Sapphire Review – Southbound Alaska June 8th, 2013 – 1st Time Princess and Alaska

Well I just completed my first Princess cruise and first trip to Alaska, and I will say that it met/exceeded my expectations (which were fairly high based upon past reviews/research on cruisecritic—I have been roaming/absorbing information from the Princess boards for a year now). I tried to hit the highlights of each day and cover some topics that people seem to have some interest. I am sure I will forget something, so please feel free to ask – or shoot me an email: lovemygirls at my hotmail account. This review is detailed, namely for me to look back upon and remember the small details.

Quick cruising background: We are in our lower mid-40’s and just recently took to cruising. Our first experience was over 10 years ago with family…and our children were little then. I only half remember the cruise itself, not sure if it was because of some sea sickness and worries about the little ones, or the food/service was just ok. Regardless I didn’t come back from that cruise eager to book another one. Then for our 20th anniversary looking for a special trip, all inclusive or renting a house on an island, I stumbled across cruising and cruise critic, and the rest is history (in terms of vacationing). I wanted a balcony experience, and Carnival had the itinerary and price at the time, so we sailed on the Miracle. We really enjoyed the experience, and have been hooked on cruising ever since. BTW I haven’t had a bad cruise yet, I just love the water, scenery, ports of call, and overall cruising experience. I do look forward to trying other lines and ships in the future….there are darn too many destinations/ships to try in my lifetime!

So since my last 4 cruises have been with Carnival, I will have some inevitable comparisons between Princess and Carnival. I have another Princess cruised booked in January 2014, so after that I will know if I am hooked on Princess, but I think I am already. We just had a fabulous time on the Sapphire, which I know a lot of Princess cruisers claim as one of their favorites.

I also posted the Patters for our Southbound cruise here on this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1865497

Quick overall comparisons/thoughts:

MDR food – I thought was great. Always hot and fast (dinner was never over an hr), interesting selection at times (never heard of some of the dishes, but tried them anyway. Crème Brulee was great! (my go to staple dessert – like the warm melting chocolate cake on Carnival). Loved the live music on the ship, shows were ok but not bad (I did like the shorter format, gave us more time/options every evening). Alcoholic drinks were weak on Princess, not sure if just this ship or fleet wide (every Carnival drink on every ship I have sailed were pretty potent, even the free drinks for past guest). International Café (IC) and Alfredo’s were very nice – visited both every day it seems. Service was fantastic and the crew/staff very friendly.

I loved the Princess Patters, even though there is a lot of information/activities listed---but I thought the cover page with port information/ship officers was a nice touch…including the trip summary at the end. Hopefully they will roll out the intranet/iphone version of the Patters fleet wide in the future (not just the Royal or Regal).

Another nice touch by Princess was the various communications regarding our anniversary on this cruise. We received a nice card one evening, of course a spa special offering, one night they placed balloons/flyer on our cabin door, and the anniversary chocolate cake/singing at dinner one night.

BTW we didn’t have a chance to try MDR at lunch at all this cruise. We did not visit the Vivaldi or International Dining room for dinner. Also we did not have any poolside food – we always had Alfredo’s or IC. Also did not visit Crooners, the Wheelhouse Bar or Skywalkers. Wish one could do everything and eat everything during one cruise!

Now onto the detailed review:

June 8th - Embarkation Day and Initial Impressions of Princess

We flew into Anchorage from NC (via Chicago and LAX) and arrived around midnight Friday evening. Enjoyed American’s frequent flyer miles – flew first class all the way for 25k each. I wanted to surprise my wife and make the long trip as comfortable as possible. We also got to enjoy our free day Admiral’s Club passes (from Citibank)….even got to take a great shower in LAX halfway through our journey. AA flights and Alaskan Air were good –wine/food decent for airplane cuisine. I used my US Airway miles for the return (wish USAir would allow one-way redemption, but had to burn 25k each economy of course). There is a great forum like cruise critic that I read – flyertalk – that has great information for airline mileage/redemption etc.

I think we flew over the Sapphire (we saw a cruise ship directly below us leaving the College Fjord area during our initial approach) around 11pm. The amount of daylight when we arrived at our hotel after midnight was surreal. My wife got to see several large moose near the runway as we landed, which was cool. After collecting our bags we finally boarded the hotel shuttle. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn and Suites (I got a great deal a year ago while making frequent flyer/hotel arrangements) located at mid-town, a nice hotel and large room. After just a few hours of sleep, we had a “decent” hotel breakfast/coffee to get us ready for our Alaska Railroad trip to Whittier.

