Star Princess North to Alaska! Sept 10 2016

[Bimmer09]

Hi Norris,

 

We just got off the Star (on Wed.) and I have been trying to catch up with your review. But, I'm only on page 31, so thought I should just go ahead now and post. We LOVED the captain!!! OMG, he is so out-there! In Nanaimo, BC, (one of our ports) there is a cannon in town that they shoot off at noon when a ship is in port. Well, guess who shot off the cannon. Yes, you guessed it! Captain Tuvo. He called bingo a few times, had a question and answer session in the piazza, came into the dining room at breakfast time and greeted people table by table, just to name a few things that most captains don't ever do. We loved the cruise (B2B 17 days) and thought the crew was fantastic. I think the fact that the crew was so happy had lots to do with the captain and his good nature.

 

Thank you so much for your excellent review and great pictures! I'll be looking forward to your next review!! Meredith

 

Meredith, I am glad you experienced Captain Tuvo after I have been saluting him in my ramble. He's a Prince in the Dino Sagani mould and Princess is lucky to have him. He's all over the place as you have described-and he doesn't have to be. He loves his job and he's very respectful towards his crew. Yes he does run a happy ship, I'd say.He sets the tone and motivates his staff to follow.

 

Next review will find you on the Celebrity Reflection....have you read my Silhouette review??

 

Cheers and thank you for reading this long thing.

 

Norris

[G&Gcruisers]

Snowy is a beautiful cat. I can see why you miss her.

 

Carol, that is so neat that you will be visiting your Mother's homeland. Enjoy your trip.

 

Norris, thanks again for another beautiful pictorial of your cruise.

Seeing the fireweed in full bloom in your photo is kind of sad as it denotes the end of Summer.

It was nice to see the Conservation Center with green grass. The last time we saw it was in Spring and it was very muddy.

Just around the corner from the JC Penney Building with the whale murial is the Alaska State Trooper museum. So much is within a short walk in downtown Anchorage.

Enjoy your next cruise and looking forward to your review.

Margie

[cruisequeen4ever]

Another marvelously entertaining cruise blog by you, Norris! Thank you, and keep cruising (on any cruise line), so we can keep enjoying your blogs!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Hoosier-Cruiser]

Norris,

Thanks for the review. I have to live vicariously through your Alaska reviews as I am having a hard time convincing the DW that we should do an Alaska cruise. She is of the opinion that vacations away from the Midwest should be to warm locales. I'm still working on her, though. I may just have to book one and not tell her until after final payment.

[Bimmer09]

Thanks, Norris, for another entertaining review. You never let us down!

 

Jo, thank you for reading along!

 

Hope you'll pop in next time too.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

Thanks so much for sure a great review. Not really a review but certainly great entertainment.

Mark

 

Mark, glad to have you along again!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Thank You Norris I totally agree with Kauai Kid. I hope someday we meet on a cruise so I can shake your hand and thank you in person. :)

Tony

 

Thanks for the nice sentiment Tony!

 

I meet quite a few people on each cruise-some for 5 minutes and some daily and am always surprised when I mention CC and get a blank stare. On this cruise I met one man who knew of it- "the wife reads it". I wrote down the instructions on how to find the review of the Star and passed it to a couple of people. I hope they have used it to explore the vast amount of info available to cruisers here.

 

I hope you'll visit again in January.

 

Norris

 

 

 

 

[Sadebud]

Another brilliant review, Norris!!! Love your pictures and you witty remarks! Look forward to the review in January, which is right when I will be coming off the Crown around SA!

 

Cheers,

Tracy

 

PS--thanks for reminding me how to change my signature in my CC profile!

[hockeyguru32]

BRAVO BRAVO.......standing ovation!!!!!!!

[Woobstr112G]

Barb, hopefully we will get to enjoy our retirement by taking more trips and if we still have the cruising bug I'll get to share the adventures on CC.

 

In the meantime there are two cruises on X to plan for and we're each holding an FCC for a future Princess one. Check the X board on January 23.

 

I'm glad you clicked on this review and stayed with it until the end.

 

Thanks for the many compliments along the way!

