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

[CatMom72]

3 hours 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. 
 

 

@CanadianBurger Thanks for gathering this information for everyone!  I have to say, this sounds like a complete cluster.  As one commenter put it, “not well thought out.”  I still have a lot of questions, but the first one relates to capacity.  A video posted by @rexdillinger last week had a Sanctuary staff member indicating much greater capacity than 177.  I want to say it was 325 or so? This seems like a really big difference.  Even if you add cabana capacity to the 177 number, we are nowhere near 325. Is there any way to get more granularity regarding the actual capacity, including distribution between padded loungers, cabanas, and other seating? The suites are not cheap, and I don’t like the idea of having paid the added cost if it does not prevent me from having to wake up at the crack of dawn to battle chair hogs.  If everything in your post is accurate, Princess has failed in a MAJOR WAY with both the Sun Princess Sanctuary AND the Signature Collection benefits.  It’s a shame, too, because there are a lot of other things about the ship that look fantastic. I hope they receive feedback from passengers and respond accordingly.

[CanadianBurger]

Messina, Sicily

 

Great dock location. You walk off the ship directly into town. We headed to the cathedral for the noon clock tower mechanism movements, after running the gauntlet of pushy taxi drivers.

 

There was a bit of drizzle on and off while

we waited. Of course, as soon as noon struck, the skies opened up.

 

 

 

 

 

[Globaler]

1 hour ago, CanadianBurger said:

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. 
 

Maybe they will move that stuff out of the piazza when all the venues are complete.

[startedwithamouse]

10 minutes ago, Globaler said:

Maybe they will move that stuff out of the piazza when all the venues are complete.

Not gonna happen. 

 

Every ship that we know of, the Piazza is events central. 

 

Heard from a crew member because it's easily accessible for crew and reaches guests who don't normally attend events.  

[CanadianBurger]

28 minutes ago, CatMom72 said:

@CanadianBurger Thanks for gathering this information for everyone!  I have to say, this sounds like a complete cluster.  As one commenter put it, “not well thought out.”  I still have a lot of questions, but the first one relates to capacity.  A video posted by @rexdillinger last week had a Sanctuary staff member indicating much greater capacity than 177.  I want to say it was 325 or so? This seems like a really big difference.  Even if you add cabana capacity to the 177 number, we are nowhere near 325. Is there any way to get more granularity regarding the actual capacity, including distribution between padded loungers, cabanas, and other seating? The suites are not cheap, and I don’t like the idea of having paid the added cost if it does not prevent me from having to wake up at the crack of dawn to battle chair hogs.  If everything in your post is accurate, Princess has failed in a MAJOR WAY with both the Sun Princess Sanctuary AND the Signature Collection benefits.  It’s a shame, too, because there are a lot of other things about the ship that look fantastic. I hope they receive feedback from passengers and respond accordingly.

He said there are 177 lounge chairs. Cabanas and tables/non-lounge chairs are not counted in that total. 
 

He did say the bar and area was used for special events in the evening, and that there was a travel agent party there last night. Maybe that’s where the 325 “capacity” comes in, like max occupancy for fire regs. 

[Globaler]

28 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

Not gonna happen. 

 

Every ship that we know of, the Piazza is events central. 

 

Heard from a crew member because it's easily accessible for crew and reaches guests who don't normally attend events.  

Well I guess we will have to wait and see how late the noise will carry on.

[LawDog61]

1 hour ago, CanadianBurger said:

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. 
 

Thanks for the report  Canadian burger.  That’s what I expected, unfortunately.  Really enjoying your live-on-board. Cheers.

[Fortunate 2 travel]

1 hour ago, cr2000 said:

 

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. 

There are 3 or 4 other pools on the Sun for parents/grandparents to be with the kids.  The Sanctuary has always been adult only.  I sure hope Princess leaves the Sanctuary adult only.  Time will tell.  

[cltnccruisers]

9 minutes ago, Fortunate 2 travel said:

There are 3 or 4 other pools on the Sun for parents/grandparents to be with the kids.  The Sanctuary has always been adult only.  I sure hope Princess leaves the Sanctuary adult only.  Time will tell.  

Sun has never struck me as a kids ship.  

[chamima]

5 hours 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. 
 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, CatMom72 said:

@CanadianBurger Thanks for gathering this information for everyone!  I have to say, this sounds like a complete cluster.  As one commenter put it, “not well thought out.”  I still have a lot of questions, but the first one relates to capacity.  A video posted by @rexdillinger last week had a Sanctuary staff member indicating much greater capacity than 177.  I want to say it was 325 or so? This seems like a really big difference.  Even if you add cabana capacity to the 177 number, we are nowhere near 325. Is there any way to get more granularity regarding the actual capacity, including distribution between padded loungers, cabanas, and other seating? The suites are not cheap, and I don’t like the idea of having paid the added cost if it does not prevent me from having to wake up at the crack of dawn to battle chair hogs.  If everything in your post is accurate, Princess has failed in a MAJOR WAY with both the Sun Princess Sanctuary AND the Signature Collection benefits.  It’s a shame, too, because there are a lot of other things about the ship that look fantastic. I hope they receive feedback from passengers and respond accordingly.

 

 

Thank you for taking time out of your vacation to do the research on all of this for us.

I was really excited to experience a suite on her first transatlantic this coming fall but am seriously reconsidering it now.

Having a reserved lounger in the very quiet, shaded Sanctuary that we didn't have to wake up early every day to run up and reserve has come to be an important part of our cruises. And we've come to love the little break of afternoon tea served every day.

