chefim Posted February 10, 2014 #1 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Just off the Royal Princess 2/2-2/9. We have booked the Sanctuary on past cruises, and heard about the new issues with booking and lines. No different here. We are Platinum, and in spite of getting up the Sanctuary early, we were shut out. We were able to book for the first day at Princess Cays. As a result of screwing up some special requests, they made sure that we were booked in for the week, which was amazing for us. First of all, the price was increased 3 weeks ago from $25 per person per day to $40 per person per day. It is now $20 per person for half day, up from $15. We got quite friendly with the supervisor there, and this is the additional info he gave me. Currently there are 50 seats in the Sanctuary, and he is only authorized to book a maximum of 18 seats for the week. The other 32 seats are first come first served each morning. Most of you already know that the line starts quite early. The supervisor on the Royal said that he starts at 6:30AM, and there are often people already waiting when he arrives. It is not always an issue with B2B's filling the spots, as there were only 4 B2B seats booked on our cruise. If you are one of the lucky people who book for the week in the next month, you are definitely in for a treat. Ilarion from Romania who runs the Sanctuary definitely understands service, and goes over and above to make every guest whether weekly or daily feel like they are special. There is a good chance he will be opening the Regal when it is delivered, and he is definitely the man for the job. If you get to meet him, tell him hello from the Michaelson's his kosher cruisers from Caribe deck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host CJSKIDS Posted February 10, 2014 #2 Share Posted February 10, 2014 We spent the afternoon with our friends who just got off a b2b on the Royal today before they flew back to Toronto and I was floored to hear about the $40 per day charge for the Sanctuary. It's such a large increase. I wonder if this is going to be a trend for the other ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefim Posted February 10, 2014 Author #3 Share Posted February 10, 2014 We spent the afternoon with our friends who just got off a b2b on the Royal today before they flew back to Toronto and I was floored to hear about the $40 per day charge for the Sanctuary. It's such a large increase. I wonder if this is going to be a trend for the other ships. I was told the increase was due to the increased demand. I guess they figure the increased price will discourage some folks. Makes some of our other favorites look cheap. For instance, booking the Enclave for the week was only $159 per person with unlimited use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host CJSKIDS Posted February 10, 2014 #4 Share Posted February 10, 2014 I was told the increase was due to the increased demand. I guess they figure the increased price will discourage some folks. Makes some of our other favorites look cheap. For instance, booking the Enclave for the week was only $159 per person with unlimited use. They did the enclave for one of their weeks too. They must have been one of the 4 b2b seats taken for your sailing. Thanks for sharing your information. Hope you enjoyed your cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CA Posted February 10, 2014 #5 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Supply and demand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jetswdo Posted February 10, 2014 #6 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Is it lining up at 6:30 am for the same day for either half day or full day use? Or is it not for same day, but for next day use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riclop Posted February 10, 2014 #7 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Just off the Royal Princess 2/2-2/9. We have booked the Sanctuary on past cruises, and heard about the new issues with booking and lines. No different here. We are Platinum, and in spite of getting up the Sanctuary early, we were shut out. We were able to book for the first day at Princess Cays. As a result of screwing up some special requests, they made sure that we were booked in for the week, which was amazing for us. First of all, the price was increased 3 weeks ago from $25 per person per day to $40 per person per day. It is now $20 per person for half day, up from $15. We got quite friendly with the supervisor there, and this is the additional info he gave me. Currently there are 50 seats in the Sanctuary, and he is only authorized to book a maximum of 18 seats for the week. The other 32 seats are first come first served each morning. Most of you already know that the line starts quite early. The supervisor on the Royal said that he starts at 6:30AM, and there are often people already waiting when he arrives. It is not always an issue with B2B's filling the spots, as there were only 4 B2B seats booked on our cruise. If you are one of the lucky people who book for the week in the next month, you are definitely in for a treat. Ilarion from Romania who runs the Sanctuary definitely understands service, and goes over and above to make every guest whether weekly or daily feel like they are special. There is a good chance he will be opening the Regal when it is delivered, and he is definitely the man for the job. If you get to meet him, tell him hello from the Michaelson's his kosher cruisers from Caribe deck. Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mort13ers Posted February 10, 2014 #8 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Chefim sorry for a different question, but since you just got of the Royal yesterday did they offer a Drink package for Alcohol? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablo222 Posted February 10, 2014 #9 Share Posted February 10, 2014 We spent the afternoon with our friends who just got off a b2b on the Royal today before they flew back to Toronto and I was floored to hear about the $40 per day charge for the Sanctuary. It's such a large increase. I wonder if this is going to be a trend for the other ships. All we hear about is people getting shut out from the sanctuary. That they can't board early enough, or b2b pax are taking all the spots. Obviously, demand way exceeds supply. Princess needs to raise the price more. Eventually they will find a price point where seats will be available for any who cares to pay. Then, it will be fair for all. And good for shareholders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefim Posted February 10, 2014 Author #10 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Is it lining up at 6:30 am for the same day for either half day or full day use?Or is it not for same day, but for next day use? Each morning you line up is for booking the following day. However, depending on cancellations, it is possible to get a 1/2 day in the afternoon on the same day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubofhockey Posted February 10, 2014 #11 Share Posted February 10, 2014 All we hear about is people getting shut out from the sanctuary.That they can't board early enough, or b2b pax are taking all the spots. Obviously, demand way exceeds supply. Princess needs to raise the price more. Eventually they will find a price point where seats will be available for any who cares to pay. Then, it will be fair for all. And good for shareholders. Sooner or later, they will find a way to charge more for everything that is considered "premium". On our cruise on the Royal this summer, the first thing I'll do is go to the spa and try to book the enclave for the 11-day voyage. There is no need for the sanctuary on an 11-day cruise with only two sea days in cool weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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