Star Princess Baltic Season Has Begin

[Princess Di]

15 May to 25 May, Round Trip Copenhagen, STAR Princess - The first Baltic cruise for 2005. We are all hoping to see some good reviews on their return from our CruiseCritic friends. :D

 

Here is a list of those (known) on our cruise (2 September 2005): :cool:

 

TBS - THE BALTIC STARS

Pre-Cruise/Post Hotel

1. Donna I.,Sunland,Ca,Marriott/Marriott

2. Susan C., Sydney, Oz, Marriott/London

3. Kathy D., Sydney, Oz, Marriott/London

4. Dennis D,Sydney, Oz, Marriott/London

5. Shelly W.,San Diego,Ca Marriott/London

6. Susan W.,San Diego,Ca Marriott/London

7. Sheldon T.,Ontario,Canada

8. Marilyn T., Ontario,Canada

9. Joel M., Ohio

10. Diane M., Ohio

11. Mati, Europe

 

LEGEND TO SCREENAMES

1. Princess Di

2. Lady Godiva

3. Roseberry

4. TobyToby

5.&6. SAW17752

7.&8. MARSHE

9.&10. martij6

11. Lior

 

If you would like to share your pre- and post-cruise hotel information with us, just copy & paste the above into a new Reply Post, then correct it, or just tell me and I will put it in.

On Sydney to Bangkok Sapphire, 7 March thread, we kept this list up pretty much until the end and it was very helpful to keep everyone straight - there were over 50 posters and pax on that cruise.

 

I hope I have not missed anyone. If I did, just yell at me. :D

[SaylorGirl]

I am only sorry Princess Di that we will be getting on the ship as you are getting off.

[arlenemilt]

We just got off the Star - May 15th; l4 night transatlantic from Ft. Lauderdale to Copenhagen. I have nothing but good things to report. Everything on the ship was great. We did miss the Azores due to high winds, but this gave us 8 sea days which we prefer anyway. The weather was mostly cool; no rain. Ship had little to no discernible movement. New captain and CD coming on in Copenhagen. Capt. was introduced; very personable. Tony Yeomans is his name. CD named John; that's all I know; didn't see him.

 

I'll be happy to answer any specific Star questions for those who have them.

Arlene

[Kaylas Mom]

Just two hours ago, I booked us on the Star Princess July 4th 2006 out of Copenhagen. Very excited about it. It will be our second Princess cruise....we are going on the Island Princess to Alaska this August and we're in a Cat BA on both cruises on the Caribe deck. My in-laws are booking a BA guarantee, and I am pleased for them and hope they do REALLY well out of the guarantee. Has anyone had luck with that?

 

I'd be interested to hear from anyone with experience of the kids club. my daughter will be turning 11 on that cruise and I'd love to tell her good things. Although she is growing up, she still loves crafts and games, trivia, etc.

 

I'd like to hear more about the alternative restaurants. Oh and, does the Star have the pottery/ceramics classes like the Island Princess?

 

I have to admit that my first choice wasn't the Star Princess...it was RCCI's Jewel of the Seas. I waited for months to book their 12 night Scandinavian/Russia trip, but the prices were SHOCKING! And RCCI has started refusing to allow TAs to discount, so I couldn't get a rediuction any whichaway I tried. So, I looked again at the Star Princess and I am glad I did. Basically, we are saving $3,400 off two cabins by switching from RCCI to Princess. The RCCI was two nights longer, but that's hardly worth that much money. Plus the Star stops in Poland, which will be fun to see.

 

So, yes, tell us everything!

[shortland]

Arlene - We have an early morning flight out of Copenhagen the same day the Star arrives in port. Any information about disembarkation, name of pier, taxies, etc. would be appreciated. Thanks.

[arlenemilt]

Arlene - We have an early morning flight out of Copenhagen the same day the Star arrives in port. Any information about disembarkation, name of pier, taxies, etc. would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

We had a 10:45 flight, disembarked at 6:30, found luggage immediately, into taxi and at the airport and checked in by 7:30. Yes, a long wait at the airport, but would rather wait there than worry about getting there. The Princess bus came in about 20 minutes after we did and those people waited in the check-in line for about an hour and a half. Don't take Princess transfers which cost $40PP. Our taxi ran $34 (they take US dollars gladly) for the two of us.

 

Arlene

[arlenemilt]

Just two hours ago, I booked us on the Star Princess

 

I'd be interested to hear from anyone with experience of the kids club. my daughter will be turning 11 on that cruise and I'd love to tell her good things. Although she is growing up, she still loves crafts and games, trivia, etc.

 

I'd like to hear more about the alternative restaurants. Oh and, does the Star have the pottery/ceramics classes like the Island Princess?

 

I have to admit that my first choice wasn't the Star Princess...it was RCCI's Jewel of the Seas.

So, yes, tell us everything!

 

There was trivia at least twice a day (sometimes three times), every day including port days. There were also several craft sessions. ( I am now looking at the cute picture frames I made.) We did not go to the alternative restaurants; buffet and diningroom food good enough for me. And yes, there were pottery/ceramics classes; I'm not into that. There were also various games such as Outburst, Scattagories, Taboo, etc.

