Sapphire Princess - brief review

[vozzie]

A brief review of the ship during our recent Alaska Northbound cruise. A review of the ports and independent land tour will appear in "Alaska" forum soon.

Happy to answer any questions.

Embarkation

 

We arrived at Canada Place at Noon and were in our cabin by 1.00pm. As we were non-US residents, we were taken through Customs & Immigration in groups. This slowed the process down a bit. US Residents would have gone through a lot quicker.

 

Stateroom

 

We selected an Emerald Deck, starboard side, Mini-Suite. It was all we expected with the nice covered balcony. It didn’t seem far to walk to anywhere, but even the walk helped get rid of some of the excess pounds. We didn’t feel much ship movement nor did we hear any noise from Club Fusion. There was a bit of vibration (probably propellor) at times when we were manouvering, but that wasn’t a problem for us. Our travelling companions had a Balcony Cabin on Caribe Deck and found it a bit space-challenged … especially when they had to handle a champagne breakfast with no table to put all the plates on.

The room steward was friendly and handled all our requests efficiently. There was no smoke smell in the cabin.

 

Public Rooms

 

The ship was kept imacculately. Early in the morning the ship was covered in crew cleaning, sweeping, drying and vacuuming. You couldn’t fault it. We visited the Wakeview Bar one night and it was being used as the cigar bar. In the morning you could not smell smoke at all. They must have magic spray.

The ship never felt crowded, except on the last full day in the shops, the photographer’s gallery and the Purser’s Office. Try and get all your business done before then. There was never a long wait for the Elevators. As I said before, we did get a bit lost, but after getting accustomed to the stairs and the red-highlighted port side carpets … we soon got our bearings.

 

Anytime Dining

 

We booked a couple of nights and walked up the other nights. The longest wait was 5 minutes. We tried all the anytime dining rooms and found the Sante Fe and Savoy to be to our liking. All service was efficient and friendly. If you didn’t like a dish, they would happily get you one of the other choices. We had no problems with any of the dining room meals. The 14th floor Horizon Court buffet was very popular … at all times. Breakfast was usually a bit crowded but although you might have had to go to the outer reaches for a table, there was generally no delay in collecting food. We found it very nice to go there for dessert late at night… after we walked our dinner off.

 

Entertainment

 

We, and our travelling companions, generally made our own entertainment; however we did go to two shows and a movie in the Princess Theater. They were all enjoyable and it was easy to get a seat. We didn’t use the casino. The bands playing in the bars were of a good standard.

 

Port Visits

 

It was generally a non issue leaving and returning to the ship. You passed through security both times and that was it. At some ports there were line ups as excursions all ended at the same time. But that’s life. It's a good chance to chat to the other people in the line while you wait.

 

 

Disembarkation

 

The process seemed to go smoothly by the sound of the intercom announcements. As we were travelling independently, we had “get off anytime” luggage tags. We just walked out at the appropriate time, no line ups and our luggage was waiting on the dock. All very civilised.

 

Summary

 

Better than we expected. Great food, great service, great facilities and lots of happy people.

[nisky]

Thanks for the review. We'll be on Sapphire in a month and we'll be sure to note the carpeting on the stairs since we have a tendency to get turned around!

[Coolmama_1]

Thanks for a good review. Sounds like you had a great time!

[ehschief]

We will be on the July 21st sailing. Our intention is to relax so the questions is, how formal do people get on the formal nights. Generally my husband wears a Tux, is that too formal? What about the other nights is a shirt with a collar good enough or do the men need jackets?

 

We were just on a celebrity cruise and every night was at least a shirt and tie but this time the men just want to relax and be comfortable.

[PoohBearSF]

We will be on the July 21st sailing. Our intention is to relax so the questions is, how formal do people get on the formal nights. Generally my husband wears a Tux, is that too formal? What about the other nights is a shirt with a collar good enough or do the men need jackets?

 

We were just on a celebrity cruise and every night was at least a shirt and tie but this time the men just want to relax and be comfortable.

 

I was also on the Sapphire to Alaska a couple of weeks ago and we had Traditional Dining. I'd estimate the ratio to be 40% tuxes to 60% dark suits. We wore tuxes and didn't feel out of place at all. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I kept it on for the entire evening instead of rushing back to change for the rest of the night.

 

On Smart Casual nights, a collared shirt with slacks is fine. No jacket or tie required. One thing that took me by surprise was that the dress code went totally out the window on the last night. There were people in jeans and even shorts. I guess it shouldn't have surprised me since we were at the late seating and we had to have had our bags packed and ready for pickup by 9pm. Therefore I'm sure people didn't want to have another outfit to pack in their carryons. Still, I found that disappointing since that night felt a bit "downmarket."

[cruiserus]

Thanks for your review! We leave in September for Alaska and the Far East, so I am glad to hear the Sapphire is a great ship.

 

To ehschief...on all the Princess cruises I've been on, in general, the men wear tuxes or dark suits for formal nights, and the women wear long gowns, cocktail dresses, or fancy pants outfits. For "smart casual" nights, most men wear nice slacks and a nice shirt with a collar (what you would wear to a nice restaurant at home). Women wear nice pants outfits, dresses, or skirts and tops. I have to admit, that lately, especially on shorter cruises, I'm seeing different interpretations of "smart casual" with too much attention on the casual and less on "smart". Anyway, your gents should look just fine. Have fun!

[vozzie]

I agree with most of what PoohBearSF said, except that our experience, with Anytime Dining, was that the Tux/Suit ratio was about 10/90. I believe this is fairly normal for an Alaskan Cruise.