Royal Princess Sanctuary Review - March 2016

[Nezmo]

I’ve not seen too many reviews of the Sanctuary on here so I’m putting forth our experience on the Royal March 13-23 voyage.

 

I’d read in here about the need to hot-foot it to the Sanctuary when you embark if you are interested in reserving as it can sell out. My wife and I were on the ship early and I think we headed-up there about an hour or two after to check it out. LilC was immediately taken with it so we booked a cabana on what was planned as our last sea day (we later had one more sea day as Princess Cay was cancelled). We got a tour from the attendants and picked the forward cabana on the port side for a full day – price $220.

 

As it turned out, we picked a good day as the weather was perfect on our Sanctuary Day but the unplanned sea day in lieu of Princess Cays was overcast and choppy.

 

The cabana comes with a fresh fruit bowl that they’ll cut for you when you are ready. There are some nuts and a ton of candy. There’s also a ‘welcome cocktail’ and a bottle of wine for each half day plus ample water and diet sodas. So, in our case we had two cocktails and two bottles of wine and about 4 cans of coke and 4 bottles of water but, we had the AIBP so really that was not a good deal for us. But, we booked the cabana for the space, solitude and just ambiance, not the drinks. There’s a fridge in the cabana that they put the candy, soda and water in.

 

Our waiter was so soft spoken I had trouble hearing him but he worked hard to please and kept asking if we were relaxed and had what we wanted.

 

The cabana includes two sun loungers and on a few occasions that I went to shuffle them around we were quickly helped.

 

Nice, soft towels and plenty of them. They bought more, dry ones as the day progressed.

 

TV with the same service as that in the rooms.

 

Bose QuietComfort headphones tied to the TV sound over Wi-Fi. They also have iPods with a nice mix of different music.

 

Menu for lunch but we just had them bring burgers from the Trident Grill.

 

Separate, large bathroom for the Sanctuary folks.

 

Very quiet up there with just a distant sound from the main Lido area. No wind.

 

It’s a better deal for those who do not do the AIBP, assuming you drink but overall we enjoyed the solitude and service.

 

Pics to follow.

[Nezmo]

 

 

 

[Nezmo]

 

 

 

[Nezmo]

[YOUTUBE]gyoABq7hHhU[/YOUTUBE]

[easyboy]

Thanks for the review. Very nice shots!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[riclop]

Thanks for the great pictures.

[Mom33]

Thanks for the tour. [emoji572]️

[realtorcruiser]

Thanks, can't wait until the 22nd of April.

[Clarea]

Very nice photos and video, thank-you much for sharing.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your report and photos.

 

Keith

[TorontoTL]

Nice photos and review. :)

[2BCruising]

Thank you for sharing your pictures and the video tour. Nice!

[cruiseintoheaven]

That's the best marketing I've seen for the Sanctuary - ever! Thanks for sharing. We've toured but never booked - hence this question: the cabanas obviously provide shade.....and I know the regular loungers are booked daily/weekly etc....so if you decide you want some sun how is that handled? Thanks!

[Nezmo]

That's the best marketing I've seen for the Sanctuary - ever! Thanks for sharing. We've toured but never booked - hence this question: the cabanas obviously provide shade.....and I know the regular loungers are booked daily/weekly etc....so if you decide you want some sun how is that handled? Thanks!

The cabana includes the two loungers right in front of it. Those are out in the sun so that's where we got our sun. We also dragged them in to the cabana when we wanted to lie on them but get some shade.

[cruiseintoheaven]

Thanks for the reply - sounds heavenly. Might have to high tail it up there next Feb. on the Regal. We'll be on the Crown to Alaska next month but guessing not quite the same experience - if it's even open [emoji4]

[Nezmo]

I was reminded by a poster in another thread that they bring you afternoon tea as well. How could I forget, lol.

[metosc]

Thanks for the great pictures. I have a question, is the pool in the Sanctuary open to all adults or do you have to pay for the Sanctuary? If not, it seems funny for a ship this large to not have an adult pool. Thanks!

[Nezmo]

Thanks for the great pictures. I have a question, is the pool in the Sanctuary open to all adults or do you have to pay for the Sanctuary? If not, it seems funny for a ship this large to not have an adult pool. Thanks!

The Retreat area and pool is open to all adults at no charge (no children allowed). The Sanctuary is a separate area off the Retreat. The Sanctuary has no pool. You just go to the Retreat area when you want the pool.

 

Note that the Retreat does have for rent cabanas too but you don't have to pay for any of the other loungers in the Retreat - just first come first served ([sARCASM] you know, get up at 5am and put your flip flop on it and then come back when you feel like it [/sARCASM]).

Edited April 5, 2016 by Nezmo

[arctickitty]

Questions...looked on Princess website and searched CC but still have questions. Thanks for your post...

 

-Are cabanas just for 2? Or could 4 adults traveling together share one?

-The $3 per person per delivery charge... does that mean a charge for each item? Or if you order 3 apps at once, one charge?

-Do you book it upon boarding or the morning of? I've seen different posts on here

-Is there a fee for afternoon tea?

 

Thanks everyone!

[CATGUY7]

I hadn't considered booking this before, but I may now! Thank you!

[capriccio]

Questions...looked on Princess website and searched CC but still have questions. Thanks for your post...

 

-Are cabanas just for 2? Or could 4 adults traveling together share one? two

-The $3 per person per delivery charge... does that mean a charge for each item? Or if you order 3 apps at once, one charge? the delivery charge is per order so yes, 3 apps at once incurs one charge

-Do you book it upon boarding or the morning of? I've seen different posts on here we booked on embarkation day since we wanted it for the entire cruise

-Is there a fee for afternoon tea? no

 

Thanks everyone!

 

I've answered based on our experience using the Sanctuary on the Royal for 20 days last October. The Sanctuary stewards on that cruise were first rate -- we wanted for nothing!

[arctickitty]

Thanks for the answers

[jamesr3939]

Can you book a lounger without the full cabana? Cost?

 

Looks like it would be a great place while transiting the Panama.

[Nezmo]

Can you book a lounger without the full cabana? Cost?

 

Looks like it would be a great place while transiting the Panama.

Yes, $20 per half day. Not sure if there's a break for a full day and you can also book for the week.