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

[travelin.sisters]

On 10/17/2022 at 6:36 AM, mhkcdk said:

I just saw this thread today and the comments on the food caught my eye. I posted my own review of the ship under ship reviews if you want to see the entire review. But as far as the food was concerned, this excerpt might provide some additional insight: 

"Food in the main dining rooms and buffet was not what I expect from Princess. Early in the voyage, I met Chef Rudi Sodamin, the new corporate executive chef hired in January to revamp their menus. He agreed there were problems. He said most of the chefs aboard were new because experienced chefs had found other work and were not coming back. He said he met nightly with the cooking staff to go over what he saw.

Dining room service was below average. Longer waits, lack of attention to detail (no recommendations, no offer of ground pepper for salad, not always checking to make sure mains were adequate, etc.

Chef Rudi promised that by January we would see significant changes to the food and menus. He is working on more than 100 new recipes. He also said supply chain issues are continuing to be a problem with sourcing food. The bars ran out of limes and ginger beer."

thank you for sharing this...I hope not all the new menus are strange things like ceasar salad with chickpeas & the strange thing they have made the love boat dream into, but it will be nice to have some different menu choices when we sail again in March...I had heard that they had to hire & train many new chefs/cooks & we also saw the constant training in the MDR...I was very impressed by how often we saw (everywhere) Mario the head of Restaurant Operations following up with everyone

 

[cr8tiv1]

13 minutes ago, travelin.sisters said:

was just rereading this thread as I wrap up this trip & saw your comment again...you will be ______ (fill in the blank: surprised, horrified, amazed, or...) to see the sandwich in the International Cafe next time you sail that is a slice of bread covered with slices of beets...

 

You mean this wonderful new addition?  Yum !

 

[travelin.sisters]

On 10/17/2022 at 8:08 AM, DiRonT said:

"Different strokes" as the saying goes.  I would agree with you regarding the buffet - just awful, but our experience in the dining room could not have been better.  So much attention to detail, great recommendations and fabulous service and really good food.  First time in 23 Princess cruises that the meat was cooked to perfection the first time (without sending it back).

I think our experience was between the two of you, some issues, some strange dishes but also some excellent dishes & service...I am glad you had great dining room experiences

 

[travelin.sisters]

On 10/17/2022 at 9:17 AM, seagunthera said:

Can anyone speak to the stock found in the Princess stores onboard?  I always buy a few cosmetics but am concerned the stock could be years old. TIA:)

I don't know about the cosmetics as we only went in that store (because we are both allergic to perfumes) to try & get a charge reversed (that we didn't make not having been in the store) & to get my sister a free charm...there was a wide stock of liquor, I know they had watches that had been in storage buecause they said the prices were lower, they didn't have much port or ships merchandise so the stock was a mixed bag overall

[travelin.sisters]

7 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

You mean this wonderful new addition?  Yum !

 

yes, here I was feeling badly that I didn't have a photo to share & you were ready to fill that need!!

[cr8tiv1]

11 minutes ago, travelin.sisters said:

yes, here I was feeling badly that I didn't have a photo to share & you were ready to fill that need!!

 

Always glad to lend an assist.  I actually took it for a vegan friend who was not with me.  The IC did have some new items on the Grand.  Notice the smoothies under the beets.  BUT...BUT...they no longer offer the tiramisu in the little round glasses.  

 

Also found these to be interesting.

 

 

Too healthy for me.  I will stay with the Peanut Butter cookies...full of protein.  HA!

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by cr8tiv1

[travelin.sisters]

38 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Always glad to lend an assist.  I actually took it for a vegan friend who was not with me.  The IC did have some new items on the Grand.  Notice the smoothies under the beets.  BUT...BUT...they no longer offer the tiramisu in the little round glasses.  

 

Also found these to be interesting.

 

 

Too healthy for me.  I will stay with the Peanut Butter cookies...full of protein.  HA!

 

lots of new things in the IC on the Sapphire but missed the "normal" sandwiches like tuna & chicken salad

 

haven't had a Princess PB cookie since the Grand in January 😥

[cr8tiv1]

22 minutes ago, travelin.sisters said:

lots of new things in the IC on the Sapphire but missed the "normal" sandwiches like tuna & chicken salad

 

haven't had a Princess PB cookie since the Grand in January 😥

 

Meet me for coffee and I will provide the Peanut Butter Cookies.

[travelin.sisters]

Just now, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Meet me for coffee and I will provide the Peanut Butter Cookies.

I do hope to meet you some day with or without the cookies

[travelin.sisters]

Wrap up

 

It has been 2 weeks since we returned home from our cruise, so it is definitely time to finish this live & focus on dog training & other real-life things. Thank you to everyone who followed along & contributed to what turned out to be a long thread.

 

I have discovered that doing a live, especially if I write the posts in my word processer first is a great way to have a memory of the details of my cruise, so thank you for indulging me. Looking back over this thread to see if there is anything I missed, I see so many typos & grammar errors that I did not catch as I struggled with the WIFI, so sorry about that!! I guess I need to hire a proofreader.

 

I am going through my photos & will post a few more before closing with some last thoughts.

