Star Princess December 16-23, 2006

[Rick-n-MeMe]

Just returned from our Western Caribbean cruise on the Star Princess. Will post a review when I find some time, but have some photos of the trip to share.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/556631624umjsgG?start=0

[flvol77]

Just returned from our Western Caribbean cruise on the Star Princess. Will post a review when I find some time, but have some photos of the trip to share.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/556631624umjsgG?start=0

 

did you enjoy the cruise? Awesome room - 20 something days and we will be on the Star.

[Rick-n-MeMe]

We did enjoy the cruise. It had its up points and some down points.

 

We really liked our balcony room. It was very private. We only had someone on one side of our room and they were very quiet...didn't use the balcony too much and they were not smokers. That was a plus.

 

The staff didn't seem as happy as some cruises we've been on. Perhaps being close to Christmas was part of the problem. We saw the Captain several times and we never saw him smile at anyone. He never engaged anyone nor even acknowledged that he was passing by anyone. We felt he appeared unfriendly. This may carry over to his staff.

 

We enjoyed the shows, especially the comedian called Sarge. He is an incredible talent.

 

We thought the food was okay, not great.

 

We liked that there were virtually no lines at the Horizon Court buffet and we usually had no wait for elevators and often were riding alone.

 

The coffee was only good a couple of times in the evenings and the ship staff struggled with making decent cappuccinos and lattes.

 

Really liked the ship's decor.

 

The Western Caribbean itinerary is not our favorite. We didn't get off the ship at Grand Cayman nor at Princess Cays.

 

We smelled the dreaded sewer smell quite often and one day it was quite noticeable in the Neptune Pool area. Yuck.

 

I will report more later, but will attempt to answer questions.

[flvol77]

What did you think of Ocho Rios?

 

Do you remember what night was italian night in the main dining room? We want to try sabatini's that night instead of the main dining room.

 

where did you notice the smell most? Starboard or Port side?

 

Thanx

[frorilori]

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise. The pictures of your room look great. We will be on the Star in Feb., cabin C752 (Port side stern) which I believe was opposite yours.

I'm really getting excited now that I have seen your pictures.

 

Semper Gumby,

Lori

[Oryx]

We were on that same cruise (our first) and had a good experience.

 

Aloha deck, starboard side (the 500s)-- we never smelled anything except strong oil/gas fumes when we were in port. Sounds like we were lucky?

 

We found that most staff that we interacted with on more than a 2-second basis were charming and nice. The steward was exceptional (Joe) and Ana Maria (table 183) in the Portofino dining room is the definition of exceptional service. After others discovered how amazing she was, we were lucky to get seated at her table again. :-) Marcello (head of f&b) in Portofino was also excellent at making sure my dad got special attention for his medical-needs diet.

 

Strong negatives:

- could never get anyone on the phone, especially the Purser's desk.

 

Overall impressions:

- food was anywhere from perfectly fine to really, really delicious. pastry chef is not good (dining room), though. quite a disappointment

- beds were quite hard. make sure to ask for the feather/down pillows. they help. if you hate hard, bring a mattress topper. seriously.

- having a balcony was lovely, but i wouldn't have liked being below Aloha -- who wants people looking down at them all the time? not the smartest layout, if you ask me

- cabin was VERY roomy -- surprised us. head especially, and closet was huge

 

This being our first cruise, we have nothing to compare it with. But it was very enjoyable, a positive experience with Princess (especially considering the price of the cruise) and we'd definitely travel with them again.

 

(Regarding Ocho Rios, we did the kayak to Dunn's River Falls, and it was quite fun. Don't buy the DVD, though. :-) Then walked around Soni's market and the nearby craft market. If you dig, you can find unique items, but most of it is the same in every stall.

[iflingher2006]

My husband and I were also on this cruise, his first ever, my 3rd, but second on Princess. I would like to add my opinion to this review.

