50 Days on Sapphire Princess

[SeaDog-46]

Spent nearly the whole of October & November 2018 on Sapphire Princess under the command of Finnish Captain Heikki Laakkonen.

At both the two meet & greets on the 38 day voyage from Southampton to Singapore - about 10 Hotel senior staff & the Captain attended.

Missed Madeira port of Funchal due to hurricane Leslie in the middle of Atlantic. It made landfall in Portugal. Had an overnight in Lanzorote.

Had bad weather in both French ports of LeHavre & Toulon where water was over the esplanade in the town. A free shuttle ferry went from pier into Toulon.

The storm that did damage in Italy passed by us the night before Livorno. 

Petra tours were cancelled on arrival at Aqaba due to closure of park by authorities due to previous days flash flooding that killed 12 locals. 30,000 tourists were evacuated. 

Bush fire smoke caused limited visibility over the northern part of Suez Canal.  Other than that weather was good.

 

We had no problems, nor heard of any,  with AC, water or toilets.  The 42" LG  LCD  TV was good after I got the hang of the remote control - secret is the back button.

Did see passengers moved out of a cabin on Baha deck & later a new carpet & underlay was fitted by ships crew.

 

The food was excellent in the buffet & the chef Thomas Gallie from South Africa was a real comedian. Called the elderly passengers - young lady , young man.

Meals in the dinning room were disapointing the few times we tried it.  I now know why people from USA call the main course - an entree.  Very small helpings & nothing much else on the plate.

In Dubai SP took stores  [from USA]  waiting for us in 13 x forty feet containers - 10 refrigerated.  Fresh stores also delivered.

 

The new corridor carpets are coloured for port & starboard - see attached.  Not so good when you have had a few!

 

[SeaDog-46]

We had cabin B101 by choice after getting C100 on Diamond P. a few years ago.

Sold as Premier Ocean View - there are 5 on Baha & Carib decks right forward with suites on either corner.

Balcony doors are now left unlocked but you need to be wary of wind & light getting out at night.

It is a very quiet area with little or no traffic in corridor & not very loud anchor or thruster noise. 

Only one anchorage in the 50 days - at Port Said & no tender ports.

In 2019 Sapphire Princess with repeat the two repositioning voyages done in 2018   Singapore - Southampton - Singapore.  After return to Singapore in late 2019 she will be homeported in Singapore.

[cheznandy]

Great pics John.

Did you do traditional or Anytime dining?

Love that on demand TV!!

Where is the next one to?

Did you get to meet G and J, Yellow Fish doing the blog onboard for a couple of months?

 

Hi to Haiti😀

 

Edited December 13, 2018 by cheznandy

[SeaDog-46]

Cheryl - Nice to hear from you. 

Did not get to meet Yellowfish as they only went to Rome & then jumped ship - changed their original plans. They returned at Singapore when we got off & are still there I think.

We always do Anytime dining & we gave up on the dining rooms after 4 disappointing meals in a row.  Hayati loves her salads & as I said the buffet food was excellent plus the entetainment from the chef Thomas.  Learnt a dining trick for anytime - go to Savoy at 6pm & it will no doubt be full, but ask or be offered as in our case, Vivaldi - they like to fill it up after the overflow early sitting are underway.

Only a few months & off to Japan for B2B on Westerdam - 28 days from 31st March. Should see plenty of Cherry blossom but it's getting earlier each year.  Also doing 3 days on Shinkansen from Shin Yokohama with 7 day JP pass - staying 4 nights at Prince hotel.  Flying in & out of Haneda.

Yes the TV was good with plenty of films & lectures repeated. Will miss it on Westerdam no doubt.

Unlike Diamond Princess that caters for the Japanese - Westerdam will be the usual mix of USA & others.  On SP Ausies were in the majority to Singapore.

All the best for Christmas & 2019  [juliet,mike,november,hotel,sierra 95 at gm.com]

[sewgood]

Sorry that you missed Petra.

We are going on this cruise in October next year, Southampton to Singapore and this will be the highlight of our cruise if it is not cancelled.

What did you do in Aqaba for the day after finding out that the tour was cancelled?

