Truth about the Sanctuary

[JimMad]

We were on the Royal Princess Thanksgiving week. Having read all the info here about booking the Sanctuary for the week we IMMEDIATELY upon boarding went there. We got there at 12:15 and there were 6-8 people already in line and a line quickly forming behind us. The Manager of the Sanctuary brings one couple/person in at a time to choose a lounger or cabana. The policy on this ship is to rent half the cabanas (2 of 4) and half the loungers (est. 16 of 32) for the week and leave the rest available for daily rentals. What you select is yours for the entire week. They began accepting daily rental requests at 2PM the day prior on a 1st come 1st serve basis.

 

Perks - Aside from the serenity, the Sanctuary has top notch service. Attendants bring drinks/food/cold towels/pool towels.....they also cover the lounger when it showers to keep it dry.....there are MP3 players available with Bose headsets as well. Each day at 3:30 or so they serve afternoon tea. Lounger guests pay the usual price for drinks and a small flat fee for food service ($3 I think). Each cabana comes with 2 loungers in front. Check out the Princess Sanctuary photos to see the cabana ...inside is a sofa, chair, TV and refrig. Cabana perks include all of the previously mentioned perks minus the $3 food fee. As well as a welcome cocktail, snacks (snack mix, dried fruit, fruit basket, candies), 4 bottled waters, 8 sodas, and liquor. The liquor had many options ie. 2 bottles of wine/champagne or 2 buckets of beer or a bottle of wine and a bucket of beer or hard liquor and wine or beer, etc. The liquor bottle was I am guessing a 1/2 litre and came with mixers of your choosing. You could have 2 of these. in place of beer or wine or mix match what you want. All of this is provided each day.

 

Having a cabana for the week was like getting an all-inclusive drink package as well as spectacular daytime accommodations to call yours for the week.

[riclop]

Our last three cruises we booked the Sanctuary for the entire time on the cruise and loved it. Thinking about going on the Emerald Princess in January. Call Princess today and was told you could only book the Sanctuary day by day and that you were never able to book it for the entire cruise. I know that is not true. Has anyone recently booked the Sanctuary for the entire week? What is the truth about the booking now in the Sanctuary?

Thats not true.

[Twistedredbird]

Leaving for Western out of houston tomorrow. We have done the sanctuary before, but on the first come first served basis. Would like to book for full week, but I hear it is a race to get to the Sanctuary first.

 

Boarding doors start at noon. How soon do you think we should get there and be in line to check in so we can make it to the Sanctuary to get our seats?

 

10 AM?

[Loonbeam]

All depends on when and how they start boarding...

 

Leaving for Western out of houston tomorrow. We have done the sanctuary before, but on the first come first served basis. Would like to book for full week, but I hear it is a race to get to the Sanctuary first.

 

Boarding doors start at noon. How soon do you think we should get there and be in line to check in so we can make it to the Sanctuary to get our seats?

 

10 AM?

[TomCruises]

All ships the same. $10/half-day $20/day

 

 

I always book Sanctuary upon boarding the ship!You can either buy it for the entire cruise at $15 per day or just be there early in the morning for a day use at $20.00.

[caribill]

I always book Sanctuary upon boarding the ship!You can either buy it for the entire cruise at $15 per day or just be there early in the morning for a day use at $20.00.

 

Not sure of the exact pricing, but it does cost more on the new Royal Princess.

[Loreley990]

I always book Sanctuary upon boarding the ship!You can either buy it for the entire cruise at $15 per day or just be there early in the morning for a day use at $20.00.

 

On a seven day cruise, do they make you pay for six days or for seven days (I take it the area is open to the public on embarkation day and won't be used on disembarkation day, hence effectively one would be using it on six days max only?)?

[Pam in CA]

Not sure of the exact pricing, but it does cost more on the new Royal Princess.

On the Royal: $15/$30, $25 for full day.

