Home from the 28 Day Sapphire Princess Cruise to Hawaii, Samoa and French Polynesia

[freetocruise]

French Polynesia (continued)

 

On Moorea, we were signed up for Albert’s Boat #1 which was filled with our roll call members. I forgot to mention earlier that Toto worked diligently with the ship to arrange for us all to get off together in one of the first tenders for both Bora Bora. A big thanks to Toto! Another big thanks to her for arranging Albert's boat #1 for our roll call. There was some confusion at the dock with people being pulled over from boat #2 to fill up our boat as there were a number of no shows. Finally, we were off. It was more windy this day, so the water wasn’t as clear but from where I sat safely on the boat, there were as many rays and sharks at the first stop as there were the day before in Bora Bora. Next stop was the motu for swimming and the food. The motu was one long beach with separate areas for each tour operator. The swimming was fine and I finally got a chance to snorkel without rays and sharks (Sorry, I’m just not interested in petting what looks like it might have been around in the time of dinosaurs). The lunch was fine and we had a cooking demonstration on how they made the poisson cru dish.

 

More sting rays with Albert's Tour

 

One of Albert's boats at the motu

 

The beach

 

Making poisson cru with the help of a cruisecritc member volunteer

 

Finally, our last stop on Tahiti. Papeete is a decent sized city with lots of shops and the Marche (open air, two storied with individual stalls selling a bit of everything). We were on a private tour with Carl’s taxi and his two vehicles. Carl drove the first taxi and his wife, Delores drove the second one. It was a circle island tour and Carl was great and worked hard to show us everything of interest and to tell us the background at each stop. Delores was very helpful also and a delight. While I can easily recommend Carl’s tour, I can not recommend that you use his second taxi. Unlike his first newer van, the second van is not air conditioned, had no suspension and appeared to be on its last legs. We, in the second van had a distinctly different experience than those in the first. Remember – Tahiti is hot and humid. Let me repeat, hot and humid.

 

Downtown Papeete as seen from our balcony

 

A view during our circle tour of Tahiti

[freetocruise]

Sea Days: This is a cruise with many sea days and you have to really love sea days to go on this cruise. We brought many books to read out on our balcony and went through many more from the ship’s library which was one of the best that I’ve seen on a Princess ship. We also brought some games that we like to play. With all the platinum and elite passengers, getting on the internet could be tough. However, since I am an early riser, I never had a problem getting on from 6-9am. Due to no satellite reception, there were a lot of stations (like CNN and sports) that were unavailable for much of the

cruise.

 

 

Miscellaneous: There were so many Captain Circle members that only one big party was held in the atrium. It was not pretty. The host gave us the breakdown. There were 2327 members onboard (98% of the passengers) with 637 Gold, 988 Platinum and 750 elite. The numbers might not add up exactly as it was difficult to hear in the atrium with so many people.

 

I also learned from the head waiter in Vivaldi that Princess has 31 separate dinner menus to draw from on longer cruises and that Princess has set menu rotations for 7 day, 10 day, 12 day and 14 day cruises.

 

There were 4 formal nights on the cruise.

 

The ship was decorated for Halloween and the entire staff in the Vivaldi Dining room were in costume.

 

Crooners Bar

 

 

Greg, the Head Waiter in the Vivaldi Dining Room

 

This was an older cruise. I’m not sure of the average age but I’d guess it was upwards of 80. There were 11 children onboard and some younger couples (honeymooners?) to bring the average down.

 

To end:Words and pictures can't begin to capture all the flora and fauna that we saw on this cruise. I'm convinced that these are magical islands and can't wait to experience them again. Here is a very small sample.

 

 

 

I knew this would be a long cruise but I didn’t realize how long my review would be. Please let me know if you have any questions or if I missed anything.

 

Thanks for letting me share.

[freetocruise]

Disembarkation was a breeze. We were in the first group to self disembark scheduled at 8am. We waited in the Wheelhouse Bar and were led to the gangway about 10 minutes earlier. We were in our car leaving the pier before 8am and home before 9am.There weren't as many self walk offs as I've seen on other cruises. I imagine that is due to the average age and/or the luggage for a 28 day cruise

[grandmaa]

Free to Cruise...Thank you for posting such an informative review of your 28 day cruise. This itinerary is certainly on our bucket list...and you have made it even more enticing with your factual information and personal experience. Wow, so many seasoned cruisers on this one and hopefully not many with "attitude!" Again, thanks...

