Star Princess- Feb.24th--March 3rd...Long Review

[RIGirl]

We were on this ship jan 6-13th of 2007, there were six of us on the baja deck and all had balcony rooms we could smell it in the hall, in our rooms and on our balconies almost constantly. We were in 323 they (the other 2 couples) were in 609 and 623 they said it was much worse at our end. We all could also smell it on the outside decks occasionally. I realize you have a VERY sensitvie nose however the people in our group all have just a normal sense of smell and it WAS THERE. A cruise staff member did admit to me in our hallway right that the smell was from black water emissions. Gray water emissions is shower, sinks and baths. Black water emissions is from TOILETS! I have said also it was an ok ship food wise, entertainment etc, except for the smell. We all said that we would most likely never cruise on that ship again. We did write Princess and have heard NOTHING from them, and judging by the level of service from the pursers desk I dont expect we will hear anything back from them and if they do not respond we most certainly will never cruise princess again(like they care). Perhaps the smell is not so evident after they dry-dock (if that means they dump the stuff), but others most certainly cannot tell those of us who paid good money and did smell it that we did not. I am happy that a lot of people enjoy this ship and did not experience it. Just maybe because some of us are complaining about it they are fixing it.

 

Good grief! No need to jump down my throat! :eek: I was just stating that I hadn't heard of anyone complaining of the smell for those two months so maybe that had done something to "bandaid" the situation only to have it come back. I was in NO WAY telling anyone they didn't smell it. That would be ridiculous. I'm sure you smelled the dreaded smell - my only questions came from the Burlington poster when she misquoted the dates to make it seem like they were on a year ago. That didn't sem fair to those headed out on the Star on upcoming cruises. Since then it has been clarified that she was indeed on a recent cruise. I wrote to Princess regarding the smell back in November but never heard anything back from them. In fairness though, I was a future cruiser going on hearsay which doesn't hold as much wieght as someone who has experienced the smell firsthand. Again, sorry you both had bad experiences with the smell issue.

[Steelersngators]

I was on the Star Dec. 9th - 16th. We had a balcony, B744, and the smell was awful every night. Had a great cruise and didn't let the smell bother us. Used the balcony when we wanted. just ignored the smell. It was there however.

your above quote was what I was referring to. Again, sorry you had a bad experience. It seems odd that the smell "disappeared" for 2 months (Dec/Jan) then reappeared again. There were numerous posta regarding the smell back in November (right after I made my final payment, of course ;) ) but then all reports were good (that I read anyway) through Decand then my cruise the last week of Jan-first week of Feb was fine. Wonder what is causing it. Hopefully they'll get it fixed for good the next time it dry-docks.

[rianvi]

Please... I don't mean to be disrepsectful but my purpose for this thread was to inform those who are interested about the cruise that we took Feb. 24th to March 3rd. A couple of my cruisemates have shared their experience as well...which I appreciate. During this cruise we didn't experience any sewage smell. I know there was a smell on other cruises but luckily for us not on this cruise. Perhaps those of you who did, may like to write your own review. I would like this thread to allow those who would like to, to ask questions about the cruise etc.

Take care.

Peace, Anna:)

[crusdiva]

I've been following threads about the dreaded sewerage smell on the Star for many months now and I just want to add my two cents worth.

 

DH and I sailed the Star in the 10 day Baltic on 9/12-9/22/06 in D228 and again on 2/10-2/17/07 to the Western Caribbean in cabin A239 and never at anytime on either cruise did we experience the reported sewerage smell. As a matter of fact we had Cruise Critic meetings on both cruises and not one person reported that they had experienced it.

When we with met up people during the course of each cruise - in all cases the running joke was that there was no smell and that we would have to find something else to complain about - we never did.

 

Just my two cents worth and we have booked the Star again for November.

 

rianvi,

Thanks for your review - I enjoyed it very much.

[cruzinchris]

I've been following threads about the dreaded sewerage smell on the Star for many months now and I just want to add my two cents worth.

 

DH and I sailed the Star in the 10 day Baltic on 9/12-9/22/06 in D228 and again on 2/10-2/17/07 to the Western Caribbean in cabin A239 and never at anytime on either cruise did we experience the reported sewerage smell. As a matter of fact we had Cruise Critic meetings on both cruises and not one person reported that they had experienced it.

 

Sharon,

I would like to add that, in between your cruises in September and February, DH and I were on the Star in early November (6-10) never detected the odor, either.

