Sapphire 6/20-6/27

[alaskabound3]

Just got off the Sapphire yesterday. Still feeling the motion of the ship which lets me still enjoy the experience. Overall I rate it a good vacation. Both the good and the not so follows:

 

 

The embrak: The ship is even bigger and more beautiful than the pictures in the brochure and the various photo postings when seen in person. Then a shock at the long lines when viewing the line outside the terminal from the Princess transfer bus. But then does moves quickly enough especially when you get inside the continuation of the line inside the terminal itself. But then the excitement is building also.

 

 

On board there is much to do just to get oriented before the actual sailing. Advice to just do what you can and then remember you are on vacation on a brand new ship and go out to the rail whether from the open areas or your balcony (you will be spoiled if you have that type of room) and watch the sailway from the pier.

 

 

The ship is relatively steady even in moderate seas. Does not seem to manner much whether fwd, mid, or aft or upper or lower deck levels. This is good for my better half who tends to be bother by sea motion. I myself am not having worked on naval ships as a civilian. Even been on vacation through a storm on a sightseeing tri-hull coming back from the Great Barrier Reef and just remember that once you get your sea legs you will be fine.

 

 

The entertainment was uneven perhaps due to the guest entertainers only having 1 hour to practice before the shows. I myself perfer the cruise ship regular staff shows that are musical broadway style which was for only two night.

 

 

Movies on board are only done on small TV monitor size screen and on one wide screen which was a disappointment. It was several screens side by side and stacked vertically and just stretched the normal viewing aspect ratio to distortion. The main Princess Theatre should have been used to show movies on a big screen. Also more than just once a day.

 

 

The food was good in that there were many choices. We wanted traditional dining but did not get it so did the various alternatives with the Horizon Court as a backup or a followup meal if what we ordered earlier did not work out.

 

 

Ship staff was very nice but not all knowledgable.

 

 

The kitchen tour is not to be missed.

 

 

Shopping for my better half was great both on shore and on ship!

 

 

Tours were OK except the Skagway train ride is a must do. Sit on the left side of the train going up the mountain passes. Get a picture of the 5 drops or so (more important to look at it rather than count) waterfall from outside ends on the rail cars - you only got a couple of seconds between the trees (I suggest you also buy their DVD which we were told shoots the waterfall from a helicopter to get a clear view).

 

 

The air is very dry in the cabins and adjusting the setting does not solve the prob. Not enough outside air is taken in on the circulation which does not always run. Saving energy costs but making it not comfortable. In fact our last night it was almost not bearable. We were able to slide open the balcony doors to help out but only briefly due to the cold sea breeze at night. But doing that defeats the energy savings if done a lot.

 

 

Disembarkation goes well since it goes by group number dependent on flight times. But locate the actual leaving passageway prior to walking around w/ your handcarries - Princess needs to direct w/ their folks at various stations leading there.

 

 

Lastly I highly recommend booking everything with Princess including transfers thru your travel agent. It costs more but you will find it worth it. Figuring your total costs you don't save much and avoid stress and who needs that on vacation. We found out that the airline they used had a direct check in area closer and away from the main terminal and they handle your luggage and you get to disembark when needed with enough time to share to avoid stress. The tours timing are adusted when the ship docks later than planned and you will not be left behind if the tour is running late.

 

 

Pay attention to the required boarding the ship time at each port as announced each day and posted as you leave the ship to get on the gangway. The brochure times are estimates. Several of us saw one man get left behind as the gangway was already pulled up and the ship was leaving the dock. He was making a phone call from the phones on the pier. His last action we saw as we left was him taking a picture of the ship as it was leaving.

 

[srphnx]

Thanks for the Great review, there was a rumor about that sailiing being over run with children something like 800, was that the case?

They did show movies in the theatre on Diamond, I wonder why not on Sapphire.

