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

[startedwithamouse]

47 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

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).

Let the combined cabana planning commence on roll calls.

[AbbyGirl]

17 hours ago, Pixelskaya said:

I have dinner everyday (usually a light dinner) at around 9:30 and go to bed around midnight. On the weekends dinner at 10:30 is not a rare occurrence.

When I was a teen my parents sent me once to Ireland and once to England during the summer to study English while staying with a family and I got used to dinner at 5 quite easily! But I had to snack on something before going to bed 😅

 

Hi! We had an exchange student from Barcelona a couple years ago and she explained the late dinners to us as she struggled with our 5/6pm dinners in the states. She did get used to it but she did love getting back to her late night dinners. 🙂

 

[Fortunate 2 travel]

1 hour 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. 
 

 

Perhaps that’s why there are so many padded loungers in other spots on the ship.  Bet there is a lot of negative feedback from suite guests.  Some get a better experience than others.  IMHO, not very well thought out.  

 

Thank you so much for finding out and sharing this information!!  It is much appreciated.  Hope you are enjoying your cruise. 

[Nemanoxer]

One important question besides everything else:

 

How is the food? 

 

It looks good on the photos, but sadly that does not necessarily mean much anymore.

[Nikulai]

On 3/11/2024 at 12:58 PM, CanadianBurger said:

Question for readers: are the videos coming through okay on your end? They just spin if I click on one. 

They download and then I can play them. 

Everything looks fantastic.

Thanks for doing this!!!

[mamafun]

@CanadianBurger I just want to add my thanks for this Live - I'm impressed at your info gathering for the masses while you are enjoying your vacation!

[LawDog61]

9 hours ago, CanadianBurger said:

Since there’s no Library, games are on a cart at Wheelhouse. Seems like an odd location. 
 

Is the wheel house an actual venue, like on the old Grand class ships or just a small area called “wheelhouse” like on the discovery class?   Music and dancing at night ?   Thanks for any info 

[c-boy]

15 minutes ago, mamafun said:

@CanadianBurger I just want to add my thanks for this Live - I'm impressed at your info gathering for the masses while you are enjoying your vacation!

I think he will need a vacation from this vacation.

Edited March 12 by c-boy

[that]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

 

 

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

 

Are you cruising this year?

[LACruiser88]

The Sanctuary situation sounds horrible, even for those in suites!  We are re-thinking our 50-day cruise in Oct/Nov of next year on the Sun.  The Royal class ships are looking better every day!!! 🤷‍♂️

[cr2000]

1 hour ago, CanadianBurger said:

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

So full Suite guests get access to The Sanctuary and Signature Sun Deck for free. Children are allowed to be in full suites, so do we then assume those same children/families in those full suites have access to both The Sanctuary and Signature Sun Deck?

 

And by extension the only children that would be excluded would be those who's parents attempt to buy a day pass, where a day pass could not be sold to a child? I would love clarification on this as it would determine if I spend the extra money to book a full suite. 

 

Btw, Princess ought to put you on the payroll (or a least comp you a free cruise), you've offered more informative information than their entire marketing and sales department!

[CanadianBurger]

17 minutes ago, LawDog61 said:

Is the wheel house an actual venue, like on the old Grand class ships or just a small area called “wheelhouse” like on the discovery class?   Music and dancing at night ?   Thanks for any info 

Nope. In a hallway outside the Reserve dining room. This pic is pretty much all of it. But it’s become our go-to bar now when we want a quiet drink. Crooners is usually our spot but they’ve got too much loud stuff in the Piazza. 
 

[Fortunate 2 travel]

1 minute ago, cr2000 said:

So full Suite guests get access to The Sanctuary and Signature Sun Deck for free. Children are allowed to be in full suites, so do we then assume those same children/families in those full suites have access to both The Sanctuary and Signature Sun Deck?

 

And by extension the only children that would be excluded would be those who's parents attempt to buy a day pass, where a day pass could not be sold to a child? I would love clarification on this as it would determine if I spend the extra money to book a full suite. 

 

Btw, Princess ought to put you on the payroll (or a least comp you a free cruise), you've offered more informative information than their entire marketing and sales department!

Look at the price of the suites.  Not exactly free.  It is sold as a perk of having a suite.  You have also raised some good questions.  The Sanctuary has always been adult only,  We decided to try a suite this summer in the Med on the Sun because of the Sanctuary perk.  Tired of running there when we first board to make reservations.  I really expected the Sanctuary on this ship to be fantastic based on all the others we have enjoyed.  It looks like an afterthought.  Loungers have always been nicely padded and have space in between.  I’m hoping it looks better in person than in photos.  Glad I have a plan B on another line for 2025.  

