My personal experiences onboard the Sapphire 28 day Hawaii/Samoa/Tahiti cruise.

[balcony queen]

I have always said I would NEVER sail Princess due to personal feelings about the cruiseline. We looked hard at this trip. I was about ready to "cave" and book. But now after some of the comments, I will pass.

 

Rusty B, Just a note. Why should I have to book a H/C cabin because my daughter is in a wheelchair??? We book high end suites, her chair fits thru the door just fine.

 

I am glad we are not booking Princess. That way no one will have to see my daughter lying on a lounger, basking in the warmth, most likely covered in a pool blanket with a pillow under her head. She is unable to walk or get up by herself anymore. I would not want to spoil the "atmosphere" for anyone.:rolleyes:

 

Tina's Mom

I just want to say you must have been very hurt reading that reference but there is a lot of Cruisers out there that salute you. Why should your daughter not enjoy feeling the sun on her face we all love to escape completely:)

[vjmatty]

Wow, I think you totally missed the OP's and others' points. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

I don't understand why some try to twist comments so it appears to apply to them personally.....almost like they want to be insulted, when the criticism was clearly not intended for them.

[vjmatty]

I will say again, for me the 8 days at sea were fine. I had plenty to do reading, sunning, playing with my photos, visiting, etc. The only thing I had a problem with was the energy level of the ship. The fact that after Tahiti we were "going home". We had more cruise left at that point then most cruises!!

 

I think some need more entertainment than others.....last year on the Pacific Princess TA, many complained of boredom, even with only four sea days in a row. Some even flew home from Bermuda rather than suffer from the ship feeding them and cleaning up after them for two more days :rolleyes: On the last two days, when the seas got rough, I wanted to tell the remaining complainers "well, you said you were bored......." :D. But I held my tongue.

 

 

I'm in your camp....give me a book on deck, a jogging track for my fitness walks, a couple rounds of trivia per day and I'm all set.

[Princess Patches]

I am not sure the length of the cruise caused the high number of elderly and disabled, but rather the fact that it was roundtrip out of LA and therefore a vacation that was doable without any flying for those within driving distance of San Pedro. Flying has become very difficult for the elderly and disabled and a largely unpleasant experience. If I were elderly or disabled I would certainly stick to roundtrip cruises that do not involve any flying.

 

I would have thought that the longer cruises with lots of sea days would be discouraging to some seniors because of the lack of advanced medical care available for long periods of time while at sea for many days. I know several seniors who will not take the long open ocean crossing cruises for that reason. I was somewhat surprised to learn of the number of elderly on the longer Sapphire cruise (I sort of expected it on my shorter Sapphire cruise last month that did not involve an ocean crossing).

 

I sailed on the Pacific Coastal roundtrip out of LA on the Sapphire in early October. It was a short one week coastal cruise to San Francisco. We saw the highest number of passengers using various ambulation aids (scooters, walkers, wheelchairs) that we have ever seen on any cruise (more than 20 with Princess and more than 30 on various lines). We talked about it at the time and decided it must be the non-flying aspect of this trip. Unlike the OP we thoroughly enjoyed our much shorter Sapphire cruise. We have booked it again for May. We realize there will be a lot of seniors on our upcoming May cruise, but we did not feel anyone was rude to us on the last cruise. We cannot wait to go again. Sorry the OP did not enjoy the South Pacific cruise.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Toto- thanks for your candor. I know that your husband was a bit reluctant about this cruise given all the sea days at the end. The fact that he agreed to it gave me hope that I could convince my DH to go, and I worked hard at it, but to no avail. We suspected the 8 days at the end might have him jumping overboard; I never anticipated the other issues you encountered. If they offer you that OS for free, please remember your CC friends ;). I would hide in my suite all cruise long for that opportunity.

[flamomo]

Thanks to those who corrected my jet-lagged error re: the Equator crossing ceremony. No matter which ceremony it was, it turned out to be a fiasco for a lot of us passengers because of the unthinking and selfish behavior of a number of passengers. The many of us who had planned ahead and arrived well over an hour early to find seats to enjoy it were done out of the fun we expected.