[Who Knew]

LOL, I'm so happy you got Greg...he was a hoot! Loved his costume--that tail, lol!

[Toto2Kansas]

freetocruise-Sure glad that worked out with getting us all off the ship on the same tender, I know I was quite worried about it for awhile. :eek:

Not sure how that many of us would have gotten to shore on time if Princess would not have done this, but I know many would have completely missed the private tours, from what I saw of the priority numbers trying to get off the ship. With so many on the priority list for tender access, they had said it could take 3 full hours before everyone would be tendered in.:eek: (Too big of a ship, at too small of a tender port).

I know when I first enquired, at the first CC meet and greet, they said it was impossible to tender our group together and special arrangements could not be made for our group because of the priority numbers onboard, but they would check for me anyway. By the second M&G, still no word from Princess. Then I received a phone call after returning to our cabin just after that second meet and greet (too late to spread the word when everyone was in one place, unfortunately), that they would accomodate us (but they wanted us to keep the numbers as low as possible just for those on the private tours with the group).

Thankfully we had another M&G before we arrived in Tahiti (which was not all that well attended I am sorry to say, because it had been cancelled for some reason and the word spread throughout the ship of the cancellation. Thanks to Lucy at the customer relations desk I was able to have the time and place reinstated), but I asked several CC members to help by attempting to spread the word, which they graciously did. The phone in my suite rang constantly for the first two weeks of this cruise (at all hours of the day and night), and dozens of messages left on voice mail, notes in the door, and knocks on the door, from those enquiring that did not attend some of the M&G's.

(note to those on this itinerary in the future). If your M&G is scheduled before you leave, make sure to attend, as it is the only way to pass the word about special arrangements that might be made. I was a bit overwhelmed onboard as I was stopped around every turn for the first couple of weeks being asked the same question over and over again, that I had no answer to. Also, if you schedule a M&G before leaving, please don't change the dates when there is no way to contact a large group (Princess no longer puts the notice in the patter) and once it is scheduled, that is the date everyone looks at on the roll call to attend. ;)

 

Just happy we were all able to get off the ship in time to catch the tours (I was very concerned they would not accomodate, but Princess did finally come through for us in the end). :)

[balcony queen]

Freetocruise thank you so much for your very balanced report.Your photos are awesome and has got me so excited as we are booked for next year.You sure seemed to have had a good time.I can't wait for the rest and relaxation.I will keep a copy and use it as a reference

[jowahe]

Did you park at the pier for the 28 days? I've parked for 14 days, but wonder if 28 days might be too long. Were others parking for the entire cruise? Thanks for any info.

 

I really enjoyed your descriptions and pictures. I'm looking forward to my departure next October.

[freetocruise]

Did you park at the pier for the 28 days? I've parked for 14 days, but wonder if 28 days might be too long. Were others parking for the entire cruise? Thanks for any info.

 

I really enjoyed your descriptions and pictures. I'm looking forward to my departure next October.

 

No, we didn't park at the pier for 28 days. My daughter drove us to San Pedro and we treated her to the Bon Voyage Experience. She picked us up when we returned. Luckily, both days were a Saturday and she was available. I believe a number of people stayed at a local hotel and made arrangements to leave their cars there.

[UpcountryTravelers]

We are aboard the Sapphire Princess now - - doing the Mexico West coast, then B2B to Hawaii. There is a strong sewage smell that is staying with the ship, worse on the balcony (we're on Baha). Yuk..... Did you find anything of the like on your long cruise?

[andio2of5]

We are aboard the Sapphire Princess now - - doing the Mexico West coast, then B2B to Hawaii. There is a strong sewage smell that is staying with the ship, worse on the balcony (we're on Baha). Yuk..... Did you find anything of the like on your long cruise?

Oh yes...all the time, especially in the back of the ship. Got it in the hallway, but not in our cabin.

Andi

[Who Knew]

We are aboard the Sapphire Princess now - - doing the Mexico West coast, then B2B to Hawaii. There is a strong sewage smell that is staying with the ship, worse on the balcony (we're on Baha). Yuk..... Did you find anything of the like on your long cruise?

