LONG REVIEW of Sapphire 4/1 - 4/8

Review of Sapphire Princess cruise from April 1 – April 8, 2006

My wife and I just returned from our best cruise yet aboard the SENSATIONAL Sapphire Princess (at least that is what the captain always referred it as). I absolutely love reading people’s reviews leading up to our cruise and I hope that some of the information that I provide will be helpful for you as well.

ABOUT US: DW is almost 28 and I am almost 29 (both of our birthdays are next week). This is our third cruise - second w/ Princess.

PRE-CRUISE: We flew directly from Seattle to Long Beach, CA on Alaska Airlines. We were a bit delayed so we didn’t get in until around 11pm. It was raining when we arrived so it felt as though we had never left home. ;) We booked the Marriott Residence Inn Long Beach on Willow St. through Priceline. It’s the first negative experience I’ve had booking through Priceline as we did not like the location or the hotel. I had the worst night’s sleep I’ve ever had at a hotel which was a real bummer because I love staying in hotels just because their beds are usually more comfortable than mine. We stayed in a studio suite so I tried sleeping on the couch. I got maybe an hour of sleep. All that being said I would still use Priceline in a heartbeat.

We booked Super Shuttle to take us from the hotel to the pier. It was $34 for 2 people. They picked us up around 10:20 and we made one stop along the way to pick up another family and then we arrived at the pier around 11. As we rode over the big bridge next to the pier and saw the Sapphire there waiting for us, it gave me goose bumps! It’s so big that you cannot realize it until you actually see it for the first time. We went on the Grand Princess back in 2001 which is a very similar ship but it seemed like it was the first time all over again.

EMBARKATION: EASY!!! As soon as we got out of the shuttle a porter was waiting there to take our bags. We did not see the bags again until they were waiting for us outside of our room a few hours later. We walked right up to our counter for the Emerald deck as there was no one else there at that time. We used the electronic boarding pass that you can print online since we never received a ticket book. The folks at the desk were so excited to process it as they had never seen one before. We had assumed a lot of people were using them by now. We went to the waiting room and must have been there 20 minutes before they started boarding us. We were on the ship by around 11:30 – 11:45, I can’t remember exactly. After checking out our room we went up and ate at the Trident grill. We did check out the buffet and it was quite busy but not too bad.

SHIP: Absolutely incredible! As noted above our first cruise was on the Grand Princess. The Sapphire is a supped up, modernized version of her older cousin. The atrium is more breathtaking and elegant. The older looking Vista Lounge in the back has been replaced with the ultra modern Club Fusion. Two of the main dining rooms have been split into 4 smaller themed restaurants. Skywalker’s Nightclub is moved forward and is bigger. I wouldn’t hesitate to go on one of the older Grand class ships again, I just happen to like the newer design just a little bit better. We always saw crew cleaning and polishing the ship inside and out keeping it in tip top shape.

One other note, our last cruise was on another cruise line. 2 on Princess, 1 on NCL. When we came back to Princess the moment I walked on the ship I felt like I was back home! From the darker woods to the beautiful lighting fixtures to the elegant designs without the glitz and flash…that’s the draw that Princess has for me!

Passengers who had not sailed on this class of ship in the past had some trouble navigating the first day or two but by the third day they seemed to get around just fine. I love the design of the ship as it never felt crowded outside of a few events such as the formal nights and the champagne waterfall but that is to be expected. There were times where we would be in a public room on a sea day and feel like we had the entire ship to ourselves. Princess definitely gets mad props from me for their awesome design of these huge ships.

STATEROOM: We were in a mini-suite on the Emerald Deck. We were in the coveted E731 with the extended covered balcony that allows you to have a side view and an aft view. It was absolutely wonderful! On the balcony we had 2 lounge chairs, 2 big deck chairs and 2 standard plastic chairs + a large table. We had plenty of room to chill. The room was nice and it was our first balcony stateroom so of course now we can never go back! From now on we will do whatever possible to book our cabin in the future. We heard absolutely no noise from Club Fusion in our room. The bathroom was plenty big for us. The tub is long and deep. We really did enjoy this room.