I would have had np problem if they allowed people in wheelchairs to sit next to the edge of the pool, but it was the ablebodied that rushed in 10 minutes before it began, and stood in a crowd right in front of the action, completely blocking the view for many of us.

Yes, we DID cross the International Dateline ..... the Captain announced that we would be crossing it, and what time it would occur, over the intercom that day.

[westcoaster]

Personally, I liked the itinerary the way it was with the 8 sea days at the end. I did most of the planning and organizing of the sightseeing in the ports for our small group, so it was really nice to know as we sailed away from Tahiti that there was absolutely nothing I had to think about for the next 8 days! Don't get me wrong - I loved the ports - it's just that the stretch of sea days at the end of the cruise allowed for total and complete relaxation, more than any previous cruise I've been on - I loved it!

[srphnx]

There is always one place without the scooter-squad, the stairways.

 

I don't mind sailing with older people at all, the fact that they can be rude isn't limited to that age group and unlike the younger generation most of them were raised with the concept of manners and a polite reminder of what it is they are lacking usually goes a lot further because of it.

 

I think the OP had stress based on a few things that she put herself in a position to have. Being a key contact for an overly huge group and what we call "suite syndrome" which happens to us when we book an expensive cabin. It raises our expectations of everything on the cruise. Somewhere in the back of your mind you think "hey I paid more for this than I have for cars, I want EVERYTHING to go just right".

 

All of a sudden noises in hallways are more annoying, people going slowly are more annoying, people in your exclusive breakfast room are not entitled to crowd you etc.

 

When we book a cheap cabin this never happens.

[vjmatty]

There is always one place without the scooter-squad, the stairways.

 

I don't mind sailing with older people at all, the fact that they can be rude isn't limited to that age group and unlike the younger generation most of them were raised with the concept of manners and a polite reminder of what it is they are lacking usually goes a lot further because of it.

 

I think the OP had stress based on a few things that she put herself in a position to have. Being a key contact for an overly huge group and what we call "suite syndrome" which happens to us when we book an expensive cabin. It raises our expectations of everything on the cruise. Somewhere in the back of your mind you think "hey I paid more for this than I have for cars, I want EVERYTHING to go just right".

 

All of a sudden noises in hallways are more annoying, people going slowly are more annoying, people in your exclusive breakfast room are not entitled to crowd you etc.

 

When we book a cheap cabin this never happens.

 

Hmmm......I don't know about that, we are always in a middle-grade room and I still hate to witness passengers being rude to staff. I'd feel uncomfortable with passengers stripping naked on the pool deck, regardless of age, no matter how much I paid for my room. Taking the stairs won't prevent the scooter squad from running you over in the hallways where there is nowhere to step aside, if that is indeed what happened on this sailing.

 

If you were to read her review without references to age of the passengers, I don't think anyone would have taken offense, as these behaviors would be upsetting coming from anyone, young or old. Also, if you took out references to being in a GS, most of what was experienced was beyond the norm for inconveniences regardless of the price tag. For example, I've never had to go an hour early to a show, usually 15 minutes at most. I've never seen HC packed at 5am, and I am one of those dreadful people who is up there early to grab a cup of coffee between 5:30 and 6am before exercising.... it is usually a ghost town.

 

Some of the others who agreed with Sue's review were in more modest accommodations and were not leading tour groups, yet they made the same observations. Others thought the cruise was a great time and would do it again, perhaps not spending much time on the pool deck or going to shows.

 

All that being said, I am booked for this sailing in 2013 and keeping an open mind as I take all of this in. Some things reported would not bother me, others would drive me nuts. I guess time and further reviews will tell.

[Love.II.Cruise]

We'd rather have a boring sea day any day than a good day at work. We can entertain ourselves.

[srphnx]

Of course rude people are unpleasant, I think that has been more than sufficiently agreed upon here.

 

Popular activities mean waits, this is a fact of cruising. I find the late shows to be easier to get into on cruises with older people because (trade off) they tend to go to bed earlier.

 

Sabatini's being packed was a function of the VIP herd, nothing to be done.

 

Sue has a right to her view, much of which I understand, I have not said otherwise, I was talking about my view which is why I said "I think".

[san diego sue]

Sue,

Thanks for the honest revue.

We also were scheduled for this cruise and wound up cancelling. Instead we took Panama Canal cruise.

