WonderMan3

Suite guests have access to the entire Sanctuary though. And as posted by someone currently on board, management has advised that paying guests will only be allowed into The Sanctuary if suite guests using the space are below a certain capacity.

It says Specialty Dining 2 nights - quantity 1 - $117.60 for each of us. Specialties are $45 I believe so that looks like it's 2 per person for the whole cruise.

I'll be on the Star. It's a January 2026 cruise.

Looks like they've added more padded loungers. That's good news.

I’ve run into that from time to time on certain nights. A word to the casino host fixed that pronto. Remember that their goal is to keep you at that machine (or table) and spending that money. Doesn’t behoove them to have you drifting off to a bar somewhere and not spending.

That’s what I was afraid of. Hate that nickel and diming. Not used to that having been with Celebrity mainly for years in the suite restaurant Luminae where they basically will do whatever you want (within reason); a second entree was never an issue or a cost and was sometimes encouraged if you were torn between choices. I don’t generally order two entrees but once in awhile there’s a night where it’s hard to choose and I want to try more than one. That was what was always great about cruising in the past.

If they were would they not be having a regular stream of servers visiting you at your machine to keep you fresh with drinks? I’m a regular in the casino on any cruise I take. Once I order a drink and tip the server they are on me like glue for the rest of the night. Never have to worry about going empty.

Same. I like an exclusive use pool area, exclusive restaurant and bar, etc. MSC has the best layout of a suites area of any cruise line I’ve seen but they need more suite categories, i.e. some bigger suites. The big fail for me with MSC was the food (poor on average in Yacht Club, only good in specialty restaurants)and the service (some of the worst service experiences I’ve had at sea, including in the Yacht Club itself). Also, it’s a zoo once you step out of the Yacht Club; didn’t like that huge contrast in atmosphere. I would never cruise with them again. I’m always mystified to read people who have cruised Celebrity or Princess or even NCL Haven raving about Yacht Club. I know it’s almost always a value with much better pricing than the rest, but it’s such a lower tier in food and service quality that the lower price just isn’t enough, for me anyway.

Of course. But you would also have to leave your machine if there was a bar in the casino. Not clear what the issue is here. You don’t want to leave your seat while getting a drink. So a server will bring you one then just as they always have.

Crooners is just around the corner

I consider the entire Sanctuary to be a suite space. I think it will be highly utilized by suite guests during nice weather cruises and there will be few paying guests that will get access and that will likely only be on port days. I wouldn’t be surprised if they phase out the paid option later this year and make it a suites exclusive space.

So with the Premier package I see that it includes 2 specialty dining visits pp. On the Princess website it says that is based on a 7 night cruise though. So do longer cruises get more specialty dining included? I have booked a 14 night cruise so wondering how many I would get? Do suite guests get a complimentary specialty dining on embarkation day? If you are on a 14 night cruise that is two 7 nights put together do you get a complimentary specialty then on each embarkation day? Or would you have had to have booked them as two separate 7 night cruises? At specialty restaurants (or actually at MDR as well) are you allowed to order more than one appetizer, or say an appetizer plus a soup/salad, or more than one entree or dessert? Or do they charge you for extra? Haven’t sailed with Princess since 2011 so I know some rules have changed. Is there a difference with this if you have Premier?

Quick question. Does anyone know how you can hide or block a specific YouTube channel? Everytime I do a search on Sun Princess content I get this annoying cruise channel pushed into my search results with content that has nothing to do with my search. It’s really frustrating.

Great video giving a breakdown of Crown Grill and Butcher’s Block and comparison of them to each other.

I think Princess and suites is an evolving process. They’ve always been a few steps behind the other cruise lines when it comes to suites. I imagine that in any ships after Star we will see the suites evolve further and improve. I like the direction they’re headed though.

Thank you. We keep getting different answers from different folks so this makes sense. Nothing is “gospel” until Princess puts it in writing somewhere so until they do we will have to expect change.

I posted my questions here yesterday before that Live thread had that information. And there was a suite passenger in another forum who got free access to the Enclave on the maiden voyage he said because he was in a suite. So as with Sanctuary info there is conflicting information (which I stated in my post) hence my questions.

Have no idea what you’re referring to. I looked at those times you mentioned and there are no padded loungers to be seen. There are the large sun beds closest to the person videoing and then another row of sun beds on the other side of the pool in the distance, then there are the hard white plastic seats all around and then a little further away you can see some standard loungers with head rests.

Cruise Critic is onboard now and I asked them these questions about the Sanctuary. Hopefully they can get some answers.

That wasn’t my point. I don’t know what’s happening with that section of loungers. All I know is that there has been a change with the loungers near the pool. Hopefully that means more padded loungers to come throughout the area.

Questions we need answers on: (Please only Cruise Critic provide answers to these. We have had conflicting information about the below issues which is why I would like CC to find out the definitive answers.) Sanctuary: -Need clarity on how booking is managed. Can suite guests access at anytime without a reservation? How do non-suite guests reserve space here and do they get a specific lounger when they reserve? -Need confirmation of pricing for port and sea days for non-suite guests entry and cabanas. -The aft elevator appears to be open to everyone and takes you right into the Sanctuary. How are they controlling access with that? -Are there plans to add umbrellas or more cushioned loungers to the space? -Is it adults only or are kids who are in suites allowed to use this space? Signature Restaurant: -Is the menu the same as MDR? If it is mostly the same what are the differences between the two menus? Enclave: -Can you confirm if suite guests get free access to this area? Crooners: -We are hearing that they plan to turn this into an Elite Lounge on an upcoming sailing. Can you get clarity on what this means. Is it certain hours that the bar will be restricted to Elite guests? If so what hours would those be? Thank you!

It is new. This video from the first sailing gives a full look at the Sanctuary and there are no padded loungers around the pool like there are now, just the sunbeds.

I think the point of that video clip being shared was to show a contrast to the first sailing where I believe there were no padded loungers near the pool, only the cushioned sun beds. So this is a change. Maybe Princess is hearing the complaints about lack of cushioned loungers? Or maybe they had a supply issue and more will be added over time?

Did you get this booking and pricing info from a staff member or from a fellow passenger? If it was from a staff member what is making you question the information?

Not sure why the ages of everyone involved keeps being emphasized here. The female passengers are adult women not girls. The crew member in question’s age is irrelevant; his behavior going to a passenger’s cabin was inappropriate regardless of age.