Sapphire Princess Review

[Cruisin'Doc]

OP - I'm very sorry that you had such a bad experience. Remember, no one else had your experience, so you do not have to answer to anyone else. And what you and your family choose to wear, as long as you like it and are happy, who cares?

 

I do understand your primary concern - you were treated harshly, and that hurts. Regardless of rules, policies, etc., there is no excuse for treating guests rudely. While everyone (even crew) will have bad days... that doesn't make it any less hurtful to the who happens to cross their path that one 'bad' day.

 

I wish you and your husband many happy cruises to come!

[private92656]

PrincessE, we were on the same cruise. I'm sorry that you and your DH were poorly treated. There can be disagreement on what constitutes proper attire on formal night, but customer should not be treated with disrespect under any circumstance. I was once turned away from DR, and it was not even the formal night, I was wearing shorts after an exhausting excursion and simply forgot to change clothing for dinner. I was politely reminded about rules in dinning room, I said "ooops, sorry", and ran back to my room, put on right clothing, and enjoyed the dinner.

 

I also agree with you about inconsistency in rule enforcement. We saw bunch of teenagers in Skywalker on Thursday evening at around 11pm, with 2 boys looked to be around 12-13yrs. The place is suppose to be 18+ only. The waiters even took order from them, though I had no idea whether any alcohol was served or not.

[cr8tiv1]

I'm not looking to get attacked here or severely questioned. I wrote out my review and posted it. Why is it people feel the need to attack and critique when someone is just pointing out what happened to them. Geesh. You related to Jovi or what?

 

Thank you for your review. I have read mixed reviews about the Sapphire. I will be on her in April and hope that some of these issues will have been resolved by then.

 

I also agree with you about the tone of some posters. Most (the majority) seem to be able to phrase their responses less critically. There will always be those few who lack this skill. Everyone has the right to voice their opinions on a forum. As I remind my students, whatever you write becomes primary history. Take the time to re-read your post to make sure that you will be read as a kind and gentle soul.

 

Renee (displaced local girl)

[MsSoCalCruiser]

I'm sorry that happened to you and your husband. It's a terrible feeling when you feel like someone has been rude to you.

[bled01]

Thanks for the feedback on your cruise. I see there have been some varied opinions on your experience...some of which may not be entirely fair. My .02 cents on the situation...

 

• I hate formal nights and wish they would only have one per cruise. That being said I always at least wear a dark suit because I do not want to be hassled or seem out of place. No way am I ever going to bother with a Tux again, but I adhere by the dress code by wearing the suit.
  
• Technically speaking your husband was not abiding by the dress code.
  
• I have seen lots of people not abide by the dress code during formal nights and they have always been seated.
  
• The Jovi guy should have seated you and been more respectful. I would think a polite warning that in the future they will be enforcing the dress code more strictly would have sufficed.
  
• Customer Service should have followed up better. Regardless of whether or not you went to the correct person there needs to be more accountability when there are complaints about things.
  

[EZ4]

My take is that the problem was his exposed arms. I'm guessing that a jacket quickly thrown on or a long sleeve shirt would have gotten him past the little troll at the bridge.

[4cats4me]

Unfortunately, I have to agree with Jovi on this. Just because dress code wasn't enforced before, doesn't mean it shouldn't be enforced now by someone who is supposed to enforce the dress code. Last time I was on the Sapphire, they had signs up that said "Dress Code would be enforced". I didn't see them the first week but did after that.

 

As far as the cost of the shirt, it is irrelevant. There are $150 tshirts out there. I think your husband would have been fine with a long sleeve white shirt that costs far less and a tie.

 

I am not a fan of formal night. I actually hate it but on every cruise, I have brought formal clothes with me and wear them. Part of the "when in Rome, do as the Romans do".

 

If you cruise again, I would suggest bringing formal clothes or making alternate arrangements such as Sterlings, etc.... Maybe in the future they will eliminate formal night.

 

When we were last on the Sapphire two years ago we noticed young men and older men who were turned away only to return minutes later with a jacket so they do enforce the dress code on formal night. We observed this in Savoy and in Santa Fe. The Santa Fe time wasn't a formal night but the young man didn't realize that he wasn't allowed to wear Bermudas to dinner. He and his new bride were seated next to us

[2 to cruise]

We just don't "sweat" it anymore. After several cruises and tuxes for my husband - he is like the OP's husband, big guy, not comfortable in a tux.

 

On formal nights we just go to the specialty restaurants and have NEVER had a problem with him dressed in a nice silk Tommy Bahama shirt, nice pants and nice shoes.

 

Over the years of cruising, it just isn't necessary to be all "gussied" up - been their, done that so many times.

 

No, we don't even try to get into the dining room on formal night as we wouldn't feel comfortable there, but the specialty restaurants welcome us with open arms. Never EVER had a problem.

