Magnificent Cruise to Antarctica

This was a beautiful ship, with wonderful service, great cabin(a club mini-suite). We very much enjoyed the reserved dining which was provided with the club suite. The captain was a great communicator and highly skilled. Service in general was flawless. The itinerary to Antarctica was fantastic. Tours through the ship to see the penguins and to hike in the Andes were amazing. I spent a lot of time at the Lotus Spa and loved the thermal chairs. We very much appreciated multiple pools and hot tubs which were all over the ship. The pool and hot tubs at the spa were never crowded and a great area to relax. There were several places for viewing during scenic cruising. Enrichment activities were superb. We also appreciated that the experts walked around the decks during scenic cruising answering questions and providing additional information. The only negative experiences we had were during embarkation where we were had to wait a very long time and were not given priority boarding for an hour an a half although this was part of our package; and during scenic cruising where many groups took tables in the buffet dining area and remained there making it difficult for others to find a seat. Highly recommend this ship and itinerary for the trip of a lifetime!

Wonderful Antarctic Cruise Experience

This Antarctic cruise far exceeded our expectations. We prefer small luxury ships but didn't want the expense or exertion of an expedition cruise. We also had concerns about going through the Drake passage So we opted for the Sapphire Princess, and are so glad we did. .Our captain, Tim McBain, was world class--highly experienced in Antarctica, and wonderful about keeping us up to date with where we were headed and why. He steered us through the Drake Passage in both directions through calm seas. He took advantage of beautiful weather tomtake us into a bay he'd only been able to bring a cruise ship into just once in the past 20 years! Moreover, Captain McBain prevented an outbreak of Norovirus on the ship after the first few cases were detected by immediately banning self service in the buffet, imposing even stricter sanitation measures and constant reminders to passengers to wash their hands and use hand sanitizer. We opted for a very comfortable Reserve Mini-Suite, which accorded us a table for 2 in a private section of the Santa Fe dining room, at which we could dine whenever we chose with no wait. Service was impeccable, and the food we were served there equalled that of the luxury ships to which we've become accustomed. We found no need to upgrade to specialty dining. We also had the Princess Plus upgrade which gave us specialty coffees as well.as a fair selection of wine and alcoholic beverages. We ate in the Horizon Court a few times for convenience and were not impressed. We received two "casual meals" as part of Princess Plus. Alfredo's pizza was not to our liking. We much preferred the free pizza on Deck 14. We did enjoy our second casual meal at the sushi restaurant. Each surcharged (if no package) have a single fixed price meal offering. We enjoyed the lectures about the Antarctic region by the historian and by the naturalist. It would have been better to have spaced out enrichment lectures during the day, especially on sea days, rather than having them back to back. Entertainment was mediocre, especially on sea days. Our favorite--elevator roulette All in all, we could not have hoped for a better Antarctic cruise experience.

10 Days of fun on the Sapphire Princess

One day prior to this cruise we drove to Holiday Inn Express in Boca Raton. The room was fine and the included breakfast is available in an area with plenty of space and seating. Prior to leaving we had received a message from Princess that because of the International Boat Show the port entrance would be busy. As the show didn’t begin until 10 a.m. we arrived at the port at 9 a.m., found a handicapped parking space in the garage for berth 2 (a first for us) and sat in the car for 30 minutes. We headed down to find a porter for our suitcase, then got into a surprisingly long line. At about 10:15 they started processing the guests and by 10:30 we were boarding the Sapphire. We headed up to the Lido deck for a diet coke. At noon we dropped off our carry on bags in our cabin and headed to the International dining room for a lovely lunch and glass of wine. Later that day we joined other passengers at Movies Under the Stars to watch the Lions game. Lots of fun cheering with the crowd! We were in a handicapped accessible cabin. The room and the balcony were both spacious and we loved the close proximity to the Lido deck. We had the plus package and throughout the day I could go up one deck where I could easily get sodas, wine, cocktails, etc. We also spent many hours in the Conservatory, a covered pool on the Lido deck. During the day this area was always cooler than the open pool and tables were available for card and game playing. The weather was overcast for much of this cruise. Princess Cays was cancelled and rain stopped us from getting off the ship in St. Thomas and Tortola as my husband’s mobility scooter is not waterproof. At St. Maartan we got off and had a refreshing mudslide at Sharky’s then a Chicken Roti at the Roti stand. At St. Kitts we went to the food court and got a rib meal at a grill and gelato that was very good. We got off at Antigua but found other than the area right by the port which was crowded with shops and vendor stalls, the city sidewalks are not wide enough to navigate with a scooter. We found the Sapphire Princess very enjoyable. Vines, Explorers (back entrance), Alfredos, Club Fushion, the Wheelhouse bar and more were easily accessible. Getting to Skywalkers for the Elite lounge each night was challenging (deck 7 to aft, elevator to deck 16, single person elevator to deck 18) but it was roomy and lovely once we got there. We enjoyed several of the specialty and casual dining food options offered. We tried the Churrascaria Brazilian Grill, Alfredos, Vines (charcuterie board, veggies and truffles) and the pop up Crab Shack. All were excellent, but we probably would skip the Crab Shack next time as the price including service fee was over $100 for two of us. For activities we loved watching football at Movies Under the Stars which was on Sunday, Monday and Thursday. Two wonderful entertainers in the Princess theatre were Harry Rios and Jonathon Williams. The Easy Life and Electric Waves Duo played great music in various venues throughout the cruise. We tried our hand at several trivia events and especially liked the one on Search Engine (google). We donated a little to the casino including Deal or No Deal which was fun to play along. I went to Zumba and Line dancing which were both more advanced than in the past, which I liked. I went to see the production show “Let Me Entertain You” featuring a great cast. At the end of the cruise we did the walk off disembarkation and were headed home by 8 a.m. So glad we got to try the Sapphire Princess again.

Awesome Cruise

November 03 – 13 Sapphire Princess Ports: St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Kitts, and Tortola We flew into Ft. Lauderdale on 02 NOV. Stayed at the Comfort Inn Suites Airport and Cruise port. Used the free airport shuttle to the hotel. The next day we paid $15 per person for a shuttle to the cruise port. We arrived at the port around 12:30 pm. We had the green lane and once the medallions were activated we were onboard. Seemed the line never stopped and I’d guess we were onboard within ten minutes of arriving at the port. I did like the Medallions for opening cabin doors, entry into dining rooms, getting drinks, classes, and entry on and off the ship. We did purchase the premier package. I will say it makes the cruise easier with WIFI, pictures, drinks, and we did use the reserved seating for the main shows. Once on board we made our way to the Horizon Court. Both sides were open and it was hard to find seats. We ended up by the enclosed pool. Sail away that night ended with a rain storm. Kind of ruined the football night at Movies under the Stars. Princess Cays was also cancelled which would have been our second day. Our interior cabin was perfect for us. I love the way Princess does the closets. Seems to give you a separate dressing area. Our room stewart was awesome. We found all of the steward’s very friendly and helpful. We enjoyed both Sabatini’s and Currascaria. Food was fabulous and wait staff very attentive. Most nights we had reserved seating in the Savoy Dining Room and again very pleased with food variety and service. We enjoyed the Seafood Lunch one afternoon, it was an extra charge but well worth it. The main shows were excellent especially the music. Several nights we enjoyed the acoustic guitar player and a violin duo. They alternated The Wheelhouse Bar and the Piazza. Like most cruise ships deck chairs close to pools were taken by 9am. We found several quiet areas in the shade to relax and enjoy the day. Really enjoyed the Sapphire Princess and would love to sail again.