Cruiserkenn

Has anyone sailed recently in D739 or D738 on the Sapphire Princess? I wonder if the garbage smells that have been mentioned in earlier posts are still present. I'm looking at a 25 day cruise with lots of sea days. Since my husband and I like to spend time on our balcony, a noxious smell would prevent us booking one of these suites.

 

Thanks.

Would you consider an Emerald deck VS suite? Such as e733?

The balcony isn't as deep, but still nice.

The great thing about Emerald deck is that Promenade deck is only one deck down, featuring Sabatini's, Princess Theater, and Explorers Lounge.

Give it a try :)

Bon voyage :)

Thanks so much for the great information.

I especially appreciated the thoughtful comments on Alfredo's, Horizon Court,

The running/ walking track, and the promenade deck.

Thanks so much!

I have gone back and forth and sideways with princess. I told them I wanted my original cabins back. I talked to many managers. Well I am finally booked back in L107 and M107. Thank you for all the pictures and comments. I did not know what princess decided until yesterday.

Great job!

Thanks for letting us know:)

Enjoy your cruise:)

Definitely go for the espresso creme brûlée at Sabatini's :)

See that Princess? We want more ships like the Coral! It wins in every poll, every time!:)

Yes, thanks for saying this. The Coral and her sister the Island.

Hello :) :) :)

I think you have been treated badly by Princess. The minis you chose are obviously very popular and I would think it must have been in Princess's interests AND NOT YOURS to move you into two other minis. The size of balcony alone on your original minis would make them a premium cabin to have in the Caribbean.

 

We were similarly upgraded on our forthcoming Caribbean Princess New England/Canada cruise. We had booked on Caribe deck for the larger, partly covered balcony and Princess very kindly decided to 'upgrade' us to a Baja cabin with the regular open balcony.

 

We have managed to get our original cabin back and you should insist that Princess reinstates your original booking. It would have been a different matter if you had been offered an upgrade to a full suite ;)

Dorset Cruiser: So glad that you have your original cabin back. Thanks for sharing your experience. It makes me feel

better. As I have mentioned, I got mine back, too.

I hope it all works out OK for the OP.

Enjoy your cruise!

Bearing in mind that a general rep isn't going to know the pros and cons of every case and ship (whats a positive for one cruiser is a negative for another) - especially with a new ship.

 

Secondly, it all automatic and the system is strictly category based, so from that standpoint the system thinks it is doing you a favor. Your status has little to do with it.

 

Again, in 98 percent of cases, MF to MA is a clear upgrade unless you have a specific characteristic of a cabin in mind. It's only in the cases of cabins like these that its not necessarily, and no automated system is going to be able to account for personal preference.

Yes, of course, objectively this is all true. It doesn't feel so good, though, when one's dream trip, in one's ideal room, is being altered, to one's surprise.

I won't be so trusting, again. I won't forget to stipulate "no upgrade".

Thankfully, I did get my covered mini suite, on Emerald Deck, back.

My feeling, though, is still "ugh".

Did you mark the "no upgrade" option? Or did Princess just relocate you despite that?

No, but I was planning to call back to request no upgrade. I just hadn't done it yet. My regular Princess cruise planner has been out for a while.

I never dreamed they would "upgrade" me so quickly.

Also, I never dreamed they would do this to me, a 25 year Elite veteran of Princess.

I know better now. Live and learn. Ugh.

I think you have been treated badly by Princess. The minis you chose are obviously very popular and I would think it must have been in Princess's interests AND NOT YOURS to move you into two other minis. The size of balcony alone on your original minis would make them a premium cabin to have in the Caribbean.

 

We were similarly upgraded on our forthcoming Caribbean Princess New England/Canada cruise. We had booked on Caribe deck for the larger, partly covered balcony and Princess very kindly decided to 'upgrade' us to a Baja cabin with the regular open balcony.

 

We have managed to get our original cabin back and you should insist that Princess reinstates your original booking. It would have been a different matter if you had been offered an upgrade to a full suite ;)

Yes, this happened to me, too. I have an Emerald deck mini suite, with covered balcony, for an upcoming coastal cruise on the Sapphire.

Princess "upgraded" me to an uncovered balcony mini on Dolphin deck. After insisting, they gave me back my Emerald deck covered balcony mini suite.

Gosh.

Hang in there.

Thanks, also Chamima.

Thanks to Dmwnc1959 for all of the great efforts.

Thanks rtlk for starting this thread!

Special thanks, Foreigner and Bigfoot, for the great pics!

Have a great time:)

If you don't see the special menus for room service, be sure to ask your room steward. The special room service is one of the many joys of the suites.

Be sure to enjoy the scenic views from your aft facing suite.

Bon voyage :)

No problem, just want you to enjoy your cruise.

 

We have not had a bad experience in any of the aft suites; but on the Grand those Dolphin deck VS are the best.

