Pretend you are a first time Princess cruiser...

[Tapi]

Hello!

 

As we prepare to take our first Princess cruise later this year, we've been reading as much as possible about the Sapphire Princess. Some say its a great ship, some say its worn out, some say that it doesn't quite live up to other Princess ships while others say that its their favorite Princess ship.

 

I know that opinions are exactly that: opinions, and I know that it's hard not to become increasingly critical and overly compare after sailing multiple times on a specific cruise line (I know I'm guilty of that), but...

 

...pretend for a minute that its your first time on Princess and that your recent cruising experiences have all been on Carnival. What would you say about the Sapphire? Ship decor? Entertainment? Food? Cleanliness? Overall condition? Fellow passengers?

 

Once again, I know that opinions are highly subjective, but I will greatly appreciate them! Thanks!

[PatriciaF]

I like the music in the bars better on Princess. Carnival music skews to the younger demographics--so if you are into rap and some newer style music you may not be pleased with the music.

 

The pizza is great! Check out Cafe Caribe for a low key dinner if you don't want to do the main dining room.

[Molly's Mum]

Hello!

 

As we prepare to take our first Princess cruise later this year, we've been reading as much as possible about the Sapphire Princess. Some say its a great ship, some say its worn out, some say that it doesn't quite live up to other Princess ships while others say that its their favorite Princess ship.

 

I know that opinions are exactly that: opinions, and I know that it's hard not to become increasingly critical and overly compare after sailing multiple times on a specific cruise line (I know I'm guilty of that), but...

 

...pretend for a minute that its your first time on Princess and that your recent cruising experiences have all been on Carnival. What would you say about the Sapphire? Ship decor? Entertainment? Food? Cleanliness? Overall condition? Fellow passengers?

 

It's probably a strange thing to say, but I'd say " comfortable".

Decor is elegant, " light " decor, scrupulously clean. Friendly fellow passengers ....

Quite a bit older than us but have made some good friends!!

Food ? Well, IMO a bit bland ... But nicely presented and the service was great.

Entertainment....ok....

Its hard to compare with other lines as the only other line we've

Cruised with is Celebrity.

[Pia1913]

I like the music in the bars better on Princess. Carnival music skews to the younger demographics--so if you are into rap and some newer style music you may not be pleased with the music.

 

The pizza is great! Check out Cafe Caribe for a low key dinner if you don't want to do the main dining room.

 

There is no Cafe Caribe on the Sapphire.

 

To the OP: We just spent 9 weeks on the Sapphire; Seattle to Sydney and Sydney back to LA. Wonderful ship; good food; easy accessibilityl; great covered pool area.

[Pia1913]

I like the music in the bars better on Princess. Carnival music skews to the younger demographics--so if you are into rap and some newer style music you may not be pleased with the music.

 

The pizza is great! Check out Cafe Caribe for a low key dinner if you don't want to do the main dining room.

 

There is no Cafe Caribe on the Sapphire.

 

To the OP: We just spent 9 weeks on the Sapphire; Seattle to Sydney and Sydney back to LA. Wonderful ship; good food; easy accessibility; great covered pool area.

[shepp]

Food ? Well' date=' IMO a bit bland ... [/quote']

 

Just curious....

 

By "bland,"do you mean not spicy enough? Not salty enough? Or what? I'm a really-hot-food fan, but I don't find the food "bland." Not the Cajun seafood casserole certainly, not the escargot, not the goat cheese souffle, not...

 

Having sailed on HAL with my mother, I'd say that many cruisers - like her - don't want their food the least bit spicy. For those of us who do, there's black pepper and hot sauce.

 

The one time the blandness got to me was on Princess Cays. The ribs were absolutely, truly bland, and the only way I could get hot sauce was by borrowing some from the crew's table. What's up with that? It's barbecue, for goodness sake.

 

Back to the OP's question: I'm about to embark on the Sapphire with no qualms whatever. But having seen enough photos of Carnival ships to know what I don't want to be surrounded by, I would say that if someone finds Carnival decor a wow, they'll probably find Princess' look to be, well...bland.

[Tapi]

But having seen enough photos of Carnival ships to know what I don't want to be surrounded by, I would say that if someone finds Carnival decor a wow, they'll probably find Princess' look to be, well...bland.

 

We're not big fans of the decoration on Carnival, and most of their ships leave us scratching our heads and wondering what the designer was thinking (The one exception being the Carnival Liberty, which we actually consider to be toned down and tastefully decorated).

 

However during the last few years, we've only been able to take shorter getaways, so Carnival has provided a good fit for our time constraints at a great price.

 

With that said, were looking forward to more elegant and tastefully decorated surroundings (or bland, or whatever you wish to call them...! :D )

[Cruisin' Chick]

I was on the Sapphire when it was brand new in 2004. Many of the Carnival ships are much older than that.

