Wishing on a star

I went back and looked at that trip report... And, sorry!!! I was thinking loungers but it was a cabana at the Sanctuary that they wanted to book. Maybe that is a good thing??? Maybe a mistake that somebody thought all cabanas were booked? Or maybe the person thought that they were wanting loungers, and loungers were all booked. I will be one of those who will be following how things go with the Sanctuary.

They mentioned not being able to get availability on a lounger in the Sanctuary, as per the usual First Come First Served... But that, the Concierge was able to get them what they wanted. Did not seem to be a problem at all. If this is true, and I don't know why there would be confusion or anything not true, then this would indicate that there are SOME loungers in the Sanctuary being held back for Suite guests. (Similar to what was originally expected on the SUN, but then became an exclusive, class, ship-within-a-ship setup.) If this is true, then this would seem to be the beginning of some kind of move towards a Suite or SANCTUARY class on these ships. The minute that the announcement was made about this the Sun Princess, some were quick to see this and comment on how easily this could be done on the Royal Class ships. I am already thinking that I need to adjust my one future booking. Couldn't hurt, up until Final Payment.

First, with the announcement of the new SANCTUARY CLASS collection of cabins on the Sun Princess, not sure if the Reserve is much, if anything at all. Basically, it was access to, supposedly, reservation free, and more exclusive dining. If you need more space, then you would have to book a Mini-Suite. Some are regular Mini-Suites, some are Cabana Mini-Suites which are a deluxe balcony with the 'cabana' added on... Some are Cabana Deck Mini-Suites which have the cabana added on, as well as access to the exclusive Cabana Deck on both Port and Starboard... And some are SANCTUARY CLASS Mini-Suites, which have Sanctuary Perks. These will include the Premium Package, so you do not have to buy a 'Package', There I a video I posted, that is being posted here, about the cabin categories... This shows a good basic overview of a Cove Balcony.. I think the Cove Balcony is shown at about 4:10 minutes in.

I am seeing comments where a Suite guest had not been able to get loungers in the Sanctuary, but the the Concierge made the reservations for them. They were able to get loungers as they wanted. Has this been something usual in the past??? Is this new? Of course Princess is not known for being consistent!!! I know that access to the Sanctuary has not been a Suite perk. If this is something new, then I am seeing the signs already posted that Princess will move towards taking the Retreat area and the Sanctuary, and restricting therm to a new SANCTUARY CLASS SYSTEM, like they now have on the Sun Princess. I would almost bet on it. I will say that if these Royal Class ships end up without an adult only area, I will not be sailing with Princess. We have one cruise booked on the Sun, that we are now questioning.... We have another cruise booked on a Royal Class ship, that would also be cancelled if Princess makes these changes.

The ones one Deck 9, with access to the exclusive Cabana Deck should cost a bit more. To complicate things even more, Princess used to have RESERVE mini suites.. with access to a reserve dining room... but seem to be ending that. And now they have Sanctuary Mini Suites that have access to the exclusive SANCTUARY wake view with the pool and bar etc.

Okay, this is very confusing, and Princess has changed around some of these categories in a major way. The Cabana Deck Mini Suites on Deck 9 has access to that special exclusive Cabana Deck. Notice the word DECK in the name of the category. This is great. But, know that if it actually is ON that cabana deck, the privacy on your balcony will be compromised, as others with access to this deck can be right outside your balcony. Know that instead of normal railing, you would be looking over your balcony divider and out thru double-high blue tinted glass (wind breaking???) The Cabana Deck Mini Suites on Deck 9 that are forward or aft of the actual Cabana Deck, (bright pink on the deck plans) of course, have access to the Cabana Deck, but the privacy is not compromised, as they are not ON / overlooking the Cabana Deck. They still have the double-high blue tinted glass. The Cabana Mini Suite on Deck 12 does not have access to that exclusive Cabana Deck. This might be offset by the fact that the ones on Deck 12, which are on the 'Sphere' would have large balconies. A big plus... They have the cabana and the balcony that is larger than the standard balconies on the ship. (which, some can be fairly shallow) Also a plus to these is NO double high blue glass. All of these Cabana Mini Suites have an interior that is smaller than a non-cabana mini-suite. You are either getting the space in the mini-suite, or in the combination of a deluxe balcony interior and the cabana area. So, be aware of this when comparing a Cabana, or Cabana Deck, mini suite with a regular non-cabana mini-suite. These have the larger, full mini-suite interior. There are some photos out there... but I do not have time at the moment to post links for you. Perhaps later. We are actually packing to leave out on a trip soon! Hope this helps!

If you have not received any notice of a room assignment, have you double checked your booking? I have heard that the room number can show up there well before any notice is received.

Yes, we do understand! As bits of info have been offered. I just edited this post, because I looked, just out of curiosity, and it seems that this cruise is now showing Sold Out. You might have had more opportunities to get another cabin if you had known this earlier, before Final Payment. I do not know if you will have any luck with your bidding? As nobody knows. Your chances are probably slim if the system is set to only upgrade to another accessible cabin. (It is awful that any accessible cabin would have metal railing, as somebody probably couldn't see over when seated. I think you still have a 50/50 chance of getting one of those cabins, on the higher deck, that does have glass. And, you can always go to Customer Service upon boarding, and see if there is any chance that they can help you.

Exactly... any comparison with the SUN to any other ship that does still have an open Adult Area is very very misguided... Apples to Oranges. We have a contact in with our TA to see if our $500. Goodwill Future Cruise Credit (which would technically be expired, last month) can be applied to a booking on Enchanted. Not sure if we will keep our booking on the SUN, or not. The draw of that booking was seeing the new ship.... (not itinerary) And, sadly, this new ship, for me, is already losing it's luster.

Exactly... with this many new SANCTUARY guests... there is no way the Signature restaurant could begin to. handle that many. As mentioned before, I clearly see the RESERVE category disappearing, and that dining room being designated as a SANCTUARY. dining room. There are no more RESERVE bookings being taken... Princess will find a way to phase this out and change that restaurant over.

Wow... that really is my only response.

Sometimes numbers do not lie....

"Your real complaint should be that Princess got rid of those other areas on the new class of ship, which again I don't think has anything to do with the conversation here. " The two are almost inseparable. ...You guys can question and mis-quote all you want.... but, it is all very clear. Most every ship has an adult area.... an open access adult area... NOT just the exclusive 'Sanctuary'.... Carnival has open adult areas. The Sun princess, does not.... Not at all. No adult only option for the majority of guests. That is a huge 'MISS' Questioning and throwing comments and doubts does not change that. Again, we certainly did not book this cruise, months ago, for the Ports.... The biggest draw was the new ship. Now that the light of day is shining, and the veil has been lifted... It seems that there is no adult area for guests (non-Sanctuary) onboard. And it also seems that the ship has a totally different vibe, with a lot of large open spaces.. flashing screens, etc... That is not what we have enjoyed while cruising Princess. And, the things we might have looked forward to are no-more. For us, there are other options out there, and we will be considering whether we will cancel our booking. Anyone is free to have a different opinion. No need to go after any other person who is commenting.

Glad that you are back to having a great cruise!!! (or it seems so) We all hope that you are having a great time! I am glad to hear that the odds are in our favor when docking STT... We have a port side room booked, with a larger balcony for dining!

Just to clarify... that is not an 'adult area'... that is a very exclusive area, that is not available to most guests. There is no open and available adult area onboard.