LIVE from the SUN Princess - 9 Mar 2024 - 10-Day Mediterranean - Second Voyage

[dides]

18 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

The Sanctuary - The Facts

 

I had a meeting with the Sanctuary Manager to be sure I was getting correct information. Here we go…

 

First and foremost, on this ship the Sanctuary was envisioned as an amenity for Full Suite guests, who have complimentary access. 
 

The Sanctuary has a capacity of 177. Those 177 loungers include the exclusive area for Signature guests, the padded loungers, the regular unpadded loungers, and the hard sculpted loungers. 
 

IF THERE IS CAPACITY on a given morning, they will sell day passes at $99 per person on sea days, or $79pp on port days. Half days are not available. There are 80 full suites on the ship, so there may not be much or any extra capacity.

 

Sanctuary hours are 8am-5pm. 
 

There is NO pre-reservation of loungers from day to day, including for Suite guests. Location is first-come-first-served every morning. Once a lounger is assigned, it is reserved for you for the rest of the day. If all the padded loungers are taken, you’d have to pick another. 
 

Cabanas

 

The Cabanas are not yet finished, and are awaiting the installation of TVs, minibars, and fridges. There are eight cabanas. 

 

Once completed, Cabanas will be sold for $499/day, for up to four people. Extra people are $50/pp/day. There is no discount for Suite guests. The price includes amenities like bathrobes and slippers. 
 

The aft glass elevators will require Suite medallion access to open the doors into the Sanctuary. This is not yet implemented, so there is a staff member posted there to stop people. 
 

Guests will be able to choose from the food and drink menus below. These items are exclusive to the Sanctuary. 
 

Afternoon Tea will NOT be served in the Sanctuary, at least for the foreseeable future. 
 

 

Wow, this is such a big change!  Thank you for checking

- no racing to book anything on embarkation day as you can't pre-book

- Signature guests get the pick of any lounger first - there aren't separate sections in reality right?

- no half-day bookings or special day bookings

- no afternoon tea

- an increase in price but non-signature guests cannot guarantee a sanctuary day in advance

[Steelers36]

3 minutes ago, dides said:

- an increase in price but non-signature guests cannot guarantee a sanctuary day in advance

It appears so, taking the post information literally.  Perhaps may need further clarification if someone does try and book multiple days at embarkation???  Certainly means you are unlikely to get a padded lounger as a non-Signature guest.

 

I do wonder how they decide the daily demand from Suite guests and at what time of the morning they decide how many additional folks can be let in.  To simply presume a sold out ship means all the Suite/Signature guests will be showing up in the Sanctuary seems at odds with realistic situation.  What if they let in say 60 "steerage" in the morning and a whole pile of Signature guests show up after a morning in port and there is not enough room for them?

[CanadianBurger]

9 minutes ago, dides said:

there aren't separate sections in reality right?

The wake-view loungers aft of the glass

elevators are reserved for Signature guests ONLY. But, Signature guests could choose an alternate location if they so desire. 

[dides]

Just now, Steelers36 said:

I do wonder how they decide the daily demand from Suite guests and at what time of the morning they decide how many additional folks can be let in.  To simply presume a sold out ship means all the Suite/Signature guests will be showing up in the Sanctuary seems at odds with realistic situation.  What if they let in say 60 "steerage" in the morning and a whole pile of Signature guests show up after a morning in port and there is not enough room for them?

I imagine we won't find out until it warms up considerably in the Med!

lol steerage - I have images of Jack and Rose in my head now. 

[Steelers36]

36 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

The Sanctuary - The Facts

 

I had a meeting with the Sanctuary Manager to be sure I was getting correct information. Here we go…

 

First and foremost, on this ship the Sanctuary was envisioned as an amenity for Full Suite guests, who have complimentary access. 
 

The Sanctuary has a capacity of 177. Those 177 loungers include the exclusive area for Signature guests, the padded loungers, the regular unpadded loungers, and the hard sculpted loungers. 
 

IF THERE IS CAPACITY on a given morning, they will sell day passes at $99 per person on sea days, or $79pp on port days. Half days are not available. There are 80 full suites on the ship, so there may not be much or any extra capacity.

 

Sanctuary hours are 8am-5pm. 
 

