Anyone on the Ship during Biggest Losser?

[swiss]

I was wondering if anyone out there was on the Sapphire cruise when they filmed the Biggest Losser episode. It didn't look like there were very many passengers on the ship when they were filming. We were wondering if they filmed during port days at San Francisco and some other port? Love to hear your inside scoop if you were on the ship.

[Coral]

I was on the cruise in May.

 

There were a number of us on the sailing (DougH, Toronto, Seal, Cruisegal, NitaB). We actually had a pretty large roll call.

 

The ship started in LA and then went to San Diego, Catalina, and San Francisco where most of the people from the show got off in San Francisco. I was thinking that most of the scenes were done by the time we reached San Francisco because I overhead the film people on the radios asking what time they had to leave "the boat". Some of the family members stayed on until Astoria though. Us, real passengers, got off in Vancouver. There were tons of crew people on the ship - I kept seeing crew but didn't see the passengers on the ship.

 

Our sailing was full, actually overbooked as I received an offer to switch dates to October.

 

When we boarded the ship - the aft area was all setup for filming. They must have filmed the majority of the scenes when we were in port. I remember getting on the ship one after one of the port days and seeing the silver platter near the aft pool. I saw some other scenes being filmed (of the family members) in the Internet Cafe but those scenes didn't make the show.

 

DougH saw a lot of the filming - hopefully he can elaborate.

[ladysail2]

Thanks, Coral, for the information. I watched the show and thought the same thing as Swiss. I did see passengers..but not too many of them.

 

The Sapphire is a beautiful ship!

[snowbird1]

I saw it while working out in the gym so I watched it for the first time while riding the bike. It didn't seem like there were many passengers onboard and some of the seens looked like the ship was just anchored offshore or moving slowly. I was able to guess it looked like a cruise out of CA just by watching, don't know if they actually said it was. I was amazed at how much weight some of those people lost the week before and on the ship. One guy lost something like 20 pounds the week before but then just something like 5 on the ship and was upset. They need to tell this people you can't lose 10 or 20 pounds every week (good grief).

 

:D I would have been happy just to lose 5 pounds in a week especially on a ship although they didn't look like they had as much fun as I do normally. The ship looked similar to the Caribbean Princess and I will be on that one shortly.

[Cruisin' Chick]

will be watching the show when it's on in about 15 minutes. I'll have to see if the contestants used any of the same machines that I did two years ago.

[JLC@SD]

I was wondering if anyone out there was on the Sapphire cruise when they filmed the Biggest Losser episode. It didn't look like there were very many passengers on the ship when they were filming. We were wondering if they filmed during port days at San Francisco and some other port? Love to hear your inside scoop if you were on the ship.

 

I am watching now.......in the sequence where they are delivering trays around the ship.......Sapphire Princess is anchored off Catalina.....:)

[smoothdancer]

That was a lot of fun watching the show... Wow that ship sure is big, isnt it? We are going on the Golden in December, the biggest ship we have been on yet... I can see myself getting lost just like it happened on the show.

 

There was some good advise though how to deal with a buffet when trying to keep your weight in check.

[IheartPrincess]

the little bits that husband and I watched made us want to get on the Sapphire. She looks so pretty!!

[serene56]

Does Princess really use silver trays for room service?

[Pam in CA]

Silly question... if they got on in LA and disembarked in SF, how did they get around the Jones Act?

 

I Tivo'd the show and will watch it today. :)

[kftw]

That was a lot of fun watching the show... Wow that ship sure is big, isnt it? We are going on the Golden in December, the biggest ship we have been on yet... I can see myself getting lost just like it happened on the show.

 

There was some good advise though how to deal with a buffet when trying to keep your weight in check.

 

I can't believe we missed it. What was some of the advice on dealing with a buffet?

[pog27]

I can't believe we missed it. What was some of the advice on dealing with a buffet?

 

What I remember is they said to use a smaller plate so you don't get too much food and overeat. They also said to pick items that are poached or grilled rather than sauteed.

[LARGIN]

Silly question... if they got on in LA and disembarked in SF, how did they get around the Jones Act?

 

I Tivo'd the show and will watch it today. :)

 

Probably because the show leased the ship as a backdrop for a television show and that the ship was not actually transporting passengers from point A to point B but was a "set" for the show.

[Tom O.]

Silly question... if they got on in LA and disembarked in SF, how did they get around the Jones Act?

 

That is a good question. Could the ship have also stopped at Ensenada?

