Live from the Sapphire Princess: first post pause sailing 9/24-10/4/2022 (Baja Peninsula & Sea of Cortez)

[travelin.sisters]

up high

[travelin.sisters]

at sea

          I always like at least one sea day & preferably a few to start a cruise. This cruise was so chaotic getting ready & figuring out the details that we pretty much just rested all day. Breakfast in the buffet—I always look forward to the made to order omlets so was glad to see they had those. I talked about the buffet in general earlier so won’t repeat. Food is pretty good there; except they don’t seem to know how to cook bacon.

          Our Roll Call had our Meet & Greet up in Skywalkers which was nice. It was great to get to meet some of the people that had worked together to figure out how to get ourselves on the Sapphire. Quite a few of the ship's officers came to the M&G, but only the CD, Fernando who introduced the captain & the captain, Paolo Ravera spoke.

Captain Ravera was very honest about the fact that the Sapphire is not yet where he wants her to be. She had been slated to be one of the first ships to return to sailing after the pause but due to political issues the Asian market is still not open to cruising. So, she sat with a relatively small (I think he said 190 crew for a very long time. Then they had a month to get her ready to sail. He acknowledged that things on the ship that have sat unused for so long don’t always start back up the way they are expected to. 

Captain Ravera also talked about the crew. He mentioned that many people had to find other ways to make a living during the pause so that finding good, experienced people for all positions is very challenging. Some of the crew, although they have been doing lots of training, we are their first actual passengers. He said he tells his staff to do their best & if their best is not good enough that he won’t be mad, but that then they need to do better the next time. I thought he sounded sad that the Sapphire is not yet what he wants it to be for us, but very hopeful & determined that it will be.

          Speaking of the ship’s condition, there are absolutely things that do not work & are slow to get repaired. Our safe is not working (fortunately the one in our other cabin is) & we don’t know when it will get fixed. Our cabin steward (who is delightful) said there are safes all over the ship broken, 11 just in his section alone. Outside our door, there are buckets to catch water that is leaking from the ceiling & a giant fan to dry the carpet. Apparently, the bathroom across the hall has a leak (it is an empty cabin). My BIL is next door to that cabin & yesterday his TV & overhead lights were out probably due to that (they are now fixed). Around the ship there are things that aren’t working but she still feels generally better maintained than the Grand (JMHO).

          Anyway, the M&G was a nice way to start our first day of sailing. Then it was time to what else but eat again. We had a pretty quiet afternoon, the crafts which are one of the things we like to do were all ones we had done before, but my sister decided we should collect the entire charm bracelet from Effy so we had to go to those events. This reminded me why I don’t go to Effy events as they crowded us into their tiny store  while they talked & talked before giving us the charm (on The Majestic, which has a much larger store anyway, they would just give out the charms & you could come to the talk or not). For my sweet sister though I will go to the talks & try not to pass out in the overheated store.

          Dinner in the MDR was good but incredibly slow. Our meal took over two hours & we were done faster than tables around us. It was the first formal night & there was the usual mix of attire for that. It was also the first production show & we decided not to go to the 9:30 showing. The show “Bravo” was described as an opera based production which didn’t sound appealing enough to get us back out. We stayed in, watched the Wake Show & were done for the night. It was a good first sea day & start to our cruise.

          Next up day 2 photos & then Cabo

                   

My posts in this LIVE:

pre-cruise musing—post 1

photos of berth 46—post 2

ready to go—post 23

onboard & ready to report—post 60

embarkation day—post 67

embarkation photos—post 68

embarkation lunch photos—post 70 & 72

exploring the ship—post 80

ship photos—posts 82, 84, 88, 89, 100 & 101

[Coral]

On 9/24/2022 at 4:52 PM, srpilo said:

I've sailed the Sapphire a couple of times, Norway in 2018, and Yokohama to Vancouver in 2014, and with the exception of the above mention of there being no Crown Grill, to me the Sapphire is the best of the original Grand class ships.

