Sapphire Princess Review Oct 8-15

[giggster11]

It's great the different experiences we all have on a cruise. My wife and I were on this cruise too. We had a great time! A few parts aren't fun but we didn't let it take away from our cruise at all.

 

Embarkation:

Drove from home to the pier. Dropped off the luggage then went up to check in around 1pm. There were 2 long lines. Both said express check in. Then there was a platinum check in on each side for certain decks plus another line for certain decks which didn't explain what it was there for. We got in one of the long lines and waited for 30 minutes only to be told we had to go to the other line because my wife has a British passport. We got in line but I went to ask somebody about it. They, in turn, asked a supervisor. We found out we got to go in the line that didn't say what it was for. At least it was short and we will be using that next time. They really should have better directions for international check in. Security got to use the wand on me because my wallet and belt set it off. No problems there though. At least they're doing their jobs. Then we got to wait in a long line to board the ship.

 

Room:

We were in C617 which was really nice. The larger balcony was great the whole way through the cruise. We liked having it partially covered and partially open. It was also perfect for having margaritas and burgers or pizza while sailing out of ports. Our cabin steward was Danny (Danilo) and he was polite and very accommodating. Any of you who get him will be happy.

 

Food:

We spent most of the time in the buffet. We loved the food there. Everybody has their preferences and tastes. We got to try many new things in there. We went to the Pacific Moon on the first formal night and were crammed in a 2 person table surrounded by other 2 person tables. I felt like I was sitting closer to the person next to me than to my wife across the table. We can't wait to go in February with my family in the main dining room and see how the menu is. It just wasn't our cup of tea. We had a good laugh while in there though. Room service food was good too. Hot dog was tasty. Burger was great. Fries...mmmm! And all the desserts were delicious!

 

Entertainment:

Comedians were a mix. Lorenzo Clark was a funny comedian/magician. Don Ware was pretty good. Lots of interaction with the audience. Dan Bennett (a comedian/juggler) was absolutely hilarious! We loved him. Rick Corso was a hit and miss comedian. First night he didn't relate much to the audience. He was much better on the last night when he did more cruise related jokes. Michael Ziegfeld was also on two nights. We caught him on the second and he was good. We saw Brandi Chapman who we weren't too enthralled with. She just couldn't capture the audience we were in. We saw the Undercover show and really liked that. The bands and musicians playing around the ship were also nice.

 

Cruise Staff:

Billy (CD) and Scott (Deputy CD) were a great pair. We were always entertained by them, especially on the morning show. There were plenty of fun activities to do. Claire and Liam were also fun members of the cruise staff.

 

Bars:

We had pretty good service most of the way through. The drinks were tasty and strong. If you're looking to get served water in a lounge prepare for a wait or none at all. I guess that's because they don't expect to get any tips from that.

 

The ship was really easy to figure out. We had no problems getting from one place to another. There are so many places to go that we still haven't seen them all on the ship. If you play the slots we found that on the first night and the next full day they seemed to pay out a lot better than they did as the cruise progressed. We only played nickels though and just for fun.

 

Disembarkation:

The express disembarkation was a mess but it was only the second cruise for this itinerary. When we came down at 6:50am there were a couple of lines. As time went by people came along and found out there were lines but just parked themselves by the elevators so it was just a large group with no order. When we finally moved around 8am some people just pushed their way out of the elevator and cut into the line even though they were told there's no space. Once off the ship and into line for immigration/customs it was smooth. It was a hassle waiting so long to be cleared and then have people grouping and cutting into the line but it still didn't take away from our cruise.

 

We're really looking forward to being back on the Sapphire in February. She's a great ship! Just enjoy it all...don't let any minor negative things get to you. Happy cruising!

[SLU Billikens]

As I have noted, my DW and I were on this cruise to relax and be pampered. As a result we ate almost all meals in the dining rooms (as opposed to the buffet).

