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Overall we had a great time, mainly because of wonderful people. This was a new venture for Princess and, to give them consideration, it was probably an experiment in having to entertain people for 8 days at sea on the return to LA. Unfortunately, they failed miserably in this quarter. The shows were bad, infantile and repetitive, doubling up on already repeated shows to try and make a new show - did not work and a lot of people were very unhappy. The Cruise Director was arrogant and not very friendly and some of his cruise staff, especially in the trivia section, belittled the older people - serious mistake as they are Princess' best customers.
This ship gave the overall feeling of crew not caring - from the wait staff in the restaurants to the coffee shop etc. The only outstanding staff we had was the cabin steward - but this seems to be the case every time we cruise. Another problem the Sapphire had was having the Officer of the Watch make his noon announcement in an accent that comes out as gibberish to all - since this is a passenger oriented announcement, it should be made by an English speaking person - sorry, but it is a fact! Princess have also decided to raise their gratuities - this would be OK if the service was good - but it seems to be going downhill, this was very much in evidence on this cruise.
However, the ports were great. It was wonderful visiting the South Pacific, although Pago Pago could be given a miss - it was dirty!!! Moorea and Bora Bora were pristine, the water was incredible and the locals friendly. Papeete was interesting with a character of it's own - wonderful open air market and we found a lovely little French Bistro where we had a wonderful lunch - like being in Paris!
That's all folks - interested to hear from others!
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