 

I see you're going in July or August perhaps. There should be a nice mix of ages onboard during that time. The Sapphire is a beautiful ship.

[bjkTX]

We're not big fans of the decoration on Carnival, and most of their ships leave us scratching our heads and wondering what the designer was thinking (The one exception being the Carnival Liberty, which we actually consider to be toned down and tastefully decorated).

 

However during the last few years, we've only been able to take shorter getaways, so Carnival has provided a good fit for our time constraints at a great price.

 

With that said, were looking forward to more elegant and tastefully decorated surroundings (or bland, or whatever you wish to call them...! :D )

 

 

I tend to agree. We have been on 7 Princess cruises and one Carnival cruise. We have always felt comfortable on the Princess ships, and in our early 60s we both wondered what kind of drugs the designer for the Carnival ship was on :-)

 

On the Carnival cruise we didn't get too much of the "party boat" feeling, but it was louder, much more smoke, and wasn't very well laid out (we had to walk through the smoky casino or through a group of people listening to a small band playing in the hallways - just to get to the other side).

 

We liked our balcony cabin, it seemed to b a bit bigger than the balcony cabins we had seen on Princess (we had only been in mini-suites at that point), but the decor was several notches down from what we were used to.

 

Nothing bad - just different, and as I said we just feel comfortable on Princess (4 more weeks till #8).

[MattOsprey]

There is no Cafe Caribe on the Sapphire.

 

To the OP: We just spent 9 weeks on the Sapphire; Seattle to Sydney and Sydney back to LA. Wonderful ship; good food; easy accessibility; great covered pool area.

Now thats just showing off! 9 weeks away and you double post it!

You seriously know how too live, good on you.

 

To the OP, we find Princess our favourite line for all around comfort and class. We like the slightly more formal attitude. We find the passengers very friendly and the crew helpful. We like that Princess gives some perks to repeat customers.

 

As to the comment that the food is a bit bland, well we have to agree. But I think that may be a Brit thing. In the US we find most of the food bland and without flavour. We find the flavours are mainly the sauces that accompany the food rather than the food itself. P&O cruises have food with much better flavours in my opinion.

 

That said, you are unlikely to cruise with a UK company and you are unlikely to be used to the UK tastes.

 

We still choose Princess over P&O because we feel the whole package is better.

 

I should point out that I am 39 and my wife is 33 and the people on Princess are generally older than us, but have the most amazing and interesting stories to tell.

 

I would be surprised if you didn't find Princess a great line to cruise with.

 

I hope you enjoy.

 

Matthew

[grandmaa]

Hello!

 

As we prepare to take our first Princess cruise later this year' date=' we've been reading as much as possible about the Sapphire Princess. Some say its a great ship, some say its worn out, some say that it doesn't quite live up to other Princess ships while others say that its their favorite Princess ship.

 

I know that opinions are exactly that: opinions, and I know that it's hard not to become increasingly critical and overly compare after sailing multiple times on a specific cruise line (I know I'm guilty of that), but...

 

...pretend for a minute that its your first time on Princess and that your recent cruising experiences have all been on Carnival. What would you say about the Sapphire? Ship decor? Entertainment? Food? Cleanliness? Overall condition? Fellow passengers?

 

It's probably a strange thing to say, but I'd say " comfortable".

Decor is elegant, " light " decor, scrupulously clean. Friendly fellow passengers ....

Quite a bit older than us but have made some good friends!!

Food ? Well, IMO a bit bland ... But nicely presented and the service was great.

Entertainment....ok....

Its hard to compare with other lines as the only other line we've

Cruised with is Celebrity.[/quote']

 

Hi Sam...Saw your post...how are you and your family? We are planning a cruise on the Sapphire Princess for February 12..will let you know how it goes. We were on the Sapphire in 2005 and enjoyed the ship..and I am happy it does not have MUTS yet...too much noise in the daytime. Keep in touch...

Hugs,

Anita

[denims]

We were on the Sapphire two weeks ago. You'll love her. She is in great shape! Beautiful décor and a lot of areas that you can have some quiet time if needed.

The Sapphire has four wonderful AT dining areas in addition to the MDR and the two specialty restaurants. The pool area also has little hidden corners for getting away from the crowds!

[Molly's Mum]

 

Hi Sam...Saw your post...how are you and your family? We are planning a cruise on the Sapphire Princess for February 12..will let you know how it goes. We were on the Sapphire in 2005 and enjoyed the ship..and I am happy it does not have MUTS yet...too much noise in the daytime. Keep in touch...

Hugs' date='

Anita[/quote']

 

How wonderful to hear from you! I'm sorry we didn't get a chance

For us to meet up again when we were in LA before our cruise...

You were away cruising too!

Have a great time and I'm looking forward to hearing all

about it. Good luck with the Trivia! X X

 

To the original OP - you meet lovely people on Princess cruises!