 

Mike:)

Definitely right. The Dolphin deck Vista suites are great. Enjoy!

You have to ask for it. Call your travel agent or Princess.

Thanks so much!

Where does one find the meta upgrade option? Is it on cruise personalizer?

Thanks ...

Thanks for the great pictures!

Absolutely beautiful :)

Thanks for posting this! Most helpful!

I remember, too, that you have done this before.

Mahalo!

Fantastic, so good to hear he is back in command where he belongs, Capt. Perrin is by far, our... best Captain in the fleet.

 

John,Laura and Gaby

Seattle,Wa.

Go Seahawks

Yes, great that Captain Perrin is back in command. He is wonderful.

There is some justice, thank goodness.

our first cruise on Princess will be on Crown and we are in mini suite E731. would that be a picture of it?

E731 is on starboard side. John Galt's great picture is port side.

E731 will be the same. It is a mirror image of this picture.

The lowest aft balcony is like yours.

The best! Enjoy!

I just checked and it is gone from our 7/21 departure too! It still says check for staggered ckeck in times but the list of decks and times has been removed. All the complaints seem to have paid off, looks like a dead issue for now.

Yes, it is gone from mine, too. Yippee!!!

I spoke with the person in charge of future sales on Coral Princess and was told that

 

a. It may not last.

b. It does NOT apply to Platinum or Elite, or to families on different decks.

 

My reply was that I still thought that it was unfair to starter cruisers, and some cruisers were at the point of leaving Princess.

 

john

This is great news, concerning Platinum and Elite. Thanks for this good news.

Great pictures!

Fantastic camera and photographer!

Thanks so much. The Sapphire and her sister the Diamond are among my current favorites.

Wonderful!

Have had the pleasure of staying in the equivalent Vista Suite on the Star Princess. As you know, the rooms and suites on all of the Grand Class ships are quite similar.

On the Star's aft Vista Suite (in the equivalent location) the balcony was huge! I joked that it was actually big enough to go jogging!

There is some wake noise, but to me, the sound of the wake is soothing and comforting, rather than annoying.

Have a great cruise!

A good time will be had in Norway, rain or shine!

HomelessBear: Good idea, about taking the umbrella. An umbrella would have been useful for me in Tromso and in Honningsvag:)

Caber: Thanks for mentioning the weather in Scotland. I hope to sail on the Crown Princess's British Isles cruise, and in June, 2011, it will feature four port stops in Scotland. Sounds wonderful!

Pam in CA: I, too, did the tour that goes to the mountain top, near Geiranger. Layers and the umbrella are in order, up there:) I agree with Pam, about this being a recommended tour.

Amberruka: Thanks for mentioning the free organ concert, in the church in Bergen. The old cathedral in Trondheim also had a free organ concert, and also at 12 noon! I discovered this concert by chance, and what a find it was. The organist had actually composed some of the music! Another zen moment:)

I just have to mention another rather poignant moment. My captain on my Norway cruise was Captain Thomson, now retired. He told this story: an elderly British gentleman asked if the captain could point out the exact spot where the battleship Tirpitz had gone down, in the waters off of Tromso. Captain Thomson was able to do this, and the elderly British gentleman then explained that he had been one of the British pilots, who had caught up with the Tirpitz, in 1944, and sank her. What a story! It was especially compelling for me. The Tirpitz was the sister ship of the more famous Bismarck, and in my younger days one of my favorite b & w movies was "Sink the Bismarck".Also in my younger days, I had written a book review about the Tirpitz. What a cruising moment I had, in the waters off of Tromso! It is wonderful how an unexpected travel moment can be one of the most compelling:) Thanks, all, for listening:)

Hi,

Thanks for asking! Norway was one of my favorites, and I am happy to write about it.

Pack layers, for sure, as you would for an Alaska cruise. It can be warm, on a summer day, in towns such as Trondheim and Bergen. You will want to be able to stroll these wonderful towns.

It can be chilly on open decks, when at sea, especially when not in the fjords. The fjords themselves can be chilly, too, although the walls of the fjords generally provide shelter from cold winds and rough seas. You will want to see the beauty of fjords such as Sognefjord and Geirangerfjord from the open decks. A sweater, a sweatshirt, and a jacket would be essential items. I always pack cloth gloves and a knit winter hat, too. I spend lots of time on the open decks.

In the towns of the far north, such as Tromso and Honnigvaag. it can be misty, rainy, and chilly. Don't miss strolling these towns! You will want to have appropriate layers, such as a sweater, sweatshirt, and jacket, for these towns.

(An example of the unexpected things to see in Tromso: in the middle of the town square, there was a large, open rack of fish, drying. From that same square, I could see the marquee of a more upscale theater, which was featuring a live performance of Macbeth!)

I have been on six Alaska cruises, and I always take layers. My packing for Norway was based on this experience, and it did not fail me.

Enjoy!