 

Norris

 

Norris;

 

What are your plans, if you don't mind me asking, on X.....

 

Bob

[smrtypnts]

I can too- the most memorable meals-over many years;

 

Les Celebrites, Essex Hotel NY (French chef Alain Ducasse)

Fleur de Lys, San Francisco (French Chef Hubert Keller)

11 Madison NY Swiss Chef

Hyatt Cologne Germany Swiss Chef

Hotel Schweizerhof, Lucerne, Swiss Chef

 

The 5 most outstanding meals that I remember. 5 star or Michelin Star dining but I still get excited over the Pub Lunch.

 

Norris

I wish I had known this a week ago. While I did start reading this thread after you had disembarked and before last week, I hadn't gotten to this particular post. Last weekend we did the Essex Steam train and probably could have eaten there while we were in Essex. That's ok--it's only 1.5 hours from my house, so it may have to be a road trip.

 

Pat, are you asking me?

 

If so- because I am addicted to aft suites it would be the Star as the Coral doesn't have any.

 

However-the Coral is a beauty indeed and has 1,000 less passengers and big wide promenade decks that would reduce a man like me to tears. It also has a great smoking lounge with a view-again that's a plus for me, probably not you.

 

Both are Princess ships which mean they are great to sail on in terms of food and service and entertainment. Coral sailed on Wednesdays this year so that was not good for us. I would happily sail on her again.

 

Princess is long established in Alaska and know what they are doing.

 

 

Norris

I know you mentioned at the front end of your report you did not choose Island Princess because of the ugly makeover. But like you, I like an aft cabin. And this ship gave me that opportunity without the price of a suite. While I'd love a suite, it's not in the budget for our Sept. 2017 Alaska cruise.

On another note, this is my first Princess cruise and my first reading of one of your trip reports! You do an amazing job and I am savoring every post. Thank you for taking the time. BTW--Your pictures are just the best!!!

[meredemer]

Hi Norris: really enjoyed your review and your photos are second to none..absolutely beautiful! Only one correction...Ted Williams has absolutely no connection with Anchorage to warrant an airport naming (don't think he ever played baseball there🤔) the correct name/person is Ted STEVENS, who was in public service for > 60 yrs, majority of service was as a US Senator from AK. So..you flew out of the Ted STEVENS Intnl Airport.

So glad you made it home safe and sound and I bet your little Snowy didn't let you out of her sight for weeks!

Looking foward to following along on yours and Carol's next adventure!

[LC1950]

Thank you Norris for yet another excellent review and your even excellenter photos. I enjoyed it immensely. Appreciate all the time and effort you put into these sagas and look forward to your next one in January.:)

[Bimmer09]

Snowy is a beautiful cat. I can see why you miss her.

 

Carol, that is so neat that you will be visiting your Mother's homeland. Enjoy your trip.

 

Norris, thanks again for another beautiful pictorial of your cruise.

Seeing the fireweed in full bloom in your photo is kind of sad as it denotes the end of Summer.

It was nice to see the Conservation Center with green grass. The last time we saw it was in Spring and it was very muddy.

Just around the corner from the JC Penney Building with the whale murial is the Alaska State Trooper museum. So much is within a short walk in downtown Anchorage.

Enjoy your next cruise and looking forward to your review.

Margie

 

Margie it was good having you along once again!

 

Carol's experience in Jamaica makes it sound like a different Jamaica from the one I experienced 30 years ago but I only ever went to Ocho Rios....44 times.

Now there's Falmouth where visitors will say don't walk outside the port area and book an excursion. Ocho Rios was not a relaxing place unless you got a thrill ride beater taxi and visited a hotel with it's own beach where you could avoid pestering. That was my tactic as I visited the Sans Souci Hotel and used their beach regularly.

Shaw Park Gardens was a nice place to visit-like all gardens it was beautiful and quiet and no one followed me offering to braid my hair or " a good smoke".

I went horse riding -again up in the mountains away from the basket sellers who would grab my arm to get me into their shop. I would have to coat my arms in English Channel Swimmer's Grease to counter that.

 

I had a couple of people asking me to smuggle them on board the ship (huh?) so they could escape the poverty.

