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Review Sapphire Princess - California Costal - Apr/May 2012
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<blockquote data-quote="Cruizer" data-source="post: 1574594" data-attributes="member: 18088"><p><strong>Sunday, April 29 – Santa Barbara</strong></p><p></p><p>I wake up at 6:00am and the sunrise is nothing special. However, it is happening just outside my balcony door so I take a few pictures just to prove I was there. I’ve got an 8:30am wine tasting tour so after working on this for a while it is time to get ready. </p><p></p><p>First I have a power breakfast consisting of one banana (no monkeying around). Then it is off to the Princess Theater where we meet before getting on the tender to the pier. This is our only tender port. We are directed to a white bus where the tour guide informs us that we are at the wrong bus. There is another white bus and again we are told it is the wrong bus. Finally it takes a Princess employee to get everything straightened out. The people on the first white bus somehow convinced the tour guide that they belonged on that bus and they didn’t. So they had to off load and then we loaded on the bus and began our tour. </p><p></p><p>The tour was one of the best tours I have ever been on (and one of the most expensive at $155). We visited two places, both very different and both very enjoyable. First was a wine club operated by someone who obviously enjoys fine wine. His club features very highly rated wines and provided the best advice I have heard for pairing wine with food. Eat what you like and drink what you like. We were able to sample six wines (one white the rest red), all from California. He grows grapes but does not bottle them himself. The area he lives in is beautiful. </p><p></p><p>I noticed that someone in our group had a very nice camera setup and seemed more interested in taking pictures than participating in the tour. I asked if he was one of the ship photographers and he is. I asked if his footage would end up in the Reflections DVD and he said yes, so I’ll likely buy it. </p><p></p><p>Next we visited a commercial winery. The growing season just started so no bottling was going on. It is interesting how little is involved in making the wine. There is a press for squeezing the graphs and big vats where the grape juice turns into wine – and that is it. We were given the chance to sample eight wines, three white, three red and two desert wines. After that we enjoyed a nice trip back to the ship. </p><p></p><p>Given that Santa Barbara is only about one hour from where I live, I really was not interested in doing any souvenir shopping (which I did on an earlier land visit about two years ago). So I took the first tender back and then had lunch. After lunch I uploaded my photographs and then worked on this. </p><p></p><p>It is around this time that I realize that I am so confused by all the dinner switching around that I have no idea what or where I am now assigned. I may just go buffet tonight. Tomorrow night our travel agent has arranged a dinner at the sterling Steak House, at which time I’ll find out what is what. </p><p></p><p>Speaking of pictures, I am traveling light this time (if you don’t count the tripod). On my last cruise I realized that I took most of my pictures with the 16 – 85 zoom lens. So I bought an 18 – 105 zoom lens and left the 55 – 200 zoom at home. I want to see how it works out. For travel off the ship I take a point and shoot camera that is small enough to fit in my pocket. I am not real interested in lugging around a DSLR with me while on a tour. I hope to put the tripod to good use much later tonight on the ship. </p><p></p><p>While I am spell checking my review the phone rings. Now I have a new plan for dinner. One of the group I am with made reservations for 8:00pm at the Savoy Restaurant and I have been invited. One of the things I like is that the embarkation Patter (the ship’s newspaper) is that it includes the dress code for the week and the dining room hours for the week. This is very helpful in my opinion.</p><p></p><p>So, with my evening now planned, I’m going do some photo editing. If I feel like catching the production show, it is at 10:15pm (given that I’ll be eating during the earlier show). </p><p></p><p>Dinner in the Savoy restaurant was great. Good service and good food. I had the Surf & Turf. Apparently one of the waiters recognized one of the couples I was eating with. They said he was a great waiter, so now we have reservations for his table at 8:00pm on Tuesday (San Francisco). Monday is a sea day and we will be enjoying dinner in Sterling’s Steakhouse at 6:00pm thanks to our travel agent. </p><p></p><p>After dinner four of us head over to the Princess Theater for the production show, Do You Wanna Dance. The show was very good, though I prefer a little more energy. After that it is back to the cabin to update this and edit a few photographs. Then I have plans to sneak out around 1:00am with my tripod and see if I can get some good photographs. The seas are fairly calm, and we are not moving that fast. Also, the fog has rolled in which makes it rather nice in my opinion. I’m not sure why I feel that way. Maybe because of the mystery, ‘cause I can’t see a thing outside. It is gray on top and black on the bottom except right next to the ship where the lights highlights the waves the ship is making as we move through the water. </p><p></p><p>And here are the Santa Barbara pictures ...</p><p></p><p><img src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/Princess%20Sapphire/xIMG_2170.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Tendering to shore ...</p><p></p><p> <img src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/Princess%20Sapphire/xIMG_2170.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Our first stop, the wine club (the man standing with the dark cap on is the owner) ...</p><p></p><p><img src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/Princess%20Sapphire/xIMG_2175.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>His vineyard ...</p><p></p><p><img src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/Princess%20Sapphire/xIMG_2176.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><img src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/Princess%20Sapphire/xIMG_2178.