Live from the Sapphire 8-1-10

[geoherb]

We’re having a great time on the Sapphire Princess. The ship is similar enough to the other Princess ships we’ve been on that I can find my way around fairly easily.

 

We got to the dock around 11 a.m. and had a very easy time getting on the ship. It took about 30 minutes total to clear the securi ty check, get our cruise cards, and find our cabin. We called immediately for the Chef’s Table and received our invitation last night. We had the informational meeting this morning and will experience the Chef’s Table tomorrow night after our day in Ketchikan.

 

Lunch in the International Dining room was delicious. We did not see many other passengers there. I think it’s because they do not advertise the hours in the Patter. It’s one of my favorite lunchtime menus for the week. I ordered the same thing I had in March on the Crown Princess: salad with low fat dressing, salmon with sautéed spinach, and the orange soufflé.

 

There were plenty of activities going on before sailaway. The newest thing for us was scanning our cruise cards during muster. This was the first time we’ve had that done.

 

Leaving Seattle gave us plenty of beautiful vistas. The Space Needle of course is the most iconic structure. We had lunch with a couple today who had been up in it on Saturday when the skies were not as overcast as they were on Sunday. We had hoped to be able to see Mount Rainier from the ship, but it was too cloudy. We had seen it on Saturday from Tacoma.

 

We took advantage of the Platinum/Elite/Suite lounge in Skywalkers before dinner. The herbed goat cheese tasted very good, plus there was a nice selection of cheese and healthy veggies.

 

The welcome aboard show took place before dinner for those of us with late seating. There were plenty of seats available in the Princess Theater. We arrived a little bit after the show started but still got a chance to see the singers and dancers perform a few songs. Then the cruise director (Lee Childers) made his staff introduce themselves, and Rollin Jay Moore performed his comedy. We won’t be going back to his show tonight—but some folks loved his act.

 

Knowing the cruise director’s name paid off this morning during the martini demonstration. I won a grape martini by being able to name him. It was delicious, even though I don’t normally start drinking liquor that before lunch.

 

Our table for second seating is a table for eight. We’re seated with a family from Pittsburgh and a couple from Toronto. I’m betting we don’t all last through the end of the week together. I had the barramundi and Sam had the prime rib. I don’t see how the prime rib gets the Lotus Spa symbol beside it as one of the healthy choices. Both tasted very good.

 

We went to bed after dinner. It was foggy and cold during the night and throughout our first morning at sea. The ship sounded its horn every few minutes. We can’t hear it in our cabin, but a couple with whom we had breakfast this morning said they could from their balcony cabin during the night. The sun has come out this afternoon. I’m hoping to swim a little bit before afternoon trivia. We did not do well in the morning session, but I’m always optimistic.

[geoherb]

P.S. I will try to answer any questions people have about the Sapphire.

[Cruisin Dave]

Great review. Enjoyed reading it and looking forward to reading more this week. We will be on the Sapphire in September for our first Princess cruise and our first trip to Alaska.

Dave

[Colo Cruiser]

Enjoy! Thanks for posting live. :)

[roudy1]

Thanks for the review...we will be sailing with Cruisin Dave...also our first for Princess and Alaska...so really excited.

[lovevacadays]

AAAAHHH - I'm so jealous! I wish I was on the Sapphire right now. I've cruised her 4 times - not Alaska but the Mexican Riviera. She's home to me! Have a wonderful time.

[kath00]

WIshing I could be with you!!! Alas, not till May 2011...

 

Katherine

[K-Roo-Zers]

Thanks for the great review - only 81 more sleeps until we cruise from Sydney to Los Angeles, 23 Oct, 2010. First time on Sapphire. Can't wait.

 

Have fun and keep us informed!

 

Nicki

[Rstamper]

You said you took advantage of the Platium/Elite/Suite lounge in Skywalkers before dinner. What was this and is it everyday? Thanks for the review.

[ship101]

Geoherb, who are the Captain and Maitre d' on the Sapphire? Thank you and enjoy your cruise.

[NLBarry]

Geoherb,

Thanks for taking time out of your cruise to share your experiences. This is exactly what we were looking for. Maybe you will have time to summarize the entire cruise when you get back to land.

