Back From Alaska
in [Cruise Ship]
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From: Ari Silverstein on 10 Jul 2010 01:36 On Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:37:06 -0700, Marcia wrote: > I was just so happy to be away from > our 105+ temps for a week. :-) > > Marcia How's life in the Sahara? -- Ari Silverstein, C.T.A; C.T.A.S, FREE Cruise Travel Advisory Services www.cruisequick.com - able to offer some of the lowest prices and best value added in the industry. (not affiliated)
From: John Sisker on 10 Jul 2010 14:27 "Marcia" <Marcia(a)spamlessinlasvegas.org> wrote in message news:i17n0d$jq7$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... > I'm not going to do a complete trip report, because most of you know more > about this cruise than I still do. ;-) However, I do want to make some > points relative to my pre-cruise questions. > > I don't know what other cruise lines are like, but when we first boarded > the Sapphire Princess in Seattle, it was sell, sell, sell. They also gave > us a card to have stamped in each of the stores to be entered into a > drawing. While we didn't bother with it, all we heard as we were leaving > port were muffled announcements calling out the numbers of the winning > cards. That was a major step down from my only other cruise, when they > played the Love Boat theme as we were leaving port. I think the first > moments of a cruise should be special, but that's just me. > > Our room was in a perfect location. It was steps away from the center > elevators on the Baja deck, and our balcony was way more private than the > ones we could look down on. The last time I was on a cruise, I had the > room to myself. It did take a while to get used to only 2 outlets in the > room for hairdryers and phone and camera battery chargers. Plus the bed > felt like a cement slab. Again, I don't know if that's the norm on cruise > ships or just the Sapphire. > > We had anytime dining, which worked out well. However, some rooms were > better than others. We never had any problems getting a table for 2. The > Pacific Moon wasn't much, the Savoy was a little better...although the > waiter we had didn't have much personality. We ate in the Santa Fe room 3 > times, because we loved Michael, the best waiter. The few times we had > breakfast or lunch in the big traditional dining room, the Maitre D' there > always seemed annoyed, so I don't know if traditional dining would have > been any better. I also don't quite get what the Vivaldi dining room is > all about. It seemed to be a combination of traditional dining and some > reservations. We did get to eat there the second to last night, which > turned out to be lobster and Baked Alaska night. They do have Baked > Alaska in the anytime rooms. We asked Michael about it on our last night > in the Santa Fe, and he said they did the parade at least in that room. > > My travel agent told me when I got back that the reason we were in > Victoria such a short time was that the ship needs to make a stop in an > international port. We just about had time to take the shuttle downtown, > take a look at the Empress Hotel and walk through some of the shops and > then wait in a very long line to take the shuttle back to the ship. We > did get our passports stamped when we got back by some very funny customs > guys...or whatever they were. > > We took our own luggage off the ship, because my niece had an early > flight. We discovered a shuttle service that took us to the ship from the > airport Doubletree where we stayed the night before the cruise and from > the ship back to the airport...both trips were $12 per person each way. > > Marcia Marcia, Thanks for your thoughts and evaluation in reference to your recent cruise. We too were on the Sapphire Princess not too long ago, and your mentioning about stamping the card in each of the stores, did remind me that it was the same with us. Yet, we too simply ignored this; as possibly just another way to get passengers into the different stores to hopefully purchase something. On the other hand, your cabin sounds like things evened out somewhat from the basis sell, sell, sell premise of today's Princess. Other than limited outlets and the hard bed, it appears all was pretty good there. On the other Princess ships we have been on, we too found all the beds way too hard. Of course, in the hotel in Copenhagen, that was way too soft. So how can they please everyone? Anytime dining usually fits the bill for most people now days, obviously offering a lot more choices in not only times, but restaurants as well. Incidentally, the Savoy use to the the specialty Steakhouse on the Sapphire Princess, but is now just one of the Anytime dining room choices. Likewise, we found each of the dining rooms to be a little more different in overall design and decor, than they were on the Star Princess, and it was a lot easier to get a table for 2 on the Sapphire Princess as well. