Sapphire Princess to Alaska - 1st time cruisers need lots of advice

[atlanta_living]

Hello everyone!

This is my first time posting here but need some expert advice. Let me apologize in advance for the length of this post but I have lots of questions.

 

My husband and I are just beginning to plan an Alaskan Cruise (our very first cruise) for June 2011 to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. I have begun to research the cruise lines and definitely feel drawn to the Sapphire Princess. We plan to sail out of and into Seattle.

 

Since it will be a milestone anniversary, we want to splurge and get a mini-suite. Now comes the dilemna of picking which suite on the Dolphin Deck will be the best location for us? Do we want to be near the elevators or is that going to be too noisy with people chatting when they get off/on the elevators? Do we want to be near the self-serv laundromat or is that also a noisy place? Do we want to be forward on the ship or near the rear? I looked at the deck plans and am so confused with all the possibilities.

 

And since we'll have a balcony is it better to have a room facing the shore while sailing north or sailing south? Or does it even matter?

 

And does anyone know when the Alaskan cruises for 2011 will be available online? We plan to book our cruise as early as possible so that we can get the suite of our choice.

 

Any experiences, personal preferences, and information would be greatly appreciated. I know it's early to be asking and this post is extremely LONG but I am so excited about our first cruise and want to make the most informed decisions.

 

Thanks!:)

[Colo Cruiser]

Hello everyone!

This is my first time posting here but need some expert advice. Let me apologize in advance for the length of this post but I have lots of questions.

 

My husband and I are just beginning to plan an Alaskan Cruise (our very first cruise) for June 2011 to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. I have begun to research the cruise lines and definitely feel drawn to the Sapphire Princess. We plan to sail out of and into Seattle.

 

Since it will be a milestone anniversary, we want to splurge and get a mini-suite. Now comes the dilemna of picking which suite on the Dolphin Deck will be the best location for us? Do we want to be near the elevators or is that going to be too noisy with people chatting when they get off/on the elevators? Do we want to be near the self-serv laundromat or is that also a noisy place? Do we want to be forward on the ship or near the rear? I looked at the deck plans and am so confused with all the possibilities.

 

And since we'll have a balcony is it better to have a room facing the shore while sailing north or sailing south? Or does it even matter?

 

And does anyone know when the Alaskan cruises for 2011 will be available online? We plan to book our cruise as early as possible so that we can get the suite of our choice.

 

Any experiences, personal preferences, and information would be greatly appreciated. I know it's early to be asking and this post is extremely LONG but I am so excited about our first cruise and want to make the most informed decisions.

 

Thanks!:)

 

Welcome to CC!

As far as a mini do you want a covered balcony or uncovered?

The covered ones are very popular. They are the AD cat and there are only 12 of them on Emerald deck so they sell out fast. They are down a quiet hallway and the balcony is protected from the elements.

 

The rest of the minis are on Dolphin deck and are completley exposed.

 

Princess cabins are very soundproof so don't worry about being near an elevator.

 

More aft cabins 600-700's will be closer to the buffet of course so a quick trip up the elevator is nice.

 

We prefer the Starboard or right side of the ship. No telling exactly which direction the ship will dock but the right side seems good.

As far as Glacier viewing the Captain will rotate the ship so that both sides can see if you stay on your balcony.

We spend hours on our baclony with binoculars.

[NotWthOutablcony]

Hello everyone!

This is my first time posting here but need some expert advice. Let me apologize in advance for the length of this post but I have lots of questions.

 

My husband and I are just beginning to plan an Alaskan Cruise (our very first cruise) for June 2011 to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. I have begun to research the cruise lines and definitely feel drawn to the Sapphire Princess. We plan to sail out of and into Seattle.

 

Since it will be a milestone anniversary, we want to splurge and get a mini-suite. Now comes the dilemna of picking which suite on the Dolphin Deck will be the best location for us? Do we want to be near the elevators or is that going to be too noisy with people chatting when they get off/on the elevators? Do we want to be near the self-serv laundromat or is that also a noisy place? Do we want to be forward on the ship or near the rear? I looked at the deck plans and am so confused with all the possibilities.

 

And since we'll have a balcony is it better to have a room facing the shore while sailing north or sailing south? Or does it even matter?

