Thermal Spa packages - the best and the worst, please

Norwegian Breakaway has the best we have used. The Gem comes next ( can't wait for January to get here )

What has been your experience with thermal suites?

Caribbean Princess was the first experience. Never before knew the joy of a heated tile bench until that cruise.

Norwegian Gem had a surprisingly large thermal spa. Big highlight was the Thalassotherapy pool with high pressure jets. Loved the sauna. It was quite large, had windows forward and starboard and benches facing the view. This was the spa I visited most frequently of all cruises.

Celebrity Reflection Aqua class cabins came with thermal spa access. Facilities were nice but the downside was there was not a private pool for spa guests.

Crown Princess has dark hole of a thermal spa which included steam chamber, sauna suites and hot-stone beds. A massive drawback was the utter lack of natural light. There was no view whatsoever. Clearly this suite was an after thought crammed into available space.

Is this a regular part of your cruise experience?

The thermal suite is a plus on any of our cruises. If given a choice between the Sanctuary or the thermal package, I go with Sanctuary. That may change with our upcoming Regal Princess cruise. Being a new ship, I want to see the layout before committing to one or the other. We have a lot of OBC so perhaps both!

Plusses.... minuses?

Great for relaxation if the facilities are well planned. Tiled benches are great for joint pain relieve. Love the peace and quiet. The minuses bench-hoggers put in roots despite others waiting for a go at them. Also, talkers who just won't shut up. Hard to relax with someone yammering on.

I had a spa cabin on the Carnival Magic that included access to the spa areas. I thought it was worth the upcharge, but only if you use the facilities. The thalassotherapy bath and steam/sauna rooms were definitely relaxing.

I remember on the Allure, we went for a tour of the spa and we saw the heated bench/seats. They told us about a deal where we can access them and a few other spots. Claimed they had limited passes available still but the BF was not super impressed and for the price, we passed it up.