General Observations from the Sapphire Princess March 12-19

[cherylandtk]

This is not intended as a review, that may come later, this is just a list of observations of items that tend to be the subject of frequent questions or discussion on the boards. YMMV.

 

-No more balloons on doors, now they have cruise-themed signs saying Happy Birthday or Happy Anniversary.

-Dress code was rather flexible in the dining rooms every night.

-Flat screen was in our room on Aloha.

-If late seating was full, a lot of people missed their dining. Many empty tables; may have been partly due to 130 Japanese pax who were unable to reach the ship due to the earthquake.

-Chef's Table was filled by 12:25 on boarding day. Criteria was strictly first-come first-served. (yes it was great)

-Thermal suite smells wonderful on preview/boarding day, like a big aromatherapy room. Never smelled that good the rest of the cruise, just so ya know.

-Two babies in diapers in the aft pool up on deck 16 (not the Adult Only Terrace pool). Deck attendant was notified, came out looked at baby, did nothing. Well, he did flirt for a few minutes with the girl in the bikini...but did not do anything about the diapered child. He picked up towels, though.:cool:

-Ship did not feel full, had ~2800pax,including ~400 children onboard. Easy to walk in a minute before show time to get seats.

-Staff invited to CC Roll Call meeting did show up, including Captain, Hotel Director,Maitre d and more.

[junglejane]

We were on this cruise with Cherylandtk. In fact we were at Chef's Table with Cheryl. It was outstanding! Chef Nilo and Maitre d' Ignacio made it a very special experience.

 

I agree with Cheryl about the flexible dress code. We did see men in shorts turned away on Smart Casual nights. On Formal Nights, they didn't seem to turn anyone away as long as they weren't in shorts. Most people seemed dressed nicely but certainly lots of them did not fit the definition of "formal." Just an observation, not a complaint.

 

My only other comments concerned the Teen program, which I made in another thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=28415217 People should think twice before trying to get their "very mature" 12 year olds moved up into the teen program.

 

We also did the Jungle Zipline Adventure in Puerto Vallarta. We normally do private excursions but because we were nervous about security in Mexico, we opted for the Princess excursion. We had a great time and so did our 10 and 14 year olds.

 

This was our 5th Mexican Riviera cruise. Our non-cruising friends can't understand why we do the same thing every Spring Break. But we have a great time and can always find ways to vary the experience. Not sure what we'll due next year with the cutbacks in MR sailings though.

[salsanut]

Not going to write a full review here just some observations.

About the card on the door, we were celebration our anniversary , 2 days after sailing there was a card, it said Happy Birthday , O well at least helped me to find my cabin faster we didn't say anything ,it was removed from the door 2 days after.

On my personalizer we requested robs there were not in the cabin we had to ask few times till they arrived 2 days later.

We ask for big table on personalize and when we were set to dinner after the first day every day we got a table for 4 and just the two of us were sitting at the table.

I can go on and on but who has the time for it, I did fill up the review that was sent by Princess after we come back home ,praised the one that deserved praising and gave my honest opinion about the rest of my experience, never heard a word from then I THINK THEY DON"T LIKE :(.:(

I had cruise with other cruise lines this was my first Princess I’m not going back (unless it's a free one).

[Trey]

Not going to write a full review here just some observations.

About the card on the door, we were celebration our anniversary , 2 days after sailing there was a card, it said Happy Birthday , O well at least helped me to find my cabin faster we didn't say anything ,it was removed from the door 2 days after.

On my personalizer we requested robs there were not in the cabin we had to ask few times till they arrived 2 days later.

We ask for big table on personalize and when we were set to dinner after the first day every day we got a table for 4 and just the two of us were sitting at the table.

I can go on and on but who has the time for it, I did fill up the review that was sent by Princess after we come back home ,praised the one that deserved praising and gave my honest opinion about the rest of my experience, never heard a word from then I THINK THEY DON"T LIKE :(.:(

I had cruise with other cruise lines this was my first Princess I’m not going back (unless it's a free one).

 

and your point is?

[4cats4me]

Not going to write a full review here just some observations.

 

About the card on the door, we were celebration our anniversary , 2 days after sailing there was a card, it said Happy Birthday , O well at least helped me to find my cabin faster we didn't say anything ,it was removed from the door 2 days after.

On my personalizer we requested robs there were not in the cabin we had to ask few times till they arrived 2 days later.

 

We ask for big table on personalize and when we were set to dinner after the first day every day we got a table for 4 and just the two of us were sitting at the table.

 

I can go on and on but who has the time for it, I did fill up the review that was sent by Princess after we come back home ,praised the one that deserved praising and gave my honest opinion about the rest of my experience, never heard a word from then I THINK THEY DON"T LIKE :(.:(

 

I had cruise with other cruise lines this was my first Princess I’m not going back (unless it's a free one).

 

 

 

HI Salsa,

Our mother was celebrating a birthday and she was in an inside cabin

across the hall from us. They put the birthday sign in my room,

but not a problem -- the cabin steward moved it over to her room and

it remained on the door for the whole week.

