Sun Princess Signature Benefits and Experiences

[dog]

20 hours ago, dog said:

Announcements were made many months after  many of us booked.

The reserve cabana mini suites and D0-aft were included in Sanctuary collection. As of October 14/24.

I just got a  NEW pop up when I logged in that I get sanctuary use, private restaurant & lounge access---which I don't think is accurate.

 

D0 AFT CABIN.

[Hobby3333]

2 hours ago, dog said:

I just got a  NEW pop up when I logged in that I get sanctuary use, private restaurant & lounge access---which I don't think is accurate.

 

D0 AFT CABIN.

Not sure about the lounge access.  That is not a deal breaker or maker for me.  Like I stated earlier we didn’t use the lounge but a couple of times before dinner.  It is nice but I really like the perks and price of the D0.   Dog, you still got a good cabin and deal, IMO

[shirazcruiser]

We booked a S2 Owners Suite (now identified as a Grand Suite) with the Plus pkg for 21 days in May.  Will any of the Oct 2024 changes affect our booking for the better or worse?  I know that if I booked a Grand Suite today that I automatically have to take the Premium pkg...is that the only difference in the astronomical price increase? I'm so confused with all of this.  Thanks for any simple info!

[dog]

2 minutes ago, shirazcruiser said:

We booked a S2 Owners Suite (now identified as a Grand Suite) with the Plus pkg for 21 days in May.  Will any of the Oct 2024 changes affect our booking for the better or worse?  I know that if I booked a Grand Suite today that I automatically have to take the Premium pkg...is that the only difference in the astronomical price increase? I'm so confused with all of this.  Thanks for any simple info!

I have a S4 Vista , as well.

There will be more passengers having access to the signature- sanctuary inclusions since you booked.

[I object 2]

7 hours ago, shirazcruiser said:

We booked a S2 Owners Suite (now identified as a Grand Suite) with the Plus pkg for 21 days in May.  Will any of the Oct 2024 changes affect our booking for the better or worse?  I know that if I booked a Grand Suite today that I automatically have to take the Premium pkg...is that the only difference in the astronomical price increase? I'm so confused with all of this.  Thanks for any simple info!

 

We booked an S2 Owners Suite for November 2025 earlier this year with the Plus package.  From our understanding, we're grandfathered and keep the pricing and package we originally booked.  Trying to keep up with these constant changes by Princess gives me a headache.  

[dog]

52 minutes ago, I object 2 said:

 

We booked an S2 Owners Suite for November 2025 earlier this year with the Plus package.  From our understanding, we're grandfathered and keep the pricing and package we originally booked.  Trying to keep up with these constant changes by Princess gives me a headache.  

What do you mean by grandfathered?

[I object 2]

21 hours ago, dog said:

What do you mean by grandfathered?

Great question.  Grandfathered means being allowed to continue or keep what was in effect before implementation of new rules or offers.  In our case, we booked with the Plus package earlier this year, so we'll keep the Plus and not have to upgrade to the Premier.  Hope that makes sense.  

[chamima]

22 hours ago, I object 2 said:

 

We booked an S2 Owners Suite for November 2025 earlier this year with the Plus package.  From our understanding, we're grandfathered and keep the pricing and package we originally booked.  Trying to keep up with these constant changes by Princess gives me a headache.  

 

Can't answer you for sure but I asked that exact question of our TA (who, books a TON of Princess cruises and has in the past , has been totally reliable ). We booked a (at the time) Reserve Collection mini suite with Plus for next December but got the email below from Princess last week.  She contacted Princess and yes, we still have exactly what we booked but with the addition of being able to use the Sanctuary pool area because we're on the Sun. (We're traveling with our grandchildren so that won't happen)

(My biggest concern was what will happen to the smaller Reserve dining room if they are opening it up to ALL mini suites, not just the limited ones that were designated as Reserve previously)

 

Dear Karen,

We are excited to welcome you on your Caribbean sailing on Sun Princess . Take this opportunity to be one of the first to experience our new Sanctuary CollectionSM at a special limited time rate.

For one week only, you have an exclusive chance to upgrade your Mini-Suite to our premium Sanctuary Collection experience for an additional $138/day per person - a value of 16% off off the current price.

That's not all, included in this price is our all-inclusive Princess Premier package!

