Notes from latest cruise on Sapphire

[huskerdan25]

I usually do a full-blown review but with this being our 3rd (and final) cruise to the Mexican Riviera, I just thought I would share some highlights.

 

1) Pre-cruise. Stayed at the Crowne Plaza in San Pedro. Our transportation via execucar from LAX to hotel was very comfortable (Honda Odyssey) and took just 25-30 mins. Same was true going from the ship back to LAX on disembarkation day. Thanks execucar for the great service. Also, we really liked the Crowne Plaza and wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

 

2) We tried to have lunch in the MDR on embarkation day but was turned away. This was very disappointing as we like many others hate going to the buffet on embarkation day. This is the first time we were turned away and we had our friends who were first time cruisers on Princess with us. Very disappointing. Wasn't the best way to start the cruise.

 

3) Embarkation and disembarkation were a breeze! We arrived about 10am to Pier 93 and by 11:45am, we were on the ship. We did self-disembarkation and I was shocked that we were off the Sapphire by 8:15am! I did not expect to be off before 9am and we ended up having to wait 45 mins for our private transportation we had set up with supershuttle/execucar. Both embarkation and disembarkation were great experiences.

 

3) Stayed in an inside cabin for the first time ever (A417) and frankly, we loved it! Felt the room size was fine and liked the layout of the cabin. We will not have any reservations in booking an inside cabin for a Med cruise that is port intensive. Our next cruise is to Hawaii next year on the Star and we will definitely get a balcony cabin with so many sea days. But we actually enjoyed cruising in an inside cabin. We ended up spending more time near the pools this cruise than our previous cruises with a balcony.

 

4) Purchases the 7 day thermal grotto pass ($99pp). We used this everyday and we can't imagine cruising without it for future cruises. We have never been more relaxed in our lives. Love the heated ceramic tables!

 

5) Food and service. I don't know what it is but I found myself commenting about the menu each night in the MDR. We had early, traditional dining. I just found the menu to be so-so as far as choices. On our Alaska cruise in July, I had a much harder time selecting just one entree but this time, I often wasn't thrilled with any of the entree offerings. Don't get me wrong. The food was good and the leg of lamb was the best entree I had the entire cruise.

 

We felt the service was good but not outstanding on this cruise. This is the first of our 5 cruises that we did not tip extra. Everything was adequate but nothing really stuck out, both from our cabin steward and our waiters in the MDR.

 

6) Entertainment. We felt that this crew was one of the most talented we had experienced. Steve Moris was excellent as was the magician. And the singers were very good. We really enjoyed the crew talent show.

 

7) Mazatlan. We were going back and forth on whether we should do an excursion in Mazatlan or just stay on the ship. Well, Princess made our decision for us as we did not stop in Mazatlan. We were not disappointed frankly and we actually were happy with more time in Cabo. Though we had heard a lot of bad things about Ensenada, we found it to be clean and a nice stop. As for the ports, we think we are done with the Mexican Riviera. We would have been happy just staying on the ship the entire cruise.

 

8) The Ship. The Sapphire was the first ship we ever cruised on back in 2006 and we love her. She seems to be in fine shape for being 7 or 8 years old and while it will be good for her to go into retrofit in Jan 2012, we would rather she not get MUTS. The only real complaint is that the Sterling Steakhouse isn't it's own area but shares the back end of the Horizon Court. BTW, the steaks we had were fantastic!

 

We love the Princess product and feel the ships and activities are perfect for us. So far, the Coral is our favorite ship and nothing tops our Alaska cruise so far. We will continue to be loyal customers and are already looking forward to our next Princess cruise, April 2012, as platinum members. We do plan to try HAL or Oceania in the next year or two but we have always had a great cruise with Princess.

 

PS: I almost forgot. We did the Renewal of Vows ceremony and it was the highlight of the cruise for us! We were able to have our ceremony on our anniversary and it was a great experience for our 30th anniversary. We purchased the regular ceremony and felt it was worth it. If you want specifics, I would be glad to explain the experience in more detail. But don't hesitate to do this if you get a chance!

