Information on Sanctuary

[teacher1977]

I have a question regarding Sanctuary on the Crown Princess. My husband and I will be sailing on the Crown Princess this fall and we will be staying in an Owners Suite; a new experience for us! If we are in a suite do we have to pay the daily fee for using Sanctuary or is that one of the suite "perks"? Do we reserve a specific lounge chair or is one already reserved for us? If we need to reserve one, do we do that as soon as we board to guarantee that we are able to have one or are some set aside for suite passengers? Is there a diagram that shows which lounge chairs are in the sun vs those in the shade? If anyone could explain how this works I would appreciate it. Thanks!

[Host CJSKIDS]

The Sanctuary is not a perk of being in a suite so if it's something you want, you should head up there as soon as your board and reserve it Your cost will be the same as everyone else on board, $40 for the whole day, $20 for half day and $30 per day if you buy it for the entire length of your cruise.

 

If you do purchase it, that's when you will pick your lounge chair. The Sanctuary staff will have a diagram with the free chairs and will actually take you throughout to let you pick out your chair. The Crown has 2 areas that are completely in the sun and then the rest are undercover.

 

It's my favorite area of the ship! Enjoy!!

[Ep010835]

Certainly not an answer but a thank you for asking the question. We've been wondering the same thing. We are in one of the penthouse suites in November (new experience here too!). A few weeks ago I called PCL and asked about this. I was told (maybe by one of the weekend part timers) that there was no charge to use the Sanctuary unless specific services were booked. I asked about the * denoting "nominal fee applies". The individual with whom I spoke assured me that this referred only to spa services, refreshments, etc.

 

This seemed dubious to me especially in light the results of a search on the subject that produced results stating the fee to be: $20/half day morning or afternoon. $40/full day. $30/full day if you book for the entire cruise, port and sea days.

 

Granted, the post I copied this from was from 2016 and a lot may have changed since then.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Certainly not an answer but a thank you for asking the question. We've been wondering the same thing. We are in one of the penthouse suites in November (new experience here too!). A few weeks ago I called PCL and asked about this. I was told (maybe by one of the weekend part timers) that there was no charge to use the Sanctuary unless specific services were booked. I asked about the * denoting "nominal fee applies". The individual with whom I spoke assured me that this referred only to spa services, refreshments, etc.

 

This seemed dubious to me especially in light the results of a search on the subject that produced results stating the fee to be: $20/half day morning or afternoon. $40/full day. $30/full day if you book for the entire cruise, port and sea days.

 

Granted, the post I copied this from was from 2016 and a lot may have changed since then.

 

Unfortunately you were given very incorrect information. The correct fees are what you have above.

[Ep010835]

Kinda what I thought. Thanks for getting me straightened out.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Kinda what I thought. Thanks for getting me straightened out.

 

You're welcome. As I said, it's a wonderful place!

[riclop]

I have a question regarding Sanctuary on the Crown Princess. My husband and I will be sailing on the Crown Princess this fall and we will be staying in an Owners Suite; a new experience for us! If we are in a suite do we have to pay the daily fee for using Sanctuary or is that one of the suite "perks"? Do we reserve a specific lounge chair or is one already reserved for us? If we need to reserve one, do we do that as soon as we board to guarantee that we are able to have one or are some set aside for suite passengers? Is there a diagram that shows which lounge chairs are in the sun vs those in the shade? If anyone could explain how this works I would appreciate it. Thanks!

It's not a perk.

[Pam in CA]

We are in one of the penthouse suites in November (new experience here too!). A few weeks ago I called PCL and asked about this. I was told (maybe by one of the weekend part timers) that there was no charge to use the Sanctuary unless specific services were booked. I asked about the * denoting "nominal fee applies". The individual with whom I spoke assured me that this referred only to spa services, refreshments, etc.

Whomever you spoke to confused the Sanctuary with the Thermal Suite and Spa Services. These are unrelated to the Sanctuary which is not included in any perk nor is it ever discounted or added as a promotion.

 

Here’s a link to your full suite perks: https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/ships/PrincessSuite_eFlyer.pdf

[lx200gps]

The Sanctuary is our favorite area on the ship, and we make a point of booking it for all our sea days when sailing in hot climates. Someone mentioned getting up there early to book, and that's VERY important. The Sanctuary is quite popular and the lineup for bookings starts early, with the best loungers going quickly. I strongly advise boarding as soon as you can and heading straight up there immediately.

[Pickels]

The Sanctuary is our favorite area on the ship, and we make a point of booking it for all our sea days when sailing in hot climates. Someone mentioned getting up there early to book, and that's VERY important. The Sanctuary is quite popular and the lineup for bookings starts early, with the best loungers going quickly. I strongly advise boarding as soon as you can and heading straight up there immediately.

Have to check-in first, then hustle, hustle!!

[lx200gps]

Have to check-in first, then hustle, hustle!!

 

Yup, hustle is right. We try to be among the first after check-in to get into the waiting area for boarding, but as lowly Platinums, we're in the second cohort to board. Even going straight up to the Sanctuary without even stopping in our cabin to drop off our carry on bags, we still find a line of folks ahead of us when we reach the Sanctuary. Even so, we usually get decent loungers, though rarely the ideal ones.

[MrMan]

Does one really need to hustle, I have yet to be on a Princess cruise where it’s not 3/4 empty

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[lx200gps]

Does one really need to hustle, I have yet to be on a Princess cruise where it’s not 3/4 empty

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Looks can be deceiving when it comes to the Sanctuary. Just because it looks half-empty doesn't mean all the best chairs aren't booked. It just means that the occupants are somewhere else. We always book the Sanctuary for sea days and I live up there all day. My wife, however, runs rampant on the ship doing other things and only spends an hour or two max so her lounger LOOKS empty, but it has been booked. Also, and I'm not sure if they still do it, but they used to keep a few loungers aside for single day bookings where you had to go up there early in the AM to book, for just that specific day.

[Pam in CA]

The way to tell whether it’s really empty is to see how many loungers do not have towels on them. All booked loungers have towels laid out on the lounger, like these. Occupancy has nothing to do with whether they’re booked or not as you can come and go as you please.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Does one really need to hustle, I have yet to be on a Princess cruise where it’s not 3/4 empty

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

Look are definitely deceiving. It’s been almost sold out on almost every Caribbean sailing I have been on. I book for the week but I’m not always up there. Since I don’t have to worry about my seat, I may not show up until after lunch. Some days I may not even be up there if I’m off at port.

 

 

As Pam mentioned, if there are towels down then someone has that chair. We do let them know when we are leaving for the day and they do take our towels off. They won’t sit anyone else there so it may look empty, but it’s not.

[Ellipooh]

Pam, what ship is your picture from? It must be the Crown?

I don’t recall that the Grand had such low railings in the Sanctuary.