Sapphire Princess

The 2004-built Sapphire Princess cruise ship is the 5th Grand-class Princess Cruises liner, with sisterships Caribbean, Crown, Golden (Carnival Adventure), Grand, Emerald, Ruby, Star (Carnival Encounter) and Diamond.

The vessel (IMO number 9228186) is currently UK-flagged (MMSI 235103357) and registered in Southampton.

History - construction and ownership

Princess Cruises is a USA-based passenger shipping company headquartered in Beverly Hills CA. A former subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises (founded in 1977), in 2003 the company merged with Carnival Corporation - the world's largest cruise shipowner. Among Princess Cruise Lines Ltd's assets is the Caribbean private island resort Princess Cays (on the southern end of Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas), located approx 80 km (50 mi) from Nassau.

The 2700-passenger ship Sapphire Princess and her nearly identical sister Diamond Princess have some Grand-class variations in terms of size and facilities. Despite these differences, over the past half-decade Princess has been standardizing this class of vessels by adding poolside jumbotrons (Movies Under the Stars), "Piazza-style" atriums, and adult-only deck areas (The Sanctuary), originally introduced on the line's newer ships Crown, Emerald, and Ruby. Sapphire Princess emerged from a month-long overhaul in February 2012, gaining these signature facilities. The previously plain atrium was transformed into the lively Piazza, a public space featuring a wine and tapas bar, bakery, pizzeria, and performance area. Other upgrades included new bar countertops, tiling, teak decking around the main swimming pool, new casino furniture, an upgraded buffet, and a new top-deck "lawn court" (artificial grass) for putting, bocce, and croquet.

Decks and Cabins

Most Sapphire Princess staterooms (1339 total in 33 grades) are 170-ft2 balcony cabins (522). Almost 75% of the ship's outside staterooms have private step-out balconies. Wheelchair-accessible cabins number 27. The largest accommodation is the Grand Suite (615 ft2 / 57 m2) with a terrace sized 115 ft2 / 11 m2.

The ship has 16 decks, of which 13 are passenger-accessible and 7 contain cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Nearly all dining options onboard Sapphire Princess are complimentary, including the four main dining rooms (MDRs): Vivaldi, Pacific Moon, International, and Santa Fe. There is also a complimentary buffet, pizza venue, ice cream counter, and grill. All main dining rooms offer the same menu items, though each has a small selection of signature dishes, many of which can also be prepared in appetizer-size portions. On some voyages, certain dining rooms may not be open.

Follows the complete list of Sapphire Princess restaurants and food bars.

• Pacific Moon Restaurant (ship's forward Dining Room for breakfast 7-9 am, lunch 12-1:30 pm, Afternoon Tea 3:30-4:30 pm; features Anytime Dining for dinner between 5:30-8 pm or 8-10 pm)
• Vivaldi Restaurant (aft Dining Room, dinner only; offers traditional dinner seating at 5:30 pm, as well as Anytime Dining between 8-10 pm)
• Santa Fe Restaurant (forward Dining Room, Anytime Dining for dinner only)
• International Restaurant (aft Dining Room with two dinner seatings at 5:30 and 8 pm)
• Sabatini's Restaurant (Italian specialty restaurant; reservations recommended)
• Trident Grill & Prego Pizzeria (self-service complimentary fast-food venue)
• Horizon Court (self-service buffet restaurant, complimentary)
• Sterling Steakhouse (specialty restaurant for seafood, grills, and steaks)
• Alfredo's Pizzeria (complimentary)
• Makoto Ocean (specialty seafood restaurant showcasing the Edomae-style sushi of Chef Makoto Okuwa. Signature dishes include truffle salmon, snow crab temaki, and toro tartare, alongside traditional Japanese beverages and craft cocktails such as the Genmai Negroni and Kodai No Hana)
• Crown Grill Steakhouse (specialty restaurant serving premium cuts of beef, chops, and fresh seafood)

In September 2024, three distinct main dining table-service options were introduced fleetwide – Traditional, Reservable, and Walk-in Anytime. Under the new program (introduced with Sun Princess), each ship allocates three separate dining rooms: one for Traditional dining (with early and late dinner seating), one with Reservable dining times, and one for Walk-in Anytime (open seating). The new options are integrated with the OceanNow service, allowing guests to order anything anytime and have it delivered anywhere onboard.

