Sanctuary (Discovery) tips?

[rodndonna]

We are about to sail on our first Princess cruise (Discovery) and wondering how booking the Sanctuary works. I know it can't be reserved in advance. We are looking at booking it for a just day or an afternoon, not the entire cruise.

 

Do they take bookings for all/any days as soon as we board or do they open some bookings daily? Is it bookabale on the app (Medallion) or do we head to the Sanctuary? 

 

Any tips or advice appreciated!

[LACruiser88]

The Sanctuary is one of our favorite venues on Princess ships.  You must book your loungers in person at the Sanctuary.

 

Rush there as soon as you board the ship.  Depending on the itinerary, it can book-up very fast.  You can book full or half days for the entire length of your voyage.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Edited March 31 by LACruiser88

[greenbeanie]

A couple of questions after taking a video "tour"

 

No kids?

 

Is it necessary to book the sanctuary to access the pool? (not the main pools, I can't recall the name of the more quiet pool, but this one.)

 

There are TVs in the cabanas - does the TV noise carry?  And does general noise in the cabanas travel out to nearby areasl?

 

Is there piped in music?  If so, what's the volume level?

 

[Arizona Wildcat]

16 minutes ago, greenbeanie said:

A couple of questions after taking a video "tour"

 

No kids?

 

Is it necessary to book the sanctuary to access the pool? (not the main pools, I can't recall the name of the more quiet pool, but this one.)

 

There are TVs in the cabanas - does the TV noise carry?  And does general noise in the cabanas travel out to nearby areasl?

 

Is there piped in music?  If so, what's the volume level?

 

Never heard any music from the cabanas.

The quiet pool was outside the sanctuary on our ship.

[LACruiser88]

@greenbeanie  

 

No kids?  No, not allowed

 

Is it necessary to book the sanctuary to access the pool? (not the main pools, I can't recall the name of the more quiet pool, but this one.)  No

 

There are TVs in the cabanas - does the TV noise carry?  And does general noise in the cabanas travel out to nearby areasl?  The Cabanas come with Bose headsets to listen to the TV.  The Cabanas are very quiet, as is the entire Sanctuary venue.

 

 

[shellbeachjim]

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

@greenbeanie  

 

There are TVs in the cabanas - does the TV noise carry?  And does general noise in the cabanas travel out to nearby areasl?  The Cabanas come with Bose headsets to listen to the TV.  The Cabanas are very quiet, as is the entire Sanctuary venue.

 

 

This assumes the people in the cabanas use the headsets. We had a cruise where they left the television on the entire day (mostly the news) and never used the headsets. Most of the time neither of them were actually watching or paying attention to it. At one point we asked if they could turn down the volume and they took great offense to the suggestion. This only happened on one cruise and was certainly out of the ordinary. 

[LACruiser88]

12 minutes ago, shellbeachjim said:

This assumes the people in the cabanas use the headsets. We had a cruise where they left the television on the entire day (mostly the news) and never used the headsets. Most of the time neither of them were actually watching or paying attention to it. At one point we asked if they could turn down the volume and they took great offense to the suggestion. This only happened on one cruise and was certainly out of the ordinary. 

That would certainly be very annoying.  You were too nice, I would have called the Sanctuary Supervisor to deal with it.

[Lady Arwen]

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

That would certainly be very annoying.  You were too nice, I would have called the Sanctuary Supervisor to deal with it.

Yes, it’s called “The Sanctuary” for a reason!  Peace and quiet.  No music, no kids, no tv.  This is why we love it so much and we book for the entire cruise so we have our own place to get away from the hustle and bustle.  Yes, we have a balcony, but we only use it in the evening.  

[jagoffee]

On 3/31/2024 at 10:13 AM, LACruiser88 said:

The Sanctuary is one of our favorite venues on Princess ships.  You must book your loungers in person at the Sanctuary.

 

Rush there as soon as you board the ship.  Depending on the itinerary, it can book-up very fast.  You can book full or half days for the entire length of your voyage.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Does Princess designate some loungers that can only be booked for the whole week?  i booked the Sanctuary once for a  complete cruise. (I was booked in one of those mini suites that were completely uncovered). At that time the 1/2 and 1 day bookings could be not in advance.  Perhaps only in the morning of the day desired. 
 

I do know that Princess now allows 1/2 and 1 day reservations on any day in advance.  I would imagine this reduces the possibility of booking for the whole cruise. So, does Princess designate certain loungers for “complete cruise booking”?
 

If I am doing a B2B can I book the second cruise on the first day of the first cruise?

 

Thank you.

 

 

[LACruiser88]

@jagoffee

 

So, does Princess designate certain loungers for “complete cruise booking”?  No, they have all been available for 1/2 or full individual days or for a "complete cruise."
 

If I am doing a B2B can I book the second cruise on the first day of the first cruise? Yes.  We have done this many times.

[jagoffee]

2 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

@jagoffee

 

So, does Princess designate certain loungers for “complete cruise booking”?  No, they have all been available for 1/2 or full individual days or for a "complete cruise."
 

If I am doing a B2B can I book the second cruise on the first day of the first cruise? Yes.  We have done this many times.

Thank you for your quick response.

[Gail & Dan]

Nice if they put a pool in there rather than just a hot tub 

[Doc who loves to travel]

Is alcohol included in a cabana? We don't have a package.

[MTNest93]

5 minutes ago, Doc who loves to travel said:

Is alcohol included in a cabana? We don't have a package.

We had a cabana on the Caribbean last summer and it came with a bottle of alcohol (our choice as to what) and a mixer.  

[Thunderbird19]

Is the Sanctuary empty and not used in very cold weather?  Caribbbean Princess is cruising Norway in Sept & October and unless one is really bundled up it doesn’t seem like that lovely space would be worth renting.  Or do they make it free in cold weather?

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

And yes it is meant to be a quiet space. We were warned one time that they would kick us out if we didn’t quiet down. There were four of us and we were laughing a bit too loud for an extended period of time. Ooops!  🤪

[LACruiser88]

9 hours ago, Thunderbird19 said:

Or do they make it free in cold weather?

I've never seen it to be free.  In bad weather they close down the area.