Just back from Sapphire 6/27 Alaska sailing!

[c-cruise]

Just returned from a wonderfully relaxing Alaska vacation aboard Sapphire Princess. A few minor inconveniences and issues but overall a fantastic vacation.

 

Embarkation was a bit of a hassle, but went fairly quickly. We arrived at 11:00 and were on the ship by 11:35 thanks to the Platinum members line.

 

The ship is amazing. One of the nicest I have ever sailed on. Our category AB mini-sute was the perfect size and we made ample use of our balcony. Our room steward was great and we never had any issues with our stateroom. First cruise I have been on in a while with obsolutely no "sewer smell". Once interesting thing is that if you look closely at the name on the starboard side of the bow you can still see where it used to say Diamond instead of Sapphire. I took a picture of this which I can post if wanted.

 

The entertainment overall was good, but there was a definate lack of variety. There was only one production show "Piano Man", but it was excellent. They were trying to have the second show ready for the end of this cruise, but apperantly were unable to get it together in time. The other entertainment consisted of some singers which were ok, but nothing great and your typical cruise ship commedian, again nothing spectacular. The pianist in Crooner's martini bar was pretty entertaining and the string quartet in the atrium was fairly good. We didn't see much of the Princess Idol or any of the other cruise staff hosted games/entertainment. But what we did watch was the same old stuff you would expect on any cruise.

 

The food was for the most part very good. Dinner was by far the best meal of the day. We had traditional dining and had perhaps the best waiter we have ever had. The food in the international dining room was very good. The buffets however left something to be desired. The lunch buffet was "ok", but nothing special. Typical buffet fair that you could find anywhere. The breakfast buffet was well... not so good. Once was enough for us, we had room service or skipped breakfast for the rest of the cruise. The buffet is extremely crowded during peak hours and seatting is at a premium. Prego Pizza bar was very good. I love that think style crust and sweet tomato sauce. Even tried a piece of tuna fish pizza. Wasn't to bad. The Trident grill was also pretty good and a nice alternative to the buffet. We ate at Sabatini's the first formal night of the cruise and it was amazing. But by the end of this 2.5 hour meal we were more than ready to leave.

 

The ports were entertaining and we had decent weather everywhere but Skagway where it rained on and off. In Ketchikan we went to the lumberjack show which was kind of hokey, but fun. Then we did some shopping and wandered over to Creek Street.

 

Tracy Arm and Sawyer Glacier were amazing and we had great weather that day. The Naturalist on the ship is extremely borring and talks very slowly so we found that a bit annoying.

 

The stop in Juneau almost seems like an afterthought on this itinerary. We arrived in Junea at around 1:30 after sitting there waiting for the Regal Princess to clear the harbor. We anchored in the harbor and they were tendering by around 2:15 or so. Tendering was done on a ticket system with those on tours getting off first. Several tours were cancelled. We cancelled ours because we knew in advance of the tendering. We took the last tender to shore at about 4:15 and went up to Mt. Roberts to watch the Coral Princess leave and the Sapphire then pull into the berth the Coral vacated. Obviously while this is happening (about an hour) nobody can get on or off the ship. Went back to the ship for dinner after she docked. And then wandered into town after dinner to look around a bit.

 

The weather in Skagway was lousy and we didn't even bother to get off the ship until around 4:00PM. We wandered into the town looked around and wandered back to the ship.

 

The weather in Victoria was gorgeous and we were glad since we were doing the Butchart Gardens tour. Our bus driver was very informative and the gardens were amazing. This tour was well worth doing.

 

The internet on the ship worked great every time I went to use it. I am a platinum member so I inquired about the free internet access. The charges get put on your shipboard account and then are credited back at the end of the cruise. I brought my laptop so I asked about wireless access. This is not free to platinum members. There is about a $10.00 charge for every 30 minutes. Needless to say I passed on this with the free access available in the internet cafe.

 

Getting of the ship was very quick. We waited around in the Wheelhouse bar after determining the the lounge for platinum memebers was nothing special. Getting through customs and immigration was a piece of cake as was finding our baggage. The baggage area is very cramped however.

 

Overall this was a great cruise and we would do it again. In fact we made an open booking for a future cruise onboard.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

[Coral]

Thanks for the review. I would like to see the photo where the ship says "Diamond Princess" on it or where it used to say it.

 

Who was your natualist? We had Barbara last year and she was excellent (on the Coral Princess). This year on the Dawn - we had Bruce and he was boring over the speaker. He was more of an ecologist and his lectures came from that perspective.

 

I have given up on the buffet for several reasons - one being norovirus and a million people touching a spoon. For this reason, I try to eat most of my meals in the dining room. Your comments really don't surprise me. Breakfast and lunch in the dining room is actually pretty good.

 

A few years ago, on the Radiance - we tendered in Juneau and it was a huge inconvenience. It was raining also that day and it took forever to get off the ship. Docking in Juneau is so much easier then tendering!

