Live from the Sapphire Princess: first post pause sailing 9/24-10/4/2022 (Baja Peninsula & Sea of Cortez)

[JF - retired RRT]

13 minutes ago, latebloomer56 said:

But they only have pizza I was told. Nothing like on the Regal, filled pasta dripping with cheese. 

Anybody on her now please let us know if this is true, just pizza, thanks.

Common knowledge...just pizza in Alfredo's on all NON-Royal ships.

[latebloomer56]

21 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Common knowledge...just pizza in Alfredo's on all NON-Royal ships.

😞 sadly yes I read that on another post.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Looking forward to reports from the Sapphire. In her early seasons in 2004, we did a 30-day transpacific on her and loved the ship so much we did 7 more cruises in later years. 

[latebloomer56]

Glad sail away seems to have gone off ok for everybody. Hope somebody post some dining information and if the International Cafe is open 24 hours.

Stay safe!

[capriccio]

11 minutes ago, latebloomer56 said:

Glad sail away seems to have gone off ok for everybody. Hope somebody post some dining information and if the International Cafe is open 24 hours.

Stay safe!

Did you see second page of the Patter ("Dining, Bars & Lounges") that is in post #42?

[HaveDogWillTravel]

@travelin.sistersglad to see you on board again with your bears!  I’m excited to board sapphire for my first sailing to Hawaii this Nov 2nd so I will be following along (as often as the WiFi on the Royal allows lol. I’m boarding her Tuesday)

 

If it’s not too much bother would you mind terribly checking if the entire promenade deck is open for walking around? Or have they closed off the aft for crew smoking?  
 

Thank you so much for doing this live from!  

[gmcwalker]

Hi I hope you are all enjoying your 2nd day onboard. I was wondering if you could find out and post the name of the maître d' for the Sapphire? Thanks.

[cruzin4us]

9 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Common knowledge...just pizza in Alfredo's on all NON-Royal ships.

 

I guess I must have missed the memo on this.     I'm either on a ship that doesn't have Alfredo's  or I'm on on that has the full menu....

[HaveDogWillTravel]

32 minutes ago, gmcwalker said:

Hi I hope you are all enjoying your 2nd day onboard. I was wondering if you could find out and post the name of the maître d' for the Sapphire? Thanks.

See the officer board in post #30. The title Maitre D’hotel no longer exists. Since the restart the position is now called Director of Restaurant operations (DORO). They are no longer visible in the dining rooms. I’ve met some at the CC Meet and Greets. The restaurant managers now perform the duties we are used to the Maitre D’hotel doing……assisting with table selections, getting dining preferences met and so on. 

[travelin.sisters]

onboard & ready to report

          So, yesterday was a long, but good, day—I tried posting from my phone but even though it said I had posted it isn’t there so I will start now. This has been a bury thread even without me! Great work people!

I am just going to go ahead with what I would say anyway even if I am repeating what someone else has already posted or answered. Not that I want to be repetitive, but with the connectivity challenges onboard it’s sometimes hard to track what has been posted & I learned from my last live not to type directly into cruise critic (I lost the “best ever in the history of cruise critic post” by doing that). So I hope I don’t bore anyone with repetitions. I also apologize it there are too many details or photos, but it is what it is.

          I will try to get to all the questions that have been posted today or tomorrow while we are at sea so please wait a day or two & then if I haven’t (or someone on the thread hasn’t) answered don’t hesitate to aske again.

          I will do my best to give the good & the bad, but to be honest, I try not to focus much on the negatives when traveling. Every trip, certainly every cruise before COVID & more so since, has had issues that could become big & suck the joy out of being at sea & out in this beautiful world but I want to enjoy my trip.

          Next post: embarkation day! (I am putting a list of my main posts & photos at the bottom of each one in case anyone wants to find them.

My posts in this LIVE:

pre-cruise musing—post 1

photos of berth 46—post 2

ready to go—post 23

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 25, 2022 by travelin.sisters

[NownZen]

18 hours ago, call_your_mother said:

 

Thanks for the info . . . We did a Med/TA on the Pacific Princess (was our favorite) which got back to the US on December 22, 2019.  Was planning on cruising several more times but she's gone.  Like the smaller ships.  

 

Are you on CC Dec 2 Sapphire roll call?  I am starting to think about what to pack to cover all climates, any suggestions since you've done it already.  I am trying to limit the number of suitcases.

I wrote a reply but it is somewhere in the cloud.

 

Not on the roll call yet.

