Spa Magazine

It starts, inevitably, with disbelief, an instant of pure astonishment at her sheer size. Yes, you've seen photographs, and people may have described her to you with their eyes wide, yet the moment you catch sight of her, any preconceptions vanish, and you stare. Because the second shock is her beauty: The Queen Mary 2 (QM2) is striking-an immense pearl-black hull beneath ivory-white decks under a London-bus red smokestack. The $800 million liner-not, we beg your pardon, cruise ship-can carry 2,592 guests and is longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall. Embarkation is in front of you, but for a moment you just stand and marvel.

It was Cunard that introduced the first regularly scheduled trans-Atlantic liner service, in 1840. Over the years, it hosted Elizabeth Taylor as she made "the crossing"-the journey from Southampton, England, to New York City-as well as Bing Crosby, Spencer Tracy, and Claudette Colbert. In the great era of ocean liners, the trip was not just about travel but a rite of passage. Today, sailing aboard Cunard's QM2 is a return to those glamorous days-when the journey was just as important as the destination.

My mom and I stepped on board into the elegant main lobby and found our stateroom on Deck 10. We took in our giant balcony and deck chairs, then went to the very end of the ship and watched under the mild summer skies as Southampton receded behind us.

Once at sea, we set off to explore the world-class Canyon Ranch SpaClub three decks and a few hundred yards from our front door. During my six days on board, I was going to have four treatments. And although the spa offers everything from aromatherapy to Ayurvedic treatments to therapeutic body cocoons, I decided that this time I'd go back to basics and focus on one thing: I planned to get four signature Canyon Ranch Massage treatments over the week and see how I felt by the end of it.

I began the next day with Lance, a massage therapist who chatted easily with me about himself and the spa. "So," I asked, "what is the Canyon Ranch Massage?" He explained that it is any massage you want, done the way you and the therapist think is best.

It made me question my strategy. How could I get a feel for a signature Canyon Ranch treatment if the signature is always different? But it also made me more interested: I know my body, and my tension is stored in the muscles under my scapula. Work on my head, feet, and hands is hypnotic for me; by contrast I intensely dislike work on my front torso. Legs and arms leave me indifferent.

So I told Lance this. He frowned in concentration at what I said, nodded, and began. He hesitated a few times, asked occasionally if I liked what he was doing, and went on. I told him I had lower-back issues, so he began on my glutes and hamstrings. ("They connect to the lower back," he explained.) He also found trigger points in the rhomboids and erectors under my scapula and focused on those.

It was a very solid massage, but it seemed to me that I had thrown him. The next day, however, his work was assured. He remembered my preferences exactly, and I felt that if my being specific had taken a little away from the first treatment, it made the second that much better.

Now comfortable with me, he tried different techniques that he could start and stop effortlessly. For example, he approached the pectorals through my armpit. I hated the sensation and in about a minute told him so. No problem-he moved to my trapezius (the muscle between the neck and shoulders), explaining that he was doing an injury massage, using compression to stop the blood supply to a trigger point for a few moments, then rubbing it gently to ease out the toxins. That, I loved.

The meeting of Canyon Ranch and Cunard was a fortuitous union of two venerable names. Just as Cunard is an innovator in the cruise world, Canyon Ranch-opened in 1979 as a destination spa in Tucson, Arizona-is known as a forward-thinking presence in the spa world.

The most wonderful thing about Canyon Ranch on the QM2 is that the spa is always present in your shipboard life. "Having Canyon Ranch on board is actually an effort to provide passengers with a more complete experience," a Cunard rep told me, and indeed at every meal there is a Canyon Ranch option, a healthier and lighter selection with carbs, fats, and calories noted. My mom went to two or three exercise classes every day (yoga, Pilates, aerobics, spinning) and took copious notes at lectures on nutrition. She happily called it "the ultimate exercise vacation."

In our non-spa time we saw shows, went to the pool and the planetarium, watched movies, and knew that the next event or dinner or party was just a five-minute walk away. (My mom also spent time in the library, with its 8,000 books and windows looking over the blue sea.)