 

Buffet: In fact we only at twice in the buffet. When we boarded the ship the Horizon Court buffet was open for lunch. It was very good for buffet food. Salads of lettuce and all the fixiings, misc. side salads such as macaroni and bean salads, a pasta station, a roast beef carving station (with very good roast beef), and other stations with meats and vegetables. And of course a station of deserts. As has been noted the buffet is different in layout in that it is not one single line from start to finish (such as on Celebrity ships), but each station sort of forms it's own line. I like the way Priincess does it. If you want to go for some additional meat you don't have to wait through the salads etc... to get to the carving station. The second time I went to the buffet was in the middle of the week and the buffet did not seem as good to me. Liver and Onions, corned beef, simply things that don't appeal to me bu may to you. The staff at the court was always very helpful. One attendant for example over heard me say to my wife I needed to go find some catsup (ketchup). I heard a voice from behind me say "I will get that sir", and iin moments they re-appeared with a bowl of ketchup. It did not have the level of service on a Celebrity cruise I must say where they supply trays with white linens and an attendant takes your tray and walks you to a table. Nor did anyone offer to get my drink. These are not really gripes simply a notation of a difference in Princess and Celebrity. I did however like the large platter size plates they have. I also liked the hand sanitizer and a sign asking people to use it at the beginning of the buffet line. Another small notation. I like the reasonable size glasses Princess uses in the buffet. Celebrity always uses the smalles juice size glasses so you feel like you need to get 3 glasses at a time.

 

Dining Room: We ate most of our meals in the dining room. For dinner we had traditional dining first seating. This means we sat at the same table with the same waiter and table mates (except we had a table for 2) every evening for dinner. One thing different on this cruise. It would appear siince Princess did away with the unique menus in each dining room that more people are requesting traditional. In the past the International dining room was used for traditional dining and 4 other smaller restauarants were used for the Personal Choice dining (Vivaldi, Pacific Moon, Savoy, and the Santa Fe). For first seating only on this cruise the Vivaldi was also used for traditional dining and that is where we were assigned. To table 103 which is a table for 2. We did not request this but it was fine for us. In fact we were so close to the table beside us (also for 2) that they felt like table mates and we talked with them all week anyway. Personal Choice (for those not already familiar) does not have a set time to dine or a set table. I won't go into any more detail since PC versus Traditional has been done on many threads and is a discussion all it's own. I do not know if the PC people had o wait for a table or not on this cruise. We have always been happy with traditional and enjoy getting to know our waiter. We have also enjoyed haviing the same table mates and getting to know them. In truth we were a little disappointed when we found out we were at a table for 2 but decided to give it a try rather than ask to be re-assigned.

 

Anyway, the food. The food was very good. We are fairly well traveled and enjoy a good meal. I would not say the meals are 5 star, but 3-4 stars for dinners might be appropriate. While I did not record or take a menu, some of the meals we ate included:

 

Spring Rolls for an appetizer followed by Mushroom soup followed by Prime Rib and homemade ice cream for desert.

Tortelini soup, Lobster Thermadore, and a Pear Tart for desert.

other misc. items I can remember include:

Escargot (my favorite appetizer)

Frogs legs appetizer

Beef Carpaccio appetizer (not as good as the B C at Sabatinis however)

Asparagus Soup (my favorite soup)

Of coourse lobster. They were kinda small but came 2 per serving. I had 2 servings or 4 small lobster tails. My favorite entree.

Pork loin roast with baked apple

The raspberry creme brulet (sp?) was as good as other posters have mentioned.

The next night I had something called a Baked Berry Surprise. Basically a berry cobler and it was also wonderful.

Another night I had a peach cobler (any trend to which direction my tastes go)

 

The food was very good. I cannot imaginie someone not beinig happy. Therer is one real exception. The iced tas was terrible. I am a big tea fan and could not stomach it. I was shocked at how bad it. Yes I think Celebrity has an edge here. The food on their menu was a little bit better quality and the menus had a little more variety. But if Celebrity is better it was only marginally better overall. I would also say the service in the dining room was good. Ina few aspects I do have to give an edge once agian to Celebrity but only in small aspects that really do not make or break my personal dining experience. For example the waiters would simply hold a bottle of wine for service. Celebrity would wrap the bottle in a towel for a more formal service. Also, when we sat in the dining room for lunch at larger tables, most waiters would start at one spot and go around the table both intaking orders and servinig. On celebrity the women are both allowed to order first and served first. Celebrity lays out the silver ware in a french serving with all silverware needed for the meal and each piece being removed as it is used. On Princess a fork or spoon is reused for an appetizer and salad. A new fork was generally placed at the table for the entree and another supplied for desert. We also had some occasions of servers reaching over one person to serve another. I am not pompous so that any of this in any way lowered my cruise or dining experience. Just making note of certain minor imperfections in the Princess service.

