Sapphire Princess Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We really wanted to see St Petersburg, this cruise fell on a significant birthday, and the price was right, so the Sapphire Princess won. This was a great cruise. The Itinerary was good. Due to poor weather at one port, they changed ports - they kept us informed and the port, Wermunde Germany, was a great jumping off spot for nearby towns - it was an unexpected jewel of a stop. The ship, the ship. Loved the room, loved the staff. Food in the dining room was a little disappointing for a few of the meals, but hey, the price, ship and staff were great. I was being fed and pampered so we can handle the odd meal disappointment. This ship had a lot of activities. The onboard entertainment was some of the best I have experienced (the Princess singers and dancers were great, but their shows were OK - normally I would have said they were great but we were on a Holland America Cruise earlier in the year - another significant birthday, and the shows were out of this world - first time in 15 cruises I was part of a standing ovation for a cruise line singers and dancers show). The house band on this cruise was exceptional. There is a jewel of a pizza cafe on the 5th floor that we absolutely loved. Overall it was a very positive experience. I would highly recommend this ship.
Cabin Review
Oceanview
We have cruised 15 times and this was the BEST floor layout of any cabin, balcony, inside, often oceanview, that we have been in.
Port Reviews
Southampton
We enjoyed Southampton, there is an old town. We found a great pub in the old town that served a very good and reasonable breakfast. But the real gem is Winchester just up the road. We hopped a train, the trip was about 20 minutes, and went up there for the day. Now, that was a great day. For us 60's kids there is "Winchester Cathedral" (by The New Vaudeville Band), and a wonderful, picturesque, old town - nice to walk around and take photos.
Stockholm
Took public transit to take in the sites - easy to get around
Copenhagen
We did a dumb dumb and took the train into town. The time it took to get 6 tickets from machines that were malfunctioning we could have easily walked. We did take in a "Free" walking tour that was well worth the time and we did give a good tip at the end as the guide was good.
Helsinki
Public Transit, bus and tram, was fun. Lots to see and most of it is relatively close to one another.