Halfway through my trip, Darryll Leiman-​a compact, energetic, friendly South African in his 50s who was one of the onboard spa directors-convinced me to change up my spa strategy. "Listen," he said, "I see why you're doing an all-basics program, but I think you should consider Supanun's Thai massage." He told me that in the infancy stages of planning QM2, Canyon Ranch's founder, Mel Zuckerman, told him to get the best therapists from all over the world, so he went to Thailand and India. "I was knocking on doors at the Thai Ministry of Labour," he said. "Once I explained what we were doing, they insisted on selecting a team of therapists for us, and one of our first was the therapist for the crown prince of Thailand."

So the next day, I entered the compact, darkened Thai massage room. Supanun-not the therapist for the crown prince but wonderful nonetheless-was from Bangkok, and she had been with Canyon Ranch for six months. She began by moving various parts of my body so gently I almost didn't notice. Next, she worked on my legs, her thumbs pressing into the muscles along the shin, rocking as she shifted back and forth from my legs to my feet. Supanun then sat down on the futon and manipulated me using her feet, legs, hands, arms, and back. There were no Lance-like strokes at all. Rather, I was kneaded and stretched and coaxed and led. She sat back and her entire body steered me just as one steers a sailboat in high wind, hands working the ropes and feet constantly adjusting the rudder.

Impressed by Supanun, I decided to allow Leiman to direct me to my last treatment, as well: a massage with Tomohiro, a Japanese therapist who specializes in shiatsu and ashiatsu. Again I was struck by the difference between my onboard therapists. Where Lance used lateral strokes, Tomohiro worked at 90 degrees; his movements were in and out. It was in talking about Tomohiro that Leiman explained why the Canyon Ranch Massage is freestyle. "Our staff is a mini-United Nations," he said. "American, British, Indian, Thai, Bulgarian, Japanese, Australian, Swiss, Mauritanian. They work together beautifully, but they all have different strengths. That's why for the Canyon Ranch Massage, we want everyone to do their own thing, what they feel is best for the patient. It's as individual as can possibly be-and as Canyon Ranch as it can possibly be."

As we disembarked and I prepared to return to Manhattan's skyscrapers, it struck me that I'd learned something. A spa experience can be exactly what you want it to be. But what you want might surprise you-and you may never know unless you put yourself in the expert hands of the spa.

Book it: The journey on the QM2 from Southampton to New York City takes six days. Cunard, (800)728-6273; doubles from $2,690; 50-minute signature massage from $135

CRUISE TO WELLNESSWhether you want to get in shape, learn to cook healthy meals, or yoga your way to a more balanced life, these cruises can help you achieve your goal while traveling the world.

October 17-24, 2009

Los Angeles To the Mexican Riviera: Focus on fitness and nutrition aboard the Sapphire Princess with Sheila Cluff, founder of The Oaks at Ojai during the 8th Annual Mexican Riviera Wellness Cruise. Singles from $1,034 all inclusive (plus two nights at The Oaks)

February 2010

Miami to Cozumel: Get healthy and relax aboard a Carnival ship during Femme FITall's annual Ladies Fitness Cruise. Workout classes and a chance to mingle with other wellness-focused women make the five-day cruise extra special. Singles from $1,000 all inclusive

March 21-28, 2010

Fort Lauderdale to the Caribbean: Take cooking lessons, do yoga and Pilates, and learn about different alternative and holistic therapies aboard the Costa Fortuna during its annual Holistic Holiday at Sea cruise. Singles from $1,799 all inclusive

April 26-May 12, 2010

Singapore to Dubai: Learn about stress management, depression, mental health, and holistic well-being during Crystal Cruises' Mind, Body & Spirit Experiences of Discovery cruise. Singles from $8,319 all inclusive

More great spa getaways:

A Perfect Spa Weekend in NapaGood GetawaysInsider's Guide to Low Season Steals: Summer 2009