Nordic Cycle

We have been enjoying the amenities of the ship on the days we spend sailing, with no ports or excursions. I continue to enjoy walking around the track on Deck 2, where they have removed the razor wire, so apparently the pirate threat has ended.

We’ve also frequented the spa which includes a dry sauna and cold plunge, a wet/steam sauna, a hot whirlpool tub, a thermal pool, a snow grotto, and an ice bucket shower.

This spa is based on the Scandinavian inspired “Nordic Cycle”, which involves alternating between hot and cold environments. This is an ancient practice that dates back thousands of years. It starts with heating the body in a sauna, spa, hot tub, or steam room. After that, you go into a cold space such as the “cold plunge” pool, the snow grotto, or the ice bucket shower. The belief is that taking your body from extremely hot to extremely cold temperatures has many benefits, including strengthening the immune system, detoxifying the body, improving circulation, metabolism, lung and cardiovascular capacity, improving breathing, respiration, and digestion, reducing swelling and inflammation, soothing sore joints and muscles, and improving sleep quality.

So after learning about these benefits and having the facilities available to us and nowhere else to go at the moment, we took advantage. First we went into the dry sauna. This is a small room with wooden bench seats and walls, and a basket of hot rocks.

Dry sauna

There is a bucket of water and a ladle, and you throw water on the rocks to create steam. After 15 minutes or so in the dry sauna, then you go into a room next to it where there is a “cold plunge”. This is a small pool of 50-degree water, where you just get in for a quick plunge and then come out immediately. The idea is to just dip in the water to cool your body off after the hot sauna. The dry saunas and cold plunge pools are in the men’s and women’s dressing rooms, and so are separated.

Cold plunge pool

Dry sauna entrance on right, cold plunge on left

The rest of the facilities are in a common area, where men and women use them together. The wet sauna is a room with steam so thick that it’s hard to see anything when inside.  

Wet or steam sauna

The snow grotto is a small glass-enclosed room filled with manmade snow. The freezing room temperature keeps the snow from melting. Again, the idea is to go from the hot steam sauna or a hot tub into the snow grotto. We tried the snow grotto, and Joe lasted longer than I did, which was a few seconds, perhaps a minute. Yep, I didn’t come on a cruise in the tropics in November to experience this type of cold. I could have stayed in Pittsburgh for that.

 

Snow Grotto

We took a dip in a thermal pool that was almost like a wave pool. It was a strange sensation being moved by the waves while simultaneously experiencing the rocking of the ship back and forth.

Thermal Pool

Joe went into the ice bucket shower, where you stand under a bucket of ice water, pull a rope, and get splashed from above with the cold water. He’s more adventurous than me; I didn’t even think about trying that!

Ice bucket shower

Thermal pool and hot tub

Relaxing on the comfy chairs

Hot tub