Booking the Sanctuary?

[canadarocks]

While I don't understand why you cannot pre-book the Sanctuary (or Wine Packages - but that's another topic)..... I know that you can't.

 

So I have no clue how booking the Sanctuary actually works, and I'm trying to visualize it . Does everyone just rush up there as soon as they board? Is there literally a lineup of people waiting for someone at a table to "sign them up"? And if the reason you can't pre-book is because you need to choose your lounger, doesn't that make the process that much lengthier? Are there different lines for people who want to book it for the whole cruise, versus mornings, afternoons, or specific days? 

 

Or am I totally wrong and is it somehow an easy process?

Edited June 19, 2019 by canadarocks

[Host CJSKIDS]

12 minutes ago, canadarocks said:

While I don't understand why you cannot pre-book the Sanctuary (or Wine Packages - but that's another topic)..... I know that you can't.

 

So I have no clue how booking the Sanctuary actually works, and I'm trying to visualize it . Does everyone just rush up there as soon as they board? Is there literally a lineup of people waiting for someone at a table to "sign them up"? And if the reason you can't pre-book is because you need to choose your lounger, doesn't that make the process that much lengthier? Are there different lines for people who want to book it for the whole cruise, versus mornings, afternoons, or specific days? 

 

Or am I totally wrong and is it somehow an easy process?

 

 

You literally have to go directly to it when you board as some of the lounge chairs have already probably been booked by those are are doing a b2b.

Depending on when you get up there is how long the line will be.  There will be one person who will have a map of the available lounge chairs/areas and will bring you around after you tell them if you want sun or shade and weekly or but the day.  Then they literally use a different colored marker and mark off the lounge chair you pick on the page for that day.  (Blue may mean full day, green 1/2 day and so on)  

Once that is done they will write up the charges and you sign and they go on to the next person.  Sometimes they will hand you off to someone else to sign for your charges once the billing slip is written up. 

 

No different lines, everyone is on one line.  

 

It's an easy process but can take a while depending where you are in line.  There have been times that I've gotten up there before they were even started and had to wait.

[canadarocks]

Thanks so much for the explanation. My apologies, but I'm still a little confused. 

 

Are there separate sections for those who want book spots for the full cruise? Otherwise couldn't the whole place get booked up by those booking individual days and/or half days, before someone gets up there who wants to spend the money to book the whole cruise?

 

It seems like it would be a scheduling nightmare, but again I probably am missing something?

[Host CJSKIDS]

3 minutes ago, canadarocks said:

Thanks so much for the explanation. My apologies, but I'm still a little confused. 

 

Are there separate sections for those who want book spots for the full cruise? Otherwise couldn't the whole place get booked up by those booking individual days and/or half days, before someone gets up there who wants to spend the money to book the whole cruise?

 

It seems like it would be a scheduling nightmare, but again I probably am missing something?

 

 

The are not separate sections for those who want to book spots for the full cruise.  

 

It's not a scheduling nightmare for those who work there because they have sheets for every day of the sailing and each booking is marked off when someone books it. 

 

Depending on how the bookings are going by the time you sign up and you want a chair for the entire sailing, you can book the same seat for every day if it's not booked yet.  Otherwise you may have one chair one day, another chair another day and so on.  

 

Sometimes I have boarded and many seats are already booked by b2b passengers, sometimes not many are booked. I have favorite areas on the Regal and can't always get the lounge chair I would prefer or the side of the ship I would prefer and many times I am one of the first up there for newly boarding passengers.  Then again, I want sun and there aren't as many chairs in the sun. 

 

I personally have been able to get the same lounge chair however my friend had to move around chairs on one of her recent sailings as there wasn't one that was available for their entire sailing. 

 

It's really easy and they will walk you through everything and walk you around the sanctuary and show you what you can have.

[canadarocks]

Thank you; I think I finally understand it. I appreciate your patience and detailed explanation! 

