Coral Princess Sanctuary

[bobbismith]

Good evening, 

We are riding the train from Denali. Therefore, I think we will be visiting quite late. Will we have any hope of a Sanctuary chair?  Is there anyway to book ahead of time? We have mini suites so I am not sure it they are need? What do you all think? Bobbi 

[reemab1]

3 hours ago, bobbismith said:

Good evening, 

We are riding the train from Denali. Therefore, I think we will be visiting quite late. Will we have any hope of a Sanctuary chair?  Is there anyway to book ahead of time? We have mini suites so I am not sure it they are need? What do you all think? Bobbi 

We have never used the sanctuary but are thinking of doing so for our panama canal traverse in November so I also would be interested to hear peoples opinions. Thank you

[caribill]

You cannot book the Sanctuary before boarding the ship.

 

Demand for the Sanctuary on Alaska cruises is generally not high due to the generally lower air temperatures much of the time. (Yes, I know that sometimes the temperatures can climb into the 80s for Alaska, but cooler temps are more normal.)

[mackfam]

I read previously somewhere on these boards that the sanctuary on the Coral Princess was particularly good for viewing while in Alaska due to there not being high glass walls surrounding the deck. Can anyone confirm this?  I’m afraid I wasn’t able to find the previous posts using the  search feature. 

[dides]

16 hours ago, mackfam said:

I read previously somewhere on these boards that the sanctuary on the Coral Princess was particularly good for viewing while in Alaska due to there not being high glass walls surrounding the deck. Can anyone confirm this?  I’m afraid I wasn’t able to find the previous posts using the  search feature. 

 

Yes, just watched a video by SoTweetie of her Sanctuary experience going through the Panama Canal on Coral Princess and there are fabulous unimpeded aft views.

[Denmal]

Here are some pictures of the sanctuary on the Coral:  it is two levels and has it own pool.  The cabana upstairs is the same price as the beds but there are only 2.  We did the Panama Canal on the Coral - The sanctuary was ONLY full on Canal day- other days beds were open.  Cabana are upstairs and the regular beds downstairs.  There is some sun beds but alot of shade.  It was the best way to see the canal, Plus we got a scenic package witch was more $ but included breakfast, mimosa's and then lunch and bloody mary's .  And they took our picture and developed it and gave it back to us ( Canal Picture Below ).  

 

I would go right to the sanctuary when you get on board to reserve.  It closes at 5:30 and reopens arond 7:30 AM.  So if you miss it the first day - go first thing in the morning.  Enter on 14 through the gym and you will be right at the desk-  The door is at the end of the gym near the last treadmill. 

 

Good luck  - it is the best sanctuary we ever used.  Santi, Jennifer and Regan will take care of you .  They are the best 

[jondfk]

The sanctuary on Coral is small compared to the Grand & Royal class ships.  It's distributed over two decks and was a definite afterthought.  I've been on Coral 4x and have used the Sanctuary every time.  My experience:

 

1.  3 of our 4 sailings were Panama Canal (warm weather) so demand for the Sanctuary was high.  Boarding as early as practical we found long lines to reserve every time.

2.  To my knowledge the only way to reserve in advance is to book a back to back which affords the opportunity to book the next segment on the first morning of your second (third, or fourth) cruise.  There is no other way to book in advance.

3.  One issue unique to Coral is that many (most?) chairs in the Sanctuary have little or no shade.  These can be uncomfortably hot for most on fully sunny days.  While lines to reserve were long, many folks didn't want what was available when their turn came - so many fully sunny loungers went unclaimed on a full cruise basis.  Nearly all were sold every day, but many folks just couldn't bear the thought of full sun near the equator for days on end.

4.  I suspect this full sun as a deterrent might not play out the same in Alaska when many might see the unshaded chairs near the back of the ship as not only tolerable but desirable.

 

I love Coral and am booked on her again next year.  The Sanctuary is my favorite space on any Princess ship.  That said, the limitations of Coral's Sanctuary including limited shady space are a deterrent for me.  

 

If I haven't covered a particular question, let me know and I'll attempt to do so.

[victory2020]

4 hours ago, jondfk said:

The sanctuary on Coral is small compared to the Grand & Royal class ships.  It's distributed over two decks and was a definite afterthought.  I've been on Coral 4x and have used the Sanctuary every time.  My experience:

 

1.  3 of our 4 sailings were Panama Canal (warm weather) so demand for the Sanctuary was high.  Boarding as early as practical we found long lines to reserve every time.

