Sapphire Princess October 19-23 semi-live

[donswife]

The International cafe is posted as being open 24 hours a day, however I have not popped by at O'dark hundred to verify this.  They still have the little salads, and the varieties are on some sort of rotation. They had the shrimp and fennel yesterday.  I have not seen any quiches or pies, and no yogurt parfaits.  Now there are dishes of yogurt and some sort of tapioca concoction with fruit. I tried one. There were a lot of whole blueberries in it, and the tapioca was pretty plain.  In the morning there were different kinds of toasts, including avocado toast that looked good.

 

Today was the only day for afternoon tea.  Apparently a lot more people came than had shown up on the previous cruises.  There were not enough tables set up and not enough food ready.  They pulled crew and food from the Horizon court and pulled it together as past as they possibly could.  We saw one dining room steward dealing out plates like he was throwing Frisbees!  A few people were getting pretty annoyed, but the crew were trying so hard.  If that was the worst thing that happens on this cruise, it was an amazing trip!

[srpilo]

Good stuff, thanks for taking the time to share the Sapphire with everyone 😇

[fpsphil]

Don't beat her up too much. We board in less than 37 hours

[donswife]

We had dinner in the Santa Fe dining room last night.  I had made a reservation for a private table at 7pm, and we were seated promptly. Even with dawdling, we were done within 1.5 hours (4 courses).  The food was very good. 

 

We got to see the Do You Want to Dance? Show.  It was one of the best production shows I have ever seen.  The singers were excellent and the dancers looked very coordinated. I would watch it again in a heartbeat. 

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, donswife said:

We had dinner in the Santa Fe dining room last night.  I had made a reservation for a private table at 7pm, and we were seated promptly. Even with dawdling, we were done within 1.5 hours (4 courses).  The food was very good. 

 

We got to see the Do You Want to Dance? Show.  It was one of the best production shows I have ever seen.  The singers were excellent and the dancers looked very coordinated. I would watch it again in a heartbeat. 

 

This is one of my favorite production shows since I am/used to be before pandemic a social ballroom dancer.  

 

I think...Princess needs to swap out casts with the Grand.  I love the Grand but after cruising her for several years (pre/post), her production shows need to be changed out.  Easy swap.  Same class ship.  Same stage...

[donswife]

On 10/21/2022 at 9:36 AM, fpsphil said:

Mind asking how many are expected for Sunday?

I asked the asst restaurant manager,  and he said about 2200. Enjoy!

[caribill]

7 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I think...Princess needs to swap out casts with the Grand.  I love the Grand but after cruising her for several years (pre/post), her production shows need to be changed out.  Easy swap.  Same class ship.  Same stage...

 

It's not the cast. It is the scenery and props. If the Grand does not have the scenery and props for that show, no cast can perform it.

[cr8tiv1]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

 

It's not the cast. It is the scenery and props. If the Grand does not have the scenery and props for that show, no cast can perform it.

Then move the scenery and props too.  They are sister ships and should have very similar stage configurations to support whichever productions.  I’m only saying that the Grand has had the same production shows from pre-Covid era.  That’s 4 or more years.  Share the wealth. 
 

i’ve seen both Bravo and So You Can Dance.  Both are excellent productions.  Maybe I’m cruising too much….haha.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Then move the scenery and props too.  They are sister ships and should have very similar stage configurations to support whichever productions.  I’m only saying that the Grand has had the same production shows from pre-Covid era.  That’s 4 or more years.  Share the wealth. 
 

i’ve seen both Bravo and So You Can Dance.  Both are excellent productions.  Maybe I’m cruising too much….haha.

 

Yes, it seems as if Princess is not moving shows around as frequently as they used to.

 

Also, I get the impression that on most Princess ships the cast now only is equipped to do two different shows where in the past they could perform three or four (and of course had scenery, props and costumes for all of them).

[cr8tiv1]

31 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Yes, it seems as if Princess is not moving shows around as frequently as they used to.

 

Also, I get the impression that on most Princess ships the cast now only is equipped to do two different shows where in the past they could perform three or four (and of course had scenery, props and costumes for all of them).

 

On the Grand for a 7 night cruise, there were three production shows:  

Stardust

British Invasion

Sweet Soul Motown

 

I guess I should be delighted that they have that many....and thankful.

[donswife]

Now I am at the airport waiting.  We went to the International dining room for breakfast and service was surprisingly slow.  Disembarkation was a breeze. We took the Princess shuttle to LAX.  Daughter took a cab to LGB. 

Dinner last night had a few of the special Hawaii dishes, which I had never seen before. The snapper was good,  calamari not so much. 

 

Please let me know if I can answer any questions. 

[victory2020]

I was on this cruise too. Everything was wonderful, especially the staff.

[KKB]

My BFF  & I (both 56) were also on this cruise. 

No issues noted with our cruise...I did see occasional fans set up in various areas were clearly there was water, tho no idea why.

We had a wonderful time.

 

Shows:

Carlos Oscar--HILARIOUS.

So You Think You Can Dance--started a bit slow but eventually we really enjoyed it

Journey & Bon Jovi cover bands--both terrific!

The Bon Jovi Band also did new wave 80s one night in Club Fusion & were just as good.

 

We played nearly all trivia & game shows, most 80s themed. Fernando (CD) & Ashleigh (ACD) plus the rest of the activities staff were delightful.

 

Casino: still has crap video poker & no TX Hold em poker table. I managed to lose a few hundred tho.

 

Dining: we ate at MDRs, International Cafe, buffet, burger spot & Angelos. All good to very good. 

