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Sapphire Princess: Somewhat Live in Southeast Asia

ibfern

By ibfern,
in Princess Cruises

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ibfern

ibfern

Posted
Posted

Dear friends,

 

I am finally back on the Sapphire! She left the west coast bound for Asia earlier this year and there have been many changes since then. The ship looks great, it is decorated for Christmas and has a festive feel. Many new stores are here including a Coach store, and the regular stores like Facets have had a facelift including a change in the merchandise you can buy, mostly much more upscale. Compared to western prices, these prices are not very competitive!

 

There is a hot water kettle in each room, I love this new addition because I can make coffee(Via) without calling room service for hot water. It's awesome. There are slippers In the rooms now, not sure if this is because I am elite so I will investigate and see if everybody gets them.

 

We made the most traveled list, not sure where we place but happy to get invited. I am running the cruise critic meet and greet and got a list from the home office last week of all the current officers but discovered, after I sent my personal note, that the Captain had changed! That is embarrassing and I wished I would have ask my knowledgable CC friends who always seem to know more than the home office folks! Lesson learned.

 

It took us 25 hours to get here, we started in Singapore, so I am still fairly jet lagged. I absolutely love Singapore, what a fantastic city. We stayed at the Shangri La hotel which was magnificant. I'll write more about it later.

 

Dinner last night was good, and weird. The menus are different, they have several Asian offerings, new spoons, but something's are not available like camomile tea, hot chocolate, and I am sure there will be more! I have not been to the Buffet, the IC has all the normal offerings, and Alfredo's is also still here.

 

I know I had been looking for information on the Sapphire for months so I figured I'd do this "sort of live" blog to help those who have questions. It's early morning on the first full day, a sea day, and the Internet is working fine. Yay!

It's time to get going and start the day. I'll try to answer questions if anybody has any, as quickly as I can.

 

Amelia

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jefa

jefa

Posted
Posted

Hiya, thanks for some info on the Sapphire in Asia. I am joining from Singapore in February.

 

Are the kettles in every stateroom? Do they provide anything to make a drink with, or should I bring my own coffee? It will be lovely to be able to have my first cup of coffee in the morning without having to get dressed and run up to HC!!!

 

Look forward to reading more of your "somewhat live" :)

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CRUZGAL53

CRUZGAL53

Posted
Posted
Dear friends,

 

I am finally back on the Sapphire! She left the west coast bound for Asia earlier this year and there have been many changes since then. The ship looks great, it is decorated for Christmas and has a festive feel. Many new stores are here including a Coach store, and the regular stores like Facets have had a facelift including a change in the merchandise you can buy, mostly much more upscale. Compared to western prices, these prices are not very competitive!

 

There is a hot water kettle in each room, I love this new addition because I can make coffee(Via) without calling room service for hot water. It's awesome. There are slippers In the rooms now, not sure if this is because I am elite so I will investigate and see if everybody gets them.

 

We made the most traveled list, not sure where we place but happy to get invited. I am running the cruise critic meet and greet and got a list from the home office last week of all the current officers but discovered, after I sent my personal note, that the Captain had changed! That is embarrassing and I wished I would have ask my knowledgable CC friends who always seem to know more than the home office folks! Lesson learned.

 

It took us 25 hours to get here, we started in Singapore, so I am still fairly jet lagged. I absolutely love Singapore, what a fantastic city. We stayed at the Shangri La hotel which was magnificant. I'll write more about it later.

 

Dinner last night was good, and weird. The menus are different, they have several Asian offerings, new spoons, but something's are not available like camomile tea, hot chocolate, and I am sure there will be more! I have not been to the Buffet, the IC has all the normal offerings, and Alfredo's is also still here.

 

I know I had been looking for information on the Sapphire for months so I figured I'd do this "sort of live" blog to help those who have questions. It's early morning on the first full day, a sea day, and the Internet is working fine. Yay!

It's time to get going and start the day. I'll try to answer questions if anybody has any, as quickly as I can.

 

Amelia

 

Look forward to reading your posts! :)

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TracieABD "Live from...." Rare

TracieABD

Posted
Posted

Amelia-

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! for doing a somewhat Live From the Sapphire. We board in 4 weeks and there has been an absolute dirth of informtion on the ship since she was converted for the Asian market. Any information/ tips you can offer will be greatly appreciated!

 

I hope you are enjoying your cruise, and I will be hanging on your every word!

Thanks a million!

