Sanctuary on the Sky Princess

[Dreamcruiser185]

I am hoping to get a spot in the sanctuary when I am on the Sky in March.  It doesn’t look good though, between B2B and the other passengers that have priority to embark first, I am afraid all the spots will be filled.  My question is how many people does the sanctuary hold?  For the Retreat pool how early do I have get there to get a spot for the wife and I?  Thanks!!!

[lx200gps]

We're actually on the Sky right now. Can't help with how many spots there are, though there are both loungers and much larger cabanas at significantly higher cost. When we boarded yesterday, we used our Elite status to board VERY early and race upstairs to book, only to be told all sea days were already fully booked. As we had plans for the port days, we were SOL. Apparently there are 850 B2Bers on board right now and they have priority over everybody else because they were apparently able to book the Sanctuary for this trip on the PREVIOUS cruise.

 

Sadly, on our last three Princess trips, on the Enchanted in September, on the Sky in November, and now on the Sky again, it's  gotten progressively more difficult to get decent loungers, at least for sea days. The Sanctuaries on these newest class of ships are getting smaller, with more open space/fewer loungers, many more cabanas in direct sun, more $$$ cabanas and even lounger-stealing hot tubs taking up space. There are far fewer loungers than, for instance, on the older ships like the Ruby, Crown etc.  Given our recent experiences, i can't see how anyone without status has much chance of getting any decent spot, even on port days. As for sea days..... ;o(

Edited February 12, 2023 by lx200gps

[MustangGT]

1 hour ago, lx200gps said:

We're actually on the Sky right now. Can't help with how many spots there are, though there are both loungers and much larger cabanas at significantly higher cost. When we boarded yesterday, we used our Elite status to board VERY early and race upstairs to book, only to be told all sea days were already fully booked. As we had plans for the port days, we were SOL. Apparently there are 850 B2Bers on board right now and they have priority over everybody else because they were apparently able to book the Sanctuary for this trip on the PREVIOUS cruise.

 

Sadly, on our last three Princess trips, on the Enchanted in September, on the Sky in November, and now on the Sky again, it's  gotten progressively more difficult to get decent loungers, at least for sea days. The Sanctuaries on these newest class of ships are getting smaller, with more open space/fewer loungers, many more cabanas in direct sun, more $$$ cabanas and even lounger-stealing hot tubs taking up space. There are far fewer loungers than, for instance, on the older ships like the Ruby, Crown etc.  Given our recent experiences, i can't see how anyone without status has much chance of getting any decent spot, even on port days. As for sea days..... ;o(

I wish you luck, OP!

I agree with @lx200gps - not a fan of the layout and lack of loungers. There are only about 20 but plenty of room for more.  I think they would rather book the cabanas by keeping the # of loungers low.

 

Now, my rant on the Sanctuary on the Sky!  Apologies in advance!
 

We are also on the Sky now.  We were on the cruise prior to this one and although being first to the Sanctuary when we boarded, no loungers were available for sea days.  We booked afternoon for the port days but on the second port day decided we could not handle the sun.

We were hoping for better luck as “turnaround passengers” but on previous cruises you couldn’t book the following cruise until the last day of the first cruise.  When I mentioned on day 3 that we were looking forward to booking loungers for the next cruise, the manager told me they were all booked already for sea days.  They asked people on the first sea day ( when we couldn’t get a lounger) if they wanted to book the following cruise.  So, even being onboard, we were out of luck.

We bit the bullet and booked a cabana for the sea day afternoons as we had OBC to burn.

I definitely mentioned this on the survey- Princess inconsistency - passengers should be able to expect the same procedure on every ship!

Rant over 🙂

Edited February 12, 2023 by MustangGT

[lx200gps]

50 minutes ago, MustangGT said:

I wish you luck, OP!

I agree with @lx200gps - not a fan of the layout and lack of loungers. There are only about 20 but plenty of room for more.  I think they would rather book the cabanas by keeping the # of loungers low.

 

Now, my rant on the Sanctuary on the Sky!  Apologies in advance!
 

We are also on the Sky now.  We were on the cruise prior to this one and although being first to the Sanctuary when we boarded, no loungers were available for sea days.  We booked afternoon for the port days but on the second port day decided we could not handle the sun.

We were hoping for better luck as “turnaround passengers” but on previous cruises you couldn’t book the following cruise until the last day of the first cruise.  When I mentioned on day 3 that we were looking forward to booking loungers for the next cruise, the manager told me they were all booked already for sea days.  They asked people on the first sea day ( when we couldn’t get a lounger) if they wanted to book the following cruise.  So, even being onboard, we were out of luck.

We bit the bullet and booked a cabana for the sea day afternoons as we had OBC to burn.

I definitely mentioned this on the survey- Princess inconsistency - passengers should be able to expect the same procedure on every ship!

Rant over 🙂

That's exactly what we were told, by a lady who was on the previous cruise to this one. She also mentioned that she somehow missed being told, early in that cruise, that she could book for the following cruise, so she had to wait in line with us to try and book this week, only to be shut out like we were. Question: when you say "They asked people on the first sea day....", are you saying they actually asked only those already IN the Sanctuary if they wanted to book for next cruise, or did they send a notice to ALL B2Bers in their cabin?  If the former, that's astoundingly bad news.

[TracieABD]

We had a similar situation. We were a little luckier, as we don't normal get off the ship- so we could book port days. Both of us noticed that they could get a few more loungers in there... and if this is a money making venture- why not? Many Sanctuaries have 3 rows of loungers...

