Quick Impressions - Sapphire Princess Coastal 9/19-9/24/11

[Vexorg]

I just got off the 5-day Sapphire Princess repositioning cruise from Vancouver to LA this morning, and I have to say that I was rather impressed with the ship and the crew. I'll post a full review later (probably not another day-by-day one this time, but I'll make a review and post it to CC when I get home) but here are a few quick thoughts now that I'm back to non gold-plated WiFi:

 

-Cruise director: Kelvin Joy was CD on this trip, and as I mentioned in another thread, I'd have to say he was the best CD I've sailed with since Sammi Baker on the Star a number of years ago. Very visible on the ship, entertained the crowd very well at the activities he ran, and even spent a good half hour at the CC Meet-and-Greet before he had to take off to go run Bingo. He's headed for Australia and the Dawn Princess after this cruise.

 

-Weather: The weather in Vancouver and Victoria was about as nice as you could possibly ask for at this time of year, and San Francisco was very nice as well, although the Bay was fogged in for most of the day we were there, to the point that hardly anything could be seen when sailing under the Golden Gate after departing. The first sea day was also foggy pretty much all day, and the ship's horn going off every five minutes made it hard to spend much time above deck, although it was still reasonably warm (by my definition at least.) There were some rolling seas, but nothing too bad.

 

-Embarkation: Much better than the mess last time I was in Vancouver. There was still a security line, but it was only about 10 minutes or so, and I was on the ship pretty quickly after that.

 

-Problems: The only problem I'd really have to report is that there was some disorganization with the customs inspection in San Francisco, to the point that it forced the cancellation of the Princess Alcatraz shore excursion because the ferry across was scheduled for 11, and we didn't get clearance to go ashore until about 11:15 or so. I think it wasn't made clear enough that everyone, regardless if they were getting off the ship or not that day, had to go through Customs inspection, and some people assumed they were exempt. Eventually they had to start calling people by name and presumably tracking them down. Wouldn't want to be one of those people...

 

Passengers: I'd definitely say that this cruise had an older group of passengers than some of the other ones I've been on (then again, the last one I took was Ruby Princess Eastern Caribbean during Spring Break season.) I think I may have been the youngest person at the CC meet and greet... There were a few kids and teens, but they were a decided minority on this trip. For dinner, I was assigned to an 8-person table, but we never had more than 4 people, and most nights only 3 of us (me and a couple from the LA area) showed up. Apparently the people at the table for 4 next to us were friends of the other couple, and if we had thought about it sooner we probably should have just asked to have the tables consolidated together.

 

Crew: I had late fixed seating in the MDR, and Elvis and Ralph were our waiters, and did a good job. Joselito was my room steward, and also did an excellent job as well. Can't think of a lot of other people that stood out for any good or bad reason though, but everyone seemed to do their job well.

 

Construction: On this trip, it looks like there were the beginnings of some work and loading of materials related to the upcoming drydock. As of the end of the cruise the aft portion of Sport Deck behind Skywalkers (and the two hot tubs in that area) were closed off for some sort of work, and in Victoria there were several pallets of materials loaded onto the ship and stored in what will eventually become the Sanctuary area.

 

Anyway, more thoughts on this trip later. For any fellow passengers reading this, I enjoyed meeting everyone at the M&G, and enjoyed the trip as well. All in all, I wouldn't hesitate to book the Sapphire Princess or this itinerary again (and in fact I'm giving some thought to next year's southbound repo, which will be 7 days this time with two added stops in Nanaimo BC and San Diego.)

[RickEk]

Thanks for the review!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Nice review! We are looking forward to the Sapphire in May for her 7 night repo back north. It was good to see you liked the ship so much.:)

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for your initial thoughts. Looking forward to reading your full review.....:):):)

 

Bob

[KruzPrincess]

Thanks for taking the time to post your report. I have a coastal on the Sapphire coming up next year and it's good to read that your enjoyed it.

[ShipsandDipper]

We too are just off this sailing. Excellent debarkation and ground transport - only one hour between starting out of the Wheelhouse lounge to arriving at our gate at LAX!

 

We also enjoyed the trip. Weather in Victoria was lovely for visiting the Butchart Gardens. I'm glad we didn't have set plans in San Francisco, though, because of the 3-hour delay in immigration. I agree that the ship didn't clearly tell the passengers that everyone had to clear immigration before anyone could leave the ship. We dutifully took our passports for inspection and got a "cleared" card, but later, I got a call in our cabin doing a "spot check" to see if I had cleared immigration. I wonder, if I hadn't been the cabin to get the call and confirm that I had been cleared, would I have heard my name called over the intercom later?

