Live from the Sapphire 7 day Coastal

[lgeisz]

Sapphire Princess 7 day Coastal

 

 

So after many Mexican Riviera cruises over the last couple of years I am finally doing a western coastal cruise (basically California with a stop in Ensenada Mexico). This is a nice 7 day trip out of Los Angeles going to SanDiego, Ensenada, Santa Barbara and San Francisco. Here is my daily review.

 

Day 1 Embarkation:

 

The drive and the embarkation was rather uneventful, we did hit some traffic driving over from Phoenix to LA but for the most part we made good time. On this trip there are four of us (usually it is just the three in our group) and like I said we drove over to the ship the day of the cruise (a departure from our norm of driving over the day before).

 

We arrive at San Pedro (the port of Los Angles) at around 1:30 pm (we left at 6 am and took our time with a stop for breakfast) and dropped off the group at the terminal before I parked at the port parking lot (there are other alternatives to parking at the port but I like the convince especially because we do self departure) and proceeded with my party to the embarkation center. A note here, there were no crowds at around 1:30/1:45 so getting into the main terminal (filling out your medical waiver) took no time.

 

Check in was painless although we did have a little wait 15 minutes because they were closing down a lot of the check in stations because most folks were already on board ( I cannot speak to the platinum or elite status members check in as I am still a lowly gold) so the check in went smooth and painless

 

Once we were on board we went straight to our rooms (here's a hint, try using the forward or aft elevators to avoid the crowds) to get situated and dropped off our carry on bags. The only issue I could see with the room was the fact that the beds were not together (I have read and I am starting to believe that Princess does not read the cruise persalizer that I filled out online)

 

After visiting the room we decided to get a bite to eat up at the buffet. This was the first real issue we ran into to the buffet was packed. After walking both sides of the buffet and finally finding a table for 4 we decided it was not worth the wait for the buffet line so we quickly came up with planB. We decided to try to go to the piazza and see if we could get a pizza at Alfredos pizzeria (here's a hint skip the buffet and go here first) when we arrived the place was empty (it actually looked closed) so we got seated fast and had a nice quite lunch.

 

At around 3:30 we had the mandatory muster drill. I don't remember from the past if they muster stations were outside but it seems like Princess is trying to get everyones muster locations inside and not out on the decks. If nothing else this makes the muster drill a lot more comfortable. Some of the changes that I have noticed were that they now scan your sea pass card with their portable scanners upon entry as apposed to the old roll call list and the muster announcements seem to be automated and longer (I think someone said it was 17 minutes long). But again the muster drill went like clock work and was painless and in eventful.

 

Dinner was uneventful and pleasant. We (Asa rule of thumb) do not eaton the dinning rooms on short cruises and we in the past decided we wanted to eat at 5:30 - 6 pm but this time we decided to eat at 7pm. I noticed that there were less crowds at this time and it was easy to find a seat. If you haven't been on the Sapphire in the past you will not notice the changes but those that have cruised pre dry dock last year will notice that they have made some significant changes. The first change you will notice is that the bread and desert station is located outside the main food section. I don't know if that opened up the buffet section but it did lesson some of the traffic. The other major change is that the booths in the front of the dinning rom are gone. This improvement really did open up the dinning room and makes it look larger. Over all I think they lost some seating but gained a lot more open feeling.

 

We did not go to any shows or anything exciting after dinner, we returned to our room (the bed had been corrected earlier) and relaxed getting ready for San Diego the next day.

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for the "Live from." Since I started cruising Princess almost 15 years ago, muster has always been inside. :)

 

I got a little confused when you were talking about dinner in the dining room and then mentioned the bread and dessert stations before I realized you meant the buffet, not any of the dining rooms.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

We did this itinerary on the Sapphire last October and loved it. Can't beat visiting Santa Barbara, San Diego, and San Francisco all in one week. Enjoy!!