[CanadianBurger]

1 hour ago, dides said:

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

“Remember what I said about the boats, Rose.”

 

I noticed the lifeboats are HUGE! And they have giant roll-up doors. I’ll have to check out the capacity of each. 
 

[capriccio]

9 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

The Sanctuary situation sounds horrible, even for those in suites!  We are re-thinking our 50-day cruise in Oct/Nov of next year on the Sun.  The Royal class ships are looking better every day!!! 🤷‍♂️

Actually if you are looking for an excellent suite experience, consider MSC's Yacht Club.  We took our second YC cruise that includes the premium drink package in December and paid just about the same as our January 2025 Sun cruise with the Plus package is costing.  The sun deck - no reservations taken or needed -  includes a grill and bar, and the furnishings are much better - and further separated - than those in the pictures coming from the Sun. 

 

[dides]

1 minute ago, CanadianBurger said:

“Remember what I said about the boats, Rose.”

 

I noticed the lifeboats are HUGE! And they have giant roll-up doors. I’ll have to check out the capacity of each. 
 

 

We saw a video by a crew member last month that had a close-up of one of these - a Fassmer 14.0 Rigid Lifeboat with a capacity for 440 people. Does that look right size-wise?

[CanadianBurger]

14 minutes ago, cr2000 said:

So full Suite guests get access to The Sanctuary and Signature Sun Deck for free. Children are allowed to be in full suites, so do we then assume those same children/families in those full suites have access to both The Sanctuary and Signature Sun Deck?

 

And by extension the only children that would be excluded would be those who's parents attempt to buy a day pass, where a day pass could not be sold to a child? I would love clarification on this as it would determine if I spend the extra money to book a full suite. 

 

Btw, Princess ought to put you on the payroll (or a least comp you a free cruise), you've offered more informative information than their entire marketing and sales department!

I will ask directly about the children-in-the-sanctuary situation and let everyone know. 
 

And Thanks!

[MustangGT]

4 hours ago, CanadianBurger said:

Saw your post just in time as we were disembarking… this is Deck 4 midship. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Yay!  Coke Zero!

[Steelers36]

45 minutes ago, that said:

Are you cruising this year?

No plans - doubt it.  I would probably have the voyage listed in my signature block if we did have a plan.

Edited March 12 by Steelers36

[cr2000]

11 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

I will ask directly about the children-in-the-sanctuary situation and let everyone know. 
 

And Thanks!

 

That would be great, I can't find anything official on Princess.com either way. But given all the full suites allow kids to be booked, perhaps they've made a change for multi-generational families who travel together, to also spent time together with parents/grandparents in The Sanctuary. The industry is changing with more and more cruiselines/ships catering to family travelers. Let us know what you find out. 

[Steelers36]

33 minutes ago, cr2000 said:

Btw, Princess ought to put you on the payroll (or a least comp you a free cruise), you've offered more informative information than their entire marketing and sales department!

Hear, hear!

[LACruiser88]

16 minutes ago, capriccio said:

Actually if you are looking for an excellent suite experience, consider MSC's Yacht Club.  We took our second YC cruise that includes the premium drink package in December and paid just about the same as our January 2025 Sun cruise with the Plus package is costing.  The sun deck - no reservations taken or needed -  includes a grill and bar, and the furnishings are much better - and further separated - than those in the pictures coming from the Sun. 

 

We have dear friends that are frequent MSC YC cruisers and they have been trying to get us to join them.  It's just that we have not found the right itinerary for us.  We usually book voyages of 30+ days and we have not found a MSC itinerary that we have liked so far.  But, we do keep checking!

[Steelers36]

31 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

they’ve got too much loud stuff in the Piazza

So there is one thing carried forward from the other ships we could do without.  Hopefully it reduces once they get all the entertainment venues fully operational.

[startedwithamouse]

23 minutes ago, MustangGT said:

Yay!  Coke Zero!

Hope this selection stays the same when she sails from the states.

[mrell345]

1 hour ago, AbbyGirl said:

Hi! We had an exchange student from Barcelona a couple years ago and she explained the late dinners to us as she struggled with our 5/6pm dinners in the states. She did get used to it but she did love getting back to her late night dinners. 🙂

 

In Europe if you eat supper at 7 pm you are a tourist