Sapphire Question-Any Recent Cruisers?

[Jamrenjer]

Hey there,

We are seeing a great deal for the Sapphire-7 day Mexico cruise in September. We have only been on one Princess cruise several years ago-- we loved it-- lately have been on NCL and RCCL mostly.

Any recent Sapphire cruisers who could tell us the pros and cons?

 

We have read some reviews-- and all seem pretty positive.

 

Any and all comments are appreciated!:)

[Logie]

I was on the Sapphire in May and several times before. It has not been enhanced like some of the older Grand class ships but still a great ship. I was also in the system and noticed some great deals and am considering it for myself too.

[RickEk]

I've taken the Mexican Riviera cruise twice on the Sapphire. She's a beautiful ship with about 500 less passengers than the more recent Grand-class vessels. She has a covered pool and a very inviting aft pool section. She's the biggest "pro" about this trip.

 

The biggest "con" is the short time spent in Cabo. I wish they'd go there first and spend a whole day rather than the 6 hours they stay there now..

[Sillyjilly]

She's a great ship. I've been on her 10 times. (West Coaster)

I'll be on her again in November. Don't pass up those great prices.

[CL-JW]

Sapphire is one of our favorite ships. We love that she has four pools, two adult only and two for all ages, plus one of the pools has a retractable roof. Our favorite pool area is the Terrace Pool over looking the stern.

 

We also enjoy Crooners martini bar in the atrium on the Promenade Deck and morning coffee at the lobby bar on Deck 5.

 

We have a ton of pictures of the ship in our signature. Wish we could take advantage of the great pricing and go again this fall.

[Thumper69]

Book it!

 

We were on Sapphire in January and absolutely loved it.:D We're booked again for our first b2b in December, can't wait. Then to our surprise I was waiting for the Sydney - LA cruise 2010 and its Sapphire again....Lucky I love the ship.;)

 

Anthony

[becca23]

I've taken the Mexican Riviera cruise twice on the Sapphire. She's a beautiful ship with about 500 less passengers than the more recent Grand-class vessels. She has a covered pool and a very inviting aft pool section. She's the biggest "pro" about this trip.

 

The biggest "con" is the short time spent in Cabo. I wish they'd go there first and spend a whole day rather than the 6 hours they stay there now..

 

 

 

So what to do in Cabo with 2pm sailaway?

[Colo Cruiser]

So what to do in Cabo with 2pm sailaway?

 

 

Drink as many ("Can't drive 55's) as possible at Cabo Wabo. :eek:

[CL-JW]

So what to do in Cabo with 2pm sailaway?

 

We go to "The Office on the Beach" for breakfast & margaritas. It's a fun place with good food and good drinks.

[Woobstr112G]

So what to do in Cabo with 2pm sailaway?

 

Cabo Wabo baby.......:D:D:D

 

Bob

[csaeroach]

Sapphire is a great ship... we have been on it three times already and going back for our fourth in Sept on the last sailing of Alaska. Love this ship! I would love to be able to take advantage of the excellent pricing right now for Mexico as well, but already have the Caribbean Princess booked for Nov ... it is a ship you can sail on many, many, times, and never get tired of it! Love the anytime dining and have the choice of so many different dining rooms, that is our favorite thing about Sapphire, as you do not have to eat in the same dining room every night, and they offer a wonderful choice. Santa Fe is our favorite, but all very nice.

[Jamrenjer]

Thank you everyone for your comments and feedback! You are making our decision easier-- just seeing now if we can really afford it! Just such a great price right now!:)

 

Thank you again!

[Jamrenjer]

CL-JW,

You have some great pics! Thanks for sharing!:)

[RickEk]

So what to do in Cabo with 2pm sailaway?

 

Well, you can always try the America's Cup Regatta excursion. It's a blast... we had a great time (even though it was New Year's Day :p and you know what that means... LOL).

 

Oh and Cabo Wabo ain't bad either...

[Logie]

We go to "The Office on the Beach" for breakfast & margaritas. It's a fun place with good food and good drinks.

 

Ditto to The Office it is much more fun than Cabo Wabo as they open later in the a.m. and it is boring!! Too bad but Sammy does not strike up the band during the day.

