Star Princess roundtrip Hawaii from LA: 1/4/17 to 1/19/17

[Astro Flyer]

These are merely my subjective thoughts written as objectively as possible by .04% of the total number of passengers on the Star Princess…me! ;) Thus some of the other 99.96% of the passengers sailing with me may have different experiences & opinions. My wife & I don't need to be continuously entertained & we enjoy being at sea while reading a good book or for her to scrapbook or quilt. However there was no lack of things to do on the ship so hopefully no one got bored. The hardest working entertainers at sea…Elua (Leialoha & Tiki Dave)…must have cloned themselves as they seemed to be everywhere leading the excellent Princess Aloha Spirit program.

 

Pre-cruise:

 

Our drive to San Pedro was holiday light on 1/3/17 taking only an hour. Checked in for our first visit to the Crowne Plaza hotel at 1230 & our 8th floor room was ready upon our arrival. I talked to a few people who had heating issues but there were none with our room. We had a sail & park package so our 15 days of valet parking was included in addition to a glass of wine at the bar, buffet breakfast on sailing day & shuttle to/from the Port of LA’s World Cruise Ship terminal. The package worked great for us & it was cheaper than parking at the cruise ship terminal lot. We walked a block to have lunch at San Pedro Brewing with a cruise friend who drove to meet us & later a half block to split a Subway for dinner.

 

Embarkation Day:

 

Shuttles to the ship officially began at 1000 & no reservations were accepted like a previous stay at the Doubletree Cabrillo Beach hotel. The valet/shuttle driver said to arrive before 1000 because as he dropped off disembarking passengers we could get the shuttle earlier. Many of us lined up early at the pick up point & some later came from the lobby so it got chaotic when the shuttle arrived. With 3 ships sailing that day all hotel shuttles were probably very busy. We arrived at the ship by 1015 to drop off our luggage, check-in by 1045 and with priority boarding were onboard the ship at 1145 which has always been our experience at our homeport of LA. Our cabin was ready & we had lunch in the Portofino dining room (6-midship) & since Club Class hasn't started on the Star they didn't limit it to Club Class only like what I’ve recently read about on the Ruby.

 

We sailed an hour late at 1700 & sadly later learned that a small helicopter taking aerial photos of the 3 cruise ships crashed during our sailaway near the breakwater resulting in two fatalities. We had gone inside early to prepare for our 1730 dinner after passing the battleship museum USS Iowa but read that passengers who saw the crash called 911 to report the tragedy.

 

Sea Days:

 

There are many activities & it was mostly overcast with temperatures in the mid to upper 60 degrees range for the 3 days closest to the west coast; near Hawaii the sun returned bringing low 70s temperatures & about 80° in the Islands. On most sea days there was only some gentle rocking…perfect for being rocked to sleep. Crewmembers told me the preceding holiday cruise was much rougher so we got lucky.

 

Dining:

 

As always, our early traditional dining time was earlier…6:00 became 5:30; 5:30 became 5:15. Earlier dining times are routine on our cruises & I don't understand why Princess continues to show 6:00 & 5:30 when it's rarely at those times. Based on posts I’ve read, HQ & onboard staff continue to blame each other for the inaccurate dining times shown in our Cruise Personalizer.

 

My taste buds mostly enjoyed the dining room food however after a couple of buffet lunches I stopped eating there. It's buffet food & found most of it lacking much taste & was dry which to me isn't unusual with most ship's buffets. The International Café was where I mostly ate thereafter for breakfast & lunch.

 

I’ve read posts that some ships use Sabatini's as an Alfredo's Pizzeria on sea days for freshly baked pizza lunches. Unfortunately freshly baked individual pizza was not an option on the Star. I don't understand why some ships can use Sabatini's as an Alfredo's Pizzeria while other ships do not. I’ve too often been disappointed by the Prego pizza & wished they'd offer tasty freshly baked Alfredo's Pizzeria pizzas at Sabatini's without having to order pizza from their limited room service options.

