Just off the Sapphire Princess Norway Cruise 6/23....

[Bently57]

and it was wonderful.

 

We had iffy weather some days, but also some partly sunny days. Norway is amazing.

 

As for the Sapphire Princess, we enjoyed our mini suite. The extra room inside was appreciated since both sea days were overcast, rainy and cool.

 

But I'm thinking this will be our last Princess cruise for awhile. Nothing was terribly wrong, and with a few exceptions, it was up to the standard of all our other trips on Princess. I think for us, the piazza concept has become tiresome. What we mostly don't like is how the sound all bleeds over, no matter where you are. You can be enjoying the music in Crooner's bar, for instance...and yet hear a performance on the first level of the atrium at the same time. It's cacophonous and not relaxing at all.

As we had two rainy sea days, we searched for comfy quiet places to read, and there really weren't any. Usually Skywalker's is a good bet, but they had World Cup playing on the tvs at all hours. Every other lounge had some kind of activity going on. And while I appreciate the effort of keeping us all entertained, it would be SO nice to have some getaway public spaces. Princess just doesn't have that, so we stayed in our cabin for the most part (whenever we wanted to unwind and chill). Normally we'd choose an outside deck as a last resort, but the weather wasn't cooperating.

 

The other con to this trip was Sabatini's. There is no way it was worth the upcharge this time, and we have always taken advantage of it before, so we know what to expect. Our server was oblivious. Meanwhile, I watched the table next to us receive excellent service, so maybe it is the luck of the draw. Also, the girl who took our drink orders practically barked at us to make a decision quickly. That was annoying. Finally, the food was no better than the main dining room. In fact, I think it was worse. In the past, you could order an extra appetizer or entree even, with no extra charge. Nowadays that will set you back $10 per extra. VERY disappointing.

 

The dining rooms: We had Anytime, and it was absolutely GREAT. No matter what time we went, we were seated in minutes. Service varied, but overall I would give it an A. The food seemed BETTER than past cruises.

 

Entertainment: We only attended the production shows, and the performers were extremely talented. Some of the best we have ever seen, hands down.

 

In summary, another wonderful Princess cruise, but I think it is time we branched out again. We have sailed with others before, and without naming them...they had their pros and cons too. We just need a little bit of a change next time out.

[piescruises]

Would you recommend cruising to Norway?

[Bently57]

Totally recommend it! Just prepare yourself for the possibility of rain. The 3 weeks prior to our sailing, they had NO rain for 3 weeks. So it CAN be sunny as well. However, the chances lean more towards precipitation. We were blessed in that we had partly sunny days in two of the 5 ports. There was only steady rain on one day, in Olden. The others were overcast with intermittent sprinkling. My favorite day was in Geiranger, where we had sun, and we hiked to a waterfall.

 

The scenery is stunning, whether it rains or not!

[SteelMagnolia9]

I’ll be on the Sapphire in May 2019 for the Norwegian Fjords cruise. I’m really looking forward to this scenic cruise. Any ‘must see’ or ‘must do’ that I should consider?

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

Thanks for reporting in on the Sapphire's current condition. Glad yu enjoyed the cruise.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Mapu]

and it was wonderful.

 

We had iffy weather some days, but also some partly sunny days. Norway is amazing.

 

As for the Sapphire Princess, we enjoyed our mini suite. The extra room inside was appreciated since both sea days were overcast, rainy and cool.

 

But I'm thinking this will be our last Princess cruise for awhile. Nothing was terribly wrong, and with a few exceptions, it was up to the standard of all our other trips on Princess. I think for us, the piazza concept has become tiresome. What we mostly don't like is how the sound all bleeds over, no matter where you are. You can be enjoying the music in Crooner's bar, for instance...and yet hear a performance on the first level of the atrium at the same time. It's cacophonous and not relaxing at all.

As we had two rainy sea days, we searched for comfy quiet places to read, and there really weren't any. Usually Skywalker's is a good bet, but they had World Cup playing on the tvs at all hours. Every other lounge had some kind of activity going on. And while I appreciate the effort of keeping us all entertained, it would be SO nice to have some getaway public spaces. Princess just doesn't have that, so we stayed in our cabin for the most part (whenever we wanted to unwind and chill). Normally we'd choose an outside deck as a last resort, but the weather wasn't cooperating.

