DaveinWhales

We had lobster tails on our last formal night ( we had three in 14 days which was overkill for me but my other half likes dressing up) so maybe don't go to a speciality dining room until you have checked the menu! I chose the Pheasant and regretted it.

Looks like a great day out !

Nothing rude intended and I'm not sure what you interpret as rude either, what would be really good would be for John to give an impression of how he sees the entertainment,his opinion of the drinks package compared to other ships, if there is still a lot of grumbles on board etc etc. I'm sure that those who are due to sail on this ship will need reassurances that things are improving since the November cruise that was reported, quite rightly, as being below the expected standard.

Well so far you don't seem to be doing too much other than drink coffee! How's the food been? You mentioned Sabatini's was OK but not up to usual standard, we found the same with all the SP's dining compared to our last trip on SP although didn't pay to go to the speciality restaurants.

Have they fixed the cash dispenser/exchange machines?

Are the bars all fully stocked now?

Do they have beer on draft now ( it appears they do on other ships)

No wine package still? ( They do on other ships!)

You are posting the day's programme but what have you tried? I was unimpressed at the quality overall, not a lot to keep me occupied anyway.

Glad you won on the slots but why they still allow smoking in the casino is beyond me.

Seems they were still struggling to organise the ships tenders on your last port of call. How's the complaints been going? So much discontent on our November cruise.

They can't have done all the repairs needed of course but they are bearable if the other issues were fixed.

Anyway, the most important thing is that you seem pretty relaxed.

Enjoy the cruise.

cheers Dave

I can't tell you which pier but there was a quite few coaches parked there so probably the main one? It was on the Hong Gai side of the river and our tour bus took us around the city then over the bridge to pick up a tour of Cai Lan Bay from where all the tour boats seem to be based. The ships tours of the bay possibly picked up straight from the boat from what I could see.

Did any official check your passport when leaving or re-boarding ?

No!

Koh Samui was just one example of appalling organisation.

A tannoy announcement was made around 7.00am to say SP was docked and tendering ashore would take place soon. All passengers would be required to take their passports with them and if they hadn't been delivered to staterooms the previous evening could those going ashore please collect them.

They also asked that all those not on an organised tour be good enough to allow those who were to go first.

We set off to find our cabin steward who informed us he had tried to deliver passports between 8-9.00pm the previous evening but if the occupants were out he had returned them and we would have to enquire at customer service.

Most people were at dinner between 8-9.00pm. The queues at customer service desk were huge.

We decided to leave it until 9.00am to join the tender queue which was now in a couple of the bar areas it was so big. We were allocated a number which was duly called about 2 hours later.

We arrived on Koh Samui at 11.30 am. The last tender was due at 4.00pm so little point in going very far. We had a couple of beers and decided that it was probably best to return to the ship to alleviate the tender queues on the way back. We shuffled along for an hour and a half before getting on a tender.By then the queues were even bigger. Some took 2 hours to get on a tender.They got everyone back on SP by 6.00pm.

This was just one example, but the worst, of poor organisation.

Some Princess devotees will be in denial but the picture shows the reality.

I could give more examples... the 45 minutes spent standing in a line that snaked around the ship just to have your passport looked at by immigration officials before we could leave Hong Kong. The chaos of tender departure at Halong Bay and the constant queues at reception to deal with a myriad of other complaints.

We will be on the Sapphire next month. We are not concerned about its condition as other’s expectations may differ from ours. We just take negative reviews with a grain of salt.

 

 

Not sure what the language problem was on the Sapphire.

 

 

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Be assured it was more than just the odd person who was unhappy. Such was the level of discontent the Captain apologised for the shortcomings experienced on that trip. The state of the boat would have been overlooked if the management had been efficient and the quality of the food better than mediocre. Compound all that with the feeling that Princess are only interested in relieving you of all your cash and it makes for dissatisfied customers.

I wasn't aware of any language problems but maybe it wasn't referring to English speakers. There was party of 600 from several South and Central American countries and perhaps there was a shortage for their native tongue?

Princess offers wine packages onboard, only for cruises longer than 7 nights.. Silver oe gold, fixed number of bottles for a discount off the pricing, around 25-35% off depending on which package..

