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

[phabric]

My brother in law like only a little salad dressing on his Caesar and asks for it on the side.  You can ask for changes if you want.

 

 I told the waiter I wanted the fish without all the other items, he said of course what else did you want, I said what about a baked potato and that is what I got.

[OceanDreaming2]

3 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

 

I am hoping the alfredo was just new chefs because they also somehow managed to make the caesar salad unpleasant  

Why they put chickpeas on a Caesar salad was beyond me. It's funny they didn't use them as a garnish on the deserts.

[travelin.sisters]

5 minutes ago, OceanDreaming2 said:

Why they put chickpeas on a Caesar salad was beyond me. It's funny they didn't use them as a garnish on the deserts.

we never saw any actual chickpeas in our salads or any kale which is also an ingredient listed in the "new & improved" (I guess that would be what they call it) version

[Caribensun]

Anyone on Dolphin deck beware of water leaks and moldy carpet in and outside the rooms and no heat/air..  we were in the 450-622 area.
The crew was amazing and tried hard even though most were new.  The pools were warm, first time in many years, very much appreciated.  We did have brown muddy water coming down in buffet one night.  Had a great Captain.  Soft serve ice cream was broke whole cruise, but really liked the ice cream they did serve.  We had an incredible storm one night in middle of night and could smell something burning, but ship was ok, was up viewing the storm.  We had a cool double rainbow on port side before we left LaPaz after that storm.  
meet and greet was great!
Sandipalms

[travelin.sisters]

more food & menus

I already did embarkation day lunch (posts 70 & 72) which was the only lunch we ate in the dining room we did go to the Trident Grill a couple of lunches...IMHO they are the only place onboard to get decent fries as they are fresh & crispy (I love their fries)...it was a nice choice when the buffet didn't have anythng enticing but they did not have a very efficient system on the Discovery with one person taking orders & doing the buns etc so the line was slow, fortunately not that many people were eating there (or maybe that is why?) on other ships they have used pagers for when your food is ready &/or had someone outside the food prep area taking orders...one thing I have always wanted to try but have never gotten on any ship is the port wine onion marmalade on the BLT burger (just plain onions) chicken sandwich is good when it is good, but other times it is touch & not enough chicken, street tacos were not very tasty & dried out tortilla the one time I tried them on the discovery (liked them on other ships)...another example of not understanding Americans & their love of mustard on their hot dogs, the beginning of the cruise they only had to small bottles of mustard, but by the middle they had found a mustard pump dispenser.

 

we never did get around to trying the pizza either on deck or inside.

 

 

 

Edited October 8, 2022 by travelin.sisters

[willyoo]

Thank you travelin sisters and others for a great recap of your trip. The pictures were great also.

I will board November 17th for Hawaii. This will be my first time on the Sapphire. My first Princess

cruise was on 1975 on the original Island Princess.  I was also on the old Royal Princess in 1993 on a transcanal cruise.

[travelin.sisters]

25 minutes ago, willyoo said:

Thank you travelin sisters and others for a great recap of your trip. The pictures were great also.

I will board November 17th for Hawaii. This will be my first time on the Sapphire. My first Princess

cruise was on 1975 on the original Island Princess.  I was also on the old Royal Princess in 1993 on a transcanal cruise.

have a lovely trip on the Sapphire, the captain & crew are lovely...Hawai'i is our favorite as we love sea days we were there in January as they were just opening up (first ship to arrive since the 'pause')

[travelin.sisters]

dinner day one

I do apologize, I have a hard time getting photos of menus, so these are the best

sauteed garlic prawns

and the no pepper, made special version of sauteed garlic prawns

& I had the disappointing alfredo posted earlier

rum infused pina colada soup (couldn't taste any rum, but BIL said he didn't taste any in the bar pina coladas either)--I liked it better when it came in a glass with a straw 

linguini & clams (as an appetizer)

seared mahi mahi with pineapple mango salsa

hawai'ian luau pork (didn't taste very luau like to me...we were on the Hawai'i menus for the cruise even though it was going to Mexico)

 

dessert (sorry I missed the menu)

the strange & sad love boat dream thing from the last post

pineapple creme brulee (pretty good, but not much pineapple taste & they didn't get their brulee very cracky)

flourless chocolate cake (delicious)

 

 

 

[cr8tiv1]

On 9/27/2022 at 3:51 AM, 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

 

Trying to catch up to all of your pages.  Just getting started.  I did the same for my sister (EFFY), but not as OCD about the charms.

