Sanctuary on the Ruby

[mcordry]

Has anyone paid for the Sanctuary on the Ruby, What are the pros and cons, me and my sister are thinking of spending alot of our time on the boat when wh cruise in April and thought that the Sanctuary would be a good idea, for total relaxation. Is it worth the money and how much per day , we will be on the ship for 10 days.

[DrivesLikeMario]

We paid $105 per person for the 7 night cruise plus a generous tip to the Serenity Stewards. Not sure the exact price for 10 days.

 

You have to decide for yourself whether it's worth it or not. For us, it was well worth it because we were doing an itinerary that we had done many times and so we planned to spend a lot of time in The Sanctuary. The ship has an additional deck of cabins, thus making the potential for very crowded decks during sea days.

 

The strange thing is that on the CB last week, The Sanctuary was empty almost every day. It may have to do with the fact that the itinerary was very port-intensive.

 

Make sure you get there on the first day as early as possible. We got there a bit late on the first day - about 1:30pm - and got some of last chaises in the sun. They'll help you chose the right location for your needs.

[sabookkeeper]

Has anyone paid for the Sanctuary on the Ruby, What are the pros and cons, me and my sister are thinking of spending alot of our time on the boat when wh cruise in April and thought that the Sanctuary would be a good idea, for total relaxation. Is it worth the money and how much per day , we will be on the ship for 10 days.

We were just on the Ruby in January and booked Sanctuary for the entire cruise at $105/person. We enjoyed it and will be booking it on our upcoming cruise as well. Whether it is worth it depends on each person. We enjoyed the peace and quiet and not having to worry about finding a lounger to sit on as one is assigned to you for the entire week. We were able to choose one in the shade which was perfect for us. The stewards are fantastic and were always checking to see if we needed anything (we left them an additional tip at the end of the cruise).

 

If you prefer to be in the centre of the excitement, around the pools, this is not for you. But if you are looking for somewhere on the ship that is quiet and you can relax and read a book, Sanctuary is definitely worth the money.

 

Dar

[redjoan]

Does anyone know if seats are assigned on the Crown? This makes it very desirable, if so!

[DrivesLikeMario]

Yes, all Sanctuary chaises are assigned. That is part of the luxury of it - knowing that "your" chaise is there and waiting whenever you want it.

[hurwitz5]

If we want to use the Sanctuary for 2 half days, for the days at sea, in the afternoon, how do we book this? Can we book it on the first day, or do we have to book it on the morning of the days we want to use the Sanctuary? We are late sleepers on sea days. Thanks.

[DrivesLikeMario]

You can't book it ahead of time. You have to show up that day and book it. Usually on sea days if there are any chaises left, people will line up at 7am to get the seats.

 

It just depends though. On some sailings, The Sanc. isn't sold out. Every cruise is different.

[Steelers36]

If we want to use the Sanctuary for 2 half days, for the days at sea, in the afternoon, how do we book this? Can we book it on the first day, or do we have to book it on the morning of the days we want to use the Sanctuary? We are late sleepers on sea days. Thanks.

 

You need to get a wake up call and stumble up there before 8am, make the res for the afternoon, and then stumble back to cabin and fall back into bed.

 

Otherwise, you may be out of luck or you may be stuck in full sun or you may get a chair instead of a heavenly lounger.

[Steelers36]

We paid $105 per person for the 7 night cruise plus a generous tip to the Serenity Stewards. Not sure the exact price for 10 days.

 

You have to decide for yourself whether it's worth it or not. For us, it was well worth it because we were doing an itinerary that we had done many times and so we planned to spend a lot of time in The Sanctuary. The ship has an additional deck of cabins, thus making the potential for very crowded decks during sea days.

 

The strange thing is that on the CB last week, The Sanctuary was empty almost every day. It may have to do with the fact that the itinerary was very port-intensive.

 

Make sure you get there on the first day as early as possible. We got there a bit late on the first day - about 1:30pm - and got some of last chaises in the sun. They'll help you chose the right location for your needs.

 

I agree - if you are staying aboard, well worth it for the week at $105/ea.

 

Had same experience as Mario on CB Dec 6 sailing. Our first day was @sea and funny thing was, it was almost the quietest for Sanctuary. I think others "discovered" it later in the week and usage increased. I would expect a big demand if your cruise has @sea on last day.

 

The relatively port-intensive southern cruises keep the demand down I am sure. We ended up spending $100 ($50x2) for 5 sessions - 2 of which were the all-day @sea day.

 

As half-day users, you won't get the prime seating locations, but anywhere there is better than elsewhere IMO.

[sandyoftheseas]

We booked the sanctuary for the full week on our Western Caribbean cruise on the Ruby in March '09. Not sure if it was the time of year, but we found it to be very windy/noisy, particularly when the ship was moving. Not to say we didn't enjoy it. We just had our favorite steward bring MP3 players with headphones for the noise and blankets when it got too chilly. The biggest pro for us was having a nice comfy lounger that was all ours anytime we wanted it. We spent at least a few hours there every day. We will most likely do it on all warm weather itineraries in the future, especially if we are visiting ports we've already been to and plan to stay aboard most of the time.

 

Rob (Sandy's DH)