Hi,
My husband and I and our 12 year old daughter will be cruising on the sapphire in jan '07. This will be our 2nd cruise and our daughters first. We are all looking forward to this. Has anybody cruised on the sapphire before? If so, can you share any info with us?
Thanks

My father and I are booked on the Feb 28th cruise and we cant wait.

Hallo,

tomorrow we will go to Osaka and there on the "Sapphire Princess" for a cruise to Beijing. We return on Oct. 29.
When you have any questions, don`t hesitate to ask.

Kind regards
Blanca

We were on the Sapphire 2 years ago from Auckland to Sydney. It was a fabulous ship. Plenty of kids activities from what I heard - they have their own pool and area where they have things to do all day. Not sure what info you need though. The ship is huge with 4 different entertainment areas. Don't forget to go and see all the big production shows - they are terrific. They have three different shows and they do them for the early sitting and the late sitting. Make sure you get there early though as the seats fill up very quickly. If you like a nice quiet drink and some dancing go to the Wheelhouse Bar. They have club fusion as well where they have some great latin bands and also rock and roll nights. You will love it. Gayle

Hi to all who have replied to my posting. Is it very expensive on the boat and is the duty free shopping good. If anybody is going on this cruise, leaving sydney jan 09/07, please contact me. Is there an adult only pool area onboard? Happy cruising everybody.

Just remember everything is in US$. Shopping is quite good for cosmetics - Clinique is a very good price. They don't really have duty free shopping but it is cheaper than in Australia. Drinks on board were reasonably priced. Basic spirits are the best value - from memory around $4US for a single malt scotch. If you like vodka - vodka and orange are very good value especially if you buy the large size - you get around 750ml drink for around $7US and it lasts pretty much all night. If you like coctails I can highly recommend the 'chocolate banana' Its the best drink around. You can buy a moctail version for kids - it like an alcoholic banana smoothie and very very nice :-) Wine is reasonably priced if you want a bottle for dinner. Comparable to what you would buy here - we tried some nice ones fro Chilie and also California. There are 5 or 6 pools on this ship and we found they were not very used at all. We used to go to the one right out the back. There are 2 pools and I can't remember if there are 2 or 4 spas there. The pools were never crowded when we were there. The kids have their own pool undercover so they don't get sunburnt. Buy a soda card - we usually just buy the one between us. The put a sticker on your card and you flash it at the bar and all your softdrinks are free (not cans) - works out about $4US a day unlimited which is really good value. I don't drink a lot of softdrinks - mainly soda water but it can get expensive if you are paying as you go. Anything else you think of just let me know and I will do my best. Mummsie

Hi Mummsie,
Thankyou for your info, much appreciated.After reading a few replies, I am now concerned with sea sickness! I am new to cruising, and think our cabin is near the rear of the ship. Which side I dont know! Did you do anytime dining? We have 2nd seating, but think we will alternate. We are staying in sydney for 2 nights prior to the cruise and have 4 nights in auckland. Can you tell me where the ship docks in sydney to embark? I want to stock up on perfume on the ship, late xmas pressies! My hubby has bought vouchers for the lotus spa for mothers day and my birthday, i will be having as many massages as I can! Bye for now,
Michele

Hi, You can choose to do anytime or tradition but once you decide you can't go back. Traditional is ALWAYS booked out so if you have traditional I would keep it. I much prefer the Tradional dining although saying that on our last cruise on the Star Gemini they only have anytime and it was good too. The ship usually pulls in at Circular Quay just opposite the Opera House so its a nice short walk to lots of things. If you are worried about seasickness, buy a box of Quells. You can buy them over the counter for about $5. They work for me. If you run out on the ship, you can buy Dramamine from the shop on the ship for about $3 for 4 tablets. They also work really good. Take them at night before you go to bed. As a last resort, if the Quells don'w work go straight to the doctor on board. He will give you a jab in the behind, it will put you to sleep for a few hours and when you wake up you will feel fantastic. I had to do that our very first cruise. :-)
Be careful when you have your spas - they try and give you the hard sell to buy their very expensive products. There is another website that has loads of information on cruising - that's where I usually hang out. I only found this one by accident. They are always complaining about the hard sell. If you want to check it out the website is cruisecritic.com
I guess you have your accommodation booked in Auckland. We stayed at the Copthorne and it was fantastic. We got up early to watch the ship come in - its just across the road :-)
Gayle

