Norwegian Fjords July Sapphire Princess

Our last day was a day at sea.

We headed to the theatre in the morning for the cooking demonstration … it was really interesting and exceeded my expectations, well delivered and informative. But the best bit was we got to visit the galley afterwards!

We entered through the International Dining room .. this was interesting to see as this was the traditional dining room and we hadn't eaten there as we were Anytime.

then we toured the galley that serves three of the dining rooms

we then went back to the theatre to watch the video of the sailing through the fjords that was taken on our Geiranger day. We enjoyed it, but it didn't make us want to pay for a copy of the dvd!

we then watched Victoria and Abdul on the MUTS screen

and it amused me to see Paul Burrell the butler to the Princess of Wales watching a film about the royal family! He is in the centre of this shot

he gave a talk on board that afternoon, we didn't go but I did speak to a woman who had enjoyed the talk

they had begun to set up the atrium for the evening entertainment

I think we then went and packed .. I know we had our cases outside as requested prior to dinner.

That evening it began to get dark earlier as we headed further south (and the clocks had gone back the previous night)

we headed to Club Fusion for the family disco and then stayed for the karaoke … although we did hide in a quiet corner!

we enjoyed the last night of the proms

then we headed out for one last walk around the ship in the dark

the indoor pool

it had been raining and the wood was shining!

one last slice of pizza and our cruise was just about over :(

We'd selected 8.30am -9.00am departure slot and been given 8.40am. I'd thought we'd get out of the room by 8am as requested, grab a last breakfast and be off. Of course we both woke really early, ended up in breakfast by 7am and had an hour to wait before we could disembark …

so we wandered the ship and grabbed some last photos

we headed to the Explorer's lounge at 8.30am and were told almost immediately we could leave. I'd expected some kind of passport check but there wasn't one and we just grabbed our cases and headed outside to collect the car. We were in our car and heading out of the carpark by 8.55am. A smooth drive home had us back in just over 5 hours.

so my final thoughts …

this was our first cruise on Princess and this is what we loved:

the classic feel of the ship - we were used to a similar size and feel with the other line we've sailed with … we love the promenade deck and the calm feel

MUTS and the on demand movies in the room … extremely impressed with the selection in the room and the blankets and popcorn on deck

Anytime dining - we got a table for 2 immediately on all but one night (and then we were ushered to the club class dining room that night which made formal night even more special!)

Norway … it was just spectacular - we thoroughly enjoyed everything we did and I'd go back again in a heartbeat

the International Café - especially the breakfast pastries!

Sailing from Southampton - we're from the UK and this was our first time sailing from Southampton

what we didn't love quite so much

the main dining food - I don't eat fish or seafood and it limited my choices somewhat - and the beef I ate in the dining room was not of the quality I was used to on other lines

The entertainment in the theatre … we're not magician/ventriloquist people and we thought the production shows were poor quality and very outdated (again just our opinion and we heard someone saying the party band were awful (we liked them!) but the ventriloquist was wonderful!)

Thank you to everyone who let me know they were reading. I hope this might be of some use to people either sailing on the Sapphire or to Norway.

if there is anything I haven't covered and you'd like to know .. please do ask ...

Thanks for the excellent photos of the ship. We sail on her in January. Norway is a fabulous cruise isn't it.

Thank you so much for this great review!

I'm sailing this itinerary next year and am excited to see the variety of things to see in the ports!

Thanks for sharing!

Charlene

what we didn't love quite so much

 

the main dining food - I don't eat fish or seafood and it limited my choices somewhat - and the beef I ate in the dining room was not of the quality I was used to on other lines

I was on the June sailing. I am similar - due to allergies, I don't eat seafood or fish. I thought the beef was pretty poor quality. I actually was pretty disappointed with the food. The chicken was rubbery and the vegetables and salads degraded after the first week. I am one who used to love the vegetables on Princess and barely ate them on this trip. I was uninspired by many of the menus.

