Live From the Sapphire Princess! (29 April - 10 May)

[EDVM96]

1 hour ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

I’m quite happy to see so many pics posted while on board. It gives me hope that the WiFi will be more usable than it was on the Majestic in Alaska. 

I am totally surprised how good Medallion Net works on this ship. Pretty fast and reliable. Even here, far up north.

[nini]

4 hours ago, piper said:

After reading about some of the issues with staffing, service, crowded dining rooms, sewage smells, crowded shows and inability to get tickets (whatever that means), I’m having some regrets booking Princess (we did so to go to Alaska with friends).. We have been sailing on Azamara with none of these issues. I know we will have a good time, but I sure hope they get their act together before July

And were these Azamara cruises pre or post covid?

[HaveDogWillTravel]

5 hours ago, piper said:

After reading about some of the issues with staffing, service, crowded dining rooms, sewage smells, crowded shows and inability to get tickets (whatever that means), I’m having some regrets booking Princess (we did so to go to Alaska with friends).. We have been sailing on Azamara with none of these issues. I know we will have a good time, but I sure hope they get their act together before July

Their act is together.  This cruise has been amazing. I haven’t had any problems at all that didn’t get quickly rectified.  I’m sorry if there’s even one person who has felt overwhelmed or overly inconvenienced but that in no way reflects what the vast majority of passengers are experiencing.  No cruise line does Alaska better. I had the MOST spectacular day. From the princess 4 hour Birds of Hoonah excursion to MDR dinner tonight. Just outstanding.  

Edited May 4, 2023 by HaveDogWillTravel

[Drdarkknight]

It was an early morning for us today (7am) but that’s okay because we’ve finally reached land! We went up to the buffet for the first time today and we’re surprised to find a dry, sunny day awaiting us. After a quick breakfast we headed down to Deck 4 to head off on our excursion. 

 

It seemed to be a little delayed leaving the ship. We were meant to meet our tour at 8:15 but we were still in the gangway. We still made it on time, however. And then, we were in Icy Strait Point and whisked off one ship and onto another boat. We were doing a combination tour of whale watching and brown bear expedition. 

 

Whale watching was up first. To everyone’s surprise we saw our first whale when only a few meters from the ship! It was a humpback whale and we followed him for about fifteen minutes. Then we were off in search of more whales. This was a bit tricky since nature doesn’t follow a schedule. We saw a cute group of otters near some rocks. All in all we saw about four whales - including two tails! I’m sure people were expecting more and I could sense the frustration that they were all located near the Sapphire Princess. Still, it was worth the experience for us. 

 

After the whale watching we were split into two groups: 11:30 and 12:00. As we had the 12pm group we ended up with about 45 minutes to kill before we left. We walked around the historic cannery which has a free museum inside which was pretty cool. We tried to buy some salmon jerky from the Salmon Shop but it hasn’t arrived yet. 

 

We met our afternoon guide at the dock and our group was led to a bus. Throughout the thirty minute drive to Spasski Valley our guide educated us on some history of Hoonah and the Tlingit people. 

 

Upon arrival we were greeted by our ‘Bear Security’, a Tlingit man with a rifle should we encounter an aggressive bear. He announced there was a bear in the valley that day so the group basically rushed through the first two viewing platforms to get to platform three and see the bear. I found him! Though most people struggled to see him. 

 

We drove back to Icy Strait Point and my husband and I headed to Duck Point Smokehouse for a very late lunch. We also tried to famous Cannery Red Ale. I’m not a fan of amber beers but this was pretty good! The smoked salmon dip was so good I regretted sharing with my husband. Even from our little perch at the restaurant we were able to watch some otters in the water. 

 

Afterwards we discussed what we would do here if we did another Alaskan cruise. I said I’d like to do the gondola and the zip rider. My husband would like to do the walk into Hoonah. 

 

When we arrived back at the ship I immediately took the greatest hot shower of my life. It felt so great after a long, kindof chilly, day. The plan was to take it pretty easy tonight (for us). But first - to Vines!