[WarEagle76]

Dan, thanks for the review. A couple of questions for you:

 

1. Which nights were formal nights?

2. What shows were playing at night in the theater?

 

Thanks!

[huskerdan25]

On this 7 day cruise, the first full day at sea was the first formal night (Sunday, Jan 23) and the second was on the Thursday (Jan 27).

 

The shows were Do You Want to Dance and Piano Man (played the last night and we did not attend). In between were performances by comedian Kevin Johnson (I believe that was his last name).

 

One more comment. It seems the Baked Alaska parade changes each time we cruise. This time, they did the parade in the MDR but the Baked Alaska was not brought to the tables whole. They were taken back into the galley and pre-cut slices were brought to the table. Kind of disappointing. On the Coral in July, the full Baked Alaska was brought to our table so we could take photos of it and it was cut right in front of us. True, minor issue but enough to disappoint a little.

[WarEagle76]

Thanks for the quick response, just what I was looking for.

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for the review. I thought the baked Alaska parade was kind of lame. No candles, no flames, just flashlights. Its now more of an excuse to cheer the Assistant waiters than build excitement for dessert.

[dfields1814]

We like the Sapphire as well. But .... What is with this not being able to have lunch in the MDR on embarkation day. Princess materials clearly state that you can have lunch there on embarkation. There must be a rouge manager of that restaurant.

 

On our cruise on the Sapphire in Dec we could not eat there as well. We were told the room was being used for a corporate Christmas party which was understandable. I don't know they could not move the lunch to another MDR.

 

I think you should be disappointed. That lunch is part of the package you paid for. But then again I would not let this spoil my embarkation day.

[tljc0901]

Thank you for the review. Can you share the details for the renewal of vows package? DH and I are having ours on Sapphire as well in April. I would appreciate any input. Thanks!

 

______________________

Caila

[ChelleR]

I usually do a full-blown review but with this being our 3rd (and final) cruise to the Mexican Riviera, I just thought I would share some highlights.

 

 

4) Purchases the 7 day thermal grotto pass ($99pp). We used this everyday and we can't imagine cruising without it for future cruises. We have never been more relaxed in our lives. Love the heated ceramic tables!

 

 

Where can I read and find out more about this thermal grotto?

 

Thanks!

Michelle

[huskerdan25]

Thank you for the review. Can you share the details for the renewal of vows package? DH and I are having ours on Sapphire as well in April. I would appreciate any input. Thanks!

 

______________________

Caila

 

Sure! We purchased the package for $220. The package included the following:

 

1) A bottle of Heidsieck Monopol Blue Label Champagne and two beautiful Princess engraved champagne glasses.

2) A box of Godiva chocolates in a heart shaped box

3) Orchid Bouquet and Boutonniere

4) Certificate of the Renewal of Vows signed by the Captain

5) A framed formal portrait from the photos taken during the ceremony. The frame was the nicest frame the photo shop had to offer.

 

When we got on board, we had a letter in our cabin with the information along with the number to contact the customer relations manager to plan the event. We asked if we could have it on our actual anniversary (Jan 23) and we were given two times from which to choose from (the ceremony takes about 15 minutes). We were asked if were exchanging rings and whether we wanted a religious ceremony or non-religious. We chose the religious. We met at the chapel across from the Wheelhouse Bar about 15 minutes before the ceremony. Basically the Captain had us take off our rings and as we recited our vows (very much like the ones you say during your wedding), we placed the ring on the other.

 

It was a very memorable experience and my wife couldn't stop crying (she probably realized she just renewed her vows with me and was stuck with me longer :)).

[huskerdan25]

Where can I read and find out more about this thermal grotto?

 

Thanks!