During the 2025 drydock refurbishment, the Internet Cafe (Deck 7) was replaced by Makoto Ocean, and the Savoy Dining Room (Deck 5) was replaced by the Crown Grill Steakhouse.

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

The two-deck Princess Theatre serves as the ship's main entertainment venue. There, guests can watch traditional Princess Cruises production shows featuring song-and-dance performances. The theater also hosts a variety of other acts, including magicians and juggling comedians. At night, virtually every bar offers live music and space for dancing, from Latin and ballroom music in Club Fusion and DJ dance music in the Skywalkers Nightclub to light piano entertainment at Crooners. Theme nights (50s rockabilly, Country & Western, and Caribbean deck parties) are also common.

Follows the complete list of Sapphire Princess lounges, clubs, and other entertainment venues for kids, teens, and adults.

• The Piazza Atrium (3-deck open floor area featuring live performances and the lobby Bar Piazza)
• International Cafe (24-hour specialty coffee bar and patisserie)
• Princess Fine Arts Gallery; Photo Gallery & Shop; Platinum Studio
• Library (with Internet stations); Internet Cafe (24-hour)
• Princess Diamond Theatre (2-level venue for musical and show productions; also hosts workshops, seminars, and game shows)
• Churchill Lounge & Bar (smoking lounge and sports bar)
• Calypso Cove Shop; Essence Shop; Meridian Bay Shop; Facets Shop
• Princess Sapphire Grand Casino
• Crooners Lounge & Bar (live music; also used for seminars)
• Explorers Lounge & Bar (disco/show lounge hosting karaoke, comedy, game shows, and art auctions)
• Wheelhouse Bar (piano bar during the day and English-style pub at night)
• Club Fusion Lounge (hosts dance classes and quizzes, becoming a disco nightclub after 7:30 pm)
• Scoops Bar (Sundaes Ice Cream Bar, complimentary)
• Vines Bar; Outrigger Bar (poolside bar); Tradewinds Bar; Wake View Bar
• Lotus Spa complex; Beauty Salon; Fitness Center (with Aerobics Studio)
• Hearts & Minds (Wedding Chapel)
• Movies Under the Stars (LED screen outdoor cinema)
• Video Games Arcade; Teen Center; Youth Center with paddling pool and outdoor play areas
• The Conservatory (recreation area); The Oasis relaxation area
• The Sanctuary (adult-only open-air sundeck area)
• Calypso Reef & Pool area; Neptune's Reef & Pool area
• Jogging Track; Sports Court (volleyball, basketball, European football); Deck Chess; Shuffleboard; Princess Links mini-golf course; Cybergolf simulator
• Skywalkers Disco Nightclub

Itineraries

Sapphire Princess itinerary program includes voyages to Alaska (7-day cruises between Whittier and Vancouver, and 14-day back-to-back or roundtrip cruises from Vancouver), South America and Antarctica (fly-cruises from Buenos Aires with roundtrip voyages from Punta Arenas), and Europe (Mediterranean roundtrips from Civitavecchia-Rome and Baltic roundtrips from Copenhagen).

Previously, the ship operated seasonal South Asian cruises departing from Singapore and China (Beijing, Tianjin, Hong Kong). Itinerary lengths ranged between 3 and 13 days.

In summer 2019, the liner was relocated to Europe via a 37-day Suez Canal repositioning cruise from Singapore to Southampton UK (homeport). After completing the European summer season, the ship returned to Asia for her sixth Singapore-homeporting season (2019-2020).

