The Sanctuary is broken. Here are 4 ways Princess can fix it

[@jackredmond6023]

Good information and suggestions. We tried once to make Sanctuary reservations on our last Sky Princess cruise. It seems to me it’s more likely to get struck by lightning that garner a reservation in the Sanctuary.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you for the feedback (and for making me smile with the lightning comment!)

[@diannecleveland9537]

You nailed this podcast. My daughter and I managed to get two spots in the sanctuary on the Ruby Princess last year. We asked for shade but was told all were booked. We were there all morning and a total of 4-6 people visited the Sanctuary. I really hope Princess listens to this and makes changes

[@TheChillCruiser]

That’s so silly! Thank you for the feedback and for sharing your experience!

[@Fletch360PS]

We just came off Enchanted Princess and they wanted $60 a day. And they were still “fully booked”. $60 is just about the limit I would consider.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Oh wow, so they have already started to increase prices then. When I was on Enchanted in February, they were asking $40/day in a lounger ($30/day if you booked the whole cruise). Thank you for sharing your perspective!

[@miketrent1252]

Just got off the Emerald total eclipse cruise. Had Sanctuary every sea day in the afternoon, except for the Panama Canal. They only sold the day as all day. We showed up every afternoon at 1:00p. Stayed two hrs instead of 4. There were many empty beds every day. We liked it, the afternoon tea was served to us, nice touch. I will say I only hurried up there and waited an hour to be served because I hate chair hogs. Turns out this crowd were sun worshippers. there were always chair available every day including sea days. Oh well, the service was great!

[@oliviarose9647]

We sailed on Regal Princess February 2023 and 2024, and we purchased a cabana outside of the Sanctuary in the Retreat area in 2024. We didn't receive access to the Sanctuary, but we still received the benefits of the service and food that's in the Sanctuary (bento box, spa food) delivered to us, along with the afternoon tea - it was great! We like it because the cabanas on the Regal are right next to the adults only pool and it's quite a bit cheaper than being in the Sanctuary (at least at the time of our sailing). We love the Regal Princess because of this. We'll be sailing on the Enchanted Princess in a a little over a week (May 18 - 25), we'll see how it goes. By the way, the lines to reserve on the Regal were not long, at all. There were only a few people in line and we also weren't the first group to embark, so I'm not sure what that's about. Also, we feel like the Regal Princess is a "Best Kept Secret" because it's a smaller ship with less people with all of the bells and whistles! We love it! Just a note, we are a married couple in our 40's that have sailed almost all of the major cruise lines, except for Disney.

[@TheChillCruiser]

I agree Regal is a great ship - it was my first ship on Princess many years ago (just days after the cast of the Love Boat was onboard for the naming ceremony). Thank you for sharing your experience - I didn’t know the retreat pool cabanas came with Sanctuary perks! That’s a great tip!

[@brianmcelroy9916]

Had no idea it was such a high-demand area. Assume it also for cruisers that prefer a "kids-free zone".

[@TheChillCruiser]

I had no idea either until I tried to get in. All the line-up drama happens the first hour or two of embarkation day when most people wouldn't notice. The kids-free quiet is definitely a plus!

[@richardg8651]

Great topic. Charging for no shows and increasing prices aren't objectionable and are reasonable. I'm not sure about booking system changes. If you are a B2B cruiser (I've never been one), being able to book is a great perk and fine with me. Remember part of the allure of the Sanctuary is the scarcity of spots. People want in because the can't get in.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you for the feedback and for sharing your perspective!

[@punchracing]

Love it!

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you for the feedback!

[@billjones4986]

Princess is broken!seven day cruise out of San Francisco in a entry level room is 2,200 for two no thanks!

[@MrPrint-lo8bt]

Hey Andrew. Thank you so much for the videos. I can’t find any hours of operation for the Enclave on Enchanted Princess. I contacted Princess customer service and they wouldn’t answer the question. I have an opportunity to purchase a package for my entire cruise, but I don’t know if they are opened during Port days. If they are- they won’t tell me the hours. Can you help? What a shame on Princess for being so shady. It almost seems like they won’t tell you on purpose. So sad. Thank you for any help you can offer. I know a lot of people with the same question. Sincerely, Erik P.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Hi Erik - that's a shame Princess would't answer such a straightforward question - especially since it seems the hours are pretty consistent on every ship. Generally the Enclave is open every day at 8am (except embarkation days) and closes around 9pm. On embarkation day it usually opens at or shortly after sailaway. You can see every daily program for my cruises on Enchanted earlier this year below for reference. Hope that helps! thechillcruiser.blog/2024/05/05/daily-programs-on-enchanted-princess-10-day-caribbean-itinerary/

[@jhmumma]

Fascinating and practical. Thanks. You mentioned being a share-holder of a cruise line. Is there a link for me to view your video?

