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Srphnx live on Sapphire instead of Diamond for once

srphnx

By srphnx,
in Princess Cruises

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hollym

hollym

Posted
Posted
Egads!
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but expect a mess at SeaTac when you fly away. Were there last Sunday around 10 AM (9/5) and it was a mess due to the dumping of too many cruise ship passengers at one time. (We had passed five major cruise ships steaming toward Victoria on 9-4 out in Puget Sound.) There was of course a bit of extra confusion due to Frances, but almost all in line were cruise ship passengers trying to get home, most of whom had large amounts of luggage. Delta said they were "used to the confusion" and first blamed the cruise ships, and later the hurricane. My suspicion is lack of adequate personnel...another airline in trouble financially.

The Delta situation was so bad that curbside check wasn't available and you couldn't get to the kiosks. They rounded us up into 'holding pens' with our luggage and pulled groups out to the kiosks according to the flight times. Not a pleasant experience, so go prepared.
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srphnx

srphnx

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[font=Times New Roman][size=3]We had a quiet night on the ship, very tired from all the walking so we ate dinner in Santa Fe (French night) and went back to the cabin for about 12 hours of sleep, the rack of lamb was so good we had set a wake up call so we could have it on second dinner but when the time came opted for more sleep instead.[/size][/font]

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[font=Times New Roman][size=3]Day light found us in Sunny Skagway along with Dawn who was Southbound from Anchorage to Vancouver, the town is crawling with cruisers and we checked in at the cyber port and took advantage of the close out sales. The same shirts we bought in May were now half or less what we paid then and when we sail again to Alaska it will no doubt be in September. The weather is perfect and the prices are much more attractive. Also the sun sets at night which is much more in keeping with my body clock.[/size][/font]

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[font=Times New Roman][size=3]Turns out there is another reason to prefer Diamond to Sapphire to Alaska, not only does she do Tracey arm later in the day and dock not tender in Juneau, but she also dock much closer to town in Skagway, we had to walk past Dawn in order to get the little town shuttle ($1.50) one way. Loaded with another ubiquitous Alaska shirt company red bag we were allowed to re-board. You see that is what security is for, if you haven’t purchased enough goods in town they push you back down the gangway with instructions on where to shop further.[/size][/font]

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[font=Times New Roman][size=3]This is my fifth Alaskan cruise, and probably the best with exception of Seward Glacier being the least spectacular in my opinion of those I have seen, it just isn’t possible to get as close as you can in Hubbard or Glacier bay, the ship and her options more than make up for that. We booked three more open bookings, bringing us up to four and no doubt they will all be used on Diamond or Sapphire. Looks like I will be an honorary Mexican citizen over the next year or two.[/size][/font]

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[font=Times New Roman][size=3]We also found a couple of little hide away spots we hadn’t previously, the putt-putt golf and a deck where all the navigational pods are, great for sight seeing and the sun and weather made for some nice explorations. Finally after 3 week long sailings, I have been to every public room or deck. Tonight we start the sad trip back to Seattle with a much anticipated stop in Victoria on Saturday night. [/size][/font]

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[font=Times New Roman][size=3]I will try to answer all the questions that I can but I generally have my posts written before signing on so as to minimize time at .35 a minute and then I read the thread off line so there may be some lag between asking and answering.[/size][/font]
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sueandkent

sueandkent

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srphnx, sounds like you are having a great trip. Is there an additional fee for the Sterling on the Diamond? I know you are on Sapphire right now but I have asked this question on another thread and received two opposite answers. Our pre-cruise docs list it as a $15 fee however someone on another thread said this is not on Diamond/Sapphire-on those two ships it is considered one of the pc dining rooms. Thanks for your help.
Sue
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merela

merela

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[quote name='sueandkent']srphnx, sounds like you are having a great trip. Is there an additional fee for the Sterling on the Diamond? I know you are on Sapphire right now but I have asked this question on another thread and received two opposite answers. Our pre-cruise docs list it as a $15 fee however someone on another thread said this is not on Diamond/Sapphire-on those two ships it is considered one of the pc dining rooms. Thanks for your help.
Sue[/QUOTE]

Sterling is one of the PC dining rooms on the Diamond. There is no extra charge to eat at Sterling while you are on the Diamond, but reservation is a must. Sterling is the most popular PC restaurant on the Diamond. The only restaurant on the Diamond which required a surcharge was Sabatini's.

HTH.
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juggledude

juggledude

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[quote name='srphnx']by jugglerdude

[b][color=black]Open bookings are much discussed on the boards and I always keep a few going, basically they allow minimum deposit and offer much in terms of flexibility relating to using your own TA and picking the date later and include OBC on-board credit from 25-150 pp depending on length and category of cabin... in short a no brainer![/color][/b][/QUOTE]
Steverdude,

Thanks for the quick and informative reply, but I guess I didn't phrase that one well. I am aware of the concept, and plan on taking huge advantage of it on my upcoming voyage, my question was more pointed in the direction of which cruises / where you going and when?

