Sanctuary and Suites - NOT on Sun Princess

[Wishing on a star]

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.

           

[memoak]

I don’t get why one would want to pay for the Sanctuary when you have a huge balcony and room service. 

[vjmatty]

4 minutes ago, memoak said:

I don’t get why one would want to pay for the Sanctuary when you have a huge balcony and room service. 

On Royal class, even many of the suite balconies are too narrow to face the ocean. 

[vjmatty]

37 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

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.

           

That is troubling news. Did the comments say that the retreat pool and deck were as also appropriated for suite guests, or just the sanctuary?

[Wishing on a star]

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.

Edited May 4 by Wishing on a star

[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.

 

[TRLD]

Even so I expect that if the class system on the Sun and Star, are a success, the Royal class ships will follow.

 

Of course there are a few issues to work out and some changes to work through before that is clear.

 

It look like it will be a single class, unlike the two level system they were looking at originally. As some of the Celebrity cruisers are now finding out. So it looks like it will not be a cheaper clone of the Celebrity approach, but pretty clear that the days of anyone in any room being able to buy the same additional service is coming to an end.

 

While the rush to book Sanctuary is probably coming to an end in the next year or two, one will be able to lock it in by booking on of the cabins with those benefits.

 

Edited May 5 by TRLD

[mrmarklin]

I think that on the Royal class ships a few excursions and cabanas are held back for Suite passengers. On one cruise I was able to obtain an excursion from the Concierge in the Lounge that was “sold out” on the website. 

[Wishing on a star]

Thanks!  Perhaps this is something that has been done regularly...  so not a big indication of changes to come.

 

But, again, anyone from Princess reading this, along with other threads about the SUN Princess,  a ship with no adult area will be a deal-breaker, and would mean no further bookings....

 

We just returned from a trip to a nice resort.  We had a walk-out room (because this resort has a design flaw, where all floors above walk-out exit with the elevators going out the back, and have to walk around the building every time to get to the pool/beach/venues). The walkout was great!!!!  But, especially during the first two days over the weekend, plenty of shrieking kids right outside our unit, which was right there front and center.

 

An adult only area on a cruise ship is a MUST.

[FancyPants21]

On 5/4/2024 at 8:24 PM, memoak said:

I don’t get why one would want to pay for the Sanctuary when you have a huge balcony and room service. 

We just returned from 8 days on Sky to Norway. The weather was unexpectedly warm and sunny and on one day the Retreat pool area was 100% occupied... and I mean 100% with not a spare bed. The hot tub was rammed with people at times.

 

In The Sanctuary it was only 50% occupied and even at 100% it would have been heaven compared to the bun fights for beds outside and the hot tub was mostly empty.

 

For the price of roughly $40pp/pd it was so worth it. Also, the personal service in the Sanctuary is second to none and not at all comparable to the almost zero service outside.

 

All I can say is that if you think it isn't worth it then that is something I really don't understand.

[memoak]

Just now, FancyPants21 said:

We just returned from 8 days on Sky to Norway. The weather was unexpectedly warm and sunny and on one day the Retreat pool area was 100% occupied... and I mean 100% with not a spare bed. The hot tub was rammed with people at times.

 

In The Sanctuary it was only 50% occupied and even at 100% it would have been heaven compared to the bun fights for beds outside and the hot tub was mostly empty.

 

For the price of roughly $40pp/pd it was so worth it. Also, the personal service in the Sanctuary is second to none and not at all comparable to the almost zero service outside.

 

All I can say is that if you think it isn't worth it then that is something I really don't understand.

I have a huge penthouse balcony with loungers on the aft of the ship. That is my own personal sanctuary 

[FancyPants21]

On 5/4/2024 at 8:31 PM, vjmatty said:

On Royal class, even many of the suite balconies are too narrow to face the ocean. 

Our Penthouse suite on Sky (R616) had a double width balcony but it was the same depth as all the balcony and mini-suite cabins either side and too narrow to even sit facing the ocean and having to have the seat at an angle.

[FancyPants21]

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

I have a huge penthouse balcony with loungers on the aft of the ship. That is my own personal sanctuary 

Good for you! It is only the aft PH suites and Owners suites that have huge balconies like that... most of the suites are not like that.

[memoak]

Just now, FancyPants21 said:

Our Penthouse suite on Sky (R616) had a double width balcony but it was the same depth as all the balcony and mini-suite cabins either side and too narrow to even sit facing the ocean and having to have the seat at an angle.