I felt that 18 sea days was not what we wanted.We have sailed a number of transatlantics and have had up to eight sea days in a row, and never a problem. However, the sea days always up front and days flew by with Lectures and activities on board.

I know Cruise Critic has been a big part of your life so don't give up on the boards.We enjoy your posts.

Still amazes me that people interupted your quiet time in cabin with phone calls. Very rude of them.

As far as all the scooters, I know how that goes, as we have been run over on HAL cruises. I think sometimes people who have never used a scooter before, rent them for cruising. It's like a driver without a license .

[IECalCruiser]

We were on the Sapphire about a month before Sue. While talking to Alice, the hostess at Sabatini's, I mentioned we would like to book a suite to be able to use Sabatini's for breakfast. She frowned and made the comment that it had been so full on recent cruises that is was hard for the staff to manage and that was without the VIPs!

 

 

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[Pam in CA]

We were on the Sapphire about a month before Sue. While talking to Alice, the hostess at Sabatini's, I mentioned we would like to book a suite to be able to use Sabatini's for breakfast. She frowned and made the comment that it had been so full on recent cruises that is was hard for the staff to manage and that was without the VIPs!

Interesting because the number of suites hasn't increased so the number of people able to use this perk is limited. All the suite people would suddenly want to have breakfast in Sabatinis to make the difference.

[Times Prince]

Toto,

 

Thanks for the frank and honest review. There really is no excuse for rudeness and ill-mannered bad behavior, no matter what the age of the person. In addition, all those calls to your room for information that should have been recorded before certainly was intrusive.

 

We all value your input here on CC, so please take a well earned vacation from the boards and when the time is right for you, come back.

 

To everyone else, let's take a lesson that we all are on vacation during a cruise. Write down the critical information shared on the Roll call and/or private emails beforehand, and limit ourselves to enjoying the vacation together.

[logan25]

We are not considering the 28-day itinerary to Tahiti, but did think the shorter 11-day Hawaii to Tahiti would be more to our liking, without so many sea days. Would you think the demographic would be younger than the 28-day?

[nevada1]

Toto--Thank you for the excellent review of the South Pacific cruise. We were also on it. I, too, was run into by a speeding scooter trying to bust through a group of people. No saying "sorry" or even a look towards us.

Dittos on almost all you say. We were in a mini-suite which was very nice with a great cabin steward. Dining in the Pacific Moon at table 420 was more than excellent. Our waitress, Amyout, was the best we've ever had in 35 years of cruising.

We do have a 20 day Caribbean booked on the Emerald Princess in March and April of next year but we are really finding out that the longer Princess cruises are mainly for elderly people. Well, I'm in my late sixties but I think the average age on the Sapphire was was mid to late seventies.

We found the activities lacking on the 8 day return and didn't even try to get a seat in the theater.

I also had very bad experiences with the future cruise person. She was rude, snide, sarcastic and condescending. She was possibly the worst cruise employee I've ever seen.

Toto, hang in there. You were a great help to me and others on the boards and I've thanked you before and I'm thanking you again, now.

Steve

[IECalCruiser]

Interesting because the number of suites hasn't increased so the number of people able to use this perk is limited. All the suite people would suddenly want to have breakfast in Sabatinis to make the difference.

There might be a different pattern of usage depending upon itinerary and passenger demographics. It was an interesting comment though.

 

 

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[Honolulumikee]

 

Did we go to the same casino? All I seen was masked employees at the casino from Halloween to disembarkment. I mean, I did not see anyone winning! Lol, maybe I should have sat next to you for luck. Poor bartenders and waiters did not make any money. People on the ship really did not make money on drinks. All the bars were sllooww.

