My wife and I just returned from our best cruise yet aboard the SENSATIONAL Sapphire Princess (at least that is what the captain always referred it as). I absolutely love reading peoples reviews leading up to our cruise and I hope that some of the information that I provide will be helpful for you as well.

ABOUT US: DW is almost 28 and I am almost 29 (both of our birthdays are next week). This is our third cruise - second w/ Princess.

PRE-CRUISE: We flew directly from Seattle to Long Beach, CA on Alaska Airlines. We were a bit delayed so we didnt get in until around 11pm. It was raining when we arrived so it felt as though we had never left home. We booked the Marriott Residence Inn Long Beach on Willow St. through Priceline. Its the first negative experience Ive had booking through Priceline as we did not like the location or the hotel. I had the worst nights sleep Ive ever had at a hotel which was a real bummer because I love staying in hotels just because their beds are usually more comfortable than mine. We stayed in a studio suite so I tried sleeping on the couch. I got maybe an hour of sleep. All that being said I would still use Priceline in a heartbeat. Read more