[spingal]

I too wish there were fewer formal nights. That being said we always abide by the formal night rules if we decide to go to the dining room. I think it shows respect for the other passengers. Personally it bothers me when I see folks that ignore the rules and think they do not apply to them. There are other options for dining on formal nights......Sabatini's, Sterling's, Alfredo's or Horizon Court. I think that if you don't want to dress up or can't dress up you need to go one of these restaurants. My BIL is a big guy but he finds dress clothes that fit him. JMHO.

[luvcdays]

Thank you for the review and I hope you can get past Princess's discrepencies and just remember the good parts of your cruise.;)

[Ahhh]

The Sapphire was super, super clean. Everywhere, all the time the ship was either being cleaned or just sparkled.

 

We've been doing Anytime Dining for a few years now and I really miss the customer service that comes with Traditional Dining. This cruise, our first night in one of the dining rooms, the Sante Fe was a disaster. We watched other tables around us who were served by another waiter getting fantastic service.

 

The following nights in the Pacific Moon our waiters weren't very good. Everyone seemed to be unhappy. The food was hit or miss. Ususally I love the Princess food, but this cruise it was either really good or really bad.

 

The service on this cruise was hit or miss, which really shocked us. We never saw the Captain once on this cruise. I never saw the Cruise Director either. Maybe that had something to do with the attitude on the ship?

 

The Future Cruise Sales desk wasn't staffed near enough. We would wait in line only to finally walk away after waiting 30 minutes because we were fourth in line and it closed in 15 minutes.

 

Unfortunately this trip will definitely not be one of our favorites.

 

Thank you for posting your review. Sorry it was a disappointment for you. I too, was on this sailing, my fifth time on Sapphire. It is my favorite Princess ship and this was the second time I have been on her since the remodel.

 

I agree that she is super clean, thought this is in part because she was transformed last year, so things are still fresh (thankfully :)). We also did Anytime Dining. The Sapphire and the Diamond are unique to the fleet in that they have four separate, small, intimate dining rooms to choose from. It makes Anytime Dining special because of it. Our first night was in Vivaldi and we had one of the best waiters ever! Csaba was very professional, quick, and friendly. Had I not wanted to go to the other three rooms I would have requested him every night! Just goes to show you that there are good and bad staff on every ship.

 

We found the food to be some of the best we've had on Princess (but then, I felt that way when I was on the Sapphire last year as well). Again, I think it depends on what you order, and apparently our choices were great.

 

Although I never saw the Captain, other than at the two repeat guest parties, I know he had his wife and son on board with him, so perhaps he was spending time alone with them. I never expect to see them much anyway. I did see the Cruise Director, though I am not a big fan of Billy Hygate.

 

I have to totally agree with you about the Future Cruise Sales Office! I felt that either that person was sick, or overworked with other duties, as I only saw her once, in passing. I went by one day, when her hours were posted and she was not there. I left a note for her to send me a price quote but never heard back from her. I also left a future booking deposit, and to respond with a note to my cabin instead of an email but again, never heard back (I did recieve an email confirming my purchase though).

 

I hope you are not soured on Princess by this experience, and are planning another cruise or ten soon ;). David

[2BeOnaBoat]

Thanks for the review. I am going on the Sapphire for the first time in April. I’ve done other ships and wanted to try a different layout.

 

The cleanliness is great to hear. Based on my last cruise, you confirmed what I experienced with the future sales person. They need an assistant or something. I’ll file the embarkation and disembarkation under “good to know”. As far as not seeing the Captain or CD; that doesn’t bother me much. I never have anything to say to the Captain and the CD is usually running from one venue to another. How they have over weight CDs amazes me; they must run a marathon day on sea days! I prefer the assistant CD. They walk more and seem more approachable.

 

As far as formal night, I don’t think they should have seated you. I hate formal nights – not for having to wear a suit, though I vacation to get away from that. I just hate paying to take my suit on vacation.

 

While not an attack on you, I disagree with those who feel you should be allowed in on formal night wearing whatever makes you happy. Princess needs to crack down and not be inconsistent in their enforcement. But having worn Tommy Bahama 18 times prior is a part of the problem. I don’t like formal night snobs but I respect that they are right. If I decide to leave my suit behind, it’s sushi, pizza and wine for dinner.

 

The rudeness is inexcusable. I think your complaint should have been about that and not how you should be allowed to skirt the rules since others were too.

 

I’ll look for Jovi in April and watch him out of the corner of my eyes!

 

Was there anything else about the ship in particular that you would recommend or advise to avoid?

[sunsetbeachgal]

Something not to be missed is the pizzeria called Alfredos, located on Deck 5 in the piazza. We thought these made to order brick oven pizzas were to die for!

[sackman]

I don't get to wear my tux on any occassions other than cruises, so I love formal nights. I remember when a 7-night cruise would have three formal nights.

 

It's upsetting to hear that the OP was treated rudely. That shouldn't happen. It could be an instance where this Jovi fellow simply isn't properly educated on how Americans prefer to be treated. I'm engaging in pure speculation here, so take it for what it's worth. A lot of people claim that foreigners are rude when in fact they're just acting as they normally do. It could be that his behavior was perfectly normal in his home country. Not rude, just short and to the point.

