Just back - Fantastic Sapphire Princess pre-Christmas Cruise

[cuterlmt]

I don't have time to write much now, but just wanted to let folks know we had a fantastic cruise this past week on the Sapphire Princess.

We didn't do a whole lot but eat (fabulous food), sleep (loved the beds and the bedding), injure myself (that I'll talk about later), and enjoy the people and staff.

We did the Premier Cabo Yacht Experience (more about that later) and the PV Coastal Tour.

More about those later too.

Gotta get to laundry and bills!

More later.

[robgvic]

Looking forward to hearing about it. We are on on teh 24th January. How were the temperatures teh first and last day. I hear they can be cold. Best dining room?

[cuterlmt]

It was a bit chilly first and last days, although we left San Pedro on a rainy day and it was pretty cloudy coming back to San Pedro. The rest of the trip was wonderful weather, 80s I'm sure.

We did anytime dining, and we preferred the Pacific Moon dining room. We tried Santa Fe and didn't like it much. We were taken down to Vivaldi one night when Pacific Moon was too full. And that was fine, but the only night we ate there. Vivaldi was used for traditional first seating, from what I understand.

We also did the International Dining room for breakfast and lunch and that was fine.

 

Now for general comments about the cruise - I'm not doing a full report, because there are plenty, but just giving highlights. And just a preface, I am an extremely positive person. It takes a lot to get me down, and even though there were some things I didn't care for, or things that happened, that did not really diminish my overall enjoyment of the cruise. So takes these comments as just comments about things that made impressions on me.

 

We came in on Amtrak from ABQ to LA Union Station. Our plan was to spend a day traveling around LA - hubby is from there, and had things he wanted to do. He forgot how horrible traffic is, so we didn't get to do much.

We had breakfast at Grinders - nice recommendation. Fairly inexpensive. And close to the area.

We did get to our hotel, Crowne Plaza by about 10 am and they were able to give us a room. It was a wonderful room, comfortable, very clean (except the windows) and with a view of the harbor, although we didn't figure that out until the next day. I was quite impressed with being able to get a room that early. Since we had been on the train overnight, we both needed a shower and a nap, which we got. That 2 hour power nap put us a bit behind. We loved everything about our room, except the windows.

 

The next morning, I woke up early - too excited to sleep, and had the pleasure of seeing our ship pulling into harbor. I watched that for quite a while, squealing!! The only downside was that the windows are filthy dirty (sea air?) and only open a little bit. We had a room on the side, so we were not getting a full view, but you could see it pretty well.

 

We ate at the buffet in the hotel. Not so good. Not very much in the way of selections, and no pork products - no Bacon????? it was ok. The fruit was good.

 

We decided to walk down by the marina and take our time getting to the ship. I didn't want to sit around and wait there. We also wanted to visit the maritime museum but it didn't open until 10, and before it opened, the rain started and hubby wanted to get back to the room.

 

So we spent some time leisurely getting ready and finally got ourselves downstairs by 1130 or so. We caught the free shuttle and within 45 minutes to an hour were in our stateroom on the Princess. Great embarkation. Very organized, fast, easy.

 

We booked a mini suite. We had previously had a balcony, and loved that, but were looking forward to a tub and a sitting area. It was good to try, but I think we'll stick with balcony rooms. The sitting area was not very comfortable, and it put more space between us and the balcony. On our last cruise, we always left the sliding glass door open at night, unless it was too windy. And you could hear the water and smell the ocean. With this, not so much. Also, I HATED the two TVs. Hubby and I can never agree on what to watch at home. This was worse. I had to hear one tv while trying to watch something on the other. They are NOT separated enough to enjoy two TVs. There was some fun to it because for some reason, one remote would turn both the TVs on and, of course, they would be on different channels. Always a challenge to get one off, or on the channel you want it on.

 

I did not like the tub. I have never been accident prone. Never. I won't say that I'm graceful or anything. But I have never even broken a bone in my 47 years of life. On this trip, it started on the train. I bonked my head every time I got up. I tripped. I hurt myself all the time. So what happened in the tub you ask? A couple things - The side is too high. I think there was only one day that I didn't hurt my leg or foot getting in or out of the tub. I'm short. 'nuff said. On one day, I had the brillant idea to take a bubble bath. I thought it would be nice and romantic and fun. So I fill the tub and get it nice and soapy and warm.... I try to get in and slip and fall and hurt my arm and back. Then there was the chore of getting out. I had to wait for the tub to drain - I would not get back up while the water/soap was still in there. And then had to figure out a way to get out. I am a woman of size, and that was a chore -aside from the fear I had of falling again. And I was almost certain I had broken my wrist. My arm had already been injured from something, and this just added to it. It was awful. I'd much rather have a clingy shower.

 

We did get our glass of champagne before we sailed. That was nice.

 

Now, about the dining. One of the things that confuses me to no end is folks who make reservations for anytime dining. What's the point? Oh yeah, you really want traditional, but there aren't enough spots. I love love love anytime dining. I don't want someone telling me what time I have to eat and with whom. But I certainly respect those who want the schedule, and knowing your servers.

