Star Princess 1/2-1/9/05 - Random Thoughts and Observations

After reading the excellent reviews by several other passengers on this cruise, I thought I'd add my observations from the perspective of a member of a 12 person, three generation group ranging in age from 18 to over 70. Six of us were new to cruising, so after reading some of the negative reviews posted earlier, and despite really good experiences on Princess on three past cruises, I was a little concerned. I needn't have worried -- all of us had a great time!

Pre-Cruise We flew in from California, Washington State and Alaska at different times on December 31, meeting up at the Hyatt Pier 66. We reserved four rooms on Priceline for $95 a night; again, some negative reviews gave me pause, but the hotel was just fine. All our requests were met and the hotel automatically upgraded three rooms to the tower, two with great views of the port. Biddingfortravel.com was really helpful in getting the hang of Priceline, as I had never used it before.

Boarding Most of our group boarded approximately 12:30 - 1:00 and I echo enymarsh's comments about the boarding.

Dining We had stalled at number 9 on the waiting list for first seating traditional dining. At boarding we were advised to go to the Capri Dining room to make a reservation for the week. With a group of 12, it seemed that personal choice might be a hassle (six of us had experienced that option three years ago on the Golden) and also, we thought that the new cruisers should have as close to the traditional dining experience as possible. We were give a choice of 5:45 or 7:45 and selected the earlier. And we got REALLY lucky with our waiter Balthazar and assistant waiter Erik. They were wonderful and definitely contributed to everyone's enjoyment of the cruise. We thought the food was generally good, some things better than others. Didn't eat in the alternative dining rooms and only sporadically at Horizon Court (mostly forays for pineapple and papaya, and of course the "healthful" fruit tarts). I agree that the salad selections there seemed to be not as extensive as three years ago on the Golden. Went to afternoon tea once and highly recommend it.

Cabins

Ten of us had inside cabins forward on the Aloha deck and were most enthusiastic about their steward. I heard no complaints about the location of the staterooms. Two of us were in E410 which is a partially obstructed view outside. The obstruction consisted of metal scaffolding which was easy to look through. Although it took me about a day to stop missing the balcony I had three years ago on the Golden, I would have no hesitation about booking this cabin again.

Ports

Costa Maya For myself, I was delighted with the change of itinerary to include Costa Maya as it was the only new port for me. Some of us took the bus into Mahajual and explored the town. Then four of us hired a taxi for $100 to take us on a three hour trip to Chaccoben ruins. It turned out to be a great trip -- the fee for entrance and for the services of a charming and knowledgeable guide was $38 for four. On returning, our driver dropped two of us at the ship and took the other two back into town, where we enjoyed the beach and a couple of cold Sols before returning to the ship.

Cozumel Because snorkeling was important, we went to Chankanaab rather than Paradise Beach. I remembered Chankanaab from almost nine years ago when it did not have all the Marine World type attractions and about 1/100th of the people. Quite a change!

Grand Cayman Somehow we negotiated the tender ticket crush and were off the ship and on our way to a rendezvous with Sotos Cruises by noon. After being picked up in a parking lot near the port, Sotos took us by van to the dive boat. There we waited for over an hour for another group to arrive. That was the only negative part of our Sotos experience (and a rare one from what I understand from some of the people there who had taken the Sotos trip before). The snorkling and the stingrays were great! A not to be missed experience. Because of the delay, we had very little time for any other sightseeing.

Ocho Rios Thanks to this board, we booked our Ocho Rios trip with Peat Taylor and his son O'Neil and again, echo the comments of enymarsh and stranger1. Interesting that everyone on the bus had a CC connection. Peat and O'Neil certainly changed my previously negative view of Jamaica. Having climbed Dunns River Falls before, I acted as official photographer for the climbers. I think I have some that include enymarsh and her family, as at least to start out, she was just behind my nephew in the chain of climbers. Esther, if you are interested in having me email you the pictures, let me know and I will try to do it!

