Sapphire Princess: Somewhat Live in Southeast Asia

[MTJSR]

Hi everyone,

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

 

Thank you for taking the time in your trip to do this, I think I speak for most here, Sapphire's (changes since reposition) are what we are "Loving" in your reports this time.

 

.

Edited December 21, 2014 by MTJSR

[Jesse67]

Enjoying your review there has been very little about about sapphire on the forums . We are off in five weeks thank you

 

 

 

 

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

[onefine89]

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

 

Amelia......really enjoying your posting of your cruise.......and we really enjoyed the Sapphire a couple years ago in Alaska.......a great ship to be on:D

 

Please keep all of your Princess Patters from your cruise and hopefully you can post them upon your return. I would like to add the Patters to a listing for others to view.......and we do not have any for the Sapphire since re-positioning this year.

 

Thanks and have a wonderful cruise!

[san diego sue]

Hi Amelia,

So glad to see you posting. Wow, you are having a great adventure.

We arrived home from our two weeks on the Ruby. Nothing compares to your Sapphire experience. Say hi to Chris and Pat.Tell Chris to make you that fabulous Snowflake decoration for your door(he did it on our SA cruise). Happy Holidays to you all and keep those wonderful Lives coming in.

Gloria:D

 

[ibfern]

We are about to arrive in Nha Trang so I have to make this quick. Last night we had the roughest seas I've ever been in as we crossed the South China Sea, at one point it felt like an earthquake, maybe 7 on the Richter scale! We are on deck 12 ( A730) which is a lovely room with cool access to the aft pool, and also accentuates movement so thankfully we don't get sea sick.

 

We had a funky waiter for the first two night who told me there was no herbal tea on the ship and that was a lie. He also pretended to not know what hot chocolate was, among a host of weird behavior. This was the waiter, not the assistant btw. He may be inexperienced but we do not want to train him so we left the table and are moving around as AT diners, so far we have had some great teams. Don't be afraid to speak up, feedback helps the head waiter educate the less trained servers so when you get on this ship this won't happen.

 

OK off to our first tender port, I hope the rough waves don't impact tenders!

[ibfern]

Hi Amelia,

So glad to see you posting. Wow, you are having a great adventure.

We arrived home from our two weeks on the Ruby. Nothing compares to your Sapphire experience. Say hi to Chris and Pat.Tell Chris to make you that fabulous Snowflake decoration for your door(he did it on our SA cruise). Happy Holidays to you all and keep those wonderful Lives coming in.

Gloria:D

 

 

Hi Gloria and all,

 

Yes we got a beautiful snowflake on our door, Chris made it the first day! I'll say hello from you and Lew.

 

I'll keep the patters as long as I have room to pack them, or at least I'll pick the ones I think are demonstrative of what you can expect.

 

TVs are out, one wave was so strong last night I think it might have damaged some equipment. I'll investigate that today...

[TracieABD]

Thank you , Amelia, for your additional posts. We are getting very excited for your upcoming adventure! I am sorry to read that you had a less-than-honest/competant waiter.

 

We have been on a number of Princess cruises, but never to a ship posted in Asia. Are there any significant differences between other Princess ships and the newly renovated Sapphire?

 

I am subscribed to your live from, and eagerly await your posts. Thank you so much for doing this!

 

I hope you have smoother seas from here on out!

Tracie-Lynn

[ibfern]

We missed the port due to very high wind and a very choppy sea. We were all ready to tender when the initial tender was unable to dock safely, such is life on a cruise.

 

They immediately redid the patter with lots of added activities so there is plenty to do.

 

FYI regarding this port. There is a free shuttle to a market which seems like a good way to embrace this port for those of you planning. The beaches looked inviting (from the ship) and we noticed a neat looking skyway ride to an island from the mainland. Next time here we would probably DIY given what I know now.

 

We paid a deposit in advance to Magical mystery tours and are waiting to hear if we get the deposit back, hopefully we will since I assume this happens as it does in all cruise ports. I'll keep you informed.

 

Amelia

[ibfern]

Thank you , Amelia, for your additional posts. We are getting very excited for your upcoming adventure! I am sorry to read that you had a less-than-honest/competant waiter.

