The Pampered Cruise

The Vessel: Queen Mary 2

The Circuit: New York to Southampton, England

Perfect For: The stressed-out couple

Save us from those enormous floating theme parks, with their tasteless buffets, their ice-carving demonstrations and hairy chest competitions (no, really). If we're going cruising on a large ship, we want something more refined, more Old World, more, well, Titanic (without that sinking feeling at the end, of course). At 1,132 feet long and 236 feet high, Cunard's Queen Mary 2 fits the bill, with a stately decor sheathed in heavy walnut; British crewmen; and the intimate Veuve Clicquot Champagne Bar. But it's the outpost of Arizona's Canyon Ranch SpaClub that makes the transatlantic voyage worthwhile. At 20,000 square feet, the spa has a large pool laced with massage jets; a fitness center, steam room, and sauna; and a rigorously trained staff. The signature treatment, the Rasul Ceremony, is a body mud mask and herbal steam performed on a heated tile chair to purify the skin and generally bliss you out. There's also the 18 Carats treatment, a bath and scrub that uses real gold flakes. Necessary? Nope. But it's a happy world away from the hairy chest competition.
From $1,649 for an ocean-view cabin to $23,399 for the Grand Duplex suite, for six days

Queen Mary 2
Canyon Ranch SpaClub
Tel: 800 728 6273