 

Service & food at our early traditional dining in Amalfi was good & up to our previous Princess experiences. Each night they had a Curtis Stone entrée (seafood stew, leek & chicken pot pie or pork belly) and my wife enjoyed his seafood stew. There were very few beef entrées unless you wanted the always available burger. Instead I enjoyed many tasty fish & seafood options which we don't often prepare at home. Norman Love desserts were available less often than previously & our waiter said only about 3-4 times on our 15-day cruise but on other nights there's a Guittiard chocolate dessert.

 

Sabatini's & the Crown Grill had good service however the CG’s filet mignon continues to disappoint. It wasn't as tender & tasty as several years ago and having the filet at the MTP lunch I know they can still provide a quality steak.

 

Crab Shack was only offered twice during our 15-day cruise which is how often it was available on our 7-day cruise. That was before the price increased from $19 to $29 (same as CG & Sabatini’s) and having it less often on our cruise is an indication to me that fewer passengers are going to the Crab Shack since the 53% price increase.

 

Pub Lunch was only available on 2 of the 9 sea days and we’ve had it more often on other cruises with a similar number of sea days.

 

The Wine Packages were available from our dining room waitstaff but I didn't see any promotion of the packages. I’ve never understood why Princess doesn't promote wine packages anywhere on their website & very little to none onboard. One change from previous wine packages is that when paying extra for wine exceeding the limits they now add a 15% gratuity to that amount.

 

Cabin:

 

We had a portside Emerald deck obstructed oceanview mid-forward cabin without a lifeboat & only a couple of cables to block our view. There was no noise from the woman's lavatory below us located outside of the deck 7 entrance to the Princess Theater. Our cabin steward anticipated that we’d need a pillowtop pad for our mattress which are not scheduled to be replaced on the Star with their new Luxury Beds until 2018. Upon boarding we had the newer waffle robes which are much longer than the old over laundered “miniskirts” but are not much larger elsewhere.

 

Cruise Critic M&G:

 

Thanks to Putterdude, we had an enjoyable M&G with the newly promoted staff captain, entertainment director & the young CD who explained the recent entertainment staff changes. As I understand it, the entertainment director does most of the organization of events allowing the CD to be the more visible face of the entertainment staff. The CD also said the assistant CD position has been eliminated but I don't know the duties of other entertainment staff. I thought CD David Clark was an excellent & entertaining CD who seemed to very much enjoy interacting with passengers.

 

Miscellaneous information:

 

The question has been posted about the brand of water used for the 12-bottle half liter water package for $6.90 which must be pre-purchased. It was Niagara (Ontario, CA; reverse osmosis) water & not the Crystal Geyser spring water available elsewhere for purchase on the ship.

 

There wasn't a production show on one of the formal nights which isn't what I recall on other cruises. Early shows were nearly full by 15 minutes before performances & we’d arrive about 45 minutes early to relax & read. I overheard an upset passenger who said it was the third time they could not get seats for an early show & I had to wonder why they hadn't adjusted to arrive earlier.

 

• Formal nights: evening 3, 10 & 14

• Production shows: Stardust (3-formal); British Invasion (12-casual); Born to Dance (14-formal): 7:45 & 9:45. A couple of other shows were at 7:00 & 9:00 with that late show having plenty of available seats.

 

One day before arriving in Ensenada two USAF Blackhawk helicopters (and an aerial refueling C-130) arrived to medevac a passenger & hopefully he’s doing well

 

Sickness:

 

On the final night everyone received a Health Advisory informing us about an increased number of respiratory illness described as “cold & flu symptoms”. Unfortunately some inconsiderate passengers with hacking coughs went to the crowded Princess Theater to spread their sickness to other passengers...including some of the passengers seated around me. I thought I’d got lucky to avoid getting sick but shortly after returning home developed a cough & fever. Whether it’s a cold or the flu (we get yearly flu shots but realize that all strains are not included) that's irrelevant because sick passengers should avoid other passengers to not spread their illnesses to other passengers.

