ROLL CALL: Sapphire Princess, March 25th, Mexican Riviera

[Windward_Guy]

Hi all, thought I'd see who was going to be on this cruise. I'm a teacher in Hawaii, so this is my Spring Break trip! My partner can't get off work, so I'll be traveling alone. Would be nice to meet some nice people to hang out with! Hope to hear from some fellow cruisers....oh, one question? Will Princess have the FOD parties without us asking, or do we need to do that?

[Windward_Guy]

Wow...still no one showing up on this roll call... guess its still early?

[Windward_Guy]

My partner, who couldn't get the time off to go during my Spring Break from school, just did. So now I know there will be at least two FOD's on board!:rolleyes:

[tikidan]

My partner and I just came home today from the Mexican Riviera cruise on the Sapphire Princess. We had a great time. The FOD meetings were automatically scheduled, and listed in the "Princess Patter" daily schedule of activities as "Friends of Dorothy." We had three all together: Sunday late afternoon, Monday night, and Thurs night. They were hosted by Lloyd, a young Brit activities crew member. Unfortunately we only had 4 of us attending each time, although we enjoyed the company and the complimentary champagne. Lloyd said the previous week had much higher attendance, I think 16 people or so. Our cruise was heavily populated by several conservative evangelical groups, totalling about 600 of the passengers onboard. Maybe that's the reason! We felt like we kept spotting other homos walking around, but they never showed up to the FOD meetings.

 

Have fun!

[Ruthith]

Hi there -

 

my partner and I are on the Sapphire 2/18 - anything that you particularly enjoyed? Places to hang out, entertainment, etc....

 

Would love to hear any tips you've got.

 

Thanks!

 

-Ruth

[Windward_Guy]

Hi, nice to see some other Sapphire folk in here...we'll check out the FOD meetings, maybe we'll have more than 4. Tikidan..What did you like on the Sapphire...and what not? Ruthith...sure you'll have a great time, let us know how it goes...

[tikidan]

We had never been on a cruise, and were perhaps a little skeptical of what to expect. My partner's parents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, and took the whole family on this cruise. We ended up loving it. You can do as much or as little as you want, and everything is taken care of so completely... it's really great. We ate in the International Dining room everynight for the 8pm assigned seating. One night we ate at Sabatini's, which is a $20 per person extra charge. It's an "experience"--- takes nearly 3 hours, I think. They bring a sampling of every appetizer and every pre-entree soup or salad item so you get to taste everything. You only chose your main entree. Then they bring a small sampling of every dessert! It's all about food and eating! Otherwise we fell into just going to the Horizon food court for quick breakfast or lunches. So we missed the four other eating areas, one is called Savoy, and wish we had checked them all out.

 

We did manage to attend the "Princess Pop Star" contest most nights, which is basically a karaoke competition. Ten contestants each night for 4 nights-- a mixed bag of people who can sing and who can't--- then on Friday night is the big FINAL competition with the winners from the other heats. Get to Club Fusion early to get a good seat, otherwise it's standing room only. We had a woman who sang "Black Velvet" and was an amazing crowd pleaser and she won. That was fun.

 

We didn't particularly care for the hypnotist's "adult show"--- although some people said his regular show was more entertaining.

 

We went to the production shows, "Piano Man" and "Undercover," which are both about an hour long. Singing, dancing, visual, we enjoyed them. There's a singer, Lovena B. Fox, who does a nice show. She's got a lot of energy and personality, although the show has a little too much "this is my life" to it, with video footage telling her story. Be warned: she grabs two people out of the audience to do Tina Turner moves with her onstage. So be careful where you sit!

 

We had two formal nights on ship. I wasn't familiar with this, but there are many photographers around with backdrops to take your formal pictures. They do it for free, and buying the pictures is optional. Pictures are also taken at every opporunity from the moment you embark, to every time you get off at PV, Matzalan and Cabo, to when you're eating in the dining room on formal nights. Photos are 19.95 each. They print every single picture they take and they're up on boards on Deck 7 so you can see them and decide to buy or not. Also, our camera filled up with pictures and we were able to take the memory card to the photo counter and have everything burned to a cd, so we could erase the disk and start over! Was really happy to discover that service.

 

I'll post more later... have to get ready for work now!

[Windward_Guy]

Thanks for sharing your trip info, Tikidan...still no one from our cruise has found the board! Ruthith...how was your trip??

[Windward_Guy]

So...still wondering if anyone will find this roll call!

[Ruthith]

We loved our trip. Loved the ship, the itinerary - just a really nice week away!

 

We didn't make it to most of the shows, but did listen to some music, watched some movies (pre-Oscar time, and they showed Walk the Line, Proof, Capote...), and generally relaxed.

 

We don't really love personal choice, yet were unable to get traditional. In the end we found we liked the Pacific Moon dining room - found a really quiet area with just 3 tables for 2, it felt like our own private dining room.

 

If you have time in LA and have not been to the Getty Museum, check it out - we spent a wonderful afternoon there.

[Windward_Guy]

Thanks, Ruthith for the info. Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip! Ours leaves this next Saturday, though we take the red-eye out of Honolulu on Friday night...I'm ready for a vacation from kids, I'll be looking for the adults only pool!