Situated on Florida’s Singer Island, recently opened Amrit Ocean Resort launches a wellness retreat series. Held monthly, this series aims to inspire longevity. The first retreat kicks off Feb. 27.

Daily
Feb 13, 2025

Aman to Open Its First Property in Bangkok

More than 35 years after opening its first property, Amanpuri, in Phuket, Aman returns to Thailand with the opening of Aman Nai Lert in Bangkok. Set to debut April 2, the 52-suite property lies within privately owned Nai Lert Park, offering guests a secluded haven in the middle of the bustling city, much like sister property Aman New York.

Discover the Pristine Beauty of the Sporades Islands

Nestled in the northwest Aegean Sea, the Sporades Islands are a hidden gem of Greece, offering breathtaking natural beauty and unique experiences for every traveler. Comprised of four main islands — Skiathos, Skopelos, Alonissos and Skyros — this island cluster is renowned for its lush pine forests, crystal-clear waters and idyllic beaches.

Daily
Feb 12, 2025

Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival Returns in March

Celebrating the best of Asian and Asian American filmmaking, Colorado’s Dragon Boat Film Festival is a fun mix of screenings by established and emerging artists. The theme of this year’s event is Honoring Our Past to Guide Our Future, held March 14–16 at Denver Sie Center.

eFlyer Deals
Feb 12, 2025

Have a Galentine’s to Remember at Holston House Nashville

Available for stays Feb. 13–17, Holston House Nashville’s Galentine’s offer is sure to elevate your girls’ trip to the next level. This offer starts at just $50 above the hotel’s standard room rate and comes with:

Extraordinary Egypt

ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME JOURNEY INTO THE ANCIENT WORLD OF THE PHARAOHS

eFlyer Deals
Feb 12, 2025

Last-Minute Valentine’s Day Deal at The Benjamin Royal Sonesta Hotel

Still looking for a Valentine’s Day offer? The Benjamin Royal Sonesta Hotel, in New York City, has the LOVE Ben promotion available. With this offer, enjoy a stay in the hotel’s signature suite, as well as a private, late-night MoMA tour for two (with transportation included).