Sapphire Priness Dining Rooms

[Dobby_The_Ship_Elf]

Hi all,

 

I understand that there are four main dining rooms onboard Sapphire Princess.

 

Apart from the decor can anyone shed light on the differences (cuisine, service etc).

 

If it helps we have chosen Anytime Dining.

 

Thanks in advance.

[antsp]

All the same, originally they had a special menu item but I think that’s long gone. Not sure how club class is done on the Sapphire 

[cheznandy]

Dobby as above different  decor but the same menu. We havent been onboard since 2015, the large restaurant at the aft was traditional dining, the 4 smaller retsaurants, Pacific Moon, Savoy, Santa Fe and Vivaldi were Anytime, except for one which was used for early Traditional then became Anytime about 7.30pm........but with the change in dining times who knows now!!

 

[Dobby_The_Ship_Elf]

10 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

Dobby as above different  decor but the same menu. We havent been onboard since 2015, the large restaurant at the aft was traditional dining, the 4 smaller retsaurants, Pacific Moon, Savoy, Santa Fe and Vivaldi were Anytime, except for one which was used for early Traditional then became Anytime about 7.30pm........but with the change in dining times who knows now!!

 

I suppose I could have just called you on the talking telefone but I am still paying off the bill from last time  

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, Dobby_The_Ship_Elf said:

Hi all,

 

I understand that there are four main dining rooms onboard Sapphire Princess.

 

 

Actually there are five but the one on deck 6 aft is Traditional Dining only.

 

[Coral]

Santa Fe was used for Club Class last summer.

[SeaDog-46]

Sapphire dining secret - but may have changed by now.

The one used for early fixed was not never full & if you turn up outside about 6.15 pm with a group of 4 as we did a few times - the supervisor will give you one of the spare tables.

[PatriciaF]

We got home from 20 days on the Sapphire Princess.  Santa Fe is still the Club Class dining room.    If you are eligible for admittance--the hostess will ask to see your room card to verify, make sure you go to breakfast.  It is open for breakfast every morning and you can get special coffees at no extra charge.  Great freshly squeezed OJ.  Regular dining room menu at breakfast and lunch.  Has an additional entree not on the menu, some were very good, others so so.  You could also for an additional cost get the Sterling Steakhouse entrees.  

 

Wait staff is excellent.  One of the people we made friends with on the cruise were assigned the Savoy Dining (right next door).  One night they asked for a table for 2 and were moved over to Santa Fe.  They were blown away by the quality of the service.  They had been pretty disappointed in the quality of the service in the Savoy.

[jlp20]

On 3/19/2019 at 1:15 AM, cheznandy said:

Dobby as above different  decor but the same menu. We havent been onboard since 2015, the large restaurant at the aft was traditional dining, the 4 smaller retsaurants, Pacific Moon, Savoy, Santa Fe and Vivaldi were Anytime, except for one which was used for early Traditional then became Anytime about 7.30pm........but with the change in dining times who knows now!!

 

On paper it might have been a good idea. Room and waitstaff done up as steak house, Asian, Italian and Southwest motif. Same daily menu all four rooms except for one item that remained entire cruise. I recall tacos and orange chicken were offered. Whole concept only lasted two years but they left the dining rooms the same.

[Coral]

1 hour ago, jlp20 said:

On paper it might have been a good idea. Room and waitstaff done up as steak house, Asian, Italian and Southwest motif. Same daily menu all four rooms except for one item that remained entire cruise. I recall tacos and orange chicken were offered. Whole concept only lasted two years but they left the dining rooms the same.

Originally it had 4 unique menus to match their themes. It didn't last long.

 

Then it went to 1 unique item per dining room. That went away last year (if not sooner). 

[cheznandy]

I really love those 4 smaller dining rooms on the Sapphire and Diamond, I dont find them as loud as the other larger ones, a little more intimate.

So looking forward to having the Sapphire in Australia in 2020/2021, begging praying and pleading we can keep her here!!

 

To the OP, Dobby, the Sapphire is based in Melbourne for that time, doing a few Adelaide itineraries where cruisers can  depart from, like the Golden did. You may see a bit more of Andy and I in Melbourne as we stalk the Sapphire😂

[antsp]

On 3/20/2019 at 4:19 AM, PatriciaF said:

We got home from 20 days on the Sapphire Princess.  Santa Fe is still the Club Class dining room.    If you are eligible for admittance--the hostess will ask to see your room card to verify, make sure you go to breakfast.  It is open for breakfast every morning and you can get special coffees at no extra charge.  Great freshly squeezed OJ.  Regular dining room menu at breakfast and lunch.  Has an additional entree not on the menu, some were very good, others so so.  You could also for an additional cost get the Sterling Steakhouse entrees.  

 

Wait staff is excellent.  One of the people we made friends with on the cruise were assigned the Savoy Dining (right next door).  One night they asked for a table for 2 and were moved over to Santa Fe.  They were blown away by the quality of the service.  They had been pretty disappointed in the quality of the service in the Savoy.

If this is true, and not  just coincidence. It’s sad that you have to pay extra for decent service on Princess 

Edited March 21, 2019 by antsp

[Dobby_The_Ship_Elf]

8 hours ago, cheznandy said:

To the OP, Dobby, the Sapphire is based in Melbourne for that time, doing a few Adelaide itineraries where cruisers can  depart from, like the Golden did. You may see a bit more of Andy and I in Melbourne as we stalk the Sapphire😂

 

Does this mean I needs a new welcome mat for certain peeps who may need a room before or after their cruz??

