Live from the Sapphire Princess

[Coral]

You may see from fellow posters above that it is believed that they haven't replaced all the beds onboard. Are you able to check this out for us please?

There was some statement before dry dock that said Sapphire Princess would get their beds replaced by "June". I would have thought they would all be replaced during dry dock. Maybe they buffered some time in in case they ran late?

I just went to see if I could find the statement and I think it has changed - it now says:

*The Princess Luxury Bed is now available on board Ruby Princess, Emerald Princess, Coral Princess, Sun Princess, Grand Princess, Caribbean Princess, Majestic Princess, Pacific Princess, Golden Princess, Sea Princess, Star Princess, Island Princess, Sapphire Princess and Crown Princess. And will debut on Diamond Princess (Aug 2018), followed by Royal Princess & Regal Princess in 2019. Please note this schedule is subject to change.

I would think that means they are all done on the Sapphire!

[Coral]

Believe it or not, I have been sleeping on a waterbed for years! It always takes a few days to become accustomed to any new mattress. It will be interesting to see how the new mattresses will fare! :)

 

Maybe the ship will rock enough to make up for it :) I loved the warmth of my waterbed when I had one.

[Mapu]

OP here.

 

Some random notes about the ship:

The new hallway carpet is mostly the same on both sides of the ship, but there is one small difference. On port side, there are red dots in the design. On starboard, there are green dots. So there is still a distinction !

Good to hear Princess has gone back to some distinction between port and starboard sides. On many ships with newer carpeting it is exactly the same on both sides.

[phabric]

Can you let us know about the covered pool? cool, warm, hot?

[dansprite]

Maybe the ship will rock enough to make up for it :) I loved the warmth of my waterbed when I had one.

 

Coral, I love the motion of the ship! :)

[Coral]

Some random notes about the ship:

The new hallway carpet is mostly the same on both sides of the ship, but there is one small difference. On port side, there are red dots in the design. On starboard, there are green dots. So there is still a disntinction.

 

I had seen pictures and didn't see the dots in them. Now I do:

 

 

I think it is classy looking.

[NSWP]

Thanks for the reports on Sapphire. We are on her B2B 26 May and 2 June.

 

Enjoy the rest of your adventure.:')

 

Reports I got were that all mattresses were replaced @ Singapore and new pillows coming on at Barcelona.

[1776Juan]

Re: Last Minute Private Gibraltar Tour out of the Sapphire Princess Available Monday, 30 April 2018

 

I injured my foot while walking around in Barcelona yesterday. Because of this last minute injury, my wife and I canceled our planned private tour with a group, but it leaves the group with an increased share for the cost of the private tour.

 

I have limited internet time on the cruise, so:

 

If you or someone you know are interested, please contact me, Juan Rodriguez, by calling the ship’s Front Desk to leave a message on my cabin’s Voicemail. Please be sure to leave a contact number so I can provide the tour information to you so you can make an informed decision.

 

Thank you.

[carajoemom]

Hopefully, Juan will have the good judgment to contact the organizer of the tour (hopefully he is not the organizer). I would think that Juan and his wife should pay their fare share unless they find substitutes .

 

 

 

If I remember reading about the tours I am on privately, you have to supply your credit card info, and if you don't cancel within a certain time limit, they charge your card, whether you go or not.

 

 

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[Mapu]

If I remember reading about the tours I am on privately, you have to supply your credit card info, and if you don't cancel within a certain time limit, they charge your card, whether you go or not.

 

 

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Many private tours require payment at the end of the tour so organizers may not collect payments in advance.

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

Just found your live from. I hope you are enjoying your cruise. Looking forward to more of your reports.....:):):)

 

Bob

[ohhbother]

OP here. Well, today did not go as planned. DH and I were booked for a ship’s excursion to hike the Mediterranean Steps up the Rock of Gibraltar. First, the ship’s tour got canceled yesterday due to lack of participation. No big deal — we decided we’d get up this morning and do the hike on our own. But that didn’t happen either.

 

About 3 this morning, my husband woke me up and told me he was having a kidney stone. He has a history with them but hasn’t had one in a few years. So I called 911, and the medical team met us in the med center. Kudos to the medical professionals — they did a great job with him. Got him on some morphine and dulled the pain a bit. He finally passed the stone a little after 8 this morning.

 

We ended up sleeping til about 11 and then just went in to Gibraltar for an hour or so and just looked around. Cute town, but we were both wiped out from the long night. So we’ve been resting on the ship and looking out our balcony at Morocco as the coast of Africa goes by.

 

Yesterday, we went to Monserrat outside Barcelona — absolutely fabulous. And tomorrow, we’re heading out of Lisbon to Sintra and Cascais. We’re not city people — we like getting out into the countryside.

 

Everything on the ship continues to be good. For someone who asked, the pool water indoors is comfortable. The hot tubs, both indoors and outdoors, however, are more like warm tubs. Not that enjoyable.

 

We’re turning in early tonight — need to catch up on the sleep we missed with what my husband is calling the “Stone of Gibraltar” incident. At least he can joke about it now...

[beg3yrs]

Glad your DH passed the stone. Had one once and NEVER want to do that again. At least it didn't require you to end your cruise early.