No it doesn't, it offers it on some cruises but not all including Sapphire Princess when in the Far East. We would have bought one had there been one, believe me we asked..... several times to make sure.

It does very much depend on personal preference, mine is not to spend nearly £100 per day on drink for two of us although we could easily manage it. Our cabin on the Sapphire was very close to Horizon Court where you can get a tumbler of perfectly acceptable iced water at anytime of day. You can also get free lemonade which is excellent too. ( Look for the table by the window near the water dispenser where there are a couple of jugs full.) I would begrudge paying the prices Princess ask for bottled water and personally can never distinguish between one and another.

You can also get free coffee there all day too which is OK but nothing brilliant.

So, for me it's about alcohol. You get 15 drinks and you have to put them on your individual cards. I guess you could order one at a bar and walk away with it, give it to someone else then go and order another from a different bar but who would bother? If you had 15 cocktails a day it would cost you around $150 (plus 15%) but would you want to drink that many any way? In the restaurants you can get house wine by the glass included as one of the 15 but don't imagine it will be free flowing if the waiters are busy so you might be better off buying a bottle so you end up spending even more even though you have 25% off. ( They will save any you haven't drunk until the next night too).

In the end we elected for moderate drinking instead of our usual consumption on holiday. 2 beers for me pre dinner at $6.75 per can, 2 G&T's plus dispensed tonic at $7 each for my wife. With dinner we shared a bottle of wine, we chose the least expensive at $28 a bottle. That came to around $55 per day on top of which you pay 15% service charge. Very moderate drinking but half the price of a package for two and on a 14 day cruise it still adds up to a lot of money just for drink.

On some of the stops you will possibly be on shore in to the evening so you won't be drinking on board then and if you are planning tours you may well find the start times are very early too so you might just decide to go to bed after dinner which is what we tended to do.

They do have a happy hour from 9-10 when it's buy one get one for $1.

Remember you can bring as much water and soft drink on board as you want too, plus a bottle of wine per person too.

There were definitely no wine packages available on a 14 night Sapphire Princess cruise last month.We asked several times to make sure.

Other than the 15 drink extortionate one the only package for alcohol was the buy 4 get 1 free beers .

I was on the Sapphire in December and there was a kettle in our inside cabin. However, it was the first trip after being sub let to the Chinese and things didn't go smoothly. Chaotic management, constant queues, mediocre food, unavailability of drinks at different bars, poor quality entertainment and more besides. The ship is looking tired and needs a refurb. Some of the ports of call were not worth the hassle of getting off the boat. We were actually relieved to get off the ship and it shouldn't feel that way. Hope things have improved by the time you get on board.

Endless queues to board tenders, collect passports, and at customer services for any enquiries. Disappointing food standards.... says something when most peoples most memorable meals were the take away pizza. Lack of availability of the full selection of drinks at all bars. 15% service charge on all drinks including plonking a can of beer on the counter and not even pouring it. Ship looking tired ( it is due a refit apparently) damage to wooden decking and deck carpeting, bits missing around the hot tubs, rust in evidence in many places. We had a large group of 600+ which didn't help matters as when they descended en mass it caused logistical problems and despite having two restaurants reserved specifically for them they weren't using them so anytime dining was thrown in to disarray. Poor quality entertainment, the majority aimed at raising revenues for the ship.

Probably the worst example of queue was the tender to Koh Samui. We waited 2 hours to get off the ship ( having not joined the queue until 2 hours after the announcement was made that transfers had begu as requested for non tour passengers) and one and a half in a queue to get back on a tender. Some waited longer. As the ship was due to leave early and the official last tender was 4.00pm it left no time to go anywhere on the island so basically a wasted visit.

I don't do Captain events but apparently at the last one the Captain apologised for all that had gone wrong.

Would I cruise with Princess again? Doubtful, very doubtful.

Those who signed up for internet complained it was extremely slow as well as expensive, however, that's the least you might have to worry about.Nearly everyone we spoke to was unhappy about their SP cruise that departed Hong Kong on 13th of November. Hope they have got their act together now because they hadn't then.

