Random thoughts about my 1/5-15 Sapphire Cruise

[2Oregonians]

Captain Nick Carlton is quite the gentleman. I like him quite a bit.

 

I am not surprised about Capt Nash saying that (he is my least favorite Captain). He comes across very egotistical.

We met him when we were invited to the bridge (we travel with my parents who have taken a bajillion cruises, and they scored us a bridge visit). We found Capt. Nash to be delightful. Of course, that was just one meeting, and he was in his element on the bridge, so take that for what it's worth! But he shook our hands and spoke with us - answered my husband's several questions - and took 2 or 3 pictures with us.

[beshears]

Pam, thanks for replying to my questions. I also enjoyed reading all the posters and taking "mental" notes of what you said. Of course, each of us our different, and some people are "nit pickers", and you can never make them happy. As I said we will be leaving on the 4th of April, and I plan to do a review, as I have done on all my cruises for the last 20 years. Actually this will be the 2nd time I will be on Princess, and we're going to think "positive":) that things will turn out good.

 

Someone mentioned about a hard bed. I don't know if this will help, but I had read from one of the posters that they ask for an egg crate mattress, so that is what I plan to do, if necessary.

 

Pam, you mention the late dining room. That is what we plan to do. This way if we want to do things on shore, we are not rushed to get back, and if we want, we can shower, rest before we eat. We like to have the same servers also.

 

I didn't know they put a chocolate on the pillow like Carnival, but it sounds like they do, not that I need it.:rolleyes: Yes, I would like to receive the Patter the day before, so we can (as someone said) plan the next day.

 

Someone mentioned "people watching", that is me. I love to watch people in airports, etc.

 

I read a long review from some people who are from our state, Missouri. They mentioned the "champaign tower." Oh that brought back some good memories. We do not drink, but after 10 years, I pulled those pictures out to show my family yesterday. It was just fun, pouring the champaign in the glasses and watching it flowing down.

 

As I don't know where all the posters here cruised to? If any of you went to the Mexican Riviera, and used a tour guide, would you give me information on them? We do no booking through the ship, as we find it is cheaper to do it with a tour guide, taxi, etc.

Brenda

[Bebet]

Were you having to pay to have the internet on your IPAD?

[shepp]

I just caught up with this thread. I was on the sailing after Pam's, and had both similar and different impressions.

 

I'm not a hardcore foodie, have realistic expectations of shipboard food, and I found the MDR meals generally good-to-excellent. While the luau pork was blah, other entrees, like the rack of lamb, filets, and Thai snapper, were fine, and the mussels some of the best I've ever had. And I really liked many of the appetizers. I already knew to ask specifically for escargot. On the Sea last fall, the waiter served them the next night, but on this sailing, we had to wait till the Chef's dinner (where the onion soup was also announced.) But when we finally got them, they were delish. The pizza was wonderful, the tea service delightful, although unfortunately conflicting with milk-and-cookies. But hey, I gained six pounds, so it's probably just as well the scones and cookies are either/or. On the other hand, the buffet was pretty consistently missable, and there's no longer smoked salmon at H.C. breakfasts, a real letdown.

 

Most of the staff was delightfully helpful and friendly (hi, Pinky!), but Childers was, indeed, near-invisible (and one of our Patters arrived late, too). The only time I saw him offstage, he was teaching a Bible Studies group, something I never knew was part of a CD's duties. On previous cruises, a staff member showed up at - at least - the first LGBT meeting, sometimes bearing cheap champagne, but this time there was no one and nothing. Whether there was a connection between the two occurances, I'll leave others to figure out.

 

In general, I loved the ship...a lot. And I'm among the minority who find the beds quite comfy. Good cruise.

[wunderbarb]

Hello,

I just returned from the Sapphire and was on the Jan 15-22nd cruise. I too had trouble staying connected to Princess WiFi with my Ipad. I talked to the staff person in the internet cafe and he said that for some reason people who have ipads and iphones have trouble staying connected to Princess WiFi, hopefully they will get the glitch figured out sometime. I love my ipad so I guess I will just use the computers in the internet cafe if I need a WiFi connection.

Just as a side note, I thought the food on our cruise was great!

[Rick&Jenny]

We came off the Sapphire on the 22nd, the cruise after Pam's. I will echo her sentiments regarding the dining room food. In the dining room, I had one good meal...the rack of spring lamb. Most of my entries arrived at the table barely warm. I will no longer order lobster tails after this cruise. They are minute and they ususally arrive at the table dry and overdone or soft and mushy......rarely done to perfection. The chocolate souffle used to be my most favorite dessert in the whole world. They've downsized it to about the diameter size of a Susan B. Anthony Dollar. It was overcooked and dry. I will order them no more.

