Sapphire Princess Review

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Review for the Mexican Riviera Cruise on Sapphire Princess
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travlin2
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Dec 2013

This was our 14th total cruise, 7th with Princess, and our 2nd time on this particular cruise and ship. This was our 1st time staying in a mini suite stateroom. My wife is a "bath tub" person and the mini suites have a decent size bathroom with a tub. Also, if you are ones that prefer completely different TV programming, their are 2 TV's in the minisuite cabins. Also, there IS a refrigerator but it is quite small and hardly holds much or anything of size. The ship is on the larger side which is fine with us. The one draw back of this large ship is our cabin was VERY forward (only 5 cabins from the front) and to get to the back of the ship (such as to dining rooms or the bufftt on the 14th deck in the back) it was quite a VERY long walk. This is another perk of mid-ship cabins if you can get one. Overall, the cruise and ship was fine and simple. We're not one's to participate in many activities so I can't review on any of those. However, we did notice the overall quality of the main event shows each evening has dropped a little from our last few previous cruises. It's evident the entertainers, singers, and dancers work hard to prepare and their "showmanship" is good, but the shows have become simplistic and basic. Lots of flash, lights, color, etc. but not too much of a "Wow" factor as we've experienced on previous cruises. Our cabin steward was good and very attentive. The restaraunt service and waiters were very good as well. The bar drinks are watered down and are still pricey. Since this is a Mexican Cruise, you're much better off grabbing drinks on shore. They really do it right in Miexico and 75% cheaper than on the ship. Because we were on this cruise during the Christmas vacation time frame, there were many more children on board than you may typically experience. This was not a bad thing but at times it was noticable in and around our cabin of them running around or "whining" to their parents about something.

As far as this itinerary, it was a simple one. Many types and variety of activities for both Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas. Only 3 activity options for Ensanada. Since we were on this cruise a few years back, we chose not to take part in any shore excursions. We simply just got off the ship and roamed the area in and around the ports. The disemabarkation process was slightly confusing in that we were adhering and following our written instructions as given but found out that was more of a formality than a strict policy. We were told we could only disembark at a certain time from a certain location but it turns out we could actually go when ready.

All in all, the experience was good. At some point in the future we would take this ship again. Though we liked the minisuitre experience, we may opt for a higher deck for more deck/porch privacy. Decks 9 & 10 are exposed to ALL folks above you. The advantage of this is more direct sun on the porch. The disadvantage is that there is very little privacy as you have NO "roof" above you. Decks 11 & 12 have roofs above the porches.

Cabin Review

Cabin was fine. We enjoyed it very much. Particularly the 2 TV's and the larger size bathroom with a tub. It is located on 5 cabins from the front of the ship. The only draw back was the extensive distance to get to any location at the back of the ship such as dining rooms. It was quite a long ways. Other than that, the cabin was good.

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