capriccio

We have always received PQPs on EZ Air United flights.  We've also been on the free upgrade list each time.  The best upgrade was made at the gate at Heathrow to business class om 2019.

Don't forget to share the cruising experience info with her.  The Alaska Cruises page on the website is a good start:  https://www.princess.com/en-us/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises

Make sure she scrolls down to the bottom of the page for the links to the Alaska Onboard Experiences and, especially, the North to Alaska Program link (https://www.princess.com/en-us/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises/north-to-alaska-cruise-activities).

1 minute ago, voljeep said:

what percentage is acceptable?

 

You don't build a church capacity for Easter Sunday ...

Which is exactly why I said a percentage, not all.  Given that I am not a cruise line venue designer I wouldn't know.  I just worry that the Princess designers don't know either.

1 minute ago, reiddg said:

It says in the Sanctuary Collection description that access to the Sanctuary Club is included.  For this deal, the only thing in the Collection that is not included is the Premier package

I've seen some comments here on CC that the Lounge access is still restricted to the original 80 cabins in the Signature Collection but I haven't seen a direct quote on that.  Having looked at the pictures of that lounge, I have my doubts that it was even big enough to old a sizeable percentage of the Signature Collection passengers.

10 minutes ago, galveston gal said:

I have not seen anywhere that the Reserve mini-suites under the old system are allowed access to the Sanctuary.  I think that would be wonderful if it was true.  Hoping someone has this information.

Look at the old numbers of cabins that made up the Signature Collection:

The Signature Collection Suites breakdown (total = 80)
SO - Signature Sky Suite - 4
S2 - Signature Owner's Suite - 10

S4 - Signature Penthouse Suite - 36

S9 - Signature Suite - 30 (which have a mini-suite layout)

and the new numbers making up the new and improved Sanctuary Collection (total = 219) : 

"The new Sanctuary Collection aboard Sun Princess includes three levels of stateroom types – Signature Collection Suites (80), Mini Suites (123), and Premium Deluxe Balconies (16)"

Some reserve minis were "promoted".

4 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

 

On the other Princess ships, the number of people allowed into the Sanctuary is determined by the number of loungers/cabanas available, so there is never an overcrowding issue.

 

When comparing to Celebrity, there are 158 suites in total on the Celebrity Apex.  So the Retreat sundeck on the Apex would be shared by a smaller quantity of cabins (61 less cabins) than on the Princess Sun. 

 

I don't know the difference in square footage between the Apex Retreat and the Sun Sanctuary sundeck, but there will definitely be more people now in the Sun Sanctuary sundeck than in Celebrity's Retreat sundeck.

 

And I often find the Celebrity Retreat sundeck to be quite crowded, especially during sea days.  That does not bode well for the Sun Sanctuary sundeck on a warm weather sailing.

 

 

 

 

 

For comparison purposes the MSC Meraviglia has about 100 cabins and the newer MSC Seascape has 131.  Their pool sections also have a full bar, an expansive grill serving breakfast and lunch, and multiple hot tubs.  Neither were busy the weeks we were on our 2 Caribbean cruises but I’ve heard they can be crowded, like all ships, during holiday periods.

6 minutes ago, happy cruzin said:

Do we know how many additional cabins now have access to the Sanctuary - in addition to the 80 that were Signature Suites?

From the Sun Princess thread, this is a quote from yesterday’s press release:

The new Sanctuary Collection aboard Sun Princess includes three levels of stateroom types – Signature Collection Suites (80), Mini Suites (123), and Premium Deluxe Balconies (16)

I think there are fewer than 20 S9 cabins so this seems more than a doubling of the number of cabins in the Sanctuary Collection.

4 minutes ago, dog said:

Thanks- were there any changes to the restaurants yet?

Not yet.

6 minutes ago, happy cruzin said:

Grrrr……😡

Now there will be a daily race to get lounge chairs in the sun (since it seems like there is no shade).

3 minutes ago, MTNest93 said:

@capriccio With the yesterday's announcement about the Sanctuary Collection, it now clearly shows on the Princess website that the Sanctuary is 16+.

Exclusive access to the Sanctuary Club

This tranquil top-deck space is reserved exclusively for adults (ages 16+). Spend the day in total bliss as you relax poolside with a craft cocktail. Order some bites and beverages from a custom menu, even find your flow with wellness classes. Here, it’s Zen time any time. Especially when you reserve a private cabana.

Thank you.  I noticed that which doesn't personally impact us on the upcoming cruise but does mean that we will not be reserving multiple Sanctuary cabins on Princess when traveling with our kids and granddaughters.  Just one more plus in the MSC Yacht Club column (on our 2 cruises the few children in the YC were extremely well behaved).

13 minutes ago, happy cruzin said:

I hope not! When we booked there were to be exclusive, dedicated suite spaces. 

Maybe with the extra cabins now included - it stays separated and they do not intend to sell Sanctuary "day passes" like they do on other ships??  🤞🤞

The Sun Deck no longer exists as a separate venue on the new deck plans.  The entire area is now the Sanctuary Club.

6 minutes ago, chisoxfan said:

Not trying to overreact as things will likely change but I went from X Retreat to Princess Sphere class to now?........ MSC YC seems to be the last remaining survivor for cruisers who want a reasonably priced inclusive suite experience on a large cruise ship.

 

 

I can speak to a comparison with MSC’s Yacht Club and there is no comparison based on all my readings to date. All YC cabins have butlers and stewards, on their builds within the last 5 years or so all YC venues and cabins are co-located in a private area, plus their private island (designed from the ground up by them) is gorgeous and includes a dedicated YC area with a restaurant.