Transform your Mini-Suite stateroom with the Sanctuary upgrade and enjoy exclusive benefits only the Sanctuary gives you access to: The Sanctuary Club, an adult-only, top-deck retreat with a pool and private cabanas available for reservation A private restaurant offering a custom chef's menu – no reservations required Exclusive wellness activities and special events

Offer expires: August 23, 2024 at 7pm ET – 1 week from today.

Click on the link to learn more.

Secure your Sanctuary Collection experience now – this exclusive offering is limited. Upgrades are subject to availability and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to join us in the Sanctuary, where it’s always zen time.

[I object 2]

4 minutes ago, chamima said:

 

 

(My biggest concern was what will happen to the smaller Reserve dining room if they are opening it up to ALL mini suites, not just the limited ones that were designated as Reserve previously)

 

Dear Karen,

We are excited to welcome you on your Caribbean sailing on Sun Princess . Take this opportunity to be one of the first to experience our new Sanctuary CollectionSM at a special limited time rate.

For one week only, you have an exclusive chance to upgrade your Mini-Suite to our premium Sanctuary Collection experience for an additional $138/day per person - a value of 16% off off the current price.

That's not all, included in this price is our all-inclusive Princess Premier package!

Transform your Mini-Suite stateroom with the Sanctuary upgrade and enjoy exclusive benefits only the Sanctuary gives you access to: The Sanctuary Club, an adult-only, top-deck retreat with a pool and private cabanas available for reservation A private restaurant offering a custom chef's menu – no reservations required Exclusive wellness activities and special events

Offer expires: August 23, 2024 at 7pm ET – 1 week from today.

Click on the link to learn more.

Secure your Sanctuary Collection experience now – this exclusive offering is limited. Upgrades are subject to availability and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to join us in the Sanctuary, where it’s always zen time.

I would hope Princess limits the number of mini-suites being offered the chance to upgrade to the Sanctuary Collection.  It could be very crowed otherwise.

 

Since you're traveling with grandchildren, you'll need to book another cruise for the two of you and go for the upgrade if offered again.  🙂

 

[dog]

3 hours ago, chamima said:

 

Can't answer you for sure but I asked that exact question of our TA (who, books a TON of Princess cruises and has in the past , has been totally reliable ). We booked a (at the time) Reserve Collection mini suite with Plus for next December but got the email below from Princess last week.  She contacted Princess and yes, we still have exactly what we booked but with the addition of being able to use the Sanctuary pool area because we're on the Sun. (We're traveling with our grandchildren so that won't happen)

(My biggest concern was what will happen to the smaller Reserve dining room if they are opening it up to ALL mini suites, not just the limited ones that were designated as Reserve previously)

 

Dear Karen,

We are excited to welcome you on your Caribbean sailing on Sun Princess . Take this opportunity to be one of the first to experience our new Sanctuary CollectionSM at a special limited time rate.

For one week only, you have an exclusive chance to upgrade your Mini-Suite to our premium Sanctuary Collection experience for an additional $138/day per person - a value of 16% off off the current price.

That's not all, included in this price is our all-inclusive Princess Premier package!

Transform your Mini-Suite stateroom with the Sanctuary upgrade and enjoy exclusive benefits only the Sanctuary gives you access to: The Sanctuary Club, an adult-only, top-deck retreat with a pool and private cabanas available for reservation A private restaurant offering a custom chef's menu – no reservations required Exclusive wellness activities and special events

Offer expires: August 23, 2024 at 7pm ET – 1 week from today.

Click on the link to learn more.

Secure your Sanctuary Collection experience now – this exclusive offering is limited. Upgrades are subject to availability and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to join us in the Sanctuary, where it’s always zen time.

I am still trying to understand.

Your booking included Reserve dining room when you booked.

When the Changes take effect October 14/24, you still get to eat in a Reserve/Signature dining room

You purchase the Plus package at $60 pp / pd.

You were not upgraded to a premier package for free, but can pay more now to upgrade your package along with Sanctuary access.

 

grandfathered means you just keep what you originally booked- nothing more?

 

I am absolutely clueless on what I will end up with having booked a D0-aft with Signature upgrades and benefits- changed to Sanctuary Collection as of October 14/24, and received a pop up notice yesterday saying I have Sanctuary use, sanctuary private restaurant and lounge access.( printed out all this)

And I am blocked from purchasing a package, but charged for wifi, CA and Specialty dining I booked.