 

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

answers to questions—post 123

Cabo San Lucas—post 126

Cabo photos—posts 147, 150,153, 154, 160, 162 & 163

La Paz—post 164

La Paz photos—posts 178, 179. 180, 181, 182 & 183

Loreto—post 189

Loreto photos—posts 191, 192, 194, 195 & 196

more answers to your questions—post 206

possibly helpful information—post 223

3 sea days!—post 224

sea day photos—posts 255, 256, 257 & 258

San Diego—post 259

San Diego photos—posts 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 266, 267 & 268

home again—post 269

home again photos—post 271

papers & Patters—posts 274, 275, 276, 277, 281, 282, 283, 284, 287, 288, 289 290

meals & menus—posts 297, 305, 308, 318, 328, 329, 333. 334, 335, 358, 359, 360, 361

[travelin.sisters]

just some assorted photos of the ocean because it makes me happy to watch

 

 

 

 

 

[travelin.sisters]

I couldn't find this when I did the San Jose del Cabo photos, but for some reason I really enjoyed watching them march the giant flag into the municipal building

 

 

[cr8tiv1]

wow...an index/appendix/table of contents.  However you label your posts is amazing.  I am having trouble remembering what I posted yesterday.  

 

Yes, definitely the biggest hint for doing anything long and sequential is to do it in a word document and then cut and paste.  I am doing mine for my sister.  Eventually, I am hoping to be able to print it out in a booklike format.  That will take an enormous amount of editing.  I am learning from the best (too many to give kudos to, but you know who you are).  

 

Mahalo Nui Loa for all the time and effort you invested in your wonderful journey.

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by cr8tiv1

[travelin.sisters]

another from the glass factory in Los Cabos

[travelin.sisters]

returning to the Sapphire after dark

 

 

 

[travelin.sisters]

traditional dancers in the square in Loreto

 

 

[travelin.sisters]

Semper Paratus--the Coast Guard at work

 

 

[travelin.sisters]

a few pix of the bears enjoying the cruise

 

 

 

& Ruby went out on adventures of her own while the boys stayed home

 

 

 

 

[travelin.sisters]

5 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

wow...an index/appendix/table of contents.  However you label your posts is amazing.  I am having trouble remembering what I posted yesterday.  

 

Yes, definitely the biggest hint for doing anything long and sequential is to do it in a word document and then cut and paste.  I am doing mine for my sister.  Eventually, I am hoping to be able to print it out in a booklike format.  That will take an enormous amount of editing.  I am learning from the best (too many to give kudos to, but you know who you are).  

 

Mahalo Nui Loa for all the time and effort you invested in your wonderful journey.

 

thank you for all your contributions & support...your sister will love having the memories in a permanent format...I have done books on our Alaska & Panama Canal trips was waiting to do Hawai'i together with the Hawai'i, Tahiti & Samoa that was cancelled so now I guess I will wait until after the next one (or two)...if you wait for sales you can get a photo book made with whatever pictures & text you wish at a really good price

[DiRonT]

13 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

lots of new things in the IC on the Sapphire but missed the "normal" sandwiches like tuna & chicken salad

 

haven't had a Princess PB cookie since the Grand in January 😥

Totally agree regarding the tuna salad, chicken salad and egg salad sandwiches.  Also not available in the buffet to make our own sandwiches.  Made note of this in my survey response.

[DiRonT]

13 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

just some assorted photos of the ocean because it makes me happy to watch

 

 

 

 

 

YES - and this is exactly why we cruise.  Ship could goaround in circles for a week and we would be happy!

 

[travelin.sisters]

1 hour ago, DiRonT said:

Totally agree regarding the tuna salad, chicken salad and egg salad sandwiches.  Also not available in the buffet to make our own sandwiches.  Made note of this in my survey response.

Absolutely!! it was sad

1 hour ago, DiRonT said:

YES - and this is exactly why we cruise.  Ship could goaround in circles for a week and we would be happy!

 

when we did Hawai'i in January we were the first ship to dock after the pause & when we left LA they still didn't have the agreements in place so we weren't positive that they would let us off the ship there...they did, but we had decided we wanted to go even if we just went around in circles

[DiRonT]

15 minutes ago, travelin.sisters said:

Absolutely!! it was sad

when we did Hawai'i in January we were the first ship to dock after the pause & when we left LA they still didn't have the agreements in place so we weren't positive that they would let us off the ship there...they did, but we had decided we wanted to go even if we just went around in circles

We did the 28 day to Tahiti, round trip from L.A  in 2011.  So-o-o many sea days- LOVED IT!!!

[travelin.sisters]

1 hour ago, DiRonT said:

We did the 28 day to Tahiti, round trip from L.A  in 2011.  So-o-o many sea days- LOVED IT!!!

we were supposed to do that Mar 2020, but you know what happened to that adventure...maybe someday

Edited October 19, 2022 by travelin.sisters
oops!

[chamima]

1 hour ago, travelin.sisters said:

we were supposed to do that Mar 2020, but you know what happened to that adventure...maybe someday

 

We did that cruise in Feb. 2020. Because of the limited news access we were pretty much unaware of the unfolding epidemic until we returned home. However, by the last nine sea days home many, many people (including my husband) were coughing and sick. They told everyone it was the flu.

I'm still glad we did it because we got to spend two days on Bora Bora and they no longer allow the larger ships access. I think Tahiti is my favorite place in the world.