Oh, and sorry for the liberty taken with your name, I just had to find a cute way to emphasize that there's no r in Juggledude :)

I have such fond memories of Sabatini's on the Star Princess, one bit of advice, GO HUNGRY, we were so deluged with course after course of delectable appatizer, we had room for less than half our entree!


woot, ...

Roycerdude
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Jmini

Jmini

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I'm sailing on Sapphire in Oct. Hubby doesn't want to pack a suit. If you are PC dining, do you have to get dressy on formal nights in the four restaurants? Is the buffet still a good option for dinner? We have been on other Princess ships, but don't have a clue about what to do with four dining areas. You mentioned calling for reservations when you first board, so I'll be doing that. We had actually thought of sticking mostly to the buffet or Sterling for the entire cruise since my parents aren't very mobile or adventurous in cuisine. I've heard you can get the traditional menu and also a couple of selections from the other restaurants if you stick to the Steakhouse. I'd also like to know if that is true. Thanks and have a lovely cruise. I can hardly wait. Nancy
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CRB#33

CRB#33

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Posted
I have to tell you, I have the web cam of the Saphire on my desktop and while you may not like where she docks, the cam was moving around quite a bit yesterday and showing some awesome views!!! It looked like maybe the cam was pointed back over the water and you could see high snow covered peaks way in the distance! What a gorgeous day you had!!!

I also enjoyed the view as you were sailing away from Skagway!

I'm glad you are have such a wonderful trip! Thanks so much for sharing it with us as you go!
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srphnx

srphnx

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[quote name='juggledude']Steverdude,

Thanks for the quick and informative reply, but I guess I didn't phrase that one well. I am aware of the concept, and plan on taking huge advantage of it on my upcoming voyage, my question was more pointed in the direction of which cruises / where you going and when?

Oh, and sorry for the liberty taken with your name, I just had to find a cute way to emphasize that there's no r in Juggledude :)

I have such fond memories of Sabatini's on the Star Princess, one bit of advice, GO HUNGRY, we were so deluged with course after course of delectable appatizer, we had room for less than half our entree!


woot, ...

Roycerdude[/QUOTE]
[b][color=black]JUGGLE DUDE,[/color][/b]
[b][color=black][/color][/b]
[b][color=black]Ok, first the opens will very likely be on Diamond or Sapphire so most likley Mexico or Alaska. Second we did Sabatinis and I hurt all thier feelings because not only did I eat all the courses and a double entree but laughed at the paltry 3 desserts, in order to show me up they went to get more from the Int'l for a total of 6, I ate those and asked if I could start over with the courses.. there is a line from the Simpsons "tis no man he be, tis a remorseless eating machine"... I humbled the mighty Sabatinis.. doing it again at 12 noon today.[/color][/b]
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srphnx

srphnx

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[b]My evil plan is working perfectly, the captain just announced GALE force winds on our approach to Victoria on second formal night (lobster night) we should have 12-15 foot seas.. more shellfish for me! Yippee... go green![/b]
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srphnx

srphnx

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[b]My evil plan is working perfectly, the captain just announced GALE force (50mph winds) on our approach to Victoria on second formal night (lobster night) we should have 12-15 foot seas.. more shellfish for me! Yippee... go green![/b]
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Druke I

Druke I

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Srphnx

Take your ginger!

Those megaships do not ride well in heavy seas! Too beamy, shallow draft, slab-side, and blunt prow.

Our trans-Atlantic on the Golden, Aug 02, really bounced about when we hit a couple of Atlantic storms. We had bow spray raining down on our balcony on Caribe deck, and several windows shattered along Promenade Deck, due to ship's flexing/twisting in heavy seas.

Much rather be on a liner-like hull in gale force seas. Royal Princess rides much better than Golden Princess, my opinion.

Michael
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juggledude

juggledude

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[quote name='srphnx'][b]My evil plan is working perfectly, the captain just announced GALE force winds on our approach to Victoria on second formal night (lobster night) we should have 12-15 foot seas.. more shellfish for me! Yippee... go green![/b][/QUOTE]
Lucky, I've never gotten to do a storm. I'll have to watch the webcam close this evening. To bad it wasn't a hurricaine, then they may have had to lengthen your cruise to wait it out.

Juggledude
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merela

merela

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It seems like yesterday that you were talking about boarding the Sapphire....and now...your sailing is coming to an end.

I suppose all good things must come to a natural conclusion.

I hope you have a good sailing back to Seattle.
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Druke I

Druke I

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Lady Jag

Far be it from me to give advice on the water conditions - but the North Sea is often rough, the English Channel is known for its chop, and the Irish Sea can get pretty testy at times.

Any time you are upon the water, the ride can be a crapshoot.

I did mention the Atlantic storms while on the Golden Princess, but that was nothing compared to trying to outrun the back end of a typhoon in the China Sea, while on the little Golden Odyssey (a 10,000 tonner) Nov 86. We had green water over the bridge, screws out of the water, and the inclinometer was pegged several times. That was rough!

Michael
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