Well, this is getting long, so I will close by saying thanks to all of you who have posted your tips and experiences on these boards. You really helped make our cruise a memorable one! If anyone has questions, I'll be happy to try to answer them.

Thanks for all of your feedback - it's great to hear how other's felt about their cruise.

Taku,

What a wonderful job of summarizing your cruise! Thanks for sharing. Yes I would absolutely LOVE to see those pictures from Dunn's River Falls! My email:

esthermarsh@yahoo.com

Please feel free to send them to me and I will be most appreciative!

We are already planning our next cruise. At first we were thinking of Golden out of SJU and visiting the southern caribbean. We've since changed our minds and I think we'll be taking the Sun out of FLL on a 10-day, still seeing the southern caribbean... a whole year to wait!!! ( I miss those "healthful" fruit tarts already!)

Please tell me more about Peat Taylor. There are 19 of us taking this cruise during Thanksgiving week. Thanks!

Joanne1: Thanks! I definitely remember your daughter from the production numbers. She is striking and you must be very proud of her. If I recall correctly, you will be sailing on the Star soon?

Esther: I was juggling three cameras and the early pictures are on my sister's camera, so it may be a week or so before I get them. However, I will most certainly send them. Your next trip sounds great. I've been looking longingly at the Greek Isles, but don't think it is in the cards this year.

Mary: The bus we were on is large enough for your entire group -- I think it holds 24. This and our Grand Cayman stingray tour were the only two excursions we scheduled which involved our whole group. We made the reservations by emailing Peat Taylor at his web site www.peattaylor.com in August of last year. He charged $30 per person which included the $10 admission to Dunns River Falls (renting water shoes and lockers is extra). No prepayment or credit card guarantee. On the way to the falls he took us through Fern Gully and other points of interest; if you have specific things you want to see, he will tailor his tour to include them. We all really enjoyed this excursion and Peat and his son O'Neil (who is incredibly charming). After returning from the falls, he took those of us who wanted to shop into town for an hour's shopping before bringing us back to the ship. One area he suggested was a group of stalls selling typical tourist goods, the other across the street was a more formal mall-type setting. Near the stalls is a grocery store (I love foreign grocery stores) which is a good place to find sauces, spices, etc.

Enymarsh and Taku, I also have a few pictures from the Falls...not sure if either of you are in them, but I'll email them to you if you would like. Just let me know where to send them.

Mike.

Would love that Mike!

My email is posted above... feel free to send me any photos you have, love the memories!

Ok, will do! They're on my home computer, so as soon as I get home I'll send them. Not sure how many I can send at a time so you may get multi-emails!

Taku, what was the AC like in the inside cabins? I'll be in an inside on the Aloha deck next week and I get cold easy. Just need to know, flannels or not?

Thanks, Mike. My email is catu4562@yahoo.com I remember you and your wife; if you are in any of my pictures I would be happy to send them to you.

Bottledweller, I was not in the Aloha deck cabins so I can't say from personal experience. However, I will call my sister who was, and find out what she has to say. She is sensitive to a/c so should be a good source of information.

thank you

Bottled Weller,

I was on the Aloha Deck... the rooms are on the colder side but not uncomfortable. Personally, I like it when it's cold... but if you're sensitive, i would bring your flannels.. if not just sleep in a sweatshirt...

Sea Babe.

Flannels it is! Of coure thats If I go on this cruise, we're not sure now.

Bottledweller, my sister confirms that the a/c was cold. However, her husband was able to adjust the temperature somehow (either by raising the thermostat or turning it off), so that it was fine after that.

Do you recall which pier you docked at in Cozumel - Punta Lgusta near town or Puerta Maya south of town?

Ron

Ron,

We docked at Puerta Maya. When we were in Cozumel, the street along the waterfront in town was all torn up, so getting there by taxi was a little convoluted. The work may well be completed by now.