Then you need to book aft corner suites. On the Royal class ships you could play football out there. Even on Grand Class ships there is lots of room for loungers to file along with table and 4 chairs. We always book aft

[memoak]

1 minute ago, FancyPants21 said:

Good for you! It is only the aft PH suites and Owners suites that have huge balconies like that... most of the suites are not like that.

That is why why book 1-2 years in advance and always book aft unless it is a ship like the Coral which doesn’t have them

 

[FancyPants21]

Just now, memoak said:

Then you need to book aft corner suites. On the Royal class ships you could play football out there. Even on Grand Class ships there is lots of room for loungers to file along with table and 4 chairs. We always book aft

No... you mean YOU need to book them. We hate those aft suites. Yes they have an enormous balcony but they are right at the back and far away from everything and often near noisy parts of the ship.

 

Don't make the mistake in thinking that everyone likes what you like.

[FancyPants21]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

That is why why book 1-2 years in advance and always book aft unless it is a ship like the Coral which doesn’t have them

 

We don't book far in advance... usually only 6 months max. Again, don't assume everyone wants to do things the way you do.

[memoak]

38 minutes ago, FancyPants21 said:

No... you mean YOU need to book them. We hate those aft suites. Yes they have an enormous balcony but they are right at the back and far away from everything and often near noisy parts of the ship.

 

Don't make the mistake in thinking that everyone likes what you like.

On most Grand class ships a direct route to Sabatini’s for breakfast. Aft elevators are always less crowded. Just pointing out that in my opinion I would rather not have to pay for a Sanctuary which is usually right in the bow and really far from everything 

[FancyPants21]

5 hours ago, memoak said:

On most Grand class ships a direct route to Sabatini’s for breakfast. Aft elevators are always less crowded. Just pointing out that in my opinion I would rather not have to pay for a Sanctuary which is usually right in the bow and really far from everything 

Fair enough... but you said 

 

On 5/4/2024 at 8:24 PM, memoak said:

I don’t get why one would want to pay for the Sanctuary when you have a huge balcony and room service. 

... and my point is that I don't have a large balcony so that is why someone might like the Sanctuary so perhaps you might now "get it" 🙂 

[Wishing on a star]

We don't book Suites...  any Suite....

So, all of this 'conversation' is meaningless to me.

I don't need anyone to tell me that the Sanctuary is not 'worth it' when it is a tiny fraction of the cost of a Suite.  And, in fact, the topic of this thread was directed at those who are not in the new Sanctuary Class on Sun Princess, or Suite category.

Edited May 6 by Wishing on a star

[memoak]

9 hours ago, FancyPants21 said:

Fair enough... but you said 

 

... and my point is that I don't have a large balcony so that is why someone might like the Sanctuary so perhaps you might now "get it" 🙂 

And my point is why would you book a small balcony if private lounging area is important to you. At $40 per person per day would cost well over $1,000 on a long cruise that in my pinion could be used for many other things. Having had one of those mid ship suites in the past never again. 

[Iamcruzin]

On 5/4/2024 at 2:54 PM, Wishing on a star said:

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.

           

Too me the Sanctuary was a waste of space on the ships and the retreat was just another money grab. It was impossible to book even arriving early and all week long it sat empty. Sanctuary class system or not, I will never be able to get a lounge there because I would never book that class. Celebrity and Royal Caribbean offer a better Adult Sanctuary experiences for free and without needing a reservation.  

[Iamcruzin]

On 5/4/2024 at 3:24 PM, memoak said:

I don’t get why one would want to pay for the Sanctuary when you have a huge balcony and room service. 

Some would book an inside and hope to get a seat in the Sanctuary. It was a big saving for anyone sailing solo. 

[memoak]

Just now, Iamcruzin said:

Some would book an inside and hope to get a seat in the Sanctuary. It was a big saving for anyone sailing solo. 

This thread had to do with booking a mid ship suite with a narrow balcony and then paying for the Sanctuary for lounging space. We just book the suites with large balconies and use that for our lounging 

[vjmatty]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

At $40 per person per day would cost well over $1,000 on a long cruise that in my opinion could be used for many other things. 

And that’s why you don’t get it. It’s just your opinion. Obviously it’s not for everyone and certainly not for you. But when you ask a “why would anyone” question and people give you answers, it’s not their fault that you don’t like or understand those answers 🤷🏻‍♀️