I lay on my back on the teak deck at the tip of the bow, enveloped in the glow of the full moon against a phosphorescent sea. And I felt a shiver up my spine‚ partly because of the otherworldly surroundings and partly because the entire guest list had shown up for The Full Moon Sound Bath, and there were simply not enough blankets to go around. This was the moment of true scarcity aboard the luxury superyacht, but it didn’t last for long. In a few more moments, more blankets appeared, and all was well.
Where was I, you may wonder? Somewhere in the Mid Atlantic, between Barbados and Tenerife, aboard the Scenic Eclipse II. Senior Captain Erwan Le Rouzic had slowed the ship to soften even the sounds of the bow wake, and the net result was ethereal transport.
The serene vitality pool.
It’s cliché to say that this was a truly magical night—but it was.
Wellness Takes the Helm
The adventure began when a repositioning cruise—which could have been an empty ship crossing the Atlantic—became the maiden voyage for the Scenic Eclipse II Wellness Retreat. The two submarines were locked up, as were the pair of helicopters. The adventure staff was given shore leave, replaced by a cadre of spa and wellness experts.
The result was a remarkable mix where wellness was defined as whatever felt good. And whatever you wanted was immediately at hand because the crew of 167 wasn’t serving 228 guests, but 65—that’s about 2.5 crew members for every guest.
In one sense, the special turndown notes said it all.
“Welcome to a journey of quiet indulgence. As the ocean stretches endlessly before you, allow its gentle rhythm to ease you into stillness . . .”
“Settle into the moment with ease. Notice the softness of the evening, the subtle movement of the sea, the calm within your breath. Here, in this space, everything is exactly as it should be.”
Going with the Flow
But the moving wellness destination also has a huge built-in challenge: Six time zones over ten days means you’re constantly leaping ahead—so the morning breathwork or yoga class gets earlier and earlier. You may give in to that flow—or you may just stay in bed and order Champagne to sharpen your palette for the exquisite afternoon wine tasting with Head Sommelier Alex Lutchumon—one of the best sommeliers you’ll find on land or sea.
Despite the moving time and multitudes of temptations, I did manage to happily experience nearly all of the wellness offerings from Gabor Hermann, Corporate Spa Manager Scenic and Emerald Cruises, guest yoga practitioner Marcos Jassan, and Jessica Sloyan, visiting practitioner and Senior International Spa Associate with ESPA. As it turns out, the elegant and expansive Senses Spa situated on Deck 6 has a special partnership with ESPA, the British luxury spa and skincare brand.
Senses Spa Sauna at Sea
Among my favorite experiences, the afore-mentioned Full Moon Sound Bath, and The Sauna Honey Ritual—the brainchild of Hermann who expertly guided the luxurious sauna experience. We sat atop towels in the super-hot sauna and first exfoliated with ESPA salts, then slathered ourselves with nourishing raw honey. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that messy. We washed off on our own before heading to the relaxation lounge where we enjoyed refreshing fruit kebabs. It was the bee’s knees!
“Welcome to a journey of quiet indulgence. As the ocean stretches endlessly before you, allow its gentle rhythm to ease you into stillness . . .”
I also enjoyed the Return the Balance class with Sloyan that took place in the Yoga & Pilates studio. The studio quickly filled up with guests who wanted to experience this deeply restorative sound healing session. Sloyan has a way with singing bowls and other therapeutic instruments, and all of her classes, including the very creative Slo|Yin Flow, a Qigong-inspired practice held outside on the top deck, filled up quickly.
Jassan led a number of beginner-to-intermediate yoga classes and spent most afternoons lecturing on topics ranging from Ayurveda to proper posture to meditation. I attended the majority of his lectures, as well as his Introduction to Breath class—“exhaling is an ecstatic joy”—and his Restorative Yoga class that involved a number of gentle stretches over blocks and bolsters. “Lean into the curiosity of what is the life source,” he instructed, “Whatever it is, get the flavor of it and start exploring.”