Though the beauty of Norway made up for uninspiring food!

Thanks for the excellent photos of the ship. We sail on her in January. Norway is a fabulous cruise isn't it.

I hope you enjoy your cruise. Norway was amazing

Thank you so much for this great review!

 

 

 

I'm sailing this itinerary next year and am excited to see the variety of things to see in the ports!

 

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

 

Charlene

The ports were great. There is another review of the same cruise and you can see they did very different things to us in 3 of the ports. So much choice!

I was on the June sailing. I am similar - due to allergies, I don't eat seafood or fish. I thought the beef was pretty poor quality. I actually was pretty disappointed with the food. The chicken was rubbery and the vegetables and salads degraded after the first week. I am one who used to love the vegetables on Princess and barely ate them on this trip. I was uninspired by many of the menus.

 

Though the beauty of Norway made up for uninspiring food!

I am so glad you felt the same. I had heard that food on Princess was good but the vegetables in particular were awful. We actually only ate in the MDR 3 times in the end. And I got fed up of steamed broccoli on the buffet!!

You are so right about the beauty of Norway making up for it though!

The ports were great. There is another review of the same cruise and you can see they did very different things to us in 3 of the ports. So much choice!

I struggled on this trip as there was so much I wanted to do in many ports. I would love to go back and do the things I missed.

Superb photos, thank you.

Superb photos, thank you.

Thank you, that’s so nice of you to say

Really enjoyed the review , we did a similar cruise on Celebrity

We love sailing from Southampton, it’s so easy

We’re thinking of a Princess cruise next spring , so it was good to be able to see the ship through your eyes

Really enjoyed the review , we did a similar cruise on Celebrity

We love sailing from Southampton, it’s so easy ��

We’re thinking of a Princess cruise next spring , so it was good to be able to see the ship through your eyes

Thanks for the feedback! We did enjoy Princess and would sail with them again if the itinerary and price were right (which they definitely were on this cruises).

Thanks for the nice review. We were also on this cruise with you. This was our second time on the Norwegian Fjord itinerary with Princess. We found the food in the dining room to be very good. We both eat seafood and seldom eat beef, so that would explain the difference of opinion. We took extended tours in all the ports through Princess this time. We were very pleased with the guides and organization.

Thank you so much for taking the time to do the review and great photos. We are returning to Princess from Celebrity and have booked this cruise on the Sapphire next year, I love Norway and it's reminded me of why I love it so much. Really nice to see the ship too.

Thanks for the nice review. We were also on this cruise with you. This was our second time on the Norwegian Fjord itinerary with Princess. We found the food in the dining room to be very good. We both eat seafood and seldom eat beef, so that would explain the difference of opinion. We took extended tours in all the ports through Princess this time. We were very pleased with the guides and organization.

I’m glad you enjoyed your cruise too. It is possible I had unrealistic expectations regarding the food!

Thank you so much for taking the time to do the review and great photos. We are returning to Princess from Celebrity and have booked this cruise on the Sapphire next year, I love Norway and it's reminded me of why I love it so much. Really nice to see the ship too.

It was a great cruise and just my size of ship. I’m sure you will have a great time

Wonderful review! Thank you!

Thanks for the wonderful review. I just wanted to note that in olden, it is quite possible to do both the Loen Skylift and briskdal glacier in one day. If you only choose one, I’d recommend the Loen Skylift, but you can do both if you choose. Olden adventures runs shuttles to both (although the public bus to the glacier would be cheaper). We traveled with our 6 and 2 year old children, so we rented a troll car to take us most of the way towards the glacier, leaving us with a much shorter hike (and I was shocked that my 2 year old made it). Please note that the glacier has been hit quite hard by global warming and is not a large glacier. The drive there is beautiful, as is the hike to the glacier so as long as you have reasonable expectations as to what the glacier will look like it’s worth visiting.