Great information! In general, I have been so taken back by all the greediness from the cruise industry. You made such a very valid point about checking into a real up scale luxury cruise like Seabourne. 4300 vs. 430 is quite appealing actually. My husband and I are in our 60’s and have no children. We always enjoyed Princess because for the most part, there were very few kids and you got a lot for your money. That is also changing. Coming from someone who has done 39 total cruises and 31 of them on Princess, it’s really sad actually.
Things from pricing and inclusions to demographics are changing so rapidly, I feel like you can’t book a cruise more than a couple months ahead of time if you want to know what to expect!
You are exactly right. For that same reason, we currently do not have any cruises book for this year. I will wait to see what’s happening come Oct, Nov timeframe. It’s just crazy!
And there are only 12 Sanctuary Balcony cabins on Sphere Class ships. (2 per deck, aft) So, the realistic entry point to the Sanctuary is more likely to be via the more expensive Mini Suite.
That price comparison! We have booked both suites and the Sanctuary in the past. The Sanctuary area on Sun Princess is not the same as other Princess ships so it may not satisfy all - currently no loungers in the shade even in the Cabanas which are $499 a day! There is also no afternoon tea delivery. However, the service from the staff is amazing and it is an oasis we are looking forward to experiencing again. From a suite guest perspective, not happy with the price increase and the dilution of the suite experience. We are booked in a suite on Sun just before the changes are introduced and it could be our last Sphere class suite booking with the new pricing.
I saw a few videos of the Sanctuary on the Sun and thought it looked like the least appealing of all that I have seen - the old Star Princess had a fabulous and luxurious Sanctuary with thick padded chairs, lots of shade, and it just felt like you were in a whole new, picture perfect world there. $499 per day for a cabana is WILD! I hadn’t heard about the elimination of tea time. I guess it’s the end of an era 😢 I will say that the new perks of Medallion Class cruising soften the blow because a lot of the services are now available all over the ship. I am really interested to see what cruising on the Sun is like compared to my past Princess trips - this sounds like a huge departure from the “norm”.
We have been on 14 cruises with Princess and are now "Elite". Not once, on any of the ships, have we even tried the Sanctuary. We found many places to relax and be served that are equivalent to the Sanctuary. I personally would not pay that much just to be in the Sanctuary. Thanks for sharing, Hillary!
Congratulations on reaching Elite! I think that the Medallions have really improved the experience for everyone onboard and that makes cruising without a visit to the Sanctuary much more inviting to me.
We booked a Reserve Collection mini suite several months ago at a great rate (Elite and Casino player) and we were just told that were upgraded to Sanctuary Collection. We would have to purchase the Premium package. No thanks! We paid $1869 for the Reserve Collection mini suite. Gonna take the upgrade and then never sail on a Sphere Class ship again. RIP Reserve Collection.
If you can afford it then book....If not don't be played as a fool....A ship is a ship....Most of the amenities are the same anyway....Just enjoy yourselves....
Premier package is included in the Sanctuary Class fare, I think I read? 🤔If that's the case, I suppose that's a good benefit. Does this foreshadow eliminating Reserve Class someday? I dunno what's going on with cruise world; first Princess charging for Alfredo's and now HAL desperately trying to recruit families for cruises now with those 3rd and 4th passenger free fare😮
The Sanctuary Class is slated to replace the Reserve Collection, and the new pricing I show in the video calculates what one would pay for a balcony plus Premier and Sanctuary access if purchased al a carte - Princess is charging nearly $600 more for the bundled fare. I am seeing lots of family-tailored advertising from the cruise lines, very interesting times!
I could be wrong but I think the balconies in the Sanctuary collection are the premium deluxe balconies, with the larger balconies, which were already more expensive. I don't know if it still adds up, but it does make a bit of a difference in the calculations.
@@kristenyates4485 Yes - if the staterooms being converted to Sanctuary Collection are Premium Deluxe Balcony cabins then it would take $155 off of the price increase for the cruise I'm referencing (they are $1353 per person). So the new pricing would be a $421 per person increase. Thanks for the info!
Solo traveller gouging. Packaged rooms like the Sanctuary Collection are bad news for Solo travellers. They price it for 2x Premier package, 2x Sanctuary access and 2x Sanctuary restaurant dining. No longer À la cart access to Sanctuary. Instead the solo traveller must pay the double occupancy rate. While NCL welcome Solo travellers, it seems Princess is copying Celebrity to alienate the Solo traveller.
I didn’t even touch on the solo passenger aspect of this, but as someone who has used the Sanctuary during solo travels I should have! Thank you for bringing it up, this is not a good change in that respect at all!