 

Thanks for breaking in the Sapphire.  It was good to hear that the Captain was aware of the start up issues.  I am looking forward to the next 10 pages.........

[travelin.sisters]

29 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Trying to catch up to all of your pages.  Just getting started.  I did the same for my sister (EFFY), but not as OCD about the charms.

 

Thanks for breaking in the Sapphire.  It was good to hear that the Captain was aware of the start up issues.  I am looking forward to the next 10 pages.........

once my sister gets a goal in her sights, there is no stopping her, but I'd rather have done it now than on our next one to Hawai'i where there are 'ukuleles to play & hulas to dance (sitting down because my knees can't handle it) & leis to make...

 

I'm enjoying your Alaska with your sister, thanks for doing that report

 

[cr8tiv1]

@travelin.sistersWill your sister join you on your Hawaii cruise?  Sure hope you are cruising with Elua on the Crown this fall/winter.  You are going to have such a blast.  When is your cruise?

[travelin.sisters]

2 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

@travelin.sistersWill your sister join you on your Hawaii cruise?  Sure hope you are cruising with Elua on the Crown this fall/winter.  You are going to have such a blast.  When is your cruise?

yes we (& my 'ukulele playing BIL) will be on the Crown with Elua March 2nd & then on the Discovery in March of 24 (don't know who the Hawai'ian ambassadors will be for that one yet). They are so good we sailed with them in Jan on the Grand & or previous Hawai'i was with them too...we almost got to do Hawai'i Tahiti & Samoa with them in March 2020 but you know what happened to that adventure. Hawai'i is obviously our favorite itinerary.

[cr8tiv1]

I am getting toward the end of your thread, but you seem to be posting faster than I can catch up.  Now on page 10.  Sorry if someone has already addressed La Paz.  The Sea of Cortez is one of my favorite itineraries.  

 

Don't know who is sponsoring the buses to La Paz, but they are nice buses.  (Had to look up plural of buses...also acceptable...busses).  You can stop at a beach on the way in, but not on the way back to the ship.  Then catch the next bus going in to town to return to the ship.  You are dropped off and picked up at the bus station a few blocks from the pier and Malecon.  There is a washroom/bathroom.  It is suggested that you pay the 25/50 pesos to get toilet paper and a slightly cleaner facility.  

 

La Paz is lined with street cafes and shops.  If you go a little further in (up the hill) you will reach a really nice cathedral and off the beaten path stores.  You can even have your photo taken with a donkey.  It is a really safe city to visit.  Absolutely love the fact that Diamond International and other tourist traps are not in La Paz or Loreto.  

 

I love your photo journey.  Thank you for doing lives.  Looking forward to your Hawaii cruise "live".

 

I found your take on the internet manager amusing.  Princess definitely has an issue with false advertising.  It is far from being the "best internet/wifi at sea".  

 

 

 

[milogurd]

16 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

yes we (& my 'ukulele playing BIL) will be on the Crown with Elua March 2nd & then on the Discovery in March of 24 (don't know who the Hawai'ian ambassadors will be for that one yet). They are so good we sailed with them in Jan on the Grand & or previous Hawai'i was with them too...we almost got to do Hawai'i Tahiti & Samoa with them in March 2020 but you know what happened to that adventure. Hawai'i is obviously our favorite itinerary.

Eula's/Tiki Dave's Current Schedule:

Crown Princess

October 18, 2022 Vancouver r/t Hawaii

November 9, 2022 San Pedro r/t Hawaii, Tahiti & Samoa

December 7, 2022 San Pedro r/t Hawaii

December 22, 2022 San Pedro r/t Hawaii

January 16, 2023 San Pedro r/t Hawaii

January 31, 2023 San Pedro r/t Hawaii

February 15, 2023 San Pedro r/t Hawaii

March 2, 2023 San Pedro r/t Hawaii

 

Grand Princess

April 8, 2023 Auckland to Vancouver

(We disembark in San Francisco on 4/28/23)

 

Emerald Princess

July 6, 2023 San Pedro r/t Hawaii

August 5, 2023 San Pedro r/t Hawaii

Edited October 9, 2022 by milogurd

[OceanDreaming2]

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

  It is far from being the "best internet/wifi at sea".  

