Star trip July 9-16

[seamac29]

:D There have been many reviews and therefore I will attempt to be concise( which according to my wife is impossible ) and mention certain things that as a first time cruiser I wasn't aware of or had not read about in other reviews. I must also state that my wife and I are not really the typical ( is there such a person ) cruiser as we tend to keep to ourselves when we vacation. I will not go day by day and I may jump around as memory serves.

We stayed in one of the four forward penthouses on deck 9. We were in a inner one and therefore by standing toward the front middle of the balcony I could do my best Lenardo impersonation as no one could have been or was closer to the front of the ship. The web cam view was ours only on the other side. The weather was terrific, we only had rainy weather leaving Glacier Bay and by that night it had cleared. The fact that we were considered VIP's on the cruise was terrific in every way. We were able to board the boat at 11AM and were on the boat and in our room easily by twelve. Our luggage arrived around 1PM. The room is very comfortable and our neighbors on both sides terrific. I found the steel bulk head door very easy to open and close, at night we always closed and 'spun the wheel' shut. This eliminates all noise from outside. The whole week was very quiet , once in a while late afternnon you might hear a little music but we wre quite amazed at the tranquiity . I did bring a extension cord and duct tape which came in quite handy...which brings me to something i never read about anywhere in that all outlets except one near the bathroom are European or 220 current. This should be pointed out ahead of time as I have conversion kits but assumed since this is primarily a American clientelle never thought it would be needed. :confused: :mad: It looking thru the bureau under the cabinet in the living room area I came upon a foot long cord that had one end a Euro connector and the other a American connector. I gleefully plugged in my prtable speaker system with my I Pod in it's place and after the power pack burnt out realized that both the speakers and I pod were disabled. We were waiting for the repair persons for our TV to be fixed and when he arrived he was amazed vthat someone had left this adapter behind. He apologized and stated that it does look like a converter but it is not and we had burnt out our electronics. Word to the wise ask before you use anything you are not certain of. The concierge service by Carlos was beyond good, we always had reservations at the speciality restaurants which we enjoyed immensely. Our butler Roy who we really only bothered for breakfast in room( with our stunning view why not!)was always willing to help out. Carlos got us literally off the boat first in Juneau .He was always checking on us and we were able to attend the choclate buffet a half hour earlier than announced. We were invited to a small party where we met many of the officers in a for real receiving line. We truly were spoiled without asking and if at all possible would highly recommend this once in a lifetime star treatment. Some of the things that I could do without are the constant reminders that you are having a great time. We were quite aware of this and as such the rah rah attitude sometimes rang false. Also the pictures, jewelry sales etc. seem constant and hard to avoid. The soda situation needs to be worked on. My W bought the card for around $40.00 which works out to around $6 per day. But you have to access the women at their carts who will pour your choice ( only coke or diet coke and sprite ) into a heavily iced small glass. It is a hassle to sat the least. I do not know how else to do this , maybe your card can be encoded to "buy' X number of cans for the week but it was not worth it. The buffet foods were fine, plenty of food and for instance at lunch a different prepared fish daily. The speciality restaurants were excellent, we loved the Ginza where we ordered all four main dishes , two for apps and all unusual and delicious. We loved the fact that if you do not finish your bottle of wine it will be stored and retreived for you at your next restaurant or sent to your room. I had brought on a bottle of champagne which was clearly in our bag not hidden. It was not confiscated, charged a $15.00 fee or anything. Also each day we found a special plate of food etc in our room. This is especially helpful if one likes red and the other white. We stumbled into Bingo one day and my wife won $260.00 . She gave it back at the Spa as they heavily push their products and my wife is not easily swayed. There are many other things but last but not least despite all the dire predictions to my will we make it off the Star. Carlsos had a group of us meet at 7:15 at the exit level, we were off the boat at 7:30 and onto a bus right there ($10 a head) , at the airport by 8:10 where buses only are allowed. We easily checked in ( no line at all ) :) and were thru security by 8:35 for our 10:40 flight. The VIP traetment cannot be beat. Our favorite excursion without a doubt, though expensive, was the dog sled on the glacier in Skagway. Remember Alaska is not a zoo, if you are lucky to see wildlife savour and remember for the unique experience it is. Thanks for everyones help .