Sapphire Princess Review 10/8-10/15

Here is my review of the Sapphire Princess. Mexican Rivera 10/8-10/15.

First a little background. My wife and I are both forty and this is our cruise fourth cruise together. The previous three have been on RCCL. When I compare things it will be from my experience on RCCL.

AIRPORT TRANSFER/EMBARKATION:

We purchased a transfer from Princess. You can get it cheaper on your own, but we thought this would be easier. We arrived at LAX around 11:30, you really had to hunt for a Princess Rep. When we did find someone, and she was running around a little crazy. There were two Princess ship going out and one NCL ship. She keep telling us to wait inside and she would come get us after she took care of the Island Princess passengers, but she never came back. We went outside and found the baggage truck for Sapphire and then went to the curb and found the bus for our ship. This is an area Princess needs to address.

When we finally got on the bus it was a quick 30 minute drive to the ship.

Check-in was a breeze and we were on the ship thirty minutes after we arrived.

STATEROOM/SUITE:

I will post a separate review on the Suite perks we got and allot we didn’t later.

It was our 15th anniversary so I splurged on the Suite. The Puerto Vallarta Suite B753

We both think the aft cabin is the best on all ships. The Suite was great, large sitting area with a small wet bar. The bathroom was very large with a Jacuzzi tub separate shower separated by a door to the toilet and sink area. No complaints on the stateroom it was perfect. I tipped our room steward as soon as we meet him; he did a good job nothing exceptional.

PUBLIC AREAS:

This ship is fantastic. I agree with some past post it takes a little longer to find your way around, but when you get the hang of the deck layouts it’s a piece of cake. We loved all the pool areas and it seems they had a lot more area for lounging around then RCCL. Even though the ship was full it never seemed crowded. All the lounges and theater were great.

FOOD/DINNING

We had anytime dinning, because when I booked they were still doing different menus in all the restraints. But as all of you know all the restraints have the same menu. Each alternate restraint has its own special and it stays the same all week. Santa Fe had Fajitas, Pacific Moon had a Shrimp Stir Fry and Savoy had Pork Chops. We tried all the restraints and the service was average at best. The waiters we had no personality and were not very friendly as far as atmosphere the Savoy was the nicest, Princess should change this to the Sterling Steak House instead of using part of the Horizon Court Buffet. You can also go to the Vilvaldi dinning room after 8:00. This was probably our best meal of the week it was the second formal night, Thurs. The waiter Tony from Acapulco was excellent as was the asst. waiter I just wish we would have done this dinning room earlier in the week we probably would not have gone anywhere else.

The food was excellent never ordered anything we didn’t enjoy. The food quality I thought was better then RCCL, just not the service.

We did do the sterling Steak House one night, food was good, but as I said before the atmosphere and service average at best.

The Buffet was small compared to RCCL, but I thought the food quality was great. My only complaint they did not have an egg/omelet cooking station in the morning. They just had different variety of eggs and omelets each day in the buffet. Late night light buffet was good. The French fries were great. As said many times posts the pizza and hamburgers were fantastic by the pool during the day.

The most disappointing event in the buffet was the CHOCLATE EXTRAVAGANZA.

As it was billed in the patter. Very long line for a big disappointment. If any of you have been to the Chocolate Buffet on a RCCL ship in the main dinning room you know how huge it is with ice and chocolate sculptures and everything you can imagine in chocolate. This was a couple of tables with about two pies, two chocalate cakes and some chocolate covered strawberries and grapes. Oh well I had enough sweets all week anyway.

We tried room service a few times it for the most part good, one time we had to call three times before they would bring coffee.

ENTERTAINMENT:

We went to four shows in the Princess theater. Piano Man as stated many times was great and should not be missed. We saw I comedian/magician Lorenzo Clark who was terrible. We also saw a female singer Brandi Chapman. Very good entertaining show. She is a country singer, but she sang a wide variety of songs.

We also saw the stage show Undercover, not quite as good as Piano Man, but an enjoyable show. The were also musicians in the other lounges they were very good as well.

INTERNET CAFÉ

Unless you have a suite and get free internet this will cost you a bundle. Very slow server when it does work and the clock is ticking as it tries to log on. A lot of frustrated people trying to check e-mail.

DISEMBARKMENT/AIRPORT TRANSFER:

Dismemberments was fine, they called about six color/number at once and that made it a little crowded trying to get down the gangway. Usual slow U.S. Customs and Immigration.

Then Airport Transfer on the return was perfect. A lot of people directing you to the correct bus for you departing airline.

CONCLUSION:

We had a great trip on the Sapphire. I would give the edge to Princess on the Ship and the Quality of the food but, RCCL in my opinion has a little better customer service on board.

Once again I will post a review of the Suite Perks we got , some we had to argue for and some of course they never herd of….

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What nights would you suggest best for trying Sabatinis or Sterling, versus eating scheduled menu for the day???? Am trying to figure out which nights to try these places....but am wondering if I should just skip Sterling...I can do a great steak on my own grill!!!! Am looking to try something I don't normally have at home.............

Am glad you had a great trip/thanks so much for taking the time to share your oppinions/experiences....how were the ship activities?? Can hardly wait for our turn to sail!!!

Thanks for posting your review. You must have had the same Princess rep at the airport that we had. (10/01 sailing) Only thing was, we got there at 9:15am and probably got the bus when you did. I agree Princess has a problem there. We enjoyed the Savoy's decor also and although we had good waiters in all the resturants.... I can see how it could be hit or miss.

Thanks for the review.

Were there any late night BBQ's out on deck?

If so, what night?

We did not dine in Sabatinis, but all we herd it was great. Long but great.

I would suggest a night that you dont mind missing the show. Maybe Italian night since your going to get that anyway.

The activities that we saw were very good...we just kinda relaxed at the pool or on our balcony this trip. We did kinda get hooked on Princess Idol at night in Club Fusion. Clair the M.C. is great.

I dont recall and deck BBQ's. They did have a deck party on the aft pool deck> Good band Storm...We did go up and check it out, but then went down one deck to our balcony and listened to the music there.

Thanks for your review! Can't wait to hear about your Suite! We have one booked also...in 4 more Saturdays!!!

One thing I forgot to mention ..Princess does the muster drill sooo much better then.RCCL. no standing with your life jacket on up on deck packed into a group like sardines.

Thanks for the review! I am sure my fiance will be glad to hear the Princess does their muster drill better the RCCL! :)

Great Review. Thanks for taking the time.

One Question: What night were formal nights?

Thanks.

Formal nights are Sunday and Thursday.

abby