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On our last B2B, the cabin we were moving in was not available to move our things into the safe before our 9am excursion. The couple who were to vacate the room had not left, and the room steward was unable to do anything about it. Clearly, they were breaking the rules about when the rooms are to be vacated. We found our new room steward, explained the situation to her, and told her we had items that MUST be left in a safe for the day. She assured us she would move all our items on the cart and the luggage we had packed while we were out, and was able to find us an empty cabin to use the safe for that day. I had asked about using the ship safe for the day, but the process was quite long and involved, and seemed extremely difficult, having to itemize each and every item you are putting into the ship safe. This was the Sapphire. Do not leave any valuables to be moved for you, and if you can not get into the new room to use that safe, talk to the steward, explain the situation and ask for assistance!

Thanks so much! Very helpful. Guess I will not be eating quite as many almond croissants, I do love that almond paste in there! My waistline might be happier tho! Glad the aft area is quiet, we are really excited to try this ship and have a nice cabin aft. Thanks Jim!

We board in Southampton, do Spain snd Gibraltar, Greek and Israel ports and Turkey, getting off in Rome. Doing a back to back and super excited. First trip on Island. Loved Pacific Princess in 2019 for a month so small ships work for us if there are lots of port days.

Yes, that is my problem as well. They are the best and I don’t normally eat croissants! Good to know you must ask. Thanks and enjoy your new discovery!

Thanks! I can live without the IC, but would miss my almond croissants if there were not any! Good to know I can pay for good coffee at Good Spirits, happy to have my favorite coffee drinks or drip!

Thanks so much. Need to plan for no USB ports for sure! Great suggestion. And will pack my travel hairdryer and white noise machine for swells and creaks. Maybe more walking will be good to counter all the desserts. Are there almond croissants in the buffet with no IC?

Are the rooms quiet in terms of squeaking noises? I have been in aft rooms, and is it just the usual sounds? Would you book this room again? Thanks so much for your response, we are doing about a month on her coming up! Super excited. Also, if you are a coffee drinker, have they switched from the syrup of the past to the Lavazza coffee Princess is transitioning to?

Sapphire hands down. The staff on the grand is nothing compared to the Sapphire and the ship is nicer as well. Have an issue on the Grand? Don't expect then to care or respond, even if it is a safety issue. Ask for anything at all on the Sapphire and they will do their best to make it happen.

Searched the boards and know that the Island added rooms in this area. Looking at these rooms for a B2B this fall. Anyone have any experience staying on the Island since the rooms were added on Deck 8 aft? What did you think? Everything I see on the Island for Deck 8 aft seems very old.

Curious what your experience was in this area as we are looking at the Island Princess also on deck 8 aft. There is not much recent information on these cabins so would appreciate knowing how it went for you.

We were on for about a month and really enjoyed Savoy. It was never very crowded and we were able to get a table for 2 every night with no one next to us, which is what we preferred. The service was excellent, and on our B2B we had great servers at both tables we were at. The hostess there was the best, handled all our booking changes herself and made sure we were comfortable.

We just tried this on the Sapphire in Feb. Told the waiter at Sabatini's that one cabin was to be billed for all three dinners. It did not happen that way and I did not notice until we were getting off the ship as we dined there the last night of the cruise. Should be easy, surprised it was not.

We loved the Savoy dining room. It has a steakhouse like feel and is much quieter than dining rooms that we have experienced it the past on Princess. Talk to Vicktoria there at the desk, she is wonderful and will ensure you have a wonderful experience. Tell her Lorraine appreciated all her kindness!

In November our room did not have the USB outlets on the lamps.

On our last trip, we wanted something different and less touristy. We walked and found Rico’s Tacos along the waterfront walk towards the beach. Saw locals eating there. Great food and amazing Mojito with tons of fresh mint. A fun and different experience. It was a hole in the wall kind of place, just a small seating area right across from the water.

Curious if the Sapphire still has Mighty Leaf or other specialty teas at the IC. My November trip on the Regal, no specialty teas were in the IC, only the same teas that were in the buffet area, and not much variety. Always get the coffee package and enjoy teas just as much.

We always fly into Long Beach, we live in SF Bay Area and it is a great airport, easy to get out of. Taking an uber to the port is less for the two of us than the Princess transfer would be. If you have more luggage than you can handle by yourself, that could be an issue, but with a large group, you should be able to manage.

This was a few years ago, 2019, but I think there are decorations and fun displays still. Last year, there were Day of the Dead banners and events when we cruised in November as well. Not many in costumes as I recall, but we were in Venice, so I got in the spirit!

We did 2 cruises last fall and did not eat in the MDR as there was no spacing since they closed other dining rooms and the tables were so close with everyone unmasked. We ate outside or in our cabin. I am wondering how many people who never ate in the MDR came down with Covid. I am also convinced the dining rooms are a huge part of the problem. Great idea to bring bleach wipes! No more interior rooms, airflow is so important. Enjoy Alaska!

What I learned is that the agents can change your flight to another flight on the same airline from the same airport. If the carrier does not have any flights that will work for you, they are unable to make a change without bumping you up to a supervisor. Since I booked from San Jose CA airport instead of San Francisco, and Delta no longer makes that direct flight from San Jose, it was a problem. It took a supervisor to let me change to another direct Delta flight out of San Francisco. The plane changes in under one hour they were offering at major airports in the winter were surely going to be an issue.

Actually, my Princess cruise planner transferred my call to the EZ air department as he said they were the only ones who could assist me. He also gave me the direct number in case I got disconnected. The entire three hours was with EZ air, speaking with three different people before getting things changed. The original person I was speaking with checked in with me every 10 minutes or less during this entire time and was very helpful but was limited in what she could do herself. She had no idea why HER calls to a supervisor while I was on hold were not answered for over 2 hours, and her email to the supervisors also received no response.

Delta changed our Ez air flight for a Jan 2023 cruise leaving us 45 minutes to transfer to an international flight in Minnesota in the winter. No way were we going to make such a tight connection and get to Chile for the ship. Called EZ air, learned several things. First, no matter what cancellations the airline makes, you can not change airlines, nor can you change airports. Their best offer was a 2 stop flight with a 1 hour connection in Dallas. It was also suggested to me to cancel my current EZ air flight and rebook, but prices were more than double what I paid, and I did not want to pay the difference. I pushed nicely, agreed to hold as long as it took, and spent over 3 hours to finally speak to a supervisor on the phone and within minutes changed to a larger airport and better flight. No, it is not fast, getting a supervisor is very difficult, but the agent literally could not fix my problem. Told her I was ready to cancel my 30 days on the ship unless I could get a workable flight. I had a suggestion, the flight was more expensive, and left from another airport I was willing to drive to, but I was able to get the exact flight I asked for and paid no additional costs. Lesson, be nice and VERY patient.

Has anyone else had this happen? I just found a credit, labeled as Used For Goodwill Fccs dated 6/17/20, which expires the end of this year. The amount is $589.50, which is an odd amount as well. The odd thing is that in November of 2021, I booked and took 2 cruises that month at the last minute, and if this credit had been on my account, we certainly would have seen it and used it. I emailed my Princess cruise planner and asked when it posted and for the details, also questioning why neither of us saw it in November when we booked the two cruises we took. I did not get a clear answer, but was told it expires at the end of this year. Something is weird here, I am certain this credit has not been on my account since June of 2020, I certainly would have seen and used it on my past two trips. Problem now is I have nothing planned until 2023 but don't want to loose this credit and not sure it is refundable. Hoping to hear back from my cruise planner, but doubt he will send a second response.