Chris

[Rossland]

Myself, wife and daughter will be on the Star on Sat(10th) If there is a smell to be smelled, my DW will find it. I would hope that either they have the problem solved or at least come straight and admit that they do have a problem and offer some kind of discount. If this is a common problem with most ships but only the Star has been PICKED out, then I would hope that other people would write in and take some of the pressure off of the Star. I find it hard to believe that Princess would be willing to turn a blind eye in a situation like this.

I will let everyone know about our cruise when we return on the 17th.:)

[rianvi]

Sharon...thankyou...I tried to post a honest review. Thankyou for joining in. And I am also glad my cruisemates joined in.

 

I don't want this thread to be about the SMELL.

We addressed it by simply stating what we experienced..which was no smell during our cruise. Now I hope we can all move all. If there is a need to discuss the"smell" further perhaps it can be on another thread.

 

Rossland...have a great cruise.

 

Cruzinchris...I remember your posts on your cruise and really enjoyed them.

 

The Star is a beautiful ship and we plan on sailing with Princess again. Our other cruises have been with Celebrity and one earlier one on Carnival.

Our inside cabin was larger than we had expected. One other thing they did our our sea passes as we left. This was the first time we had ever had that happen.

Peace, Anna:)

[rianvi]

I meant to say that they took our sea passes as we left. We were told this is now their standard protocol. I like to keep them for our scrapbooks.

 

Anna:)

[crusdiva]

I meant to say that they took our sea passes as we left. We were told this is now their standard protocol. I like to keep them for our scrapbooks. Anna:)

Anna,

Same thing here - it was a surprise and a first after 17 Princess cruises. :(

[Rossland]

Rianvi:

Thanks! I'm sure that we will enjoy our cruise. People sometimes forget that others spend most of their years income on a special holiday! When you start hearing about problems with the ship, you start second guessing your choise of a holiday and start to regret your holiday choise before it has even sailed. I try to be positive and hope for the best!!(there is no use watching the weather cause you are not going to change mother nature) Just enjoy the $5000.00 that you spent for a weeks holiday and go with the flow.

See Ya

[Swabbie]

We traveled on the Match 24th, 2007 Star Princess Voyage. I have tried to group my review into sections so that you can pick out what you want.

Pre-Cruise

This was our first Princess Cruise after trying for the Star last Year. The fire hit just before we were supposed to go. We booked this cruise towards the end of August/ Early December last year. We were able to book a Mini with no difficulty. After booking the prices dropped and we were able to apply the reduction as we had not made final payment yet. All the Internet booking functionality worked well and was available ahead of time, and all excursions tickets delivered as required. Just before cruise time we were bumped from the Mini to a Penthouse Suite (C424). We were notified by our TA.

We booked Princess Air and they found a direct flight down on Air Canada Calgary to Fort Lauderdale the day before the cruise. That was a big plus. The trip down was great. Princess arranged the Renaissance Plantation as our overnight hotel. It is a very nice hotel, but like the Marriot North or the Weston it is fairly isolated from stores and the “Happening” section of Ft. Lauderdale.

The Princess transfer from the Hotel to the port (Greyhound) departed the Hotel on schedule at 1:30 PM. This is a little later than I would have liked but it did get us to the terminal when the crowds were quiet. The other plus about the transfer is that Princess handles the baggage so you don’t have to normal rush of dock baggage handlers to “offer to assist” you. (We did tip the driver)

Embarkation

This was easy. As we got there after 2, there was very little line-up. As we had a suite we went to the preferred desk anyway. This process was 5 minutes tops. The room was all ready when we got there and our Room Steward introduced himself shortly after that. Luggage was delivered approximately 2 hours after that. As we were touring the deck I had two of our roll call members stop me to see if I was Swabbie. I had posted my picture the previous week and It made meeting our new friends pretty easy.

The Ship

This is a very impressive ship and was in great condition. When we traveled in the Carnival Imagination, it was obvious that it was in need of some repair. The Star was in much better shape. I liked the pools although I can see where the depth could be an issue. I had the opposite view on the Imagination where they seemed too shallow. The sports areas were good although mini putt is useless when you are underway. There is a wind pocket that will not allow you or you ball to stay still.

I liked the facilities in the Spa and loved the thermal suite. Lots of different stations meant you could usually find a spot. I also like the swim against the current pool. The pool itself was usually quiet although the Hot Tubs were usually full. There generally seemed to be treadmills and machines available in the workout area. And this was well positioned up high at the front of the ship for viewing.

