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New Year's on the Malaysian Peninsula: Live from the Sapphire Princess 30 Dec - 09 Ja

Croptop

By Croptop,
in Princess Cruises

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OceansOfTravels

OceansOfTravels

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We do, indeed, stop in Phuket. I currently have no firm plans for that stop.

 

I'm open to suggestions.

 

I am also open for suggestions, lol. I just came across some abnormally cheap flights to Phuket, and I am seriously considering taking a holiday there, because the accommodation prices are so cheap. I am optimistic to see what you end up doing, and how you like the area. Many recommend Koh Phi Phi, James Bond Island, The Big Buddha, Kata Beach, etc. But the Phi Phi Islands are your postcard-perfect things you see when you search up Thailand on the web, the monstrous rocks rising from the clear water. Not sure if you've considered that, but that seems to be the area's largest attraction.

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Quenby

Quenby

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I'm enjoying your pictures and posts -- thank you so much!

I was on the Royal in December, and I'll board the Sapphire for this same itinerary in late February. Curious -- does the Sapphire have the on-demand TV system like the Royal's?

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Croptop

Croptop

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I'm enjoying your pictures and posts -- thank you so much!

I was on the Royal in December, and I'll board the Sapphire for this same itinerary in late February. Curious -- does the Sapphire have the on-demand TV system like the Royal's?

The Sapphire does have the on-demand TV in the stateroom.
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Croptop

Croptop

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"Just take your time. You're in Bali. Nobody will hurry here."

 

I'm not sure what day it is. I think it's Tuesday. That's got to be a sign that my vacation is going well.

 

The day started early with a coffee and a choice spot on the observation deck over the bridge to watch the sun come up as we sailed into and set anchor in Benoa Harbour in Bali.

 

Then, it was the usual controlled chaos that comes with tender operations. I had booked an excursion through the ship so I escaped the madhouse that is the general tender queue but even among those of us who had full instructions on where and when to meet, there are always those who can't or won't play things by the book so inevitably we get to witness some unnecessary drama and angst by people who need to be ashore right now dammit!

 

But as promised, we all got onto a tender and started the half hour journey to shore. The skies were mostly sunny and the seas relatively calm so the ride to shore was fine except for a few sudden and unannounced tacks and jibes here and there. Not sure why they were necessary. Perhaps we were evading a torpedo or a dolphin swam across our path or something. Regardless, we made it to shore just fine and headed off to the buses.

 

Word of warning to the food smugglers: they scan your bag in the port coming ashore so don't bother.

 

We climbed aboard our bus and our guide for the day, "Ben" -- not his real name. He assured me that I could neither pronounce nor correctly spell his real name so just call him "Ben" thankyouverymuch -- told us that it would be a 45 km drive to the elephant sanctuary and it shouldn't take us more than an hour and a half. Two hours tops. Two hours to go 45km?! Yup. And we soon saw why. The roads in Bali are busy and once you get out of town, about as wide as a North American sidewalk. Every corner is an adventure with a cacophony of horn blowing and slowing down to see if traffic is coming from the opposite direction. 95% of the time, it is.

 

But we made it to the elephant sanctuary unscathed and in short order were in the park and interacting with the elephants. If you like interacting with large animals, then this is the excursion for you. Over the course of your visit, you can feed, wash, and ride the elephants. There was also a short, 15 minute show where a few of the elephants did various tricks -- their favourite seeming to be spraying water over the gathered crowd.

 

You could get right up and feed the beasts either with strips of bamboo heart (free) or a small basket of chopped up fruit (IDR50,000 -- a little under $5). As soon as you walked up to the elephants with a basket of fruit, you were their lifelong friend and trunks would seek you out. It you then gave them a strip of bamboo, they would take it from you and immediately throw it to the ground and look at you as if to say, "No. I want the good stuff. Give me the good stuff." So I gave them the good stuff. Once you were out of fruit, the friendship was over and they didn't know you anymore. Unless you came back with another basket at which point the cycle would repeat. Great fun.

 

The weather was pretty much perfect for the entire visit right up to the point where it was our group's turn to take the 30 minute ride around the park on the back of an elephant. That's when the rain rolled in. But the park was well prepared for this and had handed out ponchos at the beginning of the excursion. In addition, full sized umbrellas were available by the bucket full so the rides pressed on. But since I had to hold an umbrella, and it was... well... wet, the camera stayed stowed during the ride so I have no pictures from the ride itself. Bummer.

 

We had a good 3+ hours at the park in total before we boarded our bus for the adventurous ride back down the mountain to the port. We traversed the same narrow, twisty roads as before with some nice rain added into the mix to make the ride just that much more thrilling.

 

By the time we made it back to the port area, it was sunny again so even though the line up to tender back to the ship was long, it wasn't made miserable by having to stand in a downpour so that was nice.

 

All aboard time was scheduled to be at 1600hrs at which time -- according to the captain's announcement a bit later, there were still over 1000 people in line waiting for a spot on a tender. So we were a bit late in leaving Bali.

 

But we've got two sea days before we reach our next port of Kuala Lumpur. But first we cross the equator again. Hopefully there won't be another crossing the equator ceremony because the one that they did yesterday on our way south was... sorta dreadful. I mean I understand the appeal of tradition and all that but that ceremony was just a glorified one-sided food fight with a bit of snogging with a dead fish thrown in.

 

Next up: another sea day. So that means I'm going to have a coffee or three, read another good book and maybe, just maybe, figure out what day it is. I'm pretty sure it'll be a Wednesday.