 

The landscape was beautiful of course but the people too desperate for it to be a relaxing stop. We'll be taking an excursion and definitely not renting a car.

 

Thanks for the good wishes re our next cruise. There are 3 new islands for Carol-none for me but I am interested to revisit them after 30 years.

 

Cheers and thank you!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Another marvelously entertaining cruise blog by you, Norris! Thank you, and keep cruising (on any cruise line), so we can keep enjoying your blogs!

 

Thank you for coming out of the shadows to let me know you were reading and enjoying! Much appreciated.

 

I hope to sail on a few other cruise lines. There are some I have little interest in after reading copious reviews and seeing their ships and some I am keen to try.

X was one and that worked out well.

 

Thank you for the compliments on the "entertainment factor".

 

Speaking of blogs, mine has been sadly neglected now for 6 weeks...

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

Thanks for the review. I have to live vicariously through your Alaska reviews as I am having a hard time convincing the DW that we should do an Alaska cruise. She is of the opinion that vacations away from the Midwest should be to warm locales. I'm still working on her, though. I may just have to book one and not tell her until after final payment.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

The beauty of an Alaskan cruise is that it can only happen between May and September when the Midwest is often like a broiler oven. Going somewhere cooler is an attractive option for us. In January we escape the cold of the Midwest by going somewhere warm/hot in the Caribbean.

 

Has she read this review? No interest in the scenic beauty/wildlife?

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Another brilliant review, Norris!!! Love your pictures and you witty remarks! Look forward to the review in January, which is right when I will be coming off the Crown around SA!

 

Cheers,

Tracy

 

PS--thanks for reminding me how to change my signature in my CC profile!

 

Tracy, I am glad you followed along over the past 6 weeks and thanks for the compliments!

 

Crown around SA has a nice ring to it and is on the bucket list for when we can take longer cruises.

 

I'll see you on the Reflection!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

BRAVO BRAVO.......standing ovation!!!!!!!

 

Thank you!

 

It is always good to see your name popping up in my reviews!

 

Next one begins in Miami...

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris;

 

What are your plans, if you don't mind me asking, on X.....

 

Bob

 

Bob, so glad to see you joining me here!

 

My plans are to continue raising my relaxation skills to an Art Form.

 

I know we are spending the day before the cruise (Friday Jan 13! Unlucky?) in Miami, a place I haven't seen since 1986 when I stepped off the Song of Norway for the last time. A day after will be spent there too in a small Marriott beach hotel in South Beach.

 

On the ship we will make a point to visit Michael's Club on day one and introduced ourselves to the concierge and when she asks what she can do for us I'll answer-get us an invite to a Heli-deck sailaway.

 

We'll definitely be eating in a few specialty restaurants and hopefully try Qsine this time.

 

Itinerary sees us in Cozumel where we will take a waterfront Segway ride but that's the only excursion we are fixed on. Cayman , Jamaica (Falmouth) and Labadee (beach) are not booked yet and we haven't discussed-but soon will.

 

We'll rent one of the Alcoves for sure on one or two days.

 

We'll eat well and see all the shows on offer.

 

We'll enjoy our aft suite on the corner of deck 7.

 

It's a cruise that will take shape in the planning but of course once my feet hit the grass on deck 14 I'll be in Norris mode....drifting along taking photos and sipping a cool Guinness and seeing what happens day by day between meals.

 

If all goes well while onboard we will book the Eclipse to Norway August 26th as we love the itinerary.

 

Cheers Bob!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I wish I had known this a week ago. While I did start reading this thread after you had disembarked and before last week, I hadn't gotten to this particular post. Last weekend we did the Essex Steam train and probably could have eaten there while we were in Essex. That's ok--it's only 1.5 hours from my house, so it may have to be a road trip.

 

 

I know you mentioned at the front end of your report you did not choose Island Princess because of the ugly makeover. But like you, I like an aft cabin. And this ship gave me that opportunity without the price of a suite. While I'd love a suite, it's not in the budget for our Sept. 2017 Alaska cruise.

On another note, this is my first Princess cruise and my first reading of one of your trip reports! You do an amazing job and I am savoring every post. Thank you for taking the time. BTW--Your pictures are just the best!!!