 

The other con to this trip was Sabatini's. There is no way it was worth the upcharge this time, and we have always taken advantage of it before, so we know what to expect. Our server was oblivious. Meanwhile, I watched the table next to us receive excellent service, so maybe it is the luck of the draw. Also, the girl who took our drink orders practically barked at us to make a decision quickly. That was annoying. Finally, the food was no better than the main dining room. In fact, I think it was worse. In the past, you could order an extra appetizer or entree even, with no extra charge. Nowadays that will set you back $10 per extra. VERY disappointing.

 

The dining rooms: We had Anytime, and it was absolutely GREAT. No matter what time we went, we were seated in minutes. Service varied, but overall I would give it an A. The food seemed BETTER than past cruises.

 

Entertainment: We only attended the production shows, and the performers were extremely talented. Some of the best we have ever seen, hands down.

 

In summary, another wonderful Princess cruise, but I think it is time we branched out again. We have sailed with others before, and without naming them...they had their pros and cons too. We just need a little bit of a change next time out.

 

We will be on a similar, not exact, itinerary in August. I would be interested in your opinion as to the necessity of and recommendations of shore excursions in the different ports. When on the ship sailing from port to port do you transit any fjords or is the ship too big to do so?

Thanks in advance.

[Bently57]

I’ll be on the Sapphire in May 2019 for the Norwegian Fjords cruise. I’m really looking forward to this scenic cruise. Any ‘must see’ or ‘must do’ that I should consider?

 

If you are a hiker, the hike above Geiranger to the waterfalls is a must. It IS strenuous, but worth it. I am 60 and did fine. The lady in front of me was 74 and she had no issues at all! However, probably a third of the group did give up, turned around and waited for us at the cafe, which was our final stop.

 

Joostedal National Park is another great excursion, and DO NOT MISS the island garden tour in Stavanger.

[Bently57]

We will be on a similar, not exact, itinerary in August. I would be interested in your opinion as to the necessity of and recommendations of shore excursions in the different ports. When on the ship sailing from port to port do you transit any fjords or is the ship too big to do so?

Thanks in advance.

 

If one of your stops is Olden, it is a cute town that you can see in half an hour; maybe less...so for that one, I would recommend the Joostedal National Park excursion. It was a steady downpour on our day there, so we had no choice but to cancel ours, because it included a hike. Those that went on the hike anyway totally regretted it, as they saw nothing and were drenched.

 

Bergen and Stavanger you can navigate on your own (we did). However, the excursion to the island garden is supposedly fantastic in Stavanger. Everyone we spoke to loved it. Bergen is an amazing city. Special attractions are Bryggen and the fish market, but there is so much more, like the funicular. You do not need an excursion for Bergen unless you just want to.

 

Geiranger, we took a hike to one of the waterfalls. Absolutely stupendous. We did not tour the town.

 

The ship is not too big for the fjords. Geirangerfjord is probably the most impressive, but so was the other one that Olden is located in.

[adam7392]

Doing this cruise on 21st july - can someone let me know if the hike to the waterfall in Gerainger is doable from the port - we dock at noon and leave at 6pm.

 

thanks

[Bently57]

I just did it, and yes...but you will need to book an excursion to get there, or get a cab yourself and figure out where the trailhead starts. I would not recommend doing it without booking the excursion, though. Norway does not have signs for trails on a consistent basis, and I didn't see one when we started out. We walked up a road to a gate and from there...up and up and up.

 

But you should do it. We did not have as much time as you did. We had to be back on board by 5PM. We didn't make it, but since it was through Princess they of course waited for us. We actually got to the tenders around 5:25 or so. Almost half past the hour.

 

Hopefully you will be able to find your tour bus easily! We had issues, and no one from Princess was there to guide us when we got off the tender to start the tour. It was mass chaos, with about 14 buses of various sizes in the parking lot. With no clue where to go, we raced from one to the other until we found it and were the last ones onboard. Very odd, because I have never experienced this kind of disorganization from Princess on shore excursions before. I think whoever was supposed to direct us was taking a coffee break!

Edited June 28, 2018 by Bently57

[Sweetpeas12]

Thanks very much Bently57. We'll be doing this cruise in a few weeks time and found your report (and the replies to questions) very helpful. I have 3 questions:

- You suggest in post 10 the possibility of getting a cab in Geiranger to start the waterfall walk, which we are hoping to do in order to allow us time to get back to the town afterwards for a coach trip. Other posts have suggested that cabs are few and far between. Did you see any when you were there?