 

I liked the Sapphire, but was a little disappointed in the anytime dining room service. The waiters were somewhat brusque. I understand they're busy, but more than once they didn't even bother telling us about the restaurant's special dish (we ended up asking at some point during the week). Other staff were personable, though. I also missed the International Cafe. Going in, I knew there was no IC and I didn't think it would matter, since plenty of food is available on Lido, but as it turned out I really did miss it!

[lovevacadays]

Thanks for the review. I'm looking forward to reading the reviews on the repo's and coastals.

[srpilo]

Thanks for your thoughts

 

 

 

Srpilo

[cdngrl]

now you have me thinking about next fall...i do love san diego...

[because]

Also on the Sapphire 9/19 - 9/24 and was one of those passengers booked on the Alcatraz shore excursion. Too bad that the instructions for immigration check were not more specific. By the way, how does one hear about the CC get together. I did not see anything in the Patter or did I just miss seeing it?? Booked on the Sapphire April 28 and looking forward to the updates. This was my sixth time on the Sapphire.

[jnc411]

Thanks so much for the review. Sounds like a wonderful cruise. We will be on the Sapphire in Nov. , and hope that there is not too much going on for the upcoming drydock, I don't think that is till Jan. , right ?? Was a bit surprized to hear that they are already loading things for the drydock renovation. I know there a still a few 14 day RT Hawaii from LA and a 28 day RT LA- Hawaii- Tahiti too.

Cori

[TracieABD]

Thanks for the quick review! Looking forward to hearing more...:)

[bajabob]

Vexorg

Like the others, I would like to thank you for taking the time to update us on the all things Sapphire. We leave in about two weeks for the Hawaii trip which will be to date our biggest cruise adventure. I am hoping everything is operational and they hold off on shutting down pools and such until drydock....

 

Looking forward to your full report.

thanks

bb

[Toto2Kansas]

Also on the Sapphire 9/19 - 9/24 and was one of those passengers booked on the Alcatraz shore excursion. Too bad that the instructions for immigration check were not more specific. By the way, how does one hear about the CC get together. I did not see anything in the Patter or did I just miss seeing it?? Booked on the Sapphire April 28 and looking forward to the updates. This was my sixth time on the Sapphire.

 

The best way to find out about CC meets is to join your roll call for the cruise. Normally, it is arranged before everyone leaves for the cruise, either privately or through Princess. Just go to the roll call section here on CC, find your ship and sailing date, and join in. :)

[Tickled2Trvl]

I just got off the 5-day Sapphire Princess repositioning cruise from Vancouver to LA this morning, and I have to say that I was rather impressed with the ship and the crew. I'll post a full review later (probably not another day-by-day one this time, but I'll make a review and post it to CC when I get home) but here are a few quick thoughts now that I'm back to non gold-plated WiFi:

 

-Cruise director: Kelvin Joy was CD on this trip, and as I mentioned in another thread, I'd have to say he was the best CD I've sailed with since Sammi Baker on the Star a number of years ago. Very visible on the ship, entertained the crowd very well at the activities he ran, and even spent a good half hour at the CC Meet-and-Greet before he had to take off to go run Bingo. He's headed for Australia and the Dawn Princess after this cruise.

 

-Weather: The weather in Vancouver and Victoria was about as nice as you could possibly ask for at this time of year, and San Francisco was very nice as well, although the Bay was fogged in for most of the day we were there, to the point that hardly anything could be seen when sailing under the Golden Gate after departing. The first sea day was also foggy pretty much all day, and the ship's horn going off every five minutes made it hard to spend much time above deck, although it was still reasonably warm (by my definition at least.) There were some rolling seas, but nothing too bad.

 

-Embarkation: Much better than the mess last time I was in Vancouver. There was still a security line, but it was only about 10 minutes or so, and I was on the ship pretty quickly after that.

 

-Problems: The only problem I'd really have to report is that there was some disorganization with the customs inspection in San Francisco, to the point that it forced the cancellation of the Princess Alcatraz shore excursion because the ferry across was scheduled for 11, and we didn't get clearance to go ashore until about 11:15 or so. I think it wasn't made clear enough that everyone, regardless if they were getting off the ship or not that day, had to go through Customs inspection, and some people assumed they were exempt. Eventually they had to start calling people by name and presumably tracking them down. Wouldn't want to be one of those people...