 

One thing Priincess does that is extremely neat. If you order your meal the evening before you can order almost anything you like. As long as they have the items needed to make it. Celebrity has no such offering.

 

This leads to a distraction into an experience on this cruise. As I mentioned we were at a table for 2 but we less than 2 feet from another table. barely room for our waitress (Daniella) to get through. Well the couople at the table next to us were quite interestiing. In fact I would say he was one of the most insensitive, hard to please people I have ever met. My DW and I both felt sorry for Daniella and Allan (her assistant). 5 of the 7 nights he custom ordered meals. He was never satisfied. All week he only talked about how terrible Princess food is compared to back when. On more than one occassion when asked how he enjoyed his meal he actually said it was terrible. "Worst veal I have ever eaten" he said one night. these aren't good lamb chops he torted one evening. I want the ones with t-bones he said. One evening he asked for skim milk, then when they brought skim milk the next evening he stated I don't like skim milk in a rude manner to the waitress. But it is important to note he was never able to fluster Daniella. She continued to replace food and apologize at every turn. Two thumbs up for her customer service. One more example of his demeanor. I mentioned in the first part I purchased a latte card. He started asking me what I paid for it, how many tickets etc... He became determiined it was not a very good deal. So he actually called over the assistant waiter that sold it to me and starts gong through the math. I couldn't believe my ears when he told the AW to get a pen and paper he wanted to prove it to him. My DW once actually commented she had to go back to dinner to sit by him. I offered to ask for us to be moved but she resisted. I was not really bothered by him, and his wife was quite pleasant.

 

First seating for traditional dining was at 5:45 and second seating at 8:00. For lunch and breakfast they had dining room service in the Inernational dining room. We went there every morning for breakfast and everyday but 2 for lunch. I was in no hurry and always prefer to be waited on as opposed to the buffet. The Breakfast and lunch service was very good. The Breakfasts had pretty much all the normal breakfast servings. My favorite was ordering a bowl of mixed berries. It is not on the menu but they were always happy to oblige. they had wonderful strawberrys, raspberrys, and blackberrys. In fact every day someone at our table would comment on how good they looked and order them as well as an afterthought. I do not know if you could order Eggs Benedict every day or not. It was on the menu one day about mid-week as the special. DW ordered them and was disappointed. They seemed to have the sauce put on and baked in. They were not saucy like we are used to seeing. Another breakfast note, on day they had a special that included red-eye gravy. Perhaps we are the only ones who did not know, but red-eye gravy is made from red beans and is quite different than the gravy we are used to in Missouri. They would always have several waiters roaming the restaurant during breakfast peddling rolls. I say peddling since hey seemed to make a fun game of trying to convince you to take them. All in a fun manner. I of course would always have or 2 lattes with breakfast. They cost $1.75 each unless you have the latte deal I spoke of earlier. A demopnstration of the pleasant attitude the Princess employees have. One morning I forgot to bring my Latte coupons I had purchased. I simply pulled out my sea pass card when I realized I did not have my coupons with me. The waiter said never mind sir, this one is on me. I assure you I had not made any sort of show and had not even mentioned to him I had forgoten my coupons. I did say to my DW that I had forgotten them and would just put it on the seapass card instead of going back to the room. I assume he must have overheard me.

 

The lunches were quite varied and generally consisted of 2 entrees, 2 soups, 5 or 6 entrees and about 3 deserts to choose from. One of the entees was generally a larger salad such as a Cobb or a Chef salad. Hamburgers were always on the menu. One day I had a steak sandwich which was especially yummy. In general the breakfasts and lunches were quite enjoyable. I would compare it to a higher end hotel restaurant.

