A Fantasy Evening

We have just completed a fun-filled  interesting cruise onboard the Sapphire Princess.  It was a one night cruise from Seattle back up the coast to the gorgeous city of Vancouver, B. C.  We had booked this mini, mini cruise some time back and decided to book two inside cabins.  The reason we did this was to enable us to gain additional credit towards the Princess past passenger rewards system.  Princess has three levels for their past passengers and the third tier is known as Elite.  We are working towards that level now.

Just a few days before our mini, mini a very kind Upgrade Fairy from Princess called us, and thank goodness, we were home when she called!  We went from two tiny inside cabins to the magnificent penthouse suite named  the Juneau Suite, Caribe 752, at the aft of the ship.  The aft cabins are sought after on many cruise ships as you can stand on the balcony and see the ship's wake but not only that, you can see to the left (port) and to the right (starboard).  It is a lot of fun to see the panoramic view of the scenery as you are cruising, wine glass in hand!

Here you can see our friends as we enjoy the gorgeous view, the lovely scented flowers and toast the photographer with our champagne!  There were certainly some much appreciated 'extras' that came with being in a suite.  As the four of us were enjoying the cabin, our room steward knocked and when we answered, there he was with a bottle of champagne, a plate of chocolate covered strawberries, and a plate of assorted canapes.  When you are in a suite on Princess, those three items are complimentary!  Yes, we loved the drinks and the goodies as we enjoyed the Seattle view and surprise, surprise, sunshine.

To back up a few steps:  We left home and drove to Vancouver where we left our car at a good friend's  and caught the QuickCoach Shuttle that took us through the Truck crossing (border) and with it being a Sunday, fairly light traffic.  We arrived at Pier 91 and with a very efficient embarkation process, we were in our suite before noon.

When we opened the door, we were fairly shocked at the size of the room.  Marble floors greeted us.  We quickly opened all the cabinet doors to see what was behind.  In this suite, we had two TV's and a DVD player. 

Here you can see part of the sitting area, with the sofa, writing desk, partial view of the TV area and mini-fridge, and coffee table.  Fresh fruit was waiting for us when we arrived and you can see the vase of flowers and the large plant on the marble floor.  The cool pastels in the cabin were very restful to the eye.

The master bedroom in all its glory.  The Welcome Mat protects the bedcover when unpacking luggage.  For this short overnight cruise, we took a carry-on (even that proved to be too big for this trip!)  You can see the night tables and the lamps.  To the left of the bed is the makeup area, very well-lit and the mirrors are very useful.

Do you think there are enough drawers?

Viewed from the bedroom.  To the right of the curtain is the second TV and the mini-safe behind closed doors.  Again, more room for clothes!

Can you imagine this shower in an inside cabin?  Are you kidding?  No shower curtain gremlin to attack you here.  The water pressure and temperature were perfect.  And of course, there is the large jacuzzi tub:  yes, the jets did work and the bath salts that they provided were greatly enjoyed.

Being on any cruise is like being in Fantasyland.  Princess always goes the extra bit and this is another example:  bath salts presented in a silver container, ready for use in the tub. 

Staying in a suite or being an Elite also means one complimentary bar set-up.  The mini-fridge also had beer, tonic water, Perrier water and soda drinks, all complimentary.  There is a fee for replenishing.

We were quite surprised to see that the bed area also had doors that opened up to the balcony.  So this suite has two sets of balcony doors, with the other set opening from the sitting area.

Seattle skyline in the background.  Yes, the balcony really is this big!  Large enough for the two teak loungers (note the red plaid blankets when the air temperature gets nippy), the small table, 4 teak chairs and the circular table, perfect for the Ultimate Champagne Breakfast or Ultimate Dinner Experience, two more special Princess offerings, for a fee.  Yes, we had seven people on this balcony and we could have had more.  That was how spacious this area was  (think evening, the moon, dancing--how romantic, eh?)

This plate really was filled with canapes and chocolate-covered strawberries but as you can see, we had hungry people around.  Thank you, Princess, for the goodies.

You know the saying:  A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

We have never had the privilege of staying in such luxurious surroundings before and we know that is is not reality, but we do have to admit that it was a joy to have the experience, even for just one wonderful evening.