Sapphire Princess Short Review

As we love to cruise we decided to take a two week vacation this year to Alaska. We were fortunate to find an excellent last minute deal on the Sapphire Princess. We booked it about three weeks before the cruise and went about quickly planning the rest of the trip so all the details would fall in place before we left. It worked out beautifully.

We set out on our second cruise to Alaska (as a family, my wife is on her third) on a Thursday at dinner time in Houston. That is not the ideal time to head to the airport because leave too early to ensure traffic is not an issue and you will get plenty of wait time at the airport, but leave too late and you could just miss your flight. We were on our hometown airline United, which is an easy choice here since we are home to their largest hub in the entire world.  The flight was uneventful, I suppose in part because it was a Continental aircraft and crew operating the flight (the merger has not settled well for all employees).  We made it safely to our hotel around 1am or a bit before.

We had a day to enjoy Vancouver before boarding the ship on Saturday. This was fun because we got to see the Celebrity Millennium come and go on the Friday. (We saw her again a couple of times during the next couple of weeks as well.) Sadly it was a rainy day, but that passed by late afternoon so we got a chance to enjoy the area around downtown. Then we were really revved up for the cruise the next morning.

I first saw the Sapphire Princess as she came around the building and into her berth just below our hotel room window. That is one reason I picked the hotel I did. We scurried about taking care of business until it was time to head on down and board the ship. We knew we would be in for a fun filled couple of weeks.

Overall this ship is a lot like the Island Princess, so different from other cruise lines. That is a good thing as if all cruise ships were completely alike life as an avid cruiser could get very boring quickly.  Again we have found that crew are trained to the C.R.U.I.S.E. standard and serve as much as hosts as they do crew/hotel staff making sure the ship sails safely and guests are served properly.

Again I am pleased with my choice to sail Alaska on a Princess Cruise ship. In fact my impression is that Princess probably is the best choice for sailing to Alaska based on a comparison to the Royal Caribbean sailing on the Serenade of the Seas three years ago, almost to the day. Princess seems to have more locals come aboard to enhance the Alaska experience than we recall on the prior cruise and Princess has half of the slots to sail into the Glacier Bay National Park.

The ship’s various venues are all in good shape. I only noted rust in a couple of spots that are more difficult to maintain on a regular basis. Of course, the ship was recently renovated so everything would be expected to be in good shape. I was pleased with the condition of the ship and attention most crew paid towards keeping it neat and clean.

We did not see tons of hand sanitizers. I suspect the fact that really they do little to help with norovirus leads to reduced placement of them around the ship. It would be nice if everyone would wash and dry their hands after using the bathroom. However, I saw often where people didn’t do so for whatever reason.  I’d love to see more crew cleaning the handrails on the stairs thru the day and also the inside of the elevators. That is my biggest beef with cleanliness.  

The crew are quite pleasant. They typically did whatever they could to make guests happy while aboard the ship.  I saw several crew members go out of their way to assist guests even in areas of the ship they normally do not work. We also saw and personally experienced several times teamwork not spotted on most other ships or even in everyday life. It is amazing to see how well oiled things can run when there is teamwork, especially in dining venues.

As we really like cruising, we often are less picky about some things than are those who have never cruised and expect total perfection. Just like with any encounter total perfection is seldom achieved 100% of the time.  It is possible also that others on the same cruise could have had a different experience from what we had. I saw that in a review someone posted about a prior cruise where sitting at different tables in the same dining room we had very different experiences.

I have a longer review based on a daily journal from the cruise and also post much of what comes to the cabin in the form of the Princess Patter and other handouts. I know many cruisers looking at Princess, Royal Caribbean, or Celebrity have commented how helpful the reviews and information are for them.  This review was purely to give a very quick overview of the ship.

We were so glad to have come back to Alaska via cruise ship on a two week round trip cruise from Vancouver.  We were fortunate to get a great room at the Pan Pacific above Canada Place and will stay there again when we need to stay in Vancouver in the future.  We will continue to cruise Princess when the itinerary fits our cruise needs and desires as Princess does a great job caring for the passengers and delivering a good cruise product.

Princess is definitely a great way to cruise, especially when in Alaska!

Review: Sapphire Princess sailing Round Trip from Vancouver, BC to Alaska

We set out on our second cruise to Alaska (as a family, my wife is on her third) on a Thursday at dinner time in Houston. That is not the ideal time to head to the airport because leave too early to ensure traffic is not an issue and you will get plenty of wait time at the airport, but leave too late and you could just miss your flight. We were on our hometown airline United, which is an easy choice here since we are home to their largest hub in the entire world.  The flight was uneventful, I suppose in part because it was a Continental aircraft and crew operating the flight (the merger has not settled well for all employees).  We made it safely to our hotel around 1am or a bit before.