 

We have been on a number of Princess cruises, but never to a ship posted in Asia. Are there any significant differences between other Princess ships and the newly renovated Sapphire?

 

I am subscribed to your live from, and eagerly await your posts. Thank you so much for doing this!

 

I hope you have smoother seas from here on out!

Tracie-Lynn

 

I don't really notice any differences except that there are no special meals in the four AT dining rooms, so no Fajitas for me!

 

We got hit by a 20 foot wave, and the seas are rough, probably the roughest I've been in. Lots of wobbling people and a few broken glasses so far.

 

As I encounter differences I will report them. Glad to help in planning, so many of you have helped me too.

[san diego sue]

Wonderful attitude regarding missing your port. That one was a very special day for us when we were there. So really sorry you didn't get in.

Well, many more adventures for you anyway. Have fun.

 

[TracieABD]

I don't really notice any differences except that there are no special meals in the four AT dining rooms, so no Fajitas for me!

 

We got hit by a 20 foot wave, and the seas are rough, probably the roughest I've been in. Lots of wobbling people and a few broken glasses so far.

 

As I encounter differences I will report them. Glad to help in planning, so many of you have helped me too.

 

Thank you for your response. We have TD, so I am pretty sure we would not have really enjoyed the "bonus selection" in the four dining rooms.

 

Getting hit by a 20 footer (and just some broken glasses) is pretty adventuresome... It amazes me that ships manage stay fully operational in those conditions.

 

How long are you staying aboard? Will you be on the Indonesia sailing? If so, I would love to meet you! I will bring you some herbal tea!!!

 

Happy sailing!

[ibfern]

Thank you for your response. We have TD, so I am pretty sure we would not have really enjoyed the "bonus selection" in the four dining rooms.

 

Getting hit by a 20 footer (and just some broken glasses) is pretty adventuresome... It amazes me that ships manage stay fully operational in those conditions.

 

How long are you staying aboard? Will you be on the Indonesia sailing? If so, I would love to meet you! I will bring you some herbal tea!!!

 

Happy sailing!

 

Thank you so much for your offer of herbal tea, they actually do have it on board but our former waiter lied because he didn't want to hassle it! The head waiters in Pacific Moon, especially Diego and Maitre D Francisco have really taken spectacular care of us, they moved us to a great table and we are very happy campers. The food is a step above our last cruise, yummy meat and very well prepared.

 

We are staying on for the next cruise, I would love to meet you TracieABD. Let's figure out a place.

 

Also did I tell you all about the slippers in the rooms? First time ever getting slippers for me and they are very nice, I will bring them home.

 

Ok went to Saigon today, what a trip that was. Saw families of 5 all riding the same motor scooters! Many more wows, I'll write it up tomorrow. Took a ship tour, it was good but not great. Anyway time to rest my aching back, sore from hauling all the goodies I bought today! ;)

Amelia

[bcnvcanada]

That for this almost live. So glad to hear they have

tea pots in rooms, hopefully they will be there after

the drydock. So sorry you miss NanTrang, one of

our favourite places to shop. So sorry about

about the rocking ship. Was there a strong storm?

If you get a chance

to speak to the officers, find out the changes they

are going to make to the ship in drydock. We know

some, but not all. Again thanks.

[ibfern]

That for this almost live. So glad to hear they have

tea pots in rooms, hopefully they will be there after

the drydock. So sorry you miss NanTrang, one of

our favourite places to shop. So sorry about

about the rocking ship. Was there a strong storm?

If you get a chance

to speak to the officers, find out the changes they

are going to make to the ship in drydock. We know

some, but not all. Again thanks.

 

Thanks, we were bummed when we missed it but that's the way it goes. The private tour we used charged us our deposit in any event, next time I would do this port on my own.

 

I assume there was a storm, I know there was a cyclone in Japan and maybe this impacted us. We actually missed the port due to very high winds, no so much the rough seas because we were sheltered from the waves in the bay we anchored in. The ship was listing slightly to one side, so the winds were pretty high.

 

I'll see if I can find out more about the changes in dry dock. As of now the ship is mostly the same, the artwork on the walls in common.areas have all been changed to a more Asian flavor but in the rooms the art is the same as before. In the dining rooms we now have some new options in Asian food, the Wonton soup is wonderful. I am learning to use chopsticks after a lifetime on fumbling with them, they are always placed on the table if you order one of the new Asian items.

