About this Princess Ship

This cruise is aboard the Sapphire Princess, a Princess "Grand Class" mid-sized ship which came into the Princess Cruise fleet in 2004. This ship was last renovated in 2018. It also went into dry dock for two weeks in April 2023 for some minor improvements. The Sapphire Princess is now scheduled to go into dry dock in the fall, after the Alaska cruise season for some upgrades. This ship is similar in size to other "Grand Class" sister ships in the Princess fleet. The ship elevates the distinctive, upscale contemporary design utilizing marble, brass, and fine wood décor and luxurious attractions found on all of the other Princess Ships in their fleet. This ship may feel a bit dated with some of its décor but it is supposed to be in good shape overall.

On our prior cruises we have usually sailed on the larger Princess "Royal Class" ships, although on our last cruise we sailed on the smaller Grand Class Emerald Princess and enjoyed some of the features that the smaller ships bring to cruising. A super nice feature of the Grand Class ships is the ability to walk around the whole exterior of the ship on the Promenade Deck (7) which is ideal for an Alaskan cruise as it allows you to view the glaciers up close to the waterline. Since this will be a new ship for us to explore, we invite you along to explore it with us, both on this website and perhaps onboard!

The Sapphire Princess has a capacity of 2,670 guests (based upon double occupancy), with a crew of 1,100 staff. With a tonnage of 115,875 Gross Tons, a length of 951 feet, a beam of 121 feet, it sports 17 decks, 13 of which are accessible to guests.

There are three sets of elevators and stairs located forward, midship, and aft to give you access to the various decks. The midship area also has two glass panoramic elevators that give you an open view of the Piazza area. We often utilize the stairs to help burn off the calories we are consuming during the cruise.

Powered by four marine diesel-electric genset engines with combined power output 67 megawatts, the ship can cruise at a speed of 22 knots (25 mph). The propulsion system is based on two azipods with combined power output of 21 megawatts. Her diesel-electric plant includes four diesel generators and a gas turbine generator. The diesel generators are Finnish made Wärtsilä 46 series common rail engines, two of the straight 9-cylinder configuration, and two of the straight 8-cylinder configuration. The 8- and 9-cylinder engines can produce approximately 81⁄2 and 91⁄2 MW of power respectively. These engines are fueled with heavy fuel oil (HFO or bunker c) and Marine Gas Oil (MGO) depending on the local regulations regarding emissions, as MGO produces much lower emissions but is much more expensive. The gas turbine generator is a GE 2500, producing a peak of 25 MW of power and being fueled by MGO. This generator is much more expensive to run than the diesel generators, and is used mostly in areas, such as Alaska, where the emissions regulations are strict. It is also used when top speed is required to make it to a port in a short time period. There are two propulsion electric motors which drive fixed-pitch propellers and six side thrusters used during maneuvering; three bow and three stern. The propulsion electric motors (PEMs), are conventional synchronous motors made by Alstom Motors, driven by synchroconverters made by GE Power Conversion. The two motors are each rated to 20 MW and have a maximum speed of 154 rpm. 

The short video below will give you a quick glimpse of some of the features of the Sapphire Princess.

Below are some of the guest service areas you may see and use while onboard the Sapphire Princess. They are staffed by a Princess crew that are always willing to assist you if you have any questions or concerns. Operating hours may vary.