Celebrity Silhouette Persian Garden time slots

[jenal42]

Hello, sailing Celebrity Silhouette to the fjords in June. About to book a Persian Garden pass for two of us. It has come up with 15 minute time slots on Day 1, and I have no clue what that means or why I have to specify a time. I thought  with the weekly pass we would be able to go whenever we wanted. Is it a time to activate the pass for the week? I have searched everywhere and don't know what this is. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

[sptrout]

You are correct, if a cruise pass has been purchased you can come and go as you wish. If the PG is full when you stop by, you will have to wait, like anyone else, and hope that they enforce the time limit on the beds (no limits if not full). The time that must be picked when purchasing online is not enforced or even considered when you go to the PG. We had the same question when we pre-cruise purchased the Spa on the Beyond this past January. We went whenever we wanted. 

[Chardonnay Char]

So, if people are waiting, what do they do -- kick out the first people to occupy one of the beds?  15 minutes does not seem to be very long to become rested??  

 

[hcat]

Do AQ Class guests still have unlimited access?

[sptrout]

AQ Class still has full access.

 

If I remember correctly the time limit was 30 minutes. There was a couple times when we stopped in and all the loungers were full. We just waited a few minutes and the room opened up without any staff intervention. There was no indication that the staff was timing anyone. 

[kwokpot]

6 minutes ago, sptrout said:

AQ Class still has full access.

 

If I remember correctly the time limit was 30 minutes. There was a couple times when we stopped in and all the loungers were full. We just waited a few minutes and the room opened up without any staff intervention. There was no indication that the staff was timing anyone. 

There's no limits whatsoever. PERIOD. The timeslots are meant for reserving spa treatments and should be totally disregarded when booking a Thermal suite pass, whether for one day or whole cruise. Just choose any time slot when buying the spa pass pre-cruise. It's totally meaningless. 

[sptrout]

There certainly was on the Beyond.  Signs on the wall saying the maximum time allowed. The Spa was very busy and there are not enough loungers for the number of passengers on Beyond. 

 

We may be talking about two different things.  There are time limits for the loungers in the Spa (if needed), but not for purchasing cruise passes. The website is weird; what else is new.

[kwokpot]

36 minutes ago, sptrout said:

There certainly was on the Beyond.  Signs on the wall saying the maximum time allowed. The Spa was very busy and there are not enough loungers for the number of passengers on Beyond. 

 

We may be talking about two different things.  There are time limits for the loungers in the Spa (if needed), but not for purchasing cruise passes. The website is weird; what else is new.

If you're talking about how much time you're supposed to be using the individual tile loungers, yes, you're asked to limit your individual time on THE LOUNGER to 30 minutes. But there's no limit to the amount of time you can spend in the thermal suites itself, nor is there any 'schedule' you have to sign up for. If you have a Thermal suite pass, whether it's one day or whole cruise, you have UNLIMITED Assess for an unlimited time when the spa is open. 

The only time they may be an issue is if it's all full. Whether you're Aquaclass or have purchased a spa pass EVERYONE MUST exchange their room card for a thermal suite keycard. That's how they control how many people are using the thermal suite. If the spa desk are out of thermal suite keycards that means that it's full. You would have to come back when someone else has returned a keycards. This applies to Aquaclass guests too. Besides being fully occupied there's no time limits or time slots you need to reserve. It's first come, first served. 

[jenal42]

Thank you so much for everyone who took the time to respond, and for helping clear that up. I agree, it's a bit of an odd system and doesn't make it very clear what the time slots are for. I have had a look on the forums and noticed that there can be some issues with the heated loungers being full for long periods, but hopefully it will work out. We have a sea day on the first and last day so I expect those will be the days when we stand and stare pointedly at anyone who has been in a while🤣 

Edited April 3, 2023 by jenal42
To correct spelling

[hcat]

I appreciate  all the info.

we are headed back to A Q class on Ascent.  Hope to make a few visits to the Thermal suites. 