 

The seas are quite calm again , btw. Today is a sea day and there are many Christmas activities going on for the kids. The children on this ship are very well behaved, much different from my past Xmas cruises.

 

Ok time to get up and start the day.

Amelia

[ibfern]

Saigon (HCMC)

12/23/14

 

Today we took a ship tour called the Best of Ho Chi Minh City, a 9.5 hour tour that included some of the highlights of this interesting city. Given the long distance between the port and the city, we spent a considerable time in the bus with our guide Hoa Nyguen. Hoa had an interesting perspective given his past as an English teacher, he spoke in slang a lot.

 

Driving past colorful roadside cities, we learned about how people pay more money for a roadside home where their family business is conducted on the ground floor and the higher floors are for living. Homes here that are away from streets are much cheaper! The roads are very crowded with motorcycles which greatly outnumber autos. Some highways have dedicated cycle sections, considering there is no parking anywhere in HCMC, owing a car is not very practical. We spotted motorcycles with four and five people on them all over the city and freeways, it is quite common for an entire family to ride on one cycle! Imagine Amsterdam with motorcycles instead of bicycles and you'll get the picture.

 

We also passed interesting landscapes, lush green belts with rice paddy fields, swamp like grasslands, small rivers, and lots of trees. We followed the Saigon river throughout our visit to the city. This river was lined with some cleaner, more modern riverside homes, as well as shack like shanties which looked dirty and dilapidated. I think the government is slowly knocking down to old homes in favor of newer, more hygienic housing. In the distance you see large apartment like buildings which are quite modern. The city is dotted with skyscrapers, some with helipads.

 

Out first stop was the National Museum of Vietnamese History. This was interesting, tracing the history of Vietnamese culture in artifacts and art, as weI'll as costumes and ceramics. The visit culminated in a traditional water puppet show. Our guide announced that there would be no shopping stops on the entire tour so I ditched out of the museum and into the museum store to purchase a few items for friends. I found very reasonable lacquerware, wooden boxes with chopsticks, paper pop up cards, fans, tee shirts, among other things at very reasonable prices here. Throughout the day street vendors offered similar items but the quality differences were great. I steered clear of street vendors expect for the lovely and inexpensive pop up paper cards, which I bought at a cost of 3 for $2!

 

We visited a square in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral build to resemble the one in Paris, then crossed the street and visited the post office. Many of the sites were drive by visits without stops, so we really visited only a few sites. Out drive by visits included Chinatown, the Botanical gardens, the Rex hotel (which we were supposed to stop for photos at but didn't), and HCMC park also called the kissing park. We did stop at Thien Hau Temple where we learned a little and got to walk through the pagoda.

 

Lunch was at a nice hotel and our guide told us if we finished lunch early to cross the street and shop at the Butterfly shop, although he asked us not to mention it (mums the word) so naturally we sped through lunch and hightailed it to that store where we found junk, many other ship tourists, and varying prices depending on who was asking! Stay away from this place. Instead walk a few stores over to the lovely inside Dragon mall filled with lovely silks, and high quality items at very reasonable prices. I bought two silk scarves and a silk dress for $19 total. Everybody here takes US money so don't bother with the Dong. 1,000,000 Dongs equals about $50!

After lunch we visited the Palace, an interesting and well worn place where the Royal family interacted with foreign officials. The living rooms were nothing special and the meeting rooms contained some spectacular pieces of furniture and soiled carpets. This place was swarming with bus loads of people and was not air conditioned, bring your fans.

 

We stopped at a lacquer factory which smelled of heavy solvents so it was difficult to follow the introduction to how the pieces were made, my asthma was bad and I raced into the Air conditioned show room/store to find bathrooms and very high priced items. The best deal in the place was water, which we bought two bottles for $1! After the factory we stopped somewhere, not sure why, and walked around the square block back to the bus. We started to drive away, as the guide was counting us and we all had to yell at the driver to stop and let a passenger on who was delayed by street vendors from entering the bus as quickly as the rest of us. It could have been disastrous for this lady if we hadn't noticed her running because the guide did not count us up before the bus moved. Be careful.