 

If the Sanctuary is so popular- why don't they increase the size? 

[MustangGT]

2 hours ago, lx200gps said:

That's exactly what we were told, by a lady who was on the previous cruise to this one. She also mentioned that she somehow missed being told, early in that cruise, that she could book for the following cruise, so she had to wait in line with us to try and book this week, only to be shut out like we were. Question: when you say "They asked people on the first sea day....", are you saying they actually asked only those already IN the Sanctuary if they wanted to book for next cruise, or did they send a notice to ALL B2Bers in their cabin?  If the former, that's astoundingly bad news.

I am the lady!  Yes, they asked the ones in the Sanctuary on the first sea day about the following week. Once I found that out, we were able to snag the last cabanas for the sea day afternoons.

I spoke to the Manager today and there was obviously a disconnect between us.  He said Corporate policy is that no one can book the Sanctuary except on Embarkation Day.  He said B2B passengers would just line up before 8:00 a.m. on that day so it is just easier to allow B2Bs to book ahead. Well, that makes sense!  When Corporate policy doesn’t work - just make up your own.

Bottom line, it’s always a challenge to get a spot on particular itineraries.  We probably won’t have a problem on our next B2B in June.  Baltics and then Norway and Iceland! 😂

 

 

[MustangGT]

1 hour ago, TracieABD said:

We had a similar situation. We were a little luckier, as we don't normal get off the ship- so we could book port days. Both of us noticed that they could get a few more loungers in there... and if this is a money making venture- why not? Many Sanctuaries have 3 rows of loungers...

 

If the Sanctuary is so popular- why don't they increase the size? 

Tracie - we agree!  The manager did say they are going to add more beds during dry dock but a re wanting to make more space available for wheelchairs so they may remove the tables at each lounger.

We appreciate inclusion but not sure why you wouldn’t want a table with your lounger?

 

I think limiting the number of loungers results in booking more cabanas.  JMHO - I have no marketing degree! 
 

Glad you enjoyed your port days.  Our loungers were full sun and we couldn’t tough it out.

[Buckeye10640]

7 hours ago, Dreamcruiser185 said:

I am hoping to get a spot in the sanctuary when I am on the Sky in March.  It doesn’t look good though, between B2B and the other passengers that have priority to embark first, I am afraid all the spots will be filled.  My question is how many people does the sanctuary hold?  For the Retreat pool how early do I have get there to get a spot for the wife and I?  Thanks!!!

As you have many responses about the frustrating sanctuary booking policy and near impossibility of getting a spot, I will respond regarding the Retreat area. I have been in Sun Deck cabins twice on Enchanted, which has the same layout as the Sky for deck 17.  Particularly on sea days, it will start to fill early, just like Lido. Chairs are being put  out by 7am or so and people will start staking out their chairs for the day. You can sometimes find open chairs thru the day and particularly in the late afternoon. The open deck above the Retreat pool is a good place to check if the chairs aroud the pool are full. 

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, MustangGT said:

I am the lady!  Yes, they asked the ones in the Sanctuary on the first sea day about the following week. Once I found that out, we were able to snag the last cabanas for the sea day afternoons.

I spoke to the Manager today and there was obviously a disconnect between us.  He said Corporate policy is that no one can book the Sanctuary except on Embarkation Day.  He said B2B passengers would just line up before 8:00 a.m. on that day so it is just easier to allow B2Bs to book ahead. Well, that makes sense!  When Corporate policy doesn’t work - just make up your own.

Bottom line, it’s always a challenge to get a spot on particular itineraries.  We probably won’t have a problem on our next B2B in June.  Baltics and then Norway and Iceland! 😂

 

 

I have no problem with B2B'ers getting to book for the following cruise.  As stated, they can line up early in morning anyway ahead of new cruisers boarding.  However, bookings should be standard and made on the final full day of the voyage.  Having bookings done on the first sea day is something easily unknown to other guests who have plans to book for the next voyage (and didn't get in this voyage).  I guess you need to make your request known to the Mgr ASAP during voyage 1 in order to have a shot at voyage 2.

 

I would also join with those stating disappointment in newer ships having less loungers.  It doesn't surprise me if PCL built more cabanas to try and rake in the big bucks.  In the past, I saw those empty and seemed like hardly anyone wanted to pay.  I imagine they have added some to the Crown Class ships which never had them originally.

 

I have thought for a long time that the Crown Class ships have the best Sanctuary in terms of loungers and shady area.  There is very little shade in general with the Royal Class ships IMO.

 

[MustangGT]

29 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I have no problem with B2B'ers getting to book for the following cruise.  As stated, they can line up early in morning anyway ahead of new cruisers boarding.  However, bookings should be standard and made on the final full day of the voyage.  Having bookings done on the first sea day is something easily unknown to other guests who have plans to book for the next voyage (and didn't get in this voyage).  I guess you need to make your request known to the Mgr ASAP during voyage 1 in order to have a shot at voyage 2.

 

I would also join with those stating disappointment in newer ships having less loungers.  It doesn't surprise me if PCL built more cabanas to try and rake in the big bucks.  In the past, I saw those empty and seemed like hardly anyone wanted to pay.  I imagine they have added some to the Crown Class ships which never had them originally.

 

I have thought for a long time that the Crown Class ships have the best Sanctuary in terms of loungers and shady area.  There is very little shade in general with the Royal Class ships IMO.

 

I agree.  Well said!  We also prefer the Crown class Sanctuary but Royal and Regal are better than Sky.