The Alaska Railroad was a nice little trip, something different to add to our first Alaskan experience. The train was not crowded at all, and we could take pictures from the outside area connecting the train cars. The weather was beautiful, as it was the entire trip! Sunny skies every day. Our first look at the Alaskan frontier was stunning, but it only got better as we cruised.

We had booked a package deal (train/lunch/Prince William Sound tour) with Major Marine to spend the afternoon seeing glaciers/water falls/wildlife before boarding the Sapphire, since the ship did not leave until 8:30pm. The train arrived at 12:15pm and Major Marine took off at 12:45pm. I debated about booking this excursion since we just flew in from the East Coast 12 hrs before….but I am so glad we did. I am sure the gorgeous weather in Whittier helped! The Major Marine tour was not crowded, the add-on buffet lunch was pretty good (salmon and prime rib all you can eat), and the glacier ice margaritas (crew member grabbed some ice out of the water while we were calving watching) were decent (and affordable--$4). We got close to two beautiful tidewater glaciers, and to Hidden Falls. We saw seals and otters, and scenery was just gorgeous.

After the Major Marine excursion we went to board the Sapphire. Several Princess buses just arrived and added to the crowd, but it was not too bad (as we were in line, the train pulled up brining lots of other passengers). I would say it took just 15-20 minutes to get processed and through security. They were checking wine pretty tight, but we just brought our 2 bottle allowance. We immediately went to the cabin to unload the backpack, and the suitcases where there.

We met Erlinda (Linda) our steward, she was great…really friendly and provided great service. I swear she straightened our room more than 2 times a day! Initially our room was warm (to me anyway)---I like it cold…so Erlinda put a note in to maintenance. They checked it out and left us a note that they inspected everything (unclear if they did anything) but the cabin did get colder as we cruised, it just never got as cold as I like it. The toilet was also sporadic, sometimes taking some time (10 seconds or more) to actually flush, or at times it would make a constant running water/air pitchy sound (I had to get up once or twice and make it flush to get it to stop). Those were the only cabin issues---very minimal.

Room itself was nice, loved the location behind the art gallery on the Piazza level. The cabin had easy access to the Promenade deck (LOVED how wide it was, I wish more ships had this type of room), dining rooms, bars, International Café and Alfredo’s…and nearby stairs to avoid the elevators for just going up a few floors. It was pretty quiet (no foot traffic, ship equipment etc.), but we could hear snoring from our neighbors form time to time, so the room was not as soundproof as our Carnival cruises (I never heard our neighbors). The TV/movie choices were great, a lot better than Carnival. I do wish they had MDR menus/stateroom account access like they do on Carnival though. Our inside cabin had plenty of closet space, and I liked the safe system (4 digit code versus using a card w/magnetic strip). Yes the shower was small, smaller than Carnivals, but one can manage (barely).

I did fax in a request for an egg crate for the bed weeks before sailing…and the bed was ready to go when we boarded. I think Erlinda said she puts them on all of her room assignments anyway. Anyhow the bed was very comfortable to me, even more so than last few Carnival cruises. She did not mention anything about a new mattress, so I am assuming it had not been replaced yet (a topic in other CC Princess threads).

Anyhow after unpacking/unloading we headed to Alfredo’s (one reason for my choosing the Sapphire) and we were not disappointed. The pizza reminded us of our previous visits to northern Italy. It was similar in many ways. Nice and light. I did try the poolside pizza/Prego’s and it was good as well (better than Carnival’s pizza for sure). I just prefer Alfredo’s …nice setting and atmosphere. In fact I think we ate there every day—sometimes just sharing a pizza and a blue moon as an “appetizer” before the shows/dinner.

Muster Drill – it was a first for me to bring our life jacket to the muster station (which was the casino for us)…but they scan your sign/sail card and want you to try it on after the demonstration. Again different than Carnival but it was actually better than lining up in the hot sun on an outside deck crammed like sardines.

We did not make the first Naturalist Lecture (Sandra Schempp) or the Welcome Aboard Showtime that evening, we were still recovering from East Coast travels!

June 9th - Hubbard Glacier/Yakutat Bay

I woke up and headed to the International Café for my morning ritual – chugging down some coffee to get ready for the day and then bringing my wife her coffee. Since I got the Café Selects card, I got her a half decaf/half caffeinated latte (she can’t have a lot of caffeine anymore regrettably). The lattes were delicious she said, as was the IC hot chocolate. The IC staff was always nice and friendly. Today we decided to try the MDR for breakfast. The service was good as well the food. Better than I expected.

