Just off the Star

[jeanscruise]

Just off the Star 7 day Alaska RT from Seattle cruise. It was a wonderful cruise. Before I go into likes and dislikes about the ship itself, I'll just say we actually had good weather for all ports of call except Juneau, where we had rain and wind all day. Ketchikan, Skagway, and Victoria were cloudy/sunny, and Victoria was actually beautiful no-coat weather. Oh, and about Victoria, on the one hand, I loved this port and wished we could have stayed longer, but on the other hand, this particular Saturday evening (in port 6:30-11:30) in Victoria was fantastic with gorgeous walking weather, lots of bands playing out on the streets, and even an "old-timey" car show!

 

Ok, on to likes and dislikes about the ship:

 

Things I liked a lot:

1. Embarkation was good. We got there at 11 AM and were on the ship by 12:30. And it didn't seem that long because we were always moving somewhere. :D

2. They had a naturalist on board, and you could listen to him on the tv when interesting things were happening, like going through Tracy Arm.

3. Food was generally very good in the dining rooms and at the buffet. Service in the dining room was excellent, better than any ship we've been on. I also like the Anytime Dining option they had, and every night but one, we got a table for two. But even on the night we were at a table with three other couples, service was great.

4. Our room steward was wonderful. Attentive but not intrusive.

5. They had lots of room for storage, a bigger area than any other ship we've been on.

Not so good things:

1. I hate the way balcony rooms are set up on Star, not the room itself which was fine, but we could see all the balconies below us and they could look up at us. Did not like that at all.

2. There was no access to account information or menus from the TV.

3. There was no free ice cream! But you will all be relieved to know we did get our ice cream fix by simply requesting a scoop with dinner desserts. :)

4. They had major internet problems on this ship. I bought a package that was hardly used because of their "satellite" issues. I'm writing for a refund, but we'll see. And the main reason I get internet on ships is so I can check us in for the flights coming home. Well, they closed it at midnight the night before, so checking in four hours before our flight, which is the earliest we can do as per my husband's airline regulations, was impossible.

6. The breakfast buffet didn't have anyone making omelets to order. This bothered my husband more than me, but it is a nice feature that every other ship we've been on has had.

7. Debarkation was a nightmare. They blamed customs which was probably true, but Princess gave poor information on where people should wait, etc. It was a real mess. I will say that once we finally did get moving it went fairly quickly, but Express Disembarkation did not live up to its name on this particular cruise.

8. Oh, and the shower was positively miniscule! Smaller than any other ship we've been on.

 

I hate to end on a negative note, so I'll say again that this was a fabulous cruise (our first on Princess), and in my opinion the positives outweighed the negatives.

[dforeigner]

Last time I checked, there was free ice cream around 1500 hrs in the buffet area.

[Toto2Kansas]

Thanks for the review, glad to hear you had a good time on your cruise. The negatives seem to outweigh the positives though. :(

 

BUT, the first three items on your list of 'Not so good things' could have easily been known before you left, so you wouldn't have been disappointed in them. A quick trip here to CC would have told you that this class of ship has the tiered balconys, and which ones you might choose if that isn't to your liking.

Also, Princess has never had interactive TV, so no surprise there.

And for the ice cream, plenty of ways around that one. You found one, in the dining room, but as said, also available in the afternoon at the HC.

The showers in anything below a mini suite are tiny, also widely known with a quick search. Again, it is impossible to compare shower size from Carnival ships to Princess and a little investigative work could have kept you from being disappointed in that fact.

 

As to Internet availability, if it was a satellite problem, there isn't a thing Princess or any cruise line can do about that one. There are times where Sattelite availability is just not available, so nothing they can honestly do about it.

 

I am guessing you have sailed on Carnival previously where ice cream is available 24/7, and the showers are larger? One thing you will learn is that each cruise line is different in some small things and it is best to do a little research before your cruise so these changes won't disappoint. Especially with the internet so readily available now.

 

Again, glad you enjoyed it despite the short comings you did not find but were expecting.

 

So, the big question. Did the DH wear jeans or something else to the diningroom? (per your jeans thread a while back) ;)

[Lance1224]

As long time cruisers on Princess , we always try to get the free ice cream served daily in the Horizon Court from 3:30 to 4:30 PM. :)

 

Lance1224 and CTGIRL

[lovingretirement]

Thanks for the review!! We are sailing on June 1, so I was anxious to hear your views. It will help others in making decisions about rooms etc.