Tracie-Lynn

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ibfern

ibfern

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We had a nice turnout for the M&G, several officers showed up and stayed for a few minutes. A good time was had by all, it seemed like everybody met everybody and their "business" ( wink) was conducted quietly and with much grace.

 

There are kettles in every room, along with tea and sweeteners and wood stirrers as well as plastic spoons and knits. There is no herbal teas available anywhere except the IC, well at least so far that I can find. You should bring the coffee and teas you like, unless Lipton does it for you.

 

Trivia is fun, they are giving away nice gifts like passport bags and no large plastic bottles! Yay! Everybody has been well behaved and here just for fun, it's nice to see this. There seems to be a lot of activities going on, today Christmas card making with limited space, I won't go but it sounds nice.

 

The seas are a bit rough, we are up on the Aloha deck so I am grateful that I don't get sea sick. No barf bags to be seen so far. :)

 

Tonight is our first formal night, we have two on this first 11 day leg. I am behaving myself so far, no funny business at dinner so far. Hahaha. Ok sending good cheer to all my friends, I miss you all and you know who you are!

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CruzinNoony

CruzinNoony

Posted
Posted

Hi Amelia, It will be fun to read along as you cruise up the east coat of Asia. This was one of our favorite cruises (the other was Africa). Do you have AT or traditional dining? I wasn't aware that the Sapphire turned "Asian". I thought only the Diamond did. Please tell us what is different in that regard. :rolleyes:

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madgemonica

madgemonica

Posted
Posted (edited)

We got off the Sapphire on November 26th in Singapore and there were no kettles or coffee/tea making facilities in the cabins then. Going on the Coral in April. Is this going to be rolled out across all ships.

Edited by madgemonica
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dshimizu

dshimizu

Posted
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Hi Amelia! Have a wonderful time on the Sapphire! We sailed from Singapore to Sydney on the Diamond over Christmas several years ago and loved the itinerary. In two weeks I'll be in Hanoi! Sorry to be missing you in Ankor Wat but will be following along with your reports! Hope you and Ken have a wonderful time. All the very best holiday wishes to you both. See you in the New Year! xxoo Deb and Bill

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caribill

caribill

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Posted
We got off the Sapphire on November 26th in Singapore and there were no kettles or coffee/tea making facilities in the cabins then. Going on the Coral in April. Is this going to be rolled out across all ships.

 

Probably just in the Asian market ships.

 

RCCL did the same think when they relocated a ship last year to Asia. During the relocation cruise, tea kettles showed up in all of the cabins.

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Stuartm

Stuartm

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HI Amelia,

 

thank you for the information. I was tossing up whether to pack my little coffee plunger but with a kettle in the cabin it is a no-brainer.

 

Seems like only last week you were reporting back to our roll call from the Sapphire and that was in February!!

 

Have a fabulous time on your first leg and I look forward to joining you in 8 days time.:D

 

cheers

 

Stu

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ibfern

ibfern

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12/20/14

Brunei-Bandar seri begawan

 

Woke up early, ready to embrace the day ahead. We were almost in Brunei, a place of much mystery and controversy to me. The is a port that is difficult to find info on so I want to share our brilliant excursion with "Tours by Locals" with tour guide Esjay. We were picked up promptly at 10:15 after clearing customs in a short while. Our passports had be taken away upon embarkation and we were only required to carry our cruise cards.

 

Brunei is quite lovely once you get out of the port. As we headed for our first stop, Esjay taught some of the more shocking aspects of this closed culture including Sharia Law. This kind of brutal law which finds you getting your hands amputated when you steal, being put to death for cheating on your husband, and worse, it quite barbaric and it supposed to help unite the Muslim people of Brunei. I don't see how. We were assured that Sharia law had not been implemented yet.

 

Our first stop was the lush and beautiful Empire Hotel. It was quite grand and beautiful and I was amazed at the marble inlaid floors and walls. I used the bathroom and was shocked to find Elemis products in there including hand wash and a fabulous hand cream, these products are among the most expensive you can buy! I slathered my body with it!

 

Next we drove past Jerudong Park and Polo Club. The park, an old amusement center that reminded my of Disneyland, used to be free to residents but now costa money to visit. They even had a Matterhorn roller coaster. The park had been renovated and removing the best rides, it was now a shadow of its former self. Next we drove through the Polo park and stables and saw many beautiful horses including pure white Arabians (I think) and many rows of handsome animals. The saddest park here was when we arrived at a stop where the queen kept her pet, a small and lovely Elephant who was shackled by chains at her feet. This was so sad, as I called to her she raised her shackled leg and we all wept for her. So so sad.