- I see that you tendered in Geiranger. Was that because the SeaWalk floating jetty was being used by another ship - or do Princess just not use it?

- Do you have any idea how busy the Sanctuary was on your trip? We're hoping to use it a bit but have no idea how necessary it will be to rush there on embarkation day - or any other day.

[Bently57]

- You suggest in post 10 the possibility of getting a cab in Geiranger to start the waterfall walk, which we are hoping to do in order to allow us time to get back to the town afterwards for a coach trip. Other posts have suggested that cabs are few and far between. Did you see any when you were there?

- I see that you tendered in Geiranger. Was that because the SeaWalk floating jetty was being used by another ship - or do Princess just not use it?

- Do you have any idea how busy the Sanctuary was on your trip? We're hoping to use it a bit but have no idea how necessary it will be to rush there on embarkation day - or any other day.

I totally do not recommend getting a cab to the waterfall walk. It is not marked; your cab driver may or may not know how to get to the trailhead. I did not see a single cab at the pickup area. But the number one reason not to do it, is you will NOT have enough time. We had a port time of 12:00 noon until 5:00PM. We were off the tenders and were at the trailhead by 1PM. We got back down from the waterfall at 5:00PM exactly, and were late getting back to the tenders. Since it was a Princess excursion they of course waited for us. You cannot do this hike (and it IS strenuous, by the way) and also do ANYTHING else, much less a coach trip. There is simply no time for it.

There is no seawalk jetty in Gerainger. All the ships in port that day (I recall there being three of them) required tenders.

The Sanctuary was never open during our cruise at any time. All the chairs and recliners were tied up and tucked away.

Hope this helps.

Edited June 29, 2018 by Bently57

[Sweetpeas12]

Thanks very much for that very quick reply Bently57, which is very helpful.It all goes to show that however much research you do beforehand (ie a lot!), there's no substitute for firsthand knowledge. It's odd about the SeaWalk jetty. It opened about 5 years ago and I've seen videos of it in operation, but it seems as though the cost puts some (all?) cruise companies off using it.

[Bently57]

Thanks very much for that very quick reply Bently57, which is very helpful.It all goes to show that however much research you do beforehand (ie a lot!), there's no substitute for firsthand knowledge. It's odd about the SeaWalk jetty. It opened about 5 years ago and I've seen videos of it in operation, but it seems as though the cost puts some (all?) cruise companies off using it.

 

I just researched it and now I know what you're talking about, as I too have seen the photos. But...on our cruise...it was not used, and I didn't even know it existed until today. From the photos, it looks as if it can only be used if there is ONE ship (maybe two) in the port. From the photos, it looks like the floating seawalk would block access to the tender docks for other ships, if there were more than two in port. And we had multiple ships in port that day. Your sailing may be different, and perhaps they will use it.

[Sweetpeas12]

We're the only ship in Geiranger that day, so we'll see whether or not we get to use it. I'll report back after the cruise. Appreciate your useful information.

[esstheman]

- You suggest in post 10 the possibility of getting a cab in Geiranger to start the waterfall walk, which we are hoping to do in order to allow us time to get back to the town afterwards for a coach trip. Other posts have suggested that cabs are few and far between. Did you see any when you were there?

- I see that you tendered in Geiranger. Was that because the SeaWalk floating jetty was being used by another ship - or do Princess just not use it?

- Do you have any idea how busy the Sanctuary was on your trip? We're hoping to use it a bit but have no idea how necessary it will be to rush there on embarkation day - or any other day.

I totally do not recommend getting a cab to the waterfall walk. It is not marked; your cab driver may or may not know how to get to the trailhead. I did not see a single cab at the pickup area. But the number one reason not to do it, is you will NOT have enough time. We had a port time of 12:00 noon until 5:00PM. We were off the tenders and were at the trailhead by 1PM. We got back down from the waterfall at 5:00PM exactly, and were late getting back to the tenders. Since it was a Princess excursion they of course waited for us. You cannot do this hike (and it IS strenuous, by the way) and also do ANYTHING else, much less a coach trip. There is simply no time for it.

There is no seawalk jetty in Gerainger. All the ships in port that day (I recall there being three of them) required tenders.

