Review of Sapphire 3/4 to 3/11/06 sailing

[skarletohara]

We had a wonderful time aboard the Sapphire Princess. This was our

fourth trip to the Mexican Riviera having previously sailed on the Diamond twice and the Star Princess once.

 

I'll try to be as succinct as possible.

 

We drove to the port from Northern CA. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency

Long Beach which I highly recommend. It's 10 minutes from the Port of

San Pedro.

EMBARKATION: We arrived at 11:00 and there were several people there already, although

not an over-abundance of passengers. Used the Platinum check-in and we

were escorted to the Platinum waiting area.

At approx. 12:15 someone fetched us and escorted us to the line, and we

were on board by 12:20.

 

DINING: Immediately called the concierge line to make dining reservations as we

had anytime dining. Of course the only times available (even though we

were one of the first people on the ship) were 6:20 or 8:00 p.m., so we just

made a standing reservation for 8:00 p.m. for the first 3 nights, then

winged it the rest of the trip. Ironically, we decided to just show up one

night at quarter to 7:00 and were escorted to one of the best tables in

the place. So I think from now on we'll never make reservations again

except for formal night. Now on night number one, even though we had

an 8:00 p.m. reservation, we were about 30th in line. They had one station

open instead of two and it was very, very slow. On previous sailings

aboard the Diamond, at least they had several people available to seat the

diners.

 

I still prefer the anytime dining experience on the Grand class ships as opposed

to the Sapphire and Diamond. There are some real problems. Ultimately,

we just decided to eat in the dining rooms only 3 nights out of the seven

because the Horizon Court was so much more convenient.

 

We didn't wish to be on a schedule for this cruise with the ultimate goal

being extreme relaxation. We even skipped the second formal night!

 

CABIN: We had the coveted mini-suite, E-731, the last cabin with the

double wide balcony that wraps around with a view of the aft and starboard

side. Once again, it was nice to have a mini-suite with all the extra room that

a mini-suite affords, especially the double-sized bathroom with the rectangular shower.

 

However, that being said, I did not think that this cabin was the be-all end-all

of cabins. Firstly, we weren't able to really enjoy our balcony all that much

because on the first day or so it was rather cool temperature wise, and secondly, when in port, in P.V. there was this loud construction going on

which truncated my balcony time. If we'd had the opposite cabin E728 we

wouldn't have had the misfortune of the construction noise, but that's the

way it goes. So, I ended up taking my book up to the pool and lying in a

lounge chair up there.

 

In Mazatlan we didn't get off the ship. I wanted to fulfill my fantasy of

lying on MY balcony and read my book. Well, that was not realized in Mazatlan either because our balcony was on the side where the noise

was, so I just took my book up to the pool again and read it there! LOL

 

Basically what I'm trying to say is I don't think for us that a mini-suite

OR a balcony is worth the extra cost. My husband thinks differently. I

would be happy with an inside or an obstructed view for the savings.

But if you're the type of person who will spend a lot of

time in your room, then I think you should get a mini-suite.

We did enjoy the fact that it was a covered balcony, however.

And we did sleep with the door ajar every night. It's nice having

the lower-down balcony because you can hear the ocean better.

 

CABIN STEWARD: He was very, very nice. However, I felt that he was

pretty new to the ship. I also got that feeling all-around that there was

a major crew change. When we finally met our steward we inquired about

our complimentary champagne. He had never heard of that and said he'd

have to ask his supervisor. Well, I called the front desk and they were adamant that the champagne is for people in FULL SUITES ONLY.

And I told them that it was for those of us in mini-suites too and she was very rude and put me on hold. Well, there was a knock at our door and

it was our steward with our rightful champagne.

Also, he told us we'd have to wait until the morning to get a bathrobe. Hmm,

that was interesting since on all the other cruises it was instantaneous that

we'd get a robe. And he had never heard of the pillow menu either.

Not a big deal, but once again, there seemed to be a lack of communication.

 

Okay, the bottom line is we did have a great time, and enjoyed the food a lot.

We thought the pastries aboard this ship were much better than before,

and have no complaints about the food. We really have no complaints

about anything except for the slight confusion over the champagne.

 

Oh, and there is one other little annoyance. On day one we went up

to Horizon Court about 12:45 and we were asked no LESS THAN 6 to 8 times

if we wanted the soda card, the cappuccino card or the wine tasting.