The Theaters and Lounges were in good condition and were laid out fairly well. We had fun watching some of the shows, and the karaoke nights. We participated in some of the festivities and my wife won a bottle of Champagne in a crazy game on western night. We ended. With all our activities we ended up on the video in a number of places. (so we had to buy it.)

The ship handled the waves really well. And although the TV said the seas were rough it was not that bad. We rocked a whole lot more on the Imagination.

I did travel throughout the ship and was unable to detect “the smell”. We never got it on the balcony either, but we were located Port side.

The Cabin (C424)

Fantastic. Boy did we luck out on this one. This was our upgrade cabin. This basically was a 2 room suite. There is a curtain separating the 2. While it does not muffle noise, it did muffle light, so my daughter could read till 3 in the morning without bugging us. There is a “2 room” bathroom with 1 room being the John and sink and the other being the Jacuzzi and shower. My wife’s only comment about the bathroom was that it must have been designed by a man. Not enough towel racks. The mattresses were excellent and my daughter even liked sleeping on the pull out sofa. I know some others on the ship did not like their mattresses at all.

The balcony was huge. 2 Deck Loungers. 1 Table and 4 regular chairs. All in Teak wood finish. The floor surface was a little rough on the feet, but we were able to manage. This balcony is half covered. It is a little funny looking down onto the Dolphin deck. But all the folks in my area just said hi to each other and continued what we were doing. I had a cocktail gathering for my cruise critic buddies and we has about 16 of us running around at one point with no difficulty. The initial sock of the mini bar actually lasted the trip because I still went up on deck most times I felt like socializing. Where the in-cabin drink was great was getting ready for dinner, or in the late evening, watching stars.

The Activities

There we more activities to do than we could fit in. Missed lots I wanted to do but I was doing something else at the time. I did not regret anything we took part in, so I guess it all worked out. We went to the Western Night, one of the Karaoke Nights, The Motown stage show, the Cooking Show and Kitchen Tour (I was the guest chief and my wife picked the other cook’s food. Go figure.). I had a great time at the island deck party although the rest of the bunch was too tired to attend. We spent a bit of time in the Casino, played the nickel and penny slots. I was down about $10 for the week. My wife probably was down $50. We did the snorkel lesson which was helpful as the instructor made a key adjustment to my mask. (We took our own equipment.). I would like to thank Princess for sending the Asst Cruise Director (Leah) to meet with us during our Breakfast get together. I also suspect that they had a hand in paring some of together for dining. We had contacted the ship on very late notice to say we were having a group meeting, but they managed to make time to come see us. It was a very nice touch.

End of Part 1

[sanjosebarbie]

...with Ronnie S. especially about the pools. They have adult only pools, but decided to host an adult golfing game in one of the pools that children can go in. They should have a pool specifically for children...where they can splash, play, safely jump in without upsetting anyone. We sometimes forget we were all children at one time.

 

Peace. Anna

 

What a great idea, Anna. I don't have any children of my own, but I'm a teacher, and so I spend most of my time with kids. I love and adore them, but I don't want to spend tons of time around them on vacation (well, I don't mind ones who are well-behaved, but that is only about 30% of them). I agree that they should have a place where they can get wild and just be kids!!! I wonder why none of the cruiselines do this. It seems like such a simple idea.

 

Thanks for the review, rianvi. I'm curious as to what this smell is. I heard tons of complaints about it on the Grand for awhile, too, but haven't heard anything recently. I wonder what that is! I'm glad you didn't experience it. I'm hoping my cruise on the Grand is during a smell-free period!

[Swabbie]

Start of Part 2

Dining

We had traditional dining at the late seating. Our wait staff were excellent, with many helpful suggest regarding the menu. Each evening we had 8 or 9 entrees to choose from, where on our Carnival one we had only 3 to pick from. In any case we enjoyed the food greatly on both. We were able to find something we liked every night, and if we could not decide between 2 selections they brought both. (This quickly led to a basic breakdown in the decision making process.) We had great table mates who turned out to be Roll Call companions and we had a great time the whole week. We did take one night out to have dinner at Sterling’s. Everybody got the steak they wanted and we had a lovely dinner. I had no complaints with paying the service change for that meal.