[kimba595]

AlaskaBound3 - Thanks for the review. We're off in just under 3 weeks... I can't wait! Just a quick question regarding the estimated time of leaving the port. How estimated are we talking? I'm booked to return from an excursion at 4:00 and the itinerary says we are leaving at 4:30. Am I safe? I definately don't want to take a picture as the ship is leaving. My DH will say that's grounds for divorce! Thanks!! Kim

[pamwinn]

Me too, I am interested in the kid rumor. My cabin steward on the 6/13 cruise told me your sailing was going to have an unbelievable # of kids on it. Was that the case? How was the weather? I really enjoyed my cruise and hope you did too. I am still not over the jet lag.

[alaskabound3]

Perhaps it was because it was a big ship with a small ship atmosphere. The ship is divided into various sections and thus we saw very few kids. On board, we mostly did so-called activities (narrative talks, shop hint talks, admiring the scenary, eating at the restaurants) that kids probably would not like so were OK as far as that aspect. We only briefly encounted a bunch in the elevators near the aft end of the ship. My guess is that the kids activities are at portions of the ship that we only briefly walk thru to explore. (Parents can better answer that question.)

 

Also certain land tours that we went on were not of interest to kids and thus few of them. As example the Skagway train ride up the mountain is an activity that the few kids on it did not seem to enjoy. Several of them were sleeping and one father said to his son to see the mountain scenary that he pay for and the son just looked up for 1 second and then went back to sleep.

 

As regards land tour going and return times, if you book thru Princess there is no prob since they will adjust the start time to accommodate the pier arrival time and will wait for you if the tour is running late returning. But this does not apply if you wander off on your own or book independently. Independently does save money but is not worth the stress and large expense to catch the ship at the next port if you get back late. Although you will make a great video as we film you left at the pier.

[Lynda90]

alaskabound,

 

Thanks for the honest review pointing out the good and the bad. It really makes a difference that even when negative things are pointed out you did it without being nasty about it as we've seen with some others. It sounds as though there are things to be worked out on the Sapphire as there were with the Diamond. I am also wondering, as Steve brought up, how come they didn't show movies in the Princess Theatre. When I was on the Diamond I saw a movie there and it was very adequate. Oh well, at least you made it to all the ports which the Diamond did not on it's first few trips.

Thanks again for the review,

Lynda

[nursewurmy]

Do you save your copies and can you possibly post or email them to me. I am planning the cruise with my elderly parents and aunt and it would decrease my stress if I can show them all the things they can do.

[NASH99]

The air is very dry in the cabins and adjusting the setting does not solve the prob. Not enough outside air is taken in on the circulation which does not always run

A wet towel hanging over a chair near the heater or running a hot shower always works for us. The wet towel tip works best in hotels when the window unit is 3 feet off the ground.

Great review I hope to cruise Alaska someday. :cool:

Thanks, Steveo

[prarie cruiser]

There were something like 330 very well behaved kids on the 6/20 Sapphire cruise. Kids activity rooms were great. Teens seemed to be having a great time. By the way, teen room has lots of playstation type stuff, karaoke, and a big, big, screen.

 

Nurse wormy, was going to email you some patters but could not get your email address.

 

Hey, I saw that guy on the pier too. Do you really think he was with us?

[pamwinn]

That's good news. I was worried about you guys with the number I heard. :eek:

[Florida Beach]

As regards land tour going and return times, if you book thru Princess there is no prob since they will adjust the start time to accommodate the pier arrival time and will wait for you if the tour is running late returning.

That statement makes me feel better since I book the Whale watching tour in Victoria. The tour starts at 5:00PM and the ship suppose to be at the dock at 5:00PM. Thanks for sharing your experience :)

[Florida Beach]

Nurse wormy, was going to email you some patters but could not get your email address.

If it is not too much trouble, please add me to your "mailing list" for the patters :) My email is floridabeachfromcc at yahoo dot com (replace the at and the dot with @ and .)

 

Thanks prarie cruiser :)

[srphnx]

That's good news. I was worried about you guys with the number I heard. :eek:

Pam, I had read that number too, in one of your posts, glad to hear it was a mistake unless it was really my sailing :o

[pamwinn]

Yeah, that's what my steward told us. He thankfully had some inaccurate info. I'm pretty sure that I would not want to be on a cruise with that many kids. There were over 300 on my cruise and I almost never saw any of them except a few real cuties all dressed up on formal night...little dolls.