 

I think I heard somewhere on these boards that if a passenger violates the Jones Act (or whatever it is called - I can never remember) that they have to pay a fine. If this is true, the producers could have just paid the fines as part of their operating expenses.

[Coral]

That is a good question. Could the ship have also stopped at Ensenada?

 

 

I was on the sailing and it did not stop in Ensada. It was LA to Vancouver. The show and contestants got on the ship in LA and got off in San Fran. Some family members stayed on until Astoria.

 

My guess is that they (the network) paid the fine for the Jones Act/PSA. There were tons of crew on the ship with us. It was a pretty large operation.

[Tom O.]

I was on the sailing and it did not stop in Ensada. It was LA to Vancouver. The show and contestants got on the ship in LA and got off in San Fran. Some family members stayed on until Astoria.

 

My guess is that they (the network) paid the fine for the Jones Act/PSA. There were tons of crew on the ship with us. It was a pretty large operation.

 

Astoria departure would be a violation too. That would be quite few people in violation of Federal Law. I can't help but wonder if they got away with it by simply not reporting it to anyone. Little did they know that us Cruise Critic Detectives would be on the case.

But, I am not sure even what agency enforces these laws.

[Coral]

Yes - I realize Astoria would be a violation. I just know that some people got off there as I didn't like my room (sewage smell) and they offered to move me the day in Astoria because some people from the show got off that day.

 

I actually think that NBC (or whatever) network just paid the fine. It was a huge operation and they probably just factored in the cost or somehow had it waived.

 

If you go back to my "life from the Sapphire posts" I mention them filming on the Sapphire and also questioned the PSA requirements on the post.

[serene56]

I can't believe we missed it. What was some of the advice on dealing with a buffet?

 

The best that I got fromt here is most people just pick up a plate and work themselves around picking and choosing stuff as they pass it. Their advice was walk through first and see what there is to offer then go back - grab a plate and pick from stuff that looks like good choices.

[DougH]

I was on this sailing with Coral, but can't really say I saw a lot of the filming. Main part I saw was the competition with the trays. This was filmed the day we we offshore from Catalina, I was reading up on the pool deck. I'm actually in one of the shots for about 3 seconds as the last lady on the Red team is running back to finish the competion. I'm only seen from the back and really only know its me from the location where I was standing.

 

Never really noticed any of the competitors on the show around the ship but theTV crew seemed to be everywhere. They were also great party people and sure didn't get much sleep. I know I was with a group the first night and we closed Skywalkers, partied in a cabin for a while then a bunch of us were in the hot tubs until almost dawn. The last night they were all up in Skywalkers until late, then all headed right back down to LA from SF. They sure had some interesting stories to tell about TV shows

 

Doug

[Seal]

Nice to see a lot of us are still around--When we were ready to board in LA--we had to wait for the filming crew and the "losers" to board before we did.

 

Hardly saw them at all--I remember going to the gym before sailing and seeing some of them using the equipment--Of course, that's all I saw of the gym.

 

Funny, this is coming up now with todays feature on CC being about repositioning cruises.

 

Nancy & John

 

Anyone got any good cruise ideas for the future--think we have done more than our share this year. Hope everyone is well.:)

[Coral]

Anyone got any good cruise ideas for the future--think we have done more than our share this year. Hope everyone is well.:)

 

Hi Nancy - You have done a lot of cruises this year!

 

I have a Russian River cruise booked for next year - you are welcome to join me :)

[TorontoTL]

Hi Everyone from our old Roll Call. I'm onboard the magnificent Crown as I type this. Thought I'd drop in on this thread when I saw it. During our sailing on the Sapphire we had most of the crew across the hall from our stateroom. They were major partiers staying up really late at night and smoking up a storm. A few times when I left my cabin I would walk into a wall of smoke coming out of their cabins across the hall entering the hallways. Other than that we really didn't see them much I guess because they did most of the filming when we were off the ship at one of the ports. My friends who often stayed on the ship also saw some of the filming with the contestants running around the ship.

[Pam in CA]

I have a Russian River cruise booked for next year - you are welcome to join me :)

Coral, you're going to love the Russian river cruise. I was on one in September and loved it. The Russian boats are "utilitarian," particularly if you have booked a standard cabin, and not the luxury we're used to on Princess, but it was great fun. My friend and I each booked a "single" cabin with no single supplement. I know you sometimes cruise single so if you can get one, grab it 'cause you'll have more space per person. We liked it so much, we're planning on in China in a couple of years.

[Coral]

Coral, you're going to love the Russian river cruise. I was on one in September and loved it.

 

Pam - can you shoot me an email. My address is in my signature. I have some questions for you.