We ate most breakfasts at the Horizon court most mornings. They had enough selection for us for this trip. (We were usually rushing to go somewhere.). The lines moved well and we never ended queued up for long. I did notice that sometimes trays were allowed to empty and were not quickly replaced. They could be watching that a little more closely. The other issue was the water dispensers frequently did not have the ice component working, so we had to use ice from a big ice holding tray. The seating area in the main court was usually pretty full, but the two sections to the aft usually had some choice tables available.

We loved the Pizza and the Burgers (At the Grill) were OK. (The tip for the burgers is get 2 paddies.) Never had too long a line up at either, although, you had to wait for the Pepperoni pizza at times.

Staff

We were impressed with the majority of the staff on the Star. Special mention goes to our Room Steward Joselitto, Asst Cruise Director Leah, Dining Staff, Michael and Slawomir. Jen votes for Troy at the Lounge. He was very entertaining. I would also like to recognize the gentleman at the Excursion desk. We had a problem with a lost ticket for our banana boat trip at Princess Cay. He got it all straightened out with no trouble. Also a point in favor of the pursers desk. We checked of to charge in US funds and they did it properly. I know that had been an issue in past cruises.

Ports

Ocho Rios

We docked at the “James Bond” pier so no tender issues. We had a great excursion doing the Canopy Zip Line tour. Was not sure how I would respond to that choice, but it was great. It is conducted in the hills just north of Chukka Cove where we went horseback riding last year. It was well run and we felt totally safe throughout. The drive up to the top of the hill was the most perilous portion of the trip. At the end we came back into town and did a little shopping at the Taj. Still too much pressure tactics in play there for me, but it was better than last time. We did find a 1.75 L of Appleton Rum in a plastic bottle. We got that for the trip home, as I felt that might survive better than a glass bottle. I am happy to say it made it home safely.

Grand Cayman

Tendering port with no issues on waiting for tenders. They used one large local tender plus several of the Star’s own tenders. We did the Semi Sub and snorkel tour. It was well worth it. We saw lots of fish, and the water was really clear. The semi sub was well ventilated. I thought I should mention that as I know there was some complaints about the Semi Sub at Ocho Rios and how some folks could not stay below. After the excursion we went and snorkeled at Eden Rock. We had a great time there swimming with the Tarpon. (Boy are they big).

Cozumel

Tendering port with no issues on waiting for tenders. They used one large local tender plus several of the Star’s own tenders. We did the swim and snorkel adventure. We had a good time, although the duration of this one seemed a little short for the money. My daughter had a great time which was they key aspect of this one. They also had a nice snorkel area, with fairly clear water at Chakkanab. We did some shopping in town before returning to the ship. Prices here were the best of the 3 locations.

Princess Cay

Tender Port. Many Star tenders used. Minor lineups to and from shore. Not a huge issue. As the waves were a little higher here, the tenders were bouncing a whole lot especially when doing the mid day trips. I suspect we were close to not making this port as Holland also had problems with some waves on their side of the island and a smaller ship could not tender. My wife and Daughter did the Banana Boat ride and had a great time. My wife figure the driver got paid based on the number of times they dumped the passengers. We did not get a cabana but found 3 lovely chairs directly under a little thatched roof cover about 8 by 8 feet square. It and the breeze were free and we were very comfortable. The snorkeling here was not as clear as in Grand Cayman or Cozumel, but we did see some fish. Also saw a small stingray near the reef to the south. If you do get a cabana, make sure you tip it up at the back to let air flow through. Those who did not were sweltering in the heat.

Lotus Spa

All of us did something in the Spa while on board. I had one of the Hot Rocks massage and it was very enjoyable. Grace did a fantastic job and I felt great for days. This was right after zip lining so the timing was good. This was a good value, and she was not overly pushy with products. In fact her top recommendation was to drink more water. (I have complied with that since although it left less room for Rum.).

My wife had the combination facial upper body massage. While she enjoyed the treatment, she was a little disappointed that the person performing the session was pretty quiet during the process except when selling things. She would have liked a little for details on the steps of the treatment rather than selling things.

My daughter had the seaweed massage. She also enjoyed the treatment and the person who delivered it. There was a whole list of products that she was advised to get on an urgent basis. (My daughter rides horses and works in a barn for her college schooling, so I am not surprised that she has tight muscles.). It’s a good thing she had to filter things through us first.