[@TheChillCruiser]

Sorry I haven't been able to get to that video just yet. In the meantime, here's a quick summary: Essentially if you purchase 100 shares, you're eligible to receive onboard credit for pretty much any kind of reservation on all of their brands, including Princess, Holland America, Cunard and Carnival. The amount of the credit increases based on the length of the cruise - up to $250 USD for cruises 14 days or longer. Other cruise lines like Royal Caribbean have similar programs. If you purchased 100 Carnival Corp shares today on the New York Stock Exchange, they would cost $1,513 USD (based on May 25, 2024 share price of $15.13). Here's a link to Carnival Corp's shareholder benefit info page: www.carnivalcorp.com/shareholder-information/shareholder-benefit

[@jhmumma]

@@TheChillCruiser Excellent! Not to worry about the link. Your reply says it all.

[@abrahamclott5604]

When I sailed on The Emerald in Oct 2023, the price was $20/half day or $30/full day only if booked and paid for every day of the cruise in advance. I took advantage of booking for the full cruise. Of course, I was a no show for much of the time. I had no intention of being there all day every day. I was paying for the certainty of having this spot and service available to me whenever I wanted. I had an interior cabin. The Sanctuary was my balcony. I loved it. I think I would be fine with and probably prefer booking in advance before the cruise. Princess must have some reason for not doing this now. Curious to know what it is. Perhaps there is a downside to this change I'm not anticipating. The only ones I can imagine are that people may prefer not to commit until a reasonably accurate weather forecast is available and the problems of dealing with cancelations. If bookings are allowed in advance but are refundable, the spaces may all be snatched up a year and a half before the cruise and then become available again on embarkation day. Perhaps offer advance booking with 50 percent refund 90 days before the cruise and 20 percent refund within 90 days. They would have to offer some refund up to embarkation not to incentivcize total no shows.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you for sharing your experience and ideas!

[@kimsparks5811]

Hi, have you checked out the sanctuary on the Sun? It is $499 per day for the cabanas. 😮 The loungers appear to be elbow to elbow. Be careful what you wish for

[@TheChillCruiser]

Oh wow. No I haven’t checked out Sun but thank you for sharing. That’s a doubling of the Royal class ship pricing.

[@kimsparks5811]

@TheChillCruiser-ot1ex I'm like you! Loved the Enchanted sanctuary but could only get in the day if there was a no-show. They have a great crew who checked & tried to get the area filled every day. They have room to expand if Princess wants to. You're right- get them to want to expand! I was sad to hear about the Sun & see the videos

[@mbutterfly4180]

I like your recommendations, BUT after just being on the Sun Princess, if a pool is not included, it is not worth it for me for any price.

[@vivian198]

Agree!!! 👍🏻

[@TheChillCruiser]

Glad I'm not the only one! Thank you for sharing.

[@randypoisson8823]

I never really understood The Sanctuary. I can get a similar type of space for free on other cruise lines, which is why I haven’t cruised Princess in over 20 years. My suggestion is to turn this into an exclusive suite only sundeck and be done with it.

[@jamesmoninger1982]

Perhaps add Sanctuary access to some of the higher-priced cabin categories?

[@TheChillCruiser]

That's definitely the route that other cruise lines have taken - I would just hope that it would be open to everyone (perhaps just at a different price point versus discounts or free for suites).

[@kccarrtheoregonhillbillyhi4803]

I just think elite guests should be allowed only... As a shareholder as well, the reason why they don't care is because that. Lounger is already paid for so why would they have a no show policy on a chair?That's already been paid for...

[@bstanz5266]

Im not so sure about no show no charge. Was on enchanted and reserved the whole week. It rained one day and it was closed and they still charged me.

[@TheChillCruiser]

That’s unfortunate because my understanding is you’re not charged if you don’t show (regardless of whether it’s weather related or not). I don’t think you should be charged when you cant use it. You might want to call post cruise service to see if they can remove the charge.

[@bstanz5266]

@@TheChillCruiser there's a new " sanctuary class" room on sun princess. I think they watched your video and now there is no need to do the mad dash to the sanctuary! Run a mock booking for the sun princess

[@kathleenabell5933]

💯💯💯💯💯💯