After breakfast we went to the theater to see the Naturalist talk, which was good. Sandra Schempp is very passionate and enjoyable. Other days when she was on the promenade deck she would go around and talk/discuss everything. She was always very assessable. We also stayed for the Shopping Spotlight Show…somewhat entertaining but way too long….but I did get a Del Sol T-Shirt thrown into the audience which softened some of the pain. Princess also had some photography/video classes but we didn’t do them….as well as ball room dance class. I do wish we had more time to try them…but the weather and panorama outside outweighed staying inside!

Weather-wise the day started off cool and cloudy - as expected in Alaska– but as we approached Hubbard in the early afternoon the sun came out and the remaining afternoon/evening was fantastic (we were in shorts/t-shirt). The surrounding scenery was fabulous. Those snow capped mountains, beautiful water, trees – just amazing. I was just mesmerized all cruise with the surroundings; our pictures do not do it justice. Unfortunately the ice field in front of Hubbard was extensive, and we had to stay 12 miles away from the glacier itself. That sounds like a lot, but Hubbard was 6 miles wide, and we looked closer than we were. The expansiveness of Alaska is something you need to experience. So Hubbard was too far to observe any calving, but she was beautiful to see.

As we were leaving Yakutat Bay we tried the MDR for the first time for dinner – we picked the Santa Fe dining room (we had anytime dining and had a choice of 4 MDR rooms). This was the first formal night, and I just wore a long sleeve and tie, with dark pants. I did not pack a suit jacket. I was surprised by the number of tuxedos I saw, as well as suit jackets. Someone had mentioned that this second leg of their back to back cruise had more formal attire than the northbound cruise. A party of 4 in front of us was turned away, they were definitely in casual attire. We had the Grilled Medallions of Beef Tenderloin and Sautéed Garlic Shrimp (also had the Thai Beef Salad/Warm Oysters for apps) for dinner. Service was good and prompt. Food was very good and hot.

What surprised me with Princess during the entire cruise…every MDR dinner and in 3 different dining rooms, sometimes very crowded – we were in and out within 45 minutes or so…every single time. This never happened to us in our 4 previous Carnival cruises (in fact MDR dinner would always be 1.5 hrs to 2 hrs sometimes, the steakhouse would always be 2hrs). I don’t know if this is typical Princess or just the Sapphire, but we appreciated this. We didn’t feel rushed at all…everything was just timely. This was also nice if we timed the dinner time just right, we were able to see the 2nd production show, a great street performer in the atrium, and the cover band in the evening.

For dessert we tried the Crème Brulee – a big mistake. We now had to have this every night for the remainder of the cruise. Only until the last evening was the Crème Brulee so-so (it was undercooked, but we were in a hurry to see the upcoming show that we did not send it back)…otherwise it was very good!

Tonight we also attended the Champagne waterfall in the Piazza, which was kind of neat to watch, crowded though. I am glad servers walked around with champagne as we wanted to grab some dinner before seeing some evening entertainment. After dinner we attended the Do You Wanna Dance show. It was fine, not great but entertaining enough for us. Afterwards we listened to Pryme Time, a good cover band playing a variety of music. We actually ended up seeking them the rest of the cruise – we enjoyed them a lot. As a note, there were not many people in lounges…the disco 70’s night was the most crowded and there were plenty of tables to be found still.

June 10th - Glacier Bay

Ah, Glacier Bay, the main reason to cruise Alaska. I am so glad I listened to the advice of cruise critic members and picked an itinerary that had Glacier Bay. I know that Tracy Arm Fjord/Sawyer glacier is nice, but spending all day in Glacier Bay and a few hours hovering at Majorie glacier was unbelievable.

After an IC breakfast (egg mcmuffin type sandwich and a pastry), we got ready for our full day at the Sanctuary. On embarkation night our friendly server Melrose in Alfredo’s (she was great by the way) told my wife all about this Princess Glacier Scenic Package while I went to the restroom. My wife seemed excited about it so I had Melrose share with me the details. Basically it is all day at the Sanctuary during Glacier Bay, 40 couples max, all the mimosas you want, an 8x10 photograph, free food/no service charge, two Princess souvenir mugs (stainless steel, very nice travel coffee cups) – all for $120 a couple. Now at first I balked due to the price but also I was concerned about viewing the glaciers through the glass railings. Then I added up the mimosas and the photo ($20), the normal Sanctuary cost itself ($40 per couple all day)….I thought what the heck, it is our anniversary and my wife loved the Sanctuary area when we first boarded. So we signed up and went up to pick out our chairs. When we arrived Florencia helped us find what remaining chairs they had…and they only had one lounger left under the canvas covers, but they had several chairs outside. However she offered to move chairs around and bring us another chair/table, so we grabbed that last remaining area, on the end of the second row. We like being outside, so it was a hard decision, but she said they would move us to the outside if we didn’t like our original location.

