sunviking90

Thank you SO, SO much for your time and effort in doing this trip report. I have loved following along. You reminded me of what a pretty ship the Sapphire is. We sailed on her years ago and loved her. So sorry that Covid followed you home. We also finally got it in August after 2 1/2 years healthy and 6 cruises this year, we caught it at home somehow! Still not sure who gave it to us. Really appreciate all the food photos. I wonder how many people ordered the Love Boat Dream and just stared when it arrived! What the heck was that! Some things should NOT be messed with. Princess also used to be known for their good pasta (a remnant from Sitmar), so that was really too bad that they messed that up. Hopefully they will figure it all out. It must be very difficult with so many new crew, shortages, etc.

Disappointing biz class experience for sure. We flew United Biz to London when they had just launched the “Polaris” branding and it was surprisingly one of the best flights we’ve ever had. There was so much bedding on the seat we hardly knew what to do with it all. FA was older and SO attentive, meal was served by courses, a wine flight, really over the top. We still joke that the FA looked like she was almost going to tuck my husband in! i think they had just recently had a lot of training on the new Polaris product and trying really hard. Haven’t flown United in Polaris since then as we are usually flying from Canada, but it sounds like with so things post Covid, they are getting by with the bare minimum. Breakfast looks good. I’m guessing all that pineapple was for Mr. Norwaylady!

Dive In was open, but also had a line up of about 40 people. This was a full cruise, so it was very strange that there weren’t more options. We cruised a few times earlier in the year on Princess with 30% capacity and buffet always had at least the Pizza/pasta section open as well as International Cafe. I am usually set for books already on my iPad on a cruise as our local libraries have great e-book availability for borrowing. I honestly never take out a physical library book anymore. I do like to see a library on the ship at least to have books on the ports, areas we are cruising to, and I always used to enjoy borrowing a copy of any John Maxtone Graham Ocean liner book available.

Beautiful pictures. Thank you for letting us follow along on your post cruise adventures 😊

Thank you! I read the insurance PDF again to see what it said and finally found it says the insurance just terminates after 31 days. I just now bought a 2 day medical top up from manulife/Costco that I’m happy with.

That’s really too bad. When we sailed her in August we hadn’t been on her in a few years and really missed the snacks that had been available through the day at the Explorations cafe. With it being moved over and combined with the bar, there is a plate of biscotti and nothing else. One day we return from port around 3:30 and went to the Lido for a snack and there was literally no food there. They had all sections closed until dinner. I told my husband I couldn’t believe there was nothing to eat on a cruise ship! Room service (which was consistently great) saved the day! A Grand Dutch Cafe would really fill a void I think, We were impressed with the overall condition of the ship as well as the new (to us) renovations.

Has anyone done this? I used my HSBC World Elite Mastercard for our upcoming T/A but the trip limit is 31 days and I just realized we are actually going to be away for 33 days. We are travelling in Europe for 2 weeks until the cruise which is only 16 days but the policy kicks in as soon as we leave Canada, even though that part of the trip is not prepaid. Sooo, we are 2 days short. I will call HSBC insurance department on Tuesday to see if I can add a couple of days, but wondered if anyone has come across this. TIA

Enjoy Kauai! There are some beautiful scenic hikes there. We particularly liked the one in Na pali Coast State Wilderness Park. The drive up past Waimea canyon is also gorgeous. Will you be renting a car at all? You’ll see these 🐓 everywhere on the island too!

Thank you Foremco. You do a great job keeping us up to date and informed.

Do you mean like these? They’re sold out, but were $630. I think if Celebrity actually knew what designer jeans looked like these days, they might change their wording, lol.