 

We spent a lot of time in the casino on this cruise. We won a lot of money in there and brought about half of it home with us. We got two of those tax things at the end of the cruise. Dang it!!!! lol

I met Sue (toto from Kansas) in the casino. We became video poker pals. lol We always seemed to be sitting next to each other. I liked her very much, she was a very nice person. We had lots of good talks about the cruise and the people on it. She was telling me about all the people bugging her at her grand suite about the tours she had set up, becuse they didn't go to the meet and greet to find out information. I know it was very frustrating for her. She told me that we could come up and see the grand suite after the second meet and greet was over, but we decided we didn't want to bug her. She had been bugged enough. I was meaning to ask Sue for her email address, so we could stay in touch, but that never happend. If your reading this Sue, and you would like to stay in touch, my email address is: bretchers at gmail dot com

 

One of the guys we were traveling with got sick with a cold and two days later I came down with it. It turned into a chest cold. Cough cough cough. This was the last 8 days. Thank goodness it didn't happen when were at any of the islands. I pretty much stayed in the cabin, and then when I did go out, I was trying my hardest not to cough. We were invited up to the bridge on the last Tuesday of the trip by the captain. My husband and 18 other people. Tuesday was my worst day of my cold, but I wasn't going to miss this. We went up there and I had my camera. The captain was very nice and iformative. I took lots of pictures and it was very interesting. I thought I was going to pass out from trying not to cough. I broke out it a sweat and I was looking around at all the other people and I was the only sweating. I had to leave, I was the first one out of there. I went straight back to my room and went to bed and stayed there for two days. I'm all better now, the cough is gone. My husband caught it a whole week after I got it. I wonder how many people on the ship had this cold.........

 

Ok, that's it for my two cents. Would I ever do this cruise again? Probably not. Even though over all, we had a great time.

 

Marilyn

[dfields1814]

I agree with Toto with just about everything she said except CD Tim. We thought he was pretty good.

Not to be mean .. just the facts ... this cruise was like a floating retirement home. I am in my mid 60's and I can only remember three passengers younger than myself at our ATD table... in 28 days. The vast majority were in their mid to late 80's .. best guess. There were a good number of WWII and Korean War vets so that can give you some indication of the age. The oldest we met was 103, and he was in great shape.

I heard a rumor that a passenger either passed away or got sick and was disembarked in American Samoa. This was never confirmed but I believe it.

I would say 95% of the passengers were some nicest people you would ever want to meet. 5% or maybe even less were some of the best complainers and rudest people I have ever met. I talked to a member of the crew that deals with the passengers and he said that cruise had more complainers than any other cruise he had been on. Just a few examples of rudeness and complainers: I overheard a man sitting behind me in the theater say loudly he wished for the assignation of a current political leader of the USA (very disturbing and unsettling). We were at a table with people from a European country and others at the table trashed that country's government. Another time a very opinionated man at the table spent most of the entire dinner trashing a political party he did not like. One lady went nuts because the waiter did not bring her coffee. The only problem no one could remember her ordering the coffee in the first place. After she indicated she wanted the coffee she got it almost immediately. She said she was going to add this to her multi page letter of complaints she was going to send to Princess. I doubt any of them were legit. But I do admit these are examples of the exception. Most people were really nice and interesting.

I also agree with Toto. I would never take this cruise if you are going to the South Pacific for the first time. One day in port isn't even close to being enough time. I think this cruise is more for those who want to take a ship ride or those interested in water sports like snorkeling than those who really want to experience life and culture in the South Pacific.

Toto was correct. The energy level was a big disappointment.

Toto was also correct if you wanted a good seat for the first show you had to be there an hour early. (Two hours for the Tahitian show). However, there were generally seats available for the second show.

New rule: No man, especially if overweight and elderly, can wear skimpy, tight Speedo’s….ever!

New rule: when not in the pool area you must cover up especially if you are overweight. (No Offense)

New Rule: Politics and/or religion are not topics for discussion at a shared table.

New Rule: If you are walking slowly or with a cane or in a wheelchair or scooter down a narrow aisle, you have to move over so others can get by.

New Rule: if you have trouble walking or going down stairs and are sitting in the front of a bus, let others get off first so you don’t hold everyone else up.

Old rule: Talking (especially loudly) during a performance in the theater or lounge is never acceptable.

Unlike Toto, I would take this cruise again…. maybe when I reach 85 ... if I ever do. I promise I won’t talk politics or wear a Speedo. I will move over to let people by, and let the more mobile people off the bus first. I will cover up. And I will keep my mouth shut during a performance.. I promise.

[BigBit]

Toto,

 

I was not on your cruise, but was on the 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise that followed it. I have two day-of-departure stories that you may enjoy.