So it sounds like everything we love about the Sanctuary experience is gone from the Sun. 🥵

Again, thanks for checking this all out.

Edited March 12 by chamima

[FLAlaska]

There is no way that every suite person can have a reserved lounger. I’m not sure why anyone would think that. 

[t&atravel]

1 minute ago, FLAlaska said:

There is no way that every suite person can have a reserved lounger. I’m not sure why anyone would think that. 

Not every suite person will want one.  My DH and I wouldn’t.

[cr2000]

21 minutes ago, Fortunate 2 travel said:

There are 3 or 4 other pools on the Sun for parents/grandparents to be with the kids.  The Sanctuary has always been adult only.  I sure hope Princess leaves the Sanctuary adult only.  Time will tell.  

Very true, but for the same reason you like those loungers in The Sanctuary, I suspect grandparents and parents do as well, and if kids can now be booked in suites, and suite guests have access to The Sanctuary/Signature Sun Deck, then it's reasonable to expect kids will be allowed in their as well. Particularly since families will have paid that privilege cost for all members in the suite. You'd think Princess would spell all this out on their website for us.

[Fortunate 2 travel]

3 minutes ago, cr2000 said:

Very true, but for the same reason you like those loungers in The Sanctuary, I suspect grandparents and parents do as well, and if kids can now be booked in suites, and suite guests have access to The Sanctuary/Signature Sun Deck, then it's reasonable to expect kids will be allowed in their as well. Particularly since families will have paid that privilege cost for all members in the suite. You'd think Princess would spell all this out on their website for us.

It would be helpful for Princess to spell it out for sure.  I have seen many nicely padded loungers in the front section as well as in the dome.  Both areas are by the inside/outside pool. 

[cltnccruisers]

We have cruised in the Med and northern Europe, but mostly Caribbean.  I wonder when Sun moves over here how thing might change.  With the problematic launch in the Med, hopefully things will shake out by Fall.  Hope so, because there don't seem to be many options once she is over here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CruizinSusan70]

6 hours ago, chamima said:

Cold brew, as far as I know, needs to "marinate" for 24 hours or so.

Not sure how you could just set a machine to make it on demand.

Tim Hortons as well as some Dunkin Donuts have cold brew available on tap as a Nitro version.  Had read a few months ago online that the new secondary location for coffee (Coffee Currents) would have this.  Obviously this plan fell through.

[CanadianBurger]

I paid €5 to climb the 236 steps up the clock tower. It was fascinating to see all the mechanisms driven completely by weights moving the figures. The views from outside at the top were stunning. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[nasa1974]

4 hours ago, nymshowdown said:

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. 

When we were on the Sky we loved the retreat pool area. It was quite and no kids.

[Wishing on a star]

1 hour ago, chamima said:

 

 

 

Thank you for taking time out of your vacation to do the research on all of this for us.

I was really excited to experience a suite on her first transatlantic this coming fall but am seriously reconsidering it now.

Having a reserved lounger in the very quiet, shaded Sanctuary that we didn't have to wake up early every day to run up and reserve has come to be an important part of our cruises. And we've come to love the little break of afternoon tea served every day.

So it sounds like everything we love about the Sanctuary experience is gone from the Sun. 🥵

Again, thanks for checking this all out.

Yes,  THANK YOU so very much!!!  You are a real god-send to us who are still here at home!

And,  I also agree with this post above, and will issue a huge 'ditto' verbatim...

Especially noting that there does not seem to be any adult area, at all, unless one is in a Suite.

😮

I notice the 'not well thought out' comment...

I am wondering if Princess, in all of their infinite wisdom and planning, realized that the gated AFT  "signature Sun Deck" ( and there does seem to be a gate) is just woefully in adequate for the number of Suite Guests..  so they just took any hope of an adult area or "Sanctuary" away from the rest of us lowly gutter dwellers.

Edited March 12 by Wishing on a star

[Steelers36]

17 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

I paid €5 to climb the 236 steps up the clock tower. It was fascinating to see all the mechanisms driven completely by weights moving the figures. The views from outside at the top were stunning. 

Was wondering if you went up inside.  We did as well in October, 2022.  We also stayed a night near the square before heading off to explore Sicily for 6 days.  Did you get to Taormina or was weather too lousy?

[Steelers36]

Since it has been the awards season just ending, @CanadianBurger gets the special Oscar for Documentary of a New Princess Vessel.

[FLAlaska]

51 minutes ago, t&atravel said:

Not every suite person will want one.  My DH and I wouldn’t.

Me either. I cruise solo and hated spending the money because frankly, get bored there. I like the idea of just being to go up, have the pool, and stay an hour or two, but not the entire day or even half a day . 

[nasa1974]

@CanadianBurger Thank you for the video of the Sun. I was able to pick out my cabin in the sphere on deck 15.

[lennythenose]

We are booked in a suite next year and I am still looking forward to the Signature Sun Deck and Sanctuary access. I fully understand the disappointment from other. we like others have mentioned will not be spending much time there. In nearly 20 cruises I have probably spent less than an hour average in any public deck chair🤣. We wander mostly. Spend a little time here then move on so I never would pay for Sanctuary access. If I get to the Sun Deck and there’s a spot available I will hang out a bit if not I’ll move on. So we don’t have to be counted in the suite guests who will race up for a place. Others can enjoy ours!

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, cltnccruisers said:

Sun has never struck me as a kids ship.  

How about Park19 and all of the kid oriented stuff up there?