The Glacier Scenic Package was from 8:30am to 7:30pm. We arrived right at 8:30am and had our first mimosa’s of the day (the first of many, we lost count really). Around 9:30am they brought out a nice warm rockfish chowder and some pastries. The Sanctuary has very nice seating and views. The morning started out foggy, but by mid-morning it was sunny. It was chilly though, we had our coats and blankets at first. The National Park Rangers also boarded mid-morning and began their commentary. The commentary was short and sweet, informative, and not constant chatter---just right.

As many have noted, pictures do not do Alaska and Glacier Bay justice. You have to experience it yourself. I was surprised by this, since I had devoured lots of pictures/reviews during my cruise planning/research. I was just awed. I am sure the weather played a big role; Glacier Bay was calm and sunny. In fact by the afternoon I was in a tank top and bathing suit getting sunburned!

Glacier viewing on the Sanctuary turned out better than I thought. For one, I could see everything without anyone in front of me, no shoulder to shoulder jockeying for a spot. The polarized glass actually made things enjoyable at times – it gives a different look when viewing the blue ice. Also we would just walk out of the Sanctuary and take unobstructed photos from the nearby same level deck, there were very few people there (front top and promenade were packed). We would simply snap away, awestruck, and then go back to the Sanctuary for more viewing or relaxing in a nice lounge chair watching the sights.

For lunch (and anytime really) we could order from the Sanctuary menu…and get pizza/burgers from the pool lido deck area. That was nice. I enjoyed some apps and the great Prego poolside pizza. I didn’t realize it but we could get the drink of the day in our Princess souvenir cup (warm mint chocolate coffee liqueur drink) free, and then afterwards I could get any of the drinks on the Sanctuary menu for free. I was still enjoying my mimosas, so I didn’t order any more of those, but our server was willing to keep it flowing! They did not advertise this, but our Sanctuary staff were great. The photographer came by and took our picture (I still had my toboggan cap on), so I asked for another picture without it…and she said no problem. So we ended up with two 8x10 nice ship photographs!

Around 3pm the Sanctuary cleared out, and we pretty much had it all to ourselves. We moved up to the front row and just relaxed, napped, and gazed at the passing surroundings. The glass blocked the wind (from the ship moving) and the overhead canvases filtered out the sun pretty well. It was very nice. My brain was in sensory overload this whole trip since it was our first time in Alaska/Glacier Bay and it was trying to absorb everything we saw….so the Sanctuary (and overall sea days) were kind of relaxing but it was not like a sea day in the Caribbean.

Normally I wouldn’t plunk down $120 for the Sanctuary. However when you see all of the crowds on the decks (promenade and front lido) having your own huge viewing space all day was very nice. I am sure if the weather was poor, the open decks would not have been so packed. Also all of the goodies that are thrown in for this package make it seem less painless – to me anyway. I wanted to see the glaciers unobstructed – and this scenic package deal made it seem like we had Marjorie Glacier all to ourselves.

In the evening we missed the music/comedy of Duncan Tuck and the Rock this Town Sapphire Singers/Dancers. Instead we went to Cruise Cult Classics – a Rock/Roll night by the Pryme Time cover band in Club Fusion.

For dinner we decided to try the Sterling Steakhouse. I also wanted to try Sabatini’s but we enjoyed the MDR so much that we postponed our Sabatini’s visit until another Princess cruise. Sterlings lived up to the reviews: the food was great, service was fun, and we enjoyed our huge window view of leaving Glacier Bay. Yes the atmosphere is not the Crown Grill or a Carnival Steakhouse, but it was good enough. I would say it is worth the $20 surcharge, but I would not pay $35 (like Carnival) if that helps anyone. The menu was more limited (no surf and turf) than the Crown Grill/Carnival Steakhouse, but the quantity and quality of food/sides was good. I do like the fact that they would bring you more of anything, but we were stuffed. Would I do it again on the Sapphire? - Probably not because there were so many things on the MDR menu that we did not get to try and the MDR was good.