 

One more question.... once you have a chair booked, are you allowed to move it? For example if you're getting too much sun can you move to a shadier spot? Or is there a "common area" of open seating to sit to get out of the sun while you leave your chair?

Edited June 19, 2019 by canadarocks

[HaveDogWillTravel]

You can not move your lounger. Yes there is common area with super comfy chairs in the shade. In my experience when the Sanctuary had open loungers not booked I was able to “switch” to the sun for an hour and then return to my booked lounger in the shade. Of course you must ask for this and I don’t guarantee it would be accommodated on all ships. 

In my experience on cruises in the Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska and Panama Canal there’s always been a suitable cruise long lounger available if I went up upon boarding. I’ve even been able to get a suitable lounger on the spur of the moment on sea days of port intensive itineraries. I haven’t sailed the Royal Class so perhaps my experience is not indicative of that class of ship. FWIW I’ve never had to wait in line. 

 

These photos are from the Island last month. The cabanas were really nice. But I also enjoy the loungers. The service has been universally exemplary across all ships I’ve been on. 

Edited June 19, 2019 by HaveDogWillTravel

[Lucky TGO]

Hi  HaveDogWillTrave, Nice photos it looks like no one showed up that day. 😳😁

Tony

 

[canadarocks]

Thank you both! I finally get it.

Definitely worth a trip up there when we board to hopefully reserve two that get some sun. 🙂

[HaveDogWillTravel]

29 minutes ago, Lucky TGO said:

Hi  HaveDogWillTrave, Nice photos it looks like no one showed up that day. 😳😁

Tony

 

These were taken on two different days. The sunny day pictures were taken on turn around day in Whittier which is why it was empty. The cloudy day was our return trip day in glacier bay. I purposely avoided using pictures that showed other folks. It was a bit overcast and even a bit wet at times but the crew kept those in loungers dry with big umbrellas and everyone was kept warm with super warm headbands, blankets, hot coffee, tea and cocoa in addition to to a lovely hot lunch and afternoon tea. We had a cabana for the day and really loved it. We showed up early and that’s how I got photos without anyone. I’d estimate there were 30 people booked that day. But honestly I didn’t count. 

Edited June 19, 2019 by HaveDogWillTravel

[DisneyDorkhead]

How much do the cabanas cost in the Sanctuary? They look really nice.

 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

5 hours ago, DisneyDorkhead said:

How much do the cabanas cost in the Sanctuary? They look really nice.

 

Depends on the ship I think. On the Island it was $220 on Glacier Bay day. $110 for other days. If my memory serves me correctly they don’t offer a cruise long discount on cabanas like the do the loungers. A reserved lounger is $40 a day ($20 half day) or $30 a day for the length of the cruise. 

[lx200gps]

1 hour ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Depends on the ship I think. On the Island it was $220 on Glacier Bay day. $110 for other days. If my memory serves me correctly they don’t offer a cruise long discount on cabanas like the do the loungers. A reserved lounger is $40 a day ($20 half day) or $30 a day for the length of the cruise. 

On the Regal and Royal, the Cabanas INSIDE the Sanctuary are $220 for the day. 

[DisneyDorkhead]

Many thanks for the pricing of the cabanas. 

[EmilyColwell]

16 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

You can not move your lounger. Yes there is common area with super comfy chairs in the shade. In my experience when the Sanctuary had open loungers not booked I was able to “switch” to the sun for an hour and then return to my booked lounger in the shade. Of course you must ask for this and I don’t guarantee it would be accommodated on all ships. 

In my experience on cruises in the Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska and Panama Canal there’s always been a suitable cruise long lounger available if I went up upon boarding. I’ve even been able to get a suitable lounger on the spur of the moment on sea days of port intensive itineraries. I haven’t sailed the Royal Class so perhaps my experience is not indicative of that class of ship. FWIW I’ve never had to wait in line. 