 

Passengers: I'd definitely say that this cruise had an older group of passengers than some of the other ones I've been on (then again, the last one I took was Ruby Princess Eastern Caribbean during Spring Break season.) I think I may have been the youngest person at the CC meet and greet... There were a few kids and teens, but they were a decided minority on this trip. For dinner, I was assigned to an 8-person table, but we never had more than 4 people, and most nights only 3 of us (me and a couple from the LA area) showed up. Apparently the people at the table for 4 next to us were friends of the other couple, and if we had thought about it sooner we probably should have just asked to have the tables consolidated together.

 

Crew: I had late fixed seating in the MDR, and Elvis and Ralph were our waiters, and did a good job. Joselito was my room steward, and also did an excellent job as well. Can't think of a lot of other people that stood out for any good or bad reason though, but everyone seemed to do their job well.

 

Construction: On this trip, it looks like there were the beginnings of some work and loading of materials related to the upcoming drydock. As of the end of the cruise the aft portion of Sport Deck behind Skywalkers (and the two hot tubs in that area) were closed off for some sort of work, and in Victoria there were several pallets of materials loaded onto the ship and stored in what will eventually become the Sanctuary area.

 

Anyway, more thoughts on this trip later. For any fellow passengers reading this, I enjoyed meeting everyone at the M&G, and enjoyed the trip as well. All in all, I wouldn't hesitate to book the Sapphire Princess or this itinerary again (and in fact I'm giving some thought to next year's southbound repo, which will be 7 days this time with two added stops in Nanaimo BC and San Diego.)

 

Brian,

I am surprised about the "customs" in San Fran...why and what?

 

and the construction stuff....we will be on the 10/1 sailing and I know they do the Hawaiian R/T after that.....I don't want to start a thread about what we are owed for this and that....but if you could share.

 

After our one night cruise in May, forget the mess with the four ships in dock...we had to get back on the Sapphire for one of it's last cruises before her dry dock.

Any comments you could share would be great.

[sassyredhat]

Thank you for the very reassuring post about Sapphire. We just got off the Sea Princess last week---our first PCL cruise. We were not thrilled with the ship.

We have Sapphire booked for 2 future cruises---Hawaii and a Coastals so it's good to know that we will like this ship better.

Pat :)

[Vexorg]

Brian,

I am surprised about the "customs" in San Fran...why and what?

 

and the construction stuff....we will be on the 10/1 sailing and I know they do the Hawaiian R/T after that.....I don't want to start a thread about what we are owed for this and that....but if you could share.

 

After our one night cruise in May, forget the mess with the four ships in dock...we had to get back on the Sapphire for one of it's last cruises before her dry dock.

Any comments you could share would be great.

 

I have to agree that the one-day cruise just wasn't a good way to get an impression of the ship, things were much better with a full five days. I also find that going with fixed seating in the dining room seems to get you much better service than anytime does.

 

As for construction, I can't say for sure what the impacts will be like between now and the drydock, but at the front there are currently a bunch of supplies stowed in what is currently unused space that will eventually be in the Sanctuary. The sport court is still open, at least for the time being. In the back of the ship, right now it's the space around the aft hot tubs and the area behind Skywalkers that's closed off. It wasn't clear what was being done there, but it looks like it was probably related to replacing carpets.

 

Customs in San Francisco: Since the ship was entering the US from Canada (as Victoria was the previous port) they had to set up a customs inspection before people would be let off. They had several Customs officers board the ship and set up an inspection station inside Club Fusion for US citizens/Green Card holders and in the theater for non-US citizens. Not sure what the non-US citizens got for an inspection, but for the US citizens it was just a simple matter of having your passport checked and your cruise card scanned. There were no further checks being made after getting off the ship. Nothing fancy really, but there were some communication issues in the process that led to the delays and other problems.

[Bonnie1750]

Thanks for your comments. We are booked on March 24th Coastal so looking forward to your full review. We experienced any time dining on the Sapphire and were not impressed. We will have fixed seating this time.

[furb]

I really enjoyed this cruise, with the only real flaw being the Customs snafu in SF (which probably really only would have required a ship-wide announcement on the previous night). It was fun comparing the Sapphire to it's sister ship, the Diamond... and with the Caribbean and all of its neat upgrades.

 

The only "*****??" moment was having one of my reading sessions disturbed by some amazingly clueless parent deciding that a BAR would be a perfectly lovely place to park his infant in a stroller.

[erewhon]

Than you for the report of your cruise.