 

1) When we arrived at Pier 93, the limo driver took our bags out and stacked them up neatly on the curb to the right of some other people's bags. I'm trying to pay the limo driver when this elderly woman with a cain comes over and starts screaming at us to "get our bags away from hers". I ask her politely to give me a minute and we'll move them. She starts screaming that our bags are going to "get mixed up", that our bags were in the wrong place - this was the place for bags "that just left the ship" (No, it was the sidewalk by the pick-up/drop-off area). My wife tells her to calm down, everything is going to be fine. She snaps back, "well you folks must not travel much, 'cause you don't know what you're doing". (I happen to be a frequent traveler who logs over 100,000 miles per year on airplanes, so I think I know how to deal with checked luggage). I looked at the woman sternly, said, "Ma'am, please mind your own business", picked up our bags and left her behind with her still muttering about our bags being too close to hers. Unbelievable attitude! My wife and I looked at each and said, "I hope this isn't a sign of things to come on this cruise!" It wasn't, thankfully.

 

2) After checking in, boarding the ship, settling into our room, we went up to the rear of deck 14 to have a pre-departure beverage. I ordered a special type of Pina Colada on the bar menu, made with Kahlua. I didn't pay much attention to the bartender making my drink. When I got it, it didn't taste right. I mentioned it to the barkeep, who then realized he forgot to add the Kahlua! He then said, "The last cruise had the oldest average age of any cruise I've ever served on. I sat here doing virtually nothing for the last month! It's been 28 days since I've had to make a cocktail! I forgot how to make some of them, it's been so long!" I'm sure it was a tongue in cheek comment but fairly reflective of what your cruise was like.

 

Sorry that your experience with some of the other passengers was not more pleasant.

[Honolulumikee]

Backing into Papeete on a moonlit night, tahiatian ukuleles strumming on the docks, food wagons in the park, children playing under the moon, holding my wife on the aft deck, PRICELESS!

[Mom33]

How sad to see posters complaining about people over 70, coming on board "their cruise" and ruining the ambience of "their " cruise. YOU will be over 70 one day. Are you going to waste away your final days in front of a TV, sequestered in your home so that you won't offend the younger generation? Would any of you want to be in the shoes of the people you are complaining about? How fortunate for those that still have their health. How sad for those that lack compassion.

 

My signature shows the cruises I have been on. I am 65 years young and have met many older cruisers on my trips. I have met many younger than I also. On each of our cruises there were some rude and obnoxious people of various ages.

i walked the halls with scooters and wheelchairs. Some of the poor behavior was directed my way and some was just observed by me.

I never let it ruin my cruise. I have enjoyed every one of my cruises and can not conceive of denying the same pleasure to a group because of their age and or disability.

[4cats4me]

How sad to see posters complaining about people over 70, coming on board "their cruise" and ruining the ambience of "their " cruise. YOU will be over 70 one day. Are you going to waste away your final days in front of a TV, sequestered in your home so that you won't offend the younger generation? Would any of you want to be in the shoes of the people you are complaining about? How fortunate for those that still have their health. How sad for those that lack compassion.

 

My signature shows the cruises I have been on. I am 65 years young and have met many older cruisers on my trips. I have met many younger than I also. On each of our cruises there were some rude and obnoxious people of various ages.

i walked the halls with scooters and wheelchairs. Some of the poor behavior was directed my way and some was just observed by me.

I never let it ruin my cruise. I have enjoyed every one of my cruises and can not conceive of denying the same pleasure to a group because of their age and or disability.[/quote]

 

It wasn't discriminatory based on age or disability; it was because of poor attitude.;)

[Aussie Gal]

Mom 33,

 

The OP was not complaining about Seniors in general but just those who were rude, and didn't know how to conduct themselves in their wheel chairs.

 

I have never encountered this sort of behaviour on a Princess cruise as the ones we do are quite strenuous and always start from a foreign port but we have encountered this type of behaviour on HAL and it isn't pleasant especially when being run over by a wheel chair.

 

I have just turned the dreaded age of 70 and there is no way that I would conduct myself in the manner that some oldies do just because they think they are entitled to act that way because of their age. Where are the manners that our parents taught us so long ago!

 

Jennie

 

Jennie