We did identify one area for improvement in the Spa. My daughter has signed up for 3 yoga classes near the start of the cruise. Due to a sore foot she had to cancel out of the last 2. She had prepaid $30 for the 3 classes. This was no discount as she could have paid $10 for each of the classes. When she phoned up to cancel she was told she would need a note from the ships doctor. I went up and was told that the 2nd class could not be refunded as it was less than 24 hours notice. They finally broke down and said they would credit me back for the third session. When we received our final statement, no credit was there. I went to the purser’s desk, explained my situation, and got the $10 dollars in short order. This was the only problem we had with our account during the trip.

Disembarkation

The Princess portion went smooth enough. But after that it was a disaster. We were flying Air Canada to Toronto and then to Calgary. The Fort Lauderdale Airport is really not big enough to handle the cruise traffic that it does. There are not enough seats prior to check in or inside. (You are not allowed to check-in through security until 2 hours before flight time because of lack of room.).

Air Canada topped the airport situation by making a bonehead call on bringing planes to the gate. They had a flight to Ottawa needlessly occupying a gate spot while out inbound plane sat out on the tarmac with it’s inbound passengers. (You guessed it. Most of them were going on a cruise.). Air Canada kept changing its mind on what to do with the Ottawa flight for 2 Hours plus until a man passed out on the plane on the tarmac and they had to bring it to a gate. They then told us we missed our connection and would not make it to Calgary that night. Fortunately we got someone reasonable in Toronto and they got us on a later flight, but we spent the whole flight wondering if we would get home that day.

Summary

All in all, it was a great trip and we did put deposits on two future cruises with Princess. I may try and do something else with the Air hotel portion next time. We love all our Cruise Critic buddies that we met and wish that all of you traveling on Sthe Star in the future have as good a time as we did.

[kath816]

Thanks for the great reviews. Our group is leaving in 30 days and they're so helpful. Do you know how your group went about setting up a c.c. meet? Our roll call was talking about it, but none of us have actually done the organizing.

 

TIA

Kathy

[Swabbie]

The contacts vary by ship. The person handling the Star currentlyis Berda Davis. Normally they reguire 45-60 days notice for anything formal. It was great for us anyway. I would also recommend you post photos for each other. Two fellow critics recoganized me from my photo prior to our meeting.

 

Berda Davis Onboard Coordinator,

Star & Tahitian Princess

Phone: (661) 284-4451

Email: bdavis@princesscruises.com

[Andiamo!]

Rianvi, thank you so much for posting your review. I found it by searching for cabin P249 which we have booked for a future cruise. You said it was roomier than you expected. Was it roomier than most inside cabins? Was there any particular noise that bothered you? What is the quickest way to get to the outside to check out the weather from that location?

 

Like you, we are traveling with our 18-year-old daughter (actually 17 years, 10 months). Did your daughter enjoy herself? Any advice on her behalf?

 

Thank you so much!

[Bilyeu5]

Thank you so very much for the review. Star reviews are few and far between compared to the number of people on the board. We will be on her 4/14 and also will post a review.

 

I was happy to find an elusive Star review, also...particularly a positive one! Our sailing isn't until May. We are Dolphin deck, starboard, in the 500's; same location previous cruiser complained of odor. Since we'll be in Alaska, maybe it will be so cold that anything "smelly" will be frozen???

[jacketwatch]

Thanks for the review. I am glad all went well and that you enjoyed the ship. We sailed her last June in the Baltic and had a fab time. My review is here on CC too BTW. I have heard about the dreaded "smell" but noticed nothing of the sort.

[rdsqrl]

Rianvi, thank you so much for posting your review. I found it by searching for cabin P249 which we have booked for a future cruise. You said it was roomier than you expected. Was it roomier than most inside cabins? Was there any particular noise that bothered you? What is the quickest way to get to the outside to check out the weather from that location?

 

Like you, we are traveling with our 18-year-old daughter (actually 17 years, 10 months). Did your daughter enjoy herself? Any advice on her behalf?

 

Thank you so much!

 

The best trick for checking weather from an inside is to tune the television to the station that shows the bridge cam: at least you can tell if it's sunny or raining. Also, there's a channel that's updated from the bridge with sea conditions, etc., that I believe also has the air temperature -- if I recall correctly, these two channels are next to or right near one another (they were 41 and 42 or something like that on the Crown). To actually stick your head outside and sample the weather, you'd have to go up two decks to the Promenade Deck, so I think the television option is easier! Hope this helps.

[Andiamo!]

Thanks!