The Sanctuary

[jned]

Thanks for answering my question!

[cruise crew member]

:)MORNINGLORY YOU PHarsed it right clouds in the sky....on our last 3 cruises we have booked it for the week ..well worth it ...always having a comfy place to go and not having to deal with pushy folks around the pool.....also if with A FEW COUPLES YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND THEM :):):)

[Carol_Hill]

We just got off the 12/18 sailing of the Crown. We booked the entire trip. For US, personally, it was not worth the money because we had a killer balcony cabin aft AND the weather was not that warm. The ship was way full--at 3500 pax--and I picked chairs in the shade, not actually knowing that you are basically stuck with the chairs you get. It was quite chilly both of our sea days, so we did not use it that much. It was always much warmer on our balcony, especially on a couple of the days when we actually had sunshine on our balcony. For us, personally, if we have a nice large balcony, like one aft, or one on Caribe, it would NOT be worth the money for us in future.

[redjoan]

Carol Hill, can you tell us what aft cabin you had? We have an aft (corner) on the Ruby and are wondering if the Sanctuary is going to be worth it or if we would be using the aft balcony more? thx.

[Carol_Hill]

We had Baja 755 on the Crown. It was lovely!! No beam, no vent!! It was roughly twice as deep as a normal balcony (except for on Caribe, which are bigger than the aft ones). We were actually basically dead center over the wake. On our cruise, it was not that warm, only in the 70's, and being directly aft, we had NO wind on our balcony, thus it was much warmer than being in the Sanctuary in the shade anyway. As I said before, I picked seats in the shade and could not switch to seats in the sun, so it was not that comfortable for us in the Sanctuary, as far as warmth, and our cabin balcony was very nice. We are from Florida, so we like things warmer than other people. The chairs on our balcony were certainly not like the ones in the Sanctuary, but for peace and quiet, they could not be beat! ...and for access to our own drinks! :)

[redjoan]

Thx. We are on the Ruby, in C752, on the corner! Our first aft cabin......! We LOVED the sanctuary.....so this is a hard decision.....!

[Carol_Hill]

Hey, if you loved it before, you probably will again. Everyone is different. For me, personally, next time I would save the money and do the Crown Grill a couple of times or the UBD. We did the Chef's Table this time and thoroughly enjoyed that.

[clarkspond75]

RE: Sanctuary, What is the cost for a week? She loved it 2 years ago, but I can't recall the cost.

[Coracii]

RE: Sanctuary, What is the cost for a week? She loved it 2 years ago, but I can't recall the cost.

 

For most sailings it is $15 per day when bought for the whole cruise length, so a 7 day sailing would be $105 per person.

[cruisdog]

Just curious, besides a reserved lounge chair in a quiet area and a bar tender, what else do you get? Do they serve you food there? Maybe a self service buffet?

[missymac222]

Does anyone know if this area is included when staying in a full suite?

[ready2travel54]

Largin, Did I see you had a blog? I can't find it. Can you help? Please and ty

[leith]

We have tried a couple of times to get just a half day pass and always get there too late (all chairs are booked). Do you know when you need to arrive to get a day pass, i.e. when it opens so I can send my DH to go get it :).

TY

[Coracii]

Does anyone know if this area is included when staying in a full suite?

 

No, it is a surcharge area no matter what category of cabin you're booked in.

[Aloha Me]

Still a little confused. Do you keep the same spot for the time you have reserved? This was one of the spots I was looking forward to seeing and then I discovered there is a charge. Kinda took the wind out of my sails. I do understand someone taking advantage of the area if they have an inside room. Think I'll just stick with my personally selected balcony.

[Coracii]

Still a little confused. Do you keep the same spot for the time you have reserved? This was one of the spots I was looking forward to seeing and then I discovered there is a charge. Kinda took the wind out of my sails. I do understand someone taking advantage of the area if they have an inside room. Think I'll just stick with my personally selected balcony.

 

When you book the Sanctuary for the length of the cruise you are given a choice of a lounger location and that is yours for the entirety of the cruise. Anytime you want to use it, it will be there for you and no one else can use it. It's not just for those with inside rooms, we book a balcony on every cruise and still get the Sanctuary whenever we're able to. To each their own, some people spend large sums of money drinking, some gambling, others like the peace and quiet of the Sanctuary for their money.

[x lindsay x]

On our 9nt CB trip RT NYC last June the Sanctuary was well worth the $$. The Sanctuary was sold out and we had seats right by the entrance so we got to see the stewards turning away tons of people every sea day. After the first sea day with a sold out ship people were regretting not shelling out the few extra dollars to have reserved place for the other 3 sea days.

 

I don't know if it would be worth it on a trip with only 1 or 2 sea days but for those four days it was wonderful not having to rush out in the morning to get a lounger by the pool, all those chairs at all pools were basically gone by 10am.

Not to mention the padded loungers and the personal service, so worth it.

[Aloha Me]

When you book the Sanctuary for the length of the cruise you are given a choice of a lounger location and that is yours for the entirety of the cruise. Anytime you want to use it, it will be there for you and no one else can use it. It's not just for those with inside rooms, we book a balcony on every cruise and still get the Sanctuary whenever we're able to. To each their own, some people spend large sums of money drinking, some gambling, others like the peace and quiet of the Sanctuary for their money.

 

Thank you for the info. One last question...I think. If you reserve time and the weather isn't so great on your day(s) and you prefer not to partake, do they still bill you?

[Carol_Hill]

Yes. If you reserve for the whole week, they bill you once at the beginning. It doesn't matter whether you ever use it or not, as far as they are concerned.

[bonezzz]

I think it is sad a cruise has to charge for a chair by the pool.If its as empty as you say it is then its just wasted space.

[Coracii]

I think it is sad a cruise has to charge for a chair by the pool.If its as empty as you say it is then its just wasted space.

 

There's plenty of chairs by the pool that are completely free of charge for anyone to use. The Sanctuary is much more than just a chair by the pool, if you're not impressed with the available options that it has compared to the cost then there's plenty of other places to use on the ship.

[woollybugger314]

On our Alaska cruise, the Sanctuary on the Island was completely empty. (Far too cold.) But on a warmer cruise, I certainly would get reservations in the Sanctuary. It looks nicer than a "cabana" experience, various amenities, with a plunge pool, out of the wind, and great views aft.

 

The Princess website states that the charge is only $10 per person per half-day. That's a steal!

 

To put this in context, recently we were at a resort hotel, and a cabana with much less attentive service and fewer amenities cost $100 per half day and $150 per full day.

[BoardwalkBabe]

We loved the Sanctuary! For us, it was worth it so DH (the early bird) could get up, have breakfast and head over to our spot while I slept in and then showed up whenever I felt like it. We really liked not having to worry about both of us getting up earlier and nabbing spots by the pool for the day.

[singwithjoy]

Thanks for the information. We will be on the Crown in March. We have an inside cabin. Do you choose your chairs for each day? I prefer the shade. Can I arrange this each day? What exactly do you do there besides relax? Do they have any food or drinks? Massages?

[triscat]

We will also be on the Crown in March and now that I know that there is a charge for the Sanctuary I am slightly disapointed as well, however I am still going to consider book for the 2 sea days we will have. My question however, is: with this $15 charge, is the food and the smoothies and all of the other edible items included in this fee?

Thanks in advance.