Cruise ships to offer frosty “snow room” spas
While the top deck infinity pool might be what’s getting all the headlines, it’s another attraction on Viking Cruises’ award winning Viking Star that’s captured the imagination of passengers.
The Viking Star’s Snow Grotto allows travellers to reap the benefits of the cooler temperatures after a steam. After the sauna you can cool down with this Nordic-influenced tradition – just make sure you wear your spa slippers when you’re walking in as your bare feet might not appreciate it as much.
The Viking Star’s Snow Grotto is kept below freezing temperature with flurries of powdery snow descending from the ceiling during the day with an effect that’s touted as beneficial for circulation. The Snow Grotto is part of an elegant thermal suite including a sprawling relaxation zone which offers a salt-water filled thermal pool, hot tub, sauna, heated lounges and therapeutic showers.
Viking Cruises' founder and CEO, Torstein Hagen, says these relaxation facilities that are provided aboard the Viking Star perfectly suit the exploratory spirit that is offered to visitors on any of the ships operated by the ocean line, “We like to think of Viking of the thinking-man's ocean cruise... We are not promoting this as a luxury ship. We want to bring exploration back to cruising.”
That being said, people embarking on a Viking Cruise experience just as much luxury as those on different lines. As an added bonus Viking offers access to smaller ports often missed by larger lines, often includes shore inclusions in the price and offers complimentary extras like Wi Fi and drinks with lunch and dinner which can make all the difference when you’re on an extended cruise.
And Viking isn’t the only cruise line that’s getting in on the action. A recently debuted Norwegian Cruise ship has revealed one of the coolest new attractions to hit cruising in 2016 – a super-chilled “snow rom” frosty spa retreat. The snow room is exactly how it sounds, kept at a frosty -10 degrees and boasts flurries of powdery snow from the ceiling in a display of complete and utter decadence.
“It's very good for aches and pains,” says Courtney Neumann, working as the spa manager on the Norwegian Escape, who recommends lounging in the thermal suite's super-heated sauna before entering the snow room. “The idea is to go from hot to cold, which makes your blood vessels constrict and dilate, which is extremely good for your immune system and blood circulation.”
The Norwegian Escape also offers a thermal suite with an aromatic steam room, humidity-filled heated sanarium, thalassotherapy pool and a “salt room” – a colourful space infused with therapeutic salts. There also are 33 heated loungers shaped to conform to a human spine and dozens of traditional lounge chairs that look out over the ocean through floor-to-ceiling windows.
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