We have not cruised with Princess before - mostly Carnival. Can we expect to dress 'smart casual' and not stand out?

Does the daily Patter give a few days' notice to special activities, like formal nights?

[grandmakathy]

Frist of all thanks for taking the time to do a live from. We will be on board later this month and love getting a preview.

 

We are trying to pick a night to go to Sterlings and would love to know the general theme of the main dining room each night. Have sailed on Princess many times and some nights options are better than others. For example Italian isn't my favorite but wouldn't want to miss the dining room if there is an Alaskan night with crab legs. So if you could cover it in your daily entry I would be most greatful.

 

Hope you have a great trip. We too have enjoyed the Platinum evening events on the Sapphire but on the Mexican Rivera. I can only imagine how great the views from there will be in Alaska.

 

Thanks in advance

Kathy

[geoherb]

It's every day except the second formal night, which is when they'll have the past passenger cocktail party. It's from 5 to 7 in Skywalker's. There's a drink special and a food action station each night. The food started with herbed goat cheese the first night and steak tartare last night. Tonight is smoked salmon, followed by stilton on Wednesday, shrimp cocktail on Thursday, and sushi on Saturday.

 

The captain is Nick Carlton and the matre d' is Angelo Balbiani. We met him during our Chef's Table interview, and I'm sure we'll see him again tonight. He's very pleasant.

[geoherb]

Our two formal nights were last night (Monday) and Friday. There's not notice in the Patter, but you can pick it up from people who have done the itinerary before you--generally sea days but never the first or last night of your cruise.

 

As for smart casual clothing, I've noticed that a lot of passengers are more relaxed on this cruise--but I haven't seen anyone try to get away with shorts or T-shirts in the dining room for dinner.

 

Tonight (Tuesday) is the Alaskan themed dinner. The crab legs are just an appetizer. Tonight is our night for the Chef's Table, so we'll miss it. I don't know what last night's theme was. I had halibut and the rest of my table had filet mignon. Everything was very good. As soon as you board, you can find out when you want to make reservations for one of the specialty restaurants what the menus are. They have copies to help passengers decide what night they want to skip the main dining room.

 

The Internet connection is very slow today. I had a long second part typed out on my partner's laptop, which he's using right now. I'll try to post it in the morning.

[Clutterlady]

Thanks for the live from.....can't wait to hear more:)

[lehb]

Our two formal nights were last night (Monday) and Friday. There's not notice in the Patter, but you can pick it up from people who have done the itinerary before you--generally sea days but never the first or last night of your cruise.

 

Actually, it is mentioned in the Patter. At the top where it has the date and the sunrise/sunset, it also says "Tonight's dress: Formal", (or smart casual, if it is not a formal night". And the "Cruise Planner" that you get at the start of the cruise, also lists what the attire is for each night.

[NLBarry]

Thank you all for your up-to-the minute updates. It's making all of us excited for our own cruises! What was the show Tuesday night?

[tracemyirishroots]

Thanks for the posting, can't wait to hear about the rest of your cruise!

 

Tracey

[geoherb]

Piano Man was the show on Tuesday. They repeated it on Wednesday at 8:15, which ruled it out for folks like us with second seating. Our options after dinner were the comedian in the Explorers Lounge, a movie in Princess Theater, or bed. We chose bed.

 

The Internet connection is still slow. I'm going to try to post three days' worth below:

 

The Chef’s Table was great, even better than we experienced on the Crown in March. One thing that augmented our experience was very pleasant tablemates. We sat near two friends from Louisiana, a couple from Rhode Island, and honeymooners from California. Our group started in the galley after donning our white lab coats and washing our hands thoroughly. Chef Nilo and the maitre d’ started us off with a champagne toast and a wonderful crab marguerita.

 

The second hors d’ouvre was a fantastic presentation of vegetable aspic in a clear cone. A small puff pastry and mound of steak tartare topped the cone. The steak tartare tasted very good, but I’m not a fan of aspic. The ice cream cone appearance of this appetizer provided the right amount of whimsy. Our third hors d’ouvre was a small potato piece topped with sour cream and caviar. This was the most traditional of the small bites we tasted in the galley. We finished up with escargot in puff pastry with a red wine reduction.