[nursewurmy]

There were something like 330 very well behaved kids on the 6/20 Sapphire cruise. Kids activity rooms were great. Teens seemed to be having a great time. By the way, teen room has lots of playstation type stuff, karaoke, and a big, big, screen.

 

Nurse wormy, was going to email you some patters but could not get your email address.

 

Hey, I saw that guy on the pier too. Do you really think he was with us?

 

 

You can email me at Inurseer@aol.com

[nursewurmy]

Nurse wormy, was going to email you some patters but could not get your email address.

 

 

 

I mean to add thank you very much I will appreciate it. If my parents and aunt see that they will have things to do and it hopefully they will stop worrying about it. I guess when you get to be in your 70's you are entitled to worry, but they are putting a damper on my precruise excitement. Thanks and my email again is Inurseer@aol.com

 

Thanks again,

Becky

[packerpatriot]

Could I also get the patters too packerpatriot@hotmail.com And were the movies first run???

Cristin

[alaskabound3]

There are so many activities going on that your parents won't be bored. In fact there are so many good ones to choose from that I could not catch all that I wanted. I recommend planning your eating times around your selected high priority events and trying to catch also the portions of the lower priority ones to at least get a favor of them.

I should mentioned that am a movie buff but with all other activities going on, the only movie I briefly attended was the Wizard of Oz sing-along which was held in an area with TV type monitors rather than the Princess Theatre. Perhaps the other movie days were done in the Princess Theatre. The consolation being from a subburb near LA is that I could easily catch any movie from well known to esoteric whenever I wanted and VCR's and DVD's are readily available. Thus the movies were low on my horizon of importance and I did not have time to pay much attention to them- let alone actual even attend them. Perhaps others who had opportunities to attend the other movie days can answer where they were actually held.

[bappo]

I too just returned from the 6/20/04 sailing of the sapphire princess. The ship was beautiful. It had that new car smell in ship if you get my drift.

 

Embarkation was fine. We arrived early and were able to board around 11:15. If you arrived later you did have quite a wait to get on board.

 

We had personal choice, and the first three nights were a bit shakey. One of our friends is deathly allegeric to lemon and it was a real problem in the beginning of the cruise. Yes, she did call princess, noted it on the cruise personalilzer, and in fact, faxed them a doctors note stating her problem. She asked the waiter on the first night to check and see if the allergy was noted, and was very upset to hear that nowhere on her room screen was the allergy noted. Princess assured her that it did not make a difference as to where she dined, so she chose personal choice. On our last cruise the head waiter, brought the chef over to meet her and discussed a special menu for her. Anyway, we made reservations for 8Pm, no wait however the first night we ate in Sterling and hubby and friends we were travelling with ordered prime rib. definitely was not prime rib they received more like well done roast beef. Waiter was very gracious and returned it for filet mignon. New ship still getting the bugs out, I guess. By the end of the cruise the service and quality of the food received was excellent. Asked about the love boat dream dessert early in the week and some of the waiters never heard of it. Finally on the last night it appeared on the menu. Everyone was right, it is delicious. If I was rating the different restaurants, my choices would be:

 

The Vivaldi A+++ service, food, were great! The maitre D made a special cocktail sauce for our shrimp cocktails! Ask him to make you some, it was superb!

 

Pacific Moon: A++, Laura was our server was great and she got me to try my first sushi.!

 

Santa Fe: A++, Roberto was the first head waiter to bring the chef out to our friends to discuss her menu.

 

HOrizon Court: A, the food was very tasty, much better than what i expected.

 

Sterling: B-. Probably because our first experience was so poor with them, We never went back!

 

Our room was balcony on the Baja deck. It was beautiful, bed was fine, pillows were fine as well. Even the dreaded shower wasn't bad. Our Cabin steward Arturo was great! We had many children on our deck, and yes they were a bit noisey. NOt too sure where their parents were, but they were running down the halls at some pretty late hours.

