trbarton

Hi Tom. Were you on the Sapphire Princess to Hawaii last November? Your name is familiar, but I don't think I met you. I just booked the Coral Princess in July.

No...I have never cruised on Princess until next month on the Grand to Alaska.

Tom:)

Hello:

I'm organizing a M & G on the Grand, May 10th cruise.

Here's what I did:

1. Looked at the posts for that cruise to make sure nobody was already planning one.

2. If no was planned I left a post saying that I was contacting Princess and would get back to them when I had more information.

3. I contacted the Princess Rep for my cruise and provided her the information they needed and asked for the dates and times that I wanted. I've planed 2 M & G for our cruise.

4. Princess contacted me confirming my requested dates and times and provided the location on the ship.

5. I made a flyer to sent to people interested in the M & G.

6. I did not want people showing up that I didn't know about so people had to email me with their names, cabin number if known, email address, and CC name. I took this information and made a table for my record. I also made name tags using the Cruise Critic Logo on my name tag. I put their first name and under that I put their CC name. I learned on my first M & G that you need the CC name along with their first name.

7. When people responded I sent them my flyer for the M & G. My flyer included the dates, time, and location for the M & G. I also am organizing a Sale Away Party and sent information about that too. I made a copy of the deck plan where the meeting will take place so that they will know the location and attached that as well.

8. I have templates made up to invite all of the principal officers. I will contact Princess after the 1st of the month of my cruise so that my list is complete. I also invite the ships photographers but my invite has them come 30 minutes after our meeting time. I deliver these letters when I first board the ship and go to the photo department and leave a letter with them. The day of the M & G I confirm with the photo department so I know they are sending a photographer.

9. A couple of weeks before the cruise I resend my information out to everybody as a reminder. When I first got peoples email address I created a group list to use for later. In sending out a group list I sent it to myself and a BCC to everyone else so to keep other peoples address private.

10. I don't post any information about the M & G on Cruise Critic as I want to be able to control who is coming so people just don't show up. I bring a couple of extra name tags that are blank incase I need them. On my last M & G I had 2 sets of name tags for both M & G but only one was used.

11. During the M & G I had everyone give there name , where they were from and as a ice breaker how they chose their screen name. I also asked the officers present to introduce themselves and if the Cruise Director was there they usually welcomed us to the cruise.

If you would like to have copies of what I have created, Invitations to officers, Flyers, List and Name Tags please email me at trbarton743@aol.com and I will email you what I have. I keep my templates for another M & G so I don't have to re-invent the wheel again.

Tom:)

Mine was the best offer I'd received so far. We are happy with it, so I'm hoping it doesn't go too much lower. That's the risk you take when you book. I'm past final payment, so I guess it could still go lower. There were only 3 mini-suites left at the price I got, so I didn't want to risk not getting one. Also, the advertised price for a balcony is higher than what I paid for a mini. Plus I got gratuities and OBC. I'm happy. I should stop looking at pricing now and just wait for the cruise!! LOL.

What cruise are you on and from what port?

Thanks!

Tom:)

I absolutely agree that I would not give the Casino advance warning of your arrival. I have run 2 slot pulls on 2 different ships. I never notified the Casino Manager in advance other than when we all walked into the casino. IMHO this gives them less time to "possibly" set the machine to pay off less. Maybe you would miss out on a free drink but I would rather win lots of money. The Casino manger and her staff were excellant when they saw so many people who were going to participate.

Here is what I posted on Cruise Critic on the thread for our cruise:

THE SLOT PULL

HOW DOES IT WORK? - Everyone who wants to participate will bring their $15.00 to the meeting spot. You will each get five (5) pulls on a dollar slot machine that utilizes $3.00/pull. The winning money will accumulate in the machine and that will be divided among the participants at the end of all pulls. The payoffs will be in even dollars.

The extra money above the even dollars will be awarded to the player who gets the group the highest amount on their slot pulls. Each person’s winnings will be recorded at the time of their pulls so we know who will get the side pot of the money after the even dollar pay-out.

 

WHEN WILL WE DO THIS? - We will meet XXXXXXXXX @ XXX on the starboard side of the casino Fiesta Deck 6 just outside the Casino. We will all go into the Casio together and start our play.

Payoffs will be handled immediately afterwards and handed out to all who joined in the Slot Pull.

· If you wish to participate' date=' please give me your name and cabin # in case there is any [u']change[/u] at all in the schedule and I can notify you. We need more people to make this lots of fun, so please join in. This is what I need for those who want to participate:

o Your names – first names only for each person who is going to participate.

o Your cabin # in case there is any change in plans and I can call and leave a message in your cabin

If you do not want to post that information here, you can email me at XXXXXXXX

By having this information in advance, I can make up a chart at home to track names the amount each person wins on their pulls.

 

 

I also have an Excel spread sheet that you can print in advance to track how much each person won for the group. If you will give me your email address, I will forward that spread sheet.

These are always great fun.

Ann:

Thanks for all of your info. Please email me at trbarton743@aol.com.

Thank you very much!!!