We couldn't even take a bite of food without them coming by the tables

and hawking their wares. It felt just like being on the beach in Mexico.

 

It's definitely gotten a lot worse with the up-sell aboard Princess. This

was my 5th Princess cruise in 3 years and I've never experienced such

"hawking". It was a real turn-off to say the least, but did not persist

past the first day.

 

SHOWS:

We never went to the showroom as we've seen all those production shows

on the other ships. But we did see a couple of good shows in the

Explorer with one being Robert Mesmer the Hypnotist and another being

a comedian whose name escapes me!

 

SPA: Loved the spa treatments. DH had a massage/hot stone combo for

$89 on our Mazatlan day and I had the seaweed wrap with scalp massage,

foot massage, body massage thermal wrap float device! Wonderful.

 

Also, I highly recommend getting the weekly Thermal Pass $70 per person

or $100 per couple. You can go to these Turkish-like steam rooms and saunas and rest on the warming beds. I went there every day and loved

every minute of it.

 

Princess does give a good value for the money which is why we keep going

back. The employees are always very courteous and helpful.

 

They excel at embarkation and disembarkation, which as usual ran very

smoothly with the first group being called at approximately 8:10 a.m.

and the last group being called around 10:45.

 

Oh, as for the tours, we did the P.V. Beach Break and went to the paradise village resort north of the airport. We had a lovely day there with a decent

buffet lunch.

In Cabo they are offering a couple new excursions with one being the

Melia Resort with buffet lunch and the tour runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

and was very, very nice! We had an enjoyable day on the beach in Cabo,

something we'd always looked forward to and had never done

 

We can't wait for our next Princess cruise.

 

If anyone has any questions please feel free to post them and

I will get back to you.

[spocruiser]

Also, I highly recommend getting the weekly Thermal Pass $70 per person

or $100 per couple. You can go to these Turkish-like steam rooms and saunas and rest on the warming beds. I went there every day and loved

every minute of it.

 

 

Thanks for the review. Glad you had a good time. Can you please provide some more detail on the Thermal Pass. Is this a group setting or individual areas? Is there a set time/session or can one come and go when they please? Was it crowded/easy to get a spot or place?

 

Thanks. It sounds like a nice way to relax.

[Coolmama_1]

Thanks for the great review. Sounds like you had the relaxing time that you were looking for!

[lkmamom]

Hi skarlettohara, thank you so much for your VERY helpful review. I do have a few questions if you do not mind.:) In regard to the anytime dining, in your opinion, do you think that we could get by with doing the formal night reservations only, we usually go early? I think it is strange that you got onboard early and still had few choices for reservations.

 

Sounds like the "new" minisuite extras are still in question? I have a question about the duvet, not to sound picky:o but I am one that kicks the covers off and on all night, is it just the duvet or is there a sheet on the bed as well?

 

And lastly, we are not as keen on the shore excursions as we are looking forward to total relaxation as well;) but the use of the beach resorts intrigued our family. Did you feel that the two that you visited were worth the visit or did you feel that you enjoyed one more over the other?

 

Sorry for all of the questions. I am looking at totally snow covered homes and yards right now and the cruise is looking really good to me right now:D Thanks for you help, and so glad that you had a great time!

Linda

[Bucky3]

Thanks for your great review. We will be on Sapphire next month. Do you remember the cost of the hotel/beach break in Cabo. Did cost include drinks? I didn't see this listed on the online Shore Excursion list. I wonder if that means the Melia is no longer accepting people who just arrive on their own. Thanks for any additional information you can give.

[Cruisin' Chick]

"Oh, and there is one other little annoyance. On day one we went up

to Horizon Court about 12:45 and we were asked no LESS THAN 6 to 8 times if we wanted the soda card, the cappuccino card or the wine tasting. We couldn't even take a bite of food without them coming by the tables and hawking their wares. It felt just like being on the beach in Mexico."

 

On the IP in December, the waiters would put a "No Beverage Service Needed" card on the edge of the table if you said "no, thank you" to drinks. I like that idea as that means you're not bothered constantly by the waitstaff. Maybe the idea can be carried out a different way, signs that are by the pool area or available in the Horizon Court if you do want a drink. The wait staff could look for the signs and get your order without bothering everyone else.