 

The Lotus Spa was beautiful. Had the steaming stones massage and the reflexology. Both were peaceful and relaxing. The pool at the spa had the swim against the tide. It is also the only pool that's adult only. We swam there daily, as the other pools were very crowded with children. Believe me, I enjoy children and in fact work with them, however, on vacation I want a respite and this pool filled the bill. Staff were great, and able to answer any questions posed to them. totally enjoyed this experience!

 

Excursions: train in skagway is a must. Stay away from the Liarsville and Klondike ride. Liarsville was hokey and the bus ride has the same scenery as the train. whale watch in Juneau was great. I heard a great deal about the captain Larry's versus ship excursion. We took the catamaran at night with dinner offered by princess. It was super! Naturalist was quite good. Saw hump back whales, orcas, sea lions etc. Ketchikan did the horse drawn trolley, and the duck tour. It was good as well. Shopped a bit in Ketchikan. Victoria was lovely, just not enough time. Tracey arm was nice, saw both glaciers from a distance, as there were many icebergs in the water. Next time maybe we will go later in the season so we can get a bit closer to the glacier.

 

Casino: very nice, not too smokey for those of you with allegeries.

 

Entertainment: Kevin Hughes the comedian was very, very funny. The Princess theater shows were good as well.

 

Art Auctions: very interesting but pricey.

 

Debarkation: was fast and smooth. No problems.

 

Overall, we had a nice time. Travelling with friends makes the trip even more enjoyable. Alaska was beautiful, scenery was spectacular. We will probably go again in the future.

[mii]

Thank you both for very informative reviews. Having been to Alaska twice, I agree that the train in Skaagway is a must. Thoroughly enjoyable. I getting more and more excited since I will be on the Sapphire in Oct.

 

Marilyn

[momofcnb]

Thanks you both for such wonderful and informative reviews. There are 10 of us that leave Sunday 7/4/04 on the Sapphire. I would love to get copies of the patters and or menus, if you still have them so that I may plan my week. Heck I still can not figure out what to pack!?

 

momofcnb@yahoo.com

[alaskabound3]

I looked up & read some details on the movies question. Only one day were movies shown in the Princess Theatre and that was the last evening of the cruise when two movies shown. Most of the passengers were out in Victoria sightseeing.

 

The other movie days was one show a day and a smaller room (usually Explorer's and then one time in Club Fusion).

 

The Tracey Arms graciers were the highlight of the cruise. Enjoy all of it. I suggest getting up early and start the anticipation by looking out starting at 6 AM. A few small icebergs which builds to more and larger then the two graciers themselves.

[morganrp]

We leave 8/8 - 5 weeks+

Would love to have copies of the patters and/or menus! Thanks a million - I have "copied and pasted" your entire journal and sent it to my granddaughter who will be sailing with us!

 

email address: morganrp@color-country.net

 

Thanks so much!

[Cruise News Daily]

Movies on board are only done on small TV monitor size screen and on one wide screen which was a disappointment. It was several screens side by side and stacked vertically and just stretched the normal viewing aspect ratio to distortion. The main Princess Theatre should have been used to show movies on a big screen. Also more than just once a day.

I was on the ship last week, and the regular movies were shown in the Explorer's Lounge on a regular screen.

 

The only one I saw in Club Fusion, where they have the video monitors, was something Princess is testing and I'm writing about for an upcoming edition. That is the sing-along version of the Wizzard of Oz.

 

The Princess Theater was in use most afternoons for rehearsals of the second production show which they were planning to debut this week.

 

Alan Wilson

Cruise News Daily

[APH]

Thanks for the review - I'm glad you had a wonderful cruise.

 

I don't suppose you could e-mail me the patters as well- it would be wonderful if you could spare the time, but if not please don't worry!!!

 

Thanks again, :D :D :D :D

 

Andrew.

 

hoggandrew@tiscali.co.uk