Sanctuary Collection on Sun Princess

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

4 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

 

Hope it works out for you given your substantial investment.  This is Princess' first foray into becoming more family friendly (with Park 19) and the ship within a ship concept (with the sun deck and lounge).  

 

I hope their treatment of suite guests reflects the significant premium paid over non-suite Sanctuary Class cabins.

It's several months out but we'll have done the Yacht Club, Retreat, and hopefully Haven this year (though that one may end being just a standard balcony) before then so we'll have a good basis of comparison to do a good live thread. 

 

I also wouldn't be surprised to see them lower the prices of suites between now and then.

Edited May 5 by FamilyAtSea.travel

[galveston gal]

We did the Haven in January.  We really enjoyed it!

[vjmatty]

2 hours ago, CalTexCruiser said:

 

I hope their treatment of suite guests reflects the significant premium paid over non-suite Sanctuary Class cabins.

 

 

 

 

 

You bring up a good point… I’m guessing that when Yacht Club and Haven first came out, with their non-suite alternative cabins, people had the same concerns. It would appear that Princess is following their models, rather than those of Celebrity or Cunard, which have no option for a lesser category cabin in their Retreat or Grill class. 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

10 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

You bring up a good point… I’m guessing that when Yacht Club and Haven first came out, with their non-suite alternative cabins, people had the same concerns. It would appear that Princess is following their models, rather than those of Celebrity or Cunard, which have no option for a lesser category cabin in their Retreat or Grill class. 

What do you mean? All YC rooms on MSC are in the YC.

 

They have interior staterooms, but they're all classified as suites. 

[vjmatty]

10 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

What do you mean? All YC rooms on MSC are in the YC.

 

They have interior staterooms, but they're all classified as suites. 

Maybe that’s why it wasn’t a problem then, since they were always called suites from the onset of YC. Here you had two months of sailings taking place before the DO and reserve minis were announced as included in the SWS (ship within a ship) designation. However, if passengers knew all along these categories would be be included, there wouldn’t be this blowback as people would know what they were getting into when they booked. I suppose some could argue there was a suggestion when DO descriptions started showing the word “signature” but that only caused a lot of speculative discussions, far short of clear notice.  

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

3 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

Maybe that’s why it wasn’t a problem then, since they were always called suites from the onset of YC. Here you had two months of sailings taking place before the DO and reserve minis were announced as included in the SWS (ship within a ship) designation. However, if passengers knew all along these categories would be be included, there wouldn’t be this blowback as people would know what they were getting into when they booked. I suppose some could argue there was a suggestion when DO descriptions started showing the word “signature” but that only caused a lot of speculative discussions, far short of clear notice.  

I think a big difference there is that MSC's Yacht Club, unlike all the other lines (including NCL's Haven), have all of their YC rooms in a true ship-in-a-ship, exclusive space, so they can't just change the designation of a room and call it a "suite".

 

Princess is simply changing the designation of their staterooms. 

 

The YC also has less than 5% of the guests onboard sharing the exclusive YC spaces.

 

On the Sun Princess, it's going to be over 10% of rooms sharing the space, so it's seems reasonable to assume they will be more crowded. 

 

With that said, we booked our Vista Suite last week knowing about these changes and still paid the premium anyways (as I'm sure many others will). Whether we pay that premium a second time is to be determined. 

[no1talks]

1 hour ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

"All YC rooms on MSC are in the YC."

Meraviglia and ships of the same class have duplex suites well outside the YC perimeter on decks 9 and 10. As I understand it, these were originally Aurea suites, but they were "annexed" into YC.

The duplices are back in the World ships and they look even better. Compare the videos.

Here is video of the earlier version. 
https://youtu.be/WwDbjk4TDRg

Here is a duplex on World Europa, now inside the YC on decks 16 and 18.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coOjBChiCWs

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, no1talks said:

Meraviglia and ships of the same class have duplex suites well outside the YC perimeter on decks 9 and 10. As I understand it, these were originally Aurea suites, but they were "annexed" into YC.

The duplices are back in the World ships and they look even better. Compare the videos.

Here is video of the earlier version. 
https://youtu.be/WwDbjk4TDRg

Here is a duplex on World Europa, now inside the YC on decks 16 and 18.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coOjBChiCWs

 

I was not aware of that... Thanks for correcting me!

[galveston gal]

On 1/13/2024 at 1:44 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

My last two cruises, I just walked up to the desk, told them how many I wanted to buy and signed a sheet of paper.  I didn't fill out anything.  It took about 60 seconds.

 

20 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I think a big difference there is that MSC's Yacht Club, unlike all the other lines (including NCL's Haven), have all of their YC rooms in a true ship-in-a-ship, exclusive space, so they can't just change the designation of a room and call it a "suite".

 

Princess is simply changing the designation of their staterooms. 

 

The YC also has less than 5% of the guests onboard sharing the exclusive YC spaces.

 

On the Sun Princess, it's going to be over 10% of rooms sharing the space, so it's seems reasonable to assume they will be more crowded. 

 

With that said, we booked our Vista Suite last week knowing about these changes and still paid the premium anyways (as I'm sure many others will). Whether we pay that premium a second time is to be determined. 

On the Prima and Viva, NCL's newest ships, all of the Haven cabins are in one area with controlled access and even private elevators.  Check out the set up.  We were on the Prima and loved it.

[galveston gal]

Even the restaurant and bar, lounges were in the same area with exclusive access with a key card.  

[JimmyVWine]

On 4/24/2024 at 2:47 PM, capriccio said:

Some reserve minis were "promoted".