June 11th – Skagway and the Canadian Yukon

Based on trip advisor/port forums on CC I decided to book a Carcross/Yukon tour with Dyea Dave. After our morning IC ritual we got off the ship (neat to see the White Cross train yards from the gangway). When we went exited port security to meet the driver, we did not see Dave. So we just kept walking to use the restrooms and came across British Barry, the other Dyea Dave driver that day, holding a sign. We were not on his list, but after talking with Dave on the walkie talkie we were assigned to his bus.

We enjoyed British Barry and his tour/commentary. We always stayed ahead of the big tour buses on every stop, and had lots of photo opportunities (off and on the mini-bus). We were treated again to wonderful weather (it was sunny, no wind, lakes were glass, and in the afternoon it nearly reached 80) and to seeing a black bear eating dandelions roadside.

The highlight for us was seeing the various glacier lakes along the way, including Lake Bennett and Emerald Lake. Carcross was a neat small town (quickly saw the world’s smallest dessert), and we had a quick lunch there as well. The backdrop Yukon scenery for your 2 hr road trip up to Carcross was magnificent.

On the way back, we stopped again for more photo ops, seeing some waterfalls. Someone on the bus (we had 14 people) wanted to see the Gold Rush Cemetary before being dropped off. Everyone else was ok with that so British Barry gave us a side tour to the Gold Rush Cemetary and commentary. My wife wanted to see some sled dogs so I asked early on and he knew of a place near Skagway that had them (they had some tours and other stuff) so he stopped in to ask the owners if we could simply see/take some pictures. The owner had a tour coming up so we didn’t get to see them, but I just wanted to let folks know how accommodating Dyea Dave tours can be.

Anyhow after the cemetery visit British Barry dropped us off in Skagway at the Red Onion Saloon instead of the ship. The Saloon was packed, so we just stepped inside to take a peak. We then walked to the Sapphire and headed straight for Alfredo’s for a quick afternoon appetizer. Before sail away we went to see the local Alaska presentation in the Explorer’s Lounge – North to Alaska by Steve Hites. Mr. Hites does the history of Skagway and the Gold Rush in folklore/songs/comedy, he was very entertaining. I am glad we saw him. This evening we missed most of the evenings entertainment: the Salute to Motown and the comedy showtime (Rolling Jay Moore). We also missed the country and western night activities, but after a long day in the Yukon we were tired. Next time on the Crown Princess hopefully.

For dinner we had the seared sea scallops and Trilogy of lamb/veal/chicken. I also had the potato gnocchi as an appetizer, and for the regular apps we had the mushroom soup/baked goat cheese soufflé. Orange sorbet was nice before our main dish. Again the dinner was excellent, wish I had room to try some other dishes!

June 12th – Juneau (Mendenhall Glacier and Harv/Marv’s whale watching)

For Juneau we had a Harv/Marvs whale watching tour booked. We were fortunate because the time I actually booked the cruise itself (late March), Harv/Marvs had one slot left and only for their 11am tour (Sapphire left at 3:30pm). However that gave us enough time to have breakfast in the IC, take the $8 shuttle to Mendenhall Glacier, and have Harv/Marv pick us up at the Mendenhall Visitor’s Center at 10:45am (Mendenhall close to the docks where whale watching boats are kept).

Mendenhall Glacier, wow, I was surprised at how beautiful this place was. I had seen pictures, but the hike/views were fabulous. Again this was a beautiful sunny day, so that played a factor in its awesomeness! Nugget Falls was flowing heavy too, it was just a roar. The hike is easy, most can manage it, worth doing! There were beautiful flowers and trees along the way as well.

After the hike we went to wait at the designated pickup spot per Harv/Marv. Finally after 5 minutes past the designated time, I see a Harv/Marv shuttle. We get on and it is full of folks, so I just assumed they were picked up at the cruise ships first and then grabbed us to head for the whale watching. Well the driver said something regarding their whale watching experience, all in the past tense, so I piped up and asked if we are going whale watching….and she confirmed that we are heading back to the cruise ships! So she radioed in and evidently the other driver forgot to pick us up. However everyone on board said it was ok to head back to the docks to drop us off before heading back to Juneau. Whew. Everyone was quiet, so we finally asked, well – did you see any whales? Silence. They had been instructed not to reveal what they saw due to potential high expectations etc. They did reveal that they had a good enjoyable day.

When we finally got to the dock, Jayleen of Harv/Marv (she is the daughter of Captain Marv ) took us down to the boat. We declined restroom break offer as the others had been waiting for us and we didn’t want to be too late in pushing off. Jayleen was very personable and a great tour guide. She asked if we wanted to see the seals and eagles too, and we all of course said yes (8 total people on the boat). After leaving the docks she showed us her family home (on a small nearby island) and she took us to see the seals before heading out for the humpbacks.