 

The small ships are now on Oceania and Azamara. We still go on them when there are itineraries we want. Princess does not go to many areas we want to go.

 

Packing. Our experience was that the temperature was not too bad but the wind was what made us uncomfortable. We are bringing a medium coat and a windproof jacket and pants. Also good gloves,  a mask and a watch cap. Gloves are a nuisance in using a camera though. We will see if this makes us take a large suitcase instead of our normal carry on. We did a cruise and trip where we were in Key West at 85 degrees and at the Matterhorn in 15 degrees. We made it there with a carry on. Layering is your friend.

 

[1emerald1]

1 hour ago, gmcwalker said:

Hi I hope you are all enjoying your 2nd day onboard. I was wondering if you could find out and post the name of the maître d' for the Sapphire? Thanks.

If you look at Post #30, picture board of the Officers, it is Mario Propato.

[CruzeQueen2]

2 hours ago, gmcwalker said:

Hi I hope you are all enjoying your 2nd day onboard. I was wondering if you could find out and post the name of the maître d' for the Sapphire? Thanks.

I saw the officer board. Mario Propato  @gmcwalker

[CruzeQueen2]

@travelin.sistersThank you for posting, NO ONE should be complaining if you post comments that have been already answered, YOU, are on holidays. And! You are being so generous to share your posts with all of ys. THANK you so much. Am looking forward to following along. 

[gmcwalker]

1 hour ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

See the officer board in post #30. The title Maitre D’hotel no longer exists. Since the restart the position is now called Director of Restaurant operations (DORO). 

I am aware of that but I thought the new title for the Maître D'hotel was the Hotel General Manager and the regular Maître D' was the Director of Restaurant Operations as you stated. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

28 minutes ago, gmcwalker said:

I am aware of that but I thought the new title for the Maître D'hotel was the Hotel General Manager and the regular Maître D' was the Director of Restaurant Operations as you stated. 

Easy to be lose track with all the title changes since restart. Maitre D is shorthand for Maitre D’hotel. They are the same. 

[travelin.sisters]

embarkation day

          Woke early & put luggage in the car & then decided to go out to reconnoiter. Beautiful sunrise over the port. The Sapphire was already at her berth. I stopped to talk to the security guards who were letting the longshoremen in to work our sailing & it was still unclear where we were supposed to go to check-in. The called & were told that if we didn’t need to park, we could go straight to berth 46 & check-in there. Drove to the main terminal where there were two ships (Celebrity Solstice & Majestic Princess) getting ready to disembark passengers & then reload. There was no further info to be had there…sounds like they will take passengers either place with a shuttle between the two, but no one is certain. Back home for last minute packing, breakfast & wait for our ride.

          Our ride came early, so we were at berth 46 by 10AM & checked in by 10:15 with just a little delay to get on the ship as we waited for a wheel chair. It was the easiest embarkation I have ever done & getting on the ship without the whole terminal ramp experience reminded me of the days when you walked across the tarmac & climbed stairs to board an airplane.

          Talking to people I know that getting to the right place was not as easy for everyone. Even the Princess shuttles were taking people to the main terminal & I have heard that 4 people did not make it in time to board. Watching out our balcony there was a group sent away in a taxi (maybe they were supposed to sail on the Majestic, or maybe they were denied boarding for some reason) & there were 2 people who appeared to be waiting for someone who were left behind. Princess &/or the Port should have done better planning early & communicating that plan.

          As we walked & rolled aboard there was a huge group of crew cheering & shouting welcomes (I have seen videos of other ships doing this on their return to service & this was just like those—I am sad I only got photos & not a video). One advantage of being the first sailing was there was no wait for our rooms to be ready. I steward was there to greet us & like almost everyone I have met on this cruise so far was delighted to be back & to welcome us. Cabins (we have an inside & a balcony) seem comparable to any of the older ships I have sailed (Grand, Ruby, bigger than the Island) & I like the orange & green colors).

          For us, lunch in the dining room on embarkation day is one of the things that makes it feel like the vacation has started, so we were glad that the International Dining Room was open! A delicious lunch & we felt like we were at sea even though there were quite a few hours before we actually departed.

          Next post: exploring the ship

My posts in this LIVE:

pre-cruise musing—post 1

photos of berth 46—post 2

ready to go—post 23

onboard & ready to report—post 60

[travelin.sisters]

So I tried for like 45 minutes to post the previous post along with embarkation photos without sucess, so I am going to post text & photos seperately for the rest of this live. These are some embarkation photos.

