Just off Sapphire -- a few thoughts

[rwadam]

Thanks to everyone who gave me lots of great info in advance of my 4/30 Mexican Riviera cruise. This was only my second Princess cruise, the first being a 3-day repo cruise on the Diamond from LA to Vancouver. Last year I took the Mariner of the Seas to the Mexican Riviera at the same time of year, so I was intrigued to experience Princess on the same route. I thoroughly enjoyed this cruise! Princess does a great job, IMO. While I won't give an OCD review, like the Hawaii one a few weeks ago which I thoroughly enjoyed, I wanted to share a few thoughts.

 

First, the condition of the ship was great. I wouldn't have thought she is going into dry dock in less than a year. My cabin was caribe 726 and was in great shape. My steward was very friendly and very effective -- he came and went and and did his work so well and I hardly ever saw him. To those of you concerned about smoke, my room smelled fresh. My next door neighbors, however, were always on their balcony throughout the cruise playing cards and the man smoked cigars so if smoke bothers you that is a consideration (that is, consider a line that doesn't allow it).

 

Staff and Crew -- all we encountered could not have been nicer.

 

Food -- we had any time dining. We ate in all 4 of the any time restaurants -- Vivaldi, Savoy, Santa Fe, and Pacific Moon. We usually showed up at 7:45pm and had no wait, but one night we wanted to go early -- 6:30 and tried to make a reservation. The dine line said they only had 5:45 or 7:45. We went to the Savoy at 6:30 anyway and were immediately seated (table for 2). I'm not saying that will always happen but it did for us. We found service to be efficient and friendly in all the restaurants -- probably a bit rushed compared to traditional dining, but that suited us fine as we didn't want to spend more than 60 -90 minutes dining. The food was very good -- I was never disappointed. We ate breakfast in the International Dining Room each morning -- sometimes requesting a table for 2 and sometimes ok to share -- and we enjoyed eating there. We also ate lunch there a couple of times, which we also enjoyed. We also tried the pizza and burgers on the lido deck -- 2 thumbs up -- plus the cookie cart in the atrium at 3:30pm yummy but yikes too much of a good thing!

 

We did ship sponsored excursions on this trip, which we have not before. We found them to be extremely convenient and enjoyed them very much. We did swimming with dolphins in P.V., a boat trip and beach day on day 1 of Cabo, and the High Sierra zip line on Day 2 of Cabo. All of these were a lot of fun and I highly recommend them.

 

The weather was glorious, I slept massive numbers of hours and read nothing but the Patter and gained about 5 pounds. We also met a lot of wonderful passengers and crew. The only negative was a nasty lady at the final bingo who yelled at me when I tried to sit at her table, due to her saving it for people that never showed up. Whatevah!

 

Debarkation was a breeze. We ate breakfast in the dining room from 8 to 9 am and then went to the Explorers Lounge and walked off the ship, as they were just calling Pink.

 

Thanks Princess for a great vacation! Feel free to ask any questions.

[snoodqueen]

Sounds great - thanks for the review. We've got a couple cruises booked on her in the coming months so it's good to hear positive things!

[IECalCruiser]

Thanks to everyone who gave me lots of great info in advance of my 4/30 Mexican Riviera cruise. This was only my second Princess cruise, the first being a 3-day repo cruise on the Diamond from LA to Vancouver. Last year I took the Mariner of the Seas to the Mexican Riviera at the same time of year, so I was intrigued to experience Princess on the same route. I thoroughly enjoyed this cruise! Princess does a great job, IMO. While I won't give an OCD review, like the Hawaii one a few weeks ago which I thoroughly enjoyed, I wanted to share a few thoughts.

 

First, the condition of the ship was great. I wouldn't have thought she is going into dry dock in less than a year. My cabin was caribe 726 and was in great shape. My steward was very friendly and very effective -- he came and went and and did his work so well and I hardly ever saw him. To those of you concerned about smoke, my room smelled fresh. My next door neighbors, however, were always on their balcony throughout the cruise playing cards and the man smoked cigars so if smoke bothers you that is a consideration (that is, consider a line that doesn't allow it).

 

Staff and Crew -- all we encountered could not have been nicer.

 

Food -- we had any time dining. We ate in all 4 of the any time restaurants -- Vivaldi, Savoy, Santa Fe, and Pacific Moon. We usually showed up at 7:45pm and had no wait, but one night we wanted to go early -- 6:30 and tried to make a reservation. The dine line said they only had 5:45 or 7:45. We went to the Savoy at 6:30 anyway and were immediately seated (table for 2). I'm not saying that will always happen but it did for us. We found service to be efficient and friendly in all the restaurants -- probably a bit rushed compared to traditional dining, but that suited us fine as we didn't want to spend more than 60 -90 minutes dining. The food was very good -- I was never disappointed. We ate breakfast in the International Dining Room each morning -- sometimes requesting a table for 2 and sometimes ok to share -- and we enjoyed eating there. We also ate lunch there a couple of times, which we also enjoyed. We also tried the pizza and burgers on the lido deck -- 2 thumbs up -- plus the cookie cart in the atrium at 3:30pm yummy but yikes too much of a good thing!

 

We did ship sponsored excursions on this trip, which we have not before. We found them to be extremely convenient and enjoyed them very much. We did swimming with dolphins in P.V., a boat trip and beach day on day 1 of Cabo, and the High Sierra zip line on Day 2 of Cabo. All of these were a lot of fun and I highly recommend them.