Ah, the humpbacks. When we hit the open bay, there were a lot of boats waiting (a lot). Everyone was lined up, kind of a courtesy thing I guess. However, once the humpbacks were spotted...all of the boats sped up and jockeyed for position. By law you could only get within 100 yards, unless of course they decided to pop up beside you. It was kind of chaotic and fun, but Jayleen knew how to navigate the chaos and get us into position. We were again so blessed by great sunny weather and a school of humpbacks. These humpbacks were teaming together for feeding. Jayleen said they saw bubble netting for the first time the day before, and it was actually early in the season to see this phenomenon. She also mentioned that they see bubble netting about 20 days a year.

On our tour we saw 5 or 6 bubble nets, one of which was pretty close to us! Just amazing. In fact one time my binoculars were filled with black from the whales coming out of the water with mouths wide open. She reminded us that this is not normal; in fact some tours only see a few isolated humpbacks here and there. These whales were heading out, and Jayleen even said the 3pm tour may only see a few loners, there is no guarantee or expectation that you will see this. Conversely they could come back in and one would see even more bubble netting/breaching.

Heading back we hit a small island with a beach area, common to see bald eagles there. Again we were treated is something special, kind of an eagle swarm with around 10 eagles swirling/swooping between the boat and the beach. So fun to witness! Jayleen said she hardly ever sees this kind of activity. We were so fortunate with what happened that day, so that made the Harv/Marv excursion wonderful. Even if we did not see hardly anything, you can’t go wrong with using them.

After the Harv/Marv shuttle ride back to downtown Juneau, we popped into the Red Dog Saloon. It was packed and they had a show going on. Kind of risqué with an old guy mouthing some language, but it looked like a good time being had. So we quickly toured and headed back to the ship.

We decided to try the Princess tea time since we had a few minutes after sail away. We did this on Carnival several times on different ships and we enjoyed it. We headed to the Pacific Moon for their afternoon tea, which they had every day (Carnival was just on sea days). The service was great, as was the little sandwiches and pastries. In fact the rotating servers kept offering various choices time and time again. You would be stuffed if you partook in every offer.

Well after tea we didn’t have room for an early dinner, so we went to see the I Got The Music production show, which was ok. Afterwards we got to see the amazing acrobatics of Cory Tabino (a Cirque de Soleil performer) in the Piazza – and that was pretty cool. He was amazingly strong…I have never seen sideways pull-ups. Tonight was the second formal night, this time I only wore a long sleeve dress shirt/dark pants. Again they turned away a couple in front of us, but I passed muster. Our dinner was in the Pacific Moon dining room, and we enjoyed the lobster/prawns main dish and the roasted tomato soup/goat cheese soup. I also tried the escargot appetizer (good). Also the server removed the lobster from the tail—a nice touch I thought.

After dinner we watched most of the Yes/No Game show in the Explorers Lounge….it was pretty entertaining actually, and then we stayed for the Marriage Match Game show. That was pretty entertaining as well, not as risqué as Carnival’s Love and Marriage show, but was still a well done and clean show.

June 13th - Ketchikan

For Ketchikan we did not have any excursions planned (I tried getting a tour with Ketchikan Cab Tours but they were full), so we planned to do our own walking tour. We both decided to try the Horizon Court breakfast since Ketchikan had a 10am start. I figured by 9am at least half the ship would have eaten breakfast already...but no! The Horizon Court was so crowded and packed. In fact I walked around twice and could not find seating for 2 inside! We finally settled for a poolside table with another couple. I love the selections at the Horizon Court, they are better than Carnival. I myself like having the pan fried noodles as they reminded me of my hotel breakfasts’ in China. I also like how Princess handles omelets: ordering with many choices of ingredients and they bring it to your table afterward. I also like how they have servers bring ing you juice and coffee etc. Getting the food from the various stations in the Horizon Court was not that bad, the seating was just very crowded.

For most of the day, we were overcast and it was cool – mid 50’s. I am glad it was not raining though! I did not have a coat on, just a T-shirt, so I was debating about reboarding the ship and grabbing my coat (or another shirt) or maybe buying one in this quaint shopping town. I did find that once we began walking to find Creek Street and popping in and out of various stores along the way, I was fine. Creek Street was neat to see, just like the pictures. It would be cool to see it teaming with salmon, but of course early June was not salmon running time here (we did see a nice one jump out of the water near the bridge however).

