Experiences

Can a luxury wellness cruise really help you switch off?

Aboard Explora I, one sceptical traveller tried sunrise yoga, sound baths and spa rituals at sea and found moments of real calm, even on a ship with hundreds of passengers.

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Moving through the yoga flow sequence at sunrise, I became so locked into the rhythm of my breath that my surroundings faded away. It wasn’t until I paused in a cobra pose, glancing upward, that the magic of the moment broke through: Butterflies fluttered above me, and a rainbow arched through the clouds.

I had drifted into such a deep state of relaxation that it was easy to forget I wasn’t alone in some remote destination, but on a cruise ship with nearly 800 other passengers. That reality kicked in as the ship began its mooring manoeuvres, rotating to reveal the Baroque structures and subtropical landscape of Motril, a town on the southern coast of Spain.

It was my second day taking part in a four-day Ocean Wellness Retreat on board Explora I, part of the Explora Journeys luxury fleet, and designed to feel more like a yacht than a cruise ship. The floor-to-ceiling windows, infinity pools and sprawling outward-facing decks create a seamless transition to the water, blurring the lines between the ship’s edges and the ocean’s beginning.

Explora Journeys defines its sailings as “ocean travel,” which, put in simple terms, “is a floating hotel whose address is the ocean,” said Anna Nash, the company’s president. Most of the spaces encourage guests to connect to the water. There are no windowless interior cabins; all are suites with spacious balconies facing the ocean. Nor will you find a traditional buffet with passengers jostling at peak mealtimes.

There are, however, plenty of sun loungers, private nooks and wellness facilities, including an indoor and outdoor gym, a 7,500-sq-ft spa, sports courts and a running track. (Jannik Sinner, the professional tennis player, is the cruise line’s brand ambassador and will be running some of the wellness sessions on the Explora III when it launches in July.)

I was eager to try out the ship, but I was sceptical about the wellness offerings. As a travel reporter covering the cruise industry, I usually leave a cruise ship feeling overstimulated and craving nutritious food. I also assumed that the ship’s amenities and destinations would distract from the retreat’s goals of disconnection and restoration. Nonetheless, I embarked with an open mind.

TARGETING STRESS AND TIREDNESS

After boarding the ship in Spain’s ancient port city of Cadiz, I was greeted by Carlie Barlow, the British wellness practitioner leading the “Step into Serenity” retreat. In a quiet corner of the ship, we began by answering a questionnaire to identify areas that needed improvement.

I laughed aloud when I read the first question: “How do you spend the first and last 90 minutes of your day?” As a full-time working mother of a toddler and a 9-month-old, those are the two most chaotic time slots of my day. Could I wake up a little earlier to squeeze in some yoga? Not when my baby wakes up at 5.30am. Could I spend 30 minutes meditating before bed? Not if there is breaking news.

All I wanted from the retreat was to relax and get some uninterrupted sleep, but Barlow assured me that even under my current circumstances, there was room to introduce practices to improve my well-being.

“Many of the guests that come onboard are overstimulated, overwhelmed, tired and stressed,” Barlow said. “We combine many techniques and disciplines to move out of the busyness of our lives, slowing down and tuning back into our intuition.”

SOUND BATHS, YOGA AND A CASUAL DRESS CODE

At golden hour, as passengers headed up to the Skybar for drinks and a DJ set, I went to a private deck to start a Yin Yoga session accompanied by live acoustic guitar music. Sitting on my mat overlooking the water, I felt the warm ocean breeze and marvelled at how quiet it was considering all the activity around the ship.

Much of the practice led by the ship’s yoga master, Ingrid Roberg, was about slowing down and staying still, and the soft vibrations of the guitar helped accomplish that. By the end of the session, I felt ready to sleep, but it was dinner time, and I had booked a table at the steakhouse.

The transition was jarring: The lights were bright and many guests were dressed up. Earlier in the day, other passengers had welcomed the ship’s relaxed dress code. I was reluctant to get out of my yoga attire, especially as I had a sound bath session at 9pm. A crew member assured me that there was no need to change.