[SeaDog-46]

Hi Cheryl -  10 years after the "Pearls of Tahiti"  -  we had a very enjoyable 50 days on Sapphire last year to Canary Islands & then to Singapore.  Missed Funchal due to hurricane & Petra tour due to the flood the day before.

Booked early to get cabin B101 & was suprised those for'ard doors are no longer locked but there are restrictions & no balcony furniture.  Unfortunately after several poor quality meals in the dining room we stayed with the Lido where the food was excellent & the Chef Thomas Gallie from South Africa was a comedian.

Good hunting for Sapphire - she is only a short flight away from Dec.2019.

John

[Coral]

6 minutes ago, SeaDog-46 said:

Hi Cheryl -  10 years after the "Pearls of Tahiti"  -  we had a very enjoyable 50 days on Sapphire last year to Canary Islands & then to Singapore.  Missed Funchal due to hurricane & Petra tour due to the flood the day before.

Booked early to get cabin B101 & was suprised those for'ard doors are no longer locked but there are restrictions & no balcony furniture.  Unfortunately after several poor quality meals in the dining room we stayed with the Lido where the food was excellent & the Chef Thomas Gallie from South Africa was a comedian.

Good hunting for Sapphire - she is only a short flight away from Dec.2019.

John

I was on the Sapphire last summer and thought the dining room was mediocre also.  Hopefully they have replaced the chef. Service was exceptional though. So I continued on. I did go for some Indian papadum and mango chutney most nights in the buffet. I hadn't had that in years. Yum.

Edited March 22, 2019 by Coral

[Colo Cruiser]

Sailed both many times. Never been a fan of the Diamond or Sapphires 4 dining room setup.

[Coral]

3 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Sailed both many times. Never been a fan of the Diamond or Sapphires 4 dining room setup.

I actually like them. They are quieter and not as boring to look at.

[cheznandy]

1 hour ago, SeaDog-46 said:

Hi Cheryl -  10 years after the "Pearls of Tahiti"  -  we had a very enjoyable 50 days on Sapphire last year to Canary Islands & then to Singapore.  Missed Funchal due to hurricane & Petra tour due to the flood the day before.

Booked early to get cabin B101 & was suprised those for'ard doors are no longer locked but there are restrictions & no balcony furniture.  Unfortunately after several poor quality meals in the dining room we stayed with the Lido where the food was excellent & the Chef Thomas Gallie from South Africa was a comedian.

Good hunting for Sapphire - she is only a short flight away from Dec.2019.

John

 

 

 

 

Great photos John, hard to believe it is over 10 years since I met you on the Tahiti cruise.

That cabin looks great! We had a Caribe Balcony on a B2B from Singapore on Sapphire and loved it although mostly it was too hot out there to enjoy.

We have a couple of repositionings on Carnival this year and next, Splendor from Singapore and Spirit from Hawaii, then will see what the Sapphire has to offer here, Xmas to NZ from Melbourne on her in 2020 looks good, and hopefully those dates I spy in May 2021 means she stays like the Golden did for a season and sails a few itineraries during our winter.......one can only hope!!

 

[SeaDog-46]

Yes time flies - we have been spoilt by only cruising Princess on Diamond & Sapphire.

Off to Japan in a few days for B2B on Westerdam for 28 days & only repeat port is Yokohama.

A lot of Au / Singapore cruises this year - to/from docking.

Might see you on Splendor?

[cheznandy]

1 hour ago, SeaDog-46 said:

 

Might see you on Splendor?

Going cheap, I have seen insides for $1100, just make sure they are not the bunks haha!!

We look forward to it😀

[SeaDog-46]

Have not done bunks since honeymoon with "the first" on the old P&O Arcadia way back in 1971.

Any wonder I no longer trust or use travel agents.

[cheznandy]

8 minutes ago, SeaDog-46 said:

Have not done bunks since honeymoon with "the first" on the old P&O Arcadia way back in 1971.

Any wonder I no longer trust or use travel agents.

John, Andy and I ended up with bunks on the old Pacific Sun when we booked a guarantee, it was quite large and had a porthole, I was a bit younger then, but still made Andy climb the ladder😂

Ok, better not hijack Dobby's thread, wouldn't like to get the Elf angry😜

[moonglum]

Not long back from being on the Sapphire and the standard of servce in the 4 dining rooms, Pacific Moon, Savoy, Santa Fe and Vivaldi varied from good to poor and shoddy. No longer are there any differences in the menus.  The standard of service for me has really fallen and the attitude of some staff was questionable.

 

How do staff think it is acceptable to remove plates from diners at a table when some people are still eating their meal?  Do they think it is acceptable to be asked for a glass of wine at the end of the starter and to serve it with the desert?  On another occasion it took 25 minutes to get a second glass of wine and that was only after reminding the waiter that we were still waiting.

 

I would put some of the attitude down to the fact that the staff are not having the same guests at their tables each night and are therefore unlikely to be tipped extra at the end of the cruise.

 

I also found the menu to be poor and asking guests to pay $20 for a steak is outrageous and taking costcutting to extremes.

 

We were on the cruise with friends who had never cruised with Princess before and had told them how good the food was and the excellent service they would recieve.  They were very disappointed and less than impressed especially when 3 of us were served a chicken breast which was no bigger than a chicken wing. Even the waiter looked embarrassed when he was asked if this was meant to be an main course.

 

The food in the buffet was much better and had a good selection.

 

Sadly will have to reconsider before booking Princess again.

Edited March 22, 2019 by moonglum

[Dobby_The_Ship_Elf]

sheesh ........  glad I am on a diet!!!

 

Oh well  we shall see which Sapphire Princess turns up