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How difficult is it to book Sanctuary for entire cruise

sha1955

By sha1955,
in Princess Cruises

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sha1955

sha1955

Posted
Posted

We are cruising during school holidays. I really want to know how difficult it is to get 4 loungers in the Sanctuary for the entire cruise for our group. We intend to go straight up there but I am anxious we will be too late! Has anybody had any experience of this and worst still been too late on the first afternoon! Just want some peace and quiet.....

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Love Boat Dream

Love Boat Dream

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I was on the CB on July 7. I got on the ship at 11:50 and got to the Sanctuary at noon (yes, I dropped off my carry ons first) and I was 3rd up at the Sanctuary to get my lounger for the entire cruise. There are 20 loungers available for cruise long reservation. On my way out of the Sanctuary, I saw 3 other people rushing up.

 

I understand that all 20 loungers were gone by 1 pm.

 

I think there are about 50 loungers available (not positive) and everyday people lined up at 6 am to get one (it opened at 8) and that didn't guarantee a seat because people were booking multiple chairs for their friends.

 

I don't want you to lose any sleep over it but I want you to be prepared! I've been on some ships where no one wants the Sanctuary but I think it is very popular on cruises that have a lot of kids!

 

BTW: the Sanctuary is worth every penny (to me!)

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shelby333

shelby333

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Posted
We are cruising during school holidays. I really want to know how difficult it is to get 4 loungers in the Sanctuary for the entire cruise for our group. We intend to go straight up there but I am anxious we will be too late! Has anybody had any experience of this and worst still been too late on the first afternoon! Just want some peace and quiet.....

 

I am surprised that bookings for the Sanctuary arn't done each day, and that people can book them for the entire cruise. I am sure that there are people who would like to experience the Sanctuary that arn't able to arrive at the ship early (eg those with flights). If everyone booked the loungers for the entire cruise, it doesn't give the late arrivers much chance to experience the Sanctuary.

 

Just wondering if the prebooking for the entire cruise is common practice? Also are the passsengers notified if the sanctuary is completely booked out early on?

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sharons

sharons

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I was on the CB June 29 and was one of the first onboard. We were up at the Sanctuary a little after Noon and were not the first ones there. They had sold out of the "full cruise" package by 1;15 PM. There are a total of 46 lounges and only 20 are sold as "package". 26 are available on 1st come.. 1st served. I must say we loved every minute and will probably book on all Caribbean cruise with many sea days.

As others have said there is a line up very early on sea days for available places.

There is no announcement that I'm aware of when places are sold out. You can always run up and check... probably much more available on port days.

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lesliehr

lesliehr

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My embarkation number was #51 (they started with 50). Got to the port about 10:15 for the Sanctuary primarily. As soon as we boarded, my husband and I split up....I went to the sanctuary and he went to make dining reservations. I literally sprinted there. I got the 3rd and 4th bed (out of 20). I have to tell you that by 2:00 pm there were still about 10 loungers remaining to be reserved for the week. I believe this was unusual as I've heard that previous trips have been booked within 15 minutes of embarkation.

 

Our beds ( describing them as lounge chairs doesn't do them justice), were heavenly. Being in the Sanctuary has spoiled me FOREVER. I could go on and on......I miss it already.

 

Debbie

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puttersriley

puttersriley

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Please bear with me... this will by my 3rd princess cruise and the last two

we arrived around 12:00 - 1:00 waited in line but I do not recall getting a number. When exactly to they start boarding? 11:00? I want to make sure and reserve the loungers for the week in the sanctuary and will forget my "shuttle" service from the hotel if I have to get there early.

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lesliehr

lesliehr

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Please bear with me... this will by my 3rd princess cruise and the last two

we arrived around 12:00 - 1:00 waited in line but I do not recall getting a number. When exactly to they start boarding? 11:00? I want to make sure and reserve the loungers for the week in the sanctuary and will forget my "shuttle" service from the hotel if I have to get there early.

 

Boarding started on July 17th at 11:45. I had been hoping we could have boarded earlier as I had read in one or two trip reports that boarding could start as early as 11:15. We were sitting in the terminal @ 10:15 ish. My reasoning for the early arrival was to get on board early and go first to the Sanctuary.

 

Debbie

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chamima

chamima

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If we book 2 loungers for the whole cruise, can we let other members of our group use them. Ie: both our parents are coming on the cruise too. Do we need to pay extra ?

 

If it's your parents and you explained to the attendants the first day that they might be using the loungers INSTEAD OF you on some days, I would think that would be fine.

If it were 2 couples (who were obviously the same age) trying to share 2 loungers that would be a different story.

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BalconyGal

BalconyGal

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My embarkation number was #51 (they started with 50). Got to the port about 10:15 for the Sanctuary primarily. As soon as we boarded, my husband and I split up....I went to the sanctuary and he went to make dining reservations. I literally sprinted there. I got the 3rd and 4th bed (out of 20). I have to tell you that by 2:00 pm there were still about 10 loungers remaining to be reserved for the week. I believe this was unusual as I've heard that previous trips have been booked within 15 minutes of embarkation.

 

Our beds ( describing them as lounge chairs doesn't do them justice), were heavenly. Being in the Sanctuary has spoiled me FOREVER. I could go on and on......I miss it already.

 

Debbie

Debbie,

 

Were they collecting luggage that early?

 

thanks,

 

Heather

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lesliehr

lesliehr

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I love the idea of the Sanctuary. How many lounge chairs are in the sun? I would want to be sure I was in a sunny area. Also, did you find that the area was too windy to enjoy the sun??

 

Thanks

 

Robbie

 

There are a total of 46 loungers (20 that can be reserved for the entire cruise and another 26 reserved on a daily basis). I'd say about half were in complete sun, but they could be moved around easily. There was lots of room in the shade and sun for the loungers to be moved.

 

We had rough seas for 2 sea days. It was incredibly windy!! We didn't care though. When seas were calm....boy, what a difference. Not windy at all. Being in the Sanctuary is delightful, windy or not.

 

Debbie

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mycruz

mycruz

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I'm planning on trying out the santuary on my upcoming Hawaii cruise in February. I think for at least one or two of the eight sea days I'll spend there. They used to take morning/afternoon reservations, so they still do that or do you reserve for the entire day?

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kruisey

kruisey

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Does that mean that apart from the 20 spaces one can book in advance that one can go on board and book these seats for the week?

What about the other 2000 passengers on board that might like to spend a quiet day in the santuary?

I wonder what happened to the word SEAT HOGS????:rolleyes:

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crows nest club

crows nest club

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Just back from the Ruby. Yes you can still book for morning, afternoons or whole days. The reservations are made on a first come, first served basis when the Sanctuary opens from 8 a.m. each day. On each cruise there are 20 loungers available to book and pay for, for the whole cruise on embarkation day, leaving another 26 loungers available on a daily basis. Of course if the 20 loungers are not sold for the whole cruise, then these are added to the other 26.

 

On our recent cruise The Sanctuary was never full, except on the two sea days, and the rest of the cruise there seemed to be beds available for the whole day. You cannot, however, pre-reserve the beds for just sea days.

 

The service you get from the Sanctuary stewards is just unbelievable. They are always smiling, helpful and nother was too much trouble for them.

 

Hope this helps.

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