 

Just the wider promenade alone makes her a stand out, and unlike her sister the Diamond the Sapphire as mentioned has been upgraded with an Alfredo's and an International Cafe which the Diamond is still missing. Any comparisons to the old rust bucket Grand also, is misguided as the Sapphire is newer, is/was still in great shape, she's unique, and under went a dry dock right before the shutdown in 2019

I completely agree. I have been on this ship the most and it would be my first choice as far as ships go with Princess!

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Thanks so much for all the photos - brings back great memories when we were on her for 30 days in 2004.

[Vexorg]

It's understandable that things wouldn't work properly after the ship has been sitting a while, especially on an older ship.  I was on one of the first Caribbean Princess cruises after that particular ship began sailing again, and we had a number of issues with our room, most notably leaks under the bathroom sink and several instances where the toilets stopped working for a while.  I imagine ships are much like cars in that they don't do well if you just leave them sitting.

 

In the meantime it does sound like Japan is starting to ease restrictions on international tourism, although I suspect it will be a while before cruises restart there.

Edited September 27, 2022 by Vexorg

[NownZen]

Thank you for your postings. Bacon is one of those things that is pretty hit and miss. Sometimes it is almost raw and other times it shatters. I alternate between scrambled eggs and bacon and a bacon omelet depending on the condition of the bacon.

 

I do have a question. How is your balcony door in terms of opening? On the Grand earlier this year you had to hurl your body against the glass while doing a twist to get it open. The lady who was head of maintenance told me that it was normal and all ships were like that (as if I had never been on a ship before). The maintenance man came out and put wd40 on the seal. You do not do that on rubber as it makes it worse and stickier. I cleaned off and the next day he came back. I went to PSD a couple of times telling them to leave the door alone. The next time the maintenance man came he did not get a good reception.  I have also found that when I make a number of visits to the PSD, I never seem to get a survey after the cruise.

 

[JF - retired RRT]

33 minutes ago, NownZen said:

Thank you for your postings. Bacon is one of those things that is pretty hit and miss. Sometimes it is almost raw and other times it shatters. I alternate between scrambled eggs and bacon and a bacon omelet depending on the condition of the bacon.

 

I do have a question. How is your balcony door in terms of opening? On the Grand earlier this year you had to hurl your body against the glass while doing a twist to get it open. The lady who was head of maintenance told me that it was normal and all ships were like that (as if I had never been on a ship before). The maintenance man came out and put wd40 on the seal. You do not do that on rubber as it makes it worse and stickier. I cleaned off and the next day he came back. I went to PSD a couple of times telling them to leave the door alone. The next time the maintenance man came he did not get a good reception.  I have also found that when I make a number of visits to the PSD, I never seem to get a survey after the cruise.

 

You should have just let him ruin the seal w/WD40. Eventually, it will get replaced.😉

[NownZen]

3 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

You should have just let him ruin the seal w/WD40. Eventually, it will get replaced.😉

The only problem was that I wanted to use the balcony. Well that and the fact that the maintenance head said there was no problem.

[travelin.sisters]

officers at Meet & Greet & on the board

[travelin.sisters]

my favorite view to wake up to

[travelin.sisters]

[travelin.sisters]

the Princess Stanley Bears love to cruise too, & get their own photo shoots: Baby Brother, Captain & Ruby are ready for Mexico (& earlier got to meet Big Stanley)

[partybarbie]

Thank you for all the informational and photos. They are greatly appreciated. 
 

Your captain, Paulo Ravera, and his brother, Captain Stephano Ravera, have been with Princess a very long time. They might even go back to the Sitmar days. They are both wonderful, caring captains. I’m sure he is sorry for the condition of the ship and trying his best.

[PacnGoNow]

2 hours ago, NownZen said:

Thank you for your postings. Bacon is one of those things that is pretty hit and miss. Sometimes it is almost raw and other times it shatters. I alternate between scrambled eggs and bacon and a bacon omelet depending on the condition of the bacon.

 

I do have a question. How is your balcony door in terms of opening? On the Grand earlier this year you had to hurl your body against the glass while doing a twist to get it open. The lady who was head of maintenance told me that it was normal and all ships were like that (as if I had never been on a ship before). The maintenance man came out and put wd40 on the seal. You do not do that on rubber as it makes it worse and stickier. I cleaned off and the next day he came back. I went to PSD a couple of times telling them to leave the door alone. The next time the maintenance man came he did not get a good reception.  I have also found that when I make a number of visits to the PSD, I never seem to get a survey after the cruise.