[Loonbeam]

Should be 6 days. On our 10 day PC cruise, they charged us for 8 - Canal day was separate.

 

On a seven day cruise, do they make you pay for six days or for seven days (I take it the area is open to the public on embarkation day and won't be used on disembarkation day, hence effectively one would be using it on six days max only?)?

[Bimmer09]

I have done 4 Princess Cruises to date and each time booked the Sanctuary for the full week by going there immediately upon boarding. $210 for two people on the Coral,Crown, Diamond and Ruby.

 

It has never been "busy", even in the Caribbean.

 

The people who go up there aren't chair hogs but rather people who want a quiet place to relax when they feel like it and are willing to pay for the privilege.

 

The service and ambience are worth the fee.

 

Norris

[Vexorg]

If anyone's reading PescadoAmarillo's Blog currently, it looks like she was able to get a whole-cruise reservation for the Sanctuary on the one they're on right now. I'm guessing the policy varies depending on circumstances.

[fielddreamer]

We were on the Royal last week and we were the first group to board want up to Sancturay and they were sold out of weekly . They were selling daily's but you had to be first in line in the morning at 7:00 A.M. It looks like that they are pre selling to Elite pre -cruise even thou they tell you they are not. They could not sell out in the first 30 min. of boarding.

Edited December 27, 2013 by fielddreamer

[Hlitner]

We were on the Royal last week and we were the first group to board want up to Sancturay and they were sold out of weekly . They were selling daily's but you had to be first in line in the morning at 7:00 A.M. It looks like that they are pre selling to Elite pre -cruise even thou they tell you they are not. They could not sell out in the first 30 min. of boarding.

 

Not sure this is true. Re just talked to both our TA and Princess about this post to verify the facts. The Captains Circle Office also got into the discussion. The bottom line is that nobody at Princess has ever heard of such a thing and they say the Sanctuary call only booked aboard. However, there is still a scenario that can find it fully booked when you get aboard. There are always some folks who are doing back to backs, and since they are already on the ship it is sometimes possible for them to grab the sanctuary slots. Since the Royal is now doing 7 day Caribbean cruises there will always be a number of back to back passengers.

 

Hank

Edited December 27, 2013 by Hlitner

[hehny]

It must have been very disappointing not to get in the Sanctuary. However, I have a hard time believing they pre booked until someone can actually verify this happened. There are many posters attesting to the popularity of the Sanctuary: high demand and low supply means there are no guarantees. I know plenty of people, elites and suites, who tried to prebook and were told no.

[pablo222]

We were on the Royal last week and we were the first group to board want up to Sancturay and they were sold out of weekly . They were selling daily's but you had to be first in line in the morning at 7:00 A.M. It looks like that they are pre selling to Elite pre -cruise even thou they tell you they are not. They could not sell out in the first 30 min. of boarding.

 

Sounds like lost revenue to Princess. They need to raise the price to match the demand. If it sells out in the first hour, it isn't priced high enough.

[Pam in CA]

We were on the Royal last week and we were the first group to board want up to Sancturay and they were sold out of weekly . They were selling daily's but you had to be first in line in the morning at 7:00 A.M. It looks like that they are pre selling to Elite pre -cruise even thou they tell you they are not. They could not sell out in the first 30 min. of boarding.

Not true. You cannot pre-reserve the Sanctuary no matter who you are or whether you're Elite. Period. You or somebody has to be onboard to book. Some loungers are set aside for "full cruise" whether it's three days, a week, two weeks or more. The rest of the loungers are available by the day. What can happen is that people who are doing B2B's can go up there the morning of disembarkation and book the next cruise. Or, they can book the full B2B. Depending on the cruise, that can sell out the number of loungers set aside for the full cruise, leaving only the by-day loungers available. Passengers who have Priority boarding do have an advantage in that they board first and can be first to the Sanctuary to book.

