Finally LIVE from the Sapphire Princess 28 Day sailing

[dog]

Toto,

amazing! Thanks so much for sharing while on your cruise. All your posts are appreciated.

The GS sounds wonderful as well as the service that came along with it.

take care

[Rusty B]

Hi ToTo and the rest of you who were SO wonderful on "posting" us from the cruise... PLEASE let us hear from you again, continue to "hear" your comments & blogs AND get to see your photos!!! Hoping so!!! We have missed your "Daily Reports", for sure!!! Cheers, Rusty & Judy

[Aussie Gal]

Toto,

 

I too have just read your reports as we have been away on vacation. Thanks so much for posting regularly as I know how hard it is to get the internet to work when in some areas of the Pacific.

 

We have been on a number of longer cruises eg. 26, 32 and 35 days but they have all been on the smaller ships and haven't left from the U.S. and returned to the U.S. We have boarded them either in Europe, Tahiti or in South Africa and we have never had any passengers that needed wheel chairs or even walking frames. Admittedly some were in their 80's but were all agile and didn't need any help. I do think that the convenience of boarding and returning to the U.S. is why so many of the passengers needed help.

 

My sister and brother in law did a return cruise to Hawai and back from California on HAL a few years ago and they too found the ship had a lot of elderly cruisers on board who needed a lot of attention.

 

Jennie

[finucane]

I bet she can do whatever the heck she wants. She spends 80% of her year on Princess every year and has for at least 2 decades. My guess is she is not held to the usual restrictions passengers are.

 

Katherine

 

Katherine,

You have that correct for sure...;)

She is a wonderful woman, and like mentioned, she does whatever she wants to do...

 

We had the pleasure of invitation dining with Captain Justin Lawes, his family and Lorraine on the Royal in April of last year, 2010. Captain Lawes sat me next to Lorraine as he felt our personalities matched (she's a hoot, to put it mildly), he was so right... She was the life of the party to say the least.

 

I would imagine she just wanted off in Hawaii...:D

[flamomo]

I was on this wonderful cruise too, and loved every moment of it. Well ... with one unfortunate exception.

The food, sevice and accomodations were all fine, the islands beautiful, and great excursions ... particularly Patrick's Motu excursion on Bora Bora. Thanks to Toto for setting up our group disembarkment that day.

The exception was a most disappointing experience at the Equator Crossing ceremony. We arrived on the pool deck early, and managed to find chairs at one of the tables by the windows. About 10 minutes before the festivities began, some later arrivers went right up to poolside and stood there taking photos. Others immediately rushed up to poolside too, and they ALL stayed there throughout the proceedings! As a result, those who had the sense to plan ahead and arrive early for what we knew would be a crowded event had the whole thing ruined by the throng of thoughtlessly selfish (my opinion) people standing right next to the pool. And, the worst of it was that the ship's staff did not even attempt to clear that area so everyone had a chance to see what was happening. I considered going up to the deck overlooking the pool so I could try to take a few photos, but the stairs were completely packed with passengers.

What a disappointment us and for many other passengers.

Despite that, I would LOVE to do this cruise again!!!

[Pam in CA]

I bet she can do whatever the heck she wants. She spends 80% of her year on Princess every year and has for at least 2 decades. My guess is she is not held to the usual restrictions passengers are.

She is held to the same restrictions but I'd assume she was willing to pay the $$ penalty. Also, there could have been a medical reason in which case, the restrictions and fee are waived. She hasn't been in the best of health the last year or so. :(

[denims]

 

Johnny...you have mail!

[ghjohnson]

Hello everyone from the Sapphire Princess 28 day sailing 10/19/11 -

I am feeling a bit detached - With our CC Thread where we have been talking almost every day to our SPO family for = 2 yrs being closed so abruptly! What was up with that - I have never had a thread close down so soon after a cruise before. I am a little bit miffed with CC - They didn't give us any lag time so that so we we create away could stay connected and communicate that to all - Just ooops ~ sorry ~ this thread is now closed. So besides here and the fashion thread are there any other places set up for our group to chat post cruise?

[CC Help Michell]

Hello everyone from the Sapphire Princess 28 day sailing 10/19/11 -

I am feeling a bit detached - With our CC Thread where we have been talking almost every day to our SPO family for = 2 yrs being closed so abruptly! What was up with that - I have never had a thread close down so soon after a cruise before. I am a little bit miffed with CC - They didn't give us any lag time so that so we we create away could stay connected and communicate that to all - Just ooops ~ sorry ~ this thread is now closed. So besides here and the fashion thread are there any other places set up for our group to chat post cruise?

 

Hello,

 

Hopefully you saw the final post on your roll call thread from Help@ -- http://boards.cruisecritic.com/report.php?p=31495315 -- which explains why some extremely large threads are being closed.

 

There are a couple of options listed in that post for ways to continue chatting with your group.

 

Hope that helps!

[ghjohnson]

Hello,

 

Hopefully you saw the final post on your roll call thread from Help@ -- http://boards.cruisecritic.com/report.php?p=31495315 -- which explains why some extremely large threads are being closed.