And speaking of flavors, his White Fire: A Shot of Energy class, was a fun one in which he demonstrated how to make his signature tonic. Think classic ginger shot on steroids. In The Art of Body Brushing—guests had been gifted ESPA’s collection of body oils and natural cactus-bristle body brush—Jassan demonstrated how to use the brush and oils to create a mindful self-care practice.
Personalizing the Journey
It was interesting, and refreshing, for me, a longtime spa pro, to witness the curiosity from guests who were not traditional spa-goers. Guests onboard at these classes truly wanted to learn how to be healthier and take better care of themselves. They were eager for health and wellness tips to take home and were really looking to personalize their wellness journey according to their own needs and energy levels.
One of the highlights of this Wellness Retreat was that wellness wasn’t treated as some grand goal to achieve, but as an experience to be felt—and integrated over time.
The Pure Yoga & Pilates Studio
“It’s about bringing in simple things that are possible for everyone,” shared Hermann. “A healthy breakfast can be an option, what you have in your room can be an option, but there can also be events where people learn and come away thinking, ‘I took something from that.’ The real value is motivating people to take action—showing them how to make it happen, how to build habits, how to take the steps and make them work. If people are coming on a wellness cruise, they’re generally interested in their health. It’s about giving them valuable information so they can make healthier choices.”
Much to my delight, the ship featured nine distinct restaurants with a range of excellent cuisine. On the wise advice of Hotel Director Daniel Wedel, I dined many a night at Elements, featuring Italian and International fare (the Lamb Wellington was to die for). Night Market was noteworthy for its Filipino street food, while Lumière Modern French Cuisine was an elegant dining experience, thanks in large part to the wine pairings.
A Welcoming Spa
One of the best things about the 5,920-square-foot Senses Spa, overseen by Ozay Aydogan, Spa Manager, was the clear division between the men’s and women’s area, each had traditional sauna, steam room, ice fountain, KLAFs infrared chairs, and a KLAFS salt therapy lounge. An interesting detail: The men’s area also does double-duty as the co-ed area.
The spa was pleasantly accessible, and I spent a few hours there every day, immersed in my personal hot-cold spa and relaxation ritual. My 90-minute ESPA Inner Calm massage, like the majority of massages I’ve had at sea, was good, but not great. That just seems to be how it is. The upside, however, was that there was no hard sell. Nobody on the ship was hard selling anything—how luxurious is that?
The question that comes to mind is how a wellness cruise compares with a land-based luxury destination resort—and what might make you choose one over the other. A ship like Scenic can rival almost any resort in terms of staff, service, and amenities. But there is another distinction: everyone is on the journey together. The crew isn’t simply coming to work at a resort each day; they’re living within the same self-contained world as their guests. That creates a continuity of service—and perhaps a sense of immersion—that is hard to replicate on land.
And of course, there is the sea, which on this voyage was gloriously happy. To sit in a sauna and look out over endless gentle swells under blue skies softens every perspective.
Ten days at sea, with a Wellness Retreat unfolding around you, nowhere to go, and absolutely nothing to be done that doesn’t feel right in the moment, will cure just about anything.
Mary Bemis
Mary Bemis is Founder & Editorial Director of InsidersGuidetoSpas.com. An advocate for all things spa, Mary forged a vocabulary for spa reportage that is widely used by those who cover the issues today. Recently honored as a Top 30 Influential Voice Transforming Wellness by Medika Life, Mary is an inaugural honoree of Folio’s Top Women in Media Award. Her spa media roots run deep—in 1997, she launched American Spa magazine, in 2007, she co-founded Organic Spa magazine, and in between serving on the ISPA and NYSPA Board of Directors, she was on the launch teams of Luxury SpaFinder and New Beauty magazines. Named a "Wonder Woman of Wellness" by American Spa magazine, Mary was honored by the International Spa Association with the distinguished ISPA Dedicated Contributor Award. She is a special advisor to the non-profit Global Wellness Day.
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