Priti Mehta: Wellness options are vital for cruise lines
This is the time of year for vows to eat more healthily, to drink less, and to dust o the trainers and actually go to the gym – rather than just pay for the membership; as we all try to start the new year and new decade with a reinvigorated sense of self.
Encompassing everything promoting physical and mental wellbeing, the health and wellness industry is a serious business, and one of which the global tourism industry, including the cruise sector, is an integral part. According to 2018 figures from the Global Wellness Institute, the global health and wellness industry is worth a staggering $4.2 trillion, and growing significantly every year.
Taking a holiday has long been designated as one of the best ways to recharge, relax and re-focus, as holidays provide an opportunity to step back and reflect, away from the chaos of day-to-day life.
Today, for many of us, life has never been busier or more connected, and there has been a real and meaningful shift towards wellness in the last decade from the cruise industry.
Where once, providing fitness classes and having fully-equipped gyms on board were seen as a ‘nice-to-have’, they are now a crucial element of a holistic suite of wellness options for guests. There has been a real move away from the predictable list of spa treatments, and a token ‘lighter’ choice or two on a menu from the cruise sector.
Options open to cruise guests range from spa treatments, to one-on-one specialist exercise classes, medi-spa options, plant-based menus and wellness-focused shore excursions.
This is why, here at Oceania Cruises, we recently unveiled our new Aquamar Spa + Vitality Center the most unique and comprehensive spa and wellness centre at sea, which has been added to all of our six ships as part of our Oceania NEXT enhancement.
We have gone well beyond a traditional spa, offering a complete and original collection of holistic wellness encounters both onboard and ashore, including plant-based cuisine options, complimentary exercise classes including yoga and pilates, wellness tours, ports of call, and onboard treatments.
Enrichment programmes have long been a part of the cruise experience, where experts in their field come onboard to share their knowledge, often through a series of guest lectures.
At Oceania Cruises, we offer a more hands-on approach to this important part of the suite of wellness options. Through the Artist’s Loft, and Culinary Centers on board Marina and Riviera, our experts give guests the chance to get fully immersed and take part in cookery and art masterclasses.
Today’s cruise guests are active, they are leading rich and fulfilled lives. For them, wellness is not a pursuit, it’s a lifestyle, which is fantastic news for cruise lines offering unrivalled wellness options.
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