MSC Meraviglia Spa Review (MSC Thermal Area) What you will find inside, and Whether it is Worth Visiting! 

What is a Thermal Spa Pass?

Visiting the spa when cruising can be the ultimate chance to relax.

Individual Spa Treatments like massages can be expensive on a cruise ship.

Apart from the more traditional Spa treatments many cruise lines also offer ‘Thermal’ Spa passes.

Thermal Spa Passes give you access to all of the Steam Rooms/Saunas/Showers and Pools – which you can enjoy at your own pace.

It’s a lot cheaper than having Spa Treatments, where the cruise line has to pay for higher staff costs. You basically just go into the Thermal Area with no supervision needed and enjoy yourself.

Most cruise lines have Spa passes available to purchase either by the hour or by the day.

The current cost of a Thermal Pass the MSC Meraviglia (March 2023) is around €80 per day.

Look out For Special Offers

Keep an eye on the cruise ship’s “Daily schedule.” There are often deals to be had for spa treatments or Thermal Spa visits.

Any Special Offers at the Spa are usually on port days when the Spa is less busy.

Are There Age Restrictions For Using The Spa and Thermal Areas?

There are age restrictions for using the ship’s Spa areas.

These age restrictions vary from one Cruise Line to another.

Find out more about cruise ship Spa age requirements in the article below

Cruise Ship Spa Age Requirements (Massages, Thermal Area and More)

MSC Meraviglia

I was lucky enough to cruise on the MSC Meraviglia over Christmas.

I had a free hour in the Thermal Area because I matched my loyalty status from NCL to obtain a ‘Black’ Voyager status with MSC.

I loved all of the free loyalty perks, like a free speciality meal and free chocolate – but the hour in the spa was one of my favourites.

As I have a Black Membership Loyalty Status with MSC, I receive a Complimentary one-hour Thermal Area session.

I had never been in a Spa onboard a cruise ship before, but I’m really glad that I took the time to visit the Spa onboard the Meraviglia.

What Is In the Thermal Area of the MSC Meraviglia?

The Thermal Area is made up of a variety of steam rooms, bubbly pools and cool-scented showers!

Quiet room

The first room that you will see when you enter the Spa is the Quiet Room.

This room isn’t wet and isn’t particularly warm. Nevertheless, a good place to relax. I imagine you’d use area this when entering the spa or getting ready to leave.

Bubbly pool

Apologies that I don’t know the actual name for this. I think Bubbly Pool sums it up about right – this one was lovely and warm. I imagine it’d be a bit weird to sit in it with 5 strangers though…

Heated seats

Next to the bubbly pool are heated seats.

I particularly liked these and would love one in my home. It gets quite cold in the UK in winter, and I would LOVE some of these to warm up on.

A Second Bubbly Pool

This ‘pool’ is the biggest in the Spa. It’s basically like a giant hot tub.

It was the most popular part of the Spa when I visited, and most of the time was full.

We did manage to get it to ourselves some of the time though.

Another Quiet Room

At the back of the room, there is another quiet room.

It’s Similar to the first one – Can you see me in the reflection? Sporting a lovely bathrobe!

Steam Rooms/Saunas

There are a number of Steam Rooms and Saunas.

I don’t have any photos of these because they’re usually dark, but I can assure you that they are there!

Each had its own colour theme, and a range of different scents.

As we hadn’t paid, and only had our “free hour” in the spa, we ran from room to room making sure that we experienced everything!

Cold Showers

Once we had spent nearly an hour warming up, it was time to take a cold shower!

They have a number of cold showers, again with different light themes and scents. I chose to take a shower in the ‘cold storm’. It was really cold.

There is no way that I can describe in words how cold The “Cold Storm” shower was, it’s better just to show you. (Skip to 7:00 in the video below if you just want to see that part!)

There are lots of other worthwhile tips in the video below though, I would love you to watch it all!

Would I recommend it?

I would definitely recommend a trip to the Thermal Spa Area.

It’s a great way to relax before dinner or later in the evening. I’m not really a ‘Spa Person’ – but I had a great time.

We get an hour’s free Thermal Spa Access as a loyalty perk with MSC. We matched our loyalty status from Norwegian Cruise Line.

I’d definitely recommend looking into this if you have a loyalty status on any other cruise line:

More about that here! 

If you’re considering a cruise on the MSC Meraviglia, or any other MSC ship please check out the Meraviglia section of our site: MSC Meraviglia. 

I took a wonderful cruise on MSC Seaview around the Carribean. It was such a good deal, and the ship was sailing at 23% capacity! Find out why it was so cheap here:

Before You Go

As you know, I like to save money when cruising! Find out how to cut your onboard spending and reduce any unnecessary costs in the article below:

Cutting Onboard Expenses, BEFORE You Cruise, And Avoiding Unnecessary Costs (Drinks, Speciality Meals, Excursions and More) Once Onboard.

Learn more about getting the best cabin for your budget, and saving money without downgrading your cabin type here:

Get The Best Cabin for Your Budget! Hints, Tips and Examples of How to Save Money Without Downgrading Your Cabin Type

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