We did get the upgraded bedding and towels. We were not offered the welcoming champagne but I didn't push it either since my wife is pregnant. There were several other opportunities for free drinks though such as the welcome aboard night, champagne art auctions and the Captain Circle function for repeat cruisers.

DINING: Never I have I ever been able to say that just about every meal that I ate for 7 days straight was from great to excellent…until now! Every dish that I had in the dining room was far superior to anything that I have had elsewhere including other cruise ships. The highlights for me were of course lobster night, king crab legs, and all of the different desserts. I even tried escargot and I liked it. Our only low point in the cruise dining wise was Sterling’s. We were really expecting something spectacular for being a fee based restaurant when everything was so good in the dining room but honestly I’ve had better food at the Keg. Being that my wife is a vegetarian we were under the impression that we could get her a vegetarian dish but that was not possible (suppose we could have checked beforehand…oh well). The next day I went to the purser’s desk and asked if we could be credited her portion of the meal since she really only ate appetizers. The next day we received a call from the head waiter of Sterling’s apologizing profusely which was not necessary. Not only did they credit us the fee but gave us a bottle of wine as well. They went way above and beyond which is one of the reasons we were so happy to be back home with Princess.

We have done two Anytime dining cruises in the past. Based on the horror stories we have read with the reservation fiasco on the Sapphire and Diamond we thought we’d give late seating traditional a chance. We not only liked our choice, we loved it! We had a great wait staff (Eduardo and Lili) that got to know us throughout the week and we also got to know some very nice table mates over that week. In fact we almost opted out of the last night because we weren’t very hungry but I’m sure glad we didn’t because we had the best night of our cruise. We were all joking and laughing almost uncontrollably and having a great old time (sorry to anyone around us if we annoyed you :p). I don’t think any of us wanted that dinner to end.

We also got to experience the Baked Alaska parade which was fun and also they made Cherries Jubilee - fire and all, just not tableside. In the future we will choose traditional again as long as our schedule permits it.

The buffet was good for the most part. There was always a good selection. Sometimes we would go up for a little snack before dinner since we had late seating. Two highlights were the sushi which was served twice during the cruise and also they had a taco bar. These specialty items were served in the Conservatory right outside of the Horizon Court.

I liked the Trident Grill. The turkey burger was fantastic. My wife hated the veggie burger though. It kind of just looks like a green mess of mush. I can’t really describe it. I thought the pizza was good too, although she didn’t care for it. It’s all subjective.

We did room service many times for breakfast and they always did do our write in orders for hot items. Also ordered a club sandwich for lunch one day and of course the wonderful chocolate chip cookies. You actually don’t need ones to tip the room service folks, there is a place where you can write the tip on the back of the slip which might be a helpful note for future cruisers.

STAFF: Awesome! Again another plus for Princess – they go out of their way to make sure you are happy. We were a bit skeptical based on reviews we have read of how bad Princess has gotten over the past few years since being bought by Carnival. I completely disagree. Everyone from our room steward to the dining staff, bar staff, cruise staff, etc were all kind and willing to go out of their way to make you happy. The only *hard* selling that we encountered if you can call it that was on the first day or two selling the Coke cards and other merchandise. Otherwise we never heard a peep.

A big praise for our cruise staff from the Cruise Director Billy Hygate on down – they were fun, energetic and everywhere. They were always visible. Both my wife and I absolutely loved Edwin. He was an absolute riot!

Side note: We attended the Sunday interdenominational church service which was conducted by assistant CD Peter and it was very nice. There was a short message and some hymns sang.