[J&KCruisers]

Sapphire is a great ship. It takes all of the best elements of the Grand Class and adds a few things.

 

Once they put MUTS and the gem class upgrades, it will be the best of the fleet.

 

Book it and have a great time.

 

BTW, Cabo Wabo is not open in the mornings, but it is fun to go by it.

[NotWthOutablcony]

The Sapphire is our absolute most favorite ship in the whole fleet! She is beautiful! We just got a wonderful surprise, was going to book our 14 day Hawaii cruise today on the Golden, yesterday we found the Sapphire doing it once a month so we jumped on it! Also got the best room (subjectable) E731!!! Couldn't believe it! You will LOVE this ship, she's beautiful! We also like the multiple dining rooms, they have an Oriental set up that we really enjoyed, don't miss the spring rolls! But all in all this will be a great cruise for you. Cabo has to be one of the more breathtaking Mexican ports, their waters and beaches are beautiful, yet your not there very long, if you like the under water aspect, I highly reccomend the submarine voyages, I believe the company, Atlantis, does it there as well, you'll see teams of tropical fish we even had a sea lion swimming around ours, they release fish food from the sides, great for pictures, if your lucky they'll have a diver jump in and feed the fish attracting hundreds to your portholes! Otherwise Cabo Wabo is fun, but like the previous poster said, they aren't open in the morning. They do have a little flea market setup right on the pier for any last minute gifts you'd like to get but note that they do know this is the last stop, so they do hike the prices up a bit and wont come down so easily. Mazatlan is the best place for shopping, we love their flea market! And Puerto Villarta we ALWAYS go to Las Caletas! Have a GREAT trip!!!

[Cruise Junky]

Come on OP, book and then come and join our roll call!! 5 weeks on Wednesday until we board, can't wait!

[kooljamming]

Our first Princess cruise was on Sapphire in February. It was overall a fantastic vacation. We booked the aft and even turned down an upgrade to a mini-suite (forgive me upgrade fairy) but it was well worth it. We went to sleep and woke it to the sound of the wake. There was something special about having a final look at the last port. The ship is absolutely beautiful and has detail worth admiring again and again. The evening entertainment was the best from 8 previous cruises on Carnival and RCCL. They had great bands and disco until wee hours, which was very important to me. We booked about 6 month out and was not able to get traditional dining. We gave anytime dining a go and loved the flexibility of eating when we wanted. However the service was lacking and fell short of my other cruise fabulous dining experiences. We wanted to share a table but was always given table for 2 against the wall (yuck). While others rave about the food, I did not care for it. After my second cruise on the Golden, I still don't. For the most part the food was bland and lacked seasoning, a big thing for me. My family enjoyed the Italian dishes but I am not a pasta fan. The rest of the dishes were so-so, mostly too much sauce and tasteless without it. I enjoyed the buffet and always found something worth going back for a second, thirds and even fourths:p.

Overall a great and memorable vacation, though not perfect. Eventhough my next cruise probably won't be on Princess I would definitely do it again.

In Cabo you can take a boat to Lovers Beach (the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez) where you can snorkel right off the beach.

 

Happy Cruising.

[lovevacadays]

I hope previous posters have convinced you to book. I have been on the Sapphire 4 times and love, love, love this ship. She still has the full loungers on the Promenade deck unlike some of the newer grand class ships, the aft pool has a bit more room than the newer grand class ships, and although she doesnt have Muts that area on the Sapphire is a pool with a retractable roof and lovely, cushioned loungers.

 

Go for it - go ahead book!

[Colo Cruiser]

BTW, Cabo Wabo is not open in the mornings, but it is fun to go by it.

 

 

Oh yes it is. :D

[A&Emom]

I was on the Sapphire to Alaska last month. What a great ship. Loved the 24hr buffet, and the pizza was pretty good also. The dining room service was great. As soon as we sat down there was fresh fruit for my 2yo son. The couple of times my husband left the dining room with our son, they instantly offer to send the rest of his meal to our cabin.

 

I splurged and let my 6yo daughter get a manicure. 2dys later when she was there to get her hair french-braided, the manicurist noticed that she had smudged a nail and insisted on re-doing it. I wished she sailed from the east coast.

[becca23]

Great thread. Thanks for all info on Cabo early sailaway.