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.Crossing the Atlantic on the Queen Mary 2,

a traveler explores the ship's Canyon Ranch Spa Club-

and his relationship with massage. BY CHANDLER BURR

T STARTS, INEVITABLY, WITH DISBELIEF,

an instant of pure astonishment at her sheer size.Yes, you've seen photographs, and people mayhave described her to you with their eyes wide,yet the moment you catch sight of her, any pre-conceptions vanish, and you stare. Because thesecond shock is her beauty: The Queen Mary 2(QM2) is striking-an immense pearl-black hullbeneath ivory-white decks under a London-busred smokestack. The $800 million liner-not,

we beg your pardon, cruise ship-can carry2,592 guests and is longer than the Eiffel Toweris tall. Embarkation is in front of you, but for amoment you just stand and marvel.

It was Cunard that introduced the first reg-ularly scheduled trans-Atlantic liner service,in 1840. Over the years, it hosted ElizabethTaylor as she made "the crossing"-the jour-ney from Southampton, England, to New YorkCity-as well as Bing Crosby, Spencer Tracy,and Claudette Colbert. In the great era ofocean liners, the trip was not just about travelbut a rite of passage. Today, sailing aboardCunard's QM2 is a return to those glamorousdays-when the journey was just as importantas the destination.

MY MOM AND I STEPPED ON BOARD

into the elegant main lobby and found our state-room on Deck 10. We took in our giant balconyand deck chairs, then went to the very end ofthe ship and watched under the mild summerskies as Southampton receded behind us.

Once at sea, we set off to explore the world-class Canyon Ranch SpaClub three decks and afew hundred yards from our front door. Duringmy six days on board, I was going to have four

treatments. And although the spa offers every-thing from aromatherapy to Ayurvedic treat-ments to therapeutic body cocoons, I decidedthat this time 1'd go back to basics and focuson one thing: I planned to get four signatureCanyon Ranch Massage treatments over theweek and see how I felt by the end of it.

I began the next day with Lance, a mas-sage therapist who chatted easily with me abouthimself and the spa. "So," I asked, "what is theCanyon Ranch Massage?" He explained that itis any massage you want, done the way you andthe therapist think is best.

It made me question my strategy. How couldI get a feel for a signature Canyon Ranch treat-ment if the signature is always different? Butit also made me more interested: I know mybody, and my tension is stored in the musclesunder my scapula. Work on my head, feet, andhands is hypnotic for me; by contrast I intenselydislike work on my front torso. Legs and armsleave me indifferent.

So I told Lance this. He frowned in concen-

tration at what I said, nodded, and began. Hehesitated a few times, asked occasionally if Iliked what he was doing, and went on. I toldhim I had lower-back issues, so he began onmy glutes and hamstrings. ("They connect tothe lower back," he explained.) He also foundtrigger points in the rhomboids and erectorsunder my scapula and focused on those.

It was a very solid massage, but it seemed tome that I had thrown him. The next day, how-ever, his work was assured. He remembered mypreferences exactly, and I felt that if my beingspecific had taken a little away from the firsttreatment, it made the second that much better.

SPAMAGAZINE.COMISEP/OCT 2009 I spa 85

Now comfortable with me, he tried different

techniques that he could start and stop effort-lessly. For example, he approached the pectoralsthrough my armpit. I hated the sensation andin about a minute told him so. No problem-he moved to my trapezius (the muscle betweenthe neck and shoulders), explaining that he wasdoing an injury massage, using compression tostop the blood supply to a trigger point for a fewmoments, then rubbing it gently to ease out thetoxins. That, I loved.

THE MEETING OF CANYON RANCH ANDCunard was a fortuitous union of two venerable

names. Just as Cunard is an innovator in thecruise world, Canyon Ranch-opened in 1979 asa destination spa in Tucson, Arizona-is knownas a forward-thinking presence in the spa world.

The most wonderful thing about CanyonRanch on the QM2 is that the spa is alwayspresent in your shipboard life. "Having Can-yon Ranch on board is actually an effort toprovide passengers with a more completeexperience," a Cunard rep told me, and indeedat every meal there is a Canyon Ranch option, ahealthier 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 atlectures on nutrition. She happily called it "theultimate exercise vacation."

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

Halfway through my trip, Darryll Leiman-a compact, energetic, friendly South Africanin his 50s who was one of the onboard spadirectors-convinced me to change up my spastrategy. "Listen," he said, "I see why you'redoing an all-basics program, but I think youshould consider Supanun's Thai massage." Hetold me that in the infancy stages of planningQM2, Canyon Ranch's founder, Mel Zucker-man, told him to get the best therapists fromall over the world, so he went to Thailandand India. "I was knocking on doors at theThai Ministry of Labour," he said. "Once Iexplained what we were doing, they insistedon selecting a team of therapists for us, andone of our first was the therapist for the crownprince of Thailand."

CRUISING TO WELL NESS Whether you want to get in shape, learn to cook healthy meals, or yogayour way to a more balanced life,these cruises can help you achieve your goal whiletraveling the world.

86 spa I SEP/OCT 2009 I SPAMAGAZINE.COM

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So the next day, I entered the compact,darkened Thai massage room. Supanun-notthe therapist for the crown prince but wonder-ful nonetheless-was from Bangkok, and shehad been with Canyon Ranch for six months.She began by moving various parts of mybody so gently I almost didn't notice. Next,she worked on my legs, her thumbs press-ing into the muscles along the shin, rockingas she shifted back and forth from my legsto 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 andstretched and coaxed and led. She sat back and

her entire body steered me just as one steers asailboat in high wind, hands working the ropesand feet constantly adjusting the rudder.

Impressed by Supanun, I decided to allowLeiman to direct me to my last treatment, aswell: a massage with Tomohiro, a Japanese ther-apist who specializes in shiatsu and ashiatsu.Again I was struck by the difference betweenmy onboard therapists. Where Lance used lateralstrokes, Tomohiro worked at 90 degrees; hismovements were in and out. It was in talkingabout Tomohiro that Leiman explained why theCanyon Ranch Massage is freestyle. "Our staffis a mini-United Nations," he said. "American,

British, Indian, Thai, Bulgarian, Japanese,Australian, Swiss, Mauritanian. They worktogether beautifully, but they all have differentstrengths. That's why for the Canyon RanchMassage, we want everyone to do their ownthing, what they feel is best for the patient. It'sas individual as can possibly be-and as CanyonRanch as it can possibly be."

As we disembarked and I prepared to returnto Manhattan's skyscrapers, it struck me that I'dlearned something. A spaexperience can be exactlywhat you want it to be. Butwhat you want might sur-prise you-and you maynever know unless youput yourself in the experthands of the spa. D

The jour-ney on the QM2 fromSouthampton to NewYork City takes sixnights. Cunard, (800)728-6273, cunard.com; doubles from

$2,690 all inclusive;SO-minute massagefrom $135

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ABOVE:Canyon Ranch'ssignature massage isshaped by the preferencesof the spa guest and thespecialties of the therapist.LEFT: The onboard CanyonRanch SpaClub includesa cooed thalassotherapypool with a waterfall, a hottub, and underwater jetbOdy-massage benches.

SPAMAGAZINECOMI SEP/OCT 2009 I spa 87