pompeii

Anyone know if Star Princess going to Hawaii offers Zumba? Any other exercise classes?

 

TY!

The Star Alaska cruise I was on in May had Zumba in the Vista Lounge. I didn't go but I know it was crowded. I think it was usually held around 9 or 10 am, but I'm sure that depends on the itinerary.

Well, we booked today for the 10/12 sailing! The price for an obstructed oceanview seemed pretty good, and we booked E717 which from what I can tell isn't terribly obstructed. Plus we have some OBC from when our bathroom malfunctioned on our last cruise, plus DH's military OBC.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with what we got. If anyone has stayed in E717 on the Caribbean, let me know how it was view-wise and in general. Also, any recommendations for shore excursions.

Thanks, everyone, for helping us with our decision! Now let's keep our fingers crossed for no hurricanes or superstorms!

OK, maybe the October 12 departure would be a good middle ground. DH is now saying that he would like to do a little sightseeing beforehand, so we would probably go in on Thursday and sightsee on Friday. If we can find a hotel where we could park for free or cheap that isn't crazy expensive, then we would probably drive. I do like the thought that we wouldn't have to hassle with the airport and luggage concerns.

Thanks everyone for your input. Keep it coming - the more info the better!

Sept10, we are driving from Cleveland, OH. About an 8 hour drive, according to MapQuest, and $120 in fuel RT (I like that little feature on MapQuest!) Parking for 7 nights would be $140 at the terminal. Plus tolls on the PA turnpike, and for bridges/tunnels in NY? Plus one hotel night at let's say $250 since we would have to drive in the night before. Unless we pulled an all-nighter, but that's not really us anymore!

I priced flying and right now it would be about $500 for both, and since it is less than a 2 hour flight, we could fly in that morning so no hotel needed. We would just have to pay for parking on this end and a shuttle/taxi from the airport to the terminal. When we add it all up, maybe flying is the way to go after all.

Yes, based on Pam's advice, the earlier week would be better. We might even look at Oct. 5 if the prices aren't too much higher.

Hmmm, hadn't thought to be concerned about flooding.....if we park in the Red Hook lot, is any of it "higher ground" and a little safer from water? Or is it just a big flat parking lot? I guess we would know by the time we park if trouble is on its way and could make plans accordingly. I just know nothing about Brooklyn or NYC and don't really know where we would park other than the lot at the terminal. We don't know anyone in the area who could drop us off, unfortunately. The only other thing we could do is park elsewhere and take a shuttle or taxi. I don't imagine any of the hotels offer free or cheap parking? That could offset the cost of a cab or shuttle to the terminal.

Other than that, it sounds like this is a cruise we would enjoy and I'm sure we can figure it all out. DH and I love history so I think we would really like that angle of this cruise.

The departure port says either Manhattan or Brooklyn; is there any way to tell which one? Parking is much more expensive in Manhattan, no surprise there, I guess. I'm just trying to get a realistic idea of all the costs involved. Also, we would drive in the day before. Since I know hotels are sky high in NYC, does anyone have any hotel suggestions?

I'm getting kind of excited about this idea. Thanks everyone for your input!

Sept10, my sister and BIL live in MD so I know Carnival and RCL have ships from Baltimore. Too bad no Princess!

Pam, thanks for the link; I see what you mean. We will choose the earlier week if we decide to go. Sept10, thanks for the info; since you've been three times I guess you enjoyed it! I know the weather will be a crapshoot so I guess I won't worry too much about that. Do you remember how expensive parking was near the ship terminal?

We're think about a New England/Canada cruise out of NYC in October because the fares are reasonable and we could drive to NYC. Those who have done this itinerary - did you enjoy it? We could leave either October 12 or 19th; I doubt there would be much of a difference foliage-wise or weather-wise, right? I still have some vacation time this year and am looking for a fairly reasonable way to use it without using it for a staycation. (Unfortunately, my workplace is use it or lose it, so I definitely want to use it!)

There aren't really any other ports we can drive to, so it's pretty much NYC if we don't want to add airfare on to the cost.

We too used EZAir on our cruise out of Seattle in May and it went off without a hitch. The fares were very competitive and the flight times were convenient for us. Our TA told us when we booked that she had no problem recommending Princess EZAir, but wouldn't say the same for airfare through other cruise lines because it's not a good deal.

We did a trip with Michelle on Island Wings on our 5/25 cruise on the Star. It was fine, but not as great as I had hoped it would be. I think I was mostly disappointed with where she landed. It was at a wooden dock on a lake, so we just walked around on the floating dock and not on land anywhere. The lake was kind of pretty but not all that scenic, really. I had seen photos on her website of landing where you could walk around on land, so I found our landing a bit boring. Our weather was decent, misty and cool but not raining. We didn't see much wildlife, either. I think one bald eagle and that was it.

It was well run however and Michelle was very professional. I think part of it is that she does four 2-hour trips a day, so she has to keep to a strict schedule.

Anyway, like I said, it was fine but a little bit of a letdown. A couple of fellow passengers felt the same way. My husband liked it a lot, though.

We were on this sailing, too, and loved every minute of it! I love your photos and had to laugh at the mountain reflection one north of Skagway - I think my DH has the exact same picture. Probably everybody who did that excursion that day does; I took a couple of them myself. But I think yours is from the exact same spot as his!

We pretty much took the same excursions you did, too. We went with Allen Marine into Tracy Arm out of Juneau, did the bus/train in Skagway, and Island Wings seaplane to Misty Fjord in Skagway. For me, the Tracy Arm boat ride was the best, it was absolutely fantastic - and I think we even saw the same whale as you did! We couldn't get a photo of the tail like you did, but a fellow passenger did. We also saw some orcas and a minke whale that day.

The scans aren't great, but I could read them. The far left side is washed out, so I couldn't always read times for events, but I could still read enough to give me a good idea of what's happening when.

 

One question: The dining times for embarkation day do not list a dining room open for lunch. Do you know if they were serving lunch in one of the MDRs? We have always enjoyed that wonderful embarkation day lunch and are looking forward to sharing it my my mother and aunt in July. I will be disappointed if they are not serving it on the Star this summer!

Sherry,

We were on the Star last week and the Portofino was open on embarkation day. Hardly anyone was in there, I heard everyone was up in the HC. Portofino opens at noon, so definitely go there! We had a very serene and delicious lunch!

The plastic tag holders are from Favors by Serendipity. I had trouble finding the website at first, but found it and just ordered 8 of them. Thanks for the tip - we were wondering how we were going to attach those paper tags! I had looked around in a couple of local stores but didn't see anything that would work.