 

Anyway, again that's just pure speculation on my part.

[LARGIN]

Can someone tell me the name of the Maitre D' currently on the Sapphire? Thanks..

[cruzsnooze]

.

 

I don't want to see sloppy people in the dining room. I believe the dress code should be enforced,

 

So what's the issue? The dress code was being enforced? I don't think Tommy Bahama is even close to formal. I sailed recently on the Sapphire on the Pacific Coastal and didn't want to bring formal attire so I had dinner in the Horizon court.

Don't confuse sloppy with formal. You can be nicely dressed as your say your husband was BUT it is not formal.

[Shake]

I'm all for enforcing the dress code too, but like I said, my husband's attire has been accepted at no less than 18 formal nights over the course of five previous cruises. We have even asked head waiters before if he was dressed appropriately and have received total acceptance.

 

I don't want to see sloppy people in the dining room. I believe the dress code should be enforced, but my complaint is that the head waiter was RUDE and the rules are not consistent across the line or even on the same ship.

 

As for being tired of my husband's choice of styling, far from it. He is who he is and I find him dashing and handsome.

 

Consider yourself lucky you were allowed in the MDR on the previous formal nights. Now you know and before you were uninformed.

 

I am glad you find your husbands same old Tommy Bahama outfit each night utterly dashing. :p Love is Blind.

[jbobst]

Don't mean to get off topic too much, but a few of you mentioned that Sabatini's and the steak house allow non-formal dress on formal nights. Is that really the case? I don't usually frequent the extra fee restaurants on cruises, but I think on all the past cruises I've been on, formal night was still formal in the specialty restaurants. If that is not the case on Sapphire, I might ditch the formal clothes and just plan on a specialty restaurant during formal nights. (obviously, I am sure they still require a smart business casual...I am not saying I will dress poorly in specialty restaurants...but it would be nice to avoid the tie and jacket).

[Sitmar Lady]

I'll be on the Sapphire in March and thanks for the heads up on that Jovi character. My Husband always wears a Tux on Formal nights but I can see that you point was the rude attitude you received and the inconsistancy of the rules. I personally have seen far far far worse than a mid-lenth sleeve shirt and dress pants on formal nights and I can tell by your description he probably looked quite nice. If I see that Jovi fellow at the door on my cruise, I will go up to him and read his name tag, and turn right around and walk to another dining room. The last thing I want to experience on a cruise is a rude head waiter no matter the reason. So for that, I appreciate your post!

[SITMARLOVER21]

Consider yourself lucky you were allowed in the MDR on the previous formal nights. Now you know and before you were uninformed.

 

I am glad you find your husbands same old Tommy Bahama outfit each night utterly dashing. :p Love is Blind.

 

What a mean hearted thing to say!! I think it is sweet that she thinks her husband looks utterly dashing in his Tommy Bahama shirts!! Perhaps you are just an unhappy person. :rolleyes:

[sackman]

If I see that Jovi fellow at the door on my cruise, I will go up to him and read his name tag, and turn right around and walk to another dining room. The last thing I want to experience on a cruise is a rude head waiter no matter the reason. So for that, I appreciate your post!

 

So it's OK for you to be rude, just not the staff? :confused:

 

Good to know.

[Sitmar Lady]

Oh lookey here, you have found a new target to attack. I'm avoiding rude behavior just as I will avoid yours. Now, off you go.

 

So it's OK for you to be rude, just not the staff? :confused:

 

Good to know.

[EZ4]

So what's the issue? The dress code was being enforced? I don't think Tommy Bahama is even close to formal. I sailed recently on the Sapphire on the Pacific Coastal and didn't want to bring formal attire so I had dinner in the Horizon court.

Don't confuse sloppy with formal. You can be nicely dressed as your say your husband was BUT it is not formal.

 

Neither is a suit. Not even close.

[Coral]

I am guessing Jovi may not have been considered rude if he wasn't challenged several times on eating in the dining room with a short sleeve shirt by this couple. It was pretty clear after the first comment that he needed a long sleeve shirt. Most would have gone back to the room and changed or sought food elsewhere.

[Coral]

I'll be on the Sapphire in March and thanks for the heads up on that Jovi character. My Husband always wears a Tux on Formal nights but I can see that you point was the rude attitude you received and the inconsistancy of the rules. I personally have seen far far far worse than a mid-lenth sleeve shirt and dress pants on formal nights and I can tell by your description he probably looked quite nice. If I see that Jovi fellow at the door on my cruise, I will go up to him and read his name tag, and turn right around and walk to another dining room. The last thing I want to experience on a cruise is a rude head waiter no matter the reason. So for that, I appreciate your post!

 

While there may be several Jovi's out there, I have met a Head Waiter named Jovi before on a previous cruise and he came across pretty similar to most Head Waiters - nothing negative. You may want to judge him for yourself before you stare at his name tag and then leave the dining room. You may look like you are acting rude to him by doing so. Everyone can have one bad night, especially when they work 7 days a week, months on end and are challenged repeatedly by people not abiding by the dress code.