 

 On  EDGE, I recall that the heated lounger srea was narrow and had glass windows  often making it too sunny to enjoy. But some of the other areas were nice   Big miss by not including a true T pool...!

[sptrout]

2 hours ago, hcat said:

I appreciate  all the info.

we are headed back to A Q class on Ascent.  Hope to make a few visits to the Thermal suites. 

 

 On  EDGE, I recall that the heated lounger srea was narrow and had glass windows  often making it too sunny to enjoy. But some of the other areas were nice   Big miss by not including a true T pool...!

If the Ascent is like the Beyond then the narrow, and close to the glass, will be the same. For us, the S-Class PG is better than the E-Class Thermal Suites. 

[sptrout]

6 hours ago, jenal42 said:

Thank you so much for everyone who took the time to respond, and for helping clear that up. I agree, it's a bit of an odd system and doesn't make it very clear what the time slots are for. I have had a look on the forums and noticed that there can be some issues with the heated loungers being full for long periods, but hopefully it will work out. We have a sea day on the first and last day so I expect those will be the days when we stand and stare pointedly at anyone who has been in a while🤣 

I do not recall ever having to wait when sailing any of the S-Class ships even on the Reflection. The E-Class ships only added two loungers to the larger ships. IMO, the E-Class Thermal Suites is kind of a let down compared to all the other areas of the ships.

[hcat]

56 minutes ago, sptrout said:

I do not recall ever having to wait when sailing any of the S-Class ships even on the Reflection. The E-Class ships only added two loungers to the larger ships. IMO, the E-Class Thermal Suites is kind of a let down compared to all the other areas of the ships.

agree...  they added a salt room but not much else is new..

[Chardonnay Char]

So to be clear, there is a 30 minute limit to the lounger chairs if others are waiting?

 

[sptrout]

Possible, but not likely on S-Class ships in our experience. While on Beyond there were waits of a few minutes a couple times likely due the larger passenger capacity and more sea day. Also, just two more beds than S-Class. 

 

If you are relatively sure that you will use all the days of your cruise to visit the PG, then purchase in advance for better pricing. We have purchased in advance the last several cruises and for various reason never made it to the PG all days of the cruise. Probably "left money on the table" sort of speak. We have an 11 day cruise on Beyond this coming January, not decided if we will buy a cruise pass or not. Besides the E-Class ships Thermal Suites (not called PGs on E-Class ships) are not as nice IMO as the S-Class ships. Will decide when they open up Thermal Suites for advance purchase (not available as of yesterday).

[Pinboy]

12 hours ago, Chardonnay Char said:

So to be clear, there is a 30 minute limit to the lounger chairs if others are waiting?

 

Been on every S Class ship's Persian Gardens --- Purchased a pass every time and enjoyed it--- Here's what to expect:

1-- They " claim '' to only sell X amount of passes , so, " If you want one, you should get it now before they are all sold " --- ( excellent Marketing ).

2-- Nobody checks time limits on the loungers--- forget it--- some people spend " hours " lying there reading , doing crossword puzzles, or sleeping.

3-- LOL--- Accept the Free 5 minute massage at your own risk.

It ended up costing me $357 ( US ).

How was I supposed to know that my back muscles were , my neck was , etc etc, and the " stuff " she sold me that smelled so good didn't make me look 10 yrs younger !!!

Lucky for me ( ??? ), on our cruise they had a " Cruise Special " on the " stuff " she sold me.

4--- Found the entire area very clean, lots of towels, and an excellent way to relax ( as long as there were no others waiting for a lounge ).

FYI--- On our recent 11 night cruise on the Edge didn't purchase a pass to the Thermal Suite--- $ 309 for a single, $ 499 for a couple---- not worth it ( IMO ).

 

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2023 by Pinboy
Forgot a point

[Chardonnay Char]

We are going to be in Aqua.  I think it is included?

 

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, Chardonnay Char said:

We are going to be in Aqua.  I think it is included?

 

Yes, unlimited access. But you still need to visit the spa desk each time to exchange your room card for a thermal suite key card.