 

Will write a review after my October 19 th cruise on Sun.

[cricketts]

4 minutes ago, dog said:

Will write a review after my October 19 th cruise on Sun.

Please do!!

[KLM3164]

15 hours ago, dog said:

Will write a review after my October 19 th cruise on Sun.

Looking forward to reading your review as we will board on 11/2. We have a M2 cabin for the reserve dining. Our confirmation now indicates sanctuary benefits. When I go into our booking it says we have: 1. Exclusive access to the Sanctuary Club, 2. Your own private restaurant, 3. Exclusive access to the Suite Lounge. Also when I click on packages it says “You’ve purchased Princess Premier, great choice”. 

 

It will be interesting to see what we get when we get onboard. As long as we can dine in the reserve/signature dining area we will be happy as that’s what we originally booked and paid for. Anything else will just be icing on the cake!🎂 

[chamima]

5 minutes ago, KLM3164 said:

Looking forward to reading your review as we will board on 11/2. We have a M2 cabin for the reserve dining. Our confirmation now indicates sanctuary benefits. When I go into our booking it says we have: 1. Exclusive access to the Sanctuary Club, 2. Your own private restaurant, 3. Exclusive access to the Suite Lounge. Also when I click on packages it says “You’ve purchased Princess Premier, great choice”. 

 

It will be interesting to see what we get when we get onboard. As long as we can dine in the reserve/signature dining area we will be happy as that’s what we originally booked and paid for. Anything else will just be icing on the cake!🎂 

 

Did you actually purchase the Premier package?

Or did you book the cruise after the change was made to include Premier just recently?

 

(We have an M2 also, booked last April, and we booked with the Plus package , which is what we currently show as still having, Access to the Sanctuary Club but not to the lounge.)

[KLM3164]

Just now, chamima said:

 

Did you actually purchase the Premier package?

Or did you book the cruise after the change was made to include Premier just recently?

 

(We have an M2 also, booked last April, and we booked with the Plus package , which is what we currently show as still having, Access to the Sanctuary Club but not to the lounge.)

We did not purchase the Premier package and our cruise was booked on 1/8/24, which was before all these changes were made. We normally wait and purchase Plus when we board so we can use our OBC to pay for some of it. 

[dog]

24 minutes ago, KLM3164 said:

We did not purchase the Premier package and our cruise was booked on 1/8/24, which was before all these changes were made. We normally wait and purchase Plus when we board so we can use our OBC to pay for some of it. 

I’ve been told the package/ bundle is an error and the lounge access is an error.

The Sanctuary Collection will be use of Sanctuary & a private restaurant.

 

That is all I expect

[ggprincess2004]

On 8/17/2024 at 10:00 AM, shirazcruiser said:

We booked a S2 Owners Suite (now identified as a Grand Suite) with the Plus pkg for 21 days in May.  Will any of the Oct 2024 changes affect our booking for the better or worse?  I know that if I booked a Grand Suite today that I automatically have to take the Premium pkg...is that the only difference in the astronomical price increase? I'm so confused with all of this.  Thanks for any simple info!

We booked a suite long ago for our winter 2025 cruise on the Sun. Take a look at your booking on princess.com and see what package they indicate you have. We booked without any package and were automatically upgraded to the Premier when they made all the changes, without any change in our cruise fare.. In reading what our Premier includes, in looks like the "old" Premier, which is defined by 2 specialty dining experiences per cruise. That was the only way I could tell we did not get bumped up to the newer version of Premier. They are making this tough to keep track of. 

[shirazcruiser]

1 hour ago, ggprincess2004 said:

We booked a suite long ago for our winter 2025 cruise on the Sun. Take a look at your booking on princess.com and see what package they indicate you have. 

We booked in June 2023 and still have the Plus pkg. Thanks for responding. 

[dog]

On 8/17/2024 at 10:00 AM, shirazcruiser said:

We booked a S2 Owners Suite (now identified as a Grand Suite) with the Plus pkg for 21 days in May.  Will any of the Oct 2024 changes affect our booking for the better or worse?  I know that if I booked a Grand Suite today that I automatically have to take the Premium pkg...is that the only difference in the astronomical price increase? I'm so confused with all of this.  Thanks for any simple info!

 

6 hours ago, shirazcruiser said:

We booked in June 2023 and still have the Plus pkg. Thanks for responding. 

