Sapphire Alaska 5/16

[janina]

Glad you had great weather. May in Alaska, you were lucky. Glad you enjoyed your anytime dinning.

[Coral]

Glad you had great weather. May in Alaska, you were lucky. Glad you enjoyed your anytime dinning.

 

I have cruised to Alaska many times in May and have had great luck. I would rather cruise in May then August.

[PBTX]

We just returned from the 5/16 Alaska sailing and I wanted to give you my comments. We are diamond on RC and this is our first Princess cruise for many years. Our group was myself, my DH and our 2 sons (25 & 23). We had a suite (C757) and a nearby inside.

 

My wife and I were on the same cruise in C755, hopefully we did not keep anyone up.

While we agree most of the cruise was very good, we did have a few issues where Princess has really fallen down over the years. We took an Alaskan cruise on the Royal Princess in 2002(?) and that cruise set the standard for us.

 

I do not want to discount what the poster wrote, but I want to document our experience. We talked to a travel agent who was in the Wheelhouse departure lounge with us and she seemed to agree with most of this.

 

This time, the suite, Glacier Bay, was fantastic. I do not know if we can cruise again without getting a full suite. It was hard to get room service before 6:00 am, all we wanted was coffee. I ended up going up to 14 and getting coffee many times. But, they did keep the suite supplied with fresh fruits and chocolate strawberries.

 

I had to fight with room service over the welcoming champagne, but Princess did provide fresh flowers and a bottle of champagne after I called.

 

Princess had the usual selling of photos, art, and jewelry, we just ignored most of that. The suites had free internet access so that was nice.

 

On sailing day, Sunday, the only meal was the buffet and that was a mad house, I was elbowed so many times, that I lost track. In addition, the terminal was horrible. Princess had two lines, a short one for international travelers and a long one for domestic. They stop you before the line and make you fill out a health questionaire.

 

Other meals were really horrible. Formal night is a joke now. Many people do not make an attempt, I saw many tshirts and ball caps at dinner. I asked for first seating, but ended up with anytime dining. We were supposed to celebrate our anniversary on the first formal night and chose the Pacific Moon. They seated us next to a family dressed in t-shirts who were fighting with their daughter over what she would eat. The head waiter totally ignored me when I asked to be moved. We ended up leaving in the middle of the meal.

 

The main dining rooms appear to be understaffed with people who do not really care what the experience is. We ended up in Sabatinis for many of our meals (including all of our breakfasts, Stephan and the staff are better than fantastic) and those were fantastic, maybe Princess is trying to force everyone into paying more for the meals.

 

Tracy Arm compared to Glacier Bay is no contest. Glacier Bay is the way to go. The Sapphire does not spend enough time in Skagway, we had no time to site see after our Yukon excursion. Every other cruise ship sailed at faster speeds and either stayed in port longer or arrived earlier than Sapphire.

 

And, watch out for Victoria. We arrived well ahead of time, but stopped outside and let two other ships dock. The people who chose to use the shuttle had over an one hour wait for the shuttle after docking. They only had one or two buses available at anytime. I took pictures throughout the evening of this, I plan to ask for my shuttle money back.

 

All of that being said, you can not beat the suite experience. I am sending Princess these notes. Don't get me wrong, there are many experiences that could be much worse, but when a company sets a certain expectation level, they have to live up to it each trip. In fact, I spoke to the Maitre d' Hotel about the dining disaster and he did not disagree.

 

I hope this helps, but don't let it discourage you from trying Princess at least one time.

[michigan tim]

If you've not cruised in a few years, this would be a bit of a shock. Cutbacks are prevalent on every level. Room stewards are responsible for more rooms, dining staff have more tables, cooks have more meals, etc... Also a reduction in quality and portion size. Costs have increased, but the price charged for a cabin has not, thus something has to give.

[Working 2 Cruise]

My wife and I were on the same cruise in C755, hopefully we did not keep anyone up.

While we agree most of the cruise was very good, we did have a few issues where Princess has really fallen down over the years. We took an Alaskan cruise on the Royal Princess in 2002(?) and that cruise set the standard for us.