 

Post-cruise:

 

We disembarked as late as possible at 1000 which was 30 minutes earlier than scheduled. We did this to avoid shuttle crowds back to the CP however it didn't work well despite being the only cruise ship in port. The Doubletree had a sign with a sign up sheet but nothing for the CP. Several of us called & were told the shuttle would arrive within 15-20 minutes. After an hour of no CP shuttle I walked the 15 minutes to the CP with another passenger to get our cars to return to port to get our wives & luggage. I thought our previous Doubletree experience was disorganized but learned that the closer CP was even worse.

 

That's some of our experiences although I understand that other passengers on our cruise will have different experiences. I’ve attempted to make this as factual as possible while minimizing subjective opinions which can vary from passenger to passenger even on the same cruise. Overall it was another enjoyable cruise and our cabin & all of the public areas we visited were all in good shape except for a few broken Princess Theater seats. I kept the Patters so if anyone has any questions I may be able to provide some answers.

 

We try not to sweat the small stuff & as long as we're healthy & on a cruise, nearly anything else is just small stuff. :D

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts. I couldn't agree more with your final statement!

 

 

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[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Jasperdo]

Thank you for the excellent review. My wife and I have done that Hawaii run twice, and really enjoy them. Especially when Elua is aboard. I have a quick question about the new CD if you don't mind. Is he the same guy that's at the podium in the photo I'm including. If so, I'm glad he got promoted to CD. He was one of the Staff on our Ruby cruise last year, and thought he was outstanding. His music trivia's were hysterical. Very outgoing and friendly.

 

[Pam in CA]

Great review. Thanks. Enjoyed getting together with you and DW pre-cruise. :)

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review Frank. :)

[Astro Flyer]

Thank you for the excellent review. My wife and I have done that Hawaii run twice, and really enjoy them. Especially when Elua is aboard. I have a quick question about the new CD if you don't mind. Is he the same guy that's at the podium in the photo I'm including. If so, I'm glad he got promoted to CD. He was one of the Staff on our Ruby cruise last year, and thought he was outstanding. His music trivia's were hysterical. Very outgoing and friendly.

That's David Clark at the podium & according to his Patter biography he joined Princess in 2011 as a Junior Assistant CD. We enjoyed David very much & he is an enthusiastic addition to the Princess CD program having been promoted only a few months ago.

 

While our early traditional waitstaff was exceptional, unlike on our other cruises we never saw the maître d' at the Amalfi dining room & the headwaiter assigned to our table only made brief token appearances. Not a big deal, our great waiters are more important than a "hello & goodbye" from a HW or maître d' but neither were as good as on our previous cruises.

[Astro Flyer]

Great review. Thanks. Enjoyed getting together with you and DW pre-cruise. :)

Mahalo...it's always great to "talk story" with you! :D

 

Our friends were at their beautiful West Maui oceanfront condo we took you to visit during your Lahaina day in port so we enjoyed a relaxing day with a lifelong friend.

 

I kept telling passengers that Hawaii doesn't always look hazy like LA & that the tradewinds were replaced by light Kona winds that sent the volcanoes "vog" over the chain of islands during our visit. :( Although locals in Hilo said we got lucky to have a sunny day which hadn't happened often recently & there was no rain on the other islands either. :)

Edited January 24, 2017 by Astro Flyer

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks for the review Frank. :)

Nearly any day at sea is great...even those hooking up aircraft to a carrier's catapult. :p

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts. I couldn't agree more with your final statement!

 

Thanks for the review.

You're welcome.

[Star Travler]

That's David Clark at the podium & according to his Patter biography he joined Princess in 2011 as a Junior Assistant CD. We enjoyed David very much & he is an enthusiastic addition to the Princess CD program having been promoted only a few months ago.

 

 

 

While our early traditional waitstaff was exceptional, unlike on our other cruises we never saw the maître d' at the Amalfi dining room & the headwaiter assigned to our table only made brief token appearances. Not a big deal, our great waiters are more important than a "hello & goodbye" from a HW or maître d' but neither were as good as on our previous cruises.