Can you cancel the Plus package?  They might give you a Premier package, like it appears some others are getting?

[cricketts]

I'm so tired of the Princess "bait and switch"... that might be a littlie strong, but this same thing happened to us last year!! The - Is it premier or premium?? What price drinks does it cover?? What else does it cover?? Do I really get what I expected to when I booked?? Why do things change for existing bookings??

Princess, PLEASE, figure out your market and your marketing plan... It sure seems like you don't know what direction you are heading 😞 It makes me sad - Princess cruises has always been our first love 😞 

[dog]

1 hour ago, cricketts said:

I'm so tired of the Princess "bait and switch"... that might be a littlie strong, but this same thing happened to us last year!! The - Is it premier or premium?? What price drinks does it cover?? What else does it cover?? Do I really get what I expected to when I booked?? Why do things change for existing bookings??

Princess, PLEASE, figure out your market and your marketing plan... It sure seems like you don't know what direction you are heading 😞 It makes me sad - Princess cruises has always been our first love 😞 

My app say Premier for the bundle $80 US previously.

inclusions are listed in app.

 

There is a new Premier bundle roll out dates vary by ship. $90 US or if already purchased at $80 US can upgrade for extra $10 pp/pd.

 

Inclusions are listed in app.

 

There is a lengthy thread about this and some have phoned or done chat to upgrade.

 

Yes.

This past couple of years I have seen so many Glitches, errors, backtracking and difficulty with payments and refunds. This company is seriously flawed.

 

I am still going on my 4 booked cruises but have switched over to booking through a local travel agent for peace of mind. Well worth it.

[Suite Susie]

On 8/17/2024 at 3:00 PM, shirazcruiser said:

We booked a S2 Owners Suite (now identified as a Grand Suite) with the Plus pkg for 21 days in May.  Will any of the Oct 2024 changes affect our booking for the better or worse?  I know that if I booked a Grand Suite today that I automatically have to take the Premium pkg...is that the only difference in the astronomical price increase? I'm so confused with all of this.  Thanks for any simple info!

I’m expecting the experience to be downgraded compared to what we booked. We are the same as you, having an S2 Owners Suite booked for 2 cruises next year. The Sanctuary will inevitably be much more crowded, the Signature restaurant is being combined with the Reserve restaurant and will be on Deck 8 where the American diner is. This means it will be like the Suite experience on the other Princess ships, with all the food coming from the main kitchens. The only really good thing about sailing in a suite on Princess is the speciality restaurant breakfast, where your food is cooked to order. We are sailing in a Penthouse Suite next month, before all these changes take place and if these restaurant changes are confirmed, we will be cancelling our two cruises on Sun next year. 

[chamima]

3 hours ago, Suite Susie said:

I’m expecting the experience to be downgraded compared to what we booked. We are the same as you, having an S2 Owners Suite booked for 2 cruises next year. The Sanctuary will inevitably be much more crowded, the Signature restaurant is being combined with the Reserve restaurant and will be on Deck 8 where the American diner is. This means it will be like the Suite experience on the other Princess ships, with all the food coming from the main kitchens.  We are sailing in a Penthouse Suite next month, before all these changes take place and if these restaurant changes are confirmed, we will be cancelling our two cruises on Sun next year. 

 

@Suite Susie Please come back after your cruise and let us know what you find out.

Edited August 20 by chamima

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

7 minutes ago, chamima said:

 

@Suite Susie Please come back after your cruise and let us know what you find out.

We will be on the Thanksgiving sailing and on the Celebrity Apex In the Retreat the week before.

 

I'm planning to make a video to compare the two experiences for our YouTube channel, but I'll also try to create a video that documents all the changes that occur a few weeks before in October. 

[shirazcruiser]

11 hours ago, dog said:

 

Can you cancel the Plus package?  They might give you a Premier package, like it appears some others are getting?

I don't know, but I''m sure if I cancel it and then want to buy it later that it might be even higher than the $60 pp/pd. 

[dog]

11 minutes ago, shirazcruiser said:

I don't know, but I''m sure if I cancel it and then want to buy it later that it might be even higher than the $60 pp/pd. 

Might wait until you are on ship then, unless your agent can see why some are getting the upgrade.

 

i don’t expect any bundle and I  pre purchased water . I pre paid for 3 dining, as well.