 

They have to grease the rollers/wheels on the bottom of the door in the track.

We’ve had this done on several old ships and the door was good after that.

 

[NownZen]

33 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

They have to grease the rollers/wheels on the bottom of the door in the track.

We’ve had this done on several old ships and the door was good after that.

 

I understand about the roller but on our door you could hear the weatherstripping break loose. You also needed to shove the door hard towards the outside to get it to break loose. Slid fine after that first inch.

[CruzeQueen2]

12 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

at sea

          I always like at least one sea day & preferably a few to start a cruise. This cruise was so chaotic getting ready & figuring out the details that we pretty much just rested all day. Breakfast in the buffet—I always look forward to the made to order omlets so was glad to see they had those. I talked about the buffet in general earlier so won’t repeat. Food is pretty good there; except they don’t seem to know how to cook bacon.

          Our Roll Call had our Meet & Greet up in Skywalkers which was nice. It was great to get to meet some of the people that had worked together to figure out how to get ourselves on the Sapphire. Quite a few of the ship's officers came to the M&G, but only the CD, Fernando who introduced the captain & the captain, Paolo Ravera spoke.

Captain Ravera was very honest about the fact that the Sapphire is not yet where he wants her to be. She had been slated to be one of the first ships to return to sailing after the pause but due to political issues the Asian market is still not open to cruising. So, she sat with a relatively small (I think he said 190 crew for a very long time. Then they had a month to get her ready to sail. He acknowledged that things on the ship that have sat unused for so long don’t always start back up the way they are expected to. 

Captain Ravera also talked about the crew. He mentioned that many people had to find other ways to make a living during the pause so that finding good, experienced people for all positions is very challenging. Some of the crew, although they have been doing lots of training, we are their first actual passengers. He said he tells his staff to do their best & if their best is not good enough that he won’t be mad, but that then they need to do better the next time. I thought he sounded sad that the Sapphire is not yet what he wants it to be for us, but very hopeful & determined that it will be.

          Speaking of the ship’s condition, there are absolutely things that do not work & are slow to get repaired. Our safe is not working (fortunately the one in our other cabin is) & we don’t know when it will get fixed. Our cabin steward (who is delightful) said there are safes all over the ship broken, 11 just in his section alone. Outside our door, there are buckets to catch water that is leaking from the ceiling & a giant fan to dry the carpet. Apparently, the bathroom across the hall has a leak (it is an empty cabin). My BIL is next door to that cabin & yesterday his TV & overhead lights were out probably due to that (they are now fixed). Around the ship there are things that aren’t working but she still feels generally better maintained than the Grand (JMHO).

          Anyway, the M&G was a nice way to start our first day of sailing. Then it was time to what else but eat again. We had a pretty quiet afternoon, the crafts which are one of the things we like to do were all ones we had done before, but my sister decided we should collect the entire charm bracelet from Effy so we had to go to those events. This reminded me why I don’t go to Effy events as they crowded us into their tiny store  while they talked & talked before giving us the charm (on The Majestic, which has a much larger store anyway, they would just give out the charms & you could come to the talk or not). For my sweet sister though I will go to the talks & try not to pass out in the overheated store.

          Dinner in the MDR was good but incredibly slow. Our meal took over two hours & we were done faster than tables around us. It was the first formal night & there was the usual mix of attire for that. It was also the first production show & we decided not to go to the 9:30 showing. The show “Bravo” was described as an opera based production which didn’t sound appealing enough to get us back out. We stayed in, watched the Wake Show & were done for the night. It was a good first sea day & start to our cruise.