Hi,
we are in March 2007 on Sapphire Princess in Australia/Neuseeland for about 2 weeks. We started at 28.02.07 from Sydney.
We flight from Germany to Perth and will stay 5-6 weeks in Australia. What about clothes for dinner(dinnerjacket, robe) on Sapphire Princess?
I want to let my smoking (dinnerjacket) at home!
We have 8 flight, so we have only a little baggage, like the free 20kg on the flight; .
I look forward to hearing your feedback

regensburger

You will need a dinner jacket for formal nights unless you are taking a tuxedo. The rest of the evenings will be smart casual which is slacks and a polo shirt or a dress shirt, no jeans. If you don't wish to dress up for dinner, you can eat at the buffet. Hope you have a wonderful cruise!

@penny3333
Thanks for your information.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by regensburger:
Hallo Regensburger,

how was the cruise? Did you enjoy it? we are looking forward to a cruise from bejing zu bangkok in november. Do you have any tips for us? Clothing, eating ...

thanks in advance

Maria

Hi Maria,
the Sapphire Princess is a wonderful ship, we had the cabin C247 on the Carib deck with a large balcony, the cabin was very fine. In the the night you can shutdown the aircondition, open the window-door and you have a good sleep by the wholesome sea-climate.
There was about on third Americans, one third Australiens, one fourth Asiatics on the Sapphire P. and approximately 30-40 Europeans under them only 10 Germans on our cruise. There was only a few under 50 years of age. Most of the passengers were between 65 and 80.
I had no dinner jacket and no tuxedo for the two formal nights with me. We went on this 2 formal nights to the buffet and there was only the half off the passanger with dark suit (dress) and so. My better half is always well clothed and I told here, that she is the prettiest girl on the cruise.
The rest of the evenings will be smart casual which is slacks and a polo shirt or a dress shirt, like penny3333 wrote.
I was surprised that so few couples did dancing on the evenings. There was a wonderful night club, but i never saw more than 2-4 couples after 11 pm. After dinner, most of the passengers went to the theater, played Bingo, looked for the Karaoke Songs and many ladies, much more than men, played in the casino.
On the sundecks, there was always adequate deckchairs and I had never the feeling, that the ship was overcrowded with the 2500 Pass.
The eat(food) was ok. But last year, we cruised with the AIDA Vita 2 weeks in the Caribbean, there was the food on the buffet a little bit better. My wife said, there was too little of vegetables and too little varieties of cheese and fish on the Sapphire P.
And only on a few days you can get icecream and therefore you have to stand in line.
The dinkwater smells on "Chlor" (germicide to desinfect the water). The free coffe at the buffet was cooked with the same water, but so it tastes better. Of course, on the bars you can get a very good coffee, Cappuccino Coffee, Caffee Late, Espresso, etc.
All our excursions we organized ourselves together with an other couple.

I hope you have a wonderful cruise!
Hans from Regensburg, Germany

Hi Hans, welcome back. I sure hope you enjoyed Princess. They are my favorite, to date. Sorry you didn't enjoy the food that much, we've had some wonderful food on board the Sea and the Dawn. The Sun was better the last time we sailed on her, but the first time was not so good. I hope the Emerald will be great, we sail on her in November. I love sleeping with the door open, not only is it more comfortable, but the sounds and smells of the ocean sure help me sleep. Hope you book another cruise soon, it helps ease with the disembarkation blues. Best wishes!

My husband and I went from Auckland to Sydney on the Sapphire last April and had a ball we had a minisuite which was like being in a large motel room with a big balcony and a great view we would do it again we are actually but on the Sun Princess from Fremantle to Sydney around the top of Australia next year in June You will have the best time it is a big beautiful ship Anne