Princess' Sanctuary Club and the Hour After the Port
At 7 p.m., Sun Princess prepares to leave Santorini. White villages trace the caldera rim, above cliffs that drop roughly 1,000 feet to the water. You spent the afternoon walking those lanes. Your legs know it.
Now you have a seat to watch them recede.
Most of a cruise is spent getting somewhere: the next port, the next tender, the next reservation. Then comes the hour after the port, when the coastline slips away and the day settles.
On Sun Princess and Star Princess, there’s a private place to linger over it.
The Sanctuary Club is a retreat at the stern of Deck 18, reserved for guests 16 and over staying in Sanctuary Collection staterooms. It has its own pool and loungers, private cabanas to reserve, a champagne wall, live music in the afternoon, and staff who bring cocktails and small plates to you.
Settle into a lounger, drink in hand, and let the island go slowly. For the days you walk farther and climb the extra steps, this is where the day ends.
Here’s what awaits on three sailaways: a Greek caldera, a Sicilian strait, and a fjord in Southeast Alaska.
Santorini, 7 p.m.
Sun Princess arrives inside the caldera at 7 a.m. on May 17, the first full day of a 14-night sailing from Athens to Rome. A tender takes you to the old port below Fira, and the cable car lifts you up the cliff.
Then you walk. The path along the rim runs north toward Oia, about six miles of volcanic rock, whitewashed villages, and sea far below. You stop for lunch somewhere with a view, then keep going.
By late afternoon, you’re back aboard, sun still on your shoulders, heading for Deck 18.
At the champagne wall, a concierge in white gloves passes a chilled glass through the greenery. You take it back to your lounger. The island is still close enough to study.
Sun Princess sails at 7. In mid-May, sunset comes after 8, leaving daylight to watch the island change shape. The villages become small white blocks against dark rock. Somewhere along that rim is the path you walked this afternoon.
From your lounger, you can still trace part of it.
Advisor tip: Santorini is a tender port, so allow extra time to tender back to the ship from the port. (The last boat back is a bit crowded for our taste). Sanctuary suites include priority disembarkation at tender ports, useful for an early start on the rim.
Messina, 4 p.m.
Four days later, Sun Princess ties up in Messina at 7 a.m. You spend the morning down the coast in Taormina, on the stone seats of an ancient Greek theater, with Mount Etna rising behind the stage on a clear day.
By 3:30, you’ve traded that seat for another: a lounger at the stern of Deck 18. A cocktail and a few small plates from the Sanctuary menu arrive while live music carries across the deck.
At 4, the lines come off. Messina slides back along the wake. Across the water, Calabria, the toe of Italy’s boot, sits close enough to pick out its hill towns. Two shores, and you have both in view.
A glass of white arrives. You turn back toward Sicily, where somewhere down the coast is the theater you sat in this morning.
Dinner is at the Sanctuary Restaurant, reserved for Collection guests, with its own menu, dining room, and waitstaff. No reservation required. For now, there’s still plenty of coastline to take in.
Skagway, 5 p.m.
On Star Princess, the same seat looks out on Alaska. Her seven-night Inside Passage roundtrip from Seattle on September 5, 2027, takes in Ketchikan, Endicott Arm, Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria.
Skagway comes on day five, with arrival at 6 a.m. Spend the morning aboard the narrow gauge White Pass & Yukon Route railway, climbing toward the Canadian border with mountains filling the windows.
At 5 p.m., you see those same mountains from the water.
Bring your jacket and stay awhile. Skagway shrinks against peaks rising almost straight from the shore as the ship heads down the Lynn Canal, a fjord more than 2,000 feet deep. Watch for waterfalls and, with luck, a humpback’s spout.
The town grows harder to distinguish. The mountains keep going.
When the air starts to bite, head to the Suite Lounge to warm up. Since your advisor booked you into a sanctuary suite, you'll enjoy views through two stories of glass.
Advisor tip: The day before Skagway pairs Endicott Arm scenic cruising from 5 to 9 a.m. with Juneau until 9 p.m. Your advisor can balance excursions around Skagway’s early arrival and explain how ice may affect the approach to Dawes Glacier.
Your Key to Deck 18
The Sanctuary Club comes with a Sanctuary Collection stateroom, and there aren’t many. On Sun Princess, just 215 belong to the Collection: 80 suites, 123 mini-suites, and 12 premium deluxe balconies.
A Sanctuary balcony includes the Club, the Sanctuary Restaurant, and Princess Premier, which covers premium drinks, specialty dining, Wi-Fi, crew appreciation, and shore excursion credit. A mini-suite adds room to spread out after a long day ashore. A suite adds the Suite Lounge, a suite experience manager for onboard arrangements, and priority disembarkation at tender ports.
The distinction starts with your stateroom. You’ll feel it again when your Medallion, Princess' wearable room key, opens the Club’s door.
Advisor tip: Ask your advisor to price a Sanctuary balcony, mini-suite, and suite side by side for your dates. The mini-suite’s extra space may be closer to your budget than you expect.
Sanctuary Collection expands to five more Princess ships in 2027, starting with Royal Princess in January. Layouts vary by ship. For the stern setting on Deck 18, choose Sun Princess or Star Princess.
What Stays in View
A caldera rim in the evening light. A Sicilian harbor receding. Mountains stretching down a fjord.
Somewhere in that view is the day you just had. The Sanctuary Club gives you a place to stay with it a little longer.
Tell your advisor which sailaway you want to linger over, and they’ll find the Sanctuary stateroom that saves you a seat.