Michelle

 

I honestly don't know. When we were checking out the ship shortly after embarkation, we walked through the spa and that is how we found out about the thermal grotto. I am not sure if it is even available on all of the ships. We were very impressed with the lotus spa on the Sapphire and we never got hassled to purchase anything else. Most days it seemed we were the only ones using the thermal grotto. The heated ceramic beds are heavenly!

[huskerdan25]

We like the Sapphire as well. But .... What is with this not being able to have lunch in the MDR on embarkation day. Princess materials clearly state that you can have lunch there on embarkation. There must be a rouge manager of that restaurant.

 

On our cruise on the Sapphire in Dec we could not eat there as well. We were told the room was being used for a corporate Christmas party which was understandable. I don't know they could not move the lunch to another MDR.

 

I think you should be disappointed. That lunch is part of the package you paid for. But then again I would not let this spoil my embarkation day.

 

I definitely didn't let the disappointment impact my cruise experience but I was clearly agitated that we couldn't have lunch in the MDR. We were told that there was a luncheon for the Bon Voyage package but the MDR sure looked empty to me and there seemed to be plenty of staff. I made sure in my post cruise survey to mention this experience and made it clear that if policy is we can have lunch in the MDR on embarkation day, then there is no excuse for this.

[Putterdude]

Thanks for your review, we certainly enjoyed the Sapphire in early December and like you would be very happy not to see MUTS installed on her.

[shepp]

This time, they did the parade in the MDR but the Baked Alaska was not brought to the tables whole. They were taken back into the galley and pre-cut slices were brought to the table. Kind of disappointing.

 

I doubt that the ostensible desserts the waiters were prancing around with were the ones we - or anyone - ate; I rather suspect they might as well have been made of plastic.

 

For one thing, I recall that the slice of Baked Alaska I had was perfectly rectangular (as though cut from a loaf rather than from a dome).

 

For another, it was - for a change - really delicious.

[Neonsport]

Thanks for the review. I thought the baked Alaska parade was kind of lame. No candles, no flames, just flashlights. Its now more of an excuse to cheer the Assistant waiters than build excitement for dessert.

 

Haha! i had totally forgotten about this! I saw the battery operated candles last march. It was definately lame... I was never real fond of the parade of the baked alaska anyway...and without real candles it just seems completely pointless.

[Loonbeam]

We saw them preparing it during our UST. The dome ones are real, but they also make larger pan ones just to satisfy the demand...

 

I doubt that the ostensible desserts the waiters were prancing around with were the ones we - or anyone - ate; I rather suspect they might as well have been made of plastic.

 

For one thing, I recall that the slice of Baked Alaska I had was perfectly rectangular (as though cut from a loaf rather than from a dome).

 

For another, it was - for a change - really delicious.

[tljc0901]

Sure! We purchased the package for $220. The package included the following:

 

1) A bottle of Heidsieck Monopol Blue Label Champagne and two beautiful Princess engraved champagne glasses.

2) A box of Godiva chocolates in a heart shaped box

3) Orchid Bouquet and Boutonniere

4) Certificate of the Renewal of Vows signed by the Captain

5) A framed formal portrait from the photos taken during the ceremony. The frame was the nicest frame the photo shop had to offer.

 

When we got on board, we had a letter in our cabin with the information along with the number to contact the customer relations manager to plan the event. We asked if we could have it on our actual anniversary (Jan 23) and we were given two times from which to choose from (the ceremony takes about 15 minutes). We were asked if were exchanging rings and whether we wanted a religious ceremony or non-religious. We chose the religious. We met at the chapel across from the Wheelhouse Bar about 15 minutes before the ceremony. Basically the Captain had us take off our rings and as we recited our vows (very much like the ones you say during your wedding), we placed the ring on the other.

 

It was a very memorable experience and my wife couldn't stop crying (she probably realized she just renewed her vows with me and was stuck with me longer :)).

 

Thanks for the info. it's great to know that Princess had everything organized and made your experience memorable. I know for sure I'll be crying the entire time for our ceremony just like your wife!! ;)

 

_______________

Caila