Did Princess provide extra tours to something else or were lots of people on the cancelled tours left to just fill in the day?

I'm sure that a lot of people planned to go to Petra. I have wanted to ever since finding out that it was a real place and not just a movie set.

Thanks for reporting on how your cruise went. Your cabin looks great and I would try it if I didn't get sea sick so easily.

[SeaDog-46]

Sewgood - The Petra tours were starting to meet when an announcment was made that all Petra & Wadi Rum tours were cancelled as the Jordanians had shut the areas due to the deaths the day before. This also applied to private tours.  There was already a free shuttle to Aqaba & up to eight buses waiting to fill most of the time - so it was a no waiting shuttle & they operated well all day.  It was fairly hot [28] but pleasant & we were dropped off at a bus station areas in town. Not much in the large square but shops & eateries & many passengers from the two ships in port - other was AidaBlu. There was no time to organise other tours & the border with Isreal was just up the road so no where to go except diving or beach resorts in Jordon.  The Petra tour costs were refunded quickly to accounts & as we had free grats. ended up with a credit that was paid out in cash at end of cruise.

The ship hardly moved the whole 38 days but the Bay of Biscay did not act up.

[SeaDog-46]

Chinese-ing of Sapphire Princess.

Many notices repeated in Chinese throughout ship.

A few Chinese stewards both male & female.

 

Anti Piracy Drill presentation by ex RN chief Security Officer was given prior to anchoring at Port Said.

This allayed peoples worries about out passage through the danger area from southern Red Sea to Straits of Hormuz.

The actual drill for crew was the day after Suez Canal before Aqaba.

It included a passenger muster precede by crew alarm, boat prep. fire hose crew parties & other incident drills for crew. Fire hoses were rigged along Prom. deck & access to poop & forward deck closed off.  

No lights were turned off & no other restriction to use of outside decks or movies under the stars.

 

We only attended the Muster drill the day we joined at Southampton & were not required to do any others.

The muster of bodies & demo of Lifejacket is all that is required by law. 

The crass rewording of the love boat theme over the PA made me sick.  It's a low point for Princess Cruises.

 

[sewgood]

35 minutes ago, SeaDog-46 said:

Sewgood - The Petra tours were starting to meet when an announcment was made that all Petra & Wadi Rum tours were cancelled as the Jordanians had shut the areas due to the deaths the day before. This also applied to private tours.  There was already a free shuttle to Aqaba & up to eight buses waiting to fill most of the time - so it was a no waiting shuttle & they operated well all day.  It was fairly hot [28] but pleasant & we were dropped off at a bus station areas in town. Not much in the large square but shops & eateries & many passengers from the two ships in port - other was AidaBlu. There was no time to organise other tours & the border with Isreal was just up the road so no where to go except diving or beach resorts in Jordon.  The Petra tour costs were refunded quickly to accounts & as we had free grats. ended up with a credit that was paid out in cash at end of cruise.

The ship hardly moved the whole 38 days but the Bay of Biscay did not act up.

Thanks for the information SeaDog. Glad that people made the most of the day in Aqaba even if it was just going for a walk around the town or grabbing a cup of coffee and a treat from a local cafe. Sounds like the buses were laid on for you.

28 degrees for Jordan sounds a great temperature to me, that is why this cruise apealed to us, November in the Med and Middle east. Those summertime temperatures are fightening to someone who is from the snow country.

 

Enjoy your Japanese cruise on the Westerdam SeaDog.

 

[Dobby_The_Ship_Elf]

Thanks for the info.

 

I am also taking notes as we are doing the same cruise next year.

 

I'll see if I can thunk of any questions to pick your brain with

[Aus Traveller]

Petra is gorgeous. It's a pity that flooding caused it to be closed. I thought it was so fantastic, I am looking forward to going back.

We went to Petra in mid-summer in 2016. It was very hot. On our next cruise that called into Aqaba, I was under a 'limited mobility' order following surgery, so we just took the shuttle into town. There wasn't much to see. On our visit this year, I went on the Wadi Rum tour. It was interesting, but a very poor 'second' to Petra. Unfortunately, the Destination Lecturer had frightened a lot of people about their ability to do the Petra or Wadi Rum tour. A lot of people cancelled, but when they spoke to people who did the tour, they realised they could have done it.

