What it takes to book the Sanctuary on a daily basis ...

[From Virginia Beach]

We're departing on the Caribbean Princess tomorrow with a 12:30 check-in. Obviously I'm not optimistic that we'll get the week-long Sanctuary pass that late in the day - please tell me I'm wrong :-)

 

So as the back-up we're willing to get up early on daily basis to get the day passes.

 

Can you share some tips on how to ensure this? What time does the Sanctuary start accepting reservations each morning for the day? How much earlier than that does the line form? I.e., How early should we get there?

 

Thanks so much!

 

Best, Karen

[Pam in CA]

Even though they say a 12:30pm check-in, you can arrive earlier, check in and board. Once you've boarded, go up to the Sanctuary and book your lounger(s) for the week.

 

If that doesn't work, the Sanctuary opens at 8am. I'd go up there just before 5pm when it closes to see if I could book for the next day then. If you don't ask, you don't get. It's worth trying.

[runnergirlcinci]

We did the sanctuary for two days on our Emerald 10 day cruise a few weeks ago. They open at 8am each day to assign any open chairs. BF went up each day to get in line at 7:45 and was successful both times.

[RunnerGirl26.2]

As Pam said, get to the port early so you will be in one of the first groups to board. You can also skip past the embarkation photo to save time.

 

Review the deck plans so you will know your route to the Sanctuary. One person can sign for multiple persons on their account. Two of us headed there and booked four loungers. Our DH's took the bags to our cabins. Then lunch in MDR. Have a great trip.

[Liz54]

On our recent Caribbean Princess cruise, we got the last spots on the daily booking, The opened at 8 and we lined up at 6,45 and we not at the front of the line. Try to board as early as possible. The daily arrangement is crazy!

[From Virginia Beach]

Thanks in part to all the amazing tips we got the LAST 2 week-long spots in the Sanctuary - arrived at 11:45ish at the pier, did 11 flights of stairs (lol, it almost killed me) and got there a little after 1 pm ... the steward said the first of the 22 seats were sold at noon. So hopefully that information helps the next person.

 

Bon Voyage, Karen

[Mozo9]

From the photos of the Sanctuary, it looks covered over and in the shade. We like to sit in the sun. Are there sunny spots and, if so, do these sell faster than the shade? We are going to the Med this year.

[RunnerGirl26.2]

From the photos of the Sanctuary, it looks covered over and in the shade. We like to sit in the sun. Are there sunny spots...

 

There are sunny spots. We chose in the shade looking forward. We did get some sun depending on the angle. There are also regular chairs that are "community property" if you want to sit and eat or have your tea.

[Steelers36]

As Pam said, get to the port early so you will be in one of the first groups to board. You can also skip past the embarkation photo to save time.

 

Review the deck plans so you will know your route to the Sanctuary. One person can sign for multiple persons on their account. Two of us headed there and booked four loungers. Our DH's took the bags to our cabins. Then lunch in MDR. Have a great trip.

 

Just to clarify, the multiple persons on account should mean on the same booking/in the same cabin. Note that the two wives went up - one from each cabin - and booked the chairs. Both cabinmates do not need to show up, but one single person should not be able to book for multiple cabins or someone is breaking rules.

[Steelers36]

From the photos of the Sanctuary, it looks covered over and in the shade. We like to sit in the sun. Are there sunny spots and, if so, do these sell faster than the shade? We are going to the Med this year.

 

The sunny spots sell slower for sure by my multiple observations.