 

 

 

After the first day, we had zero issues with our internet connection and thought the speed was great. We shared one device. Of course we weren't uploading multiple photos either. That may have been troublesome.

[travelin.sisters]

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I am getting toward the end of your thread, but you seem to be posting faster than I can catch up.  Now on page 10.  Sorry if someone has already addressed La Paz.  The Sea of Cortez is one of my favorite itineraries.  

 

Don't know who is sponsoring the buses to La Paz, but they are nice buses.  (Had to look up plural of buses...also acceptable...busses).  You can stop at a beach on the way in, but not on the way back to the ship.  Then catch the next bus going in to town to return to the ship.  You are dropped off and picked up at the bus station a few blocks from the pier and Malecon.  There is a washroom/bathroom.  It is suggested that you pay the 25/50 pesos to get toilet paper and a slightly cleaner facility.  

 

La Paz is lined with street cafes and shops.  If you go a little further in (up the hill) you will reach a really nice cathedral and off the beaten path stores.  You can even have your photo taken with a donkey.  It is a really safe city to visit.  Absolutely love the fact that Diamond International and other tourist traps are not in La Paz or Loreto.  

 

I love your photo journey.  Thank you for doing lives.  Looking forward to your Hawaii cruise "live".

 

I found your take on the internet manager amusing.  Princess definitely has an issue with false advertising.  It is far from being the "best internet/wifi at sea".  

 

 

 

thank you for the La Paz info, no one had added that & it will be very helpful to future cruisers--it is harder to get info on La Paz & Loreto as they are less frequently sailed, which makes them less like every other cruise port. 

 

it is possible that it is still the best wifi at sea, I haven't sailed other lines in forever, but the best of barely usable is still barely useable.

 

please add any other comments as they are always interesting, helpful & pertinent (& kind, I really like people who can express their opinion while still being kind)

 

[travelin.sisters]

5 minutes ago, OceanDreaming2 said:

After the first day, we had zero issues with our internet connection and thought the speed was great. We shared one device. Of course we weren't uploading multiple photos either. That may have been troublesome.

I am glad you had great internet.

 

After the first few posts I literally wrote my posts on my word processor then copied with no photos added & it would take multiple attempts: closing down my browser, clearing cache, completely shutting down the computer, refreshing, going away & coming back after dinner to try again, to get anything to post on CC. My dropbox of photos I had to completely pause until I got home where it synced in just a few minutes. That is why I didn't really answer people's replies & questions individually while on the cruise. Sometimes even 'liking' a post to multiple refreshes to happen. Photos were even more of a challenge

 

Didn't have any of these problems on our January cruises to Hawai'i & then Mexican Rivera, so I don't think its my equipment or techniques

[travelin.sisters]

ok time for less talk & more food

dinner day 2--this was the only night we did not get our same table & servers as there was a computer glitch, after this we had the same spot every night (even the night we were over an hour late because our excursion didn't come back on time)

I know there are a lot of threads & comments about DMW not working for people if you want the same table, same time every night..,it has with a few problems, worked for us on three cruises, three different ships since January. I chose a private table at 6:20 in the dining room we want (not the back one you have to go up & down to get to because of mobility issues). 6:20 because when I chose 6:30 the computer thought they could serve another seating before us & on our first cruise we waited 2 days while people who came at 5 lingered & lingered (once almost an hour!). Then the first night I ask the head waiter (now called restaurant manager), the hostess & if I see him, the Maitre'd (head of restaurant operations) if we will have the same table/servers each night. I explain that we have allergies (my shellfish is pretty easy to self-manage because they list shellfish in the ingredients, however. my sister's pepper intolerance is very hard as these are often used as garnishes or not listed in the ingredients) which need their assistance. Every cruise since I started doing that we have had the headwaiter monitor our orders & usually bring the menu from the next night to pre order so that if anything needs to be made specially it can be done ahead--sometimes I have 2 photos of the same dish one with any peppers & one from the special kitchen. 