 

Thanks for continuing to post. We're going to be on the Sapphire next March and love hearing about all the upgrades.

[charlie murphy]

OUCH. OUCH OUCH. **#@@ OUCH! everyone who had a kidney stone bent over in sympathy when then read your post. I am sure that the "Stone of Gibralter event " will turn into the "boulder of Gibralter saga" when he tells the story (a Long time from now) about his ascent of the rock of Gibralter.. Hang in there Brother! and thank you for your posts !

Edited April 30, 2018 by charlie murphy
forgot to say thank you !

[esstheman]

Have you been to Vines yet? Do they serve tapas or sushi there? I heard they might be cutting back....

[Mapu]

OP here. Well, today did not go as planned. DH and I were booked for a ship’s excursion to hike the Mediterranean Steps up the Rock of Gibraltar. First, the ship’s tour got canceled yesterday due to lack of participation. No big deal — we decided we’d get up this morning and do the hike on our own. But that didn’t happen either.

 

About 3 this morning, my husband woke me up and told me he was having a kidney stone. He has a history with them but hasn’t had one in a few years. So I called 911, and the medical team met us in the med center. Kudos to the medical professionals — they did a great job with him. Got him on some morphine and dulled the pain a bit. He finally passed the stone a little after 8 this morning.

 

We ended up sleeping til about 11 and then just went in to Gibraltar for an hour or so and just looked around. Cute town, but we were both wiped out from the long night. So we’ve been resting on the ship and looking out our balcony at Morocco as the coast of Africa goes by.

 

Yesterday, we went to Monserrat outside Barcelona — absolutely fabulous. And tomorrow, we’re heading out of Lisbon to Sintra and Cascais. We’re not city people — we like getting out into the countryside.

 

Everything on the ship continues to be good. For someone who asked, the pool water indoors is comfortable. The hot tubs, both indoors and outdoors, however, are more like warm tubs. Not that enjoyable.

 

We’re turning in early tonight — need to catch up on the sleep we missed with what my husband is calling the “Stone of Gibraltar” incident. At least he can joke about it now...

 

Glad to hear your husband recovered. Have a great day tomorrow! Sinatra and Cascais are both great.

[carajoemom]

Great to hear about your husband, love reading your updates, can’t wait for more, enjoy yourselves

 

 

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[sergeant655]

Does anyone onboard know why the crew alert signal (1 long blast on the ships alarms) sounded at 6pm in Lisbon I am on Navigator and heard it go off

[Literary Lynne]

Hope that your husband is much better now Ohhbother and that you are enjoying your cruise. Just looked at Vessel Finder and see that you are currently just off the French coast, near Brest, heading to Le Havre, so hoping that you are having a great day at sea, relaxing and enjoying the sunshine.

 

Looking forward to boarding on Saturday.

Lynne :)

[susancruzs]

Hope your husband is feeling great now and thanks for the review. I'm sailing on the Sapphire next year and was wondering how she looks! Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[NSWP]

Does anyone onboard know why the crew alert signal (1 long blast on the ships alarms) sounded at 6pm in Lisbon I am on Navigator and heard it go off

 

Well it would not be the signal for happy hour to start, no more BOGO on Princess.:evilsmile::tropical-drink:

[Lori Dobson]

OP, how was the Cinque Terre tour? I will be on the Crown in October and want to do that tour, from Livorno. I am looking at a private tour guide instead of the ship's tour but wanted to hear what you thought of it - thanks!

[K D cruiser]

I'm just wondering if the hand washing stations outside the Horizon Court were added to the Sapphire during the drydock. On our last cruise on the Caribbean Princess, we didn't see anyone using them.

[Omega1]

I'm just wondering if the hand washing stations outside the Horizon Court were added to the Sapphire during the drydock. On our last cruise on the Caribbean Princess, we didn't see anyone using them.

 

We did!!😎

[ohhbother]

OP here. It’s our last night aboard the Sapphire Princess. We’ve had a fantastic vacation!

 

To answer some questions:

1) Yes, handwashing stations are present in the buffet area. I saw them being used one time.

2) The Cinque Terre excursion was fabulous — a must do. It’s a very long day but worth it. I had the best gnocchi I’ve ever had at an outdoor cafe in Monterosso.

 

Other random musings:

1) The aft hot tubs are not “bubbling.” You can sit in the hot water, but the jets don’t work. They’re also really nasty stained. Looks like that would have been fixed in dry dock.

2) We did the escape room yesterday and had a blast! Our group finished in 13 minutes. We were one of only two groups to succsssfully complete the task.

3) Food has been a disappointment. We’ve been on the ship 10 days, and the desserts in the IC and the buffet have rarely changed. Very repetitive and blah.

4) The ship has left every port an hour or so late. Don’t know why.

5) We pre-purchased the all-inclusive photo package and have loved it. We’re going home with more than 100 photos.

6) Temperature of the indoor pool today was cold!

7) The WiFi and on-demand tv have been very spotty. Lots of downtime.

 

All in all, we’ve loved the trip - a fantastic itinerary. But this trip has confirmed what we already knew. We are Celebrity loyalists for the most part — we just find the ships more to our liking. But we wouldn’t hesitate to cruise Princess again should there be an itinerary that suits us.