 

Thanks for the review.

[mii]

Thanks for the review. We sail on the Sapphire this Oct. and we also are in a AB mini-suite so I was interested in that side of the story. Also we are platinum members and it was good to hear that your embarkation went smooth. Again thanks for the review.

 

 

Marilyn

[srphnx]

I have heard twice now that internet access is free for platinum but not free on your wireless? I am really curious as to how they justify the difference. You are freeing up a terminal for someone who is paying to use, makes ZERO sense.

[c-cruise]

Coral,

 

The Naturalists on this cruise were Patricia and Mary according to the Patters. Guess I didn't realize there were two of them. The only name I remember hearing was Pat. There narations were informative, just a little on the slow and dry side.

 

Srphnx,

 

They couldn't give me a good reason for the charge for wireless for Platinum. Also, you can't purchase the wireless access in the internet cafe. You have to go to the passenger services desk for this and get an ID and password to log in. As I understood it you have to buy the wireless in 30 minute blocks. I never once saw anybody using a laptop in the atrium or internet cafe.

 

I am going to post some photos over on cruisemates.com in a few minutes including the one which shows where you can see where it used to say Diamond on the starboard bow.

[c-cruise]

Just posted a few photos from our trip. Mostly pics of the various ships we saw in the ports and along the way. Near the bottom is a picture of the starboard side of the bow of Sapphire Princess. If you look near the "S" in Sapphire you can see the outline in the metal of what used to be the "D" in Diamond before the fire etc.

 

Click on the gallery named Sapphire Princess Alaska.

 

http://www.cruisemates.com/mbindex/PGindex.cfm

[sue d. miller]

That is so cool!! Thanks for posting the pics!!! :)

[Coral]

Great pics! Thanks!

 

You are right - you can just barely see the "D". Glad she turned into a great ship :)

[srphnx]

Thanks for the pics, she looks so much like our second home, her Sister Diamond.

[lkmamom]

Welcome back c-cruise, and thanks so much for posting your beautiful pictures. It is really getting hard to wait until August for our cruise aboard the Sapphire. Question, I know that you are from Seattle and did not have to go back to the airport but wondered if there was a line of taxis waiting to take people back to the airport at disembarkation, or should we reserve transportation back to the airport? We have the Princess transfer to the airport now, but our flight leaves at 12:10 ( they changed it again) and some of the posts about holdups at the airport worry me a little. Just wondered what your thoughts are. Thanks

Linda

[srphnx]

Welcome back c-cruise, and thanks so much for posting your beautiful pictures. It is really getting hard to wait until August for our cruise aboard the Sapphire. Question, I know that you are from Seattle and did not have to go back to the airport but wondered if there was a line of taxis waiting to take people back to the airport at disembarkation, or should we reserve transportation back to the airport? We have the Princess transfer to the airport now, but our flight leaves at 12:10 ( they changed it again) and some of the posts about holdups at the airport worry me a little. Just wondered what your thoughts are. Thanks

Linda

Princess transfers are slower because you have to wait till the bus fills up, there are a BUNCH of cabs but there are a BUNCH of people using them, so.. both have advantages, we used a town car service, cost $10 more, but we had reservations and a big trunk and back seat.

[Flintstone]

Thanks for the great pics C Cruise. You got a perfect shot of our stern cabin. Never sailing on Princess before, I've heard alot about the lack of privacy on the balconies....but the stern looks to be completely covered and private from your pictures. The tendering in Juneau has me concerned. We are planning on a 3:30 trip with Capt Larry (booked on our own). Do they give priority tendering if you booked independently? Well..I'm giving them 11 months to get the "bugs" worked out :) Glad you enjoyed the Sapphire and thanks for sharing!!!

[Jeepers385]

c-cruise thanks for the pictures, I loved seeing the other ships too.

 

 

Debbie

[MNYTRPS2GO2]

We got off of the Sapphire on 6/27. I was wondering if you remember any of the names of the entertainers during your cruise. We had a few comedians that have been on HBO along with a very talented song and dance man on the second formal. The reason I'm asking is that our sailing supposedly had a lot of press traveling and we thought the entertainment was very good. We were wondering if this was the usual or did we get lucky since they wanted to impress.

[c-cruise]

Lkmamom,

 

Glad you enjoyed the pictures.

 

I am looking at the disembarkation schedule right now and those with Princess transfers and flights between noon and 1:00pm get off of the ship at 8:30am according to the schedule. This morning they were actually about 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

 

Yes, there are large lines of taxis available and equally long lines of people waiting for them.

 

I would stick with the transfer if you already have it. Unless something goes really wrong you will make a 12:10 flight with no problem. The airport is about 20 minutes from Terminal 30 where Sapphire Princess docks.