By the time I settled into the ‘singing’ gong session, the ship was sailing toward Morocco. Between the movement, the sound bath and the sound of the waves crashing against the bow, I was ready for bed.

AN UNFORTUNATE EVENT

For the first time since becoming a mother, I set my phone alarm, afraid I would not wake up for the yoga session at 7am. But as I was falling asleep, I felt a jolt of nausea, followed by violent vomiting.

Having covered sickness on cruise ships, I knew to call the ship’s medical centre immediately. After ruling out an emergency, the doctor must check for symptoms of the highly contagious norovirus, prioritising the protection of others on the vessel. Within minutes, a nurse arrived and wheeled me down to the medical facility: a well-equipped clean and modern centre.

As I listed the food I had eaten that day, which included shrimp, I remembered an earlier bout of nausea after eating shrimp and wondered if I had developed an intolerance instead of food poisoning. The doctor said no other guests had reported sickness and after carrying out some tests he ruled out norovirus. (A blood test back home revealed that I do, indeed, have an intolerance to shellfish protein.)

The doctor administered anti-nausea medicine intravenously, which offered the fastest relief, and after two hours, I went back to my cabin, feeling much better, and immediately fell asleep.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Instead of starting the next morning on the yoga mat on the open deck, I was in my room in quarantine, awaiting the doctor’s clearance — and also appreciating my 560-sq-ft penthouse suite, with its spacious lounge, library, terrace and heated bathroom floors. (I had booked and paid for a 370-square-foot entry-level suite, which starts at US$5,000 or about S$ 6,396 for a one-week, all-inclusive sailing, but was upgraded.)

My appetite was back, and I had breakfast in my cabin, watching the sun rise from my terrace as we approached Tangier, Morocco. By 8.30am I was cleared to take part in activities.

One of the biggest challenges of the wellness retreat was finding the time to explore the destinations. The programme was initially designed for the “Grand Journey” itinerary, with several consecutive sea days crossing the Atlantic, which allows passengers to immerse themselves in the practices and connect with nature.

I only participated during four days of the weeklong itinerary. Barlow explained that passengers sailing the full course could strike a better balance. “The practices bring you into the present moment, allowing you to soak up and enjoy the destinations more,” she said.

Having never been to Morocco, I booked a cooking class excursion with Blue Door Cuisine, taking advantage of the four-hour gap in that day’s sleep-themed retreat programme. As I prepared ingredients for a chicken tagine, I met a fellow passenger, Kathleen Bell-Mathy, 75, from San Diego, who explained that this was her second cruise and she loved this one so much that she had extended her itinerary. Still, she was sceptical about meditating with so many distractions. But during a session with Ingrid on a sea day, she said, “I was able to just feel serene and in touch with my mind and spirit.” The bells and sounds used during the session, she added, reminded her “of the rolling waves.” At the end of the session, she was surprised as she wiped tears from her face.

In the days that followed, I focused solely on the programme, which involved meditation, face yoga and a fitness boot camp. My earlier sickness a dim memory, I enjoyed the fresh offerings at the ship’s marketplace, which included poke bowls and handmade pasta, and tried the specialty restaurants in the evenings.

On my last night, I participated in a private spa ritual called “Sacred Alchemy.” The session started with a dynamic interplay of heat and ice, using the sauna and steam room and ice treatments alongside breathing exercises before heading to the salt caves for crystal-based energy work. From there, we went into a warm hydrotherapy pool for a sound bath.

Reading about these practices in the retreat’s brochure, it had all sounded a bit woo-woo, but letting go, I found myself floating on the water, the vibrations of the crystal bowls reverberating through my body. Losing all sense of time and place, for the first time in years, I managed to truly silence my thoughts and calm my mind.

By Ceylan Yeginsu © The New York Times.

This article was originally published in The New York Times.

Source: New York Times/bt

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