 

but I promised less talk & more food so here we go

dinner day 2

 

 

duck liver pate--my sister said it was very good, but it was much prettier in a post form another ship 

 

french onion soup--not as good as in the past & where is the lovely topping of cheese that flows over & bakes to the side of the bowl? it was not bad & I did have it again when there was nothing else I wanted or could eat, but not the special dish I remember

crab & cheese quiche (did I mention that BIL is so pleased that Princess now has enough seafood dishes that he can have pretty much everything but dessert as fish/seafood?)

 

Ceasar with a pile of anchovies (more fish for BIL)

 

red snapper

 

beef tenderloin (the regular version & the special one with no peppers)

 

 

 

my favorite of the chocolate journey desserts: chocolate hazelnut

 

 

 

[malba2366]

From the looks of it, the quality and presentation of the food has declined.  Hopefully just part of the ships culinary team being out of their routines for so long and something that will improve over time.

[travelin.sisters]

5 minutes ago, malba2366 said:

From the looks of it, the quality and presentation of the food has declined.  Hopefully just part of the ships culinary team being out of their routines for so long and something that will improve over time.

the food did get better over the course of the cruise...apparently many of the Filipino chefs/cooks decided not to return post covid so there are many new people in the galleys...some things were always good, my BIL who is picky about seafood & can tell if they are substituting one fish for what they claim, was always happy with his seafood, the beef was tender & delicious...other things got better as  we went & some like the alfredo they never got right.

 

i have found over my Princess cruises that the exact same dish will not always be the exact same from ship to ship & I have to find what each ship does that I really like & sometimes something I have always looked forward to I have to skip on a certain ship...19 days on the Island & never got a piece of cake that wasn't dry as dirt (the desserts & other pastries were good, the cakes were lovely but too dry to enjoy)

[cr8tiv1]

On 10/7/2022 at 7:37 PM, OceanDreaming2 said:

Why they put chickpeas on a Caesar salad was beyond me. It's funny they didn't use them as a garnish on the deserts.

 

On 10/7/2022 at 7:44 PM, travelin.sisters said:

we never saw any actual chickpeas in our salads or any kale which is also an ingredient listed in the "new & improved" (I guess that would be what they call it) version

 

I finally made it to the end of the thread.  Thank you so much for your wonderful posts and photos.  Looking forward to your Hawaii version with lots of videos of ELUA.

 

As for the Caesar salad....I had it a couple of times and it was dreadful.  Dark green romaine leaves, a few Kale (which I don't like) and chickpeas.  I don't know why Princess decided to "fix" something that was a favorite/standard.  But then again, I am not surprised.  Princess has been modifying lots of things that were working and ruined them.  

[JerseyShore]

Would love a picture of the Vines Bar menu

[travelin.sisters]

14 minutes ago, JerseyShore said:

Would love a picture of the Vines Bar menu

I am sorry I don't have one...don't drink wine so never went there...there is a thread for the current sailing & maybe someone there could take one for you

[ethereal]

Thank you so much for going to all this trouble.  I really appreciate it!  How were the formal nights?  Did people get dressed up as much as they used to?  I'm sailing December 2 for 33 days, and I'm curious about the laundry facilities.  How does one pay for them?  Do you have any tips for clothes to take that goes from LA to Antarctica and ends in Buenos Aires?  Thank you so much for any help you can give.

[OceanDreaming2]

23 minutes ago, ethereal said:

I'm curious about the laundry facilities.  How does one pay for them? 

Self-service laundry facilities are available. We were in 610A on the Aloha deck and the laundry was directly across from our cabin. I used the facility 3 times over the 10 days. You use your medallion to purchase tokens - each load uses 1 token to wash and another to dry. Each token was $3. If you wish to purchase detergent and/or fabric softener, they were $1.50 each. (I brought laundry pods and softener sheets from home.) The machines were a little quirky but once I figured them out, they worked well.  The dryers seemed to run for a long time, so if you washed 2 loads you could probably dry both for the cost of 1 token. Hope that helps.