Edited December 13, 2018 by Aus Traveller

[rosegirl93]

Thanks for your report. Enjoyed the information as we are planning the same cruise in 2020 on Regal Princess. Just a question you may have the answer to (I’ve searched various forums and not found anything thus far): Is a visa required for Australians transiting the Suez Canal and, if so, is it an Egyptian visa, a Saudi Arabian visa, or both?

[Aus Traveller]

4 minutes ago, rosegirl93 said:

Thanks for your report. Enjoyed the information as we are planning the same cruise in 2020 on Regal Princess. Just a question you may have the answer to (I’ve searched various forums and not found anything thus far): Is a visa required for Australians transiting the Suez Canal and, if so, is it an Egyptian visa, a Saudi Arabian visa, or both?

We didn't need a visa on any of our trips through the Canal. The last one was in July this year.

[rosegirl93]

Thanks Aus Traveller, that’s great news!

[SeaDog-46]

Rosegirl 93 - As Aus Traveller has stated there is no visa required for Egypt.

Your question has reminded me of something that came up several time around the Suez Canal.

Anchored at Port Said in the evening waiting for the convoy to start, an Australian lady asked what lights that we could see were Saudi Arabia.  I told her they were all in Egypt.  In the canal another lady mentioned that the port side land was Saudi Arabia. It is of course the Sinai Desert part of Egypt. I do not think we actually saw any part of Saudi Arabia due to darkness or the dust haze.

In 2020 Regal is not going to Kochi [Cochin] so no need for expensive Indian visa.  Nor will you will have wait in the heat to see Indian immigration in the cruise terminal TENT.   The Sri Lanka one is free online.

[sewgood]

9 hours ago, SeaDog-46 said:

In 2020 Regal is not going to Kochi [Cochin] so no need for expensive Indian visa.  Nor will you will have wait in the heat to see Indian immigration in the cruise terminal TENT.   The Sri Lanka one is free online.

The tent sounds an extremely hot way to spend your time.

The Sapphire is not calling into India on her return journey next year in November.

This is one of the reasons we choose to go backwards around the world (well time wise anyway) as it was at the time the only Sapphire relocation that did not call into India.

We have heard on previous cruises from fellow passengers the cost and the amount of detail required for the Indian Visa and found it a little off putting for a one day vist to the country. Hearing about cooking yourself in the tent I think we made the right decision.

[sewgood]

Thanks Aus Traveller for your information on Petra.

We shall not listen to any port lecturer saying that Petra is too difficult.

Indiana Jones here we come.

On your day there did you have time to walk to the other sites at Petra? I realise that it will be a long day on the bus.

You see them TV but it doesn't make it clear how far away they are from each other.

[SeaDog-46]

Princess has made a good decision dropping Cochin from Sapphire Princess last repositioning in Oct. 2019.  The Indians need to do away with their red tap, visas for cruise passenger & build a terminal if they want cruise ships to call.

It's a pity Princess have also dropped Malta & substituted Messina, as I thought Valletta one of the highlights of our cruise & it was the first port where the weather was good.

Petra from my research - the Visitors Centre where you enter the site from the buses is about 4 km. in a non deviating walk to the museum at the far end of the main site.  [8 km. return].

Return distance from Amphitheatre is 5.2 km.  The track goes down hill slightly most of the way & is uphill on return.

The "Treasury" / Al Khazneh is less than 2 km. from the visitors centre entrance.

SIQ - means the shaft - a narrow gorge or defile.  The very uncomfortable horse drawn buggies are a danger here as they race through.

[NSWP]

Thanks for review John, glad you enjoyed Sapphire. We were on it in May/June, B2B Baltics and Scandinavia ex Southampton.

 

I agree MDR food not great, ok, but not great, small portions.   Sapphire is a nice ship, one of my favourites, the Grand Class.

 

We had the same mini suite on Dolphin deck for both cruises, bigger mini that the one we had on Royal Princess.  Sapphire balcony was twice the size too.

Edited December 13, 2018 by NSWP

[sewgood]

Thanks Sea Dog for the information on the distances.