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Brogmalog

Brogmalog

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Hi Croptop

 

Really enjoying the Live from.

 

My Wife and I will be on Sapphire for the short 4 day Malaysian Peninsula cruise from 24 January so your postings have been a good insight into the ship.

 

I must admit I was a little worried reading some of the more negative reviews and board posts but its good to have a more level headed review and some pictures.

 

Looking forward to your future posts, especially on what to expect in Port Klang & Penang

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eem

eem

Posted
Posted (edited)
My morning perch with a coffee and a good book.e5780d15a5b1bcfd9849f738dc0daffc.jpg

Hi, John, thanks for posting, I'll be on the Sapphire leaving Singapore on Feb. 25 for 17 nights. Did you have to get any visas for the various ports? Please let me know. Thanks. Elli

Edited by eem
Another question - how is the Internet connection, and how many computers does the Sapphire have for guests? Thanks.
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eem

eem

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Thanks so much for the commentary. We are on the Feb. 25 cruise and listening to you gives us the feeling we are already onboard.

Thanks again :)

Does "Westbank" mean BC? Looking forward to meeting you on the cruise. Are you prebooking any shore excursions or are you waiting until we are on the ship? Thanks. Elli

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westbankkid

westbankkid

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Does "Westbank" mean BC? Looking forward to meeting you on the cruise. Are you prebooking any shore excursions or are you waiting until we are on the ship? Thanks. Elli

 

Westbank BC...:D We have booked the evening river cruise in Singapore as we are arriving on the 22nd. Have booked a couple of shore excursions but are hesitating on booking more because if you want to cancel, the funds are credited back to your credit card and you probably will have exchange costs both ways.

Looking forward to meeting you at the meet n greet on the 26th, or possibly sooner if you are in Singapore earlier.

 

Take care John and Julie

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leck57 Holiday Sharing Rare

leck57

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Not sure if I missed it on your earlier posts. Any tip on where to buy wine for embarkation? Boarding Sapphire on Jan 24.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

There are quite a few wine/alcohol stores around Singapore. I use Wine Connection and there are a few of these shops but there are many others. Depending on how hard you want to look and whether you want a particular quality but even the 7/11's that are everywhere sell alcohol.

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easyboy

easyboy

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There are quite a few wine/alcohol stores around Singapore. I use Wine Connection and there are a few of these shops but there are many others. Depending on how hard you want to look and whether you want a particular quality but even the 7/11's that are everywhere sell alcohol.

 

 

 

Thanks. Could be just around our hotel on Orchard Road.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Croptop

Croptop

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Were there any internet specials on embarcation day? Or is it best to buy internet from the pre cruise specials on the web site?

 

Sent from my SM-T817V using Forums mobile app

There were specials on day 1. I don't recall what they all were. I get 250 minutes for free and took advantage of an offer for another 200 mins for $40.
Hi, John, thanks for posting, I'll be on the Sapphire leaving Singapore on Feb. 25 for 17 nights. Did you have to get any visas for the various ports? Please let me know. Thanks. Elli
I did not have to get any visas on my own. Princess took care of the one needed for Indonesia. The people on the 21 day cruise did have to get one for Vietnam I think.

 

Internet connection is reasonable by dialup standards but I don't try streaming anything. I will get a count of the PCs in the internet cafe but it's at least 10.

 

EDIT: There are 18 PCs in the Internet Cafe.

Edited by Croptop
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leck57 Holiday Sharing Rare

leck57

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We were on Sapphire and visited Vietnam last year and if any visas are required Princess take care of it. As mentioned earlier you just hand over your passport at boarding and then they look after immigration requirements. Charges are just added to your room account.

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Croptop

Croptop

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Ok I have a dumb question for any of you who might want to weigh in:

 

Do the crew have access to foreign currency exchange? I've got a bunch of Indonesian Rupiah left and will probably also end up with a surplus of Malaysian Ringits as well. I was considering including that as part of the extra tips I leave for my cabin steward and other crew.

 

Good idea or dick move?

 

Discuss.

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easyboy

easyboy

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Ok I have a dumb question for any of you who might want to weigh in:

 

Do the crew have access to foreign currency exchange? I've got a bunch of Indonesian Rupiah left and will probably also end up with a surplus of Malaysian Ringits as well. I was considering including that as part of the extra tips I leave for my cabin steward and other crew.

 

Good idea or dick move?

 

Discuss.

 

 

 

Better than none.

Some crew uses local currency to spend at ports when they are on day off. Some remits USD when sending home the money. I guess either will be appreciated for extra tip.

 

 

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Quenby

Quenby

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Since the ship will be returning to those ports, I think it is ok. After several days in Budapest for a river cruise, I gave my cabin steward a chunk of Hungarian forints, and she was very thankful. The ship was going to be returning to Budapest several times.

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Kelownacruiser

Kelownacruiser

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Westbank BC...:D We have booked the evening river cruise in Singapore as we are arriving on the 22nd. Have booked a couple of shore excursions but are hesitating on booking more because if you want to cancel, the funds are credited back to your credit card and you probably will have exchange costs both ways.

Looking forward to meeting you at the meet n greet on the 26th, or possibly sooner if you are in Singapore earlier.

 

Take care John and Julie

 

From Kelowna and will be leaving Friday to get on the Sapphire on Jan 9th. Will be nice to get away from this snow and cold!

 

Ross

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