Sapphire Princess Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We sailed on the 9-7-2013 "Voyage of the Glaciers" from Vancouver to Whittier. Overall, the experience was a good one, but there were some significant "problems." However, as the saying goes, "even the worst day at sea is better than the best day on land." While this quote may not be literally true, the spirit of it is.
The Good: Princess was remarkable with both embarkation and disembarkation. In Vancouver we arrived around 11:15, and we were on Sapphire at just a few minutes after 12. The boarding process was very efficient. Disembarkation was even better. I have been somewhat displeased by disembarkation on each of my previous five cruises (because it always seemed that people just left whenever they wanted and not in any type of order). In Whittier, my group left exactly when it was suppose to, we were sent right onto the train to Anchorage, and we were off. No fuss, no muss.
The ship itself was another positive. I agree with the people who say that the ship seems uncrowded. It was also very well maintained. I saw no significant maintenance issues.
Cabin Review
Balcony
C748: it's an aft balcony. It was smaller than any other cabin I have had on five other cruises. I have always had a two-seat couch in the room along with a small coffee table. We did not get that. However, the balcony was much larger than average. Two loungers would have fit perfectly. Another nice feature was that there was zero traffic in front of it because it's down a short hall all by itself. I could often smell food from the buffet while on the balcony (at least I assumed it was from the buffet). We were very happy with this cabin.