ENTERTAINMENT: We echo just about everything that has been said in other reviews. The main shows were good but not great. We really did like Piano Man because we both love Elton John and Billy Joel. We enjoyed all the various game shows they played throughout the week. I auditioned for Princess Pop Star and while the crowd did seem to like me I couldn’t beat out the Janis Joplin singer – she was fantastic!

OTHER NOTES: We took a tour in PV to the tile and tequila factories which also included a great lunch at a Hacienda. We really enjoyed the tour as it highlighted both old and new PV and then took us out of town.

In Mazatlan we took the Colonial Villages & Papantla Flyers tour. This was our favorite tour as we went to two small villages and got to see what we thought was “real Mexico” outside of the tourist areas. I highly recommend both tours.

No tour in Cabo. We were actually a bit disappointed with this stop. Outside of the main boardwalk the town is kind of dingy and doesn’t have a lot to offer. If you just plan to walk into town make sure you take a tender that will get you in about 9am because nothing is open before then. We went to Cabo Wabo which was always a goal of mine and there too I was a bit disappointed. It was dark and not very welcoming. I’m sure it’s better at night when it’s rockin’ but when we went it just wasn’t what I thought it would be. I have to agree that it is better to skip the tiny Waborita and hit up one of the many other various restaurants/bars in town to get a less expensive and better margarita w/ Cabo Wabo tequila. I had one at a place on the boardwalk and it was the best margarita I’ve ever had.

The one thing I do love about Cabo is Los Archos which is the rock formation at the end of the bay. It is so beautiful and the ship gets very close. I took many pictures. We actually had two opportunities since we had to make a medical stop in Cabo on the way down. Not sure what happened to the person but we hope that they are okay.

We packed a 12 pack of pop when we came down and then just refilled at Wal-Mart in PV. Just be careful walking there because I don’t think Mexico enforces pedestrian laws. The crosswalks they do have do not have any signals and are almost impossible to see if you aren’t looking for them. You also can take a taxi to and from as there are always some waiting outside Wally Mart.

The formal portraits turned out really great and there were many different backgrounds to choose from. On our cruise they were $21.95 per print for an 8x10. They also offer a casual night. We saw many families taking advantage of this opportunity. Much less expensive than going to a portrait studio and it is the same if not better quality.

We bought the reflections video which was about $30. They edit it throughout the week and then show it both on the Princess TV channel and in the photo gallery so you can see if you made it or not. We made it on Tropical Island Night – I’m the guy in the Seahawks Hawaiian shirt flashing the peace sign along with my beautiful wife. BTW – Island night was a lot of fun!

We will definitely be sticking with Princess in the future as long as they keep putting out such a great product. Of course cruising isn’t always going to be the same as it becomes more mass market but it sure beats any land vacation out there as far as I am concerned. We created some awesome memories and I want to thank Princess for such a great experience.

A big shout out to our table mates!! We had a great time.

To see pictures from our cruise click here: http://community.webshots.com/album/549347439ZhuDBs

I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you for the great review and pictures. Made me feel I was back on the beautiful Sapphire. I loved the ship just as you did.:D

Thanks for the great review! I'll be doing the same ship and itinerary on May 6th. Your review makes me more excited. Sounds like you had a great time! :)

Zebb,

We were on the same cruise with you and your wife. As it turns out, we were on the same excursion in Mazatlan with you -- Maria was our tour guide.

I heartedly agree with your review. We thought the cruise was fantastic. This was the first time we've been on the larger Princess ships (previously on the Sun). A lot more walking, but hey the exercise is good. We loved the variety of public areas and it never seemed crowded. I was worried with it being during spring break, but my fears never materialized. I really have to give much praise to the hard-working cruise staff, especially the younger members. Seemed like they were everywhere working all the time. When do they rest?

I loved viewing your pictures. Boy, are you on the ball. I haven't even taken the media card out of our digital camera. I spotted my husband on picture #82 (courtyard of refreshment stop on Mazatlan tour). He's the one holding the camera. Once I finally go through my pictures, I'll let you know if you and your wife were on any we took on the Mazatlan excursion.