 

The weather was glorious, I slept massive numbers of hours and read nothing but the Patter and gained about 5 pounds. We also met a lot of wonderful passengers and crew. The only negative was a nasty lady at the final bingo who yelled at me when I tried to sit at her table, due to her saving it for people that never showed up. Whatevah!

 

Debarkation was a breeze. We ate breakfast in the dining room from 8 to 9 am and then went to the Explorers Lounge and walked off the ship, as they were just calling Pink.

 

Thanks Princess for a great vacation! Feel free to ask any questions.

Thanks for the posting and glad you enjoyed your cruise.

 

We were on the Sapphire for the first time three cruises before you and also thought she was in very good shape. We had a mini-suite and our mattress was very firm as typical of Princess. I was wondering how the beds in your cabin were?

 

We also liked the large number of tables for two in the Anytime DRs. We ate at 5:45 p.m. and there we no lines when we entered or left the DR.

[DesertDaisy]

Thanks for sharing. We also love the Shappire, can't explain it, just have always had a great time. We will be on her again in October. Last time was 12-10, with our daughters and spouses, first time cruisers. It will always be one of my favorite cruises! I love the space, crowded never! I am ready for the drydock to happen, but I will miss that wonderful internet cafe, and the great library! You can't have everything, and I'm willing to trade the space for the International Cafe. Glad you enjoyed your cruise! Phyllis

[rwadam]

 

We were on the Sapphire for the first time three cruises before you and also thought she was in very good shape. We had a mini-suite and our mattress was very firm as typical of Princess. I was wondering how the beds in your cabin were?

 

OK the truth is the bed was HARD and I am about to lay down upon my tempurpedic mattress at home so I did notice it. YET -- being away from it all with the gentle rocking of the ocean I did sleep and sleep and sleep -- lol.

 

I bought an FCC so am thinking about booking a Hawaii cruise on the Golden in 2013 -- I loved the sea days on this cruise -- so relaxing!

[rwadam]

Thanks for sharing. We also love the Shappire, can't explain it, just have always had a great time. We will be on her again in October. Last time was 12-10, with our daughters and spouses, first time cruisers. It will always be one of my favorite cruises! I love the space, crowded never! I am ready for the drydock to happen, but I will miss that wonderful internet cafe, and the great library! You can't have everything, and I'm willing to trade the space for the International Cafe. Glad you enjoyed your cruise! Phyllis

 

Yes -- we were commenting at how uncrowded it felt! We met several couples who told us that for Alaska we must take the Coral as it will have a feeling of space and lack of crowdedness. I will try to book my Dear Parents with me for that.

[ChrisB123]

Did you happen to notice if people were being turned away from the dining room for a embarcation day lunch? I've heard Sapphire is infamous for that.

You said you waited for Pink to be called? If dh and I want off late the final morning, would we have to tell/ask for that in advance?

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. Sounds like you had a great cruise. We sail on the Sapphire in a scant 600+ days.....:):):)

 

Bob

[MTJSR]

Did you happen to notice if people were being turned away from the dining room for a embarcation day lunch? I've heard Sapphire is infamous for that.

You said you waited for Pink to be called? If dh and I want off late the final morning, would we have to tell/ask for that in advance?

 

I was onboard too and yes they did, and that was the only negative onboard the whole week. Also, we were "White 5" with a debarkation time of 10:15. We arrived at the Wheelhouse Bar around 9am prepared to play cards until 10:15 but almost immediately they called the whole bar regardless of color or time. We were off in minutes, very easy.

[rwadam]

Did you happen to notice if people were being turned away from the dining room for a embarcation day lunch? I've heard Sapphire is infamous for that.

You said you waited for Pink to be called? If dh and I want off late the final morning, would we have to tell/ask for that in advance?

 

We did not go to the dining room for lunch on embarkation day. You will receive a notification about debarkation a few days into the cruise, and you select what time you wish to leave the ship. They try to accommodate you. I had requested 9 am and our time was 9:30 with Pink 7 being an Aloha deck color, even though we were on Caribe. I think by about 9:30 it's more relaxed, as all the people who want to get off earlier are off the ship, and the luggage halls have opened for all the colors by then. (They try to avoid sending people off the ship before the luggage for that color is available for pick up, otherwise you have a bunch of impatient people waiting for the luggage.) So just indicate on the form when you wish to leave. No one forces you to leave earlier if you are assigned an earlier time. The truth is, though, we were ready to leave at 9 after having a full breakfast in the dining room at 8am (you have to be out of your room by 8). There's not a lot of interest on the ship at that point.

[aloisia]

We were on the 30/4 cruise too. The Sapphire is a beautiful ship. Especially enjoyed the Calypso Pool area. We had 2 connecting cabins on Baja. It was our first time having a balcony ..... so nice! :D Great location. Everything was perfect.

Heads up for NON US passengers .... our meet time for debarkation was 9:30.

Off the ship quickly but the line for customs was long and slow. All non US passengers, except Canadians, were photographed and finger printed via scan. We had not seen this before in Florida. We were not out of the customs until 11:10 to meet our shuttle. I'm glad our LAX flights were not until 1:30.

[Coolmama_1]

Sounds like you had a fabulous time. Thanks for sharing!