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see, or just possibly missed, the Baked Alaska Parade on the Sapphire Princess, but did see it while on the Star Princess. And this was also in one of the Anytime dining rooms. Too bad you could not see more of Victoria, but the part (downtown) you did see was actually the heart of our trip there as well. On the other hand, we did have time and opted for a City tour, which was interesting, but was disappointed as to the so called City panoramic view high atop a hill. It wasn't much at all. However, the Parliament and other government building of this Capital City were well worth the trip, at least to us. In addition, it appears that your departure from the ship went pretty smooth. This is not always the case with some. Yet, on the other hand, sometimes they are a little too rushed, with an air schedule that doesn't leave much room for any type delays. Again, thanks for this critique and impression of the Sapphire Princess. While one would think that all the other Princess ships would be run pretty much the same way, this is not always the case. We found there were some difference, especially when it came to dining. All in all, how did you like the overall design and decor of the ship itself? How about the size? What did you do on the ship while not in a port? Was there enough for you to do, or did you feel a little board? Smooth sailing to all... John Sisker
From: Marcia on 10 Jul 2010 14:59 John Sisker wrote: > "Marcia" <Marcia(a)spamlessinlasvegas.org> wrote in message > news:i17n0d$jq7$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... >> I'm not going to do a complete trip report, because most of you know >> more about this cruise than I still do. ;-) However, I do want to >> make some points relative to my pre-cruise questions. >> >> I don't know what other cruise lines are like, but when we first >> boarded the Sapphire Princess in Seattle, it was sell, sell, sell. >> They also gave us a card to have stamped in each of the stores to be >> entered into a drawing. While we didn't bother with it, all we heard >> as we were leaving port were muffled announcements calling out the >> numbers of the winning cards. That was a major step down from my only >> other cruise, when they played the Love Boat theme as we were leaving >> port. I think the first moments of a cruise should be special, but >> that's just me. >> >> Our room was in a perfect location. It was steps away from the center >> elevators on the Baja deck, and our balcony was way more private than >> the ones we could look down on. The last time I was on a cruise, I >> had the room to myself. It did take a while to get used to only 2 >> outlets in the room for hairdryers and phone and camera battery >> chargers. Plus the bed felt like a cement slab. Again, I don't know >> if that's the norm on cruise ships or just the Sapphire. >> >> We had anytime dining, which worked out well. However, some rooms >> were better than others. We never had any problems getting a table >> for 2. The Pacific Moon wasn't much, the Savoy was a little >> better...although the waiter we had didn't have much personality. We >> ate in the Santa Fe room 3 times, because we loved Michael, the best >> waiter. The few times we had breakfast or lunch in the big >> traditional dining room, the Maitre D' there always seemed annoyed, so >> I don't know if traditional dining would have been any better. I also >> don't quite get what the Vivaldi dining room is all about. It seemed >> to be a combination of traditional dining and some reservations. We >> did get to eat there the second to last night, which turned out to be >> lobster and Baked Alaska night. They do have Baked Alaska in the >> anytime rooms. We asked Michael about it on our last night in the >> Santa Fe, and he said they did the parade at least in that room. >> >> My travel agent told me when I got back that the reason we were in >> Victoria such a short time was that the ship needs to make a stop in >> an international port. We just about had time to take the shuttle >> downtown, take a look at the Empress Hotel and walk through some of >> the shops and then wait in a very long line to take the shuttle back >> to the ship. We did get our passports stamped when we got back by >> some very funny customs guys...or whatever they were. >> >> We took our own luggage off the ship, because my niece had an early >> flight. We discovered a shuttle service that took us to the ship from >> the airport Doubletree where we stayed the night before the cruise and >> from the ship back to the airport...both trips were $12 per person >> each way. >> >> Marcia > > > > Marcia, > > Thanks for your thoughts and evaluation in reference to your recent > cruise. We too were on the Sapphire Princess not too long ago, and your > mentioning about stamping the card in each of the stores, did remind me > that it was the same with us. Yet, we too simply ignored this; as > possibly just another way to get passengers into the different stores to > hopefully purchase something. > > On the other hand, your cabin sounds like things evened out somewhat > from the basis sell, sell, sell premise of today's Princess. Other than > limited outlets and the hard bed, it appears all was pretty good there. > On the other Princess ships we have been on, we too found all the beds > way too hard. Of course, in the hotel in Copenhagen, that was way too > soft. So how can they please everyone? > > Anytime dining usually fits the bill for most people now days, obviously > offering a lot more choices in not only times, but restaurants as well. > Incidentally, the Savoy use to the the specialty Steakhouse on the > Sapphire Princess, but is now just one of the Anytime dining room > choices. Likewise, we found each of the dining rooms to be a little more > different in overall design and decor, than they were on the Star > Princess, and it was a lot easier to get a table for 2 on the Sapphire > Princess as well. