Star Princess Sanctuary (Hawaii)

[Love.II.Cruise]

Do people find it worth it to buy this with 9 sea days on a 15 day cruise? I would think it would be very windy to and from the islands. I also understand there is unpredictability in weather during the crossing from US to Hawaii and back.

 

Thanks

[Colo Cruiser]

The more sea days the better.

[Astro Flyer]

With half of the sea days generally being cool we wouldn't consider the Sanctuary except when near Hawaii.

[gcvt]

When we did that cruise on Grand last April, I was surprised to find that the Sanctuary was virtually empty the entire time, and we had some pretty decent weather.

[Pam in CA]

Do people find it worth it to buy this with 9 sea days on a 15 day cruise? I would think it would be very windy to and from the islands. I also understand there is unpredictability in weather during the crossing from US to Hawaii and back.

I plan to do exactly this on my LA > HI > LA cruise next month. For me, it's worth it. On the cooler days, I'll wear warmer clothes and I know they'll have as many blankets as I need or want. For the entire cruise, you pay $30/day vs. $40/day if you book by the day. There'll probably be 2-3 days that I won't use it as I'll be in port.

[canuck13]

We did this cruise last Feb. on the Star. Since we had booked an inside cabin, we followed our usual practice of arriving early and rushing to the Sanctuary to book for the entire trip. To our surprise the Sanctuary Manager strongly discouraged us from doing this, saying that most people don't enjoy being there on sea days on this itinerary because of the cool temps and wind. She assured us that there would be plenty of room on any days we wanted to book.

 

As it turned out that was great advice. We ended up booking 1 full day and one half day when at sea, then booked in Ensenada and didn't leave the ship. We checked out the sanctuary on some other days, but found the temps and wind really did make it uncomfortable. We found the Solarium much more to our liking and were able to find loungers there without too much difficulty.

 

This strategy saved us significant $ and we very much appreciated the Sanctuary Manager being honest with us rather than just taking our money. We made sure we included this on our survey.

 

Bob

[CasaM]

It will be our first time on the Star in Feb to HI. Where is the Solarium? I've been looking at deck plans and can't seem to find it.

[elliair]

We were on this cruise last January and there was no one in the Sanctuary going to Hawaii. We hit some pretty turbulent seas, it was cold and very windy. So windy that the bow of the ship on Promenade deck was closed to passengers. Many people were sea sick. There's plenty of other places to hide and relax and you don't have to pay for it.

[Astro Flyer]

It will be our first time on the Star in Feb to HI. Where is the Solarium? I've been looking at deck plans and can't seem to find it.

 

I'm guessing you're asking about the covered pool? If so the covered upper area around the Calypso pool is called The Conservatory.

[canuck13]

I'm guessing you're asking about the covered pool? If so the covered upper area around the Calypso pool is called The Conservatory.

It's been a year, so some of the details are a bit fuzzy. You are correct - it's called the Conservatory. Two levels completely covered so always warm and always shaded.

[CasaM]

Thank you both for the replies...the Conservatory sounds like a good place to sit and relax and read a book!