Sapphire Princess Review
My FAQ from our First Alaskan Cruise on Sapphire Princess.
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I enjoy a well thought out and planned vacation. I had so many questions about our first cruise and didn't feel that I had figured it all out until the cruise was over! So - hopefully this will help any of you on your first Alaskan Sapphire Princess cruise.
We embarked from Seattle which went very smoothly and only took about 15 minutes. We printed and attached our baggage tags ahead of time and went straight to drop off the luggage. From there we went upstairs and filled out health forms for each of us and then received our room key cards and then were allowed to board the boat. Your dining room and table number are printed on your key card.
At a table in the entry way, we purchased unlimited soda sticker that goes on the room key card for our 15 and 20 year olds - $7/day on each card and they each received an insulated Coke carafe. This was good for unlimited sodas, mocktails, and special ice creams. At the Atrium Coffee Bar we purchased 3 Premium coffee cards for $33.35 each which are punch cards good for 15 coffees in the Atrium Coffee Bar or the dining rooms and more insulated coffee mugs. We had extras on all of our cards and could have gotten away with just 2 cards for the three of us.
Cabin Review
Balcony
I was amazed at how usable our cabin was. We had wonderful storage, not only with the large closet to hang clothing with very nice wooden hangers, but also a shelf over it that stowed both of our large suitcases. We were also able to store suitcases under each bed if needed. Additionally, there was a set of 5+ shelves and a safe behind the full length mirror. We had two night stands with an open shelf and 2 drawers each as well as a few desk drawers. Our room included one comfortable stuffed chair and a padded desk chair, and a flat screen TV as well as a fridge that was stocked with bottled water and sodas. There were glasses and wine glasses for our use. The bed was a bit hard, but still comfortable and you didn't bother the other person when turning over. Each person had a "feather" pillow and a foam pillow. The bed cover was a duvet. Our second room was identical, but had the capacity for a 3rd bed that folded down from the ceiling and set up with a ladder to access it. The bathroom had 4 good sized railed shelves and ample room on either side of the sink for toiletry bags. The toilet flushed well and the shower retained the water. There was a retractable closeline in the shower as well. Two hooks on the back of the bathroom door that were able to keep a towel hanging on! The facets in the bathroom were all new and worked well. The balcony was smaller than depicted on Princess web-site, but was still functional. It was not private from neighboring smokers or conversations - but was completely covered on this deck. The rooms seemed well insulated as I hardly ever heard people in the hall and never from the rooms next to us like you do in a hotel.