Sapphire Princess was scheduled to enter drydock in April 2020 and then operate two "Grand Asia" voyages between Shanghai and Singapore. The liner was planned to be homeported in Shanghai (May through October 2020) before departing for Melbourne to begin an inaugural Australian season.

Due to the Coronavirus crisis, Sapphire Princess was paused for approximately 2.5 years (March 2020 through September 2022). Operations were scheduled to restart on August 28, 2022 (repositioning voyage from Asia to Australia, Hong Kong to Sydney). However, this program was canceled (the liner was redeployed from Australia to the USA), as was the summer 2022 season (Mexican Riviera and Hawaii) based on homeporting in Los Angeles/Long Beach California. The ship restarted services on September 24.

Princess Cruises' Sapphire ship is one of the company's Grand-class vessels, with sistership Diamond. Sapphire is the fleet's second liner built by a Japanese company – MHI (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation). Both vessels have no spoilers across the stern.

Sapphire was delivered to Princess Cruises on May 27, 2004. The christening ceremony was held on June 10 in Port Seattle WA and was led by godmother Nanci Gore Murkowski (First Lady of Alaska and the wife of Frank Murkowski, Alaska's Governor between December 2002 and December 2006). Sapphire became the first ship ever to be named in Seattle.

Sapphire Princess' inaugural cruise started on May 16, nearly a month before the naming ceremony. The inaugural season included voyages to Alaska (roundtrips from Seattle), followed by Mexican Riviera itineraries (out of San Francisco in autumn), then a deployment in the South Pacific (Australia and New Zealand) for winter 2004-2005.

The hull of what is today Diamond Princess was initially named "Sapphire Princess". A fire damaged the decks of the other ship in the Japanese shipyard (with hull name "Diamond Princess"). Princess Cruises wanted the first completed vessel to be called Diamond, so Sapphire was renamed "Diamond Princess" and completed first. Diamond was then renamed Sapphire and completed shortly afterward.

The ship's engines can operate on either HFO (heavy fuel oil) or MGO (marine gas oil). MGO emissions are much lower, but the fuel is also more expensive. However, some cruising destinations, such as Alaska, have very strict emission standards, making the use of MGO necessary.

Sapphire ship's flag-state (registry) was changed from Bermuda (Hamilton) to UK (London) in 2014. The first Master was Captain Paolo Ravera – brother of Diamond Princess' Master (Captain Stefano Ravera).

Sapphire Princess refurbishments review

Drydock 2025

The ship's last drydocking was in October 2025 (conducted at Vigor Shipyard in Portland OR USA).

The routine work included general maintenance, technical upgrades, hotel upkeep (minor updates to public spaces and staterooms), classification and safety inspections, and hull cleaning and repainting.

The project also introduced two new dining venues – the specialty restaurant Makoto Ocean (replacing the Internet Cafe on Deck 7) and the Crown Grill Steakhouse (replacing the Savoy Dining Room on Deck 5).

Drydock 2023

The drydock in April 2023 was conducted at Vigor Shipyard in Seattle WA USA.

The project included regularly scheduled maintenance work, as well as hull cleaning and painting.

Drydock 2018

The ship's drydock refurbishment in 2018 (a 2-week project conducted in Singapore) resulted in a new bow livery.

All cabins were upgraded with custom-made Princess Luxury beds.

Also renovated were the wellness complex (Fitness Center and Lotus Spa), all retail shops, and all corridors and hallways.

Princess Theatre (indoor show lounge) received a new LED screen (15x5 m / 49x16 ft). The theater's show program was upgraded with the new production show "Bravo". The musical is performed on formal nights.

A new cabin category (Club-Class Mini-Suite) was introduced with VIP amenities and a reserved dining area. Price-inclusive amenities also include expedited dinner seating, priority services (embarkation and disembarkation), complimentary wine, an expanded menu, and premium bathrobes.