[skarletohara]

Thanks for the review. Glad you had a good time. Can you please provide some more detail on the Thermal Pass. Is this a group setting or individual areas? Is there a set time/session or can one come and go when they please? Was it crowded/easy to get a spot or place?

 

Thanks. It sounds like a nice way to relax.

 

 

The Thermal area is located deep within the spa area and it it both a

group setting and individual room settings, but it is a community situation

either way. Upon entering a dimly lit room there are two showers

with rain mists and four separate rooms.

One room is mosaic tiled full benches and is a mild sauna. Another room

has seating for 4 and it is the herbal steam "room". It's actually more of

a glorified shower stall with a big urn in there filled with rocks and a babbling

waterfall that creates the steam with overhead dimmer lights.

 

The other room is the steam room which would probably accommodate

a maximum of 10 persons, but there were only 1 to 4 of us at any given

time. It is very, very hot! And then when you're done with all of that

you can lay on the warming beds which are akin to chaise lounges.

 

The spa people said that they only sell a maximum of 50 weekly passes

to keep crowding to a minimum. I found it busy on the first sea day

around 4 p.m. but the crowds tapered off as the week went on, and there

was hardly anyone there around 5 or 6 o'clock.

 

Everyone wore there bathing suits except for one guy who decided to

be au naturale.

[ladypalmtree]

:eek: always one in every crowd....lol

[giggster11]

Sounds like a wonderful cruise! Did you at least have nice weather while you were down there? The balconies are good when sailing from port to port because it's so nice out usually. Too bad you couldn't enjoy yours enough in port. I know that the starboard side is loud in PV and Mazatlan. I'd just love to be on a ship right now in a tropical location.

[skarletohara]

Hi skarlettohara, thank you so much for your VERY helpful review. I do have a few questions if you do not mind.:) In regard to the anytime dining, in your opinion, do you think that we could get by with doing the formal night reservations only, we usually go early? I think it is strange that you got onboard early and still had few choices for reservations.

 

Sounds like the "new" minisuite extras are still in question? I have a question about the duvet, not to sound picky:o but I am one that kicks the covers off and on all night, is it just the duvet or is there a sheet on the bed as well?

 

And lastly, we are not as keen on the shore excursions as we are looking forward to total relaxation as well;) but the use of the beach resorts intrigued our family. Did you feel that the two that you visited were worth the visit or did you feel that you enjoyed one more over the other?

 

Sorry for all of the questions. I am looking at totally snow covered homes and yards right now and the cruise is looking really good to me right now:D Thanks for you help, and so glad that you had a great time!

Linda

 

Hi Linda,

As for the anytime dining, I'm not sure how or what to advise you to do.

All I know is this is my third time aboard Sapphire/Diamond and the anytime

dining situation is always in disarray in some form or another. We only

went to the dining room once WITHOUT a reservation and that seemed to

work best for us. But we did notice that right after we walked in (because

they do save about 10 to 15% of tables for walk-ins) we did notice that

they sat about 4 more couples and then the other people were sent away

with pagers. Oh, that's the other thing I forgot, at least they're giving

pagers now!

 

On formal night it is advisable to have a reservation. We always eat later,

7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Also, we did talk to the maitre'd in Pacific Moon and

he's very aware of the problems and also told us that if you just walk in

around 8:15 there's usually not a problem.

 

My husband and I have decided if we go back on the Sapphire we'll not

make reservations anymore and simply stroll in when ready and if they

don't have a share table available then we'll take a pager and wait.

 

As for the heaviness of the duvet, my hus. thought that it was too heavy.

I loved the heaviness. There is no top sheet though! Also, the duvet

is not real feathers (thank God) and 100% polyester. I have bad allergies

and did not wish to deal with the feathers. You can request a top sheet though.

 

As for the beach visits, we like the PV Beach Break as it allowed us some time

to sleep in as opposed to the Las Caletas tour which leaves around 1 hr earlier. The Beach Break was $34 pp and included full buffet lunch,

a beautiful resort with plenty of palapas to lay under and two pools if

you so desired, and no pressure from time share people. It included a couple

of alcoholic drinks as well.

 

The Cabo beach break was $53 pp, lasted from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and

included NO alcoholic drinks. If we had it to do over, I think we'd just

take a water taxi from the marina which I think is $7 each way or pp each

way??? And then I would just ask the Melia if we could buy a couple drinks

and hang out there. I doubt they would turn you away, but I don't know

this for sure either. Also, there is a place next to the Melia called Billigan's

It seemed like a bar or something and they had plenty of loungers there

and they only want you to buy a beer and maybe lunch -- and they

were very nice and told us that we could lounge at their place. They had

signs up at Billigan's stating "No Gracias" intended to dissuade the vendors.