2.  To my knowledge the only way to reserve in advance is to book a back to back which affords the opportunity to book the next segment on the first morning of your second (third, or fourth) cruise.  There is no other way to book in advance.

3.  One issue unique to Coral is that many (most?) chairs in the Sanctuary have little or no shade.  These can be uncomfortably hot for most on fully sunny days.  While lines to reserve were long, many folks didn't want what was available when their turn came - so many fully sunny loungers went unclaimed on a full cruise basis.  Nearly all were sold every day, but many folks just couldn't bear the thought of full sun near the equator for days on end.

4.  I suspect this full sun as a deterrent might not play out the same in Alaska when many might see the unshaded chairs near the back of the ship as not only tolerable but desirable.

 

I love Coral and am booked on her again next year.  The Sanctuary is my favorite space on any Princess ship.  That said, the limitations of Coral's Sanctuary including limited shady space are a deterrent for me.  

 

If I haven't covered a particular question, let me know and I'll attempt to do so.

I see there are saunas in the gym/spa area. I'm assuming they are free to use? Are there steam rooms also? Is the pool area in above post free to use or do you need to book the Sanctuary to use it?

[jondfk]

46 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

I see there are saunas in the gym/spa area. I'm assuming they are free to use? Are there steam rooms also? Is the pool area in above post free to use or do you need to book the Sanctuary to use it?

 

I think the sauna's are okay to use.  I'm unaware of steam rooms (but I'm not a fan so haven't looked).

 

The pool area isn't to my knowledge strictly exclusive to the Sanctuary but you'd probably get a few looks walking through the Sanctuary to access it (you know how folks are).  I've seen people pop in for a dip, the thing is there's no non Sanctuary place for one to sit down and dry off afterwards.  It's an odd pool in any case, really just 6 feet of water, no "shallow" end basically once you're in your in.  There are better / more user friendly pools elsewhere in the ship.  

 

Speaking of which, if you happen to get shut out of the Sanctuary the pool in the conservatory is very nice and has nice padded loungers.  It's a better pool (IMHO) and is a great alternative for those who don't want to pay for / can't get a Sanctuary seat they like.  This is a better space on Coral than on the Grand ships in which this same space serves as a transit path between the Rivera pool and the Horizon Court.  An excellent second choice on Coral which has the benefit of being free! 

[mackfam]

I am thinking of trying to book the Sanctuary for our day in Glacier Bay on our upcoming Alaska cruise on the Coral. Does anyone know how many spots are available and current cost?

[jondfk]

Not Coral but when we were on Golden Glacier Bay was at a far higher price than a ‘normal’ day I recall $80 pp, but that may be incorrect.  Some special features like hot cocoa and mimosas.  

 

The high price equated to very low uptake, about 50%.

 

despite the high price, we very much enjoyed the day with our six blankets!

[Denmal]

The pool in the sanctuary can be used by anyone and accessed by the 12th floor

[Steelers36]

On 4/27/2019 at 7:52 AM, jondfk said:

.....

3.  One issue unique to Coral is that many (most?) chairs in the Sanctuary have little or no shade.  These can be uncomfortably hot for most on fully sunny days.  While lines to reserve were long, many folks didn't want what was available when their turn came - so many fully sunny loungers went unclaimed on a full cruise basis.  Nearly all were sold every day, but many folks just couldn't bear the thought of full sun near the equator for days on end.

........

 

If I haven't covered a particular question, let me know and I'll attempt to do so.

The ISLAND has same issue (at least it is an issue for me).  While the Island Sanctuary is all on one deck level, it is basically 95% exposed to the sun.  There are some gauze sails overhead in one section, but these are narrow and don't filter much light out and due to size, when the sun is lower in the sky, then the "shade" is off in another direction to some degree.  Of course the expensive cabanas offer shade and they are against the ship bulkhead so no chance to have a lounger there.  The couple times I I used it, I had lounger on port side of ship, away from the main area and the bulkhead created shade as sun was in the sky to the starboard and slightly aft side.

 

The other ships that are poor for getting any significant shaded areas are Royal and Regal. 

 

The best ships I have been on from Sanctuary perspective are Ruby/Emerald/Crown/Caribbean as they offer extensive shaded area with good number of lounger locations.  And they have open areas for the sun-worshipers.