 

YES! We were in an aft cabin (E716) and we could smell that from time to time. Sometimes it was stronger than others. I didn't notice it every day, but it was definitely there often.

[dfields1814]

We were in B 637 and didn't notice any smell.

[Toto2Kansas]

We were in B750, and were on our balcony constantly. No smell aft on Baja Deck that we encountered either on the balcony or in the suite.

[Princess Patches]

Oh yes...all the time, especially in the back of the ship. Got it in the hallway, but not in our cabin.

 

Andi

 

I was on the Sapphire last month in an Emerald mini suite. We smelled a sewage odor in the aft area of Emerald deck by the elevators on 3 or 4 occasions, but never in our cabin, the balcony or the hallway. It was always right as we got off the aft elevators on Emerald deck. It did not affect us because it was just for a couple of seconds and did not go beyond the aft elevator area.

[JJean]

If you are doing the early self debarkation and someone is picking you up, where is a good place to meet them. Is there normally a lot of traffic which makes this difficult. Thanks for your help.

jjean

[Who Knew]

Yes, I only smelled it on the balcony and it was only for a few minutes.

[freetocruise]

I was on the Sapphire last month in an Emerald mini suite. We smelled a sewage odor in the aft area of Emerald deck by the elevators on 3 or 4 occasions, but never in our cabin, the balcony or the hallway. It was always right as we got off the aft elevators on Emerald deck. It did not affect us because it was just for a couple of seconds and did not go beyond the aft elevator area.

 

We were also in an Emerald minisuite and experienced this exactly but only on a couple of days. It was very mild and didn't affect our room or balcony at all. I wonder if it had anything to do with the stewards cleaning the rooms and all the open doors into the inner spaces.

[dd57]

Even though this was a very full ship, I was amazed at how uncrowded it seemed. We had late traditional dinner, and did not have trouble getting into after dinner shows in the theater. Ok, that is true for most ships, but we never had trouble finding a table in the Horizon Court for breakfast (usually around 8 am) or lunch (11:30 to 12). I think in 28 days we only sat down with others once and had others join us twice. We usually sat on our balcony rather than around the pool, but in walking around there always seemed to be chairs available. Our tablemates said the Sanctuary was very empty too.

[Mimg Pao]

Sorry, it's taking so long to continue. It took forever for my pictures to upload so I could post them.

 

Cruise Director and Activities: Tim Donovan is the Cruise Director. He is very friendly and is all over the ship talking to passengers when not leading some activity. There are all the typical activities such as Trivia (4 or more times a day), Bingo, etc. Themed activities include ribbon lei making, flower lei making, ukulele lessons, hula dance, Polynesian dance lessons and sarong tying lessons and many enrichment lectures on all the islands. Everyone seems to be asking how the Sapphire activities compare with those on the Golden Princess. Some of the lei making classes are not as polished as on the Golden Princess with Elua and the Sapphire team needs to get their act together. But I felt the enrichment lectures were better on the Sapphire. Not only did they have lectures on the islands of the Pacific but they also had WWII Pacific Theatre lectures, as well as one on the planes that crossed the Pacific from the China Clippers to the new A380 from Qantas. There were so many others that I can't remember but can certainly check the Patters if anyone is curious.

 

We are not big show watchers, so I can not comment on any of them. We love playing trivia but didn’t even play once this cruise as trivia has become too competitive with people arguing over the answers and cheating, all just to win a junk prize. It’s no longer fun when that happens. There appeared to be a great bridge program with beginning and intermediate lectures on sea days as well as play (both duplicate and party style) in one of the Dining Rooms every afternoon.

 

For the last 8 sea days, there was a Cruise Murder game. You signed up for it, had your picture taken. You were assigned a person to murder and given their picture and which method to “kill” them. Everyone had to sign in twice a day in the library, so you couldn’t hide out in your room. The winner had six kills. I felt lucky to have one and it took 3 days of searching to find him even with the picture.

 

We also had a Crossing the Equator initiation and we all became “shellbacks”. It was quite messy as you can see in the pictures. Captain Jerman was the first to be thrown in the pool.

