Just back from Voyage of Glaciers - Sapphire Princess - not a happy chap!

[bassmk]

On 9/24/2023 at 8:02 AM, oskidunker said:

Food is not subjective. It is bad. Cold food is not subjective. You are saying some people might find it hot?   Under cooked rawsteak can not be subjective Quit defending Princess.

That's not what subjective means. Some people might not mind cold food. I happen to prefer my steak very rare, which to you is "undercooked" and "raw" so yes...it can be subjective. There's no single, correct way to cook, serve, eat, or enjoy food. Every person has a different preference and opinion, which makes it SUBJECTIVE. Objective would mean that there is one correct and one incorrect way to do something, and that doesn't apply here at all.

[brucedodge]

11 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I can't agree with you more!  And I have yet to step foot on a Royal Class ship.  I don't know what I will do when they send my Precious Grand to the "farm in the country".  Nor when they port only Royal Class ships out of San Pedro.

 

Thank you for a well composed post.

And I thank you ❤️

Interestingly our Norway cruise last year was supposed to be on the Grand (booked quite early), but due to COVID, the ship changed twice and ended up as the Sky Princess.  Lovely ship, great itinerary, and good weather, and we even ended up upgraded to a mid-ship full suite.  But the ship was just too damn big.  I know many people like the Royal Class and I'm happy for them ❤️.  

It seems ships are largely (!) becoming the destination rather than the places they can take you.  Cruising is a for-profit venture, and the accountants know that.  And as ships become larger, we will slowly shift, just as we jettisoned Celebrity, despite our Elite + status, as they went big

Again, as I always say, we have different tastes and different ways to satisfy those tastes.

Bruce

[BentPicketRanchGirl]

Oh no!!! We are taking our first 32 night cruise on the Sapphire Princess starting Oct 30 to Dec 1. That is a long time if the ship's food is not good. On the bright side, I guess my major concern of weight gain may be a non-issue.😲  I was planning on exercising 5-6 days a week, but that may not be necessary if the food is not tasty. I had friends that went on the Sapphire Princess July 19th and really enjoyed the cruise, food and everything about it. Wonder what happened between then and September. Maybe the head chef changed in there somewhere.

[PescadoAmarillo]

2 hours ago, BentPicketRanchGirl said:

Oh no!!! We are taking our first 32 night cruise on the Sapphire Princess starting Oct 30 to Dec 1. That is a long time if the ship's food is not good. On the bright side, I guess my major concern of weight gain may be a non-issue.😲  I was planning on exercising 5-6 days a week, but that may not be necessary if the food is not tasty. I had friends that went on the Sapphire Princess July 19th and really enjoyed the cruise, food and everything about it. Wonder what happened between then and September. Maybe the head chef changed in there somewhere.

I wanted quite desperately to be on that cruise, and on the Antarctica cruises that follow it, and even more so after having been on the ship for 14 nights in July-August. It’s a wonderful ship.  DH and I did lose weight, but only because we had the Plus package and we were so full of drinks that we didn’t eat any breads and had only a couple of desserts. Because of a family issue, I had to cancel the Sapphire cruises I had booked for this fall and winter at final payment, and now can’t get a cabin in a location that appeals, so I won’t be joining you. But I sure wish I was. I love the Sapphire. You’ll have a wonderful time. 

[cr8tiv1]

7 hours ago, brucedodge said:

And I thank you ❤️

Interestingly our Norway cruise last year was supposed to be on the Grand (booked quite early), but due to COVID, the ship changed twice and ended up as the Sky Princess.  Lovely ship, great itinerary, and good weather, and we even ended up upgraded to a mid-ship full suite.  But the ship was just too damn big.  I know many people like the Royal Class and I'm happy for them ❤️.  

It seems ships are largely (!) becoming the destination rather than the places they can take you.  Cruising is a for-profit venture, and the accountants know that.  And as ships become larger, we will slowly shift, just as we jettisoned Celebrity, despite our Elite + status, as they went big

Again, as I always say, we have different tastes and different ways to satisfy those tastes.

Bruce

 

Funny you should mention this.  A similar scenario happened to me.

 

I had a Window Suite booked on the Grand Princess for Iceland.  PERFECT.  I really wanted to do this itinerary from Southampton for 2023 or 2024 (I think).  Then Princess switched me to the Regal Princess.  Ugh.  I was given one of those Window Suites far forward.  Intrigued, but not thrilled that it was so forward for the Arctic Sea portion.  Low and behold, they moved me over to the Sky Princess.  Sun Deck (17) / S111. 