I had posted in a different thread that the "brilliance" of the Reserve Mini-Suite is that Princess can move the numbers around any way they want, cruise to cruise.  If a "regular" Mini-Suite and a "Signature" Mini-Suite are identical in all physical respects except for perks that reside outside of the cabin itself, Princess can wave a magic wand and increase or decrease the number of Mini-Suites that qualify for the external benefits based on demand (and to some degree, capacity).  So Mini-Suites can be "promoted" or "demoted" cruise to cruise.  Not saying that Princess is doing this yet, but the option is there. 

[Tallulah33]

On 4/29/2024 at 1:20 PM, oteixeira said:

And this is what I call family friendly.  I think we have similar thoughts, we will see how it all works out.  

Most cruise lines, even Holland have been focusing on multi-generational cruising. They also have to market to younger to keep their cruise lines alive, clients die off they need to be replaced. My family only sails Princess since my kids were 13 & 15. My kids like it better than Royal, they care more about the other kids they meet than the water slides. 

[duchess7]

On 5/5/2024 at 11:51 AM, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

 

My kids will be 10 and 8 when we sail over Thanksgiving. 

 

I'd like to have lounge access so we'll give it a try, but I'm sure it won't be worth the $15k premium (I guess a bit less since we got Premium and mini-suites would still have to add that).

 

You know what they say about a fool and his money...🤪

The lounge has amazing views but is not that special.  There is a desk for suite guest to speak to a "concierge" to address any issues, a bar, (you cannot sit at) that also serves snacks, and a couple of seating areas with tables and chairs.  The waitstaff are excellent.  The drinks do not count toward your daily 15.  There is also live music in the afternoon/early evening.  The second deck has seating but nothing else that I saw.

Sorry, didn't take any pictures.  

 

I was in a Penthouse suite in June.  I sat in the lounge several times before dinner and enjoyed the singer.  Older gentleman who played classic oldies.  The suite area of the Sanctuary was at the back.  It was very windy at times but suite guest also had access to the area near the pool.  

There are no umbrellas, and while you can sit at the bar there, it is not covered so sunny a lot of the day.  The seats are close together, not like the Sanctuary on the older princess ships.  

 

I did however love my Penthouse suite but would not book that level again with the changes that are coming.   Since I am a light sleeper that likes darkness, the curtains were a bit of an issue for me.  This was about 7 A.M.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

9 minutes ago, duchess7 said:

The lounge has amazing views but is not that special.  There is a desk for suite guest to speak to a "concierge" to address any issues, a bar, (you cannot sit at) that also serves snacks, and a couple of seating areas with tables and chairs.  The waitstaff are excellent.  The drinks do not count toward your daily 15.  There is also live music in the afternoon/early evening.  The second deck has seating but nothing else that I saw.

Sorry, didn't take any pictures.  

 

I was in a Penthouse suite in June.  I sat in the lounge several times before dinner and enjoyed the singer.  Older gentleman who played classic oldies.  The suite area of the Sanctuary was at the back.  It was very windy at times but suite guest also had access to the area near the pool.  

There are no umbrellas, and while you can sit at the bar there, it is not covered so sunny a lot of the day.  The seats are close together, not like the Sanctuary on the older princess ships.  

 

I did however love my Penthouse suite but would not book that level again with the changes that are coming.   Since I am a light sleeper that likes darkness, the curtains were a bit of an issue for me.  This was about 7 A.M.

Very disappointing to hear there's no bar to sit at in the lounge as that's typically a great place to strike up a conversation with interesting people. 

 

Being scattered about on couches may be comfortable, but it's not as personal. 

 

I'm sure Princess has a reason to do things things way, but I'm not sure I understand what it is. 

 

I appreciate you sharing your experience!

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

It is not meant to be a bar like the wheelhouse. They want you to sit in the couches and have the servers bring you drinks as part of the classy experience. Still have opportunity to socialize with other guests. We did it all the time.  

[duchess7]

test, trying to send Princess patters June 8, 2024

 

didn't work

 

Edited Sunday at 09:32 PM by duchess7

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

7 minutes ago, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

It is not meant to be a bar like the wheelhouse. They want you to sit in the couches and have the servers bring you drinks as part of the classy experience. Still have opportunity to socialize with other guests. We did it all the time.  

I prefer the experience in Top Sail Lounge where you can grab a drink at the bar if you like. I don't think that's any less classy.

 

I enjoy having the opportunity to learn more about the bartender if things are slow and you really don't get that opportunity with somebody bringing seats to your couch. 

 

Different strokes for different folks. There's no right or wrong way to enjoy your cruise (within reason), this just doesn't happen to align with my preference. 

[vjmatty]

1 hour ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I prefer the experience in Top Sail Lounge where you can grab a drink at the bar if you like. I don't think that's any less classy.

 

I enjoy having the opportunity to learn more about the bartender if things are slow and you really don't get that opportunity with somebody bringing seats to your couch. 

 

Different strokes for different folks. There's no right or wrong way to enjoy your cruise (within reason), this just doesn't happen to align with my preference. 

I agree, give people the choice to sit at the bar or couches. Sitting alone is a lot less awkward at the bar and I too like to talk to bartenders about all different things including where they are from and what ships and cruiselines they’ve worked. Bartenders also can be a wealth of information on ships, ports, events I haven’t been to yet…of course only when things are slow so I’m not distracting them from work. 

[duchess7]

On 6/30/2024 at 5:33 PM, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I prefer the experience in Top Sail Lounge where you can grab a drink at the bar if you like. I don't think that's any less classy.

 

I enjoy having the opportunity to learn more about the bartender if things are slow and you really don't get that opportunity with somebody bringing seats to your couch. 

 

Different strokes for different folks. There's no right or wrong way to enjoy your cruise (within reason), this just doesn't happen to align with my preference. 

I agree!  I did enjoy the lounge, just not what I prefer.