Diamond And Sapphire

[CrystalWater]

Has anyone seen both of these ships? Are they 100 percent identical in decor or do they differ a little? I know they are sisters and are the same deck plan, but I was wondering if the decor differs some? Thanks!

[Putterdude]

They are so close they are the same ship. When the orginal ship that was to be the Diamond was being built she had a serious fire in the yards so the Sapphire construction was accelerated and the Sapphire was put into service as the Diamond. After the orignal Diamond was restored she was put into service as the Sapphire. I am sure that you could find some very small differences but that is about it...very small.

[abbydancer2003]

I was on both ships within a year of each other. There was a bit of different artwork, and some of the decorative stuff in the atrium may have been different, but otherwise they were identical as as far as I could tell.

[kendon]

Pretty much identical, but instead of two larger anytime dining rooms, there are four themed anytime dining rooms. This seems to cause chaos at dinner and the wait is incredibly long. I can't figure out why this is a problem, but it is. Anyway, all ships built since have gotten rid of this configuration.

[ttwalker23]

I've been on both ships and the only difference you can notice is maybe a different carpet design here and there and different decorations. Having said that, the Casinos have different themes, Asian on the Sapphire and African on the Diamond if I remember correctly.

As for the dining rooms: Sapphire & Diamond were pioneering the anytime dining idea and in the beginning it was planned to have different menus according to the theme of the restaurant (i.e. Asian food in the Pacific Moon). Didn't work out and since then they are stuck with the four dining venues.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes they are identical to each other. :)

[CrystalWater]

Thank you all for your answers. I remember the anytime dining and we ended up just having late fixed in the Vivaldi dining room, which we really enjoyed. So this time I just booked late fixed dining so we do not have to deal with the waiting and running around. The Vivaldi was the prettiest and most elegant in my eyes anyhow. Thanks. Looking forward to Princess again. Very much enjoyed their dining room food.

[spingal]

Pretty much identical, but instead of two larger anytime dining rooms, there are four themed anytime dining rooms. This seems to cause chaos at dinner and the wait is incredibly long. I can't figure out why this is a problem, but it is. Anyway, all ships built since have gotten rid of this configuration.

 

On my April Hawaii cruise, we had anytime dining and ate in the Vivaldi Dining Room. They use this dining room for 1st seating and at 8pm it opens for anytime dining. The dining room was almost always empty and a party of any size could walk right in and sit down. A secret we learned!! :D

[PescadoAmarillo]

I've spent a month on both of them. The only difference that I saw (as others have said) was in the artwork, and in that regard, I give a slight edge to the Sapphire. It has a gorgeous music box outside the Lotus spa and fitness area that was a gift from a port city in Japan. When I was on the ship (late 2004), passengers were allowed to turn the box so it would play music. I have a hard time believing that that is still allowed (and hopefully it wasn't broken). It stands about 3 feet tall and is worth seeing if you happen to be on the Sapphire.

[chasetf]

They are so close they are the same ship. When the orginal ship that was to be the Diamond was being built she had a serious fire in the yards so the Sapphire construction was accelerated and the Sapphire was put into service as the Diamond. After the orignal Diamond was restored she was put into service as the Sapphire. I am sure that you could find some very small differences but that is about it...very small.

That fire was very devastating. Here are some pictures of the fire and a pictue of how far they had to tear her down to rebuild her.

 

We sailed the Sapphire (which started life as the Diamond) and unless you knew the history you could never tell there was that much damage.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

That fire was very devastating. Here are some pictures of the fire and a pictue of how far they had to tear her down to rebuild her.

 

We sailed the Sapphire (which started life as the Diamond) and unless you knew the history you could never tell there was that much damage.

 

Amazing pictures, what caused the fire?

We have been on Diamond but never on Sapphire so hopefully will get a chance soon.

[DanJ]

That fire was very devastating. Here are some pictures of the fire and a pictue of how far they had to tear her down to rebuild her.

 

We sailed the Sapphire (which started life as the Diamond) and unless you knew the history you could never tell there was that much damage.

 

Apparently there is a small remnant of the Diamond name on one side of the bow where it says Sapphire now. When we were on Sapphire, I wasn't able to get near the front of the ship in the ports we were at, so I couldn't see for myself, but someone posted a picture a few years ago showing a part of the old D near the current S.

 

Julia, the fire was started during construction, probably by welders in a tight area. I've seen reports on those discovery channel shows about ship-building that small fires during construction are rather common, but they rarely get this serious or out of control.

[chasetf]

......Julia, the fire was started during construction, probably by welders in a tight area. I've seen reports on those discovery channel shows about ship-building that small fires during construction are rather common, but they rarely get this serious or out of control.

That was the same source as I remember hearing. The reason it was so devastating as I remember was because the fire control (sprinkler) system was not yet operational.

[mississauga]

Pretty much identical, but instead of two larger anytime dining rooms, there are four themed anytime dining rooms. This seems to cause chaos at dinner and the wait is incredibly long. I can't figure out why this is a problem, but it is. Anyway, all ships built since have gotten rid of this configuration.

 

 

We have been on both and have never had to wait to be seated. I think once, we were told that was a slight wait time so we just went to another restaurant and got seated right away. We wanted to try all the restaurants and since we like to eat early, we thought at first we could not try the Vivaldi as it was fixed traditional 1st seating. We waited until the time when all passengers would have been seated and then went and asked if they had seating for two. They did and gave us a table for two.

 

I guess it's a matter of timing but that would be on any ship whether it's 4 or 2 restaurants for anytime dining.