We typically travel suite class. Because it has been going where we want to go, when we want to go, we've been traveling Princess. The Sapphire Princess is a large ship! The disadvantage is that it often is berthed in a cargo area of the port Vs. "in/nearer town".
Despite the number of passengers, there is enough space on the ship so you don't think it is crowded. The dining rooms serves good ...
We went with Princess again largely because of the 5-day pre-cruise land content in Beijing (for the Great Wall and other attractions) and Xian (for the Terracota Army). We enjoyed the experience with an excellent guide, top hotel accommodation and many fine meals. Well organised and highly enjoyable,
Unfortunately the cruise that followed was not up to our past Princess experiences. High ...
In keeping with the baby boomer penchant for cruising! and my wife's gentle persuasion(she had done a cruise to Europe);I decided to go on a cruise on the Sapphire Princess in April of 2016!
quite a few setbacks e.g. embarkation,visa problems,lack of communication, shore excursions.
Embarkation: endless wait,form filling;chaotic! a young staff member suffered a seizure! mass confusion! no ...
Chose cruise for fabulous ITINERARY-Beijing China, Busan South Korea, Nagasaki and Kagoshima Japan, Shanghai and Hong Kong China, Ho Chi MInh City (Saigon) Vietnam, Bangkok Thailand and Singapore. Weather changed from 60F to 100F, cool to uncomfortably hot and humid, and no rain except in Singapore. Some did pre cruise to Xian and Terracotta warriors but said they were worn out! We had 3 days in ...
For the most part, liked the remodeling, especially the closet - more room and ease of unpacking. Did not like losing the hand held shower nozzle though in the tiny shower. Found the food less enjoyable - seemed like too much mushy stuff - though there were a few good nights with prime rib and lobster.
Cannot complain about service. Excursions were ok but quite expensive. Drink prices ...
In Mandarin slang, ma ma hu hu means so so, not very good, or a bit of a mess. This cruise surely met that kind of definition. It ranks in the bottom five of the 40+ cruises we've taken.
We joined the ship in Tianjin (aka the middle of nowhere, at least for now), exhausted and suffering from chest colds, after an outstanding eight-day pre-cruise tour in China. As with most pre-cruise tours ...
I'd like to add a voice of agreement with the negative critique entitled "Ma ma hu hu" posted April 2015. My husband and I also were on the same cruise, and it really was a major disappointment from our past experiences with Princess. We had the same experience and opinions as stated in "Ma ma hu hu" as it relates to service, itinerary, excursions, Hong Kong Terminal and especially the Buffet ...
We've been on a fair few cruises on five different lines. One thing you realise is people love to complain about any minor niggle and to take a lot of the complaints with a grain of salt.
For that reason I'll start with the positives because there were several. Embarkation and disembarkation was smooth and painless, maybe because we had priority but I think it flowed wherever you were in the ...
We had never cruised in Asia and my husband was a little leery of taking this cruise. But then he did a complete turnaround and decided we had to do it. We loved the cruise itself and our destination port. Beijing we were not enthralled with. Not a beautiful city. Too many people. Crazy drivers. Our Marriott hotel had hardly anyone working there who could speak English. However we were glad we got ...
After a few days in Beijing at the Grand Mercure (very nice quiet room and great buffet breakfast) and a transfer to the port (Both not booked with Princess) we were onboard without too much waiting and straight to our cabin, which was clean and comfortable with and excellent steward, The following day we had our CC meet and greet so were able to arrange several trips ashore with fellow ...