 

I thought the overall quality of the food in the buffet was only fair at best. This is the first cruise I've taken where I did not gain even 1 pound.

 

All of that being said, we had our best Mexican Cruise ever out of a total of 5 taken. The weather was sunny and warm (no humidity) all the way down and back and the seas were absolutely flat the whole way too. We saw a lot of whales and porpoises. The service throughout the ship was excellent. The Cruise Director, Lee, is the Ensign Pulver of Cruise Directors. He can be replaced with a few tape recorded messages.

 

Rick&Jenny:):)

[tigerlilly2358]

Rick and Jenny:

 

What did you do in Mexico? We are on the Feb 12 Sapphire cruise, and looking for things to do. I read the water is cold, but saw today the high is 90 degrees. Is a beach day appropriate in Mazatlan or PV?

 

Lesley

[Rick&Jenny]

Rick and Jenny:

 

What did you do in Mexico? We are on the Feb 12 Sapphire cruise, and looking for things to do. I read the water is cold, but saw today the high is 90 degrees. Is a beach day appropriate in Mazatlan or PV?

 

Lesley

 

Most likely in PV. The beaches over by Playa de los Muertos were packed. We shuttled from the boat to the Malecon, walked down to the plaza in front of the church, cut over to Flea Market, and then walked along the river down to the beaches. It was a very sparkling clear, warm day.

 

It was a strange day in port at Mazatlan. We were delayed for over an hour getting into the port harbor due to a very dense low fog bank. We waited outside the harbor for it to clear. The fog bank hung over the old section beach all day long. It cleared out just before we left port. The sun was warm...the shade was cool there. I'd have a backup plan for Mazatlan. In Mazatlan we stayed on the boat most of the day except for a brief excursion to the port terminal for something to drink and some guacamole & chips.

[partybarbie]

Sorry to take so long to post, but the day after DH and I got off this cruise we went and picked up our new puppy (need I say more).:rolleyes:

 

Anyway, I celebrated my 50th B-Day on this cruise and the balloons are now placed inside the cabin and a big card from Princess is placed on the outside of the cabin door. I also enjoyed my yummy little birthday cake.

 

I think the lobster is the luck of the draw. DH and I had the lobster on the second formal night and the tails were a decent size, firm, and not overcooked. I wish we had known about the escargot though.

 

The best kept breakfast secret is the omelet/waffle station. It is poolside, at the same grill where they cook the hamburgers at lunch. It is open from 7:00am to 10am. We went there almost every morning for breakfast. It was wonderful.:D

 

Also, no one has mentioned that there were 383 elite members on our trip.:eek: DH and I are still wondering if anyone from CC made it to the most traveled passenger luncheon?

 

Anyway, to sum up our experience, Princess exceeded our expectations on this cruise. We had a great time, great weather, and met some great passengers and crew.

[fairsky1984]

I also wondered if anyone made it to the Most Traveled Pax luncheon. We were invited, but did not attend. Sounds odd perhaps, but it was our last day before returning to deep snow and more winter months; and frankly, we didn't want to miss a final deck time in the sun :D. So this time, we regretfully declined.

 

Agree 100+% about CD Lee and especially the late-arriving Patters. We were onboard 17 days for a b2b and seldom saw the CD except for the morning TV show, and yes I walked through the Bible Study gathering in error and was surprised as well.

 

The Patter arrived before 10:30pm only a few times. Disappting because I like to see what's up for the next day also, although on the second cruise, we just referred to the previous cruise's Patters :).

 

The comment above that the CD on this cruise could be replaced by some pre-recorded announcements was right-on. Same feeling for our previous Jan 5-15 sailing. Where was he? Certainly not busy preparing the Patters for a timely distribution! :rolleyes:

 

And with the routine of repeated MR itineraries, wouldn't it only require changing the date and a few tweaks as necessary?

 

Agreed on the fog. We've never seen such dense fog while onboard as we experienced when arriving at Mazatlan, and I'm a coastal northern CA native. Very eerie to be looking from our balcony (Aloha forward) and not be able to see the back of the ship!

 

Did anyone meet with, or seek assistance from, CC Host Cameron? He may have been more visable than CD Lee, but very helpless and ineffective. Friendly though.

[Coral]

 

The best kept breakfast secret is the omelet/waffle station. It is poolside, at the same grill where they cook the hamburgers at lunch. It is open from 7:00am to 10am. We went there almost every morning for breakfast. It was wonderful.:D

 

Also, no one has mentioned that there were 383 elite members on our trip.:eek: DH and I are still wondering if anyone from CC made it to the most traveled passenger luncheon?

 

 

The cruise before yours - they did omelettes in the Horizon Court (cook to order) and the waffles in the Ice Cream station. The waffles were fabulous! My fav!