After Creek Street we headed to one of the big shopping stores there, and grabbed some gifts for our family/children. Then we headed for the ship for our normal Alfredo’s and Blue Moon. After Alfredo’s we attended the onboard Forest Service presentation, which we enjoyed. Afterwards we had a few more hours to sail away, so we went to the top deck for some rest/relaxation. The sun decided to pop out and it was nice! In fact, we had to change and the temperature rose to 65 or so. It got rather toasty since the railing glass blocked any wind. It was kind of fitting that on this cruise we got to get a Ketchikan tan before we left. We saw several bald eagles flying around the ship while docked as well. Like all ports so far, sail away was beautiful as you are surrounded by mountains, islands, and waterfalls.

For MDR dinner we had the seafood skewer and surf/turf with the provencale-style king crab appetizer. Everything was great. I had wanted to try the pad-thai…but I was too full. After dinner we caught the street acrobatics again—pretty amazing to watch. We also attended the Princess Showtime comedy/magic by Lorenzo Clark. He was pretty fun and entertaining, it was a clean show. Afterwards we enjoyed the 70’s night with the Pryme Time cover band.

Sapphire also does a New Years Eve Party/countdown balloon drop in the Piazza, which was a neat extra for us. Cruise Director Gavin mentioned that he does this on every ship he is on, and he personally likes seeing the adults become kids again (kick/pop the balloons). Boy was he was right….we just stayed for 15 minutes but everyone (all ages) were popping and hitting balloons while the music played. Again this was something different that Princess does and it was fun to experience.

June 14th - Inside Passage Sea Day

Again I hit the IC for coffee and my wife’s latte, and after we were good and awake had some IC breakfast. We went out on the Promenade deck and checked out the surroundings….very nice. We did make the effort to see the Culinary Demonstration in the morning; it was pretty entertaining to see the banter between the executive chef and Maitre d’ Hotel. Afterwards Princess gives a free quick tour of the galley, which was another nice little extra touch.

The Inside Passage landscape is gorgeous, just like everything else we saw in Alaska. Major sensory overload, it can actually be hard to relax (I am a first time Alaskan cruiser remember) as you sit and watch the beautiful countryside go by. We constantly saw otters, porpoises and humpbacks all throughout the day. I found myself sitting down, then standing up for photos, sitting down, standing up because I spotted whales, sitting down, then – you get the idea. The on-board naturalist was helpful in pointing out key features and what we could perhaps see as we cruised. She was always out on the Promenade Deck talking with passengers, very willing to answer any questions.

For lunch we headed to Pacific Moon MDR for the British Pub lunch. On certain Carnival ships they have dedicated Fish/Chips and we have enjoyed those venues. The Princess Fish and Chips were slightly better, and of course the nice dining room atmosphere was an added bonus. On this itinerary, the pub lunch was only offered on the Inside Passage day. I do look forward to trying it more on our upcoming Crown Princess cruise with 3 sea days in the Wheelhouse Bar (I hope anyway). The sherry trifle dessert was delicious, wish I had room for more fish and dessert!

After hours of viewing the inside passage (my wife loved the comfortable loungers on the Promenade Deck 7), we got ready for our last MDR dinner. We tried the Savoy room this time, and it was crowded. We either had to wait for a table for 2 or join in with a table of 8. We decided to take the large table. We had a good time chatting with several other couples who wanted to be seated right away. Having 8 made the dinner slower, but we were still done in less than 1 hour! We tried the grilled salmon and New York strip steak and for apps the trio of seafood/citrus/avocado and watermelon/feta cheese.

After dinner we hit the Born to Be Wild Show, which was good. We also saw the street acrobat again and then went to the dance party with Pryme Time cover band.

June 15th - Disembarkation and Vancouver

Well time to kick us off the ship, worst part of any cruise. We enjoyed our regular IC routine, and then went to our designated waiting area. Princess does this well I think – our group was about 50 people, met in Explorer’s Lounge at our designated 9:10am time, and soon after we were off to explore Vancouver. We had no real wait for disembarkation; we picked up our luggage and left Canada Place. It was very crowded though in the Canada Place terminal….lots of people walking and dozens of buses, it was jam packed.

We ventured outside a few blocks to catch the Sky Train/Canada Line to our hotel, Riverrock Casino/Resort in Richmond, BC. The Sky Train was easy---took about 20 minutes to get to the hotel. We had a quick turnaround because I had signed up with the Tour Guys - a walking tour of Granville/Gas Town. That was pretty interesting and fun to cover Vancouver history/sights in around 2 hours. We had lunch at a great small sandwich shop (Meat and Bread) that was featured on some Canadian food channel/network. The pork sandwich was awesome!