 

We went to dinner at Sterling Steakhouse tonight, our first and only time we will be deviating from the main dining rooms. It wasn’t very busy at all but the staff was wonderful. We started with some amazing garlic cheese bread. I can never go back to the main dining room bread basket after this! I had the scallops, shrimp bisque and a New York striploin. Service slowed down a fair bit after the soup course. Our water and drinks were empty and the empty bowl sat in front of us for awhile. When we finally got our steaks I was disappointed to see they forgot my baked potato. I didn’t bother reminding them, however, because the restaurant was absolutely freezing and I just wanted to keep plucking along so I could go get warm. The steak was only okay. I wish they had sauce options. It had more fat than I expected. Dessert was the salted caramel creme brûlée cheesecake, which was good but way too rich for me. Overall, I don’t think I’d go back. The staff was wonderful but the restaurant was colder than Alaska and the food wasn’t good enough to warrant being paid for. 

 

We next headed to Wheelhouse Bar, where we haven’t been before. Allure Strings was playing again and since we were having a low key evening I thought it would be a nice way to spend some time. We walked in as she was playing Mamma Mia on the violin. A string instrument and ABBA? I’m in heaven. It really picked up after the 7:30pm show let out. I was happy to see so many other fans of this type of music. 

 

Our last activity of the evening was the production show Do You Wanna Dance. I’d mentioned after the last one that I wanted to see more of the dancers and now was my chance! It was alright. Some of the numbers were really good and they tended to be the ones with a heavy focus on the dancers. My husband’s favourite was the southeast Asian style dance and mine was the swing montage. 

 

I have to say, after this day I am absolutely exhausted. I’m pretty much planning to fall asleep as soon as I post this. I’ll tell you all about Juneau tomorrow!

[AlibearNS]

5 hours ago, piper said:

After reading about some of the issues with staffing, service, crowded dining rooms, sewage smells, crowded shows and inability to get tickets (whatever that means), I’m having some regrets booking Princess (we did so to go to Alaska with friends).. We have been sailing on Azamara with none of these issues. I know we will have a good time, but I sure hope they get their act together before July

I think it’s just teething problems with new staff and training slowing things down. And they’ve definitely been understaffed at times. I’ve been told a few times they’re also short of supplies which should be resolved soon. We’ve sailed Alaska on HAL, NCL and Princess three times previously and Princess does it best.

The food is great and the entertainment this cruise has been outstanding. I’ve been a big fan of the app from the start. It makes everything so easy! My only real gripe is the wine on the PLUS package is awful but we can pay the difference for a better wine so easily remedied. Are things perfect, no, but they’re getting there!!
 

[AlibearNS]

Just now, Drdarkknight said:

It was an early morning for us today (7am) but that’s okay because we’ve finally reached land! We went up to the buffet for the first time today and we’re surprised to find a dry, sunny day awaiting us. After a quick breakfast we headed down to Deck 4 to head off on our excursion. 

 

It seemed to be a little delayed leaving the ship. We were meant to meet our tour at 8:15 but we were still in the gangway. We still made it on time, however. And then, we were in Icy Strait Point and whisked off one ship and onto another boat. We were doing a combination tour of whale watching and brown bear expedition. 

 

Whale watching was up first. To everyone’s surprise we saw our first whale when only a few meters from the ship! It was a humpback whale and we followed him for about fifteen minutes. Then we were off in search of more whales. This was a bit tricky since nature doesn’t follow a schedule. We saw a cute group of otters near some rocks. All in all we saw about four whales - including two tails! I’m sure people were expecting more and I could sense the frustration that they were all located near the Sapphire Princess. Still, it was worth the experience for us. 

 

After the whale watching we were split into two groups: 11:30 and 12:00. As we had the 12pm group we ended up with about 45 minutes to kill before we left. We walked around the historic cannery which has a free museum inside which was pretty cool. We tried to buy some salmon jerky from the Salmon Shop but it hasn’t arrived yet. 

 

We met our afternoon guide at the dock and our group was led to a bus. Throughout the thirty minute drive to Spasski Valley our guide educated us on some history of Hoonah and the Tlingit people. 

 

Upon arrival we were greeted by our ‘Bear Security’, a Tlingit man with a rifle should we encounter an aggressive bear. He announced there was a bear in the valley that day so the group basically rushed through the first two viewing platforms to get to platform three and see the bear. I found him! Though most people struggled to see him. 