By the way, congratulations on your baby.:p

Kathy

KILLER Seahawks shirt! I am from Seattle, and will be leaving this coming Saturday for our turn on the Sapphire (my 4th time on her). I am glad you had a great time! I loved your review, it got me all jazzed again, except for Billy Hygate as the CD - he is not my favorite. But the rest sounds great!

Thanks so much for the great review!! Casey

Hi Guys!

Great review. I posted the pictures of our Grand Suite on another thread with that title. You will have to take a look.

We actually talked to you at the airport in Seattle Saturday evening. Remember waiting for the luggage? My daughter is the one who went over to the other drop and found our luggage had gone to that turnstile. Small world. If we had only known we were on the roll call thread.

You also must have been on the same tour in PV with the lady that we had to wait for a couple of times. The tortillas at the tequila place were excellent!

Glad you had a great cruise. This was my 17th with Princess and truly one of the best cruises we have had.

Susan

Thanks so much Zebb for your great review. You are so right, your wife is a beauty. So glad that you both had that great cruise to enjoy together pre baby. Those sunrises and sunsets are magnificent, so romantic.:) Congratulations and best wishes for that new baby coming!

The Sapphire is our family's favorite ship and we just cannot wait to get back there......only days now;) We have all been so busy here at our house, it will be so nice to relax and I cannot wait to share those beautiful sunsets with my DH as we will be sharing our anniversary as well!

Thanks again for all of your very helpful tips. It sounds like you guys had a great group of cruise critic members:D

Linda

Thanks for the review and the pictures! We are sailing the Sapphire in a couple of weeks and are really looking forward to it!

Great review thanks for posting it. This is making me even more exciting about our upcoming Pacific Coastal cruise on the Sapphire.

I recently did the same cruise. I had the same impression as you did on the food. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It seems strange to me that some people complain about the food.

For me, Cabo was my favorite port. Probably because it is so much more resort like than the real Mexico. I went whale watching in Cabo, which I recommend. We got to see some whales close up, and got a good view of the Baja coastiline too.

Thanks for taking the time for such a detailed review!

Alaska05: Were you part of the family I took the picture of? If not, I'm sure I'll recognize you from your pictures you put up. Maria was an absolute sweet heart. Remember when she asked if anyone was celebrating a special event? We originally raised our hands because we were celebrating our anniversary but when she went to give out gifts we pretended as though we hadn't before because we didn't feel that she needed to give us a gift. She actually sought us out and did not have anything left over at that point so when we were in Malpica she actually bought us a tile. She also took excellent care of the lady on the front of the bus who did not get off at a few of the stops. She always made sure she had something to drink and you could just tell she absolutely cared about her job and every else. We tipped her well and told her that she has a beautiful heart.

Tom: I agree. If you didn't like the food you just must not like food period. I felt bad because I was making "mmmmmmm!" noises every time I would try something new. Our waiter was always accomidating if I wanted to have a main dish but try something on the side rather than ordering two main dishes.

seattlekckckc: It's so funny about CD's. Billy didn't bother me but I didn't think he was great either. We really loved Peter though, the assistant CD. We had Graham Seymour on the Grand Princess a few years back and I've seen so many people rave about him but he just annoyed the heck out of me.

I love that shirt. A buddy of mine at work actually bought it for $9 at an outlet store in North Bend. Season tickets are coming out soon...I'm really excited to find out where ours are.

Hula: I replied to your comments on another thread. Sounds like you had just as good of a time as we did if not better.

Thanks to everyone for the nice wishes for our blessing to be. He or she will be joining us in September and make us a family of four. We have 20 mo. old daughter as well.

Thank you for the review, as we are departing 4/29. We are further stoked.

Are the nights for formal wear the same every cruise? What were they on your trip?

Our 8th cruise since 2001 and I have rented a tux for the first time.

