Sanctuary on Coral

[5soccer9]

I have read a lot about the sanctuary on the Coral but I did have a few questions. Can you only book for the morning or afternoon the day before you want it. So if I get on the ship today can I only book for tomorrow or can I stat I want to reserve it for three days from now? Also what is morning 9 -1 and afternoon 1 - 5? Is there anything else I should know about the Sanctuary? I have sailed many times on Princess but have never done the sanctuary and now after ready so much about it I would like to experience it at least once. Thanks -

[Loonbeam]

Depending on how they are running it, you can book entire trip on boarding, or either next day/same day for one day at a time (some people have reported next day bookings available, but when we were on there you had to go in the AM for each day if you didn't book the whole cruise.

 

It was 8-12:30 and 1-5:00 when we sailed on her, may have changed.

 

There are lots of threads with reviews of it, I would do a thread search for coral sanctuary to get photos and suggestions.

 

 

I have read a lot about the sanctuary on the Coral but I did have a few questions. Can you only book for the morning or afternoon the day before you want it. So if I get on the ship today can I only book for tomorrow or can I stat I want to reserve it for three days from now? Also what is morning 9 -1 and afternoon 1 - 5? Is there anything else I should know about the Sanctuary? I have sailed many times on Princess but have never done the sanctuary and now after ready so much about it I would like to experience it at least once. Thanks -

[kylea_s]

We just got off the Coral on Jan. 19. I had planned to reserve the Sanctuary for the the Canal Day and as noted here on CC I went there right after we got on board to make the reservation. I was told that no reservations were taken except the morning of starting at about 6 AM. We decided to forgo the extra cost and observe from other areas on the boat.

[5soccer9]

Thank you both for that information. I was hoping you could do it the day before but if I have to rush up there the day of I guess I can do that as well. I just wanted to do it once on my upcoming cruise and not for the whole time. I heard the canal day was great but very pricey.

[Loonbeam]

Canal day is a whole separate thing, with champagne, binoculars on loan, food nearby etc. That said, you will want to roam the ship, but non-crowded railings can be a plus.

 

Thank you both for that information. I was hoping you could do it the day before but if I have to rush up there the day of I guess I can do that as well. I just wanted to do it once on my upcoming cruise and not for the whole time. I heard the canal day was great but very pricey.

[5soccer9]

Canal day is a whole separate thing, with champagne, binoculars on loan, food nearby etc. That said, you will want to roam the ship, but non-crowded railings can be a plus.

 

Yes I heard it was on canal day but I think you are right about roaming around. Thanks. So looking forward to it. Right about now to get out of this cold anything would sound good :)

[dorisis]

Be aware that the Sanctuary on the Coral (and Island) is at the rear of the ship and best viewing of Canal is forward on the upper decks and for closer views of the walls, the Promenade deck is the place to be.

[Loonbeam]

I disagree a bit. You can get some excellent views of the locks operating as the ships come in behind you from the aft, especially in Gatun locks.

 

Once you are in the locks yourself on the inbound leg, the view from some of the fore decks is actually a little limited due to the height difference as ships ahead are raised.

 

Be aware that the Sanctuary on the Coral (and Island) is at the rear of the ship and best viewing of Canal is forward on the upper decks and for closer views of the walls, the Promenade deck is the place to be.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes I heard it was on canal day but I think you are right about roaming around. Thanks. So looking forward to it. Right about now to get out of this cold anything would sound good :)

 

I agree, much better to be roaming to get different perspectives. ;)

[Eagle_and_hawk]

We just got off the Coral on Jan. 19. I had planned to reserve the Sanctuary for the the Canal Day and as noted here on CC I went there right after we got on board to make the reservation. I was told that no reservations were taken except the morning of starting at about 6 AM. We decided to forgo the extra cost and observe from other areas on the boat.

 

Do you recall the cost for one person to book it for the entire week and if so, was it for the full or partial transit?

 

David

[Rick03Ultra]

My DW and I enjoyed the sanctuary very much. We paid $210 a person for the entire cruise including the canal day. This was over Thanksgiving 2013.

[golfb4cruzing]

Must be boat specific. We tried to on the Ruby, as soon as we boarded, and there was a sign up booked for the whole week already. Thought that was wrong. We used the pool at least.

[Loonbeam]

If there are a lot of B2Bs your chances of getting a whole week pre-booka re next to nil, unfortunately.

 

Must be boat specific. We tried to on the Ruby, as soon as we boarded, and there was a sign up booked for the whole week already. Thought that was wrong. We used the pool at least.

[Pam in CA]

Be aware that the Sanctuary on the Coral (and Island) is at the rear of the ship and best viewing of Canal is forward on the upper decks and for closer views of the walls, the Promenade deck is the place to be.

I disagree. You get great views aft (obviously) but also to the sides. If you are at the side railing of the Sanctuary, you can see all the way forward. The ship doesn't take a straight line; there are many turns so you can easily see forward. Here are a couple of examples of seeing forward from the Sanctuary:

 

[PrincessLuver]

We just got off the Coral on Jan. 19. I had planned to reserve the Sanctuary for the the Canal Day and as noted here on CC I went there right after we got on board to make the reservation. I was told that no reservations were taken except the morning of starting at about 6 AM. We decided to forgo the extra cost and observe from other areas on the boat.

 

We booked the Sanctuary on the Coral for a cruise we were on in November. We got there right when we boarded. At first we were excited then we noted that we felt obligated to lay there all day because we were paying for it.

 

They bought plenty of food which I felt compelled to eat all day long. We decided that it was not our style to lay there and veg all day and cancelled our booking for the rest of the cruise.

 

It was a very freeing decision and we found the Coral not to be crowded and there were plenty of great places to lounge and experience solitude.

 

Also, the Coral does not have that big a Sanctuary and you are certainly available for viewing by people in the health club. :):D;)

[sweetsleep]

I did a partial transit on the Coral in October and just disembarked from the Emerald. I booked the entire cruise in the Sanctuary for both cruises(except for Canal day as I did an excursion). The Sanctuary experience was by far so much better on the Coral. I highly recommend booking a lounger on the lower level in the shade-loungers 1-4 are the best in my opinion.

I was extremely disappointed in the Sanctuary on the Emerald. The "stewards" were NEVER around. I had to actively ask for any service and I mentioned that in my survey.

The stewards on the Coral were amazing and the crew in general on that ship are really terrific in every venue. My favorite cruise ever.