 

And does anyone know when the Alaskan cruises for 2011 will be available online? We plan to book our cruise as early as possible so that we can get the suite of our choice.

 

Any experiences, personal preferences, and information would be greatly appreciated. I know it's early to be asking and this post is extremely LONG but I am so excited about our first cruise and want to make the most informed decisions.

 

Thanks!:)

Welcome!!! As Colo asked, do you want a covered or uncovered balcony? We really enjoy our privacy and don't want people looking down onto our balcony from other decks so we always stay in the AD minis on the Emerald Deck, because its so far ahead of time, you have a great chance of getting E731 or E728, they are the very aft minis, with a bit of a view of the wake and almost twice the size balcony, same price;) not many know about these and not too many are willing to share because these are the best rooms on the ship. We are booked in E731 for our Hawaii cruise.

Its never too early to ask questions! Port or Starboard really don't matter, E731 is Starboard and E728 is Port, generally we always stay port, and I really don't know why:D like Colo said, ou wont hear anything from the elevators etc. The aft minis such as the ones I've mentioned are in a great location especially for the Sapphire, just a few decks up and you end up right inside the Horizon Court Buffet, step out the back from there and there are the pools, hottub and bar. You will end up walking a bit more, you'll familiarize yourself with where things are located and know that it would be faster to get there by taking the middle elevator etc. so you do walk a bit more when staying in the back, but it sometimes can save your waistline! I know it does for us! The Sapphire IMHO, is the best ship in the fleet, you'll love her, she's absolutely stunning! If you do a search for E731 you'll fins lots of info and pics of the room and balcony!

[karatemom2]

Welcome! We haven't been on the Sapphire yet, but have been on her sister ship the Diamond for three cruises. It is our very favorite ship, so I'm sure you will love the Sapphire. I can't offer any advice in your stateroom choice, but I wanted to encourage you to be sure to spend some time reading up at the Alaska board too. You will find great information about excursions and tours. Here is a link:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

[smitty3000]

Welcome!!! As Colo asked, do you want a covered or uncovered balcony? We really enjoy our privacy and don't want people looking down onto our balcony from other decks so we always stay in the AD minis on the Emerald Deck, because its so far ahead of time, you have a great chance of getting E731 or E728, they are the very aft minis, with a bit of a view of the wake and almost twice the size balcony, same price;) not many know about these and not too many are willing to share because these are the best rooms on the ship. We are booked in E731 for our Hawaii cruise.

Its never too early to ask questions! Port or Starboard really don't matter, E731 is Starboard and E728 is Port, generally we always stay port, and I really don't know why:D like Colo said, ou wont hear anything from the elevators etc. The aft minis such as the ones I've mentioned are in a great location especially for the Sapphire, just a few decks up and you end up right inside the Horizon Court Buffet, step out the back from there and there are the pools, hottub and bar. You will end up walking a bit more, you'll familiarize yourself with where things are located and know that it would be faster to get there by taking the middle elevator etc. so you do walk a bit more when staying in the back, but it sometimes can save your waistline! I know it does for us! The Sapphire IMHO, is the best ship in the fleet, you'll love her, she's absolutely stunning! If you do a search for E731 you'll fins lots of info and pics of the room and balcony!

Is this cabin right above Club Fusion? Did you hear noise from that? We always like cabins above and below us. We were by the elevator but did not hear a sound. Wonderful ship!:)

[pejay]

Is this cabin right above Club Fusion? Did you hear noise from that? We always like cabins above and below us. We were by the elevator but did not hear a sound. Wonderful ship!:)

 

We are just off the Sapphire and were in E719 and E715 above the club Fusion.....didn't hear any noise.

[pizzalady1]

If you can snag E731 go for it quick. It is the last starboard aft mini on the Emerald deck--fully covered, and has the extended balcony. It goes quickly, but if you go for it as soon as the bookings are opened. E728 is the same only on the port side, but some (but not many) have said that they can hear some Club Fusion noise.

 

Attached are two pics

[TuxedoMan]

Hello everyone!

And since we'll have a balcony is it better to have a room facing the shore while sailing north or sailing south? Or does it even matter?