[roudy1]

Thank you for posting live from the Sapphire...we are doing this same cruise next year and really looking forward to it. Like you we have done several to Mexico...now excited about cruising along the coast of California to cities we love to visit. Enjoy your cruise. :)

[lgeisz]

Day 2 San Diego:

 

Day 2 was in San Diego a great sea town and all around great place to visit. I must admit that I have been to San Diego on several occasion so I tend to stay away from the touristy type things thus I had a relatively boring (by those of you adventurous types) time. What we ended up doing was walking to the Amtrack/Sant Fe railroad depot and then to the Little Italy section of town. The train station was nice because of the architecture and how well it is preserved, especially since it is still a working depot. The walk to and around Little Italy was simple to get to and had a lot of interesting eateries and shops. On the way back to the Sapphire we walked down to Harbor blvd via the San Diego city and county government buildings where we looked at the various plants that's have around there (being Sunday there was no one around). Once back onto Harbor blvd we walked back to the Sapphire passing the famous Star of India and the various other ships, boats and even a sub on display.

 

As I stated before I did not do any of the real touristy things in San Diego but I will mention some of the things you can do that are within easy walking distance from the Sapphire.

 

The USS Midway air craft carrier. This is to even a block from the ship and is a great tour if you are a history buff or even want an appreciation of one of the US's greatest ships.

 

The Star of India, this is a true old time sailing ship. The Star is docked on Harbor blvd and acts as a museum.

 

There are also a couple of harbor boat tours down from the cruise ship terminals which I have done in the past. They are a nice narrated tour around the Coronado harbor area.

 

After the our walk we returned for a light lunch in the buffet which as usual was uneventful. While I am talking food let me voice one of my complaints from my previous cruise on the Sapphire regarding their grill by the pool. My last trip and review I made mention of the use of mustard and ketchup mixed into the hamburgers at the grill, this practice still seems to be the norm here and as I stated before I find it distasteful. I cannot comment on the use of mustard on the food in the main buffet yet as I have not had e enough time to fully sample the buffet.

 

For dinner we ate at the Sterling Steak House on deck 14. If I am not mistaking this was one of the things that got dropped when the Sapphire was in dry dock, I thought it was supposed to be moved to its own area on the lower decks but as usual the food and service was great. As I have eaten here before I had high expectations for the meal and the service, I was not disappointed. The steaks were served as ordered the service was above and beyond (as usual) and the overall experience was first class. A note here if you want to eat here or any specialty restaurant book early and you may have to be flexible on your time.

 

I did. Ot take any shows or entertainment (I usually skip most shows unless I see something that catches my eye) so I went to my stateroom and relaxed for the night.

 

Speaking of staterooms I will give you my impressions based on my previous cruises with Princess. I guess I am a snob or just spoiled when cruising because I have never sailed in anything but a balcony class on any cruise I have ever taken so that is the only perspective I can give. First the room is adequate and roomy enough for the two of us (especially since we have unpacking and living in a cabin down to a science more or less) we do tend to move some of the furniture (mainly the little round table) out of the way into the closet area to open up the walking space. Here a simple tip for you, if you find a stateroom you like on a specific ship or even class of ship try to book it on every trip. This is the third trip in this cabin and it is familiar to us. We know this cabin well enough that we know what we will and won't need to pack.

 

As the Sapphire has been in for refurb since my last trip on her I must say there is nota to of change to my cabin, if I am not mistaken the major change to the cabins happened before (the mattresses and the tv's) so all I can say is the beds are really firm.

 

So tomorrows is Ensenada or a land sea day for me.

[lgeisz]

Thanks for the "Live from." Since I started cruising Princess almost 15 years ago, muster has always been inside. :)

 

I got a little confused when you were talking about dinner in the dining room and then mentioned the bread and dessert stations before I realized you meant the buffet, not any of the dining rooms.

 

On the muster drills I have always been inside on Princess but was not sure on their over all procedures. I am sorry about the dinning confusion as you stated it was the buffet.

[caribill]

The only issue I could see with the room was the fact that the beds were not together (I have read and I am starting to believe that Princess does not read the cruise persalizer that I filled out online).

 

Thanks for your live from.

 

My theory is that the bed arrangement is left the same way it was for the previous occupants.

 

As happened to you, it was easily changed to your preference by bedtime.

[Coral]

Thanks for the live update.

 

Who is the Captain and Cruise Director?

[Pam in CA]

My theory is that the bed arrangement is left the same way it was for the previous occupants.

