Ship is 15 years old, but a stately design, with plenty of circulation space. Mini-suite great and central. Club Class dining excellent. Cruise and itinerary was great. Add on to Cambodia was delightful. All transfers worked like a dream. Excursions with Cruising Excursions pretty good and a lot cheaper than Princess. Thank you Planet Cruise.
A wonderful trip back to Asia on a great ship, Sapphire Princess. First arriving in Singapore at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront hotel for two nights and then boarding our ship. Penang Phuket Thailand Vietnam
Very clean and well maintained ship. Efficient and friendly staff. Seamless embarkation/disembarkation. Overall impression this was a fantastic cruise.
Excellent cruise although would have preferred another port visit on return leg
This was our 4th cruise with Princess but we have not been with them for a few years. Some things were reassuringly familiar; the service was excellent. All staff were friendly and attentive- you can always rely on your cabin steward, but I would single out the waiting staff in the main dining rooms for praise as they introduce themselves and often go that little bit further to entertain and make the meal a special occasion. The ship had a recent refit and this was evident in the cabin with new carpeting a bigger and interactive TV and a very comfortable bed. However, this is not a modern ship and it does show its age in places, particularly in some of the public areas and dining rooms. Having said that It was very clean and there was a clear commitment to hygiene. Food and dining standards seemed to have been maintained. I never had a poor meal in the main dining rooms, and the quality of food in the buffet was always good plentiful and fresh. We had one afternoon tea which was a bit chaotic. Waiters with different elements of the tea were not well coordinated so we kept being offered cake before any sandwiches. Drinks were always well presented and good quality but I have marked down the score for value for money because they were so expensive. We paid $48 for a bottle of wine which we would not have paid more than £20 for in a restaurant at home and less than £10 in the supermarket. All drinks included 18% automatically added. Entertainment was the usual mix of stage shows in the main theatre and groups and soloists in the lounges. Some of these were a bit hit and miss for example the singer from the Hollies and the magician but I accept that this has a lot to do with taste. There was generally something for everyone. I've marked down the activity score because we were very disappointed by the offer for dancing. There was a large show lounge designated for ballroom dancing every evening but no thought had gone in to this. All they did was put on a tape and leave you to it. The music was awful and the tempo wrong. Unsurprisingly no one went to dance which was a waste of the space and left us and many other people we spoke to frustrated. Someone did complain and apparently by the end of the cruise they had put a member of staff on but they had lost us by then. We only did one excursion through Princess which was from Vigo to the Cies Islands, a 45 minute boat ride off the coast. This was a guided walk on an island that is a nature reserve. It was beautiful and scenic. You can do it cheaper yourself, but not in the winter months (October to April) which is why we did it through the ship. It was worth it for the views and the peace and quiet and was a good alternative to the trips to Santiago. I didn't think any of the trips on the Canary islands themselves were that special but if it was the first time you had done the itinerary they would probably be a useful introduction to the area.
It was our first Princess cruise. We enjoyed the holiday. We would go with Princess again.
Money grabbing opportunists who overpriced everything and added taxes when not clearly identified. 80 USD for a pedicure? Ridiculous. Had to pay for internet use and shuttle buses, both expensive. Excursions priced for people who had onboard credit to spend, but not encouraging for first timers
As my first cruise I can't compare Princess against others, but as an introduction to the world of cruising I am sold on its positives. Great service from all the crew, non stop wonderful food and we got to see the northern lights too.
Excellent cruise with usual high standard for Princess cruises. We had very rough seas and the transfer from ship to shore at Alta was not suitable for people with disabilities as the tenders were tossed about and were difficult to step across to. The crew were excellent, but it was so cold that they were really suffering even with the half hour shifts. They were excited to see the snow. We hd a marvellous Northern Lights display from the ship as we were leaving Alta. Made everything worth while.