We primarily ate in Pacific Moon. We liked it. We waited for about 15 minutes on the first formal night, and about 30 minutes on the last night of the cruise for a table. At all of the dining rooms for dinner that we went to, we asked for and were seated at a table for two. Hubby is very social. I am not. So this might be the best of both worlds. The tables for two are put so close together that you can hear each other's conversations. We met some very nice people, but I really didn't want to. lol. Breakfast and lunch did not have 2 person tables available, so we always sat with others.

I went to the afternoon tea once. I really loved it. Unfortunately, it was just too much food in a day.

I enjoyed the food, for the most part. There were only a couple of dishes I didn't like. But all in all pretty good. Did not eat at horizon court for dinner at all....always the dining room.

People were dressed all over the map.

We did the balcony dinner one night - delightful, of course.

In PV we did the coastal drive. It included free tequila tasting and showing us how it's made, visit to a church, watching the flyers, visiting/shopping on the malecon. It was worth the $39 cost.

We did the premier cabo yacht experience. It was nice for a lazy day on a yacht, but not much more. I posted more about it on the ports board.

Our cabin steward was great. I left him a note and he brought us everything we wanted. One funny thing happened which is that they ran out of toilet paper!!! So we had to wait to get more. Yikers! I did ask for extra because I hate the idea of being without!!! Our steward only did that on one day. I didn't leave him another note though, so probably my fault. Our steward always kept putting away the quilt or bedcover or whatever you call it. And I like the room cold. Hubby gets cold, so he needs it. So it was fun trying to track that thing down.

Our next door balcony neighbor was in the infirmary for a couple days and said that the stuff was wonderful. I commented to him about thinking I broke my arm and being worried about how much the ship charged to figure it out. He told me that he was not charged anything because he told them no, and that he had insurance. I'm not sure if that would work for everyone, but I certainly would tell the medical personnel that. I know we all count on our insurance working for us and only having a co-pay or something. Having to charge several thousand dollars unexpectedly is a nightmare!

[RickEk]

Thanks for the review. We had a great time too a couple of months ago (has it been so long! :eek: ).

 

And did you notice all the Princess employees running around on embarkation day? It was the Princess HQ Holiday party... lunch in the dining rooms and a show! I was lucky to be invited along...

[cuterlmt]

Also, I forgot to mention getting off the ship.

It was so well organized. We went and had breakfast in the dining room - very relaxed, not rushed. Went up on deck 15 to do some phone calls to family and arrangements. Went to our assigned place about 5 or 10 minutes early, and were told we could go. We walked off, and walked out of the building. The length it took to get off the ship and out the doors of the terminal is how long disembarkation took! We were off the ship so fast!

 

A couple other comments -for those doing the ultimate balcony dinner. We've done it before and enjoyed it immensely. A couple of things - one is that they say a cocktail is included, but both times we've enjoyed this, we have been charged for the cocktail. Second thing - the first time we did it, the canapes were good, not anything too exotic - cooked shrimp, cheese, that kind of stuff. This time it included liver pate, salmon, caviar and shrimp. We only ate the shrimp. I felt bad about it but I really didn't want to ruin my dinner eating stuff that I didn't like. I should probably have asked.

 

As far as the rushing around the first day, I wasn't sure what was going on. They did seem a bit rushed, but I assumed it was all the new people on board.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions. I did a couple posts on the ports board and the west coast departures.

Thanks for reading!

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review.

 

As far as your neighbor refusing to pay for his medical visit, the only way that might happen is if he had NORO (insurance or no insurance). :)

[Elcruzer]

Thanks for the review. We had a great time too a couple of months ago (has it been so long! :eek: ).

 

And did you notice all the Princess employees running around on embarkation day? It was the Princess HQ Holiday party... lunch in the dining rooms and a show! I was lucky to be invited along...

Is this on every cruise and how did you get lucky enough to be invited?

Do you know if any of the dining rooms are open for regular guests on embarkation?

[RickEk]

Is this on every cruise and how did you get lucky enough to be invited?

Do you know if any of the dining rooms are open for regular guests on embarkation?

 

Princess has their Holiday Party in December onboard whatever ship is doing the MR. They split their folks into two groups and go on consecutive weekends. They charter buses to bring their folks from around SoCal and their employees are allowed to bring one guest. My roommate works for Princess so I was lucky enough to be invited. They provide lunch in the dining rooms, a show in the Princess Theater where they hold a raffle (only employees can win) and then afterwards we can tour the ship until about 3pm. It's very pleasant... The prime rib was extra scrumptious as was the shrimp appetizer! :p

 

And I don't know if they had a dining room open for passengers... if they did, it would have been open from 12noon to 1:30pm.

[Crazy Carolyn]

Hi,

Just want to thank you for so much delightful info about Princess....my sister & I were having trouble making up our minds between Holland America, Carnival, or Princess. I can't wait to take our first Princess cruise in Nov. to the Mexican Riviera. And, do have any suggestions for meeting a tall dark stranger? I was widowed 7 years ago and now feel ready to move on!

[ladypalmtree]

Thank you! We are on the Sapphire for the second time this March. We love Princess. We have been on the diamond twice and the Golden once as well. We have booked a full VS I am so excited...LPT:D

[gertz]

I was widowed 7 years ago and now feel ready to move on!

 

You know getting reconnected was one of the hardest and most difficult things that I ever did. Hang in there keep your standards high it will happen. I know.

You will like Princess. Celebrated 21st (2nd time) on Tahitian Princess in September heading for Hawaii.