Billigan's is right next to "The Office."

 

The Cabo beach break is not yet listed in the brochure as it's a new tour.

 

In PV there is also an unpublished shore excursion called OUtdoor Challenge

It's $110 pp and it's categorized as a "most active shore excursion"

They recommend that you don't even bring a camera as the terrain is rocky and guests will get completely soaked, and to bring a complete change of

clothes. Discover flora and fauna of the jungles of the Sierra Madre. 6 hours

boarding a 4x4 Unimog and drive into the heart of the tropical forests where you'll learn a variety of wilderness techniques, ride mules, splash through streams, rappel through waterfalls into natural river pools

and soar 200 ft above the ground over the jungle foliage on a 1000 foot

zipline.

 

There is an unpublished Baja Jeep Adventure in CAbo for $83 pp

And the Premier Beach Escape (as described above)

Baja 1000 Driving Experience -- Cabo $275 pp Drive an authentic Baja Racer on

a closed circuit course where drivers can experience the thrill of "off-road Baja racing" i the safety of genuine off-road racing vehicles

[Coral]

Thank you for your very detailed review!

 

Can you fill me in on who is the Captain and Cruise Director?

[Sandy R]

Hi D... just wanted to say how much we enjoyed your and E's company on the cruise. I also enjoyed reading your review... kinda made me feel like we were on the cruise again!

 

I'd like to add my 2 cents on a few of our experiences... as far as the duvets go, it was way to heavy for me but my DH loved it (maybe that's because I keep the cabin so cold). 2nd day, I asked the cabin steward for a blanket & gave back the duvet. And, I didn't take the steward's word that the duvet was 100% polyester... I looked at the tag & saw for myself cause I'm allergic, too. We opted this time for traditional dining & really liked it. We changed tables 1st night (just not a fit) & ended up sitting with a cruisecritic couple. One of the cruisecritic get-togethers was cocktails 1st night before late seating dinner, which worked out great & why we knew our dinner companions were cruisecritics. One last thought... DH and myself had massages at the Krystal in PV and everything posters have said about them is all true. They were the BEST & the price was even better @ 37.50 pp for a 75 min. massage. (They don't take cc's so be sure you take US$$. After the massages, we lounged by the their pool for a few hours, went swimming & used their swim-up-bar & had a couple of beers. It was a perfect day...... Sandy

[lkmamom]

Thanks so much for your responses, minor details I know, but your responses really helped! I love these boards!:D

Linda

[CaliforniaChris]

Warm? Cool at night? We leave in 2 weeks.

[skarletohara]

Oh yes, one other thing I forgot to mention!!!!

 

We had a wonderful cruisecritic meeting the first night and

met several wonderful people, SandyR and her husband being one of

the most wonderful couples of all!!

 

Hi Sandy! It was so nice meeting you and Ira and chatting with you both.

Too bad about the Pop Idol contest with the 'pro' who won. We missed all of that..........

 

As for the weather, we had approx. 80-85 degree weather on PV day,

80ish on Mazatlan day and 75-80 on Cabo Day, but keep in mind the

minute that ship whipped around the corner we got blasted with wind

on the northbound run. We had moderate seas with 4 - 7 foot waves

for the 36-hour return northbound trip. Although not severe, the motion

was quite noticeable. We went swimming in the Lotus Pool the last

night at sea and were actually getting thrashed about the pool. We were

in the hot tub and the waves from the pool kept splashing into the hot tub

and cooling us off so we thought we might as well take a dip in the ocean --

er, uh, I mean the pool.. it was so much fun.

 

Coral,

Our cruise director was the ever loquatious Billy Hygate (who I've had on my last 3 cruises!!)

and the Captain -- uh, uh, uh....jeeze and this was a trivia question too, wasn't it Sandy??

It was Captain Guarini or something that sounded similar, I'm going off my memory, but

it was Atilli Guerrini -- or -- hold on, let me pull out the cruise info and try to find it and I'll post

the Captain's name later.

[skarletohara]

CAPTAIN Attilio Guerrini! He as born in Tuscany, Italy