 

BTW, you made a much better choice with the Star over Jewel. We were on the Jewel in December; very disappointed. Food was not good and diningroom service was worse. First time in 44 cruises that we had major problems with room steward, who forgot to make up our rooms on 3 different nights. We pulled him out of bed at one in the morning.

 

Arlene

[rnjoel]

Thanks for the info, Arlene!

 

Quick question....we too have an early flight from Copenhagen to Amsterdam at 10:35. Did the Star dock the morning of debarkation, or the night prior?? I'm so worried about making it to the airport in time!!

 

Happy Sailings!

[arlenemilt]

Thanks for the info, Arlene!

 

Quick question....we too have an early flight from Copenhagen to Amsterdam at 10:35. Did the Star dock the morning of debarkation, or the night prior?? I'm so worried about making it to the airport in time!!

 

Happy Sailings!

 

Nothing to worry about. We docked before I got up; about 5AM I think. Maybe earlier. Princess will give you ORANGE 2 tags; you'll be first off the ship.

 

Arlene

[SaylorGirl]

Arlene - Thanks for the info I also have a 10:10 flight and don't want to miss it. It sounds like you had a wonderful time, I am getting very excited now knowing that my ship is in Europe!!

[Kaylas Mom]

Arlene, thanks for the info and for making me feel better about the Star vs. the Jewel.

[arlenemilt]

Your welcome. That's why this board is so great; people sharing their experiences.

 

Arlene

[Princess Di]

Hi, SaylorGirl,

I, too, wish that you were on Our 2 September cruise. I always enjoy your posts. It sounds as though you will be able to make your inbound flight in time. That is great news. For you too, Ron & Joel.

Hi, Arlene,

Thank you, so much, for replying. I'm glad that you had a terrific sailing.

Did you try the Spa? I am a Spa Junkie. There have been some good markdowns on the Sea Days.

Your cruise, as far as ports, is a lot different than the Baltics. We have only 1 Sea Day out of 10 days; therefore, the classes and games may be curtailed; however, there will still be more than enough to take care of all your desires.

Hi, Kayla's Mom,

Your daughter is the perfect age for the Kids Club. She will love all the activities and will meet other friends her own age. The Club directors usually are degreed in child psychology and other child arts. Some parents even tip these conscientious and caring staff. Be sure to go to the Orientation meeting on board the first day for Introduction and Enrollment. The kids will get their own version of the Princess Patters newsletter, daily. What a great education for your girl.

We took Steven (my now 16-year old Grand Son) on his first cruise to Bermuda (Old Pacific Princess) in 2002, when he was 12, directly followed by the British Isles cruise on the Royal Princess. He even knows how to pack his own Tux with all the Bling-Bling accessories. I like to think that this partly caused his recent attendance at an Awards Banquet, at which he was awarded the top student honour for Excellence in Advanced Placement European History. It is definitely more than a Holiday - it is a never-to-be-forgotten Life Lesson.

I know every cruiser will have a wonderful cruise in the Baltics this season.

Welcome aboard, John Lawrence.

 

Yes, John Lawrence came aboard on the 15 May cruise. I have his CD and book. Kathy and I watch our DVD every weekend. It is great for learning how to pronounce all the port and city names and attractions. He is a very nice gentleman.

 

www.johnlawrencecd.com

 

Cruising the Baltic from May to September 2005 aboard STAR PRINCESS It's here!!! The long-awaited DVD featuring the highlights from my Baltic port talks is now available!!

[arlenemilt]

I'm just not into that stuff. I do use the gym, though. We're up there at 7:00AM every single day. Gotta' keep the routine. :) For those who don't know this, you must sign up the day before for treadmill time, or the only times you'll get are the ones you don't want.

 

Arlene

[Princess Di]

She is on her way to Poland now.

Hope you have good weather the rest of the cruise. :cool:

 

http://www.princess.com/bridgecams/

[sultan_sfo]

Arlene:

Thanks for your wonderful posts on your Roll Call thread which I have followed for the past few months. We are B2B CPH/CPH/FLL starting Sep 12. Probably, there were some B2B on your cruise as well. Did the topic come up about how B2B was to be handled, particulary for PAX changing cabins for the 2 legs? Thanks.

/Sultan

[shortland]

Thanks for the information on disembarkation. I really apperciate it. Sharon

[arlenemilt]

Arlene:

Thanks for your wonderful posts on your Roll Call thread which I have followed for the past few months. We are B2B CPH/CPH/FLL starting Sep 12. Probably, there were some B2B on your cruise as well. Did the topic come up about how B2B was to be handled, particulary for PAX changing cabins for the 2 legs? Thanks.

/Sultan

 

Since we were not involved in the B2B on the Star, we weren't privy to that info. I can however tell you about our B2B on the Pacific last summer. This was Hawaii-Tahiti-FLL 12 days, then 24 days. We also changed from a BD balcony to an AC mini. When all the passengers disembarked in Papeete, we got off the ship and reboarded, so that new photos could be taken and our new cabin cards issued. We basically moved ourselves from 6th floor to 8th floor, using one of those large luggage racks that have hanging rods. Easy Peasy. :)

 

Arlene