Tom:)

I guess I could stand arriving between 2 and 2:30, although that feels like it'll be the height of crowds (since I've always been an early-bird I have no idea) but, what frustrates me is, we'll be checking out of our hotel at 11AM, so, we'll either need to store our luggage at the hotel and get it later, or drag our luggage around.

 

Seems so much more seemless to check-out and head to pier.

You can always leave your luggage with the porters and return later for check-in. You don't say where you are departing from. Here in San Francisco you can leave your luggage and return later.

Tom:)

Yes, one for charging your shaver only.

Can I plug a nightlight in the plug in the bathroom?

Thanks!

Tom:)

Any plugs in the bathroom? Thanks!

Tom:p

There are two ...

 

Thank you very much. I always bring a power strip plus I have a plug that makes one plug into three.

Tom:D

Thanks for the great photos. I will be on the Grand in May 2013 from SF to Alaska and wonder if the Grand will look similar to the Sapphire.

I like to take lots of photos like yourself, I was a professional for 20 years, and like to take a lot of ship photos when first on board as the rooms are usually empty.

I use a Nikon D80 for most of my photos and bring a small point & shoot as a back-up. I just purchased a remote for my Nikon for night photos and of photos when I am in a group. I've just ordered a Digital Timer Remote Control EZA-N1 For Nikon which I plan to use for night time exposures.

Tom:)

When you were docked in SF, was it an easy walk to Pier 39?

 

I know you tender in Santa Barbara .. how far is town from the pier? I think it should be fairly close, but wanted to be sure.

 

We use to live in CA, but it's been years since we've been to either place. Can't wait to visit.

Pier 39 is right next to pier 35 so you can walk there is a few minutes. A fun place with many shops and restaurants. If your a AAA member go to the welcome office at pier 39 for a free book with discounts for many of the merchants at pier 39.

I have lived in SF since 1967 so let me know if you have any questions.

Tom:)

 

 

Sapphire Princess – California Coastal Cruise – April 28 –> May 5, 2012

 

First a little about me. This is my twentieth cruise overall, my second on Princess and my first on the Sapphire Princess. In response to someone who wanted more details I began writing my reviews while on the ship. Normally I begin my review while waiting to board the plane. But this time I am not flying. I started packing Saturday morning a little after 7:00am and finished packing a little before 9:00am. I use a packing checklist which makes it fairly easy. So the only thing I forgot were the luggage tags which I obtained at the port (note to self – add the luggage tags to the check list). I left home at about 10:20am and was parked at the cruise terminal by 11:10am. So now I’m beginning my review after dinner on the embarkation day.

 

 

 

One thing I don’t like about this cruise is the first day is not a day at sea. And, just as bad, the last day is not a day at sea either. We will visit Santa Barbara on Sunday, spend Monday at sea, visit San Francisco on Tuesday, spend Wednesday at sea, visit San Diego on Thursday, visit Ensenada on Friday, and return home on Saturday.

 

 

 

This is a group cruise. I haven’t had the best of luck with my group cruises. The cruises have always been great, but one thing or another has popped up pre cruise. One of the two reasons I was interested in this cruise was I that I wanted to go on this cruise so I could meet the travel agent I booked with (the other reason is I want to sail into San Francisco under the Golden Gate Bridge). Although the travel agent I booked with is not my normal travel agent, I’ve had the chance to read her posts on one of the cruise forums I belong to and I’ve had the chance to speak to her on the phone. I have nothing but respect for her. Unfortunately, about a month prior to the cruise, she died. I’ll never get the chance to meet her. She was a special person and while I’m richer for knowing her, I’m poorer for never having the opportunity to meet her.

 

 

 

I spent a lot of time taking lots of pictures (over 1800) and I want to post many of them (over 200). So it is going to take me several posts to completely post my review with the pictures. I don't know how many people will post while I am posting, but I figure it will take me 36 posts to finish, so bear with me. For those that are interested, the review is over 9700 words (14 1/2 type written pages).

 

 

 

For those reading this review in the review section, I cannot post the photos in the review section. Instead at the end I'll provide a link to the photographs.

 

 

I also took some video, and if I figure out how to post the videos, I will.

 

 

 

Port side balconies (my cabin is on the Starboard side) ...

 

 

Great Photos. How many A/C plugs in the cabin?

Thanks!

Tom

Here's a report from Pia who is on a 49 day cruise: Buenos Aires is a city with lots of book stores; all over the place. We visited one interesting place which had a theater setting in the rear. Red velvet curtains; high ceilings. It was a coffee shop, but nothing like Barnes and Noble. I also saw lots of Starbucks, but alas, was never at the right place at the right time. We did stop at a supermarket and I bought several bottles of wine and some cans of beer. When reboarding the ship, it was business as usual. You just put your stuff thru the conveyer and nobody looks.

So go and try and figure their policy as to what you can bring back on board.

Tom:)

To add to Doug's summary, here are photos of examples of each class.

 

Prinsendam:

 

 

 

S-Class (Statendam):

 

 

 

R Class (Rotterdam):

 

 

Vista Class (Zuiderdam):

 

Is it possible to post photos of all of the HAL ships?

Thanks!

Tom Barton:)