 

There are a couple of options listed in that post for ways to continue chatting with your group.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Hello Host Michell ~

I did see the message that was left - but my question is ~

How do we notify all our folks of a new thread if we can not let them know it is happening on our old thread and also where to go to find us.

 

Having a thread closed so soon after a cruise is a first for me and I am feeling a bit lost without my buddies who I have no way to connect with now.

 

I understand the message left and I know how to start a new thread but I am a loss on how to handle this?

 

Any ideas - anyone?

[finucane]

Hello Host Michell ~

I did see the message that was left - but my question is ~

How do we notify all our folks of a new thread if we can not let them know it is happening on our old thread and also where to go to find us.

 

Having a thread closed so soon after a cruise is a first for me and I am feeling a bit lost without my buddies who I have no way to connect with now.

 

I understand the message left and I know how to start a new thread but I am a loss on how to handle this?

 

Any ideas - anyone?

 

Hi Grace, johnny here (10/9/07 Island), they did the same to our 10/29/11 Jewel of the Seas but at least did it before we sailed, they opened up a "part 2" thread for us and left the old "part 1" open until after our sailing.

In your guys situation, closing after the sailing could be a challenge.

 

I enjoyed your blog for this one, thank you so much and hope you are going well...

 

Take care,

[CC Help Michell]

Hello Host Michell ~

I did see the message that was left - but my question is ~

How do we notify all our folks of a new thread if we can not let them know it is happening on our old thread and also where to go to find us.

 

Having a thread closed so soon after a cruise is a first for me and I am feeling a bit lost without my buddies who I have no way to connect with now.

 

I understand the message left and I know how to start a new thread but I am a loss on how to handle this?

 

Any ideas - anyone?

 

Hi, again! :)

 

If you go ahead and start a chat thread on the Friends of Cruise Critic forum (for example), you could post a link to it here on this thread. If you do that, I have no problem popping into the old (closed) roll call thread to add one final post with the link to the new chat thread you create. Just let me know either here and/or drop me an email at hostmichell@cruisecritic.com and I'll take care of it.

[ghjohnson]

Hi Grace, johnny here (10/9/07 Island), they did the same to our 10/29/11 Jewel of the Seas but at least did it before we sailed, they opened up a "part 2" thread for us and left the old "part 1" open until after our sailing.

In your guys situation, closing after the sailing could be a challenge.

 

I enjoyed your blog for this one, thank you so much and hope you are going well...

 

Take care,

 

Thank you Johnny re: the Blog - It is still a work in progress. I have more pictures to place, ship pic's, some ship board life plus my birthday to do yet.

Just not enough time in every day - plus I bought that journal of our cruise and I want to do that to - it ends up being a book / log of your cruise.

[ghjohnson]

Hi, again! :)

 

If you go ahead and start a chat thread on the Friends of Cruise Critic forum (for example), you could post a link to it here on this thread. If you do that, I have no problem popping into the old (closed) roll call thread to add one final post with the link to the new chat thread you create. Just let me know either here and/or drop me an email at hostmichell@cruisecritic.com and I'll take care of it.

 

I am sending an email to you and community@cruisecritic.com to request to do just this.

 

Thank you so much for your excellent assistance!

And also thank you so much ahead for putting one last message on our now closed CC Roll Call Thread for "October 22, 2011 LA to Tahiti to LA" ~ so our old and new friends will know where to go to find us.

 

We all appreciate you.

[flamomo]

Thanks, Grace, for being proactive and taking the avenue offered to us to have a new thread so we can contine to stay in touch and discuss our experience.

While understandable, the abrupt closure of the original thread has left us dangling.

I will be watching for our new thread.

[finucane]

Thank you Johnny re: the Blog - It is still a work in progress. I have more pictures to place, ship pic's, some ship board life plus my birthday to do yet.

Just not enough time in every day - plus I bought that journal of our cruise and I want to do that to - it ends up being a book / log of your cruise.

 

Lots of appreciated work and something to keep for a lifetime for you...

 

Take care Grace,

[ghjohnson]

Host Michell & community@cruisecritic.com ~

 

Did you both get my email?

 

I have not heard from either of you yet???

[CC Help Michell]

Host Michell & community@cruisecritic.com ~

 

Did you both get my email?

 

I have not heard from either of you yet???

 

I did receive it, and hopefully the creation is in the works -- just watch your email to hear back from commmunity@cruisecritic.com, as that is who actually sets up that forum. Thanks!

[ghjohnson]

OK ~ everyone from the Roll Call 28 day Sapphire Princess CC thread ~ called,

"October 22, 2011 LA to Tahiti to LA" ~ CC thread :

 

Here is our new CC Friends thread name & address:

 

South Pacific Odyssey Friends ~ "October 22, 2011 LA to Tahiti to LA"

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=788

 

Here's a early Present ~ Happy Holidays everyone!

 

Come on over and read and chat among new and old friends!