Sapphire Princess Review
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My husband and I decided to escape on Princess this Christmas holiday. We have never been away for the holiday. We thought Hawaii, the beauty of the islands and the warm weather just might be the ticket. (No. VA.) We were not disappointed. Everything Princess created for this holiday sailing was something that delighted our spirits. Santa even showed up with gifts for the children. It even snowed in the piazza. That's a remarkable sight. Princess is our cruise line of choice. We were not disappointed.
We have been on several different ships with Princess, never the Sapphire. We liked the style of the Sapphire very much. New to us were several dining rooms to choose from. Smaller rooms. Decorated differently. Although the food was the same it felt as if you were dining in a different restaurant. With anytime dining this allows us the freedom to choose whatever we feel suits us best. Great option! We chose the Santa Fe first. Because we are early birds we go to dinner early and retire early. So, one of the first things we did was to check on each of the dining venues available to us as anytime diners. We decided on the Santa Fe. Because this is part of what we enjoy on our cruises we like to make our selection early. In the end, since there were a great many families on board we learned selecting early to be helpful. There proved to be more competition for early dining. At the restaurant (shortly after embarking) we were greeted by a most helpful young man who selected a dining table for us. Little did we realize how fortunate his choice for us would be. What a difference our waitress and her assistant made to our trip. We felt as if we were dining in her home. The service was excellent and the kindness, attention to our needs, and professional style could not have been better. This detail set the theme for the rest of the trip.
Our cabin was perfect. My husband has difficulty walking especially up and down stairs. Our first ocean view balcony although somewhat small was very clean and comfortable. With the balcony adding to the space this allowed enough area to relax in quietly breathing in the fresh sea air. Our attendant did an outstanding job keeping the cabin perfectly clean and tidy adding to the comfort. He never intruded in our quiet time but magically appeared to refresh our premises while we were away.
Cabin Review
Balcony
Our cabin C628BA was in a great location for our needs. In case of an emergency we would use the stairs which were within a few steps from our cabin. This is a comfort to me while sailing. Due to a past illness, my husband cannot walk fast or manage stairs quickly. Carib is on deck 10. Higher would present a real problem in case of an emergency. This cabin is also located close to the rear elevators. A real plus for us. The Sapphire elevators in the rear of the ship are in a large square rather than a line (similar to the atrium style). This is an outstanding design. You are not running from one side of the ship to the other trying to catch an elevator. Zip right up to the Horizon for breakfast if that was our choice. Zip right down to deck 7 the promenade deck for activities. As far as other items inside the cabin ... there were a few minor items I made note of and will only share here. The two chairs provided had a few stains. There were a few nicks in the wood decor of one chair and desk. The light switches on the bedside lamps are loose from ware. This type of switch doesn't last long. I know this from a lamp at home with a similar switch. We have experienced other ship's lights that suffer from this problem. It is a poor design. Perhaps a better alternative would be to have lamps that turn off by a toggle switch on the wall. The bathroom was very very clean. Although this ship I believe was built in 2004 this area has held up well. Perhaps our cabin steward is to thank for this. There was no fan that I could find to ventilate the bathroom after a shower. Even without a fan, there is not one sign of mold! The rugs were clean. The pillows could definitely use a good upgrading. I requested an extra for both my husband and myself. One was like a flat rubber pancake. The other two were much softer. I'm not sure how to solve keeping pillows sanitary with so much use and provide support and comfort. There must be something out there. Our mattress too was a little stiff. I have an occasional mild discomfort with my hips. Although we had an "egg crate" topper provided, my hips hurt a great deal during this sailing. Now that we are home to the comfort of our own bed the pain is gone. I always request the egg crate topper. I learned to make this request after our first sailing. Until this trip I have not experienced such discomfort every night. The balcony cabins are on the small side. There is a little dancing you need to do to get around one another. The balcony offers a wonderful escape and added space. I prefer a mini suit for the additional space it provides. The bathroom does have enough room although the shower is cozy. We found the storage quite adequate with room to spare. Enough storage to put all of our things away keeping our cabin uncluttered. We were perfectly comfortable in our cabin. Oh, the internet in our cabin on this trip worked well. Slow as usual when out to sea with a pretty reliable connection. These are my notes of our personal experiences in answer to the CC's question in this section. Not meant to be criticisms. We can't imagine the magnitude of work and expense that goes into keeping these ships in top shape ... safe and a draw to the pleasures of sailing the world. We had a fantastic trip to the Hawaiian islands and hope to sail the Pacific again.