There is NO pre-reservation of loungers from day to day, including for Suite guests. Location is first-come-first-served every morning. Once a lounger is assigned, it is reserved for you for the rest of the day. If all the padded loungers are taken, you’d have to pick another. 
 

Cabanas

 

The Cabanas are not yet finished, and are awaiting the installation of TVs, minibars, and fridges. There are eight cabanas. 

 

Once completed, Cabanas will be sold for $499/day, for up to four people. Extra people are $50/pp/day. There is no discount for Suite guests. The price includes amenities like bathrobes and slippers. 
 

The aft glass elevators will require Suite medallion access to open the doors into the Sanctuary. This is not yet implemented, so there is a staff member posted there to stop people. 
 

Guests will be able to choose from the food and drink menus below. These items are exclusive to the Sanctuary. 
 

Afternoon Tea will NOT be served in the Sanctuary, at least for the foreseeable future. 
 

Very good report, but does leave a gap or two in information (no fault of you of course).

 

Capacity of 177 may mean less than 177 loungers since they also have table & chair space in the area.  

 

I am not sure how they determine if there is excess capacity, and at what time of day they make a decision on that.  Also, Suites get in free, but Signature guests have access to the "exclusive" section, right?  So, that means additional demand beyond ~160 Suite guests.

 

For me, the $100 is not going to be worth what I will end up with as a non-Suite, non-Signature guest (notwithstanding the lack of shade).  IF (that's a big if there) I was going to spend money to enjoy the space, I'd find two friends and for $125/pp, we could have a Cabana with both shade and sun, plus other amenities and goodies.  It could be a nice treat for a sea day to splurge on spoiling oneself.

 

ETA:  I imagine 8 Cabanas is counted as at least 32 towards the max 177 capacity.  But could be double that if consider the max allowed.

Edited March 12 by Steelers36

[CanadianBurger]

4 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Perhaps may need further clarification if someone does try and book multiple days at embarkation???

I specifically asked this. Same-day ONLY. 

I also asked how many non-suite guests would be allowed to purchase a day-pass. There wasn’t an answer. I suspect they’re still trying to figure that out. 

[Steelers36]

2 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

I specifically asked this. Same-day ONLY. 

I also asked how many non-suite guests would be allowed to purchase a day-pass. There wasn’t an answer. I suspect they’re still trying to figure that out. 

Thanks for clarification.  It's back to the old original method of hauling on up to Sanctuary at 7am or earlier to camp out waiting for the place to open.  It will be something interesting when Sun makes it to FL for the next Caribbean season and folks will be conditioned to head on up there to grab space.  Perhaps information and the price will have tempered the demand by this Fall.

 

ETA:  We won't need to show up so early at PE Terminal 2 to be the first on board anymore.  

 

Edited March 12 by Steelers36

[dides]

Just now, CanadianBurger said:

I specifically asked this. Same-day ONLY. 

I also asked how many non-suite guests would be allowed to purchase a day-pass. There wasn’t an answer. I suspect they’re still trying to figure that out. 

I'm guessing there aren't any passengers using the area at the moment, barring the odd brave suite guest? I imagine there must have been some people on the first 2 cruises who did the Sanctuary-trot on embarkation and got turned away? But we heard nothing.

[FLAlaska]

Quick question, 

 

If there is capacity, how will they know? If Suite guests can come and go, wonder how they will decide how many day passes they can sell

[CanadianBurger]

3 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Capacity of 177 may mean less than 177 loungers since they also have table & chair space in the area.  

I asked this. 177 loungers. The table and chair space is not included in this number. 
 

The front of the cabanas are also open at the top, so shade may be fleeting depending on the position of the sun. 
 

The Sanctuary manager did acknowledge there are issues, such as the lack of shade for the loungers. They’re working on it. 

[CanadianBurger]

1 minute ago, FLAlaska said:

Quick question, 

 

If there is capacity, how will they know? If Suite guests can come and go, wonder how they will decide how many day passes they can sell

They are still figuring that out…

[Steelers36]

1 minute ago, CanadianBurger said:

I asked this. 177 loungers. The table and chair space is not included in this number. 
 

The front of the cabanas are also open at the top, so shade may be fleeting depending on the position of the sun. 
 

The Sanctuary manager did acknowledge there are issues, such as the lack of shade for the loungers. They’re working on it. 

Thanks for clarifying.  Great reporting!

