What side of Sapphire is best for cruise by of Antarctica?

[ship2ship]

Hello- we booked a starboard side balcony room for our January 2025 cruise.  Should I change to port side?  Many thanks for your advice.  

[d9704011]

Don't bother, it will make no difference.

[paradiselivin1]

Agree. We spent time on our starboard aft balcony but were out up on the bow for many shots. 

[mtnesterz]

I'm curious. You must have had reason for asking. What in your perception would be different? FWIW, Sapphire would be our choice for Antarctica with Skywalkers and the full promenade.

 

 

[ship2ship]

Hi- I wasn’t sure if either side was closer to the land during the 4 day cruise-by (for viewing from our balcony). 

[Ken the cruiser]

We were in an aft-facing suite (C755) of the Sapphire for 30 days cruising around Antarctica and SA this past January (see Live From in signature area). If I had to choose a side, I would pick the starboard side, especially when cruising around the Antarctica Peninsula. The main reason being the ship usually cruised through channels on the right side (which also puts the starboard balconies closer to shore) in case they needed to pass an approaching ship.

 

 

But our ultimate Premier Balcony choice would be C753 on the Caribe deck, which unfortunately appears to have already been booked on both Jan 2025 itineraries. This particular cabin allows both starboard and aft views as well as views of the port side (once it comes into view).

 

 

However, if you are on the Jan 21, 2025, sailing, I just checked and D736 is available, which would allow both a partial aft view as well as a full port side view. That might also be a possibility as well. So many decisions. 

 

 

 

[ship2ship]

Thank you very much!

[koolforkatz]

We did this cruise in January 2023 on the Sapphire and although we had one of the covered mini suite's on deck 8 (port) we spent the majority of our time walking around outside on the open decks, particularly forward and aft. Bundle up and you will be fine! Antarctica is spectacular.

[Ken the cruiser]

BTW the nice thing about a fully covered aft-facing cabin is that you are protected from both the wind and rain. Trust me when I say that’s a huge perk if you’re like me and like to hang out on the balcony and take photos! 😁

Edited October 17 by Ken the cruiser

[ship2ship]

3 hours ago, koolforkatz said:

We did this cruise in January 2023 on the Sapphire and although we had one of the covered mini suite's on deck 8 (port) we spent the majority of our time walking around outside on the open decks, particularly forward and aft. Bundle up and you will be fine! Antarctica is spectacular.

 

[ship2ship]

Thanks!

[ship2ship]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

BTW the nice thing about a fully covered aft-facing cabin is that you are protected from both the wind and rain. Trust me when I say that’s a huge perk if you’re like me and like to hang out on the balcony and take photos! 😁

 

[ship2ship]

Thanks- we are hoping for sunshine! 😁

[Aggie83]

7 hours ago, ship2ship said:

Hello- we booked a starboard side balcony room for our January 2025 cruise.  Should I change to port side?  Many thanks for your advice.  

I was on the December 2022 Antartica cruise on the Sapphire. IMHO, I don't think it matters much which side of the ship you are on.  As for aft facing cabin, I have done several cruises with an aft facing cabin and love the location.  This would be the one cruise which I would not make that location choice.  In several locations, the captain did 360 rotations of the ship to give everyone excellent views.  I think you will find that in addition to spending time on your balcony, you will walk all around the ship to catch the views.  I thought the Promenade deck provided some of the best views.  Lower can be better to see the penguins float by on chunks of ice.  As for weather while cruising Antartica, we had sunshine, partly cloudy/overcast, snow, and fog.  Due to fog and floating ice, the captain had to make adjustments to the route. I've attached the planned route and the actual route. 

 

We loved the experience so much, that my DH and I are on the December 18 Antartica cruise. Hopefully we'll make Punta Arenas and Stanley this time.  Wind prevented us last time.  For this cruise, I selected a starboard side balcony room on Caribe for location to the elevators.  Last time we were on the port side.  I chose port side for that one because we left from Santiago, and I didn't want the sun beating down on us as we cruised down the coast.

Actual Route.pdf Planned Route.pdf

Edited October 17 by Aggie83

[frugaltravel]

13 hours ago, ship2ship said:

Hi- I wasn’t sure if either side was closer to the land during the 4 day cruise-by (for viewing from our balcony). 

If you limit yourself to your balcony you will miss a lot. Being on the bow is key. 

[ship2ship]

14 hours ago, Aggie83 said:

I was on the December 2022 Antartica cruise on the Sapphire. IMHO, I don't think it matters much which side of the ship you are on.  As for aft facing cabin, I have done several cruises with an aft facing cabin and love the location.  This would be the one cruise which I would not make that location choice.  In several locations, the captain did 360 rotations of the ship to give everyone excellent views.  I think you will find that in addition to spending time on your balcony, you will walk all around the ship to catch the views.  I thought the Promenade deck provided some of the best views.  Lower can be better to see the penguins float by on chunks of ice.  As for weather while cruising Antartica, we had sunshine, partly cloudy/overcast, snow, and fog.  Due to fog and floating ice, the captain had to make adjustments to the route. I've attached the planned route and the actual route. 

 

We loved the experience so much, that my DH and I are on the December 18 Antartica cruise. Hopefully we'll make Punta Arenas and Stanley this time.  Wind prevented us last time.  For this cruise, I selected a starboard side balcony room on Caribe for location to the elevators.  Last time we were on the port side.  I chose port side for that one because we left from Santiago, and I didn't want the sun beating down on us as we cruised down the coast.

Actual Route.pdf 1.08 MB · 7 downloads Planned Route.pdf 1.12 MB · 4 downloads

Thank you for your information- I’m getting really excited now!

[ship2ship]

7 hours ago, frugaltravel said:

If you limit yourself to your balcony you will miss a lot. Being on the bow is key. 

Thanks!