Sanctuary Questions:

[isufan]

We will be with our teen kids and their grandparents. Are the Sanctuary passes transferable? Can you purchase 2 or 3 passes for the whole cruise, for example, and anyone of our group could use them throughout the week? (probably not, but thought i'd ask!)

[caribill]

We will be with our teen kids and their grandparents.

 

 

The sanctuary is limited to those 18 years and older. (Part of the reason it is called Sanctuary)

 

How old are your teens?

[LoriPhil]

I understand the reservations are non-transferable, though I don't have personal experience with this.

[jagoffee]

We will be with our teen kids and their grandparents. Are the Sanctuary passes transferable? Can you purchase 2 or 3 passes for the whole cruise, for example, and anyone of our group could use them throughout the week? (probably not, but thought i'd ask!)

 

I suspect that you will not be able to share, but I do not have any personal experience. So few people booked for the whole cruise that I am not sure that I would have noticed. You can just ask and then decide depending on the answer assuming that your kids are old enough.

[lbryant]

I had asked about "sharing" a Sanctuary lounge chair with my husband and was told that it would probably be ok, but that we definitely could not share it with other family members staying in other staterooms. By sharing I mean, if I'm not using it, then he could - but we would not both be in the Sanctuary area at the same time.

 

Still curious about what time 1st time cruisers can board. Is the 1st group just elite and suite passengers? What time should we get to the terminal to help avoid the worst of the lines?

[caribill]

From post #147 on a thread about the Ruby Princess at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1202205&page=4

 

Yes, a couple can interchange Sanctuary use whether they buy a day pass or an entire cruise pass. Your cabin number is entitled to one chair and they don't care who is in it. This is as per Vernon, with whom I spoke only five minutes ago.

[sabookkeeper]

To me, booking Sanctuary depends on what cabin you are in. We book inside cabins on the Lido deck. Then book Sanctuary for the entire cruise. We do not have to worry about find a chair. We prefer to be in the shade so we book a double lounge in the shade. On our cruise in January we got the last loung available for the entire cruise reservation. I don't know exactly how many are available. We went to Sanctuary immediately after boarding (about 12:15) and there was already a line up. Our cruise in February we have decided to book a balcony cabin, so we will not to Sanctuary. Some people think this is a waste of money. Everyone is different and we like the peace and quiet that Sanctuary provides.

[Carol_Hill]

I bring our own drinks in insulated mugs on a fairly regular basis and have never once had them question it. While my wife can sit there relaxing for hours at a time, I'm usually up and down regularly (can't sit still for long or I'll drive her crazy) so I usually go wandering and bring back drinks when I'm done.

 

 

Thanks much!!! :) Getting drinks was the one thing I was really worried about! And I did think you were supposed to tip each time service was provided. How DO you tip at the sanctuary, as I assume it is not a cash tip??

[caribill]

How DO you tip at the sanctuary, as I assume it is not a cash tip??

 

If you do wish to tip the Sanctuary attendents, cash is the way.

 

If you booked the Sanctuary for the entire cruise, no need to tip daily, just at the end of the cruise.

[ctr1258]

Is there any way to book before going on your cruise, say online?

[LoriPhil]

No pre-booking is available - you need to sign-up on-board.

[Host CJSKIDS]

From post #147 on a thread about the Ruby Princess at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1202205&page=4

 

Yes, a couple can interchange Sanctuary use whether they buy a day pass or an entire cruise pass. Your cabin number is entitled to one chair and they don't care who is in it. This is as per Vernon, with whom I spoke only five minutes ago.

 

A couple did this exact thing on our last Crown sailing. It was booked to the cabin so the attendants knew that the husband and wife would be sharing the chair.

 

The attendants told us that they don't want abuse of the system, i.e. 4 adults in a cabin sharing one chair but traveling companions would have no issues.

[Dreamer333]

My boyfriend and I did couples massages and they do it up in the sactuary area. We did this on the last day, which was a sea day, and the santuary was fully booked up. The couples massage was wonderful, and it was done in a private cabana with two massage therapists working on us at the same time.

 

The majority of the santuary area it is in the shade (only a few chairs were in the sun). There are a few benefits such as being able to order food thats not on the regular room service menu (However I believe that they charge you a $3 delivery fee).

 

If you are looking for something romantic, I definitely reccommend the couples massage, as well as the couples rasual mud treatment! With the Rasul mud treatment, the two of us were lead into a room in the spa that contained a sink, a shower, and a steam room. There are a variety of facial products (cleanser, exfoliator, toner) that you use to treat eachother's skin. Then there are body treatments (a salt scrub and a bowl of "mud"/clay). Once you have used the salt scrub, you put the mud/clay on eachother and then go sit in the sauna. This was a great (and romantic) treatment. I highly recommend it. After the treatment, you have the option of going into the santuary where you can relax with more sauna or steam, but we opted out of this part, because I wanted to sit in the sun by the pool.