 

That was the last straw.  Supposedly a Vista Suite but looked liked a mini-suite floor plan with a suite bathroom.  Too high up.  Too far forward.  Too far from the concierge's lounge.  I cancelled the booking.  

 

Now have a two for one:  Greenland and Iceland booked for 2024 on the Caribbean Princess in a Window Suite.  It all works out in the end.  

[lucywestie]

Well didn't I start a storm in a teacup here! I'm the OP for this thread. Glad to see that others on the cruise enjoyed their food, like I said, its all subjective/relative or whatever. What I did not mention though is that the crew on board were excellent. We only wanted the cabin serviced once a day and I'm sure that made our room attendant very happy! The staff in Crooners were great and by the second week I was getting a fist bump greeting from the wait staff in there so I must have been doing something right.

We did have some rough weather but I believe they either sped up or slowed down so we only caught the tail end. I think the night we left Whittier it was rough and there were a few green faces and unsteady feet on the morning after from looking around the ship.

 

We aren't the type of people to stick to one particular cruiseline. Princess is our third line and we would like to try Holland America or Celebrity. My brother has cruised Viking a lot which is a totally different world of cruising if what he tells me is correct and maybe thats something to aspire to!

 

Glad to see others enjoyed the food part of the cruise. I could probably have lived off the fresh and crispy bread rolls if it came down to it as that's one of the great joys of cruising, fresh bread!

 

We also like a smaller ship as others have mentioned and the 2500 approx. passenger total appeals to us. We did Royal's Navigator at 4600 and that was just to many people for us. I believe on the day we were in Juneau the Ovation of the Seas docked as it was sailing past us into port. What a massive ship. I think I counted 8 decks of balconies alone. Yikes.

 

Happy cruising to all those who responded

[KruzPrincess]

On 9/23/2023 at 12:41 PM, lucywestie said:

I never once had a hot meal, whether in the traditional dining (we ate in the Sante Fe dining room but gave up after a few nights) or in the buffet.

May I clarify what you wrote here? By traditional dining, do you mean dining in the main dining room as opposed to the buffet? I was under the impression that Princess doesn’t offer traditional dining anymore. 

[lucywestie]

1 hour ago, KruzPrincess said:

May I clarify what you wrote here? By traditional dining, do you mean dining in the main dining room as opposed to the buffet? I was under the impression that Princess doesn’t offer traditional dining anymore. 

I meant the "traditional" dining rooms. So Santa Fe, Pacific moon etc.

[kirtihk]

On 9/23/2023 at 1:41 PM, lucywestie said:

This cruise really put us off cruising for a while and our next trip will probably be a land based trip to the UK or similar. Though I was in the UK in May and faced similar situations there, poor quality, high prices and poor selection. Thus is the way of the world right now I fear. 

You answered your own question.

 

Precisely!

[kirtihk]

On 9/24/2023 at 12:42 AM, waltd said:

Wow.   How things can change in 9 months.   We sailed the Sapphire for 33 days in December.   One of the best cruises we have taken.  Crew were top notch.  We ate in Savoy.   We hated to leave.

Hopefully your next cruise will be better. 

I read on Celebrity a lot of items turned bad literally overnight (a few weeks ago if I remember correctly) between a previous cruise and the following one (not gradually within multiple months).

[Purplsmurf]

1 hour ago, kirtihk said:

I read on Celebrity a lot of items turned bad literally overnight (a few weeks ago if I remember correctly) between a previous cruise and the following one (not gradually within multiple months).

Just people complaining. We have been on 5 Celebrity cruises in the last 17 months and the food has been fabulous 

[kirtihk]

1 minute ago, Purplsmurf said:

Just people complaining. We have been on 5 Celebrity cruises in the last 17 months and the food has been fabulous 

When was you last Celebrity cruise?

[Purplsmurf]

11 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

When was you last Celebrity cruise?

A couple of weeks ago

[kirtihk]

8 minutes ago, Purplsmurf said:

A couple of weeks ago

Then I agree with you.

[KruzPrincess]

11 hours ago, lucywestie said:

I meant the "traditional" dining rooms. So Santa Fe, Pacific moon etc.

Thanks for clarifying.