 

Sabatini's: We went to Sabatinis on Monday evening. They open at 6:00 and that was what our reservations were for. In short Sabatinis was wonderful and well worth the $20 per person charge. In fact my DW wanted to go a second time. That may have just been to avoid our "table mates" though lol. On thing that was really neat is they have a list of something like 8 appetizers. As I was trying to decide the waiter came to tell us he would bring us a little bit of all 8 appetizers. They consisted of:

Prisciutto Ham (sp?), Beef Carpaccio, Mussels, Calamari, a potato appetizer with sevruga cavier on it, some type of fried cheese, and a crab cake. I can't swear I got all of them since they seemed to keep bringing small appetizers for some time. The also listed a couple of soups and a salad. I did the salad and my DW did the soup. The soup was so full of seafood it looked like a bowl of scallops, shrimp, mussels and Calamari with a little tomato sauce and capers. She said it was wonderful. After we finished our salads and soup they brought out 2 types of pasta for us. First a linguini with clams and a red sauce, followed by a potato pasta. Both of which were very good. Full yet?? Well now it was time for our entrees. I had lobster tail with a champagne sauce (it came with 2 tails) and DW had sea scallops. Finally for desert they brought out a plate for each of us with 3 deserts. A vanilla flan, tiramasu, and neither of us can actually remember what the third item was. By that time we were really losing interest in food.

 

Dinner in Sabatinis takes a full 2 hours. The service was awesome and he atmosphere very nice. We had a table with a window. Since we ate at 6:00 it was still daylight with a nice view.

 

Room Service: We did order room service for luch 1 day. It was good. Had a club sandwich and a chef salad. The room service menu is pretty limited and they did not seem to have any flexibility. For example I knew the restaurant had Blueberry Pie on the menu so I asked for it and they could not get it. Only the 3 deserts on their menu. But it was not a real problem. The food was fina and it only took about 15-20 minutes to arrive.

 

It is late now so I will stop for now. Once I go back and read this I may have additional comments. I will plan on one more segment to cover other items not discussed yet.

 

Keep the questions coming. If I cannot answer them a couple of others that were on our cruise might be able to. Goodnight for now.

[SLU Billikens]

I am typing this late at night and on a laptop. In my post I was speaking about the rude gentleman sitting next to us. I stated "my wife stated that she had to go sit by him for dinner again". It should have said my DW stated she HATED to go sit by him at dinner again. My apologies to my wife. I am sure some of you read that sentence twice trying to figure out what I meant.

 

Sorry for the many typos. I hate laptop keyboards.

[Lynda90]

giggster, I will be in the same cabin on my November cruise. Glad to hear you liked it. Anything else you can tell me about it such as location?

 

Thanks!

[giggster11]

Lynda,

Our cabin was across from the laundry room but we never heard any noise from there. As I said earlier, we had Danny as our cabin steward and he was really nice. Nice view from the balcony. We spent plenty of time out there seeing a few dolphins swimming and jumping. Great view when leaving Cabo too! As for location, a little closer to aft stairs and elevators than midships. Great access to a lot of things. Only 3 decks up to Lido and 3 decks down to Promenade. Any other questions, just ask.

[emmy]

giggster ~ yes good info on the cabin...we are also Caribe deck starboard side

also intesting to hear the times of traditional dining...5:45 pm for early and 8 pm for late.... glad we choose late...5:45 is a bit early...

 

 

Emmy

[kayred]

Hi, thank you for the information. I had no idea you could get a Latte card. My husband gets a Latte every day and we pay $5 each ( I go maybe 3 times a week...please don't do the math, it makes me sick to my stomach every time I figure what we spend on coffee:rolleyes: ). Do you remember if they had the flavored coffee drinks like Starbucks does, for example do they have an iced carmel latte? It would really make my husband happy.

 

I am also wondering what ports you had to "tender". I think that's the right word (this is my first cruise) I am not so sure I like the idea of taking the little boats packed with people to the shore...

 

Thank you again for your reviews. Hearing the reviews is really making this dream vacation seem real.

[SLU Billikens]

They did not list anything like a caramel latte on the coffee menu. That does not mean they will not make it however. Princess really strives to get you what you want. The hardest part of getting it may be getting a waiter to understand what you want. As on most cruise ships the waiters are of foreign natioanlity. Many Romanians on this ship.

 

We tendered at Cabo San Lucas. Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan both were docked. I must say however that the Tenders in Cabo San Lucas were handled well in Cabo. It was also a beautiful ride to shore passing fairly close to El Arco and the surrounding Rock Islands (I am sure there is a better word to describe these small islands and big rocks in the ocean so sorry for my ignorance.) They are very pretty. It was also a great chance to get good pictures of the Sapphire Princess while tendering. I suggest you get a seat on top of the tender if you can.

