 of wine has been reframed as a dogged self-improvement quest. For the cruise industry, embracing the wellness behemoth is a tricky one. This is a holiday whose hallmarks are all-you-can-eat-buffets, minimal movement and jokes about packing stretchy trousers. As a fellow cruise passenger once remarked to me while loading up on a mayonnaise-dripping prawn cocktail: 'If you don't put on half a stone on a cruise then you're not doing it right.' Nevertheless, the last couple of years have seen an influx of yoga retreats at sea and the launch of 'healthy cruise line' Blue World Voyages, whose first ship dedicates a whole deck to fitness, complete with cross-training classes and a juice bar. Elsewhere, a big-hitter in the ultra-luxury space has taken a more nuanced approach. Silversea – the swish operator readers voted the best small-ship ocean cruise line in the 2023 Telegraph Travel Awards – has decided passengers can have their wellness cake and eat it too. For its concept Otium – which debuted on its shimmering Silver Dawn ship last year and has been replicated on their newest ship, Silver Nova – the line has taken its lead from the Romans, and their noble commitment to leisure time. The idea encompasses both spa and fitness as well as various in-suite pampering experiences. Picture reclining on a chaise longue after a spa treatment with){kind=link}
The latest on-ship trend is all about redefining wellbeing. But can you really have your wellness cake and eat it?
The term “wellness” has permeated most areas of our lives, promising that if only we made some lifestyle tweaks, we would unlock healthier, happier, halo-topped versions of ourselves.
And the world of travel has gone all in, with fasting-based medi-spas and silent retreats. Hotels from Los Angeles to Llandudno now serve up green juices and egg-white omelettes and chuck chia seeds on everything. But all too often this new world order feels punitive or guilt-inducing – the very antithesis of a holiday. What used to be defined as a break from the daily grind and a chance to indulge in daily pastries and an extra glass (/bottle) of wine has been reframed as a dogged self-improvement quest.
For the cruise industry, embracing the wellness behemoth is a tricky one. This is a holiday whose hallmarks are all-you-can-eat-buffets, minimal movement and jokes about packing stretchy trousers. As a fellow cruise passenger once remarked to me while loading up on a mayonnaise-dripping prawn cocktail: “If you don’t put on half a stone on a cruise then you’re not doing it right.”
Nevertheless, the last couple of years have seen an influx of yoga retreats at sea and the launch of “healthy cruise line” Blue World Voyages, whose first ship dedicates a whole deck to fitness, complete with cross-training classes and a juice bar.