Firstly, I agree to go from Vancouver. I may be biased, but we have cruised Alaska many times and from Seattle 2 times and it can be rough, as mentioned very little to see the first days, etc. From where you are all coming from, Vancouver is easy to get to. I used to say make sure to see Glacier Bay, BUT on our last cruise (Celebrity) we went up Tracy Arm and saw the glacier there and it was breathtaking! We enjoyed this so much more I think. I have cruised on the Majestic 4 times this year (not to Alaska) and she is a beautiful ship, but if this was my only Alaska cruise, I would never choose this class of ship. I don’t think they are well suited to Alaska. There are limited outdoor areas for viewing without having a wrap around promenade. Sapphire and Grand both have this. Reconsider Holland America. It’s not what it used to be as far as formality. Pretty much anything goes now and Alaska tends to be more casual anyway. Their ships are really well suited to Alaska with the retractable roof on the pool deck, lots of promenade deck area, etc. You will also find the staterooms to be a little roomier for a family. Whichever you choose, there will be LOTS of kids in July in Alaska.

Glad to hear it! We had the basic included with Aquaclass and it was awful. Really only good for reading emails (only in basic form-no images) and very basic surfing. We were in Alaska, so that may have been the difference.

I think they’re pulling your leg, because ours ended September 24th and had about 1000. That would have been one of the “last 2 sailings”.

Norwaygirl, I wish you both a wonderful continuation of your vacation! I agree with Middlehaitch, we would love to see continuing updates.

Yes, you can use it for tips onboard. We also use it to buy coffee cards.

I’ll be following for sure! We were off the Millennium on the 24th and had a wonderful time. It may not be very full because they added another week in Alaska to her schedule about 4 months ago and this threw off the schedules of the subsequent cruises. I know ours was less than half full. I would think a lot of people prefer the ease of ending a Panama Canal cruise in Florida too (rather than PR). Enjoy!

The Polynesian shows are always my favorite. The keikis are adorable!

Milk is for the tea. 🫖

That’s what I love about Cafe Al Bacio. A proper pot of tea and none of this teabag in a cup nonsense. At home we buy (or order) loose tea from Murchies which is very old (over 100 years I think) company here in BC with locations still in Vancouver and Victoria. If anyone is ever in Victoria and wants a budget “afternoon tea” without Fairmont prices, their shop in town has a lovely little area for tea and scones or other treats.

Yes, as in the case of the OP some cruises at times will only let you book a guarantee. I know a lot of people are anti-guarantee, but we have actually almost always been happy with our guarantee assignments and in some cases very pleased. They are not necessarily bad locations, but often released group space previously held by TA’s that hasn’t sold. One time I did call as I was concerned with the location and they moved us to another open cabin I selected in the same category.

Hopefully they will still be in the staterooms for our transatlantic leaving from Southampton. 🤞🏻. I’d love to have easy access to tea at all times!

Tea Forte was served at Al Bacio last week on the Millenium. Sorry if I used it all up.

Looking forward to following along. We really enjoyed your reports from the Majestic earlier in the year as we were boarding her soon after. Our first Princess cruise 20 years ago was on the Sapphire Princess. She was a beautiful ship then. Hopefully she has stood up well.

We remembered Dive In being SO good on previous HAL cruises including the last prepandemic in fall of 2019. I loved the fries and would sometimes order them alone. On our recent Zuiderdam cruise we went there first thing and I was very disappointed. Burger seemed to lack flavour, fries were soggy, and bland. Not at all as we remembered. Thank you to OP for an interesting comparison. We bounce around between the 3 and they all have their strengths and weaknesses for sure.

Thank you for taking the time to do this trip report! We are really enjoying your positive spirit and emoji’s 😃! We just finished a wonderful Alaska cruise on the Millennium in Aquaclass, and considered staying on for the next (very empty coastal) leg, but the rate for Aqua was more than we wanted to pay. We decided to get off because Blu was such a fantastic experience, we didn’t think we continue on the ship and not be in there. Too sad! Another time yes, but not on the same ship when we know what we’d be missing with the great team in Blu. It sounds like you are enjoying the menu in the MDR (and the ice cream like a good Norwegian!)and that’s too bad about the seating. I agree about the smoking areas on Celebrity. On Millenium they also had it on the corner of the walking/exercise track. Not what we want to breath in while trying to get exercise! I think you said originally that your trip was going to be about 6 weeks(?). Are you staying on in Hawaii after the cruise? If so, I hope you make it to Kauai. Celebrity doesn’t stop there and the last time we did this itinerary we added a stay there. It now our favorite island.