We had a day to enjoy Vancouver before boarding the ship on Saturday. This was fun because we got to see the Celebrity Millennium come and go on the Friday. (We saw her again a couple of times during the next couple of weeks as well.) Sadly it was a rainy day, but that passed by late afternoon so we got a chance to enjoy the area around downtown. Then we were really revved up for the cruise the next morning.

I first saw the Sapphire Princess as she came around the building and into her berth just below our hotel room window. That is one reason I picked the hotel I did. We scurried about taking care of business until it was time to head on down and board the ship. We knew we would be in for a fun filled couple of weeks.

Overall this ship is a lot like the Island Princess, so different from other cruise lines. That is a good thing as if all cruise ships were completely alike life as an avid cruiser could get very boring quickly.  Again we have found that crew are trained to the C.R.U.I.S.E. standard and serve as much as hosts as they do crew/hotel staff making sure the ship sails safely and guests are served properly.

Again I am pleased with my choice to sail Alaska on a Princess Cruise ship. In fact my impression is that Princess probably is the best choice for sailing to Alaska based on a comparison to the Royal Caribbean sailing on the Serenade of the Seas three years ago, almost to the day. Princess seems to have more locals come aboard to enhance the Alaska experience than we recall on the prior cruise and Princess has half of the slots to sail into the Glacier Bay National Park.

The ship’s various venues are all in good shape. I only noted rust in a couple of spots that are more difficult to maintain on a regular basis. Of course, the ship was recently renovated so everything would be expected to be in good shape. I was pleased with the condition of the ship and attention most crew paid towards keeping it neat and clean.

We did not see tons of hand sanitizers. I suspect the fact that really they do little to help with norovirus leads to reduced placement of them around the ship. It would be nice if everyone would wash and dry their hands after using the bathroom. However, I saw often where people didn’t do so for whatever reason.  I’d love to see more crew cleaning the handrails on the stairs thru the day and also the inside of the elevators. That is my biggest beef with cleanliness.  

The crew are quite pleasant. They typically did whatever they could to make guests happy while aboard the ship.  I saw several crew members go out of their way to assist guests even in areas of the ship they normally do not work. We also saw and personally experienced several times teamwork not spotted on most other ships or even in everyday life. It is amazing to see how well oiled things can run when there is teamwork, especially in dining venues.

We generally enjoy cruising, so it may be easier to keep a positive less critical view of what is going on around the ship. I know over the course of the cruise I saw other passengers who were having bad luck and things were not going their way. On a couple of occasions the issue was being resolves right by where I was sitting. In each of these cases it appears there was a dropped ball somewhere along the way that led to the strife for the guest. It was however generally resolved fairly.

I write a much longer review based on a daily journal from the cruise and also post much of what comes to the cabin in the form of the Princess Patter and other handouts. I know many cruisers looking at Princess, Royal Caribbean, or Celebrity have commented how helpful the reviews and information are for them.  This review was purely to give a very quick overview of the ship.

We were so glad to have come back to Alaska via cruise ship on a two week round trip cruise from Vancouver.  We were fortunate to get a great room at the Pan Pacific above Canada Place and will stay there again when we need to stay in Vancouver in the future.  We will continue to cruise Princess when the itinerary fits our cruise needs and desires as Princess does a great job caring for the passengers and delivering a good cruise product.

Princess is definitely a great way to cruise, especially when in Alaska!

What should I do in Skagway?

Figuring out what to do in various cruise ports is always something folks who love to cruise must face. It can be an easy task to accomplish or difficult depending on how you approach the situation. One thing is for sure, though, it is nearly always a good idea to have some of it figured out ahead of your cruise. Booking independently or thru the cruise line does take advanced planning because once on board you may find your first pick tour is already booked up.

Skagway, Alaska is a great port for those who like natural beauty. It is also great for those who want to see part of the Yukon Territory of Canada.  Skagway is located North of Juneau on the inside passage essentially at the far North end of an area cut out be a glacier many years ago. The area is accessible via roadway connected to Alaska, Canada, and the lower 48 states. In fact from here you can even get all the way to where the road ends South of the Panama Canal.

