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Old August 16th, 2004, 05:17 PM
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cyber889 wrote:

Please post a reviwe of this ship.


I posted this about the Sapphire (twin of the Diamond) about two weeks
ago.

When we committed to our cruise I found this group and started reading.
Learned lots of good stuff from this very good news group where there
seems to be a minimum of BS so here are my comments on the cruise my
lady and I took. Please add your comments!


Our Cruise to Alaska. Comments, in no particular order.

First cruise. On Sapphire Princess 7/25 - 8/1. New ship, this was 7th
voyage for the ship.
2670 passengers fully booked. We took the cruise because it was an
Alaska cruise. The cruise "experience" was secondary, albeit nice. Part
of reason for cruise was that family also took cruise - including two
grandsons.

Balcony suite was nice. Two "rooms" - probably would not bother with
two, but liked balcony. Two TVs, two remotes neither would turn off TVs
properly (they would pop back on 3 or 4 times - weird).

Food was OK to good, not great. Some things were excellent others not.
Prime rib was good, but we have had better. OTOH lobster tails were
excellent. French Toast was excellent. Pizza was awful. Felt that
there was a little too much economizing on ingredients in many dishes.
Variety was interesting.

We chose "anytime dining" which means you can make reservations for any
of four themed restaurants or, if you are just a couple try walking up.
Other than the buffet, does not mean you can just walk up and expect to
be seated. Noticed that on the two formal nights folks dressed smart
casual were seated with no hassle. Enjoyed the flexibility of the
buffet.

Most of the time the staff was great. There were a couple of times they
were not but most really went the extra mile.

We saw several shows mostly comedy acts - very good - and a musical
"Piano Man" review - really good. Did some of the other stuff and it
was good.

Ship is huge - we gained very little because of all the walking. BUT
the ship was almost too big and needs better signage. Example: Aft
elevator says deck 6 has all kinds of places, but that elevator drops
you at the International Rest. And you then must go up to get anywhere
else. Many people commented on the sheer size and trouble finding their
way around. OTOH Huge can be good. All that walking helped keep weight
gain to a couple of pounds for each of us.

Some of the following may amuse veteran cruisers but…
Nickel and dime stuff bothered us. Pizza and burgers etc were free and
available. Ice cream was only available at mealtime and for one hour in
the buffet (3:30-4:30).
They sold a sticker for unlimited fountain sodas for 22.50. You have to
buy cocoa.
Considering the price of a cruise this seems dumb. Do other cruises do
the same?
A nice orientation for first time cruisers would have been very helpful
- even a book.
Internet café cost 35 cents a minute - more nickel and dime nonsense.
First 30 minutes should be free. And there was no obvious way to clear
my stuff. That is very poor.

Tours: Whale Watched on Capt Larry's boat in Juneau - GREAT - due to
seeing Humpback whales feeding and breaching close up.
Train in Skagway very good. Only one booked thru Proncess.
Duck tour in Ketchikan fun and easy.

Will we cruise again? We are not sure. On Princess? Even less sure.

LB