Great information! In general, I have been so taken back by all the greediness from the cruise industry. You made such a very valid point about checking into a real up scale luxury cruise like Seabourne. 4300 vs. 430 is quite appealing actually. My husband and I are in our 60’s and have no children. We always enjoyed Princess because for the most part, there were very few kids and you got a lot for your money. That is also changing. Coming from someone who has done 39 total cruises and 31 of them on Princess, it’s really sad actually.
Things from pricing and inclusions to demographics are changing so rapidly, I feel like you can’t book a cruise more than a couple months ahead of time if you want to know what to expect!
You are exactly right. For that same reason, we currently do not have any cruises book for this year. I will wait to see what’s happening come Oct, Nov timeframe. It’s just crazy!
And there are only 12 Sanctuary Balcony cabins on Sphere Class ships. (2 per deck, aft) So, the realistic entry point to the Sanctuary is more likely to be via the more expensive Mini Suite.
Like 27! It is all about the money and want everyone to upsell! So crazy! 👍🏻
That price comparison! We have booked both suites and the Sanctuary in the past. The Sanctuary area on Sun Princess is not the same as other Princess ships so it may not satisfy all - currently no loungers in the shade even in the Cabanas which are $499 a day! There is also no afternoon tea delivery. However, the service from the staff is amazing and it is an oasis we are looking forward to experiencing again. From a suite guest perspective, not happy with the price increase and the dilution of the suite experience. We are booked in a suite on Sun just before the changes are introduced and it could be our last Sphere class suite booking with the new pricing.
I saw a few videos of the Sanctuary on the Sun and thought it looked like the least appealing of all that I have seen - the old Star Princess had a fabulous and luxurious Sanctuary with thick padded chairs, lots of shade, and it just felt like you were in a whole new, picture perfect world there. $499 per day for a cabana is WILD! I hadn’t heard about the elimination of tea time. I guess it’s the end of an era 😢 I will say that the new perks of Medallion Class cruising soften the blow because a lot of the services are now available all over the ship. I am really interested to see what cruising on the Sun is like compared to my past Princess trips - this sounds like a huge departure from the “norm”.
We have been on 14 cruises with Princess and are now "Elite". Not once, on any of the ships, have we even tried the Sanctuary. We found many places to relax and be served that are equivalent to the Sanctuary. I personally would not pay that much just to be in the Sanctuary. Thanks for sharing, Hillary!
Congratulations on reaching Elite! I think that the Medallions have really improved the experience for everyone onboard and that makes cruising without a visit to the Sanctuary much more inviting to me.
We booked a Reserve Collection mini suite several months ago at a great rate (Elite and Casino player) and we were just told that were upgraded to Sanctuary Collection. We would have to purchase the Premium package. No thanks! We paid $1869 for the Reserve Collection mini suite. Gonna take the upgrade and then never sail on a Sphere Class ship again. RIP Reserve Collection.
Wow, what a shame that they aren’t at least grandfathering people with existing bookings in to this new scheme.
If you can afford it then book....If not don't be played as a fool....A ship is a ship....Most of the amenities are the same anyway....Just enjoy yourselves....
We will definitely enjoy ourselves, and apparently save some $ by being banned from the Sanctuary 😝
Premier package is included in the Sanctuary Class fare, I think I read? 🤔If that's the case, I suppose that's a good benefit. Does this foreshadow eliminating Reserve Class someday? I dunno what's going on with cruise world; first Princess charging for Alfredo's and now HAL desperately trying to recruit families for cruises now with those 3rd and 4th passenger free fare😮
The Sanctuary Class is slated to replace the Reserve Collection, and the new pricing I show in the video calculates what one would pay for a balcony plus Premier and Sanctuary access if purchased al a carte - Princess is charging nearly $600 more for the bundled fare. I am seeing lots of family-tailored advertising from the cruise lines, very interesting times!
I could be wrong but I think the balconies in the Sanctuary collection are the premium deluxe balconies, with the larger balconies, which were already more expensive. I don't know if it still adds up, but it does make a bit of a difference in the calculations.
@@kristenyates4485 Yes - if the staterooms being converted to Sanctuary Collection are Premium Deluxe Balcony cabins then it would take $155 off of the price increase for the cruise I'm referencing (they are $1353 per person). So the new pricing would be a $421 per person increase. Thanks for the info!
Solo traveller gouging. Packaged rooms like the Sanctuary Collection are bad news for Solo travellers. They price it for 2x Premier package, 2x Sanctuary access and 2x Sanctuary restaurant dining. No longer À la cart access to Sanctuary. Instead the solo traveller must pay the double occupancy rate. While NCL welcome Solo travellers, it seems Princess is copying Celebrity to alienate the Solo traveller.
I didn’t even touch on the solo passenger aspect of this, but as someone who has used the Sanctuary during solo travels I should have! Thank you for bringing it up, this is not a good change in that respect at all!