Review: Princess Cruises - Sapphire Princess - [July 18 , 2004]

[Net Reviews]

Review By:

Reviewer Comments:

My wife and I just returned from 7 wonderful days in Alaska aboard this
beautiful ship. This was our first cruise (and obviously my first review),
so bear with me if this review is not as complete as most people like.

Embarkation: We live in Vancouver, WA so the drive up to the port in Seattle
was only a 2.5 hour trip. There was plenty of parking ($10/day) and you can
even reserve a parking space there online. As I say, though, there seemed to
be plenty of vacant spaces. After dropping off our baggage, we had to wait
until the ship was ready for passengers. We got there early hoping to board
early and then explore. Good plan. Didn't happen. Boarding began promptly at
1200. Even though there seemed to be a million people there, we were in our
stateroom by 1230. My wife and I each brought 3 bottles of our favorite
Riesling in our carry on bag with not even a glance from the security
people. Overall, an extremely organized event.

Stateroom: We had a balcony cabin on the Baja deck. I was expecting a very
small room with a tiny balcony. I was pleasantly surprised to a very
comfortable cabin with an adequate balcony. The room was well appointed with
a comfortable queen size bed. Plenty of complimentary toiletries. Robes in
the closet. All the amenities you might expect (safe, refrigerator, etc.),
but no clock. Need to add my travel clock to the packing list for the next
time. The balcony had a small table and 2 deck chairs. Very nice for viewing
the scenery.

Food/Dining: We had originally booked Traditional Seating, but when we got
on board we found that we were at a table for 6. I know that a lot of folks
like the idea of meeting new people on the cruise, but I, and to a lesser
extent, my wife are not good with small talk and chit chat. Switching over
to the Anytime Dining option was quick and painless. The Sapphire has four
themed dining rooms to choose from. Vivaldi (Italian), Pacific Moon (Asian),
Sterling Steakhouse, and Santa Fe (Tex-Mex). We tried them all and overall
the food was great. Service was only OK, especially in Pacific Moon and
Sterling. Wait staff was not very attentive, extremely long waits for water
refills and dirty plates to be removed from the table. Just annoying enough
to leave an impression. We also ate in Sabatini's. An alternative dining
venue that will cost you $20 per person. This was an eight course
extravaganza that was worth every penny. The 24-hour buffet was ok. We ate
all our breakfasts there and a few lunches. Nothing special. One final
comment - Make reservations for the dining rooms as soon as you can. There
always seemed to be people waiting (some with unhappy looks on their faces).
This is easily done by phone in your room. Room service was very quick.

Entertainment: Lots of shows. We didn't take in any of these as we preferred
to sit on the balcony with a glass of wine or two. We caught an afternoon
movie in the theater one day. Very comfortable and didn't appear to have a
bad seat in the place. The casino was very nice. I took a class on how to
play Craps and then proceeded to win $105. Nice assortment of slot machines
and the usual casino games. Princess has 3 different kid programs (based on
age). The kids must enjoy these activities since I rarely saw any.

Ports of Call/ Excursions: Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Victoria BC. All
easy walking distance to the ship if you are in decent shape (Victoria was a
bit of hike!). The excursions that we were interested in were not available
or sold out, so we just amused ourselves by wandering around in the towns.
Since the weather was beautiful, we enjoyed it a great deal.

Disembarkation was quick and painless.

As I said in the beginning, this was our first cruise and I have to say it
was the best, most relaxing vacation I have ever had. It was not perfect,
but it was awfully close. Thanks for letting me ramble!