 

We drove back to Icy Strait Point and my husband and I headed to Duck Point Smokehouse for a very late lunch. We also tried to famous Cannery Red Ale. I’m not a fan of amber beers but this was pretty good! The smoked salmon dip was so good I regretted sharing with my husband. Even from our little perch at the restaurant we were able to watch some otters in the water. 

 

Afterwards we discussed what we would do here if we did another Alaskan cruise. I said I’d like to do the gondola and the zip rider. My husband would like to do the walk into Hoonah. 

 

When we arrived back at the ship I immediately took the greatest hot shower of my life. It felt so great after a long, kindof chilly, day. The plan was to take it pretty easy tonight (for us). But first - to Vines!

 

We went to dinner at Sterling Steakhouse tonight, our first and only time we will be deviating from the main dining rooms. It wasn’t very busy at all but the staff was wonderful. We started with some amazing garlic cheese bread. I can never go back to the main dining room bread basket after this! I had the scallops, shrimp bisque and a New York striploin. Service slowed down a fair bit after the soup course. Our water and drinks were empty and the empty bowl sat in front of us for awhile. When we finally got our steaks I was disappointed to see they forgot my baked potato. I didn’t bother reminding them, however, because the restaurant was absolutely freezing and I just wanted to keep plucking along so I could go get warm. The steak was only okay. I wish they had sauce options. It had more fat than I expected. Dessert was the salted caramel creme brûlée cheesecake, which was good but way too rich for me. Overall, I don’t think I’d go back. The staff was wonderful but the restaurant was colder than Alaska and the food wasn’t good enough to warrant being paid for. 

 

We next headed to Wheelhouse Bar, where we haven’t been before. Allure Strings was playing again and since we were having a low key evening I thought it would be a nice way to spend some time. We walked in as she was playing Mamma Mia on the violin. A string instrument and ABBA? I’m in heaven. It really picked up after the 7:30pm show let out. I was happy to see so many other fans of this type of music. 

 

Our last activity of the evening was the production show Do You Wanna Dance. I’d mentioned after the last one that I wanted to see more of the dancers and now was my chance! It was alright. Some of the numbers were really good and they tended to be the ones with a heavy focus on the dancers. My husband’s favourite was the southeast Asian style dance and mine was the swing montage. 

 

I have to say, after this day I am absolutely exhausted. I’m pretty much planning to fall asleep as soon as I post this. I’ll tell you all about Juneau tomorrow!

We went on the bear search in the morning. I think we saw the same bear! I was convinced it was a log but DH got a photo with his zoom lens. The guide was really good, very chatty and I also, like you, have a photo of Travis, carved by Travis. Adorable. I preferred him to the real bear 🙂 

So glad you got to see whales. Our evening whale watching in Juneau has been cancelled but we’ve switched to the afternoon one so fingers crossed!

[EDVM96]

Some pictures of the day

 

Icy Strait in the morning

 

Docking at Icy Strait Point

 

Sea otters. Hey guys!

We attracted their attention

 

Humpback Whale near the Sapphire

Humpback Whale fin

Icy Strait Point Gondola

Cream of Wild Alaskan Mushroom Soup, Truffle Cream

Spaghetti and Giant Meatball

Seared Flounder with Alaskan Cold Water Shrimp

MDR food is just excellent on this journey so far.

Edited May 4, 2023 by EDVM96

[HaveDogWillTravel]

My favorite last night was that meatball and spaghetti.  It really was delicious.  

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Good morning Juneau!

[piper]

10 hours ago, nini said:

And were these Azamara cruises pre or post covid?

Both

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Todays weather forecast so far. Looks like it’s warming up. 

[EDVM96]

 

Incredible weather in Juneau. 🌞

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Whether you are a birder or not I highly recommend the Birds of Hoonah excursion thru princess with Icy Strait Birding Tours owned and operated by Amy. She was born and raised here so we felt very comfortable with her driving skills on all the fire roads we took over tribal and federal land thru old growth forests. When we took a short hike to a viewing area she strapped on a 50 caliber hand gun in case we had an unpleasant bear experience. But even though the bears on this island are very large and it’s a very large population she said their demeanor is mild as they have  lots of food and space. 
 

Amy is articulate & extremely knowledgeable about birds, all the wildlife in the area, the plants, the geology of the region….my goodness her expanse of information was truly outstanding. She can make the bird calls! And did so many times to get birds to respond! 