 

 

 

Thanks!:)

IMHO it makes no difference. Captain will go into a fjord and spin the ship around so you can enjoy it from both sides and both ends...Absolutely awesome cruise...Did Sapphire Vancouver 2 Anchorage in June...($ was tight so we did inside cabin, it wasn't our fav) but we did a lot of running back and forth to each side of the ship when the announcment would come over PA about "such and such on X side of ship"...and then "on the other side of the ship you can see X"

 

You are in for a real treat.

[csaeroach]

We are cruising this Saturday on Sapphire Princess and my parents have E731 and we have E735. I will take lots of pics and post them for you when we return if you would like to see the inside of the mini suite and balcony. We are looking forward to enjoying both these cabins.

[PeterPasta]

I have been told by my TA that the starboard side is a better choice, I dont know why. I think that we should be able to switch cabins like in the old day's. The term POSH comes from cruising - Port Out Starboard Home, has something to do with prevailing winds and the suns position. This of course was all before a/c.

[NotWthOutablcony]

If you can snag E731 go for it quick. It is the last starboard aft mini on the Emerald deck--fully covered, and has the extended balcony. It goes quickly, but if you go for it as soon as the bookings are opened. E728 is the same only on the port side, but some (but not many) have said that they can hear some Club Fusion noise.

 

Attached are two pics

Pizzalady! Your back! How was the room? Do you have any other pics you'd be willing to share? I kept looking for you on the boards, how was our favorite ship? We can't wait to go, suh a long time away!

[simok99]

Hi Sapphire is great..we were in alaska this june....we were forward starboard ..it does not matter which side you are on as there is plenty to see both sides of ship..in fact we were more on deck moving from left to right to take in all the great scenery.

A must is a set of good binoculars i did not take any but bought off the ship which were quite reasonable..WOW what a difference they made to the holiday as when you look out with naked eye it seems like its quiet water...use the binos and it comes alive with sea otters humpbacks various birdlife orcas and dall porpoise.

Wish we were still there. any cabin position with a balcony is good.

Have a great time in alaska...also book tours independant we saved a small fortune.:)

[atlanta_living]

I am becoming addicted to these boards! I find myself having to log on every evening to see the posts. I only wish my cruise was happening sooner.

[NotWthOutablcony]

I am becoming addicted to these boards! I find myself having to log on every evening to see the posts. I only wish my cruise was happening sooner.

LOL! I know, I'm going to start a CC Anonymous! I just sent some good friends of mine information on the Sapphire, they will possibly be joining us for our Hawaii cruise as their Honeymoon. I feel like lately, all I've talked about is the Sapphire! Its my favorite subject! She truly stands out from the rest of the fleet!

[simok99]

Atlanta have you booked yet...dont delay you will love the great scenery,food and more food.

 

We are from liverpool england and thought we had seen all scenery until we took float plane to misty fjords.....this is a must see jaw dropping tour WOW..i wanna stay in one of those isolated cabins on the banks of a lake.

 

we are off to canada 23 october for 15 nts on crown cant wait!!!!:)

[pizzalady1]

Pizzalady! Your back! How was the room? Do you have any other pics you'd be willing to share? I kept looking for you on the boards, how was our favorite ship? We can't wait to go, suh a long time away!

 

It was a real special room with extended balcony. It is amazing how much of an expansive feel you have with that extra space. The room was your standard mini, it had a very large closet and pretty good sized bathroom. Take some clips to weight down the shower curtain--it kept flowing in and sticking to me. The bed was even comfortable--the steward had put on the eggcrate and an additional mattress pad. Freddie was the steward and he was really great.

[NotWthOutablcony]

Wow thanks for the photos! I can't wait. Those shots of the balcony were great! I know its a long shot, but I wonder if Freddi will be on our cruise? Out of curiosity, did you order room service and if so on average, how long did it take? Our Caribbean Princess cruise we'd order our nightly pot of coffee and maybe a snack every single night, we never waited more than 15 minutes, we were very center of the ship on Baja deck, our last cruise we were in E724 and would order our pot of coffee and wait AT LEAST 35 minutes, for a pot of coffee!!! So I soon wrote it off because of our location on the ship, did you incur any long waits for room service?

Thanks! -Val-

[pizzalady1]

Out of curiosity, did you order room service and if so on average, how long did it take?

 

 

We only ordered room service once, and it was lunch on Glacier Bay day, so room service was probably swamped. It only took them about 20 minutes and everything was perfect even though we asked for extra this, no that, and instead of.