The 1st night our MDR waiter was clearly overwhelmed & it showed. (we aren't demanding, even not ordering drinks or all courses as we could see his stressed).

2nd night we went to another MDR. Server was also rushed but he had a great sense of humor. Unfortunately the couple next to us (3" between 2 tops...) soured it for us. Woman literally scooped her dishes further from us when we sat down (???) & proceeded to spout 3 complaints in the next 3 minutes. Ugh. (oh, and the complaints didn't stop there...)

3rd night was the sweet spot. Same MDR, finally sat at table for 6 with 2 delightful couples. Wish we had met Day 1--we ran into each other several times over the next couple days!

 

It does seem they are understaffed. One night in Explorers I saw our drinks on the counter for 20-30 min...ice had nearly melted. Finally asked if those were ours & they let us have them--no offer to add ice. No biggie. But several officers showed up around this time...it does seem they were terribly overwhelmed. We learned to grab drinks at bars that weren't too busy before heading into dinner or places we knew would be busy.

 

San Diego--did a 2 hour boat tour & grabbed some delish seafood tacos at the Seaport.

Ensenada--walked around. If you want to eat LOTS of cheap options. When DH & I return in January an excursion is in order. 

 

Until April, Princess... gotta spread my love around!

 

[victory2020]

5 hours ago, KKB said:

My BFF  & I (both 56) were also on this cruise. 

No issues noted with our cruise...I did see occasional fans set up in various areas were clearly there was water, tho no idea why.

We had a wonderful time.

 

Shows:

Carlos Oscar--HILARIOUS.

So You Think You Can Dance--started a bit slow but eventually we really enjoyed it

Journey & Bon Jovi cover bands--both terrific!

The Bon Jovi Band also did new wave 80s one night in Club Fusion & were just as good.

 

We played nearly all trivia & game shows, most 80s themed. Fernando (CD) & Ashleigh (ACD) plus the rest of the activities staff were delightful.

 

Casino: still has crap video poker & no TX Hold em poker table. I managed to lose a few hundred tho.

 

Dining: we ate at MDRs, International Cafe, buffet, burger spot & Angelos. All good to very good. 

The 1st night our MDR waiter was clearly overwhelmed & it showed. (we aren't demanding, even not ordering drinks or all courses as we could see his stressed).

2nd night we went to another MDR. Server was also rushed but he had a great sense of humor. Unfortunately the couple next to us (3" between 2 tops...) soured it for us. Woman literally scooped her dishes further from us when we sat down (???) & proceeded to spout 3 complaints in the next 3 minutes. Ugh. (oh, and the complaints didn't stop there...)

3rd night was the sweet spot. Same MDR, finally sat at table for 6 with 2 delightful couples. Wish we had met Day 1--we ran into each other several times over the next couple days!

 

It does seem they are understaffed. One night in Explorers I saw our drinks on the counter for 20-30 min...ice had nearly melted. Finally asked if those were ours & they let us have them--no offer to add ice. No biggie. But several officers showed up around this time...it does seem they were terribly overwhelmed. We learned to grab drinks at bars that weren't too busy before heading into dinner or places we knew would be busy.

 

San Diego--did a 2 hour boat tour & grabbed some delish seafood tacos at the Seaport.

Ensenada--walked around. If you want to eat LOTS of cheap options. When DH & I return in January an excursion is in order. 

 

Until April, Princess... gotta spread my love around!

 

I was at every trivia also, did you win? We did once & had a 3 way tie once

[donswife]

I forgot to mention that we went on a Princess excursion in Ensenada. It was the only way we could get mom anywhere meaningful,  and we actually really enjoyed it. We went to a cultural center and to a winery , then had an hour for shopping.  Our tour guide was very proud of her city.

[KKB]

16 hours ago, victory2020 said:

I was at every trivia also, did you win? We did once & had a 3 way tie once

Nope--came pretty close on one, felt pretty good with just 2 of us!

[victory2020]

Silly question - for all of you elites who were on this cruise, did you get your little upgraded toiletries goody bag? We did not, but our cabin steward seemed a little off (we saw his supervisor in the hallway several times so he may have had a complaint). Not a big deal, just wanted to know if they have been discontinued. We did get Princess plastic tumblers with a small Coke emblem.

[seagunthera]

On 10/27/2022 at 3:04 PM, victory2020 said:

Silly question - for all of you elites who were on this cruise, did you get your little upgraded toiletries goody bag? We did not, but our cabin steward seemed a little off (we saw his supervisor in the hallway several times so he may have had a complaint). Not a big deal, just wanted to know if they have been discontinued. We did get Princess plastic tumblers with a small Coke emblem.

I was on this sailing and in a suite.  I got little bottles of Occitane shampoo, conditioner and lotion. There were no fresh flowers either, which was surprising. Pahhhrumpph!

[Craving A Cruise]

On 10/21/2022 at 4:39 PM, donswife said:

We had dinner at Sabatini's the first night.  It was included as a perk when we booked, and I was able to reserve our table through the medallion app prior to the trip.  We enjoyed the meal, but it was really just too much food for us, and we would not have paid extra to eat there.  The servers seemed very busy, but pleasant.  

    We toddled off in our food coma to see the production show, "Do you want to Dance?". which is the only one this trip.  Seeing a lone stool on the stage gave me pause, and sure enough, the show had been rescheduled do too technical difficulties.  Carlos Oscar performed instead, and had me laughing until I cried.  I have seen him before, and have really enjoyed his style.  The production show is now supposed to be tonight.

LOVE LOVE LOVE Carlos Oscar!! such a great clean comedian. hoping he is on the 11/2/22 sailing