          Next up day 2 photos & then Cabo

                   

My posts in this LIVE:

pre-cruise musing—post 1

photos of berth 46—post 2

ready to go—post 23

onboard & ready to report—post 60

embarkation day—post 67

embarkation photos—post 68

embarkation lunch photos—post 70 & 72

exploring the ship—post 80

ship photos—posts 82, 84, 88, 89, 100 & 101

@travelinsisters

[CruzeQueen2]

Sorry it this shows up more than once. I am still learning...how to post and add comments. Mostly to praise and thank people for taking such care and attention plus TIME on your vacation to post. Thank you @travelin.sisters

I appreciate your tone of voice, and style. Love that you kindly post the number of the posts for us to find your information, easily. Thank you as well, to give us such authentic reporting about the condition of your ship. I have a booking for Sapphire one year from now, September 2023. My heart goes out to the Captain and all of the crew/staff. Still, you are finding the good in this first "back-to-sail" for this ship. Thank you, can't say this enough times. Thank you.

[PacnGoNow]

3 hours ago, NownZen said:

I understand about the roller but on our door you could hear the weatherstripping break loose. You also needed to shove the door hard towards the outside to get it to break loose. Slid fine after that first inch.

Crazy!  That isn’t normal. Did you build any muscles? 😆

[NownZen]

44 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Crazy!  That isn’t normal. Did you build any muscles? 😆

But the maintenance supervisor said that all ship balcony doors worked just like this. I did get some exercise walking down the stairs to the PSD several times to discuss the issue.

[PescadoAmarillo]

5 hours ago, partybarbie said:

Your captain, Paulo Ravera, and his brother, Captain Stephano Ravera, have been with Princess a very long time. They might even go back to the Sitmar days. They are both wonderful, caring captains. I’m sure he is sorry for the condition of the ship and trying his best.

I agree. Captain Paulo Rivera is one of our favorites too. You can always tell when a captain genuinely cares about this guests, and he really does. I’m not at all surprised he proactively mentioned the ship condition at the meet and greet. But it does sound like the same issues we’ve heard time and again since the start up. Safe batteries, rusted drain pipes under bathroom sinks…we had the former multiple times and the latter on the Emerald on its first cruise back in service. These things are easy to fix given time and resources. 

[khaleesi921]

If you have time or happen to pass by a laundromat, can you check if they're still offering free laundry/having a bowl full of laundry tokens? I know back in February they did and I was wondering if they went back and changed it.

[travelin.sisters]

2 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

I agree. Captain Paulo Rivera is one of our favorites too. You can always tell when a captain genuinely cares about this guests, and he really does. I’m not at all surprised he proactively mentioned the ship condition at the meet and greet. But it does sound like the same issues we’ve heard time and again since the start up. Safe batteries, rusted drain pipes under bathroom sinks…we had the former multiple times and the latter on the Emerald on its first cruise back in service. These things are easy to fix given time and resources. 

 

7 hours ago, partybarbie said:

Thank you for all the informational and photos. They are greatly appreciated. 
 

Your captain, Paulo Ravera, and his brother, Captain Stephano Ravera, have been with Princess a very long time. They might even go back to the Sitmar days. They are both wonderful, caring captains. I’m sure he is sorry for the condition of the ship and trying his best.

this is interesting, thank you, he looks so young I thought he must be one of her newer captains, but he does conduct himself with real assurance & caring, glad he is in charge of us for this first return to service sailing 

[travelin.sisters]

answers to questions

          I decided to switch & take this chance to answer the many questions people have asked & do both days of Cabo San Lucas together.

          First the ones that are already answered: The officers board has been posted (I think both by me & by someone else earlier), I have talked about how I think the Sapphire compares to the Grand (basically similar but roomier & better maintained—also feels like more elevators). MDR embarkation lunch menus & food photos posted. International Café is open 24/7, Promenade Deck is not closed for crew smoking. & Calypso pool is covered on deck 14.

          Princess Theater show times are 7:30 & 9:30 (45-minute shows). We have not been to one so I don’t know how crowded they are.

          Balcony doors have not dislocated our shoulders to open/close, but yes, they are pretty hard to move!

          There was absolutely no problem boarding with vaccinations but no testing. We tested at home just for our own peace of mind (& brought some tests with us) but they were non-proctored ones. They did ask to see our vaccine card & the only health question on the Medallion app & at the port was “in the past 7 or14 (I don’t remember for sure) days have you had any symptoms of COVID” much easier than in January.

          The Movies Under the Stars pool is the uncovered one (Neptune’s Reef) on the Lido Deck midship. It is where Swirls Ice Cream, Trident Grill & Prego Pizzeria are.