[Murphey]

This is the very first I've heard of "Expresso" cards........Nice idea, but still miss my "included" latte's after dinner.....

[kayred]

Wow, as I am sure you know these boards are great. I find that it can be some of the little things that make a good vacation great. For example the tip about being on the top of the tender. It is logical now that I think about it but without knowing in advance you can miss a cool thing. Like I said not knowing doesn't ruin your vacation but knowing a few of the tips can make a good vacation great. Thank you again.

[stones902]

SLU,

 

Thanks for all the interesting info you have provided about your cruise. Since this is our first Mexican Riviera cruise I have heard that the water around Cabo is fairly chilly this time of year. Did you find this to be the case? Also, what were the sea conditions the first and last days of your cruise?

 

Finally, did Princess offer horse racing during the sea days or has that been eliminated all togther? Thanks!!!

[SLU Billikens]

Yes the waters were somewhat chilly. Great for wading but too cold for me to swim in (I'm a wimp however). The weather was actually quite chilly in LA and while cruiseing the entire trip. I was comfortable in shirt sleeves, however my DW was chilly on the balcony for example. Then in all 3 ports it was quite warm (90 deg. +).

For swimming on the ship the wind was blocked and it was nice. If the outside pool is too cold they have a covered pool (solarium I believe) that was comfortable and beautiful.

 

The seas were a little rough especially as you mentioned the sea days. Not too bad for us, but I did hear a few people complaining of motion sickness. I could feel the ship moving around some.

 

I am not sure about the Horse Racing. If they had it they never announced it in the patters (at least I don't think so). We seemed to have formed a small panel of people on this cruise so maybe one of them will know for sure. I have the patters at home and will double check for you tonight. Yes I am playing while at work (shhhh!)

[Lynda90]

SLU, thank for all the great info. I've never heard of espresso cards either. Must be something new. Can you get cappacinnos (please excuse sp) as well?

giggster, thanks again for cabin info. This is my first "solo" cruise and I was not going to spend the extra $$ for a balcony. However, I'm really hooked on them and knew I would kick myself for not getting one. Did you have a queen bed or two? I've asked for a queen and wondered if it was comfortable. Thanks!

[giggster11]

Lynda,

We had a queen bed. It was very comfortable. No problems sleeping. Small gap in the middle but not really noticeable.

[Dani24]

I am typing this late at night and on a laptop. In my post I was speaking about the rude gentleman sitting next to us. I stated "my wife stated that she had to go sit by him for dinner again". It should have said my DW stated she HATED to go sit by him at dinner again. My apologies to my wife. I am sure some of you read that sentence twice trying to figure out what I meant.

 

I scratched my head a little with that. But I figured maybe you meant your wife wanted to go back to hear what he decided to complain about that time, so you guys could laugh at him later...

 

I know my boyfriend and I have experienced some odd people in restaurants (not on a cruise, since we've never been before), and years later, we still make fun of them. Like this one elderly women in Payless shoes and cheap tacky jewelry ordering for her boyfriend ("He doesn't want the vegetables!"), complaining about the food, saying "What is this? Mac-Donalds? This place is low class." (that's how she said it), yelling at the waiter about needing more napkins, and when he brought her a stack she said "I should slap you." She seemed like a real catch for the poor, quiet old man who had taken her out. Years later, we still laugh about that.

[SLU Billikens]

Lynda: This may not be inclusive, but I know you could order Latte, Cappacino, Single or Double Espresso shots.

 

Pitching in regarding beds, we also had a queen bed which consists of two twin size beds pushed together. Kinda hard but fairly comfortable. We also had a gap in the middle which was not a major problem but did make it uncomfortable enough to limit the snuggling together while sleeping. I did not ask for the egg crate many people have spoken of.

 

We did have a mini-suite which had a card in the room that foam pillows were supplied and feather pillows were available. We did ask for 2 feather pillows and they were quite comfortable.