We headed back to the hotel in the afternoon after some more walking around downtown to nap, and then decided to hit the Richmond Asian night festival near the hotel. It was very crowded and noisy, but we got some good quick eats. We hit the bed early since we had to be at the airport at 6am Sunday morning for all day flying back to North Carolina.

Overall the Princess product met/exceeding my expectations. I really enjoyed our cruise and the ship. Love the Sapphire and its amenities. I am sure I will enjoy the Crown too in January, but the multiple dining rooms, Alfredo’s/Vines and IC in the Piazza were great. That large Promenade deck that circled the entire ship was nice. I liked having the options during the day/evening (dance classes, other stuff), the music choices were good. Most of the music was a decade or so earlier than what I am used to (I am an 80’s/90’s lover – rock and dance) but it was fine to me….I dig 70’s and good 60’s rock and roll. I didn’t miss the rapping DJ even though at times I enjoy that as well. The service and food was great – better than my previous 4 Carnival cruises (I enjoy the food on Carnival as well – again I have not had a bad cruise yet!). Wish I had the time and money to sail 4 times a year on every cruise line and to new destinations. Ha! Alaska was better than I imagined….hope to get back soon!

Very nice review. Glad you had a nice time! Thanks!

Here are some pictures - Day 1 - Embark (train, Pwince William Sound excursion - Major Marine)

Some pics of Hubbard, then Glacier Bay

Skagway-Canadian Yukon Pictures

Juneau - Mendenhall and Whale Watching pics

Kethikan/Inside Passage pics...

Very nice review. Glad you had a nice time! Thanks!

thanks for the comment...I know it was lengthy :)...just still excited from the trip.

John in NC

Your review was outstanding! Thank you for taking the time to share the details.

You will love the Crown, too, and the Caribbean islands you will visit on your next cruise.

Your review was outstanding! Thank you for taking the time to share the details.

 

You will love the Crown, too, and the Caribbean islands you will visit on your next cruise.

thanks - I can't wait for Aruba and Curacao....and another Princess sailing.

Heck I just wanna cruise!

John

I think this may have been the best review I have ever read. So comprehensive and descriptive. I have been to all those ports and you captured them very well. I agree about the Alfredos pizza and the excellent breakfast items that can be quickly picked up from the IC. We also like the cabins down the hall from the IC on Plaza deck....they are a well kept secret. Handy to everything and very little motion for the potentially seasick!

Laurel

I think this may have been the best review I have ever read. So comprehensive and descriptive. I have been to all those ports and you captured them very well. I agree about the Alfredos pizza and the excellent breakfast items that can be quickly picked up from the IC. We also like the cabins down the hall from the IC on Plaza deck....they are a well kept secret. Handy to everything and very little motion for the potentially seasick!

 

Laurel

thanks Laurel for the kind comments - appreciate that. I put more into this review since I spent so much time reading other reviews by cc'ers preparing for this cruise/experience...plus it was something that I have been looking forward to for some time (trying Princess and Alaska...over a year in planning)...so it is just my part in giving back to the community that helped me so much.

I miss my Alfredo's and IC - wish they had this at my work! :)

Definitely agree about the cabin location. I do get seasick (have to take Bonine every night), and I did not feel any motion on this trip (granted the seas were pretty calm). Next trip to Aruba from FLL will be a good test...we have same location. Can't wait!

Thanks again - take care

John in NC

John, I have only begun to read your review but wanted to quickly post to say how much I am enjoying it. Most importantly I am glad you enjoyed the cruise and thank you for taking the time to put this together. OK. Now back to reading the rest of your review.

Keith

Great review John Boy! Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

Great review John Boy! Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

Thanks Kirk! (I was born in Raleigh BTW....work in RTP...leave near Pittsboro).

I always like seeing your upcoming cruises....great bucket list!

Take care

John

Thanks for posting this detailed review. We leave in one week.

Two uick questions since I'm on my phone - what did you do with your luggage during the PWS glacier tour? We are driving in, so different than what you did. Did you leave your luggage with MM or was princess accepting luggage early?

Also, how did you bring your bottles of wine on board? I read that a lot of people pack them in their suitcases, but I'm kinda nervous to do that. Plus I don't know if we'll space.

Thank you so much for the awesome review.

One quick question: did the Sapphire stay in the true inside passage the whole time? Sometimes they call the cruises "inside passage" sailings but they go into the open waters anyway for part of the time.

We'd like to do this cruise but only if it stays in the interior between the little islands the whole time because my mom gets extremely motion sick.

Thanks! Katherine