[ibfern]

Merry Christmas! The ship is filled with festive decorations and many activities for the 300 kids on board. There was an abundance of activities yesterday at sea and today we are tendered in Sihanouk, although it seems like we are docked because the ship is not moving at all. It's very early, too early to get us and go roaming the deck.

 

I have a bad toothache and will probably have to go to the dentist tomorrow in Laem Chabang, so it looks like I might miss Bangkok.:(

 

Meanwhile today we will visit a non profit organization, a hotel school for disadvantaged youths called Don Bosco Hotel School. They have a wonderful itinerary for us including a huge Christmas lunch Buffet with all the trimmings. Looking forward to today.

 

Amelia

[Kingofcool1947]

We are about to arrive in Nha Trang so I have to make this quick. Last night we had the roughest seas I've ever been in as we crossed the South China Sea, at one point it felt like an earthquake, maybe 7 on the Richter scale! We are on deck 12 ( A730) which is a lovely room with cool access to the aft pool, and also accentuates movement so thankfully we don't get sea sick.

 

We had a funky waiter for the first two night who told me there was no herbal tea on the ship and that was a lie. He also pretended to not know what hot chocolate was, among a host of weird behavior. This was the waiter, not the assistant btw. He may be inexperienced but we do not want to train him so we left the table and are moving around as AT diners, so far we have had some great teams. Don't be afraid to speak up, feedback helps the head waiter educate the less trained servers so when you get on this ship this won't happen.

 

OK off to our first tender port, I hope the rough waves don't impact tenders!

 

 

Nice report.

Just curious, what nationality was your waiter? Eastern European or Asian?

Edited December 24, 2014 by Kingofcool1947

[Love.II.Cruise]

Thanks for your review. I have family on board. They were also on the cruise before you.

[ibfern]

Nice report.

Just curious, what nationality was your waiter? Eastern European or Asian?

 

His name is Dilman and I believe he is from India. He had a bad attitude, seemed put out by us--granted I did ask for extra stuff like veggies but I was never rude. We are at a lovely table now with awesome staff so all is fixed.

 

We had the most incredible day today in Cambodia, I will try to write up a proper port report asap. My toothache seems to be on the ment so I am going to Bangkok tomorrow, yay.

Amelia

[MauiLvrs]

Funny that we were just thinking about you guys enjoying Christmas dinner on board then you posted ...

 

Have a Merry Christmas

His name is Dilman and I believe he is from India. He had a bad attitude, seemed put out by us--granted I did ask for extra stuff like veggies but I was never rude.

Mark is probably hard to beat ;)

 

My toothache seems to be on the ment so I am going to Bangkok tomorrow, yay.

Amelia

Awesome ... Have a great day!

[ibfern]

Funny that we were just thinking about you guys enjoying Christmas dinner on board then you posted ...

 

Have a Merry Christmas

 

Mark is probably hard to beat ;)

 

 

Awesome ... Have a great day!

 

Wish we could figure out a cruise to take with you both, we really enjoyed our short and sweet coastal last January! Yes Mark would be hard to beat, leave it to Joyce to find the best waiter!

 

Talk more when we return mid January...

Merry Christmas,

Amelia and Ken

[san diego sue]

Merry Christmas.

So Amelia did you sit on Santa's knee this time?

I have the photo to prove that you can and will do that.

Gloria:D:D

 

[CRUZGAL53]

Wish we could figure out a cruise to take with you both, we really enjoyed our short and sweet coastal last January! Yes Mark would be hard to beat, leave it to Joyce to find the best waiter!

 

Talk more when we return mid January...

Merry Christmas,

Amelia and Ken

 

Merry Christmas Amelia & Ken! :) XXOO

[ibfern]

Merry Christmas Amelia & Ken! :) XXOO

 

Merry Christmas.

So Amelia did you sit on Santa's knee this time?

I have the photo to prove that you can and will do that.

Gloria:D:D

 

 

Hope you both (and everybody) had a great Christmas. We had a touching one in Sihanoukville which I will post this morning.

 

I am a day late, yesterday we visited Bangkok and it was a long drive there each way 2.5 to 3 hours. We enjoyed seeing it, and boy oh boy it was hot as hell there. I'll write that up as soon as I can, we have another port this morning, three ports in a row makes it had to write.