Maybe your sign was missing after two days because sometimes the

kids on the ship play pranks and remove things.

 

Also, you MUST request for your robes in person to your cabin steward

on day one of the cruise. It is a well established fact on this board

that if you ask for robes via the cruise personalizer, you won't get one.

We aske our steward, as we do on all our Princess cruises, for a robe

on day one, and he told us it might be a day, but then he found us

robes within the first couple hours.

[ChrisB123]

I guess it's an attitude thing or something, but I sure wouldn't let the small things commented about on here bring me down.

If nothing else, I'm sure the Pizza was GREAT! ;)

 

Can any of you tell us more? Please state the positives too. I'll be on the Sapphire in Sept and really don't want to "worry," about a table for 2. :D

[cherylandtk]

ChrisB,

We had a wonderful time, the observations I made in the original post were just that, specific answers to specific questions that seem to be a matter of interest and discussion on these boards. We went on this cruise to relax, and we did. Service was fine, wonderful at times. Food was the same. For us, we have tried Anytime Dining and prefer Traditional. Knowing we have a table at a set time is easier than having to decide where and when to eat and whether or not to make a reservation or if or how long the line would be. And I can make conversation with anyone. But that is just us, and your desires/needs may differ.

 

As for Pizza, I had a craving for it on about the third day, but other plans, activities and being full already kept me from getting a slice until the next day. And yes, it was good.

 

Do you have any specific things you want to know about? I would be happy to answer.

[ChrisB123]

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound snarky. :o

Did you try to get in to the MDR for embarkation lunch? I hear it's kind of iffy.

Glad you had fun. :D

[cruzhappy88]

Boarding the Sapphire in less than a week! A couple questions, when you say men in shorts were turned away from the dining room-was this nice shorts, like khakis? or basketball type shorts? Also, do you think my teenage son will need a jacket on formal night?

Sounds like you've been to these ports a few times. What have you done while in PV and Cabo?

[cherylandtk]

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound snarky. :o

Did you try to get in to the MDR for embarkation lunch? I hear it's kind of iffy.

Glad you had fun. :D

We did not even bother, as we were on rather early and just went to the buffet and did not bother with trying the dining room. And you didn't sound snarky, just curious.

 

Boarding the Sapphire in less than a week! A couple questions, when you say men in shorts were turned away from the dining room-was this nice shorts, like khakis? or basketball type shorts? Also, do you think my teenage son will need a jacket on formal night?

Sounds like you've been to these ports a few times. What have you done while in PV and Cabo?

At dinner, no shorts (of any kind) for men in the dining room. Lunch or breakfast, no problem. I saw several jacketless men at formal dinners, so a long-sleeved dress shirt with a tie would be fine for your teen son.

 

PV was usually shopping, wandering down the streets, or eating at one of the many restaurants. Cabo is good for all the above, as well as boat rides of many types. This last time we went sailing.

[gram26]

What is 'chef's table'? I do know that we have gone on early and eaten at the buffet on boarding day, but don't know about 'chef's table'....is it an invitation only??

[cruzhappy88]

ok, so my kids want to know how late pizza is served. Do you remember?

[cherylandtk]

What is 'chef's table'? I do know that we have gone on early and eaten at the buffet on boarding day, but don't know about 'chef's table'....is it an invitation only??

Chef's table is a separate, special dining experience for which one must signup ASAP at a cost of $75 pp. It occurs later in the cruise on one or two evenings.

http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/food_dining/chefs_popup/index.html

[cherylandtk]

ok, so my kids want to know how late pizza is served. Do you remember?

Pizzeria is open 11am to 7pm.

[jrobinso]

We were on this same cruise and had a nice relaxing week. We had booked a mini in Emerald. Found it to be a fabulous location. One floor down to the promenade deck for our early morning laps. Two floors down to International dining room.

 

Pizza closes promptly at 7pm. We went one night at about 7:10 ( we weren't sure what time it closed) and staff was busy washing equipment.

 

We had family join us at embarkation for the Bon Voyage experience. They loved it. The package included about 4 hours on the ship, lunch in the dining room (includes wine/beer) and a photo. The cost is $39. Call Princess to book. There is a 50 person limit. The dining room was not full. I couldn't tell if the other diners were all participating in the Bon Voyage experience or not.

 

Enjoyed the ultimate balcony dinner on the evening we were overnight in Cabo. Great food and wonderful service. Call room service to book. Great for a nice romantic evening. Cost is $100 per couple (plus tip to the awesome wait staff).

 

We had early traditional and had booked a table for 8. Only one other couple showed up and our poor waiter did not have an assistant. As a result service was slow and poor. Our waiter was too busy to refill water glasses or offer fresh ground pepper for salads. Not his fault, he was busy trying to attend to his other tables.

 

They offered the Pub Lunch twice ( we did not go) and twice they offered "themed" lunches out by the pool. The first was Italian and the second was Asian. We enjoyed them both. I think my favorite was the fresh pasta it was awesome.

 

We did not request robes , but they magically appeared on the third day.