 

 

I agree with you Dani. We will remember the gentleman at the table next to us for many years. We've had a number of good laughs looking back at the way he acted. To add to our humor, his very nice wife must have been getting on him about it. Later in the week he said many times to his wife "See, I'm keeping my mouth shut like you told me". The worst thing he did (said) during the week was when he leaned over to me and said "I will never be at a table with another female waitress on a cruise. They are too sensitive." I must admit I have been a little ashamed that I simply did not respond to that comment. In hindsight I feel I should have made it very clear to him that I do not appreciate such comments. I guess I did not feel a confrontation with him was worth any effort. I know my DW's jaw just about hit the floor. I repeat myself by saying I cannot believe the patience our waitress (Daniella) showed in serving him. I have to think she must have had some interesting conversations with her assistance in the back though.

[Lynda90]

giggster and SLU, thanks for all the great information. Can't wait for my trip. Sounds like I have a wonderful comfortable cabin and I will purchase the espresso card.

 

SLU, regarding the offensive diner; sometimes the best comment is the unspoken word. I think it was wise of you not to get into it with the idiot. Not worth it. :rolleyes:

[AkSusan]

Thanks for the reviews. We're sailing Saturday and can't wait.

 

Susan :)

[gja360]

Thanks for all the reviews!!! I can't wait till we are cruising on her!

[WHYTSHLDRZ]

I counted on the calender, and there are about 5 weeks to go before we cruise. My bedroom looks like a hurricane hit it/clothes everywhere, trying to figure out what to take and what to leave. I know we are going to have a fabulous time thanks to all the info you have so patiently supplied:p SLU~YOU HAVE DONE AN AWESOME JOB WITH YOUR REVIEW ON THE SAPPHIRE-THANKS/MY HAT IS OFF TO YOU!!!

 

The ship sounds marvelous, the food amazing, and I know that everything else will be the icing on the cake.

Sometimes the most fun part of the cruise is the "PEOPLE WATCHING". Isn't is just mind blowing the things people will say and do? My mom and I had the best time on our cruise 3 years ago, at the end of each evening, getting dressed for bed and talking about all the funny things that we saw and heard each day! We laughed until we thought we would have an accident! Those are some of my best memories ever of being with my Mom~the two of us just rolling on the bed:D :D :D It's the little things sometimes that make each trip you take an adventure!:eek:

[mii]

Thanks for a very thorough review. We were on the Sapphire and it sure brought back many memories. We were on her last year when the dining rooms were separated into four themed rooms so it was interesting to read how they are working now.

 

Welcome to Princess.

 

Marilyn

[grandmaa]

Thanks for your informative review..we have not been on this ship and look forward to boarding her Nov. 26. Re: the latte card..can you also get hot chocolate with it?? On our last cruise they charged for hot chocolate (one of my favorite things to have in the AM) at breakfast so curious if they would be included on this card. Where the cabins ready when you boarded?? I have been reading on some of the posts that people dropped off their carry on stuff in the cabin and did a tour of the ship and when they came back the cabin was ready. Thanks bunches for all the info...by the way got a call from TA that docs are here Yea!!!

[MarsMc888]

I just wanted to thank everyone for providing such great reviews on the Sapphire Princess. I will be sailing on 11/26 for my very first cruise and I'm really excited!!

 

I have read a lot about the over-60 crowd and families that seem to be predominant on this ship though, and it's making me a little nervous. I am sailing with another single friend, and even though we wanted to avoid the rowdy Carnival cruise college-type scene and go more upper class, I'm now wondering if there will be any other single people under 40 on this ship???

 

Any advice or experience you could offer would be great - thanks!!

 

-M

[SLU Billikens]

I don't know about the Hot Chocolate? Not a HC drinker.

 

An yes our cabin was completely ready when we boarded. That was nice. I have been on other ship on which we were asked to stay out of the room until 1 or 2:00. We were on board about 11:30, went to lunch and a walk around the ship. when we returen probably around 1:30, 2 of our 3 bags were already outside our room.

 

I would not fear "M". I was surprised at the younger age of the crowd on the Sapphire when we were on board. I cannot comment on how many were single however. There seemed to be lots of forty somethings on board. Average age probably in the younger 50's (just my guess you realize).

[bearette]

i have never been charged for hot chocolate on any ship. i think on the alsaka cruises they try to nickle and dime you by charging for it, but you should be fine unless you want a shot of whiskey in it!