 

King Neptune and his consort.

 

 

Pollywogs kissing the fish and Capt. Jerman wearing the "Order of the Kipper"

 

 

Everyone on deck watching.

 

Our impression of CD Tim Donovan was exactly the opposite of yours. We found him to be the "invisible man" and when we did see him when he introduced the various entertainers, he reminded us of a used car salesman with his tired and repetitive jokes.

 

We had Traditional late dining and one night, the entertainment for both the Princess Theatre and the Explorers Louge was scheduled during our meal. Also, on a couple of nights, the movies started at 7 pm. We just had the feeling that the late diners were being treated as 2nd class citizens as our numbers were so small in comparison to the early diners.

 

Probably our worst experience was the scheduling of the Polynesian folkloric show for 9 pm - one show only. Although this was our third time in Tahiti, we wanted to see the show again. We realized the only way we could do so was to have an early dinner. Our head waiter arranged for us to go to the Santa Fe dining room at 5,45 p.m. As our meal was being served, there was an announcement that a 2nd show was being offered at 10 pm. My question is why did Tim wait until almost 6 pm to let the passengers know this. He knew that the majority were early diners and he should have scheduled two shows from the beginning. Since we ate so early, we decided to go to the 9 pm show arriving at 7.15. If we had arrived just 10 or 15 minutes later, we would not have been able to get seats.

 

In our 19 Princess cruises (mostly b2b) we found that Tim was the worst cd we have had. His scheduling for the entertainment venues and movies was done haphazardly and with little thought for the late diners.

 

We do not gamble, play bingo nor participate in game shows but enjoy instead movies, evening entertainment and above all good lectures. On the positive side, the three lecturers on board were all excellent. However, we did find the many sea days rather long because of the poor scheduling. I read 7 books during this cruise - a record for me.

 

Lynne

Princess Elite Member

[pegpowell]

Just a comment in regards to scheduling for early/late dinner. Early dinner starts at 5:15, which makes the Elite/Platinum cocktail lounge starting at 5 not very realistic. Also by the time we were finished with dinner, the Captain's Cocktail party was an impassable zoo.

[freetocruise]

Just a comment in regards to scheduling for early/late dinner. Early dinner starts at 5:15, which makes the Elite/Platinum cocktail lounge starting at 5 not very realistic. Also by the time we were finished with dinner, the Captain's Cocktail party was an impassable zoo.

 

Late seating was at 7:45 and with the elite lounge ending at 7pm, we rarely got a chance to attend - it ended too early. It appears that anytime diners were in the best position to take advantage of it.

 

As to the Captain's Cocktail party - it was a zoo in the atrium even before it started! I saw people sitting in seats in their formal wear before 6pm. Needless to say - we skipped it and I don't think we missed anything.

[caribill]

We had Traditional late dining and one night, the entertainment for both the Princess Theatre and the Explorers Louge was scheduled during our meal.

 

Were this shows only presented that evening?

 

I ask because sometimes shows are presented two times one evening and one time the next evening. When that happens, only the second show on the first evevning is scheduled at a time late seating passengers can attend.

[Mimg Pao]

Were this shows only presented that evening?

 

I ask because sometimes shows are presented two times one evening and one time the next evening. When that happens, only the second show on the first evevning is scheduled at a time late seating passengers can attend.

 

 

The production show was shown again the next evening at 10 pm and we were able to see it then. However, the show in the Explorers Lounge was shown the next evening during our dinner hour once again and thus we missed it entirely.

 

There were many other scheduling problems including the passenger talent show in the Explorers Lounge and a movie during the same time slot in the Princess Theatre. We did not really have problems getting seats for 10 pm shows but for the before dinner shows usually scheduled for 6.45 pm, we had to arrive at least one hour early as the venues were full of the 5.15 crowd who rushed there after eating. Although supposedly, the predinner shows were for the late diners - PROPER PLANNING WOULD HAVE MADE SUCH A DIFFERENCE.

 

It seemed to us that either Tim Donovan did not care or was unaware of the situation. I will be writing a letter to Princess explaining what happened.

 

Lynne

Princess Elite Member

[finucane]

Bonni and John, thank you for the great review and insight, we'll see you on the 3/26/13 board...

johnny and Trina