The Retreat on Encore

[galeforce9]

9 hours ago, chuckncole said:

Today when i booked the retreat, It was 699$ per week.  We are on a 14 day or 2,  7 days back to back. so it was 1398 for 14 days!

Depends on how many port/sea days.  Sea days are dearer 

[lisa6191]

12 minutes ago, galeforce9 said:

Depends on how many port/sea days.  Sea days are dearer 

This is apparently not true for bookings of the whole voyage, which is one of the advantages of booking that way if you have a lot of sea days. My 14-night cruise with 10 sea days (TA) was $1410 for the whole voyage, which is still about $100/day as mentioned above. (I’m not sure why it’s $12 more than two 7-day back to back, but I’m not complaining!) Booked separately, $1410 isn’t even quite enough for 6 sea days, much less 10 plus 4 port days. I had no idea about the substantial discount for booking the whole trip until I read it on here, and I was very grateful for the information!

Edited August 3 by lisa6191

[Vineyard View]

Thank you lisa6191 for those details in your response to my questions. I appreciate it!  It may or may not be worth it to us. We first sailed Quest and this is our second SB sailing. 
isr45 my thanks to you as well.

I think I will check for pictures online. I like the concept, but still not sure. If we had a lot of sea days, it would make more sense. 

[branndie]

We are booked in the retreat for 2 weeks on our Caribbean cruise starting January 11.  We are not really spa service people although I guess I could schedule a shampoo and blow out.  Should we plan on using our spa credits to purchase spa products? In lieu of services?

[galeforce9]

14 minutes ago, branndie said:

We are booked in the retreat for 2 weeks on our Caribbean cruise starting January 11.  We are not really spa service people although I guess I could schedule a shampoo and blow out.  Should we plan on using our spa credits to purchase spa products? In lieu of services?

That’s what I’m going to do. No idea what they have though 

[Isr45]

1 hour ago, galeforce9 said:

That’s what I’m going to do. No idea what they have though 

Hair salon sells Kerastase products - great selection and Spa sells Elemis products - nice selection.

[chuckncole]

20 hours ago, branndie said:

We are booked in the retreat for 2 weeks on our Caribbean cruise starting January 11.  We are not really spa service people although I guess I could schedule a shampoo and blow out.  Should we plan on using our spa credits to purchase spa products? In lieu of services?

Thats what i did. i had a standing appointment for a wash and blow dry every other day and got mani/pedi mid way thru.  there is also teeth whitening, botox and fillers, anti age treatments and acupuncture, personal trainer. face and hair products. The options are endless. enjoy! 

[chuckncole]

On 8/3/2024 at 5:33 AM, Hlitner said:

Like many SB cruisers, we have tried the Retreat (on the Ovation) and were underwhelmed.  For us, it was not about the cost (we had plenty of OBC which made it essentially free).  The Retreat was very nice, the Bollinger good, lunch menu was small but good, and service was amazing!  But, for us, it was not ideal because we enjoy socializing, and the Retreat turned out to be a very private experience.  On our cruise, most Retreat users kept to themselves (and everyone honored a high level of privacy).  I do think it is a terrific option for a couple that prefers to be left along, does not want to interact with other passengers, etc.   

 

We are on the Encore for 3 weeks (three segments), later this month, and just looked at our account.  There are still 2 full cruise Retreat places available, and the full day rentals are sold out.  I am not sure how many of the Cabanas are reserved for the full cruise, but I will assume it is at least 6 units.  So this means that with 300 couples on the ship, fewer than 10 are interested in booking the Retreat for an entire voyage.  