With most cocktails costing around the $9-10 mark it's easy to justify that buying the drinks package is good value but it depends on your idea of good value. Spending $1300 on drink on a 14 night cruise is more than I want to pay so we settled for a couple of alcoholic drinks before dinner and a bottle of the cheapest wine on offer with dinner. Standard issue coffee and water was fine, the free lemonade excellent.

If the prices had been more reasonable I would have drunk a lot more but they forced me to lead a healthier life style.

$6.75 is bad enough for a can of beer but to charge 15% service on top and they don't even open the can for you is outrageous!

Drone shooting would make a wonderful onboard activity, much more fun than shooting clays.

You will be berth in a very dirty iron ore loading harbour, it is always very wet as they try tokeep the iron ore dust from blowing around. Taxis are not allowed into the port, so you have a long dirty and wet walk to the taxis.

 

What is there to do in Goa:

 

a. Fabulous beaches - where the hippies headed to after Woodstock.;)

 

b. Shopping in old Goa town.

 

c. Visit Catholic churches and various temples.

 

Goa is perfectly safe.

We agree on the latter anyway.

The best beaches are some distance away. Candolim/Calangute/Baga beaches are overcrowded and dirty so avoid them but the best shopping is around there but don't expect original designer wear, plenty of fakes.

For a city experience I would head to Panjim, have a wander around the market (a.m) maybe look at some shops and find Hotel Venite for a cold Kingfisher beer and just immerse in Indian street life and watch the world go by from one of their quaint Romeo and Juliet style balconies.

Churches and temples, if it's your thing certainly. I try and avoid them.

Use the shuttle and subway, they are both easy and the MTR is a great experience too.

There isn't that much to tour in Goa to be honest. Very safe though.

They already keep track of drinks per day on Carnival, Cheers! package. So, there is a known process for them to follow on Princess.

It won't be that difficult, computers.

 

We have counted our beverage consumption on cruises, and it's not 15 per day. However, the price of the package equates to about 5-6 drinks per day. So, it's up to people to decide if it's worth it to pay as you go along, or do the Premium beverage package. In the past we've gotten the package because we want to prepay for all expenses and treat our cruises as all inclusive. Not sure we will under the new package, but only time will tell.

If $68.99 equates to 5-6 drinks a day I think I'll be going tea total.... except that the tea is probably a stupidly expensive price too!

VERY good news!! Princess has now changed it to Martinique!! :D I'm trying to delete this thread as a result, but it's not letting me thus far.

Neither should it let you delete it. Shame on you for such selfishness.

I think the price may have increased a little?

 

It is reported that the bottles can only be obtained from a dining room but can be removed from there?

 

I think you can purchase the package on varying quantities.

 

My biggest issue would be purchasing the package and finding not all wines listed are available.

 

Annie

I have a feeling our choice was limited to availability for the reasons previously mentioned.

I guess it depends on which bar you try and the staff working it as to whether they will let you have a bottle of wine.

There are wine packages available as I understand it on cruises 7 days or longer - silver and gold packages - only available on board and not heavily promoted. No details on the website and cannot be pre-ordered.

 

If you search this forum, you will find threads on the topic.

 

However it has been reported that not all wines listed in the package are always available.

 

Annie

Thanks Annie, on our only other cruise with Princess we bought in to this package, can't exactly remember if it was 5 or 7 bottles, maybe even 10.

We are on the Far East run and last time they ran out of all sorts of drinks as they couldn't restock until they caught up with their container which failed to make it to Hong Kong on time. We also discovered that if you ask for a bottle at the bar you can get one to share there too! I have a vague recall that the bottles worked out about $15 each.

If there is a wine package I'll buy in to that, we will usually drink a bottle between us with dinner. Maybe buy the beer basket before and a G&T after dinner and that will do us nicely. Half the cost of the package.

To spend that much each and every day is just not going to happen on our 14 day cruise. The total price would be too silly to contemplate.

Besides, if you spend a lot of time off the ship you wouldn't get a chance to spend it anyway, in all probability you'd be drinking high value cocktails just for the sake of getting your monies worth and probably not feeling 100% up for it the next day!