 

Hi and let me start by correcting something- I mentioned the Essex hotel but should have typed Essex House Hotel on Central Park in NYC. Sorry for the confusion!! That restaurant is long gone from the hotel and we don't stay there anymore.

 

Island Princess I am sure still sails full regardless of the botched makeover. If you had sailed on the Coral though you would see the Island as many see her now. However if you have an aft cabin you are ahead of the game as the Coral has none. Both ships will get you to Alaska in style and comfort and you will have a great experience.

 

You may get hooked on Princess as we did!

 

Thanks for reading my review and for the compliments. I hope you'll be curious enough to click on any of my reviews going forward and if you like the photos then expect them to improve as I am working on getting better and adding to my camera equipment. My next cruise is on a stunning ship so I'll be snapping away day and night.

 

Best wishes,

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Hi Norris: really enjoyed your review and your photos are second to none..absolutely beautiful! Only one correction...Ted Williams has absolutely no connection with Anchorage to warrant an airport naming (don't think he ever played baseball there🤔) the correct name/person is Ted STEVENS, who was in public service for > 60 yrs, majority of service was as a US Senator from AK. So..you flew out of the Ted STEVENS Intnl Airport.

So glad you made it home safe and sound and I bet your little Snowy didn't let you out of her sight for weeks!

Looking foward to following along on yours and Carol's next adventure!

 

Thanks for correcting the name of the airport!! Doh!!

 

60 years of Senatoring and along I come and give the kudos to a baseball player!

 

Snowy is upping her cuteness game to try and convince us to stay home forever.

Boy is she in for a let-down!

 

I hope you'll visit my X review in January- I am canvassing hard on that one, kissing babies and shaking hands. Celebrity really hit the ball out of the park with the S Class design and the onboard experience is very good.

 

See you there?

 

Norris, and I endorse this message.

 

[smrtypnts]

 

The following photos aren't great but to get better from way back in the theater I would have had to use the huge zoom lens and would have (a) looked like an idiot and (b) distracted others. There's a lot of glare from the lights on anything white but they may give you the flavor. There's a 7 piece band and a whole posse of singers and dancers- I counted 24 performers on stage during some songs!

 

It was a show featuring songs before the Beatles arrived to change pop music and I knew all of them-Catch a Falling Star and Put it in Your Pocket (which is impossible) will give you the gist. So basically songs from the 1950s but sung well.

 

 

 

As always the sound is loud and clear as Princess has invested in state of the art ship systems.The 7 piece band, with brass, are flawless.

 

 

 

Great sound, lighting and talented giving it their all performers. A fast paced show with costume changes. It only lasts 35 to 40 minutes and then we are leaving. Interesting for me to note is the number of people who couldn't get seats and were standing at both sides and rear-easily 100 people. The room seats 700. We wait until the crowd has passed before getting up.

 

 

Also interesting- the bar waiters who wander the aisles before the show and their lack of hustle and no doubt profitable receipts. They are the eye-contact avoiders and are skilled at looking right at you but apparently not seeing your waving arms.

 

"look-over here! I'm dying of thirst. Yes I have money and wish to buy a drink!"

 

He turns and walks away wondering why no one is buying tonight.

Do you know if they have this show on Island Princess? My mother would love this show, I think. Also, was this show and formal night both on night 1?

[Bimmer09]

Thank you Norris for yet another excellent review and your even excellenter photos. I enjoyed it immensely. Appreciate all the time and effort you put into these sagas and look forward to your next one in January.:)

 

LC, thanks for following one of my reviews again-you've been a constant and I always appreciate friends from Down Under tuning in.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Do you know if they have this show on Island Princess? My mother would love this show, I think. Also, was this show and formal night both on night 1?

 

Hi, I can't speak to the show being on the Island.

 

Formal night was the 2nd day-at sea. I haven't read the review yet so can't say for sure that the show was on Formal Night, but believe it was.

 

Princess will have a good show or two for you on the Island- you can rely on that!

 

Norris

[Izabelle]

Thank you once again for another fabulous review, I really enjoy reading every post and your photo's are amazing.....I will look out for your next one in January.