 

The Santa Fe dining room held our special table. We removed the white coats before leaving the galley. Chef Nilo presented a first course of mushroom risotto topped with a shrimp stuffed halibut. Both parts tasted delicious, but the dish did not come together in a unified manner. He followed this dish with a lemon sorbet on top of mango pieces. He topped the sorbets with a splash of Grey Goose vodka. The sorbet was light and refreshing, just what we needed to awaken our appetites for the main course.

 

The main course was the only repeat we had from our Crown Princess Chef’s Table experience: the trio of beef, pork, and veal tenderloin flambéed on a medieval hanging spike. Various vegetables accompanied the meat, and the serving of them by our waiters reminded me of our first cruises, when the waiters served the vegetables at the table. Five sauces accompanied the meat, but I thought everything was tasty enough without any sauce.

 

The cheese course consisted of a baked Camembert topped with pine nuts and a port wine reduction. I could have eaten twice as much of this delicious dish. Dessert was a molten chocolate cake accompanied with a chocolate ice cream laced with whiskey soaked raisins. Presentation was superb upon a plate of candied sugar and topped with a matching candy dome. The candy plates and domes reminded me of the beautiful Chihouly glass we had seen in Tacoma.

 

Of course wine accompanied all the courses. In addition to the champagne we had in the galley, we had a Chablis with the risotto, a red with the meat course, and a dessert wine with the cheese and dessert.

 

A photographer came and took a photo of us with Chef Nilo and the maitre d’ right before dessert. The chef and maitre d’ signed cookbooks for everyone and once again, we received two for being a male couple. The ladies from Louisiana also received one apiece, plus they received roses as well. The opposite sex couples all received just one copy of the cookbook and a rose.

 

Xxxxxxxx

 

The views through Tracy Arm were magnificent. The naturalist narrated parts of the tour from the bridge, but his comments were not too obtrusive. When we got near the glacier, he had to stop his narration due to regulations. We saw a trio of kayakers who had camped out on one of the rock cliffs facing South Sawyer glacier. The naturalist described how much both North and South Sawyer glacier had receded since 2004. Our last Alaskan cruise was 2003. We could see on the rocks a clean looking area that we think showed where the glacier had been on our last cruise. The Sapphire came fairly close to South Sawyer. We did not spend as much time at the glacier, however.

 

We viewed the approach from the front part of the promenade. After about five minutes, the captain started to turn the ship, giving the people on the port side balconies a great view. The people on the starboard side never got a clear view. I’m not sure why we had less time than our last time. One reason could be that the Golden Princess headed to view the glacier after us. We met them in part of the S curve. Another reason could be the excursion that Princess now offers. A boat pulled up beside us and loaded on passengers. This boat was able to get closer to the glacier than we did, plus they spent more time there and got a better view of the seals lounging on the ice flow.

 

Because we wanted to be on deck for our trip into Tracy Arm, I went to the Horizon Court and brought a light breakfast down to our cabin. I was up at 5:30 (just like today), so they were not serving full breakfast yet, just pastries, fruit, yogurt, and cereal.

 

After a nice nap in the morning, we went to lunch in the dining room before our arrival into Juneau. The ship got there in time to allow passengers to debark right on schedule. We headed to the capitol for a free tour, walked by the governor’s house, and stopped in a few of the shops without buying anything before heading to the Mount Roberts Tramway. I thought I might have a little touch of vertigo on the ride up. Sometimes heights make me feel queasy. But I felt secure enough in the tram not to experience any.

 

We hiked the loop trail. At the juncture where the trail split off to go up to a cross, I told Sam to wait for me at the overlook on the loop trail. He thought I was taking too long and went off to find me. Unfortunately, he took the wrong path and was waiting at another overlook. When he wasn’t where he was supposed to be, I hiked back to the nature center and looked for him there and at the main station of the tram. Then I hiked back up to the overlooks on the loop trail and still couldn’t find him. I hiked back down to the nature center and reported him missing. It had been over an hour since I had seen him. The woman at the center had him paged in the main building and also let me use her cell phone to try to call him. His phone was off, and all I could do was leave him a voicemail. As I was walking back up the loop trail a fourth time, we finally saw each other. His version of this experience differs, but I know that he could not possibly have been where he thinks he was.