 

Hank

 

 

There is a interesting point to be made about payment for The Retreat..... i just was discussing this topic with my dear husband. On the Encore class ships there are 13 cabanas. Maybe 5 are bookable pre-cruise for the entire time. The rest,  they leave open for daily bookings  because they get more revenue that way. When you board the ship then, you can book the entire time if it is still available and they will price adjust so you are not paying more that the weekly rate.  Most importantly i think is if you book pre-cruise say,  6 months in advance,  you must pay the entire amt  at time of booking even is you have ship board credit. So for our 14 day cruise in October i booked already both weeks at  699$ per week and it has already showed up on my Credit card even though I have 2050$ of pending ship credit. which would clearly cover the 2 weeks. Unfortunately on board credit is not usable until on board. so I will need to go to the square and have them reverse my credit card charge. And, they have no problem doing that. It is a little disappointing that they charge you for a service not being delivered for months in advance....  Yet, it is a hoop Im willing to jump thru because in February, the entire cruise Bookings for The Retreat sold out and some of our family had to book daily for the entire cruise only to be refunded once on the ship.... and they were refunded up to the weekly rate......  in closing i wanted to point out that people wait until closer to the cruise to book or you are carrying the cost until embarkation... which is a disconnect when you have an on board credit!  

[chuckncole]

On 8/3/2024 at 9:44 AM, Isr45 said:

You cannot book a specific cabana in advance before departure 

Interesting..... we were on the Encore Feb 3-17 in SE Asia and had the same Cabana every day. We chose it the 1st day and left some things there.. Infact,  it was decorated for my husbands Birthday celebration for most of the cruise and everytime we went it was always ready for us. That way they do not need to replace the flipflops and robes each day and can stock our fridge according to our preference, The cabanas on the port and starboard side had wood window shutter doors  that opened to a lovely view of the ocean with the middle cabanas have the best views. Junior was The Retreat manager at the time. it could be dependant on the management......

[galeforce9]

1 hour ago, chuckncole said:

Interesting..... we were on the Encore Feb 3-17 in SE Asia and had the same Cabana every day. We chose it the 1st day and left some things there.. Infact,  it was decorated for my husbands Birthday celebration for most of the cruise and everytime we went it was always ready for us. That way they do not need to replace the flipflops and robes each day and can stock our fridge according to our preference, The cabanas on the port and starboard side had wood window shutter doors  that opened to a lovely view of the ocean with the middle cabanas have the best views. Junior was The Retreat manager at the time. it could be dependant on the management......

Before departure 

[chuckncole]

1 hour ago, galeforce9 said:

Before departure 

Yes. we could not select a cabana until we were on Board and it was one of the 1st things we did upon embarkation, Especially since our cabana was paid for that day!

[lisa6191]

3 hours ago, chuckncole said:

There is a interesting point to be made about payment for The Retreat..... i just was discussing this topic with my dear husband. On the Encore class ships there are 13 cabanas. Maybe 5 are bookable pre-cruise for the entire time. The rest,  they leave open for daily bookings  because they get more revenue that way. When you board the ship then, you can book the entire time if it is still available and they will price adjust so you are not paying more that the weekly rate.  Most importantly i think is if you book pre-cruise say,  6 months in advance,  you must pay the entire amt  at time of booking even is you have ship board credit. So for our 14 day cruise in October i booked already both weeks at  699$ per week and it has already showed up on my Credit card even though I have 2050$ of pending ship credit. which would clearly cover the 2 weeks. Unfortunately on board credit is not usable until on board. so I will need to go to the square and have them reverse my credit card charge. And, they have no problem doing that. It is a little disappointing that they charge you for a service not being delivered for months in advance....  Yet, it is a hoop Im willing to jump thru because in February, the entire cruise Bookings for The Retreat sold out and some of our family had to book daily for the entire cruise only to be refunded once on the ship.... and they were refunded up to the weekly rate......  in closing i wanted to point out that people wait until closer to the cruise to book or you are carrying the cost until embarkation... which is a disconnect when you have an on board credit!  

It’s the same problem with pre booking shore excursions. I really wish they would fix that so you could use your OBC and not lay out the money ahead of time.

[Vineyard View]

1 hour ago, lisa6191 said:

It’s the same problem with pre booking shore excursions. I really wish they would fix that so you could use your OBC and not lay out the money ahead of time.

Totally agree

[labonnevie]

On 8/5/2024 at 1:23 PM, lisa6191 said:

It’s the same problem with pre booking shore excursions. I really wish they would fix that so you could use your OBC and not lay out the money ahead of time.

Agree, I have never understood why Seabourn insists on continuing this silly policy. 
It would be so easy to change and would result in happier customers. 
Regent has no trouble doing it the right way.