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see, or just possibly > missed, the Baked Alaska Parade on the Sapphire Princess, but did see it > while on the Star Princess. And this was also in one of the Anytime > dining rooms. > > Too bad you could not see more of Victoria, but the part (downtown) you > did see was actually the heart of our trip there as well. On the other > hand, we did have time and opted for a City tour, which was interesting, > but was disappointed as to the so called City panoramic view high atop a > hill. It wasn't much at all. However, the Parliament and other > government building of this Capital City were well worth the trip, at > least to us. > > In addition, it appears that your departure from the ship went pretty > smooth. This is not always the case with some. Yet, on the other hand, > sometimes they are a little too rushed, with an air schedule that > doesn't leave much room for any type delays. > > Again, thanks for this critique and impression of the Sapphire Princess. > While one would think that all the other Princess ships would be run > pretty much the same way, this is not always the case. We found there > were some difference, especially when it came to dining. All in all, > how did you like the overall design and decor of the ship itself? How > about the size? What did you do on the ship while not in a port? Was > there enough for you to do, or did you feel a little board? > > Smooth sailing to all... > John Sisker > One more point about the anytime dining rooms that I was confused about. Each room has one dish that is not on the basic menu and unique to that room, however it is the same dish every night. I thought they had a different dish each night. There was a lot to do on the ship when we weren't in port. Every time I thought I'd be able to sleep a little later, there was something planned for 10:00 that I wanted to do, and the main dining room stops serving breakfast at 9:00, so we were up! We did get room service for breakfast a few times, which helped...especially on the day we went through Tracy Arm. While sailing, we went to the cooking demo in the Princess Theater followed by the galley tour, the backstage tour of the Princess Theater, a few different trivia contests, played Outburst and spent a lot of time just sitting out on the balcony enjoying the cooler weather. It wasn't the stamping of the cards that bothered me. It was the muffled announcements of the winners while we were first leaving Seattle. It wouldn't have been much better if we could understand what they were saying, since that still wouldn't have been my choice for the first moments of a cruise. It was nice that they didn't wait until the last night when we were in Victoria to do the Baked Alaska, but the timing of it was opposite the Captain's Circle Cocktail Party. We caught the very end of the party after we had dessert. I did enjoy seeing The Empress Hotel and Parliament in Victoria. I don't know how there would have been time to take a tour there. The shuttle service that took us to downtown tried to get us to take their tour to Butchart Gardens. I don't know if people then had to wait in line to get the shuttle back or they dropped back off at the ships, but there wasn't much time or daylight to see much of anything once you got there. Marcia
From: Ari Silverstein on 10 Jul 2010 15:08 On Sat, 10 Jul 2010 11:27:12 -0700, John Sisker wrote: > On the other hand, Attaboi, now you're learning. lol > your cabin sounds like things evened out somewhat from > the basis "basic" > sell, sell, sell premise of today's Princess. Other than limited > outlets and the hard bed, it appears all was pretty good there. On the other > Princess ships we have been on, we too found all the beds way too hard. Of > course, in the hotel in Copenhagen, that was way too soft. So how can they > please everyone? That's eight "too(s)" in two paragraphs, way /too/ many. *lol* > Anytime dining usually fits the bill for most people now days, obviously > offering a lot more choices in not only times, but restaurants as well. > Incidentally, the Savoy use to the the specialty Steakhouse on the Sapphire > Princess, Put the bottle down, John. It's not noon yet. > Too bad lol > you could not see more of Victoria, but the part (downtown) you did > see was actually the heart of our trip there as well. On the other hand, Attaboi, you getting this one down, Sisker! > it appears that your departure from the ship went pretty > smooth. This is not always the case with some. Yet, on the other hand, OK, don't overdo the OTOH, John. lol > sometimes they are a little too rushed, with an air schedule that doesn't > leave much room for any type "of" > delays. > > All in all, was there enough for you to do, > or did you feel a little board? My bet is they felt more like planks but that's me. *har* > Smooth sailing to all... > John Sisker Thank you, John. Remedial English class is dismissed. -- Ari Silverstein, C.T.A; C.T.A.S, FREE Cruise Travel Advisory Services Sign up for special email deals @ www.CruiseQuick.com - able to offer some of the lowest prices and best value added in the industry. (not affiliated)
