Discovery: ? about Retreat and Santuary

[Al2863]

Can someone explain the difference in the Retreat area and the Santuary area and if there are costs associated with each.  Thank you we are new to Princess.

 

Alison

[iamaqt2]

15 minutes ago, Al2863 said:

Can someone explain the difference in the Retreat area and the Santuary area and if there are costs associated with each.  Thank you we are new to Princess.

 

Alison

The Sanctuary is an adults only extra cost area on the ship with loungers and cabanas for rent.  There are dedicated attendants and a spa type menu to order from.  You can book half day morning or afternoon, or full day.  There is afternoon tea served.

The Retreat Pool area is also adult only but is open to all onboard the ship with a small amount of loungers around the pool.  The Retreat Pool serves as the nearest pool to The Sanctuary.

[lx200gps]

1 minute ago, iamaqt2 said:

The Sanctuary is an adults only extra cost area on the ship with loungers and cabanas for rent.  There are dedicated attendants and a spa type menu to order from.  You can book half day morning or afternoon, or full day.  There is afternoon tea served.

The Retreat Pool area is also adult only but is open to all onboard the ship with a small amount of loungers around the pool.  The Retreat Pool serves as the nearest pool to The Sanctuary.

Excellent summary, though I would add that the Sanctuary has a much nicer look and feel, better loungers etc and is kept VERY quiet and peaceful, hence its name ;o). Cost is $20/pp for a half-day, $40/pp/day for a full day, or $30/pp/day if booked for a full cruise. The Cabanas are $220/cabana for a full day. They feature two loungers, a sofa, table, TV, fridge etc. Photos of the Discovery Retreat pool area and  the Sanctuary can be found on Google. There are also a lot of threads and posts here on CC about how hard it is to actually book the Sanctuary these days.

[Al2863]

5 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

Excellent summary, though I would add that the Sanctuary has a much nicer look and feel, better loungers etc and is kept VERY quiet and peaceful, hence its name ;o). Cost is $20/pp for a half-day, $40/pp/day for a full day, or $30/pp/day if booked for a full cruise. The Cabanas are $220/cabana for a full day. They feature two loungers, a sofa, table, TV, fridge etc. Photos of the Discovery Retreat pool area and  the Sanctuary can be found on Google. There are also a lot of threads and posts here on CC about how hard it is to actually book the Sanctuary these days.

That was my next question, can you buy the pass ahead of time or not until you board?

[iamaqt2]

14 minutes ago, Al2863 said:

That was my next question, can you buy the pass ahead of time or not until you board?

Not until you board.  And it's very much a first come, first served situation. Also they have "destination" pricing. For example the cost would be much higher on an Alaska cruise Glacier viewing day.

[disgirl]

We did the Sanctuary on our cruise last October.  I have Elite, so was onboard early, and we ran up to make a reservation.  We were still in a long line and had very limited options for times to select from.  That being said, it was a lovely day up there, the staff was amazing and the service was too.

[lx200gps]

3 hours ago, iamaqt2 said:

Not until you board.  And it's very much a first come, first served situation. Also they have "destination" pricing. For example the cost would be much higher on an Alaska cruise Glacier viewing day.

True, but the so-called "destination pricing" is quite rare. Certain Alaska days and possibly certain Panama Canal passage days. Other than those few days, pricing is always $20/$30/$40/$220, every ship, every itinerary

[lx200gps]

2 hours ago, disgirl said:

We did the Sanctuary on our cruise last October.  I have Elite, so was onboard early, and we ran up to make a reservation.  We were still in a long line and had very limited options for times to select from.  That being said, it was a lovely day up there, the staff was amazing and the service was too.

We're also Elite and make a point of being literally among the very first to board, just to try and snag decent Sanctuary seating. Sadly, the last few times we tried we were shut out. We only wanted sea days  and can only take full shade loungers, which are in the minority on the newer big ships. Those constraints, as well as the fact that B2Bers get to board first and so are able to get upstairs before any of us newly arriving passengers, mean that we are finding it increasingly difficult to book our favorite location on the ship.  On one of our last sailings, on the Sky last fall, the B2bers on the previous trip were given the option of booking the Sanctuary on the NEXT sailing, which was ours. Since there were literally hundreds of them, the Sanctuary was completely full and sold out before any of us newly arriving passengers even boarded.

[Al2863]

Having now gathered that we probably won’t get availability in the Santuary, how is the Retreat area.  Is it the usual chair hogs who put the towel down and disappear usually 🤯

[disgirl]

1 hour ago, lx200gps said:

We're also Elite and make a point of being literally among the very first to board, just to try and snag decent Sanctuary seating. Sadly, the last few times we tried we were shut out. We only wanted sea days  and can only take full shade loungers, which are in the minority on the newer big ships. Those constraints, as well as the fact that B2Bers get to board first and so are able to get upstairs before any of us newly arriving passengers, mean that we are finding it increasingly difficult to book our favorite location on the ship.  On one of our last sailings, on the Sky last fall, the B2bers on the previous trip were given the option of booking the Sanctuary on the NEXT sailing, which was ours. Since there were literally hundreds of them, the Sanctuary was completely full and sold out before any of us newly arriving passengers even boarded.

 

That is very disappointing.  

[tonit964]

37 minutes ago, Al2863 said:

Having now gathered that we probably won’t get availability in the Santuary, how is the Retreat area.  Is it the usual chair hogs who put the towel down and disappear usually 🤯

I had a cabin on the Discovery last year on the Sky deck, I could open my door and see the lounger availability. I never saw chair hogs out there, at least on this cruise.
It was a very nice place to hang out. Just steps above that was another area with two hot tubs and plenty of loungers. 
It’s a nice alternative if you can’t book the Sanctuary. 

[disgirl]

43 minutes ago, Al2863 said:

Having now gathered that we probably won’t get availability in the Santuary, how is the Retreat area.  Is it the usual chair hogs who put the towel down and disappear usually 🤯

 

We didnt have an issue on the Discovery last year.  

[startedwithamouse]

Retreat pool has no seaviews, you're just in a pit. Not very desirable. We didn't see any chair saving.