 

 

Princess had the usual selling of photos, art, and jewelry, we just ignored most of that. Would have to agree with that... Ignoring all of this is very easy....

Other meals were really horrible. Never had a problem with Horizon Court... Always found a place to sit, and once you know how everything is set up, I found it pretty easy to follow...

 

Formal night is a joke now. Many people do not make an attempt, I saw many tshirts and ball caps at dinner. I asked for first seating, but ended up with anytime dining. We were supposed to celebrate our anniversary on the first formal night and chose the Pacific Moon. They seated us next to a family dressed in t-shirts who were fighting with their daughter over what she would eat. The head waiter totally ignored me when I asked to be moved. We ended up leaving in the middle of the meal. Big deal! For a celebration, I would have suggested Sabatini's...

 

The main dining rooms appear to be understaffed with people who do not really care what the experience is. I have had some fantastic waiters! We ended up in Sabatinis for many of our meals (including all of our breakfasts, Stephan and the staff are better than fantastic) and those were fantastic, maybe Princess is trying to force everyone into paying more for the meals. As I said, I have had some fantastic waiters (just not in Santa Fe, watch out for Gerczy!). I don't believe Princess is trying to force anyone into paying for specialty restaurants. Food was really good in the MDR too... Well, it ranged from good to really very good.

 

 

All of that being said, you can not beat the suite experience. I am sending Princess these notes. Don't get me wrong, there are many experiences that could be much worse, but when a company sets a certain expectation level, they have to live up to it each trip. In fact, I spoke to the Maitre d' Hotel about the dining disaster and he did not disagree.

 

I hope this helps, but don't let it discourage you from trying Princess at least one time.

 

It seems that you were very unhappy with most of your cruise... Except for the suite, of course! Since money does not seem to be an issue for you, maybe you should consider a cruise line like Crystal, Regent or Seabourn... For the rest of us peons, we will continue to enjoy Princess. Sure, were there some things that could have been done better, of course! All in all we had a very enjoyable experience, and have booked Princess again.

[suzski]

Recent Sapphire Cruisers: were there any ScholarShip@Sea Programs offered on your Alaska cruise?

[grandmakathy]

Any of you recent cruisers remember what menus were which night. I usually like to go to Sabitini's or Sterlings on nights with French or Carribbean themes. Trying to plan for an August cruise.

[PBTX]

It seems that you were very unhappy with most of your cruise... Except for the suite, of course! Since money does not seem to be an issue for you, maybe you should consider a cruise line like Crystal, Regent or Seabourn... For the rest of us peons, we will continue to enjoy Princess. Sure, were there some things that could have been done better, of course! All in all we had a very enjoyable experience, and have booked Princess again.

I am pretty sure I said the cruise was very good. It just does not live up to the expectations set on previous cruises. People need to be aware of it.

 

BTW, price matters we just got very lucky with upgrades.:D

[PBTX]

Any of you recent cruisers remember what menus were which night. I usually like to go to Sabitini's or Sterlings on nights with French or Carribbean themes. Trying to plan for an August cruise.

 

Sabatinis had the same menu and theme every night, even on the two formal nights. And, you can order just about anything you want for the main course. The waiters bring the antipasto by a few items at a time, it was a very enjoyable experience. Try the creme brulee, it was out of this world.

[triviaplayer7425]

We always have lunch in the Dining room the day we embark. you just have to go there and ask to be seated. On that day there are very few people that either know about it, or just go to the buffet...that is our last choice. The selection is quite good and there is usually a Souffle or ice cream and other yummy goodies to choose from. Also, if you do a back to back as we do, you can dine there also. Enjoy. Joyce

[PBTX]

We always have lunch in the Dining room the day we embark. you just have to go there and ask to be seated. On that day there are very few people that either know about it, or just go to the buffet...that is our last choice. The selection is quite good and there is usually a Souffle or ice cream and other yummy goodies to choose from. Also, if you do a back to back as we do, you can dine there also. Enjoy. Joyce

 

Yes, the lunch in the dining rooms is enjoyable. That was one of my 'DOH!' moments after we boarded.