[nana nancy]

Can you use your Princess rewards for the Sanctuary?

[Carol_Hill]

caribill--OK, thanks for the info on how to tip..

[pjs9876]

I purchased 2 lounges for the week. I was not sure I needed to do this since we had a lovely balcony. I loved not having to hunt for a chair. I loved the attention from the staff. They brought me whatever I wanted-I gave them extra. I loved the peace and quiet. Excellent experience.

[RMorningglory]

What ship were you on and how fast did you have to get up there to book 2 chairs for the week??:confused:

[Rosethorn40]

Last March (2009) my DH and I were on the Emerald for a 10-day cruise in the Caribbean. At that time there were 48 slots for the Sanctuary, 24 of which were available for cruise length passes, the other 24 were to be for daily passes. We boarded in the first group, but went to our cabin first, and then whet to the Horizon Court for lunch. It was only after lunch that we made our way to the Sanctuary (The Emerald was our first ship to be on that had it). I had no plans to get cruise duration passes, but was hoping to get passes for just the sea days. Not wanted to get up at 6 AM while on vacation in the hopes of getting a seat we booked 2 loungers. At 2 PM they were still booking cruise duration passes. However, I did find out that they ended up doing about 28 slots for cruise duration. I have heard of the Sanctuary selling out as quickly as 12:15. I think it will depend on several factors; are there a number of people on your cruise doing a b2b in which your cruise in the second leg of their cruise and they are already on board and therefore get first crack, are there are lot of kids? (A cruise with lots of children will make more adults long for the peace and quiet of the Sanctuary). A warm weather cruise the demand will be higher.

Since this cruise is all abour relaxation for you and your partner, cross your fingers, and make it your first priority when you board.

[airwaves]

Hi, being a little "green" I have no idea about the sanctuary, and it sounds wonderful. Would you recommend trying to book for a whole cruise? We are sailing Sydney to L.A or are you allowed just to book the sea day portions? I can't find any costings has anyone any idea. Thank you so much, we learn so much from you experienced people.

[RMorningglory]

Excellent advice!! From what I understand... and others please feel free to correct me... If you don't book for the whole cruise you can not book for specific days, you must book on each day you would like to be up there in person. You can not "Pre Book" any of it. You must book on the ship, again in person. You can choose your seat from a floor plan so you know where you are sitting (ie: Sun/No Sun).

If people watching and wandering are your thing it's most likely not the setting for you but if serenity is your game... spastically run up there as soon as you board. With a Trans-Pacific crossing and so many sea days you'll either be board in the same spot all the time or greatful that you never have to worry about a lounge chair on deck. :rolleyes:

[caribill]

[quote name='airwaves']Hi, being a little "green" I have no idea about the sanctuary, and it sounds wonderful. Would you recommend trying to book for a whole cruise? We are sailing Sydney to L.A or are you allowed just to book the sea day portions? I can't find any costings has anyone any idea. Thank you so much, we learn so much from you experienced people.[/quote]

If you book for the entire cruise, the cost is $15/day.

If you book individual days, it is $10/half day.

[NorCalifs]

[quote name='cjskids']The Sanctuary was just that, a Sanctuary on our last sailing. It was spring break and a sold out cruise so to us it was money incredibly well spent.
I can't wait to spend another week up there and I'm hoping that we're able to get two seats on our next cruise.[/QUOTE]
Hi, Carolyn, Tina here from our Oct. 30 Crown sailing. I heard about checking out the Sanctuary and my DH and I were debating about whether to go this route. Since this is our first Caribbean cruise, we plan to do excursions in each port (he dives...I snorkel) so we're thinking what a waste of $$ for those 4 days we're in port and gone most of the day. Also, isn't the ship usually empty on port days so getting a chair around the pool easier? And we have a balcony room on the Caribe so if we want some peace and sun, we could just hang out there...appreciate your insights!!

[nana nancy]

Anyone know if zI can use my Princess Rewards for Sanctuary passes?

[caribill]

[quote name='nana nancy']Anyone know if zI can use my Princess Rewards for Sanctuary passes?[/quote]

You can use the rewards for onboard credit which in turn can be used for anything charged to the onboard account.

[rich52us]

Hi folks. My wife and I and another couple will be on the Coral 10/26/10 for a 10 day r/t Panama Canal cruise. We're interested in the Santuary and I have couple of questions.

Is there a pool and hot tubs near by?
Will the attendants get food from outside the Sanctuary, like lunch from the MDR?
What are the Sanctuary hours?
Does a Sanctuary week long reservation get you into the Thermal Suite or other spa area?

Thanks in advance for replies.