          Mario Propato who is on the board as the Restaurant General Manager introduced himself to us at dinner as the Maitre’d.

          I haven’t had time when they are open to check on the point & shoot cameras but I will try before the cruise is over. I also don’t know yet about the assistant cruise directors, laundry or pickleball/table tennis but I will let you know if I find out.

          I have all the Patters & most, if not all, the dinner menus photographed, but with the internet issues those & more food pictures will have to wait either until our trip home or after I get home to post.

          If I missed your question or there are any more, please post & I will do my best to get answers. I haven’t heard an official announcement from the Captain (probably at the Captains Circle party on Friday) but I have heard we are sailing from 70-80% capacity depending on the source.

                   

 

My posts in this LIVE:

pre-cruise musing—post 1

photos of berth 46—post 2

ready to go—post 23

onboard & ready to report—post 60

embarkation day—post 67

embarkation photos—post 68

embarkation lunch photos—post 70 & 72

exploring the ship—post 80

ship photos—posts 82, 84, 88, 89, 100 & 101

day 2—at sea—post 102

day 2 photos—posts 109, 110, 111 & 112

[partybarbie]

17 minutes ago, travelin.sisters said:

 

this is interesting, thank you, he looks so young I thought he must be one of her newer captains, but he does conduct himself with real assurance & caring, glad he is in charge of us for this first return to service sailing 

I think he is a newer captain that worked his way up. When I first met his brother, Stephano, he was a safety officer, then a staff captain, and then captain. 

[lilghallinsf]

1 hour ago, travelin.sisters said:

answers to questions

          I decided to switch & take this chance to answer the many questions people have asked & do both days of Cabo San Lucas together.

          First the ones that are already answered: The officers board has been posted (I think both by me & by someone else earlier), I have talked about how I think the Sapphire compares to the Grand (basically similar but roomier & better maintained—also feels like more elevators). MDR embarkation lunch menus & food photos posted. International Café is open 24/7, Promenade Deck is not closed for crew smoking. & Calypso pool is covered on deck 14.

          Princess Theater show times are 7:30 & 9:30 (45-minute shows). We have not been to one so I don’t know how crowded they are.

          Balcony doors have not dislocated our shoulders to open/close, but yes, they are pretty hard to move!

          There was absolutely no problem boarding with vaccinations but no testing. We tested at home just for our own peace of mind (& brought some tests with us) but they were non-proctored ones. They did ask to see our vaccine card & the only health question on the Medallion app & at the port was “in the past 7 or14 (I don’t remember for sure) days have you had any symptoms of COVID” much easier than in January.

          The Movies Under the Stars pool is the uncovered one (Neptune’s Reef) on the Lido Deck midship. It is where Swirls Ice Cream, Trident Grill & Prego Pizzeria are.

          Mario Propato who is on the board as the Restaurant General Manager introduced himself to us at dinner as the Maitre’d.

          I haven’t had time when they are open to check on the point & shoot cameras but I will try before the cruise is over. I also don’t know yet about the assistant cruise directors, laundry or pickleball/table tennis but I will let you know if I find out.

          I have all the Patters & most, if not all, the dinner menus photographed, but with the internet issues those & more food pictures will have to wait either until our trip home or after I get home to post.

          If I missed your question or there are any more, please post & I will do my best to get answers. I haven’t heard an official announcement from the Captain (probably at the Captains Circle party on Friday) but I have heard we are sailing from 70-80% capacity depending on the source.

                   

 

My posts in this LIVE:

pre-cruise musing—post 1

photos of berth 46—post 2

ready to go—post 23

onboard & ready to report—post 60

embarkation day—post 67

embarkation photos—post 68

embarkation lunch photos—post 70 & 72

exploring the ship—post 80

ship photos—posts 82, 84, 88, 89, 100 & 101

day 2—at sea—post 102

day 2 photos—posts 109, 110, 111 & 112

Thank you so very much for this report. As someone else said appreciate your kind tone.  We sail in a week and I am beyond excited. Third cruise with princess. We are celebrity people but have had a great time because of the crew. We did this same cruise a few months ago and enjoyed the ports. Cabo especially.