Considering Star Princess

[SetAnOpenCourse]

We're considering a 10 day Pacific Coastal this October, which has an enticing itinerary. Four sea days (which I like) and overnight in San Fran. I'd appreciate some advice on a couple of concerns:

 

Promenade deck. Is it wide enough for walking a few miles at a time without much weaving around other passengers? The pictures I've managed to find online don't show any lounge chairs, which I guess is due to lack of space.

 

Noise. How far away do you hear MUTS? Are announcements loud or very frequent?

 

We've cruised only on HAL thus far. We like their ships and the atmosphere, but if Princess ships have a different look, it could be a nice change of pace. The above concerns stem from the "must have", which is a ship that allow us to simply enjoy the sight and sound of the sea.

[JF - retired RRT]

We're considering a 10 day Pacific Coastal this October, which has an enticing itinerary. Four sea days (which I like) and overnight in San Fran. I'd appreciate some advice on a couple of concerns:

 

Promenade deck. Is it wide enough for walking a few miles at a time without much weaving around other passengers? The pictures I've managed to find online don't show any lounge chairs, which I guess is due to lack of space. All ships have chairs or lounges depending on the width of the Promenade. Never any problem taking a walk.

 

Noise. How far away do you hear MUTS? Mostly hear it when you are there. The noise doesn't carry very far (or I simply never noticed it;))

Are announcements loud or very frequent? Infrequent and loud enough to hear, but not blaring. No announcements in cabins except for emergencies.

 

We've cruised only on HAL thus far. We like their ships and the atmosphere, but if Princess ships have a different look, it could be a nice change of pace. The above concerns stem from the "must have", which is a ship that allow us to simply enjoy the sight and sound of the sea.

You will have no problem finding a place to enjoy the view.

[freshair8]

good morning....

Love the Star. Just completed 32 days on her and I did walk the promenade deck all the way around 10-12 times everyday!! Gotta walk off those desserts!! LOL :)

Like others have said, you don't hear MUTS unless you are right there... I have never had a problem with it.

The 10 day coastals are a great cruise out of Vancouver... alot of Vancourites are onboard, as well as many from the rest of British Columbia.

I have done this cruise about 6 times now and really enjoy it, especially the overnight in San Fran. that is very cool, indeed!

Have a good cruise!

[SetAnOpenCourse]

Uh-oh. I just read in the "Cruise Reviews", regarding the Star's promenade, "they close the bow section after dark". We would miss not being able to walk all the way around in the evening. Can someone confirm?

[skynight]

Uh-oh. I just read in the "Cruise Reviews", regarding the Star's promenade, "they close the bow section after dark". We would miss not being able to walk all the way around in the evening. Can someone confirm?

We have sailed 90 days on the Star, and yes the deck 8 bow section has always been closed off in the evening, as well as during the daylight hours if the seas are rough.

[Thrak]

I've sailed Star a couple of times. The first time we had a midship balcony on Aloha Deck - directly under the Lido Deck pool area. Unlike what others have said, we heard no chair scraping or other intrusive noises. We never once heard MUTS when on our balcony. We were in A408 which is very close to MUTS.

[elliair]

We're considering a 10 day Pacific Coastal this October, which has an enticing itinerary. Four sea days (which I like) and overnight in San Fran. I'd appreciate some advice on a couple of concerns:

 

Promenade deck. Is it wide enough for walking a few miles at a time without much weaving around other passengers? The pictures I've managed to find online don't show any lounge chairs, which I guess is due to lack of space.

 

Noise. How far away do you hear MUTS? Are announcements loud or very frequent?

 

We've cruised only on HAL thus far. We like their ships and the atmosphere, but if Princess ships have a different look, it could be a nice change of pace. The above concerns stem from the "must have", which is a ship that allow us to simply enjoy the sight and sound of the sea.

 

We've cruised on the Star and the Promenade deck is great for walking. There's stairs IIRC where you climb to the next deck forward then down again to the Promenade. I walk it for 1 hour which is almost 4 miles. Never saw the bow closed but we do our walking in the morning after breakfast. I don't like walking out on the decks after dark. I don't even walk outside my home at night.

 

MUTS. Don't have a cabin directly under MUTS or you will be hearing chairs moved around, MUTS noise well into the night, people clomping back and forth. We had such a cabin and we were miserable. We learned better the next time around.

 

I call the Star the sausage ship. I think the chef got a good deal on sausage because it seems like that's all that was served but in different ways on Lido buffet. They even got creative with meatloaf, they stuck a hot dog down the center of it. Served it hot one day and cold the next.

 

San Francisco is no big deal for us as we use to live 35 miles from there and have visited it often. We wouldn't walk around at night down by the pier. The pier is located on the Embarcadero and there's plenty of homeless people down there sleeping and just walking around panhandling.

 

The only time you'll enjoy the sight and sound of the sea is to be at sea. You won't find it in ports - especially if you're spending the night in SF.

 

Have fun!

Edited June 2, 2016 by elliair

[IECalCruiser]

Uh-oh. I just read in the "Cruise Reviews", regarding the Star's promenade, "they close the bow section after dark". We would miss not being able to walk all the way around in the evening. Can someone confirm?

On the Star (and the Grand and Golden) there are four balcony cabins on each side that open out to onto the the upper level of the Promenade deck. I believe they close the upper portion in the evening to give these cabins some privacy.

[Jasperdo]

Promenade deck. Is it wide enough for walking a few miles at a time without much weaving around other passengers? The pictures I've managed to find online don't show any lounge chairs, which I guess is due to lack of space.

The Star Princess doesn't have any deck/lounge chairs, but it does have quite a few regular chairs. The promenade is wide enough to easily walk around them. It's one of my favorite places on the ship:

 

 

 

 

[ar1950]

Uh-oh. I just read in the "Cruise Reviews", regarding the Star's promenade, "they close the bow section after dark". We would miss not being able to walk all the way around in the evening. Can someone confirm?

 

The bow area is closed off because there are stairs that go up a deck to go around the front of the ship. The promenade goes by ocean-view cabins in that area, so, area is closed for the privacy of those cabins.

 

Note the deck plan graphic. http://www.princess.com/deckPlans.do?shipCode=TP

[rdsqrl]

Uh-oh. I just read in the "Cruise Reviews", regarding the Star's promenade, "they close the bow section after dark". We would miss not being able to walk all the way around in the evening. Can someone confirm?

They do, but it's just a small percentage of the overall promenade deck, as you can see on the deck plans. There's still plenty of promenade left for an evening stroll. You can either turn around when you get to the closed-off steps and retrace your path, or you can go in the doors and cut through the elevator lobby to the other side of the ship. Believe me, the ship is so long that you won't even notice the missing 20%.

[masterty]

Uh-oh. I just read in the "Cruise Reviews", regarding the Star's promenade, "they close the bow section after dark". We would miss not being able to walk all the way around in the evening. Can someone confirm?

 

I opened the deck closed gate (closing it right behind me) several times to walk the bow. No one ever came and kicked us off. Several times we did this. I really think the gate is tied directly to the Princess lawyers office. It is often closed when there really is no reason to other than for the frail.

[Lucky TGO]

I opened the deck closed gate (closing it right behind me) several times to walk the bow. No one ever came and kicked us off. Several times we did this. I really think the gate is tied directly to the Princess lawyers office. It is often closed when there really is no reason to other than for the frail.

I remember doing the same thing.

Tony