Mexican Riviera/Sapphire

[sfgiants72]

I have cruised the Mexican Riviera via Royal Caribbean recently. I absolutely loved RCI but I am also interested in trying a differnt cruise line for comparison. I'm thinking of the same itenarary (Mexico). I researched and found the Sapphire Princess is currently the ship utilized to Mexico. I'm hoping to get some feedback on the ship and Princess in general.

 

Thanks in advance!

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

The Sapphire Princess was completed in 2004 and has a capacity of about 2600 passengers. We have sailed on her 5 times for a total of 50 days. I would say Princess is pretty comparable to Royal Caribbean. We have sailed RCI three times and Princess 17 times. Although a large ship, the Sapphire is built so that it never feels crowded except at disembarkation which I suppose is true of all lines. There are lots of places to go and not feel crowded.

 

There are several smaller dining rooms for the Anytime dining experience and a large dining room for two fixed seatings. The cabins are comparable to RCI.

 

We did the Mexican Riviera on her last month and it was very nice although we felt not enough time was spent in the ports esp. Cabo since the tendering always takes up time. We were only there 7 - 2PM. And many lines stay in Puerto Vallarta until 11PM but we left at 5PM. Don't know why.

 

If you like RCI, I think you will like Princess.

 

Barbara

[kooljamming]

I have cruised the Mexican Riviera via Royal Caribbean recently. I absolutely loved RCI but I am also interested in trying a differnt cruise line for comparison. I'm thinking of the same itenarary (Mexico). I researched and found the Sapphire Princess is currently the ship utilized to Mexico. I'm hoping to get some feedback on the ship and Princess in general.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Then you might miss the much livelier vibe and activities. We have done RCCL 6x and Princess 2x (Sapphire and Golden). Princess has more of a relaxed/sedated vibe with many activities centered around classes@sea, demonstrations and trivia. Our Mexican Riviera cruise was lacking in FUN pool activities.

 

Looks- elegant but clearly lacks the wow and stunning looks of RCCL

 

Cabins - Smaller on Princess and you need a mini-suite to get a sofa

 

Pools - Absolutely stunning on Princess

 

Food- Impressed with the food in the buffet but hated the layout of Horizon Court (buffet area). I did not care for the food in the main dining room. For me it was bland, tasteless and lacked flavor expect from the sauce.

 

Entertainment: Enjoyed the evening entertainment, dancing in the lounge to a live band and finishing in the disco.

 

Overall, a beautiful ship, friendly staff, great entertainment but a definitely more sedated feel than RCCL.

 

Here is an album from Sapphire with cabins, pools, dining rooms and buffet: http://travel.webshots.com/album/570254128ZwSkkg?start=0

 

Enjoy!

[Colo Cruiser]

I have cruised the Mexican Riviera via Royal Caribbean recently. I absolutely loved RCI but I am also interested in trying a differnt cruise line for comparison. I'm thinking of the same itenarary (Mexico). I researched and found the Sapphire Princess is currently the ship utilized to Mexico. I'm hoping to get some feedback on the ship and Princess in general.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

You will love the Sapphire. Wide Promanade, beautiful atrium and lots of activities. We have sailed her 5 times too. She is excellent. Skywalkers has fantastic views. Sabatinis alternative Italian restaurant is a must do at least once. :)

[ottawapuppy]

I have cruised the Mexican Riviera via Royal Caribbean recently. I absolutely loved RCI but I am also interested in trying a differnt cruise line for comparison. I'm thinking of the same itenarary (Mexico). I researched and found the Sapphire Princess is currently the ship utilized to Mexico. I'm hoping to get some feedback on the ship and Princess in general.

 

 

We are RCI fans and tried Princess for the first time this past September. It was a good experience. Like someone else mentioned, the ships don't have the wow factor, but the bars were good, we enjoyed the variety of pools and the entertainment was good. Food was on par with RCI. Reasonable drink prices too.

 

I would say the lines are more a like than they are different.

 

The Sapphire itinerary was great. Loved the stops.

 

Mariner of the Seas does a similar itinerary to Sapphire. We have sailed on both and have pictures and stuff on our web site if you want to compare...(link in my signature)

 

Mike

[Cruisin' Chick]

We were on the Sapphire when it was just three months old and we really liked the layout of the ship.

[sfgiants72]

Thanks for the feedback (especially the pics, they were great).

[Jasperdo]

I have cruised the Mexican Riviera via Royal Caribbean recently. I absolutely loved RCI but I am also interested in trying a differnt cruise line for comparison. I'm thinking of the same itenarary (Mexico). I researched and found the Sapphire Princess is currently the ship utilized to Mexico. I'm hoping to get some feedback on the ship and Princess in general.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

I was just on the Sapphire Princess in February. It's a beautiful ship, and we were very satisfied with the food in both the MDR and Buffet. The shows were good, but we thought some of the other activities were a little unorganized. Still, I would definately recommend the Sapphire. I've sailed with RCI in the past, and found the two lines to be more similar than different. We're going on the Mariner of the Seas next month, so it will be interesting to compare again.

 

In my Signature below, you'll find some photos I took on the Sapphire Princess.