Sapphire Princess Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,020 reviews

Alaska Great!...Princess NOT!

Review for Alaska Cruise on Sapphire Princess
User Avatar
Redokie
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: May 2008

We were a party of six traveling for our 30th Wedding Anniversaries and a 3rd Wedding Anniversary. We have cruised 6 times before- none with Princess.We flew the day before into Vancouver to make sure we would catch the ship. Our only problem there was Expedia..I do NOT recommend them. They changed our itinerary 3 times before we left. We stayed at the Comfort Inn-Airport ($89. plus tax for AARP) It was adequate and the least expensive that we found. There was a shuttle that would pick you up and take you to the pier for $15. each. The hotel provided that info to us. Embarkation We got to the pier at 10:30 and gave them our luggage. We then waited for customs to open at 11 am. That part went fine. Then you split into your cruise line rooms..we waited and waited-they said the computers were not up yet. Around noon they started letting people get registered and gave you your ship card..and then told to sit and wait again. One agent knew what she was doing the others did NOT and it showed-you would get diverse answers to questions and no reason why we were waiting. Finally they let us onboard around 1:30. Stateroom Our room was great! This was our first mini-suite and we loved it and our room steward. The others had inside cabins and were not as satisfied-One was by the ice machine and was noisy at all hours; the other next to the laundry and the same noise. They both liked their room stewards. Ship Info The ship looked in great ship. I noticed no bad wear and tear. They were replacing carpet in one hall, I noticed. Service The wait staff service in the dining rooms was lacking. You had to ask for your glass to be re-filled, to get more bread or butter, small things but these were usually done quickly on our last cruises. It was a lack of attention to small things that added up and disappointed us. Activities were very limited- I assumed this was because most people wanted to see Alaska. Entertainment This area was not good at all. First because of Princess-there is one theatre and it could not hold everyone that wanted to come to the shows. Twice we got to the shows 20 mins before starting and there was only standing room. Every seat was taken! I heard several people very upset about this. We attended a comic and a one man show in a lounge room and they were not very good. People left in the middle of both of them. Shore excursions We went on a shore excursion in every port. One with Princes the other 2, I got on these boards and set up. Ketchikan-was Wilderness and crab catching with princess, we really liked this one and there were on 11 of us on it. After the tour, which we went out on a boat and pulled up crabs, we got all-you can eat crab. It was delicious! Juneau- We went whale watching with Cpt Larry and Orca. We like this at the time. We saw a mother humpback and her baby. Here you have to be 100 yards from the whales. The reason I said at the time is because later in our trip we went to Seward and took a Kenai fjords national park boat tour with Renown Charters and we sawa lots of whales up close-one swam right under our boat-orcas and humpbacks. This was a lot better whale watching tour if you are going to Seward. And there is a buy one get one coupon in Northern lights for this cruise. Juneau was our best souvenir shopping at the Alaska t-shirt company-lots of inexpensive gifts! Skagway- We did the Whitepass train trip on our own. It was awesome, the scenery is not to be missed. We also had plenty of time to shop and look around town. Dining-was our MOST disappointing part of our princess cruise. The food has went way down-hill in quality and service. The menus were not Great like on past cruises, they were just OK. Disembarking was fast and efficient. It took about 15 minutes. Our taxi was right on time-PJ's Taxi out of Seward-picked us up in Whittier and drove us to Seward. Her name is Renee and she was terrific pointing out things of interest along the way and then taking us all around the city during our stay. Summary We were very disappointed in Princess this cruise, we will be going on another line. After our cruise we went to Seward for 5 days and this was a great decision!

Cabin Review

Cabin AC

Huge bathroom w/full-size tub. 2 televisions. Full-size closet. We were across from Laundry room-but no noise.

previous reviewnext review

Find a Sapphire Princess Cruise from $218

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.