 

The ship was lovely, and our mini-suite (D121) was excellent. The larger bathroom, sitting area, deck and closet really made a difference in the enjoyment of our time spent in the room. Our beds were saggy, though, and we smelled that sewage smell frequently--it woke us up on the second night and we didn't use our balcony nearly as much as I had on past cruises because of it. On Dolphin deck, our balcony was uncovered, but that is what we wanted and that really wasn't an issue for us. We didn't smell it on the port side, though. And after the 3rd day, we only smelled it a few more times and only briefly. I don't remember smelling this smell during my other cruises, however.

 

I agree about the service--our steward was excellent, and two bartenders and one waiter were very charming, competent, and informative, but there was really no other staff person who seemed to really care about customer service. There was even a boutique staff person who was rude to my husband who had the nerve to ask if his watch had been resized as they had promised when he bought it. He went back two more times after they said they would do it "right now" and it still wasn't done and she wanted to argue with him about it. He just gave up and asked for a refund. Wal Mart gives better service than that.

 

I bought a coffee card, but the only wait staff that didn't act like it was a huge pain to make an espresso were in the lobby bar. I thought the regular coffee tasted fine, though also. They also seemed irritated everywhere when my husband (who purchased a soda sticker) asked for a Diet Coke! And it's not like he was asking constantly either. There were a lot of kids on this cruise and I'm sure pop sales were high and drink sales were maybe slower--but eye-rolling, sighing, and general unfriendliness is not good customer service.

 

This cruise was full and I have to say imho it felt like it--no, there weren't lines at the Horizon court, but all of the common areas felt really crowded to me, particularly compared to other cruises, and Princess Cays was just jammed with people. It's interesting to see how different cultures manage their children--Americans can certainly take a few lessons from Asian parents. :) The other ports were fine--I highly recommend the Allura Stingray Swim excursion on Cayman Island, and we had a great time on a catamaran/snorkel/beach excursion in Cozumel.

 

The food was good--not excellent, but good. Room service at any time other than breakfast was very slow and food was cold by the time it got to the room. And Princess' room service menu in general is very limited.

 

Overall, this cruise was a disappointment for me--it was only my third, but I would rank it last of the three. The itinerary was not a problem, in fact the ports were great, embarkation was ok, disembarkation was a breeze--I guess I just expect better customer service from cruise ship staff, and during this cruise we sort of felt like we were one of a large herd, and that no one really liked their job very much, and it irritated most of them to have anything to do with passengers. I hope this isn't a consequence of adding the $10 per person per day discretionary charge to the per diem; and having been in the service field myself as a younger person, I would never ask them to take it off the bill although they say you can.

 

Anyway, my last cruise before this was about four years ago--maybe all of the cruise lines have less-than-stellar service now. I would not advise anyone NOT to go on a Princess cruise by any means, this might have been just a fluke--I myself will most likely try another line for my next cruise. Because there will definitely be more cruises for my husband and me.

 

Thanks for letting me air my view!

 

LM

[Colo Cruiser]

Great photos, and reviews thanks. :)

[Rick-n-MeMe]

I too feel a decline in the overall service on ships. I feel the food quality has fallen too.

 

The staff on this ship may be responding to their leadership. We just were on the Mariner of the Seas in October and the staff was extraordinary. They were so happy and seemed willing to please. I just frankly didn't feel this from the staff on the Star Princess.

 

I cannot agree more about the Coke sticker issue. I didn't have one but witnessed numerous people asking for Cokes or refills and I saw the sighs, the looks, the mumbles. I feel sorry for the people who enjoy drinking soda pop because the staff was making them feel bad. I believe this is uncalled for.

 

We did buy a coffee card and I don't recommend them. We wasted our money. Between the two of us we didn't use the 15 drinks that we had paid for. The quality was subpar and you could not get an iced drink with the card. I tried to ask their logic but wasn't clear on the reasoning behind it.

 

We did enjoy being on the cruise...being away from work...being in the warmth of the Caribbean, etc. There are many things to be happy and thankful for.

We just believe too that it could have been so much more!

[flvol77]

sorry to ask again - but do any of you guys that just got off the star remember when italian night was? Thanx