Skagway was a gold mine oriented town. It was set up primarily as a transportation hub in and out of the Yukon area where gold mining operations were rampant. In fact there is still Gold mining there, but with modern trucks and roadways the Skagway area is less critical than before to those mining operations.  Skagway of present day is mostly a tourist oriented town, in part because there is no fish processing plant there so fishing in that area is primarily for subsistence instead of for commercial purposes.

Skagway is a neat small town with a small group of year round residents. I suspect a visit there in the Winter, one would find many of the stores shut down at the end of tourist season and only the year round shops are open for the locals. To that end, it also means not everything is always right available right when you need it year round.  

Because of the proximity to the Yukon and specifically the White Pass many visitors latch on to the folklore of the gold rush heading out into the mountains to see where the gold rush took folks decades ago. Back then it was quite a hike as compared to now where vehicles make the trip far more palatable. There are both railroad based tours and minibus tours. There are even some full size motorcoach bus tours up the highway into Canada to see the gold rush area.  While at outposts in the Yukon many other activities are available including panning for gold and dog sledding in the Summer training buggies. Both are fun activities, although for me my next dog sledding adventure will be a 2-3 day tour thru the wilderness with outback cabin camping.

In addition to the White Pass railroad and vehicle based tours, there are tours around town and even rafting trips available. The Famous Red Onion Saloon offers shows as well to keep guests in town entertained. Cycling tours down the mountain roads also exist. There are not too many tours from which to choose and several are many hours in length. Overall there is plenty to do there if you want to be active but not so much you can’t get a lot done while there. The helicopter tours are quick and can be coupled with other tours to the White Pass area to make for an enjoyable day.

Tours can be purchased independently or thru the cruise line. Often the prices are not very different between the two unless you do some research ahead. Calling the visitor center and some of the tour shops may get your best deal by booking yourself onto the early tours due to depart immediately after ships arrive.

Overall Skagway is a great place to visit. I’d love to spend a few nights there when we decide to take a month or two to drive the Alaska Highway stopping in various towns along the way. For those going up via cruise ship, there is plenty to do or you can just kick back and walk around town to see what is going on. It is just one of the several fun ports of call on the Alaska Inside passage so go there looking for adventure and enjoy your time there.  Of course we are always here to help you plan the best Alaskan Cruise Experience.

Is it safe to sail during Hurricane Season?

Sailing during hurricane season is not all bad. In fact it can generate some cheaper cruises at times. Cruise ships are large enough and generally built with a good stability that they are still safe in bad weather. Of course no cruise line sails into a storm instead going around and otherwise altering course to provide for the highest level of passenger comfort and safety as can be afforded the passengers.

Hurricane season runs June to November. This is on the Atlantic side. The season runs a bit earlier on the Pacific side, however seldom are cruises impacted by hurricane type storms in the US based Pacific Ocean cruising areas.  This may seem like a long time of year in which we can encounter hurricanes and yes that is true. However, generally in the Atlantic most of the storms are spotted in August thru September which is the peak of the season, statistically speaking. Storms have been known to occur before and even after the season, it is a function of favorable weather for the formation of the storm.

The cruise lines for economic reasons not completely directly related to the storms, move a large portion of the fleet to other areas most notably Europe during the Summer Season. Other ships are moved to Alaska which is an area not affected by hurricanes as such. Thus, the bulk of the fleet is out of the Tropical Atlantic and Caribbean Sea where hurricanes are most problematic to US interests and that of cruisers. Thus, there are fewer ships to be impacted by such a storm. The remaining ships in the Caribbean region do have plans in place and plenty of help in their corporate offices to modify schedules as needed.

Most hurricanes come thru both the Lesser and Greater Antilles, depending on exactly when the storm moves from a tropical wave to a full-fledged storm status. Some then go up along the East Coast of the USA while others come thru the Gulf of Mexico hitting the USA, Mexico, or countries of Central America.  Thus, we can and often do see storms coming into areas where the cruise ships sail. More often than not they affect either the Eastern Caribbean or the Western Caribbean areas at one time. A single storm may affect first the Eastern and then the Western Caribbean but generally not at the same time. Due to their affect on one area at a time, avoiding the storms is not too difficult.

The cruise ships are fairly stable, but they instead use their advanced systems to navigate around or out of the path of a storm where possible. Despite the stability of the ships, it is far better to just avoid the storms and this can lead to missed ports, and rarely shortened or lengthened cruises. Ultimately passenger as well as crew safety are most important so changing around, adding and dropping ports is all part of the changes you will see. It’s permitted by the passenger contract so ultimately nothing is owed by the cruise line for the change. Just keep in mind the Captain wants to get home to his family in one piece as well.