[Steelers36]

8 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

For me, the $100 is not going to be worth what I will end up with as a non-Suite, non-Signature guest (notwithstanding the lack of shade).  IF (that's a big if there) I was going to spend money to enjoy the space, I'd find two friends and for $125/pp, we could have a Cabana with both shade and sun, plus other amenities and goodies.  It could be a nice treat for a sea day to splurge on spoiling oneself.

I am still left feeling the above way.  If going to experience it, I'd only be interested in a shared Cabana with friends (two couples).

[CanadianBurger]

4 hours ago, cr2000 said:

Interesting, on the deck plan it says some mini-suite rooms will accommodate 3 and 4 people I wonder how they do that?

The ones that accommodate 3 would have a different sofa. The fourth would

be an upper berth. 

[HBCcruiser]

14 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

The wake-view loungers aft of the glass

elevators are reserved for Signature guests ONLY. But, Signature guests could choose an alternate location if they so desire. 

Is it still adult only? Great thread BTW! Thanks! 

[CanadianBurger]

23 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

ETA:  I imagine 8 Cabanas is counted as at least 32 towards the max 177 capacity.  But could be double that if consider the max allowed.

The Cabanas are not included in the 177. 

 

[capriccio]

"There is NO pre-reservation of loungers from day to day, including for Suite guests. Location is first-come-first-served every morning. Once a lounger is assigned, it is reserved for you for the rest of the day. If all the padded loungers are taken, you’d have to pick another." 

 

Wow, so suite guests have to get up early to ensure that they get a lounger even if they only want it for a half day or even less?  That is going to be a mess especially on warm weather cruises. 

 

We are on a western Caribbean cruise in January where we have already visited all the ports and are just looking for a restful cruise where we are going to be spoiled.  I'm glad we have until the fall for final payment.  Hopefully by then we will know if this reservation process is working and if not, Princess will have made adjustments. 

 

@CanadianBurger - I add my thanks to everyone else's for this great Live From.

 

 

 

Edited March 12 by capriccio

[CanadianBurger]

13 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

Is it still adult only? Great thread BTW! Thanks! 

I would think not, since the full suites can have children. 

[nymshowdown]

The Sanctuary on the Sun looks like a bad version of the (free!) Retreat Pool found on the Royal Class ships. Same padless seating, but now with an even denser layout. Complete lack of any planters, greenery, etc separating seating areas into smaller chunks; it looks like mass-market Lido deck pool seating. Little to no shade options.

 

And they want to charge more for this?!? Heck, how can they justify charging people period when their older ships offer a better space for free? I really don't get their decision making when it comes to the new Sanctuary design. 

[Fa-Li]

Thank you for all this info and for time you are taking from your cruise to share it!

 

It's interesting to me, having always sailed in a suite but never been interested in the Sanctuary.  I feel like there are so many nice places on Princess ships to soak up the sun, which is my main enjoyment.  But I am excited to try that aft sun deck. 

 

FWIW, I've sailed on a Royal Caribbean ship with a suite sun deck and, even with lots of suite passengers, there was never a problem finding two loungers. Apparently a lot of passengers want other things out of their sea days.    

[CanadianBurger]

Confirmed that those Pesky Platinums 🤣 are Permitted to Partake in the Elite lounge. They had a hot snack tonight in addition to the other stuff. 
 

Edited March 12 by CanadianBurger

[CanadianBurger]

46 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Suites get in free, but Signature guests have access to the "exclusive" section, right?  So, that means additional demand beyond ~160 Suite guests.

Signature guests are all suite guests on Sun and Star.

[startedwithamouse]

Did the person who determined the sanctuary capacity at 177 be the same individual responsible for the 14mph speed limit in the Disney parking lot?

 

 

Edited March 12 by startedwithamouse

[startedwithamouse]

46 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

I asked this. 177 loungers. The table and chair space is not included in this number. 
 

The front of the cabanas are also open at the top, so shade may be fleeting depending on the position of the sun. 
 

The Sanctuary manager did acknowledge there are issues, such as the lack of shade for the loungers. They’re working on it. 

Wonder if someone is placing a large order for umbrellas?  

[capriccio]

1 minute ago, startedwithamouse said:

Wonder if someone is placing a large order for umbrellas?  

And decent, i.e.thick, pads for the loungers that currently only have a cheap pillow.