This is probably the reason. The stewards have helpers who probably just make up the bed(s) as they are. It should work that there is a check-off list for each cabin but in the rush to make sure new passengers can board early and go directly to their cabins, this probably doesn't happen. A small price to pay for not having to schlep up to the Lido with all your stuff and wait for hours before you can go to your cabin.

[KruzPrincess]

Thanks for taking the time to report to us.

 

Sad to hear you don't have pillowtop mattresses yet.

[lovevacadays]

Thanks for posting your life from. I look forward to reading about the remainder of your trip.

[JWJs]

Thanks for posting live from the Sapphire. :)

[RickEk]

Thanks for the live update.

 

Who is the Captain and Cruise Director?

 

The Captain is Nicholas Carlton and the Cruise Director is Billy Hygate.

[Coral]

The Captain is Nicholas Carlton and the Cruise Director is Billy Hygate.

 

Thank you!

[glmpearce]

Hello! Thank you for the live postings. I live in San Diego, and will be on the Sapphire in July for Alaska with my boyfriend and his family. We came down yesterday and took pictures of her while in port. Its nice to hear about the cruise from onboard! Thank you!

[cruiselvr1]

Sapphire Princess 7 day Coastal

 

 

So after many Mexican Riviera cruises over the last couple of years I am finally doing a western coastal cruise (basically California with a stop in Ensenada Mexico). This is a nice 7 day trip out of Los Angeles going to SanDiego, Ensenada, Santa Barbara and San Francisco. Here is my daily review.

 

Day 1 Embarkation:

 

The drive and the embarkation was rather uneventful, we did hit some traffic driving over from Phoenix to LA but for the most part we made good time. On this trip there are four of us (usually it is just the three in our group) and like I said we drove over to the ship the day of the cruise (a departure from our norm of driving over the day before).

 

We arrive at San Pedro (the port of Los Angles) at around 1:30 pm (we left at 6 am and took our time with a stop for breakfast) and dropped off the group at the terminal before I parked at the port parking lot (there are other alternatives to parking at the port but I like the convince especially because we do self departure) and proceeded with my party to the embarkation center. A note here, there were no crowds at around 1:30/1:45 so getting into the main terminal (filling out your medical waiver) took no time.

 

Check in was painless although we did have a little wait 15 minutes because they were closing down a lot of the check in stations because most folks were already on board ( I cannot speak to the platinum or elite status members check in as I am still a lowly gold) so the check in went smooth and painless

 

Once we were on board we went straight to our rooms (here's a hint, try using the forward or aft elevators to avoid the crowds) to get situated and dropped off our carry on bags. The only issue I could see with the room was the fact that the beds were not together (I have read and I am starting to believe that Princess does not read the cruise persalizer that I filled out online)

 

After visiting the room we decided to get a bite to eat up at the buffet. This was the first real issue we ran into to the buffet was packed. After walking both sides of the buffet and finally finding a table for 4 we decided it was not worth the wait for the buffet line so we quickly came up with planB. We decided to try to go to the piazza and see if we could get a pizza at Alfredos pizzeria (here's a hint skip the buffet and go here first) when we arrived the place was empty (it actually looked closed) so we got seated fast and had a nice quite lunch.

 

At around 3:30 we had the mandatory muster drill. I don't remember from the past if they muster stations were outside but it seems like Princess is trying to get everyones muster locations inside and not out on the decks. If nothing else this makes the muster drill a lot more comfortable. Some of the changes that I have noticed were that they now scan your sea pass card with their portable scanners upon entry as apposed to the old roll call list and the muster announcements seem to be automated and longer (I think someone said it was 17 minutes long). But again the muster drill went like clock work and was painless and in eventful.

 

Dinner was uneventful and pleasant. We (Asa rule of thumb) do not eaton the dinning rooms on short cruises and we in the past decided we wanted to eat at 5:30 - 6 pm but this time we decided to eat at 7pm. I noticed that there were less crowds at this time and it was easy to find a seat. If you haven't been on the Sapphire in the past you will not notice the changes but those that have cruised pre dry dock last year will notice that they have made some significant changes. The first change you will notice is that the bread and desert station is located outside the main food section. I don't know if that opened up the buffet section but it did lesson some of the traffic. The other major change is that the booths in the front of the dinning rom are gone. This improvement really did open up the dinning room and makes it look larger. Over all I think they lost some seating but gained a lot more open feeling.