 

 

He was on the Regal repositioning cruise over Halloween last year. He taught beginning dance lessons in the Piazza during sea days. An absolute joy...funny, cleaver, very entertaining wherever he was in charge. Good for him.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Woobstr112G]

Great review Frank. Thanks for taking the time to post it.....:):):)

 

Bob

[ar1950]

Thanks for the review. We did the Hawaii cruise from LA on the Star in the fall of 2013. Great memories reading your review, especially since Elua was on board then. We also did the same itinerary last January on the Ruby. The funny thing is the lady in the black and white spotted dress in the photo that Jasperdo posted was Angela the assistant CD on that cruise. Much too tightly wound to be a good assistant CD (or a full fledged CD) in our experience with her.

 

Good to know that the Star is holding up well and the Hawaii cruises on her still sound great. :)

[Astro Flyer]

Great review Frank. Thanks for taking the time to post it.....:):):)

 

Bob

Thanks Bob...if I recall correctly you can now say that your retiring next year? You've worked hard for a long, long time to qualify for your well deserved pension! :D

[Jasperdo]

That's David Clark at the podium & according to his Patter biography he joined Princess in 2011 as a Junior Assistant CD. We enjoyed David very much & he is an enthusiastic addition to the Princess CD program having been promoted only a few months ago.

Glad to here that. He was excellent on the Ruby last year. He deserved that promotion.

 

The funny thing is the lady in the black and white spotted dress in the photo that Jasperdo posted was Angela the assistant CD on that cruise. Much too tightly wound to be a good assistant CD (or a full fledged CD) in our experience with her.

Funny you should mention Angela. Last year on the Ruby, Angela and Dave were a real couple. I don't know if they're still together, but at the time David joked that he would never become a CD, because Angela would always be ahead of him.

[Astro Flyer]

Glad to here that. He was excellent on the Ruby last year. He deserved that promotion.

 

Funny you should mention Angela. Last year on the Ruby, Angela and Dave were a real couple. I don't know if they're still together, but at the time David joked that he would never become a CD, because Angela would always be ahead of him.

His Patter bio says he met his "long term partner Angela" in 2004 so apparently they're still together since he jumped ahead of her to become a CD.

Edited January 24, 2017 by Astro Flyer

[cruiser&flyer]

Thank you for the excellent review. My wife and I have done that Hawaii run twice, and really enjoy them. Especially when Elua is aboard. I have a quick question about the new CD if you don't mind. Is he the same guy that's at the podium in the photo I'm including. If so, I'm glad he got promoted to CD. He was one of the Staff on our Ruby cruise last year, and thought he was outstanding. His music trivia's were hysterical. Very outgoing and friendly.

 

 

All GREAT guys.....yes, Dave Clark (at the podium) as well as Angela Kristensen (first from left) are now BOTH cruise directors....Dave is on the Star and Angela is on the Ruby (as of Dec 2016).

Ana Dulce and Aaron Hawking (the other two in the pic) are both fantastic entertainment dept staff. Aaron definitely has potential to make it to cruise director, even though he is still very young.

Like I said, a fantastic group of people, I have cruised with all of them numerous times as recently as last month. Dave and Angela will be teaming up together again, I believe in March or April this year. Since they are both cruise directors, Dave will be playing second fiddle to Angela since she has seniority over him with Princess - per Dave himself.

Edited January 24, 2017 by cruiser&flyer

[FritzG]

Thanks for the great review. We're on the March 13th sailing, and while we're Elite the Star is new to us. This will be our third Hawaiian cruise.

 

The inaccurate dining times are a major pet peeve of mine. In the last 3 or 4 years the only time we had an actual 6pm first seating was on our Royal Baltic/TA. At first on the TA portion it was moved to 5:45, but it changed back to 6pm on the third night.

[Amtrack Springfield]

What tours or excursions did you do in Hawaii?

[kitegirl]

I too would like to know about excursions please...