Thanks,

Thank you for the review, as we are departing 4/29. We are further stoked.

Are the nights for formal wear the same every cruise? What were they on your trip?

Our 8th cruise since 2001 and I have rented a tux for the first time.

Formal nights were Sunday (sea day) and Thursday (early departure from Cabo).

Zebb - What a great deal on your shirt! I love the outlets, the new ones my Marysville are nice also. Now that the schedule is out, they are probably printing up your tickets as we speak! It will be hard to top last season!

About CD, that is so funny. So much a personality thing - I LOVEd Graham Seymour! I seriously thought I would pee my pants a couple of times with him! But then, I went on another cruise about 4 weeks later with him again, and I was annoying everyone with the amazing ability to be able to finish ALL of his standard jokes! I think the CD have a main "joke" book that they gleam from!

Casey

We had E731 5 weeks ago on the Sapphire and COULD NOT convince

them that we were entitled to the complimentary champagne. Now I

don't even like champagne that much, BUT it was the principle of the

thing. I asked our room steward (who was so very nice BTW) and

he had never heard of that. So, I called the front desk and they

assured me that the champagne was only for those in full suites.

Long story short, our wonderful steward did bring us our champagne

during sailaway, but had I not known about it, we never would have

gotten it. I'm a little perturbed that Princess is not getting the word

out about the little amenities... we also were offered NO pillow menu.

Other than than, we had a great cruise and can't wait to go again.

Zeb...we saw you too on the ship...glad you had a fun time....Laurie, Chris and Michelle....I know we sure had fun:D

Wow!! GREAT REVIEW AND PICTURES!! I sail a week from Saturday and reading your review has made me even more excited! :D :D :D

Thanks!

Jamie

P.S. You mentioned Piano Man -- is there another show in the Princess Theater? I have seen Piano Man 3 times so was hoping for something new!

Was Paul Wright your captain?

I will be sailing April 29 and we are trying to get a CC gathering planned over on the roll call. We've tossed the idea of Karaoke around. I was wondering if you still have your patters to tell me what the entertainment is on the first night. I don't want to ask everyone to meet during something that is very popular.

Thanks for your great post!

We were surprised to see you waiter was Eduardo. We had him as our waiter on the Coral Princess in February 2005. Great waiter.

Thanks for a great review. I wish I was back on the Sapphire now eating some pizza or a great souffle. It sounds like you had a great time on your cruise. I enjoyed reading about it.

Thanks for the review of the Sapphire. We were on her Oct. 04 and she is a beautiful ship. Although I prefer the Coral/Island class the Sapphire is a beauty.

Marilyn

I will be sailing April 29 and we are trying to get a CC gathering planned over on the roll call. We've tossed the idea of Karaoke around. I was wondering if you still have your patters to tell me what the entertainment is on the first night. I don't want to ask everyone to meet during something that is very popular.

 

Thanks for your great post!

I did save the Patters but unfortunately they are still all packed away. Last fall someone was gracious enough to scan all of the Patters for their trip on the Sapphire and not much has changed I believe, in fact we had the same cruise director 6 months later although it looks like some of the rest of the staff changed. The link is http://www.julieu.com/cruises/0510Sapphire.html. In fact I know on the first night it's the same with Lorenzo Clark in the Princess Theatre and there was a karaoke party in Club Fusion as well.

BillP1: Wow, I did not know Eduardo has been a waiter for so long. I was a little worried the first night because he seemed a little nervous and stiff but by the second night he really loosened up and was a lot of fun! He really enjoyed us speaking to him in our very limited Spanish especially since we were visiting his homeland. What a great guy! We actually filled out a "You made the difference" card for both him and our assistant waitress.

Oy Vay Lorenzo Clark!!

Really tired of seeing him. I wish they would change up their comedians with some of the Caribbean ones. IE; Sarge and The Kid. :)

Was Paul Wright your captain?

It was Attilio Guerrini from Italy.