 

We did not go to any shows or anything exciting after dinner, we returned to our room (the bed had been corrected earlier) and relaxed getting ready for San Diego the next day.

Doesn't sound like the staggered boarding was in force.

[Coral]

The Captain is Nicholas Carlton and the Cruise Director is Billy Hygate.

 

Dave (David?) Cole will be the CD in about 2 weeks. I am curious who the CD is next week. Hygate or Cole?

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Thank you for the live posting. I'm looking forward to hearing more about your cruise. Enjoy!

[arizonaperson]

Dave (David?) Cole will be the CD in about 2 weeks. I am curious who the CD is next week. Hygate or Cole?

 

I will try to post a live from, starting with the 5-12 cruise, and I will report who the CD is at that time.

[senior lady]

This is probably the reason. The stewards have helpers who probably just make up the bed(s) as they are. It should work that there is a check-off list for each cabin but in the rush to make sure new passengers can board early and go directly to their cabins, this probably doesn't happen. A small price to pay for not having to schlep up to the Lido with all your stuff and wait for hours before you can go to your cabin.

 

 

Pam, Love, love your new picture!!!

[Coral]

I will try to post a live from, starting with the 5-12 cruise, and I will report who the CD is at that time.

 

I am on that sailing also and the one after. I know David Cole is the CD the week after but am curious who the CD is next week.

 

I will find out the same time you do who the CD is next week :)

[lgeisz]

Day Three Ensenada:

 

So a day at see on land that's what Ensenada is for me. Having been to Ensenada on several occasions I treat this stop basically as a sea day (so do a lot of other passengers from what I have seen) and enjoy the ship.

 

The one fun thing we did do was watch the seals on the end of the pier. If you have been to Ensenada before you know that there is a large population of seals that frequent that area. They usually hang out at the end of the piers on the rocks and even on top of the pier. What was nice different this year for me form other times I have stopped in Ensenada was that the day was clear and we could get a great view of the port area. So basically we all hung out on deck 7 port side front and watched the free show.

 

For lunch we ate at the buffet but I went down to the piazza and tried some of there sandwiches. I am very impressed with the quality of the sandwiches and from the 3 I sampled with my cruise mates (ham and cheese on a crescent roll, grilled chicken and prosciutto buffalo mozzarella) we all like the ham and cheese the best. If you are looking for a light quick bite I would suggest this option.

 

For dinner once again we went to a specialty restaurant Sabatinis Princesses Italian based eatery. I must admit this was the first time I have eaten at Sabatinis and I was pleasantly surprised by the food (the menus seems to be a little heavy on the seafood side) quality and quantity. None of my party are sea food eaters we did no sample any of the sea food. I had the duck two of my group had the chicken (this is a good size potion) and the last member of my group had the steal. Everyone enjoyed the taste and quality of the meal.

 

If you have not tried Sabatinis I would highly suggest it at least once.

 

Tomorrow our first real sea day.

[cornish1]

Hi Larry

Thanks for your report from the Sapphire. We have not been to the west coast of the USA so we have booked this cruise for October and we are looking forward to discovering California. We are heading on to Las Vegas after the cruise to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. I look forward to reading your next posts.

[CA Dave]

OK. We were on the Sapphire a few weeks ago and I set down my library book (not Sapphire library, my local County library) while disembarking and it's lost! Princess didn't find it in the lost and found so I'm thinking someone assumed it was from the ships library and so maybe it's there.

 

I know it's only a 7 day cruise and you have plenty to do but if you are in the library please look to see if it's there.

 

'Already Gone' by John Rector. It will say Santa Clara County Library. Let me know if you find it.

 

Thanks!!!

 

DZ

[trojangirl90066]

Thanks for the "Live from." Since I started cruising Princess almost 15 years ago, muster has always been inside. :)

 

I got a little confused when you were talking about dinner in the dining room and then mentioned the bread and dessert stations before I realized you meant the buffet, not any of the dining rooms.

 

Great new photo Pam, now I have to get used to looking for a different one when I try to see if you have posted about something as I really trust your opinion.