Since this is a new class of ship you would think Princess might have sent secret shoppers/cruisers on other lines with the ship within a ship concept to report back on what works like cabin sizes, service-many have butlers, drink inclusions, lounge, pool, restaurants, etc. and, most importantly, fares and what doesn’t.

1 minute ago, At Sea At Peace said:

 

There are those in the Yacht Club that constantly go to the Concierge desk and ask for a replacement card or wristband under the representations that they lost such - on the waterslide, in the pool or hot tub or on an excursion, etc.  Seriously.  🎲

Wow.  I guess I'm totally naive.  That would never have occurred to me!

44 minutes ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Any idea why this is operating procedure of YC staff?

I don't understand why the YC wristband isn't required when visiting YC specific venues.  That is an easy and unobtrusive form of identification.

9 hours ago, Feria said:

Does anyone know if Sun Princess have coffee maker in cabins? We have D2 balcony and the photo shows a coffee maker. Thanks!

Is that a current photo or a pre-launch mock up?  At one time I read that only the Signature suites would have a coffee maker.  After yesterday's announcement of the inclusion of many other cabins into the Sanctuary Collection who knows?  I'm not sure even Princess corporate knows but I am sure customer service couldn't tell you.

48 minutes ago, mrmarklin said:

I received upgrade notice. I’m in a full Suite. Seems the Concierge Lounge is still Suite only. 
 

This new policy will stop the “race” to the Sanctuary, as one must buy the appropriate cabin to have access to these amenities. 

Now there will be a daily race of many more people than there are lounges.

Lori  -  I see that I misled you because the Africa & Middle East forum is set up differently from others that are broken down by area and country or just country. I guess there aren't enough cruise ports in Africa to warrant that.  You can obviously post questions there - just make sure you include the port's name in the title.

If you want to research the entire forum:  go to Search in the upper right corner of the page

and enter each port's name individually.  For example, I entered Cape Town and got this result:

42 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

I don't normal sail Princess, wanted to try the new ship within a ship concept.  Are they always this consistent at being horribly inconsistent?  

Since this is a new class of ship you would think Princess might have sent secret shoppers/cruisers on other lines with the ship within a ship concept to report back on what works like cabin sizes, service-many have butlers, drink inclusions, lounge, pool, restaurants, etc. and, most importantly, fares and what doesn’t.  I can speak to a comparison with MSC’s Yacht Club and there is no comparison based on all my readings to date.

1 minute ago, FLAlaska said:

Its disappointing that those that paid for an S9 basically paid a  heck of a lot more for what is a reserve mini suite with Suite Lounge access. It truly is the only difference. I would have booked the mini suite instead. 

Especially if we had known that over 100 (IIRC) of them were going to be upgraded!

Just now, reiddg said:

 

That's what I was wondering as well - you've exploded the amount of people with access to the Sanctuary.  Yikes!

The Sun Deck/Sanctuary is one of the major reasons we booked an S9 (it certainly wasn't for the terrible short backed balcony chairs that don't even recline a bit).  This is a Caribbean cruise and we always book the Sanctuary for the entire week on other Princess ships. I was already concerned about the apparent lack of any shade now I can add being concerned about even getting any place to sit. 

1 minute ago, dog said:

Look at your Travel Summary under Special Services- I did not get email but my D0-aft has the Sanctuary Collection listed now.

That is the only change to our S9 booked with the Plus package and still including the Plus package.  The Sanctuary Class Indicator is new although the S9 is a suite designation and was already included as a suite.

1 hour ago, Mishkin said:

I agree Princess did a terrible job with the wording for suites guests. Nothing seems to have changed for the suite guests other than the fact that you can no longer book it without a package like you used to be able to. The upgrade really applies to people in the Reserve Collection, who now get Sanctuary Access.

What has changed, in addition to the astronomical fare increase for future bookings, is that the already booked suite guests will be sharing the same amount of space with more than twice as many people as when they originally booked.

Just now, Suite Susie said:We book suites at great expense to get a more special experience. Now it seems that the only advantage of booking a full suite now is a bigger room and use of the Concierge Lounge. Will have to see how it pans out, but I think we will be cancelling. 

And the Concierge Lounge will be more crowded too but at least you booked at a much lower fare I presume.  
 

Our S9 fare for a 1 week cruise for 2 passengers increased from under $5000 including the Plus package to $8300 with the Premium package included.  if we decide to keep the booking, it will be one and done at those fares.

We booked an S9 (signature suite/mini-suite layout) 3 months ago.  When I checked our travel summary this afternoon, note the added line at the bottom.  We still have the Plus package but they added a Sanctuary Class Indicator.

1 minute ago, whitcruising said:

Very curious about how they will handle the extra diners and if it will be an issue. 

I know recent postings by passengers have said they had no issue with immediate seating in the Signature restaurant while there are long lines in the Reserve restaurant.  Maybe that was an impetus for these changes?

I just assumed when a company is designing a new totally new ship class they would either

• determine how much space they had for the areas (lounge, sun deck, restaurant in this case) dedicated to the new 'ship within a ship' concept Padgett is crowing about.  Then determined how many passengers could be accommodated and design the cabins.

OR

• determine how many suite cabins they want and design the specialized areas to accommodate those passengers.

Instead it seems that none of this was considered.  The sun deck as designed would never accommodate all (or whatever percentage used in their calculations) suite passengers so they moved quickly to designate the Sanctuary for suite passengers too.  Looking at the pictures of the lounge I wondered about its original capacity.  The new Signature designation looks like it is doubling the number of passengers.