 

Then we drove through a local neighborhood, seeing where locals lived and learning about how each basic home costs approx. 89,000 BHT. Many of the homes were upgraded, and they looked like very nice places to live. We continued onto our lunch stop in the city, about a 20 minute drive.

 

We ate at Gohan Sushi and Shabu-Shabu Restaurant, which was lovely and scenically located over looking a Mosque. The food was delicious, I had Veggie sushi rolls, and a vegi bowl called Dong which was very tasty. We all really enjoyed our food and was glad we did not sign up for the pre- determined meal but rather ate from the ala carte menu. After lunch it had started raining and one of the employees individually walked us back to the bus holding an umbrella to protect us from getting wet. It was lovely.

 

Next we headed to the Royal Regalia Museum. Nobody told us that we would be walking around in many of these sites without shoes and of course I was not wearing socks so it this bothers you do bring socks. Esjay was kind enough to stop at a shop so we could buy socks and this saved the day for me and several others. The Regalia Museum was full of opulence and the indulgences the Sultan lavished upon himself, not my favorite place but nonetheless quite enlightening. The most shocking face I learned here was that all Muslim woman got circumcised at birth! This is what we call Female genital mutilation. The purpose of this practice is to insure that women don't cheat on their husbands, taking away any pleasurable feelings she might feel. It took me awhile to unwrap my brain from this learning! We moved through the museum in about 45 minutes, I bought some magnets and even bargained a little!

 

Next we headed to river and a lovely Mangrove and Proboscis Monkey tour. The boat ride was fantastic, we cooled down from the increasingly oppressive heat and humidity, saw lush natural bushes, trees, and wildlife including a large family of Monkeys. This was certainly a highlight of the day for me. As we headed in our boat to the water villages we saw the old and the new towns as one. We stopped at a lovely water home where we were invited in for tea and snacks such as cookies, and rice with coconuts. This was a lovely experience and we learned much about daily life here. I also found several cats to pet, missing my own very much, and made a four legged friend! After our visit, we piled back into the boat and headed back to our starting point.

 

Next we visited the Jame Asre Mosque. We were bowled over by its beauty and opulence, learning that there were 29 steps up, 29 Minerets, all commentating the 29th Sultan who built this. We got a special treat here as were were lead up the Royal entrance, and through the Royal doors! The Mosque was incredible, beautiful and it was delightful watching a few men in prayer. My favorite part was hearing the haunting call to prayer which gave me the chills. This was another highlight of our day.

 

All in all we spent over 8 hours here. The bus ride back was swift and as we went Esjay taught the traditional hand shake and some traditional Christmas songs and we all sang along as she taught us it. She passed the mic around and we all got to sing Xmas songs from our countries, but I declined to sing the Dreidel song for obvious reasons ;) opting to remain undercover in this very Muslim country! We got back to the port with a half hour to spare, zoomed into the ship to change and dine. It was such a memorable day!

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ibfern

ibfern

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Hi everyone,

 

I will try to answer your questions now. The sockets in the rooms are American, as they were before. We have been using American money and Singapore money as well. Those two currencies seem to cover all the places so far, more on this as I go.

 

I don't know about whether there are kettles on other ships, I'll ask around and see if I can muster up a more definite answer on this.

 

We opted for anytime dining, unusual for us. We got an assigned table in AT but our waited was terrible so we dumped him and are moving around in search of one that we feel more comfortable with. Our former waiter felt put out when I asked for extra veggies at the table, Chimicurri sauce, hot chocolate, and even told me there was no camomile tea on board and this was a lie. Lazy and full of himself, we dumped him like a hot potato!

 

Much love and blessings to all my friends, we miss you and wish you all were here. I am happy to help with answers, my thing is writing about the ports because this is what we travel for. Forgive my long trip reports, I hope they help in some way.

Amelia

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CRUZGAL53

CRUZGAL53

Posted
Posted
12/20/14

Brunei-Bandar seri begawan

 

Woke up early, ready to embrace the day ahead. We were almost in Brunei, a place of much mystery and controversy to me. The is a port that is difficult to find info on so I want to share our brilliant excursion with "Tours by Locals" with tour guide Esjay. We were picked up promptly at 10:15 after clearing customs in a short while. Our passports had be taken away upon embarkation and we were only required to carry our cruise cards.