From: John Sisker on 10 Jul 2010 16:24
"Marcia" <Marcia(a)spamlessinlasvegas.org> wrote in message news:i1aftl$ea6$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... > John Sisker wrote: >> "Marcia" <Marcia(a)spamlessinlasvegas.org> wrote in message >> news:i17n0d$jq7$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... >>> I'm not going to do a complete trip report, because most of you know >>> more about this cruise than I still do. ;-) However, I do want to make >>> some points relative to my pre-cruise questions. >>> >>> I don't know what other cruise lines are like, but when we first boarded >>> the Sapphire Princess in Seattle, it was sell, sell, sell. They also >>> gave us a card to have stamped in each of the stores to be entered into >>> a drawing. While we didn't bother with it, all we heard as we were >>> leaving port were muffled announcements calling out the numbers of the >>> winning cards. That was a major step down from my only other cruise, >>> when they played the Love Boat theme as we were leaving port. I think >>> the first moments of a cruise should be special, but that's just me. >>> >>> Our room was in a perfect location. It was steps away from the center >>> elevators on the Baja deck, and our balcony was way more private than >>> the ones we could look down on. The last time I was on a cruise, I had >>> the room to myself. It did take a while to get used to only 2 outlets >>> in the room for hairdryers and phone and camera battery chargers. Plus >>> the bed felt like a cement slab. Again, I don't know if that's the norm >>> on cruise ships or just the Sapphire. >>> >>> We had anytime dining, which worked out well. However, some rooms were >>> better than others. We never had any problems getting a table for 2. >>> The Pacific Moon wasn't much, the Savoy was a little better...although >>> the waiter we had didn't have much personality. We ate in the Santa Fe >>> room 3 times, because we loved Michael, the best waiter. The few times >>> we had breakfast or lunch in the big traditional dining room, the Maitre >>> D' there always seemed annoyed, so I don't know if traditional dining >>> would have been any better. I also don't quite get what the Vivaldi >>> dining room is all about. It seemed to be a combination of traditional >>> dining and some reservations. We did get to eat there the second to >>> last night, which turned out to be lobster and Baked Alaska night. They >>> do have Baked Alaska in the anytime rooms. We asked Michael about it on >>> our last night in the Santa Fe, and he said they did the parade at least >>> in that room. >>> >>> My travel agent told me when I got back that the reason we were in >>> Victoria such a short time was that the ship needs to make a stop in an >>> international port. We just about had time to take the shuttle >>> downtown, take a look at the Empress Hotel and walk through some of the >>> shops and then wait in a very long line to take the shuttle back to the >>> ship. We did get our passports stamped when we got back by some very >>> funny customs guys...or whatever they were. >>> >>> We took our own luggage off the ship, because my niece had an early >>> flight. We discovered a shuttle service that took us to the ship from >>> the airport Doubletree where we stayed the night before the cruise and >>> from the ship back to the airport...both trips were $12 per person each >>> way. >>> >>> Marcia >> >> >> >> Marcia, >> >> Thanks for your thoughts and evaluation in reference to your recent >> cruise. We too were on the Sapphire Princess not too long ago, and your >> mentioning about stamping the card in each of the stores, did remind me >> that it was the same with us. Yet, we too simply ignored this; as >> possibly just another way to get passengers into the different stores to >> hopefully purchase something. >> >> On the other hand, your cabin sounds like things evened out somewhat from >> the basis sell, sell, sell premise of today's Princess. Other than >> limited outlets and the hard bed, it appears all was pretty good there. >> On the other Princess ships we have been on, we too found all the beds >> way too hard. Of course, in the hotel in Copenhagen, that was way too >> soft. So how can they please everyone? >> >> Anytime dining usually fits the bill for most people now days, obviously >> offering a lot more choices in not only times, but restaurants as well. >> Incidentally, the Savoy use to the the specialty Steakhouse on the >> Sapphire Princess, but is now just one of the Anytime dining room >> choices. Likewise, we found each of the dining rooms to be a little more >> different in overall design and decor, than they were on the Star >> Princess, and it was a lot easier to get a table for 2 on the Sapphire >> Princess as well. