Our Wonderful Alaska Sapphire Experience

[aknursemom]

We just returned from our Alaskan cruise on the Sapphire. It was the first cruise for my husband and stepdaughters. I told them we were going to visit Vancouver for a few days and had them pack accordingly, while I packed additional items for them in a separate suitcase (i.e., rain suits, formal attire). When we were on the train from the airport to Canada Place, I gave them each a card with a copy of the boarding pass inside. Those were three shocked and excited faces!

 

Embarkation was a snap. We arrived at Canada Place about 1015 and we were on board in an hour. We had time to have a wonderful lunch in the MDR, swim, unpack, and freshen up before the sail away. I am just Medallion and we only had an inside cabin, so the fast embarkation was not due to any special perks. As far as wine at embarkation, we brought two 1L tetra-pak containers of wine in our carry on. No one said a word or marked anything down.

 

I will try to not make this too long and share just a few things. The girls are 14 and 11. They loved, loved, loved the cruise, as did DH! I think from the first time the waiter placed a napkin in SD11’s lap for her, she was hooked! We even selected and booked our next cruises today (yes, plural).

 

Like I said, we were in an inside cabin with four of us. It was crowded, but I am organized and tidy to a fault sometimes, so we were OK. More room and a balcony would have been nice, especially with the digestive issues from eating unfamiliar foods ;). We have booked early for the next ones, so we can have more comfortable arrangements. I had brought some fabric softener sheets and placed them in various places around the room, which kept everything smelling fresh. Also, not to be indelicate, but I can wholeheartedly recommend a product called ‘Poopourri’ for keeping the peace in the bathroom!

 

For those with teens and tweens who are concerned with how the kiddos enjoy Princess, they were busy all of the time! My first cruise was on the Sapphire to Alaska when my boys were 10 and 12 and they, too, had loved it. There were so many activities that the girls enjoyed this time – trivia, shows, the pool, airplane contests, dance classes, etc. The shows were about 40 minutes, which was perfect for the kids. They also went to afternoon tea every day and really enjoyed it. All of us really liked MUTS.

 

We all enjoyed the food. Of course the MDR is of better quality than the buffet, but we partook of both. SD14 is a VERY picky eater and even she enjoyed the food. One negative thing I will say is that other than in the MDR, I thought the cheesecake was not very good. It seemed like it was more gelatin based, whereas in the MDR, it was real cheesecake. The other thing I noticed was that the variety of foods offered in the buffet was less than a few years ago. Again, we were always able to find something to our liking. Alfredo’s pizza was delicious. We didn’t do any specialty dining. The girls took full advantage of the UKP and I was glad we purchased them. We enjoyed many delicious cocktails from the many bars on board.

 

The service was excellent everywhere we went on the ship. Many needs were anticipated and provided for without us having to say a word. The staff were especially attentive to the kids. One waiter in particular made it a point to do something special for the girls each night. A bonus for me was that our waiter from my first cruise is now a head waiter in the MDR. My boys mention him every time we talk about that cruise and they were so pleased he was still around when I told them about him.

 

The weather was beautiful. We had about 10 minutes of rain Monday night, but otherwise, it was sunny every day except for Glacier Bay. It was so nice, that we got sunburned in Juneau. I guess it was in the 80s here while we were gone, so we were going to be winners in the sunshine department either way! We saw a couple of whales, a few otters and eagles,, a couple of seals, and some glacier calving during the cruise.

 

I didn’t want to talk too much about the cruise beforehand, since it was surprise for my family, but thank you all for all of the hints and tips. I especially appreciate the information from Putterdude and others about the train from YVR to Canada Place. Thanks to you, I was able to pull that off without a hitch! Vancouver is beautiful and I wish we had gone a few days early to explore it.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and are looking forward to the next one!

[netmom55]

Thanks for post. we are doing first cruise in July on Sapphire! Glad to know you enjoyed!

[Keith1010]

Wonderful review.

 

Glad you had a great time.

 

Keith

[mimzyr]

Netmom55, we are also going on our first cruise in July on Sapphire. Are you going July 27th?

[melody hounddog]

Thanks for posting! Where are you headed on your next two cruises?

[cruisequeen4ever]

What a fun surprise!! You chose a great ship for their first cruise!

[PescadoAmarillo]

What a nice review! Thanks for posting. And I agree about Putterdude's willingness to provide Vancouver information. He helped us a great deal (maybe without even being aware of it) last August on our Alaska cruise so thanks to Putterdude too! That train from YVR to Canada Place is great.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Having two wonderful stepchildren (grown now and we just returned from a week at Disney World with those two stepchildren, their spouses and three little girls) your post gives me a huge smile. I love planning surprises and hearing about them. And the Sapphire is such a wonderful ship. Thanks for posting this review! :)

 

oh, and our next cruise in almost three weeks will be on th Royal with one of the stepchildren and her family...cruising is a great family vacation!

[PlanoDebbie]

OMG! The look on their faces had to be absolutely precious! We leave for Vancouver on Friday to sail on Saturday for the 14 day RT Voyage of the Glaciers. I'm so excited.

 

Did y'all happen to do any of the self-serve laundry while on the ship? I thought I read on another thread that Princess doesn't allow you to use any of the self-serve laundromats while in port. Since we don't plan on packing for a full 14 days, we usually try to wash a few loads at least twice during the week. We have nothing planned for the long day in Whittier, and thought that might be a good day to get some laundry done in the morning before the new folks get on.

 

Can't wait to see the Sapphire. She was our first ship to Alaska.

[sept10dsm]

Thank you for the review! Glad you had such a great time!

[jnc411]

Thank you for the review , really nice, enjoyed reading it. So glad you and your family had a lovely time.

Cori

[aknursemom]

OMG! The look on their faces had to be absolutely precious! We leave for Vancouver on Friday to sail on Saturday for the 14 day RT Voyage of the Glaciers. I'm so excited.

 

Did y'all happen to do any of the self-serve laundry while on the ship? I thought I read on another thread that Princess doesn't allow you to use any of the self-serve laundromats while in port. Since we don't plan on packing for a full 14 days, we usually try to wash a few loads at least twice during the week. We have nothing planned for the long day in Whittier, and thought that might be a good day to get some laundry done in the morning before the new folks get on.

 

Can't wait to see the Sapphire. She was our first ship to Alaska.

 

Yes, it was priceless!!

 

I did laundry in the morning while we were in Ketchikan. In my area of the deck there were 4 washers and dryers. I didn't have to wait to use any of the machines.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

[aknursemom]

Thanks for posting! Where are you headed on your next two cruises?

 

We have a Caribbean planned for next Thanksgiving and a Pacific Coastal for this fall. DH is hooked!