[Dorset Cruiser]

That is totally anti-Sanctuary spirit ! How wonderful to know I will have to get up early everyday, get there and just hope I get a lounge in the area I prefer.. That is one obligation and procedure I would like to escape completly from...:mad:

 

Much, much fairer to sell ALL the beds on a daily basis - why should those who are BTB or able to board early, get the chance of booking for the whole cruise. Let everyone have to get up early and queue for a bed :)

[wilfros]

On Caribbean and Golden the Sanctuary closed at 5pm and anyone was welcome to enter during the evenings.

 

Is this true on the Coral? Does Anyone know?

 

While we can't enjoy the aft pool during the day, due to the deck plan, will be able to watch the wake in the evenings?

 

Anxious to hear.

Edited December 27, 2013 by wilfros

[sswright]

Leaving for Western out of houston tomorrow. We have done the sanctuary before, but on the first come first served basis. Would like to book for full week, but I hear it is a race to get to the Sanctuary first.

 

Boarding doors start at noon. How soon do you think we should get there and be in line to check in so we can make it to the Sanctuary to get our seats?

 

10 AM?

 

Curious, we are booked for November out of Houston. Were you able to book?

[SoCal Cruiser78]

On Golden the Sanctuary closed at 5pm and anyone was welcome to enter during the evenings...

 

Does anyone know if this is still the case? I am interested in knowing for my upcoming on the Golden. TIA.

[5:00_Somewhere]

Does anyone know if this is still the case? I am interested in knowing for my upcoming on the Golden. TIA.

 

When we've done the Sanctuary in the past (including last January on the Caribbean Princess), they did, indeed, close at 5:00 pm. I don't know about them allowing anyone in after that (I don't believe the area is locked), but I do know they cover all the loungers and chairs with canvas covers and remove all service items, so I'm not sure what benefit there would be to accessing the area after hours, other than looking out the windows. I doubt they would permit people to remove the covers and use the loungers or chairs. Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps.

[sweetsleep]

I've booked the Sanctuary for the whole cruise twice.

Coral Princess-it was great. Loved being on the back of the ship. No wind and was on the lower level for a Panama Canal cruise. Great service from the stewards and they dealt with some really nasty ladies who demanded a lounger when none were available-several days in a row. One woman was so awful they had to get security to escort her out. The stewards remained calm and polite despite that passenger's awful behavior. My friend and I tipped them generously at the end of the cruise and I made sure to write comments post cruise defending them.

Emerald-very different experience. We had nonexistent service except for tea. No one EVER came by to check on us, see if we needed anything and never asked if we wanted any chilled infused water or food. That was not worth the money. We were on the front of the ship-very windy and cold despite it being a Caribbean cruise in January. Again no one there bothered to ask if we needed a blanket or not.

An interesting issue about the Sanctuary getting sold out early for an entire cruise that no one has mentioned is that people doing back to back cruises are onboard and can reserve the second or third leg of their cruise before they are forced to temporarily disembark for customs reasons. That could be one reason why it can be so difficult to get the Sanctuary for your entire cruise,especially during the popular winter cruises in the Caribbean which attract lots of Canadian and Northeast US snowbirds.

[LovetheSea]

I never used the Sanctuary before. Where do you go to book it when you board?

[jondfk]

I never used the Sanctuary before. Where do you go to book it when you board?

 

For the full cruise - go up there the afternoon after boarding.

 

For daily bookings - go up the morning you want to use. On sea days they can sell out early, and some folks line up long before the 8:00 opening (not saying that's necessary - just that some do so).

[Rosethorn40]

For the full cruise - go up there the afternoon after boarding.

 

For daily bookings - go up the morning you want to use. On sea days they can sell out early, and some folks line up long before the 8:00 opening (not saying that's necessary - just that some do so).

 

On my recent Caribbean Princess cruise they were taking reservations for daily & 1/2 day use the first day. No getting up at 6 am to secure a spot in line.