 

Brunei is quite lovely once you get out of the port. As we headed for our first stop, Esjay taught some of the more shocking aspects of this closed culture including Sharia Law. This kind of brutal law which finds you getting your hands amputated when you steal, being put to death for cheating on your husband, and worse, it quite barbaric and it supposed to help unite the Muslim people of Brunei. I don't see how. We were assured that Sharia law had not been implemented yet.

 

Our first stop was the lush and beautiful Empire Hotel. It was quite grand and beautiful and I was amazed at the marble inlaid floors and walls. I used the bathroom and was shocked to find Elemis products in there including hand wash and a fabulous hand cream, these products are among the most expensive you can buy! I slathered my body with it!

 

Next we drove past Jerudong Park and Polo Club. The park, an old amusement center that reminded my of Disneyland, used to be free to residents but now costa money to visit. They even had a Matterhorn roller coaster. The park had been renovated and removing the best rides, it was now a shadow of its former self. Next we drove through the Polo park and stables and saw many beautiful horses including pure white Arabians (I think) and many rows of handsome animals. The saddest park here was when we arrived at a stop where the queen kept her pet, a small and lovely Elephant who was shackled by chains at her feet. This was so sad, as I called to her she raised her shackled leg and we all wept for her. So so sad.

 

Then we drove through a local neighborhood, seeing where locals lived and learning about how each basic home costs approx. 89,000 BHT. Many of the homes were upgraded, and they looked like very nice places to live. We continued onto our lunch stop in the city, about a 20 minute drive.

 

We ate at Gohan Sushi and Shabu-Shabu Restaurant, which was lovely and scenically located over looking a Mosque. The food was delicious, I had Veggie sushi rolls, and a vegi bowl called Dong which was very tasty. We all really enjoyed our food and was glad we did not sign up for the pre- determined meal but rather ate from the ala carte menu. After lunch it had started raining and one of the employees individually walked us back to the bus holding an umbrella to protect us from getting wet. It was lovely.

 

Next we headed to the Royal Regalia Museum. Nobody told us that we would be walking around in many of these sites without shoes and of course I was not wearing socks so it this bothers you do bring socks. Esjay was kind enough to stop at a shop so we could buy socks and this saved the day for me and several others. The Regalia Museum was full of opulence and the indulgences the Sultan lavished upon himself, not my favorite place but nonetheless quite enlightening. The most shocking face I learned here was that all Muslim woman got circumcised at birth! This is what we call Female genital mutilation. The purpose of this practice is to insure that women don't cheat on their husbands, taking away any pleasurable feelings she might feel. It took me awhile to unwrap my brain from this learning! We moved through the museum in about 45 minutes, I bought some magnets and even bargained a little!

 

Next we headed to river and a lovely Mangrove and Proboscis Monkey tour. The boat ride was fantastic, we cooled down from the increasingly oppressive heat and humidity, saw lush natural bushes, trees, and wildlife including a large family of Monkeys. This was certainly a highlight of the day for me. As we headed in our boat to the water villages we saw the old and the new towns as one. We stopped at a lovely water home where we were invited in for tea and snacks such as cookies, and rice with coconuts. This was a lovely experience and we learned much about daily life here. I also found several cats to pet, missing my own very much, and made a four legged friend! After our visit, we piled back into the boat and headed back to our starting point.

 

Next we visited the Jame Asre Mosque. We were bowled over by its beauty and opulence, learning that there were 29 steps up, 29 Minerets, all commentating the 29th Sultan who built this. We got a special treat here as were were lead up the Royal entrance, and through the Royal doors! The Mosque was incredible, beautiful and it was delightful watching a few men in prayer. My favorite part was hearing the haunting call to prayer which gave me the chills. This was another highlight of our day.

 

All in all we spent over 8 hours here. The bus ride back was swift and as we went Esjay taught the traditional hand shake and some traditional Christmas songs and we all sang along as she taught us it. She passed the mic around and we all got to sing Xmas songs from our countries, but I declined to sing the Dreidel song for obvious reasons ;) opting to remain undercover in this very Muslim country! We got back to the port with a half hour to spare, zoomed into the ship to change and dine. It was such a memorable day!

 

So glad you are having a great time! Miss you :)

J

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Darcy15

Darcy15

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Posted

Thank you for taking the time to post :)

 

Really enjoying following you as I'm joining the Sapphire in February and can't wait :D

 

Interesting read about your day in Brunei - I've opted for the Bandar 'on your own' tour as the other Princess tours didn't appeal much

 

I'm a solo female though, so I'm hoping this won't be an issue?

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