 

Most birds were easily viewable with my 10 by 42 Nikon Monarchs but for those too far she set up a powerful scope. She does lend out binoculars if need them. She was a master at quickly directing us exactly where to look to see a bird. She has a very quick  eye and no bird escapes her!  

 

Amy also gives you a field guide she made which is excellent. 

Plus we learned a lot about what it was like to grow up here, the education system, the community, raising a family here (she has 3 children). She grew up and lives on the outskirts of town in a remote but gorgeous area. 

 

if you go whale watching you may or may not see whales…..same for bears. But birds? Hundreds upon hundreds!  Guaranteed. There’s pictures of the list of birds we saw on our tour below. 
 

I will be posting a huge positive review on trip advisor for her company and with princess. 

[AlibearNS]

Just wanted to say something about the shower. We’ve been on 7 different Princess ships, mostly balconies, and never had a shower like this. Currently in a BA on Baja and it’s superb. No more trickle to wriggle round; it blasts like a power shower, small but mighty! We keep joking with the steward about it. He says maybe they cleaned out the pipes in dry dock lol. It makes washing my thick longish hair much easier. Everyone else’s shower the same?

[billco]

Just now, AlibearNS said:

Just wanted to say something about the shower. We’ve been on 7 different Princess ships, mostly balconies, and never had a shower like this. Currently in a BA on Baja and it’s superb. No more trickle to wriggle round; it blasts like a power shower, small but mighty! We keep joking with the steward about it. He says maybe they cleaned out the pipes in dry dock lol. It makes washing my thick longish hair much easier. Everyone else’s shower the same?

We are in a minisuite on Emerald Deck. Our shower has the most forceful shower head I have ever experienced.

[billco]

Welcome to Juneau 

[Drdarkknight]

Patter for today. Welcome to Juneau!

[AlibearNS]

We did our first self serve laundry this morning. I send everything out but delicates and underwear. Love the stacked washer dryers on the Sapphire. Some pictures for first timers. And yes, Elites DO get free tokens. Just ask at GS.

Yesterday I survived being eaten by a bear (just kidding) and had a surreal spiritual moment in Icy Point where some weird coincidences led me to think my late father was with me. He LOVED cruising and we had many adventures at his side. Got all emotional (in a good way).

 

 

Edited May 4, 2023 by AlibearNS

[billco]

For those wondering how people are uploading all these photos, it appears Sapphire Princess has switched over to Starlink from SES as its Internet provider.

 

[nini]

Sadly, we had to miss the Icy Strait port last September on the Grand, due to a late departure from Vancouver, BC. It looks lovely! Thanks for sharing.

Maybe another time.

Edited May 4, 2023 by nini

[nini]

P.S. Enjoy the whales and Juneau!!!

[BamaVol]

1 hour ago, AlibearNS said:

We did our first self serve laundry this morning. I send everything out but delicates and underwear. Love the stacked washer dryers on the Sapphire. Some pictures for first timers. And yes, Elites DO get free tokens. Just ask at GS.

Yesterday I survived being eaten by a bear (just kidding) and had a surreal spiritual moment in Icy Point where some weird coincidences led me to think my late father was with me. He LOVED cruising and we had many adventures at his side. Got all emotional (in a good way).

 

 

Have you noticed the self serve laundry being particularly busy?  I would have expected so due to wet weather - the need to dry out various and sundry wet garments.

[nini]

2 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

Have you noticed the self serve laundry being particularly busy?  I would have expected so due to wet weather - the need to dry out various and sundry wet garments.

 

I have found it to be super busy on sea days.  The best time is in the evening or late afternoon.

[Purple Gallinule]

17 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Their act is together.  This cruise has been amazing. I haven’t had any problems at all that didn’t get quickly rectified.  I’m sorry if there’s even one person who has felt overwhelmed or overly inconvenienced but that in no way reflects what the vast majority of passengers are experiencing.  No cruise line does Alaska better. I had the MOST spectacular day. From the princess 4 hour Birds of Hoonah excursion to MDR dinner tonight. Just outstanding.  

 

Edited May 4, 2023 by Purple Gallinule
Found info above.

[szizo]

Great posts.  Thank you for taking the time to share with us. 

I board the Sapphire on Wed and can't wait to experience Princess and Alaska for the first time.