Paul Gauguin Cruises Joins CLIA

Introducing Paul Gauguin Cruises

Paul Gauguin Cruises just became the 24th member of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). You probably already know Paul Gauguin Cruises as the operator of the highest-rated and longest continually sailing luxury cruise ship in the South Pacific. Since 1998, the m/s Paul Gauguin has completed more than 500 South Pacific cruises and served more than 140,000 guests.

Reservations are now open for Paul Gauguin's 2010 season, which features 38 luxury cruises to Tahiti, French Polynesia, and the South Pacific. Customers who have sailed previously on Paul Gauguin Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Silversea, The Yachts of Seabourn, Crystal Cruises, SeaDream Yacht Club, or Windstar Cruises will enjoy additional savings of 5 percent and exclusive recognition benefits with membership in the m/s Paul Gauguin Society.

To learn more about Paul Gauguin Cruises, send me an email or give me a call. Don't miss exciting information like this. Make sure you take advantage of all my communications: weekly eSaver newsletter, my Facebook page, and this blog.

NCL Dawn Bermuda - El Dorado Spa

A feeling of peace surrounds you as you walk into the El Dorado Spa lobby aboard the Norwegian Dawn. You immediately forget that you are even on a cruise ship since you are surrounded by tropical plants and warm colors that relax your mind and body.

The therapist behind the desk asks if they can help you. Since you have signed up for use of the spa area for the entire cruise, you give them your cabin card and in exchange receive a robe and a locker key. A few minutes later you exit the changing room and enter into the pool area.

After putting your robe, towel, and shoes by one of the lounge chairs, you decide to go for a swim in the warm waters of the pool. The water is very comforting. The spa isn't very crowded, so you have the pool to yourself. As you start to do some laps, you can't help but think about how much nicer it is having this pool to yourself instead of competing with everyone else in the main pool area.

After doing laps for awahile you decided to go into the thalassotherapy pool. The water is much warmer than the pool.

The warm seawater circulates around your entire body and you find yourself relaxing like you've never done before.

Thalassotherapy is a rediscovered spa treatment based on an ancient belief in the natural healing properties of seawater.

The word itself was coined in 19th Century France from the Greek "thalassa" meaning sea and "therapeia" meaning healing. Today, thalassotherapy is used as an alternative treatment for medical conditions and has become a popular tourist attraction for relaxation and stress reduction as well as a favorite method of anti-aging healing by maintaining healthy circulation in the body.

After relaxing awhile in the thalassotherapy pool, you decide to go into the hot tub. There are a couple people in there already and you strike up a conversation. They too are having a wonderful time relaxing in the spa. Isn't this heaven?

When the timer for the jets goes off, you decide you'll just relax on your lounge chair. Your chair faces the aft of the ship and you watch the wake of the ship as the ship sails away in the calm sea. The sun is starting to set. You've had a wonderful time and are feeling very relaxed. It's almost time to get ready for your evening activities, so you go take a shower and retrieve you belongings from the locker. You'll be back another time since you've got a cruise pass for the entire length of the voyage.

What a great way to end the day. Your day began with your Hot Stones (aromastone therapy) massage appointment. For 50 minutes, your therapist worked every kink out of your body using her hands, massage oil, and hot stones to relieve stress and muscle aches.

I hope you enjoyed your first sea day with visits to the spa. In my next post, I'll talk about some of the other things that were going on the first two sea days.

South Pacific Spa

NCL's Pearl has one of the best spas in the industry. It is known as the South Pacific Spa and Beauty Salon. We spent many hours at the spa during our most recent cruise on the Pearl.

TIP !! It is a good idea to book any spa appointments early as prime times will be taken fast. As a rule, we make the spa one of our first stops once we get onboard and drop off our carry-on bags at our cabin.

One of the more popular recent additions to spa menus on ships is the concept of a thermal suite. The actual contents of a thermal suite will vary from ship to ship, but the basic premise is that it's a place where you can relax and enjoy various thermal ammenities. On the Pearl, there's a Thalassotherapy pool, a hot tub, several heated ceramaic stone loungers, showers, and lounge chairs with a view of the ocean.

In addition, the men's and women's changing rooms have several additional ammenities including a beautiful sauna with the same view looking forward, two individual soaking tubs, a plunge pool, showers, and lockers.

If you are interested in using the thermal suite during your cruise, the best value is to purchase a pass for the entire length of the cruise. The thermal suite is open from 8 am until 10 pm every day during the cruise. On our 5 day cruise, the cost was $20 per day or $75 for the cruise.

TIP !! Take time to pamper yourself during your cruise. Odds are that you've worked hard and long to make this cruise possible. It's time to reward yourself and rejuvenate your body.

For you men out there - that includes you too. Both my husband and I have regular massages, even on land. Our favorite treatment onboard a ship is the hot stones massage.