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>He also has several flower beds ...</p><p></p><p><img src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/Princess%20Sapphire/xIMG_2183C.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cruizer, post: 1574594, member: 18088"] [B]Sunday, April 29 – Santa Barbara[/B] I wake up at 6:00am and the sunrise is nothing special. However, it is happening just outside my balcony door so I take a few pictures just to prove I was there. I’ve got an 8:30am wine tasting tour so after working on this for a while it is time to get ready. First I have a power breakfast consisting of one banana (no monkeying around). Then it is off to the Princess Theater where we meet before getting on the tender to the pier. This is our only tender port. We are directed to a white bus where the tour guide informs us that we are at the wrong bus. There is another white bus and again we are told it is the wrong bus. Finally it takes a Princess employee to get everything straightened out. The people on the first white bus somehow convinced the tour guide that they belonged on that bus and they didn’t. So they had to off load and then we loaded on the bus and began our tour. The tour was one of the best tours I have ever been on (and one of the most expensive at $155). We visited two places, both very different and both very enjoyable. First was a wine club operated by someone who obviously enjoys fine wine. His club features very highly rated wines and provided the best advice I have heard for pairing wine with food. Eat what you like and drink what you like. We were able to sample six wines (one white the rest red), all from California. He grows grapes but does not bottle them himself. The area he lives in is beautiful. I noticed that someone in our group had a very nice camera setup and seemed more interested in taking pictures than participating in the tour. I asked if he was one of the ship photographers and he is. I asked if his footage would end up in the Reflections DVD and he said yes, so I’ll likely buy it. Next we visited a commercial winery. The growing season just started so no bottling was going on. It is interesting how little is involved in making the wine. There is a press for squeezing the graphs and big vats where the grape juice turns into wine – and that is it. We were given the chance to sample eight wines, three white, three red and two desert wines. After that we enjoyed a nice trip back to the ship. Given that Santa Barbara is only about one hour from where I live, I really was not interested in doing any souvenir shopping (which I did on an earlier land visit about two years ago). So I took the first tender back and then had lunch. After lunch I uploaded my photographs and then worked on this. It is around this time that I realize that I am so confused by all the dinner switching around that I have no idea what or where I am now assigned. I may just go buffet tonight. Tomorrow night our travel agent has arranged a dinner at the sterling Steak House, at which time I’ll find out what is what. Speaking of pictures, I am traveling light this time (if you don’t count the tripod). On my last cruise I realized that I took most of my pictures with the 16 – 85 zoom lens. So I bought an 18 – 105 zoom lens and left the 55 – 200 zoom at home. I want to see how it works out. For travel off the ship I take a point and shoot camera that is small enough to fit in my pocket. I am not real interested in lugging around a DSLR with me while on a tour. I hope to put the tripod to good use much later tonight on the ship. While I am spell checking my review the phone rings. Now I have a new plan for dinner. One of the group I am with made reservations for 8:00pm at the Savoy Restaurant and I have been invited. One of the things I like is that the embarkation Patter (the ship’s newspaper) is that it includes the dress code for the week and the dining room hours for the week. This is very helpful in my opinion. So, with my evening now planned, I’m going do some photo editing. If I feel like catching the production show, it is at 10:15pm (given that I’ll be eating during the earlier show). Dinner in the Savoy restaurant was great. Good service and good food. I had the Surf & Turf. Apparently one of the waiters recognized one of the couples I was eating with. They said he was a great waiter, so now we have reservations for his table at 8:00pm on Tuesday (San Francisco). Monday is a sea day and we will be enjoying dinner in Sterling’s Steakhouse at 6:00pm thanks to our travel agent. After dinner four of us head over to the Princess Theater for the production show, Do You Wanna Dance. The show was very good, though I prefer a little more energy. After that it is back to the cabin to update this and edit a few photographs. Then I have plans to sneak out around 1:00am with my tripod and see if I can get some good photographs. The seas are fairly calm, and we are not moving that fast. Also, the fog has rolled in which makes it rather nice in my opinion. I’m not sure why I feel that way. Maybe because of the mystery, ‘cause I can’t see a thing outside. It is gray on top and black on the bottom except right next to the ship where the lights highlights the waves the ship is making as we move through the water. And here are the Santa Barbara pictures ... [IMG]http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/Princess%20Sapphire/xIMG_2170.jpg[/IMG] Tendering to shore ... [IMG]http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/Princess%20Sapphire/xIMG_2170.jpg[/IMG] Our first stop, the wine club (the man standing with the dark cap on is the owner) ... [IMG]http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/Princess%20Sapphire/xIMG_2175.jpg[/IMG] His vineyard ... [IMG]http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/Princess%20Sapphire/xIMG_2176.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/Princess%20Sapphire/xIMG_2178.jpg[/IMG] He also has several flower beds ... [IMG]http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/Princess%20Sapphire/xIMG_2183C.jpg[/IMG] [/QUOTE]
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Review Sapphire Princess - California Costal - Apr/May 2012
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