 

Amelia

[ibfern]

Sihanoukville

 

12/25/2014

 

This was a tender port and we were on the first tender. We had a private tour with eight of us hosted by Don Bosco's hotel school for disadvantaged children. Our guides were Bunkea and Sokea, and they were wonderful, touching guides. Our first visit was the very stinky fish market, located on the docks close to where we tendered in. We walked cross unstable boards and it was kind of scary, but our guides guided us through with ease.

 

We piled into our small 10 seater van and headed for an interesting Buddhist temple on a hill. As we got out of the car we were surrounded by a large group of children, they were orphaned beggars, and they were very sad and touching. I was afraid to get money out because there was so many of them I thought it might be dangerous. We walked around the temple saw a monk doing some kind of cleansing ritual, it was very interesting and also very sad. I was walking around holding hands with two of the little girls who put flowers in my hair. Then they started asking for money and I didn't think it would be right give them any. I wish I brought some candy or toys to give them. It is very sobering to interact with them.

 

Next we headed to Don Bosco's ice cream parlor where we had coffee,tea, cookies, drinks, and ice cream. The ice cream was delicious, I had mango and passion fruit. We learned that part of Don Bosco's hotel training included making this wonderful Italian ice cream. We left a generous tip and departed for our next stop, a beautiful waterfall and park area. We climbed around the rocks & took some pictures. We crossed some funky wooden bridges carefully because there was on coming traffic; some people, as well as some motorcycles! As we reach the other side of the banks I was pushed aside by a rude boy and his parents. I could not help laughing when the nasty mom slipped and fell, the father started screaming at her so loudly and the little girl cried as if she fell. I felt sorry for the girl as the father slapped her! OMG, this was unbelievable behavior and later we saw the on the tender boat, they were loud and rude there as well. They clearly missed the message about this place, how blessed we all are and how grateful we should be that we can afford this lovely cruise. Sihanouk is clearly filled with a few "haves" and mostly "have-nots".

 

Back to the tour.after the waterfall we headed towards the spot where we were going to see monkeys. We saw so many monkeys it was awesome, they were eating out of peoples hands and very very friendly almost to friendly. I spotted a mother with her baby clinging to her underbelly, it was very cool. Many of the monkeys were grooming each other, picking what I assume where fleas and other debris off each other. After a few minutes of watching them we got back into the van and headed to the beach.

 

The beach was unbelievable it was very beautiful The white sand was gorgeous and the water looked quite inviting. Sadly there was beggars and poor people everywhere. We could see that there were some very fancy resort on the beach as well as shacks in a juxtaposition of realities. In this place you see giant mansions and resorts on the beaches with lines (walls) separating the poor from the wealthy everywhere. So sad. Some of the man went down to the water and put there feet in, we all took a picture the headed to Don Bosco's hotel for our Christmas lunch.

 

They had a banquet room filled with food for us, a magnificent Christmas lunch. We met several of the volunteers who help run the school, and then we had our meal. It was yummy, one of the best meals I've had on this trip. We had lovely appetizers such as cheese balls, and tomatoes filled with spicy cous-cous, cheeses, and salads. The main courses included Turkey with all the trimmings, omelets, a fish dish, and lasagna. Deserts were plentiful with a Christmas log, cookies, lemon pie, fruit, and more. It was an incredible meal prepared by a chef trained here!

 

Many of us decided to sponsor a child for next year, for $250 we could help a child learn a trade. I decided that this is what I wanted for my anniversary gift! My favorite gift ever! After lunch the children sang Christmas songs to us then we sang to them, it was a joyous experience. We exchanged Facebook info and friended each other using the free wifi at the hotel. This was quite a touching experience.

 

We headed back to the port and Sokea tearfully said goodby to us, we all wanted to take them with us! We hugged both kids many times, having made deep connections with them during our tour. This was the best excursion I ever did, the best Xmas ever, and truly a life changing experience. I'll never forget those kids, and Don Bosco's hotel. There are over a hundred of these places throughout the world and I will always be looking for them when I a, looking for tours.

 

We paid $60 pp for the who day including lunch, Ice cream and coffee stop, and all entrance fees. I highly recommend this experience to anybody coming here in the future.

 

Sent from my iPhone