[c-cruise]

mnytr2go2,

 

The entertainers were as follows:

 

Commedians: Kevin Hughes, Ralph Harris, David Dimuzio, Max Dolcelli

 

Singers: Brandi Chapmann, Tony Tillman

 

There was another singer from Australia one night, but I don't recall the name and I am missing Fridays Patter

 

I am not sure that this is a complete list, just what I pulled from the Patters I kept.

[c-cruise]

Flintstone,

 

The uppder deck of aft cabins is not completely covered. You can look down on them from the pool area up above.

 

Priority tendering was given to passengers who booked tours through Princess. Might not be a concern next Alaska season when you are traveling. Sapphire may be docking in Juneau then.

[lkmamom]

Sphinx and c-cruise

 

Thank you so much for your responses. Decisions, decisions. The town car sounds like a great idea, and I like the fact that it is reserved ahead of time. I also like the big trunk idea.....I know that I am going to have to "trim" my packing compared to the last time we went to Alaska! DH thinks that we should stick with the Princess transfer right now. I may have to look into the town car option though, I think that there is still time. Thanks again for all of your help. Have a great long weekend!!

Linda

[Irishjayne]

Great pics. Sailing November 1st on Sapphire Princess. Aloha 628. Hope it is a good cabin. Covered balcony okay with us. Great info too for 1st Time Cruisers like us.

[Bob & Barb]

We missed the plane in San Juan on one trip. We were first off of the ship but had to wait for the bus to fill up. Also, our luggage was the first on the truck and consequently the last off of the truck. We missed our flight and had to wait 6 hours for the next one. Several other people missed, too, but couldn't do anything about it. The airport said it was the ship's fault and would do nothing about getting us to the front of the line to make our plane. Others who boarded the bus later and had their luggage before us made their planes with no problem!

[c-cruise]

Since you should be off the ship by 8:30am any of the options will work (Princess transfer, cab, towncar, shuttle). Should be throught customs and imigration and have your baggage by 9:00. The airport is about 20 minutes away, so you will have plenty of time regardless of what transportation option you choose. Have a great cruise!

[cruise pup]

When you have traditional seating (International Dining Room) can you also order from the other 4 dining room menus? I know you can do the traditional menu when you dine in the other 4 but I'm not sure if it works in reverse. This would be so convenient.

[c-cruise]

Yes, when in the International Dining room you can order from ther Personal Choice menus. On Sunday night they bring you the Sterling menu on Tuesday they bring the Vivaldi menu, Wed is Santa Fe and Thur Pacific Moon. Monday and Friday are the two formal nights and no alternative menu was offered on those days. Sat. we ate in the buffet so I am not sure what they offered. The Baked Alaska is served on Thursday, the last night in Alaska rather than on the second formal night. On the second formal night they serve cherries jubile. I never asked, but I am sure you can request a menu from any of the alternative dining rooms on any night. All the dining rooms share the same galley.

[Jilly Bean]

C-Cruise,

 

Did you have sushi on board the Sapphire? Was it fresh? Where did they serve it?

 

You said Sabattini's was amazing. We had a memorable Sabattini's experience in the Caribbean. They were trying out a lunch version. It was $8.00 per person. We were with our best friends. The lunch featured complementary liquor. We had a hoot. The meal was my favorite one on board a ship and we have sailed nearly every year of our 17 years of marriage (sometimes twice a year). Was your experience worth the $20.00 charge?

 

We are traveling 8/15 on the Sapphire. Our 10 and 13 year old boys will be with us for their second cruise. Does anyone have info on the kids programs on the Sapphire? I am curious if my barely 13 year old will be too young for the 13 to 17 year old group. He doesn't think so.

[Boise Idaho]

Thanks for the great pics C Cruise. You got a perfect shot of our stern cabin. Never sailing on Princess before, I've heard alot about the lack of privacy on the balconies....but the stern looks to be completely covered and private from your pictures. The tendering in Juneau has me concerned. We are planning on a 3:30 trip with Capt Larry (booked on our own). Do they give priority tendering if you booked independently? Well..I'm giving them 11 months to get the "bugs" worked out :) Glad you enjoyed the Sapphire and thanks for sharing!!!

Flintstone,

 

My wife and I just got back from the 6/27 cruise on the Sapphire. We had a terrific time, by the way. We had booked our own plans in Juneau with friends. I actually was raised in Juneau and lived there for 20 years. This cruise was a way to show my wife where I am from. We were concerned about getting to shore in time to keep our plans and the Purser's Desk was not helpful at all, only assuring us that we would be on the first available boat (after everyone who had booked with Princess). We cheated and stood in line with the "VIP's" who were getting on the first boat on Deck 4. They all had special tickets, but nobody asked us for ours, so we were able to get ashore right away. I know it was a little dishonest, but we paid good money for our trip, just like everyone else.

 

This was a first cruise for both of us. We brought our mothers and our 10 month old daughter, too. Overall, Princess was wonderful and we are already planning a trip to Europe next year!