The hot wellness travel trend is hitting the seas. For its new ship, Celebrity Beyond, Celebrity Cruises will amp up its mind, body and spirit offerings. It enlisted Gwyneth Paltrow of goop as its well-being adviser and formed Women in Wellness, a panel of industry insiders who will curate the ship’s spa treatments, wellness events, fitness classes and stateroom TV programming.
“Wellness is so fundamental to our philosophy at Celebrity Cruises that we continue to build and grow a truly special onboard experience where it is woven into every aspect of the guest journey from the stateroom to the spa,” says Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo. “Because we’re doing all of this at sea, which is incredibly therapeutic in itself, it becomes a wonderful wellness journey unlike anything in the world.”
The Women in Wellness group includes Katie Brauer, founder of the Yoga Professional, who will create new onboard yoga flow classes; Noella Gabriel, co-founder and global president of the skin care brand Elemis, whose products will be in spa treatments and amenities; Kiki Koroshetz, wellness director at goop, who will curate mindfulness content for stateroom TVs and other special programming; Morgan Mitchell, an Australian sprinter who will compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and an F45 Training athlete who will help guide F45 exercises onboard; Kimberly Snyder, founder of lifestyle brand Solluna, who will make an onboard meditation series; and Ruth Zukerman, co-founder of SoulCycle and FlyWheel Sports, who will provide a guide to onboard cycling.
“In true Celebrity Cruises fashion, we have chosen to work with best-in-class partners in every category to deliver a holistic program designed to improve our guests’ well-being,” says Brian Abel, Celebrity’s senior vice president of hotel operations. “The response to our AquaClass offerings has been phenomenal, and we know this new program, designed for modern travelers, will exceed all expectations.”
Celebrity’s other ships have AquaClass, a cabin type with spa amenities. But Beyond is going bigger with new AquaClass SkySuites. They come with access to Blu, a restaurant with clean food, plant-based options, sustainable seafood dishes and biodynamic wines; complimentary and unlimited access to the onboard SEA Thermal Suite (a pre- or post-treatment respite); priority access to wellness-themed shore excursions; spa perks that include a spa concierge, preferential rates on packages, priority reservations and spa and fitness class credits; a king-sized cashmere mattress, upscale eXhale bedding and a pillow menu; and an in-room fitness menu with sections on yoga, meditation, strength, stretch and cardio, along with a selection of equipment, some of which is hand-picked by goop.
Of course, wellness also will get a big boost in the spa with services and wellness programming developed by OneSpaWorld.
Beyond will debut the first-at-sea Gharieni MLX I3DOME, a high-tech treatment table where you can receive contactless detox and skin rejuvenation; the first Kerastase Institute on the water, which will provide hair care and treatments; and a new menu of services using new technology to improve workout recovery time and overall better physical health. It also will feature an advanced acupuncture clinic, the Ideal Image Ocean MedSpa and a barbershop.
Among the spa’s staggering 120-plus treatments is a new collection of 12 therapies inspired by the destinations that Celebrity’s ships visit. They incorporate indigenous ingredients like Caribbean coconut, Far East jade, Alaskan mud and Baltic soapstone to give guests a taste of local traditions from the ports of call.
Celebrity Beyond also will offer an expanded gym and launch new fitness programs like F45 (it’s the first time the varied, 45-minute, high-intensity group workouts will be available at sea) and popular classes such as HIIT, LIT Bungee Fit (bungee-cord-based exercises) and on-demand Peloton.
Beyond will embark on her maiden voyage in 2022. But if you can’t wait that long to hit the seas, Celebrity announced Wednesday that it received the green light from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to resume its operations. It will be the first major cruise line to sail from U.S. waters in more than a year. Celebrity Edge will leave Fort Lauderdale June 26 for a seven-night cruise in the Caribbean.