Sailing into or thru a storm may seem like it would get you to the port you expected to see, however because sometimes hurricanes grow rapidly and have unpredictable winds and wave action, that is just not a safe idea. To further the thought of danger from sailing into the super rough weather, one has to consider that rescue could be difficult if something went wrong and bad weather tends to increase the risk of an accident happening. Thus sailing into or thru a storm is not a wise idea.

Some will say sailing during hurricane season will save some of your premiums. Although this may be true on select sailings aboard select ships the overall theme of late is that hurricane season sailings to the Caribbean are no less expensive and some weeks are even more expensive than most every other time of the year. Much of this is a function of the cruise lines moving ships around where they can generate the most profit and leaving few in the Caribbean forcing higher prices to the cabins left for sale.  This is not as good for the consumer but is good for the cruise lines.

Ultimately one has to consider that there are risks when sailing during hurricane season. Those are bad weather and changes to the itinerary to avoid the worst or storms or avoid visiting damaged ports of call.  Thus, if you are deadest on seeing specific ports it is important to understand hurricane season can force changes for the safety of the ship, passengers, and crew which is ultimately the captain and cruise lines 1^st priority.

Luxury Cruises

Do you enjoy a life of luxurious things and going to luxurious places?  A Luxury cruise may be just the way you want to cruise. These kinds of cruises bring together top service levels along with luxurious accommodations. These ships tend towards a more exclusive feel much like what is often found in a Country Club setting. Some lines even go so far as to use the Club in their name such as Azamara Club Cruises.

When you choose a Luxury cruise line for a luxury cruise experience, you are picking the best of the best for service and accommodations. Of course even with these lines there are variations in size of accommodations and perhaps services granted based on the cabin size.  The luxury lines tend though to have mostly balcony and suite cabins, with a smattering of inside cabins for those who want to enjoy the luxury while keeping the costs under control.

Why choose a luxury line over taking the best suite on one of the big lines?  This is a decision some have to make when choosing how they want to cruise.  It can be tough if evaluating just costs alone since often the top cabin on the mass lines will go for less than a nice balcony or mini-suite type cabin on a luxury cruise line.  Of course the inclusions in the cruise fare begin to paint a different picture with the overall cruise cost. Many luxury lines include a number of items and services which cost more on other cruise lines. Depending on how heavily they are used these costs can easily make the mass market line cruise more expensive in the long run. Thus, cost alone can be difficult as the measure.

The service level difference between lines is typically quite noticeable with the luxury line cabin crew typically not only experienced but also highly trained in how to care for guest needs while being very non-intrusive with the provision of service.  On the higher end lines butler service is often provided where your clothes are unpacked and those which need to be pressed are automatically pressed. It is as if someone is reading your mind about what needs to be done and making sure it is done before you ever need to ask.

Dining tends to be country club casual to formal depending on the cruise line and night of the cruise. Super casual attire is not allowed in the dining rooms on luxury cruise ships, so if you want luxury but don’t want to get out of the cutoff jeans and t-shirt pick a ship that will allow you to order room service or has a casual dining venue where you can eat. Often on the luxury ships there are few options for dining if you don’t dress at least as well as the evening dress code, other than in-cabin dining. The flip to this is that typically in-cabin dining is off the menu items so you can really get good food in your cabin.

Some of the lines will include some to most of the shore excursions. This can be a money saving idea, but if you look to just save money, understand that some shore excursions you may want are considered deluxe and require a supplemental payment. However some of the excursions are customized for the ship and includes at times very personalize subject matter such as shopping with the chef. They may also have guides from the ship help provide walking tours in the port.

On board entertainment tends towards country club chic instead of glitzy like on the mass market lines. You will likely encounter good musicians aboard your luxury cruise. Expect ballroom dancing and other finer activities to be available on a luxury cruise. These are less likely to be offered during a normal mass market line cruise. Thus, if having Broadway shows and lots of entertainment options is critical that needs to be considered as the luxury cruises are more refined and offers fewer entertainment venues.

Ultimately a luxury cruise is a very nice experience for cruisers. It may or may not end up less expensive than taking the best cabin on a mass market line however the service nearly always will top any you get on a mass market line.  Cost is not the best way to decide which cruise to take, one must also look at the service expected as well as what on board amenities are expected while cruising. All together goes into the decision on what cruise is the best one to take. Rest assured if you go with a luxury cruise your service and quality of experience will be second to none.