 

I knew there was a high number of elites and the most traveled luncheon cutoff was in the 300's. It had been in the high 200s for my 2 cruisers and I didn't make it as I am not that high. On the last day, I was speaking with the Capt Circle Host (can't remember his name but a super nice guy) and he told me your cruise was even higher and told me the number.

 

Congrats on the birthday!

[wizard-of-roz]

We were on the Sapphire in November. It was the very first time, and we're frequent cruisers, that we did not receive our Patter in time to plan for the next days events. This is almost a ritual, when we cruise. Here's how it goes....................

• Eat dinner
  
• Go to the show
  
• Back to the cabin to pick up the Patter, bring it to a lounge, get a foo-foo drink and highlight what and where we can do for the next day.
  

I don't know about you but when you take a person who has "rituals" and you "mix" em up........It's not a pretty picture. I swear, I'm totally "off" if I can't do my "planning!"

I'm not a "foody" DH is. I liked the food, DH didn't. I love the fact that they're serving little sandwiches at the Lobby Bar. This is a great place to sit and "People Watch". I find a table or chair in the corner, near a window and either read or "stare", while eating a cookie or two! ;)

Gertz: I'm the gal with the amazing Service Dog, "Brenda". I enjoyed meeting you and also Pam on our Sapphire cruise.

We'll be on the Sapphire again this coming September and are looking forward to our Birthday Balloons in the cabin.

[beshears]

I am really enjoying everyone responding, especially those who just got off the Princess, and seem for the most part to be happy:) about the ship. Of course we can always "nit pick" if we want. I'm going in with a "positive" attitude.

 

For those of you who just got back, or even within the last year, did you use a tour guide, and if so, who would you recommend? We may just use a Taxi, and have him takes us around to see areas, where the "tourist" don't go. Some of those are the best.

 

We're still trying to decide what Beach (location or stop) to go to. Since we're from Missouri, we definately want to take bad a tan if at all possible.

 

Looks like the "last" responder met a "Brenda" too on her last cruise. I'm beginning to think Brenda is a more common name than what it used to be. Normally when I meet someone with my name, I will ask them what their middle name is. Normally it is Lee.

 

If anyone knows of anything to see/do at these stops (not snorkling) we would like to know.

[wizard-of-roz]

I am really enjoying everyone responding, especially those who just got off the Princess, and seem for the most part to be happy:) about the ship. Of course we can always "nit pick" if we want. I'm going in with a "positive" attitude.

 

For those of you who just got back, or even within the last year, did you use a tour guide, and if so, who would you recommend? We may just use a Taxi, and have him takes us around to see areas, where the "tourist" don't go. Some of those are the best.

 

We're still trying to decide what Beach (location or stop) to go to. Since we're from Missouri, we definately want to take bad a tan if at all possible.

 

Looks like the "last" responder met a "Brenda" too on her last cruise. I'm beginning to think Brenda is a more common name than what it used to be. Normally when I meet someone with my name, I will ask them what their middle name is. Normally it is Lee.

 

If anyone knows of anything to see/do at these stops (not snorkling) we would like to know.

 

When our Mexican Riviera cruises were about the land and the ship. We road horses in Mazatlan and layed on the beach eating chips and salsa, in Puerta Vallarta. I think finding a cab driver [look for a well maintained, with air conditioning and good tires] who will take you to various sight seeing places may work. I would prefer a Tour through Princess or at least staying only in the touristy places.

Now, the MR is all about the 5 Star Hotel that just so happens to go to various ports in Mexico.

"Brenda" is my Service Dog. And, her middle name is Elizabeth. So, when she's not responding on the first command, I say; "Brenda Elizabeth, now!"

[ldubs]

Pam in CA,

 

We had the same disappointed feeling about the overall quality of the food on Sapphire during a 2010 cruise. They apparently didn't listen to our feedback. Maybe they will to yours.

 

Personally don't have much use for the CDs, so that is not a downside for us.

 

Thanks for the update.

[shepp]

 

Agreed on the fog. We've never seen such dense fog while onboard as we experienced when arriving at Mazatlan, and I'm a coastal northern CA native. Very eerie to be looking from our balcony (Aloha forward) and not be able to see the back of the ship!

 

Did anyone meet with, or seek assistance from, CC Host Cameron? He may have been more visable than CD Lee, but very helpless and ineffective. Friendly though.

 

I met Cameron. He told me he was just starting to serve shipboard, having worked in Santa Clarita previously. All I wanted from him was a Princess Passport, so no problem. How did he come up short for you?

 

The fog certainly changed our plans to hike to the lighthouse and go to the beach. It did provide for some dramatic views from Icebox Hill, though.

[partybarbie]

Congrats on the birthday!