 

These photos are from the Island last month. The cabanas were really nice. But I also enjoy the loungers. The service has been universally exemplary across all ships I’ve been on. 

That Cabana is so tempting!

[jondfk]

I'll add another comment or two.  

 

On our most recent trip on Grand (April) a new system was in place for booking which greatly increased the efficiency / decreased the time to get booked.

 

OLD system.  Every person lined up.  Their reservations were taken (full cruise, day by day, only mornings, whatever).  This was noted using different colored highlighters as others have noted.  One sheet of paper for every day of the cruise, so a full cruise booking forced the person taking the reservation to mark every individual sheet - which takes a while on a 15 day cruise like this. Then a payment slip was written out, showing your booking day by day (in the case of a here or there booking).  A SLOOOOOW PROCESS!

 

NEW system.  Same line up, one line, first come first serve.  Full cruise bookings were noted (in colored pen) ONLY on the Day 1 sheet.  Day by day bookings were marked the old way, day by day.  Payment was collected the following day (or the first day of your planned stay if you were not full cruise).  The combination of the less laborious booking process, and the putting off of the payment until the first use probably sped up throughput by at least a factor of 4.  Whereas I used to block out an hour to book, I was in and out in something like 15 minutes.  

 

Not sure if this is fleet wide or not - here's hoping . . .

 

Also, on the point of moving loungers.  We've found that staff want to be accommodating within reason.  They will help you move slightly to catch a bit more sun (or shade).  However, they will not allow you to encroach anyone else's space.  We often remove the table between our loungers and move them closer together to optimize sun or shade - this seems to be okay.  Likewise, we've had help move (a bit) to get out of a rain shower.  Broadly though the chairs are meant to remain where they are shown on the map used at the booking desk.   

 

[canadarocks]

Great info thanks! Two more questions for those on you "in the know".

 

We'll be onboard the Crown Princess for a 20 day itinerary (booked as such) that can also be booked as two 10 day cruises. If I decide to book all day for all of the first 10 day segment, would I be charged $30 or $40 per person per day? 

 

Is the Sanctuary available to be booked on the "turn around" day in Fort Lauderdale?

 

[toujours_pret]

Is the cabana pricing per person or can the wife and I book one for Glacier Bay day for $220 total?

[jondfk]

2 hours ago, canadarocks said:

Great info thanks! Two more questions for those on you "in the know".

 

We'll be onboard the Crown Princess for a 20 day itinerary (booked as such) that can also be booked as two 10 day cruises. If I decide to book all day for all of the first 10 day segment, would I be charged $30 or $40 per person per day? 

 

Is the Sanctuary available to be booked on the "turn around" day in Fort Lauderdale?

 

 

I believe if you booked as a single 20 day itinerary you’d have to book all 20 days to get the $30 rate.

 

if you choose to book day by day, you can book on turnaround day, or even beforehand.

 

 

[canadarocks]

56 minutes ago, jondfk said:

 

I believe if you booked as a single 20 day itinerary you’d have to book all 20 days to get the $30 rate.

 

if you choose to book day by day, you can book on turnaround day, or even beforehand.

 

 

Thanks, I figured that was likely the case with the 20 day booking.

 

What I meant with the 2nd question was is the Sanctuary itself open to be used on turnaround day by those who stayed onboard? Or do they close it for that day because all the new passengers are coming up there to book for the next leg?

[PandaBear62]

3 hours ago, toujours_pret said:

Is the cabana pricing per person or can the wife and I book one for Glacier Bay day for $220 total?

On the Royal Princess, the $220 was for two people in the cabana in Alaska at Glacier Bay. We were told it was $220 per day, regardless of day. The loungers were $60 for the day in Glacier Bay.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Yes the $220 was for two people in the cabana on Glacier Bay day. And I may have misremembered the regular price for other days. Panda bear62’s recollections on the Royal is most likely correct for the Island as well. We had OBC so I was happy spending it on the cabana. I’d do that again in a NY minute. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

8 hours ago, canadarocks said:

Great info thanks! Two more questions for those on you "in the know".

