Britannia - Retreat

[ScotchBoy]

We've booked a week's cruise in the Caribbean on Britannia. We are boarding in St Lucia which is the mid point of the 2-week Barbados to Barbados cruise. We understand that approximately 300 passengers board in St Lucia, with the other 90% passengers boarding in Barbados, the week before. My question relates to the Retreat. Will it be possible to book the Retreat at the mid-way point or will all places be taken by passengers who have boarded 7-8 days prior to ourselves. Anyone had any experience of this?

[jody75]

We boarded on the Saturday in Barbados, thats the 2nd day and we got in the queue prior to the 7pm opening for Retreat Reservations. The desk was fully manned and they watched the queue build, it was at least 50 people inline then one of the people at the desk said "there are only 4 spaces available". They treated the passengers like it was a game, if it was free I'd tell them to shove it.

So boarding in St Lucia its anyone guess but is it really worth it ? Too avoid the soot, maybe it is..........

[ScotchBoy]

Thanks Jody75, I was afraid that it might be a bit of a bun-fight. We enjoy the Serenity Pool so we'll hang out there instead.

[PORT ROYAL]

Thanks Jody75, I was afraid that it might be a bit of a bun-fight. We enjoy the Serenity Pool so we'll hang out there instead.

 

Based on iformation from BIL

Don't forget the attempt to beat the bed/space hoggers, by grabbing a sun bed before 06.30 on the sea days.

Also, "Sirenity Pool" is an oxymoron.

[Cozzyleicester]

We joined Britannia on a 2-week cruise at St Lucia in Nov 2016; we had planned in advance to book the Retreat, so I made a point of getting to the Spa desk as soon as we got into our cabin (can't remember if there's an opening time for desk whilst in port or not but I think it was about 5pm) and paid for the whole 2 weeks - there was availability.

 

Ironically the only time I saw a queue of people hopiong to book the Retreat was when I had to have the entry cards re-validated at Barbados a week later, and I recall that there was a lot more people at the desk trying to book it. In fact, whilst at the desk they sold out, leaving some people in the queue disappointed.

 

I think the capacity of the Retreat is about 60 in total; I'm guessing they must have a quota of weekly / 2 weekly passes set aside for each embarkation port & day, otherwise those joining the ship at Bridgetown on a Saturday would be at an unfair disadvantage. We certainly weren't put at a disadvantage when embarking at St Lucia...

[ScotchBoy]

We joined Britannia on a 2-week cruise at St Lucia in Nov 2016; we had planned in advance to book the Retreat, so I made a point of getting to the Spa desk as soon as we got into our cabin (can't remember if there's an opening time for desk whilst in port or not but I think it was about 5pm) and paid for the whole 2 weeks - there was availability.

 

Ironically the only time I saw a queue of people hoping to book the Retreat was when I had to have the entry cards re-validated at Barbados a week later, and I recall that there was a lot more people at the desk trying to book it. In fact, whilst at the desk they sold out, leaving some people in the queue disappointed.

 

I think the capacity of the Retreat is about 60 in total; I'm guessing they must have a quota of weekly / 2 weekly passes set aside for each embarkation port & day, otherwise those joining the ship at Bridgetown on a Saturday would be at an unfair disadvantage. We certainly weren't put at a disadvantage when embarking at St Lucia...

 

Thanks for your post. We feel a bit more at ease now that we may be able to get passes for the duration of the cruise. I was hoping that some spaces would be held back for the 'mid-cruise' joiners. We generally spend relaxation time on the balcony but the balconies on Britannia are pointless so we are strongly considering the Retreat as an alternative. It's a pain that you can't book in advance.