I would like to do the Germaines luau but does not run on mondays which is the day we are in port... and the other 3 stops are not long enough to attend one....

Do you know any place we can attend with the short port times.

 

Thank you for your review... it will be our first long cruise ever....

[Jasperdo]

His Patter bio says he met his "long term partner Angela" in 2004 so apparently they're still together since he jumped ahead of her to become a CD.

Thanks for that additional info.

 

All GREAT guys.....yes, Dave Clark (at the podium) as well as Angela Kristensen (first from left) are now BOTH cruise directors....Dave is on the Star and Angela is on the Ruby (as of Dec 2016).

Ana Dulce and Aaron Hawking (the other two in the pic) are both fantastic entertainment dept staff. Aaron definitely has potential to make it to cruise director, even though he is still very young.

That's good news about Ana and Aaron. We thought they were both wonderful cruise staff. My wife went to Ana's Spanish lessons and we both enjoyed Aaron's bubbly personality.

[bartsmomme]

I am trying to figure outhow to use this site. I am going to Hawaii on the Star Feb. 7 and want to visit turtle bay without the snorkeling exursion we have reserved. I understand it is 30 minutes or perhaps 30 miles awau by the Disney Hotel Aulani. Any thoughts or suggestion would be appreciated. My email is bartsmomme@aol.com

[Astro Flyer]

Aloha,

Just to throw in my $0.02...Angela (and her partner David) are two rock stars as far as CDs go. Great onstage and off...and really great people. We have worked numerous times with both of them, and always love having them onboard with us.

 

Tiki Dave

(of Elua)

http://www.facebook.com/eluamusic

http://www.facebook.com/tikidavemusic

 

All GREAT guys.....yes, Dave Clark (at the podium) as well as Angela Kristensen (first from left) are now BOTH cruise directors....Dave is on the Star and Angela is on the Ruby (as of Dec 2016).

Ana Dulce and Aaron Hawking (the other two in the pic) are both fantastic entertainment dept staff. Aaron definitely has potential to make it to cruise director, even though he is still very young.

Like I said, a fantastic group of people, I have cruised with all of them numerous times as recently as last month. Dave and Angela will be teaming up together again, I believe in March or April this year. Since they are both cruise directors, Dave will be playing second fiddle to Angela since she has seniority over him with Princess - per Dave himself.

I respect Tiki Dave's (Elua) opinions as a performer & crewmember and he's a big fan of Angela & David. I've only sailed with David but based on Dave's insights would also enjoy sailing with Angela.

 

Some passengers probably don't like the demeanor of Dan Appleby but his dry quick British humor was great. It was the only time we attended all of his packed game shows because of Dan. For those who remember Laugh In, he was a straight man Dan Rowan zinging his silly assistant Kimmie who was like Goldie Hawn.

Edited January 24, 2017 by Astro Flyer

[Astro Flyer]

I am trying to figure outhow to use this site. I am going to Hawaii on the Star Feb. 7 and want to visit turtle bay without the snorkeling exursion we have reserved. I understand it is 30 minutes or perhaps 30 miles awau by the Disney Hotel Aulani. Any thoughts or suggestion would be appreciated. My email is bartsmomme@aol.com

Welcome to Cruise Critic! :)

 

I don't have any answers to provide & your best source of information would be on the Hawaii forum.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=62

 

Another good resource would be to go to the roll call for your cruise to seek information.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2373251

Edited January 24, 2017 by Astro Flyer

[MJSailors]

I am trying to figure outhow to use this site. I am going to Hawaii on the Star Feb. 7 and want to visit turtle bay without the snorkeling exursion we have reserved. I understand it is 30 minutes or perhaps 30 miles awau by the Disney Hotel Aulani. Any thoughts or suggestion would be appreciated. My email is bartsmomme@aol.com

 

How about taking a cab to Turtle Bay ?

If you are concerned about getting a cab back from the beach to the ship,could you make your way to the Disney Hotel and ask the valet or doorman to get a cab for

you ?