[gelo7]

Thanks for sharing.

[BalconyGal]

Thanks for your thoughts. How disappointing for the Alcatraz excursion pax. I was there in March and it is a wonderful place to explore.

[BEAV]

We were on this sailing and always enjoy the chance to take a short mini-cruise up/down the West Coast in Spring or Fall.

 

By chance did anyone reading attend the Chef's Table dinner on the last night of the cruise? We tried to book, but were told before we left Princess only does this on sailings of 7 nights or longer. But when we boarded the ship in Vancouver I noticed an ad in that day's Patter for the dinner. I immediately called the dine line and got our name on the list and were told we'd be contacted later as to which day they would hold the event. On day 3 I received a letter addressed to myself and another passenger not even traveling with me, apologizing that the event was fully booked. I again called the dine line thinking there was some sort of mix-up due to the strange name on the envelope delivered to my stateroom, but they confirmed the event was already booked. I mentioned I was surprised I didn't get my reservation in soon enough having called within 30 minutes after boarding in Vancouver (and we were among the first group to board). The employee said people book the event pre-cruise weeks before boarding :confused:. I didn't think that was possible, especially give the fact Princess told me they wouldn't even hold the event on sailings of less than 7 nights. Despite the confusion and disappointment, we enjoyed our mini-getaway and the great weather in Vancouver, Victoria and San Francisco.

 

Having a lot of cruises under our belt on everything from NCL to Crystal, Princess to Disney, we had a virgin experience this sailing! This was the first ship and cruise line where we felt the main dining room food and service was as good (if not better) than the specialty restaurants. We tried both Sabbatini's and Sterling on the first two nights and were disappointed overall. In contrast we very much enjoyed the food, service and ambiance for the remaineder of the voyage in the Santa Fe dining froom. It was never a problem getting reservations as we always booked a table between 8:00 and 8:30pm, apparently after the "rush".

 

Elsewhere around the ship we found the service to be very good. We really enjoyed the coffee card and our morning cappuccinos and afternoon iced coffees!

 

Thanks, Princess, for providing an enjoyable 5 days getting away from the daily grind and routine! ;)

[llandaff]

We were on this sailing and always enjoy the chance to take a short mini-cruise up/down the West Coast in Spring or Fall.

 

By chance did anyone reading attend the Chef's Table dinner on the last night of the cruise?

 

We had an almost identical experience with trying to book the Chef's Table. We too were amongst the first to board the ship and called immediately. We also received the "sorry, fully booked" letter on the 3rd day and were disappointed. I suspect the most likely explanation is that the Chef's Table really isn't held on short cruises and someone "goofed" on including the ad in the Patter. Personally I would have much preferred honesty and an apology if this was the case.

 

In general, although we thoroughly enjoyed our break, we felt that everything about the Sapphire was slightly disorganized (over and above the complete debacle regarding immigration in San Francisco). There seemed to be a lack of supervisors in all areas, staff conversed in their own languages throughout the ship (this doesn't bother me, but I have never encountered it on any other Princess ship), our cabin steward took no notice of our regular schedule, staff were reprimanded in public, etc. None of these were a big deal, just not quite up to the usual Princess standard, we felt.

 

The food and dining room staff were excellent on the whole, though service was slow the first two days (waited an hour for the first course to arrive on the first day). I think I'm the only person on Cruise Critic who is not a fan of the International Cafe so I was happy to have my coffee in peace!

 

Overall, I think Princess is still providing a great value and I'm looking forward to my first cruise as an Elite next year!

[BEAV]

We had an almost identical experience with trying to book the Chef's Table. We too were amongst the first to board the ship and called immediately. We also received the "sorry, fully booked" letter on the 3rd day and were disappointed. I suspect the most likely explanation is that the Chef's Table really isn't held on short cruises and someone "goofed" on including the ad in the Patter. Personally I would have much preferred honesty and an apology if this was the case.

 

 

Having read of your similar experience makes me more convinced the Chef's Table dinner didn't even happen at all. We discussed this after receiving the "sorry, sold out" letter, which was a real surprise to us given the fact we put our names on the list within 30 minutes of boarding in Vancouver! Given the fact the specialty restaurants were no problem to book whatsoever, it seems a little odd the more expensive Chef's dinner was fully booked within 30 minutes of embarkation. We joked to ourselves that if this was truly the case, why couldn't they just say in the letter "sorry for the confusion - this event is not being offered this sailing". Saying it was sold out just added to the confusion IMO.