New Luxury Ship, New Luxury Spa

By guest blogger Steve Newman

Oceania Cruises and Canyon Ranch have announced signature spa offerings on board their new, 1,250-guest luxury ship Marina, which is scheduled to debut in January 2011.

Highlights of the 10,000sq ft Canyon Ranch SpaClub® include more than 50 innovative and harmonious spa treatments and therapies, a thalassotherapy pool, thermal suite and fitness centre, and Spa Cuisine menu choices in the Grand Dining Room and Terrace Café that are both nutritious and created with the highest gourmet standards.

Signature services include:

When guests are not training on their own, they can utilise Canyon Ranch fitness experts who will lead daily group and private fitness sessions and provide assessment for basic fitness and nutrition counselling. Specialised wellness services include Yamuna® Foot Fitness class offering simple techniques that improve the alignment and flexibility of hard-working feet. The SpaClub's Performance Orthotics Assessment is a computerised assessment of the way a person walks, followed by a fitting of custom-designed orthotics.

Canyon Ranch chefs also worked with Oceania's award-winning culinary team to create Spa Cuisine selections for the Grand Dining Room and Terrace Café that fit with the theme of wellness, but also with Oceania's trademark high cuisine standards.

At 66,000 tons - twice as large as her three sisters - and carrying 1,250 guests, Marina also features an array of stylish bars and lounges and 10 dining venues - six of which are open-seating, gourmet restaurants, including Jacques, the first restaurant at sea for Chef Jacques Pépin. Other highlights include a Bon Appétit Culinary Centre, Owner's Suites furnished exclusively in Ralph Lauren Home, and a grand stairway custom-crafted by renowned French glass master, Lalique.

To find out more, visit OceaniaCruises.co.uk or call the specialist luxury cruise agents of The Cruise Line Ltd on 0800 008 6677.

Rivers in India

The vast river area doesn’t not only supports in its agricultural development, but also it is of high cultural and religious importance. Revered by Hindus that constitute the most part of the nation, the rivers like Ganga and Brahmputra with their diverse geographical features provide tremendous opportunity for people willing to enjoy several activities like River Rafting, Camping, Trekking and Himalayan sightseeing.

Ganga
River Ganga at Rishikesh  Ganga, one of the holiest of all rivers in the country, plays a very important role in the entire Eco system as it has the largest basin in country, and has length of more than 2500 Km. Originating from Yamunotri, this river covers almost 25 % of the nation’s area.

Believed to be the most sacred river of the world, Ganga is among the most revered figure for the Hindus. Even it carries numerous mythologies that have been innate part of Hinduism culture for thousands years. Hundreds of important Hindu pilgrimage spots like Benaras, Rishikesh, Devprayag, Allahabad and Haridwar are located on the bank of Ganga.

Yamuna
Being one of the major important rivers of North India, Yamuna is the largest tributary of Ganga. Originating from Yamunotri of Uttaranchal Himalaya, this river flows through some of the very important cities like Delhi, Agra and Mathura. According to Hindu mythologies, said to be the Goddess Of The River, Yamuna is believed to be the sister of Yama, the Hindu god of death. Unfortunately, this goddess of river is also one of the most polluted rivers in the world.

Brahmaputra
Brahmaputra River - Brahmaputra, originating from Mansarovar Lake, flows eastward, parallel to the Himalayas. In Tibet, the river is known as Tsangpo, and enters India in Arunachal Pradesh. Due to the heavy annual rainfall level, Brahmaputra has largest volume of water. During the rains, the river becomes vehement, and often causes a great havoc.

Mahanadi
Though the river rises in Madhya Pradesh, but is called to be rice bowl of Orissa. Being in great handy for the farmers in rice farming, Mahanadi plays a very important role in development of Orissa. The famous Hirakud dam has been constructed on this river.

Indus
Though the river is the national river of Pakistan, it carries great values in India, too. Finding its origin from Mansarovar Lake, Indus river runs through Jammu and Kashmir. Said to be the most exotic river in the world, Indus river finds its description in Rig Veda. The river is said to be one among the Sapta Sindu. Besides, the country named as India also finds its deep atatchment with the river name Indus.

Godawari
The river said to be Dakshin Ganga, Ganga of the south, is the largest and longest river of South India. Covering a long destination of 1400 Km until it falls into the Andhra Pradesh’s coast, Godawari has second largest basin area after Ganga in the country. Before meeting the sea, the river divides into seven branches that is named after seven Rishis, which signify its greater cultural and religious values.