9/26/05

By hazelson

• February 18, 2007

The Sapphire Princess is a beautiful ship - but she is a little hard to navigate around. We were on a 5-day repositioning cruise so by the time I figured out my way around it was time to leave lol.

The cabin was much smaller than on Carnival - as was the bathroom. The balcony was twice the size so it made up for the small cabin. Lots of closet space as well.

The food was good - not outstanding - but good. I did have two desserts one night - raspberry creme brulee - yum! The buffet area was deceiving - it looked very small but somehow it worked well - the line moved quickly. The buffet selections were hit or miss - some really tasty others rather bland. The fruit selection and salad offerings were very fresh and always topped up. We did have one great lunch in the dining room - the London Broil - really fantastic!

The one thing missing was any sort of fruit juices in the beverage area - just tea, cofee and iced tea. Juices were available at the breakfast buffet and milk was there for the asking but nothing just to grab on the fly.

The entertainment was pretty much as expected - the shows were well done - but the comedian was outstanding. We saw the same guy in the theatre one night and the showlounge two nights later. My sides still hurt he was that funny.

I am not young by any means lol - but I felt like the kid in the crowd. Not sure how to describe it - but the pace was rather "leisurely". Not a lot happening during the day. Maybe I am just used to the faster pace of Carnival!

The fridge was also a plus for keeping our water supply and dh's cola chilled. It was also nice to grab some goodies from the buffet to eat later on the balcony. An empty fridge - not the minibar stocked fridge like the ones on Carnival.

The cabin steward always kept things very neat and tidy - but no towel animals :o) We saw him on the first afternoon then the last evening - he was all but invisible any other time - so that would mean he did his job very well.

The dining room staff was very gracious and efficient - but again I am used to the fun atmosphere on Carnival - there were no dances around the dining room or singing maitre'd. I ordered milk after dinner one night and got it in what looked like a tall shot glass - that was kind of funny.

Living just a ferry ride away from Victoria - we just wandered around on foot - it was a nice walk from where the ship docked. We toured Alcatraz in San Fransisco, which we really enjoyed - very enlightening to say the least then we went on to Sausilito. Got some great shots of the Golden Gate Bridge - as the weather was very co-operative. In Santa Barbara we took a land-shark vehicle that toured the town and then went into the water for a tour of the port area. That was something we had never been on before so we had a good time - and the guide was really funny.

We were transported from the dock at San Pedro to Las Vegas by bus - the lav wasn't working and the driver was a little confused but we made it ok. We donated large sums of money to the casinos but we had a good time doing it. The Excalibur was just "ok" but the room was quite large and very quiet.

We have booked on the Conquest for the spring and are happy to be going on Carnival again. We would sail on Princess again if we got a good deal - but we prefer the more upbeat - 24 hour fun - atmopshere Carnival offers.

ttfn Jennifer