 

Nevertheless, the views from Mount Roberts are spectacular. We had a gorgeous sunny and warm day to experience it. I’ve been wearing a pedometer to count my steps each day. I aim for 12,000 a day. I worked in more than 24,000 yesterday. Those extra steps will help burn off a few of the calories from the Chef’s Table.

 

The family at our table has not reappeared. We ran into the father and the younger son on deck in Tracy Arm. I did not come right out and ask him, and he did not volunteer any info on where they have been eating. The couple from Toronto did not show up last night for dinner, but the dining room was more than half empty since we were in Juneau until 10 p.m. A lot of people had late excursions, such as the salmon bake. We saw people leaving on excursion buses when we got back to the ship a little before 7.

 

Before dinner, I finally made it into the pool. The water is wonderfully warm, much warmer than it has been on our Caribbean cruises.

 

Our waiter told us the entrees for the various dining room since I wasn’t crazy about the Italian night ones. Usually I order the shrimp Fra Diavolo, but I did not want that last night. The four entrees from the anytime dining rooms are osso bucco, chicken or beef fajitas, pork chops, and a seafood stir-fry over rice noodles. I enjoyed the stir-fry, although the osso bucco will tempt me the next time there is not an entrée that appeals to me.

 

Xxxxxxxxxx

 

The Sapphire Princess docked in Skagway around 6 a.m. We ate breakfast in the dining room before heading to Avis. On this cruise, the Sapphire has docked the farthest away in all the ports. I reserved a rental car with Avis about three weeks ago. We met up with our tablemates from the first night and he had tried to reserve one for today when the ship was in Juneau. Avis was booked up, but they reserved a car with Sourdough Rentals.

 

We received a Toyota Camry. It had a big ding on the rear bumper and a small crack in the windshield that Abra the manager at Avis had noted. A couple of people ahead of us had to point out other damages on their cars, but we did not find any more damage on ours.

 

The drive to Carcross was great. The highway was in much better condition than I had anticipated. We encountered several foggy patches on the way. When we were coming back, we got to see many things that had been obscured by the fog in the morning. There was some fog on the way back, but not as bad as in the morning.

 

I had purchased Murray’s guide and it turned out to be a great help. Sam read ahead the upcoming highlights and helped me decide which we wanted to stop at. We headed directly to Emerald Lake first and stopped at the world’s smallest dessert and Carcross on the way back.

 

Having our own car turned out great in that we could stop when and where we wanted and stay as long or as short as we wanted. Several times we stopped at the same spots as the large tour buses. The groups on them were herded in and out of the buses. We generally parked away from the crowds and had some spectacular views.

 

My favorite spot was a waterfall near the small suspension bridge. I climbed onto some rocks for a better view and discovered wild blueberries growing up there. I kept checking for bears but never saw any. We did spot an eagle when we stopped at a lake. We also saw several small mammals, including a porcupine.

 

On the way back to Skagway, we stopped at the overlook on Dyea Road. I’m glad we did. It offers a spectacular view of the town with the ships behind it. The other Princess ships in port with us are the Island and the Sea. There is also one of the Holland America ships here, perhaps the Ryndam again. Both it and the Oosterdam were in Juneau with us yesterday.

 

I bought some fig bars and granola bars to eat during our day. We ate at the fish barbecue near the Trident Grill after getting back to the Sapphire. They served salmon, shrimp and halibut kebabs, crab cakes, corn pudding, and rice. We also discovered the warm chocolate chip cookie cart.

[LisaH]

I am looking forward to reading your review as we will be on the Sapphire next July. Can't wait!

[Colo Cruiser]

Sounds like a fantastic 3 days worth. :)

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

 

Thanks for posting your live from thread.....:):):)

 

Bob

[cruisinderek]

WOW !!! My wife and I are going on the Sapphire Princess on Sept 5th. I hope that we have as nice of a time as it sounds like you have.

[oskidunker]

Thanks

[stretchcruz]

Our first Alaska cruise is on the Sapphire in May, we are really enjoying your review!

 

My friends son and his very new (as of Sat) wife are honeymooning onboard now...Ryan and Ainsilie if you run across them.

 

Sounds like you are having a great time, thanks for taking the time to post.