 

We'll be onboard the Crown Princess for a 20 day itinerary (booked as such) that can also be booked as two 10 day cruises. If I decide to book all day for all of the first 10 day segment, would I be charged $30 or $40 per person per day? 

 

Is the Sanctuary available to be booked on the "turn around" day in Fort Lauderdale?

 

 

6 hours ago, jondfk said:

 

I believe if you booked as a single 20 day itinerary you’d have to book all 20 days to get the $30 rate.

 

if you choose to book day by day, you can book on turnaround day, or even beforehand.

 

 

Not necessarily. We did a Med cruise on Royal a couple of years ago. We booked it as a 21 night cruise but it was also sold as two sectors, 10 nights and 11 nights. It was operated as individual cruises so effectively we were doing a B2B. When we booked the Sanctuary they were only officially taking bookings for the first sector, however they did make a note of our requested bookings for the second sector. Although we only booked sea days I imagine it would be no different for whole cruise sector bookings ie they would take the booking for the first cruise as a "whole cruise".

 

However the way the Sanctuary operates can vary slightly for ship to ship so you won't really know until get onboard. 

Edited June 20, 2019 by OzKiwiJJ

[Host CJSKIDS]

16 hours ago, jondfk said:

I'll add another comment or two.  

 

On our most recent trip on Grand (April) a new system was in place for booking which greatly increased the efficiency / decreased the time to get booked.

 

OLD system.  Every person lined up.  Their reservations were taken (full cruise, day by day, only mornings, whatever).  This was noted using different colored highlighters as others have noted.  One sheet of paper for every day of the cruise, so a full cruise booking forced the person taking the reservation to mark every individual sheet - which takes a while on a 15 day cruise like this. Then a payment slip was written out, showing your booking day by day (in the case of a here or there booking).  A SLOOOOOW PROCESS!

 

NEW system.  Same line up, one line, first come first serve.  Full cruise bookings were noted (in colored pen) ONLY on the Day 1 sheet.  Day by day bookings were marked the old way, day by day.  Payment was collected the following day (or the first day of your planned stay if you were not full cruise).  The combination of the less laborious booking process, and the putting off of the payment until the first use probably sped up throughput by at least a factor of 4.  Whereas I used to block out an hour to book, I was in and out in something like 15 minutes.  

 

Not sure if this is fleet wide or not - here's hoping . . .

 

Also, on the point of moving loungers.  We've found that staff want to be accommodating within reason.  They will help you move slightly to catch a bit more sun (or shade).  However, they will not allow you to encroach anyone else's space.  We often remove the table between our loungers and move them closer together to optimize sun or shade - this seems to be okay.  Likewise, we've had help move (a bit) to get out of a rain shower.  Broadly though the chairs are meant to remain where they are shown on the map used at the booking desk.   

 

 

Like the new way you are talking about but on the Caribbean Princess May 14 it was done the old fashioned way!

[jondfk]

17 hours ago, canadarocks said:

Thanks, I figured that was likely the case with the 20 day booking.

 

What I meant with the 2nd question was is the Sanctuary itself open to be used on turnaround day by those who stayed onboard? Or do they close it for that day because all the new passengers are coming up there to book for the next leg?

 

Ah, sorry I misunderstood.  Yes, the Sanctuary is open on turnaround day.  You'll have to take care of immigration formalities (pay close attention to the information you're provided on this point since not showing up when and where you're expected will prevent the ship from being cleared to take on new guests).  Before and after this though you'll have use of the Sanctuary.  

 

In my experience services are more limited on this day - but your lounger will be there prepped and waiting.  There's something really special about being up there relaxing while most of the ship is crushing towards the gangway, then a brief lull with few others onboard, and finally the excitement of the first day for all the new joiners.  

 

Enjoy!

[canadarocks]

Good to know, thanks!