With people embracing slow travel, both cruise and train travel are booming. From train "spa cars" fit for a wellness resort to more wellness resort brands launching cruise ships, a new era of ships and trains is bringing more wellness onboard and offboard, while even introducing a new type of wellness real estate: longevity residences at sea
Our 2025 trend, “Wellness on the Line,” explores how—with more people hungry for slower, more experiential “calmcations” where a meditative journey is the “wellness”—both cruises and train travel are seeing record demand. And both are bringing far more wellness on board, while also immersing people in local wellness experiences when they disembark. Ships and trains are rolling out a host of holistic wellness programs, resort-level facilities, on-board health experts, and wellness-and nature-focused excursions on land, replacing the old practice of storming off to buy souvenirs.
Both cruises and luxury overnight train trips are attracting a whole new demographic, and wellness is one of the reasons. For instance, a study from ABTA just found that people aged 25-35 have now surpassed those over 65 as the leading cruise bookers!
So much has happened with this trend since we released it in early 2025…
The big ships are offering more full-blown wellness retreats at sea. Cunard just announced new multi-day wellness journeys, featuring yoga and meditation, acupuncture, breathwork, personal training, wellness masterclasses, and more. Established cruise lines are partnering with celebrities like Deepak Chopra and Dr. Andrew Weil to help create their wellbeing experiences.
The big trend: smaller ships that can go to more far-flung, less touristy places and offer a more intimate social experience. As part of this emerging trend, a growing number of wellness resort brands––including COMO, Aman, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton and &Beyond—are jumping into the wellness cruise/yacht market. COMO’s first “Journey into the Arctic” combines adventurous excursions with COMO Shambhala wellness experiences. Four Seasons’s first super-yacht Luminara launches in 2026, featuring a big spa, gym and hammam on the fourth floor, along with advanced well-tech, including cryo and infrared chambers.
Cruises are leaning hard into “scientific citizen” expeditions. &Beyond’s new eco-cruise gives passengers a deep, hands-on education in nature conservancy on its expedition yacht through the Galápagos.
We’re even seeing new floating wellness real estate. The new Blue World Voyages is part vacation cruise and part residences, entirely dedicated to sports and wellness, and featuring the kinds of technology––from air and water purification systems to circadian lighting––you see in sophisticated wellness real estate projects. Storyline Cruises plans to launch a wellness-residences-at-sea and floating longevity clinic concept in 2027 (more below).
In the cruise industry, it always seemed like ships only got more gigantic. But a counter movement is underway: a surge of ocean liners small enough to be branded yachts (less than 500 people). And there is much wellness on board, from Guntû, a “floating ryokan” that sails around Japanese islands, to Ritz-Carlton’s Luminara, with resort-level wellness offerings. Many of the newer small ships operate under the auspices of luxury travel brands like &Beyond and Ritz-Carlton. Both Four Seasons and Orient Express plan to launch their first ships next year, while Aman’s Amangati is scheduled to set sail in 2027.
Storyline Cruises plans to launch the MV Narrative in 2027, a wellness-residences-at-sea and floating longevity clinic concept. It aims to build a 10,000-square-foot longevity and wellness space supporting the 530 residences on the ship. The Optimal Aging program will include functional and genetic testing, nutritionists, stem-cell therapy, human growth hormones, peptides, and more. Residents can live there for a lifetime, but it won’t come cheap: cabins start at $1 million.
This roundup of some wellness-focused cruises around the world shows the depth of their offerings, from sunrise yoga on a clipper ship to personal training, with on-board experts in everything from somatic therapy to meditation.
With people hungry for earth-friendly and experiential travel, train travel, especially night trains, have moved far beyond a niche indulgence for the ultra-wealthy to include younger and more diverse guests. The “wellness” is embracing travel that is as much about the journey as the destination, but there is much traditional wellness on offer, from spas to stargazing. People want strong storytelling, not sightseeing. Belmond’s Eastern & Oriental Express takes you to artists’ studios in Penang and on jungle hikes; The Wild Scotland route on the Royal Scotland features commando training and fire-feasting sessions, led by local experts.
The first spa on the rails in England and Wales launched this summer, a slow journey through Cornwall, the Lake District and Wales, the result of a collaboration between Belmond and the British wellness brand Wildsmith. The Wellness Suite focuses on experiences with mindfulness and grounding techniques at their core, such as their signature Circadian Rhythm Reset, all inspired by the world outside the train windows.
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