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see, or just possibly >> missed, the Baked Alaska Parade on the Sapphire Princess, but did see it >> while on the Star Princess. And this was also in one of the Anytime >> dining rooms. >> >> Too bad you could not see more of Victoria, but the part (downtown) you >> did see was actually the heart of our trip there as well. On the other >> hand, we did have time and opted for a City tour, which was interesting, >> but was disappointed as to the so called City panoramic view high atop a >> hill. It wasn't much at all. However, the Parliament and other government >> building of this Capital City were well worth the trip, at least to us. >> >> In addition, it appears that your departure from the ship went pretty >> smooth. This is not always the case with some. Yet, on the other hand, >> sometimes they are a little too rushed, with an air schedule that doesn't >> leave much room for any type delays. >> >> Again, thanks for this critique and impression of the Sapphire Princess. >> While one would think that all the other Princess ships would be run >> pretty much the same way, this is not always the case. We found there >> were some difference, especially when it came to dining. All in all, how >> did you like the overall design and decor of the ship itself? How about >> the size? What did you do on the ship while not in a port? Was there >> enough for you to do, or did you feel a little board? >> >> Smooth sailing to all... >> John Sisker >> > > One more point about the anytime dining rooms that I was confused about. > Each room has one dish that is not on the basic menu and unique to that > room, however it is the same dish every night. I thought they had a > different dish each night. > > There was a lot to do on the ship when we weren't in port. Every time I > thought I'd be able to sleep a little later, there was something planned > for 10:00 that I wanted to do, and the main dining room stops serving > breakfast at 9:00, so we were up! We did get room service for breakfast a > few times, which helped...especially on the day we went through Tracy Arm. > While sailing, we went to the cooking demo in the Princess Theater > followed by the galley tour, the backstage tour of the Princess Theater, a > few different trivia contests, played Outburst and spent a lot of time > just sitting out on the balcony enjoying the cooler weather. > > It wasn't the stamping of the cards that bothered me. It was the muffled > announcements of the winners while we were first leaving Seattle. It > wouldn't have been much better if we could understand what they were > saying, since that still wouldn't have been my choice for the first > moments of a cruise. > > It was nice that they didn't wait until the last night when we were in > Victoria to do the Baked Alaska, but the timing of it was opposite the > Captain's Circle Cocktail Party. We caught the very end of the party > after we had dessert. > > I did enjoy seeing The Empress Hotel and Parliament in Victoria. I don't > know how there would have been time to take a tour there. The shuttle > service that took us to downtown tried to get us to take their tour to > Butchart Gardens. I don't know if people then had to wait in line to get > the shuttle back or they dropped back off at the ships, but there wasn't > much time or daylight to see much of anything once you got there. > > Marcia Marcia, You are indeed correct Marcia, I had forgot about that extra menu item in each of the rooms. And while you are also right in that it was always the same, we were a bit surprised that on the Star Princess this was not even offered at all. Every dining room always had the same exact menu items - period. On a cruise, many times it is a give or take type of situation. We too found that while we wanted to sleep in a bit, in order to get breakfast in a sit-down restaurant, we had to get up early anyway, just to make a scheduled event. Sometimes, breakfast in bed helped with that, and was fun to boot. As for passengers going from shop to shop getting their cards stamped, that's what I remember. Personally, I don't recall any announcements about calling out winners. I could have missed it, or was just not paying attention. Catching the Baked Alaska Parade, especially in one of the Anytime dining rooms, was a nice surprise for us. It wasn't expected, especially when there we so many saying that it would never happen in an Anytime dining room. By-the-way, notice that they don't use real candles or flames anymore, but a small battery operated light that resembles a candle. We really liked the Parliament Buildings in Victoria. In addition, beside the City tour, we even had time for lunch on our own at Millstones, a really nice restaurant overlooking the harbor and Parliament buildings. As for getting back to the ship on time, we simply took a taxi. It was $7 dollars (Canadian). Actually, we had plenty of time in Victoria, but then again, it was a completely different itinerary from yours. Likewise, glad to hear that you found so many things of the ship to keep you busy. However, when did you think of the theater seating in the Main Showroom? We found it a little too tight, and once the show stated, forget it with ordering drinks. Those built-in tables in the arm rests were just not cutting it. John Sisker |