 

[Jagajak1]

We are on board Oct 25.. Ship has issues for sure. Our friends water leak from light fixture, toilets out on deck ten, both Jacuzzi in the front pool jets don't work, steam room showers didn't work .  Lots wrong for a ship that was out of use for two years for sure.  We were on the ship in 2006 and we loved it. But is now showing its age for sure. I don't think we will be on this one again which is sad because I love the size of the ship this one is just reached its prime. We've talked to many people on the ship so far that I've had problems including air conditioning is not working beds having no mattresses or very little mattresses. Our dinner took 2 hours last night, and 30 minutes almost to get an espresso after dinner and when it arrived it was cold. Ice machine broke on the pool deck today. All in all I think the crew is really trying but what they have to work with in this old ship sometimes you just need to say it's time to let it go. Again nothing against princess itself because I do think the crew tries but I really think everything from embarkation to the end of the first day has shown either inexperienced crew or unprepared crew. It's kind of sad when things like jacuzzis don't work and food is delayed or doesn't get there and leaks are in the rooms because we did still pay full price for this. I know princess won't do anything to compensate us. But it is what it is. We are platinum with princess we have been on many cruises with them. And I really don't like their bigger ships lol We were hoping this would be a nice experience with the smaller ship. Maybe not, maybe it's time to switch cruise lines I don't know.

[travelin.sisters]

I love cruise food photos so will probably post a bunch! As I said dining room lunch on embarkation day is a nice routine for us...don't often eat lunch in the dining room the rest of the cruise because it is always so slow but the first day is fun...here are the menus (I somehow never get really good photos of the menus) & our food

[Ken the cruiser]

Regarding your CC text disappearing when you hit Submit. I don’t know if this will help, but I discovered similar instances where a post will disappear when I hit Submit. Very frustrating. In most cases it happens when I would temporarily leave the CC page I was typing on to go check out another app, such as email or the photo gallery on my iPad. Basically, the work space you were typing in on CC lost its link to the buffer space on the CC server it was being temporarily stored in until you hit Submit.  
 

If this is happening to you, here’s what I got in the habit of doing when it happens.

 

1. Immediately recycle the page. I know it sounds weird, but give it a try as you have nothing to lose.

 

2. After the page recycles, go to the bottom of your thread and tap on the space as if you were going to restart typing your post. In most cases your previous text will magically appear. Actually what happens in most cases is that it reattaches to the CC server work space your previous data was being stored in.
 

Just click on the “x” to clear the “do you want to clear the work space” or something to that effect. Once you verify all looks good, just hit Submit again and all will be good.

I this is not what you’re experiencing, just disregard what I just wrote. 😂

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[travelin.sisters]

& the desserts, surprisingly the souffle had a pudding-like topping rather than the usual poured sauce...it is always interesting to me how the same recipe can come out so very differently on different ships

[travelin.sisters]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Regarding your CC text disappearing when you hit Submit. I don’t know if this will help, but I discovered similar instances where a post will disappear when I hit Submit. Very frustrating. In most cases it happens when I would temporarily leave the CC page I was typing on to go check out another app, such as email or the photo gallery on my iPad. Basically, the work space you were typing in on CC lost its link to the buffer space on the CC server it was being temporarily stored in until you hit Submit.  
 

If this is happening to you, here’s what I got in the habit of doing when it happens.

 

1. Immediately recycle the page. I know it sounds weird, but give it a try as you have nothing to lose.

 

2. After the page recycles, go to the bottom of your thread and tap on the space as if you were going to restart typing your post. In most cases your previous text will magically appear. Actually what happens in most cases is that it reattaches to the CC server work space your previous data was being stored in.
 

Just click on the “x” to clear the “do you want to clear the work space” or something to that effect. Once you verify all looks good, just hit Submit again and all will be good.

I this is not what you’re experiencing, just disregard what I just wrote. 😂

 

thank you for your kind suggestions...they were excellent ideas, unfortunately I tried them unsuccessfully multiple times during the 45 minutes of frustration...nevertehless, I appreciate that you took the time to make them & how clearly they were written.

[travelin.sisters]

time to sleep...hopefully tomorrow posting will be easier...thank you to everyone who has shared kind words or answered questions

 

[latebloomer56]

5 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

I love cruise food photos so will probably post a bunch! As I said dining room lunch on embarkation day is a nice routine for us...don't often eat lunch in the dining room the rest of the cruise because it is always so slow but the first day is fun...here are the menus (I somehow never get really good photos of the menus) & our food

Souffle at lunch, wow thanks for making my day, love food porn.