 

Thank you Coral. :)

 

The Circle Host, Cameron, told me the cut-off was around 380 days for the most traveled passenger lunch on this sailing.

[Coral]

Thank you Coral. :)

 

The Circle Host, Cameron, told me the cut-off was around 380 days for the most traveled passenger lunch on this sailing.

 

That's his name - Cameron! Nice guy!

[AmberTeka]

I never met a cookie I did not like. However, it is always good to know where cookies are exceptional. I am not going on the Sapphire, but I am sailing on the Star and on the Crown next year. The chocolate cookies in the International Cafe on the Star were good.

The chocolate cookies served on the dessert bar on Carnival Dream were very good.

The cookies..any kind..served on the old Zenith ..an X Ship...were baked by a master baker. Perhaps elves. they were delicious. Some were filled. Some were not. All melted in my mouth. They served them..at no extra cost in the Cove Cafe and on deck behind one of the swimming pools.

I like reading Pam's postings too. then she mentioned..COOKIES...

I hope her next cruise is better.

[beshears]

Hello again.

 

Someone mentioned "cookies" and a light went on in my head. I'm a cookie MONSTER.;) If you have been on the Sapphire, are there any GOOD cookies there???

 

Wizard - of -Roz - Now this will be a strange one. My name is Brenda, and my mothers name was Elizabeth. That would probably never happen in a million years.

 

Someone mentioned the lighthouse. I LOVE lighthouses. Where was this one located?

 

As you know we are planning on cruising the MR in April. We just found out that Mazatlan is out. I think because of the BAD things that are going on now.

 

Love to read your "thoughts."

Brenda

[wizard-of-roz]

Hello again.

 

Someone mentioned "cookies" and a light went on in my head. I'm a cookie MONSTER.;) If you have been on the Sapphire, are there any GOOD cookies there???

 

Wizard - of -Roz - Now this will be a strange one. My name is Brenda, and my mothers name was Elizabeth. That would probably never happen in a million years.

 

Someone mentioned the lighthouse. I LOVE lighthouses. Where was this one located?

 

As you know we are planning on cruising the MR in April. We just found out that Mazatlan is out. I think because of the BAD things that are going on now.

 

Love to read your "thoughts."

Brenda

 

Very strange.......But, two beautiful names. I'm not one to name dogs with "human" names. She was named by Canine Companions for Independence and there were two more before her. She's Brenda III.

Mazatlan is out for now but, the ships may bring it back when the locals have reported there's safety for all.

A few other cruiselines have pulled-out of the MR because of the dangers in the interior of Mexico. This would be an economic nightmare for the citizens of Mexico and the Baja Penninsula. They depend on the tourist dollars to feed their families.

A very sad predicament indeed!

[beshears]

Wizard - of - Roz, I didn't think anything about it, until you mention that Brenda, was Brenda III. I have twin b-i-l's. When they were growing up in California, we would visit them and family from Missouri once a year. When we got out there, they introduced me to "Brenda" their dog. I ask them if they named the dog after me, and they said no, she came with that name. Until I read where you mentioned the name of Brenda, I didn't know of any other dog with that name other than my b-i-l's years ago.

 

AmberTeka, you mentioned about cruising on the Star. Do you mean the NCL? If so, I hope you like it, as we did it when it was brand new, and no one was happy with that ship.

 

Regarding "COOKIES." Is the Lido deck the ONLY place to get them, or does someone know (where you don't have to PAY) to get them?

 

I did some investigating yesterday before I left work. After I read that we might not be going to Mazatlan, but to Ensenada, I decided to call Princess. I spoke with with a customer rep, and this is NOT in concrete. She said we might be going to Ensenada (I would prefer not as we were there last year, and there is not a lot to do, but they do have bargaining, which we like.), OR we might do a "full" day at Cabo. Wouldn't that be nice?:) If someone hears more, let me know.

[Pam in CA]

From what I understand, you'll do both the full day in Cabo and Ensenada.

[LARGIN]

Wondering when Princess is going to pull out of the Mexican Riviera like the other cruise companies. :confused:

[wizard-of-roz]

Wondering when Princess is going to pull out of the Mexican Riviera like the other cruise companies. :confused:

 

Every time we cruise the MR, the ships are FULL and the folks onboard are from all over the world. We do this cruise at least once a year and have done it on various lines since the mid 80's [some of the lines have stopped doing this venue.] As far as I'm concerned that's no loss! NCL is one of them and they're product leaves a lot to be desired!

I hope Princess NEVER stops going to the MR.....it's such a easy cruise for us and another way to be out on the ocean in a 5 Star hotel. I know there are thousands of other people who feel the very same way we do!

The cruise is about the ship and not the ports......We love when the ship goes into port and we have her all to ourselves.