I'll aim for the Treasury and the Theatre and whatever else I see on the way is a bonus.

Glad to see the toilet symbol in betwen the two as no doubt I will be drinking a tonne of water that day.

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the review and photos as well as the extra information.

[SeaDog-46]

Further to Brisbane 41 complaint about bathroom water flow & shower head on Diamond Princess.

Those now fitted on Sapphire Princess - at least in our cabin - are a different fixed type with 2 settings as per photos.

The flow & temp. controller are as original & worked well.

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the pics, luckily they were framed high or we may have seen more than we bargained for.😜

[Aus Traveller]

10 hours ago, sewgood said:

Thanks Aus Traveller for your information on Petra.

We shall not listen to any port lecturer saying that Petra is too difficult.

Indiana Jones here we come.

On your day there did you have time to walk to the other sites at Petra? I realise that it will be a long day on the bus.

You see them TV but it doesn't make it clear how far away they are from each other.

We went on a private tour organised by a member of CC. It is around 2.5 hours drive. We had more time in the site compared with the Princess tours because we had lunch in a restaurant at the far end of the valley. The tours have lunch in town, outside the gates of the Petra valley. I advised people going on that tour to either skip lunch or arrive at the lunch venue late and take their chances on what food was available. They just had to make sure they knew what time the buses were leaving.

 

We obviously had time to walk slowly to the far end of the valley and explore the sites close to the main path. The only way to get to the "Monastery" is to head there directly after entering the valley and don't be distracted by sights along the way. The path to the Monastery is very steel and uneven steps. It starts opposite the restaurant where we had lunch. We called it the "Restaurant at the end of the Universe". For someone making their first visit to Petra I recommend forgetting about the Monastery. To get there you basicly had to forego everything else. Not worth it! There is time to take the short detours to the Byzantine Church and to the Royal Tombs.

 

If you can't walk that far, I recommend going at least as far as the Collonaded street. One couple on our cruise couldn't walk very far at all. They simply made the decision that they would hire a cart to travel into the Valley, then camels to go further in. They came out the same way. This was the only way they could see Petra and they loved it.

 

Transport - You can go into the valley by donkey cart, but  recommend walking with your guide. There are several interesting things to see on the way and it is very slightly down-hill. Your first view of the Treasury is breathtaking. The impact would be lessened if you were in a cart. I recommend going out by cart. When we were there it was US$30. My husband declined because of the price, but we should have taken the cart and offered the driver a tip if he drove slowly and carefully. The carts only go as far as the Treasury (the famous 'building') at the end of the Siq. From there you either walk or go on a camel.

 

Take plenty of water. We also took hand towels from the ship that I had soaked in water (carried in plastic bag). We were in Petra in the middle of summer (around 36 deg C) so we each draped a wet hand towel around our neck underneath our shirts. About one-third of the way through the valley there are toilets (on the right-hand side of the path as you walk in). We wet our towels before setting off again. We had also left extra water on our seats in the bus so we would have water for the return bus ride.

 

Visiting the remains of the 2,000 year old city was an amazing experience and I highly recommend it.

 

If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

[Aus Traveller]

5 hours ago, sewgood said:

Thanks Sea Dog for the information on the distances.

I'll aim for the Treasury and the Theatre and whatever else I see on the way is a bonus.

Glad to see the toilet symbol in betwen the two as no doubt I will be drinking a tonne of water that day.

The toilet was appreciated, but I would not drink the water. Depending on the time of year you will be hot or very hot, although in winter it snows in Petra. If it if hot, you won't be needing the toilet as much as you might think.

[sewgood]

Thanks for much Aus Traveller for your detailed information and tips for touring Petra it is much appreciated.

We shall take plenty of water.

We haven't been to Europe in 20 years so this is a big trip for us and Petra is one of those places I have wished to go to for years but never thought I would make it.

Hopefully the tours will run that day but I realise not anything goes as planned on a cruise (with ports having to be missed) or even on land travel as my husband pointed out. Years ago we were driving up to San Francisco from LA on the coastal road and had to turn around due to the road being blocked by a rock fall.

Oh well if we miss a port we really wanted to go that gives us a reason to go back again.