The Sanctuary was never open during our cruise at any time. All the chairs and recliners were tied up and tucked away.

Hope this helps.

 

Why was the Sanctuary closed? Construction?

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your review. We're going to Bergen on the Royal's trans-Atlantic. Did you make plans of things to see and do or just get off the ship and wander around?

[Bently57]

Why was the Sanctuary closed? Construction?

 

The weather was not inviting. Very few people outside most days, because it was raining or very cold.

[Bently57]

Thanks for posting your review. We're going to Bergen on the Royal's trans-Atlantic. Did you make plans of things to see and do or just get off the ship and wander around?

 

We did make a list of things to see, but we didn't hit all of them, because we were in awe just wandering around. It truly is a beautiful city. We did see Bryggen, which you really can't miss. I mean you can't miss it because you pretty much have to walk right by it. It's fascinating. The Fish Market was not open yet when we were looking around that area, so we just kept exploring. By the time we got back to Bryggen, the Fish Market was open but we were scant on time and had to get back to the ship. The funicular you can do on your own, but actually, we chose not to do it because we were having such a wonderful time in the areas with lower crowds. One absolutely stunning park we had all to ourselves, with a pond and a fountain and koi, surrounded by mansions of the Gilded Age. That area is just down the street from the red brick "stave inspired" church. It was also one of our few sunny days, so we didn't want to be enclosed in anything, LOL.

[TonyM99]

Was bit confused with some of the above comments and then realised it must have been a Norway cruise docking back on 23rd. We were on the 14 night Norway cruise leaving on 23rd. Yes weather a bit iffy at times but mainly good with the exception of Honningsvag - North cape but what do you expect and that was mainly overcast and windy - We did own tours in Stavanger, Geiranger (from above comments book this 4 hour trip online before you leave) Honningsvag and Gravdal - All excellent and significantly cheaper than ship ( Factor of 3 !! in Stavanger) Other ports mainly walked - In Bergen this time weather was overcast and as we had done Funicular before we just walked;ked around Old town markets and cathedral - Happy to share experiences

[Bently57]

Yes...ours was 7 day, leaving on the 16th and returning on the 23rd. Sorry for any confusion.

[High C's]

Was bit confused with some of the above comments and then realised it must have been a Norway cruise docking back on 23rd. We were on the 14 night Norway cruise leaving on 23rd. Yes weather a bit iffy at times but mainly good with the exception of Honningsvag - North cape but what do you expect and that was mainly overcast and windy - We did own tours in Stavanger, Geiranger (from above comments book this 4 hour trip online before you leave) Honningsvag and Gravdal - All excellent and significantly cheaper than ship ( Factor of 3 !! in Stavanger) Other ports mainly walked - In Bergen this time weather was overcast and as we had done Funicular before we just walked;ked around Old town markets and cathedral - Happy to share experiences

 

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. We will be in Bergen in September on a TA cruise on the Royal. We have a boat cruise booked for the morning - "Rodne Fjord Cruise". It departs at 10 am for a 3 hour cruise. We are wondering if we should tour via the HOHO bus afterwards, or just meander through the market on our way back to the ship. We are in port from 8 am to 6 pm. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[TonyM99]

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. We will be in Bergen in September on a TA cruise on the Royal. We have a boat cruise booked for the morning - "Rodne Fjord Cruise". It departs at 10 am for a 3 hour cruise. We are wondering if we should tour via the HOHO bus afterwards' date=' or just meander through the market on our way back to the ship. We are in port from 8 am to 6 pm. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.[/quote']

 

I would wander back through the old town and then take the fenicular

[Sweetpeas12]

Hi Bently57, To follow up on earlier posts, we were the only ship in Geiranger on the July 21 cruise and the Seawalk was used. It saved a lot of time queueing for tenders, although there was a bit of a queue to get back on the ship.

When in port, we walked up from the ship to the wonderful viewpoint at Vesterasfjellet, which is about about 15 minutes beyond Westeras Farm, The round trip took us about 2 1/2 hours - although we're somewhat older than you ! It was rocky and quite strenuous up until the Farm, but easier thereafter. We can thoroughly recommend it. We made it back down in time to take a 1 1/2 hour coach trip to Flydals Gorge and the Eagle Road, which we can also highly recommend.

Thanks for your useful info.