We always stay on the Dolphin deck in a mini-suite, so we know about the balconies. We don't have anything obstructing our view. We don't really mind other people being able to see us. They don't know us, and probably will never see us again. I am at that age where I don't have to impress anyone. Might have felt differently earlier in life. We appreciate your pros and cons. Thanks for taking the time to keep us informed!!:)

[joanne1]

Thanks for the review!! We just booked this cruise and looking forward to it. I am hoping that they will get the kinks worked out of express check-out by the time we go . . . first time we have booked a morning flight out. We thought that 11:15 would be safe because we have always been off the ship by 8:00.

 

Did they let you keep your cruise cards when disembarking? Would like to hear about what did you do in the ports?

[Mbouck1]

Just off the Star 7 day Alaska RT from Seattle cruise. It was a wonderful cruise. Before I go into likes and dislikes about the ship itself, I'll just say we actually had good weather for all ports of call except Juneau, where we had rain and wind all day. Ketchikan, Skagway, and Victoria were cloudy/sunny, and Victoria was actually beautiful no-coat weather. Oh, and about Victoria, on the one hand, I loved this port and wished we could have stayed longer, but on the other hand, this particular Saturday evening (in port 6:30-11:30) in Victoria was fantastic with gorgeous walking weather, lots of bands playing out on the streets, and even an "old-timey" car show!

 

Ok, on to likes and dislikes about the ship:

 

Things I liked a lot:

1. Embarkation was good. We got there at 11 AM and were on the ship by 12:30. And it didn't seem that long because we were always moving somewhere. :D

2. They had a naturalist on board, and you could listen to him on the tv when interesting things were happening, like going through Tracy Arm.

3. Food was generally very good in the dining rooms and at the buffet. Service in the dining room was excellent, better than any ship we've been on. I also like the Anytime Dining option they had, and every night but one, we got a table for two. But even on the night we were at a table with three other couples, service was great.

4. Our room steward was wonderful. Attentive but not intrusive.

5. They had lots of room for storage, a bigger area than any other ship we've been on.

Not so good things:

1. I hate the way balcony rooms are set up on Star, not the room itself which was fine, but we could see all the balconies below us and they could look up at us. Did not like that at all.

2. There was no access to account information or menus from the TV.

3. There was no free ice cream! But you will all be relieved to know we did get our ice cream fix by simply requesting a scoop with dinner desserts. :)

4. They had major internet problems on this ship. I bought a package that was hardly used because of their "satellite" issues. I'm writing for a refund, but we'll see. And the main reason I get internet on ships is so I can check us in for the flights coming home. Well, they closed it at midnight the night before, so checking in four hours before our flight, which is the earliest we can do as per my husband's airline regulations, was impossible.

6. The breakfast buffet didn't have anyone making omelets to order. This bothered my husband more than me, but it is a nice feature that every other ship we've been on has had.

7. Debarkation was a nightmare. They blamed customs which was probably true, but Princess gave poor information on where people should wait, etc. It was a real mess. I will say that once we finally did get moving it went fairly quickly, but Express Disembarkation did not live up to its name on this particular cruise.

8. Oh, and the shower was positively miniscule! Smaller than any other ship we've been on.

 

I hate to end on a negative note, so I'll say again that this was a fabulous cruise (our first on Princess), and in my opinion the positives outweighed the negatives.

 

I was also on the Star Princess to Alaska and have to agree with all the OP's likes.

Dislikes I have to differ;

 

You could get omelets made at the burger grill between 7am-10am which is new to Princess

 

Ice cream is free btween 3pm-4pm (I should know, I had it and they make delicious ice cream)

 

Internet problems are always a problem with Princess...you just bear with it.

 

No problem whatso ever with disembarkment...went to Wheelhouse lounge until our color was called and got off ship within 5 minutes.

 

Balcony was same as always....they even had better furniture than previous ships.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review. :)

[morriscats]

On Diamond there were omlets made to order at the hamburger grill but we did not know about it until someone told us. Glad to see they it is the same on Star. Very under used station but very good.

[raydon]

Interesting about the omelet station. We just finished the repositioning cruise on the Sapphire and there was a station on both sides of the Horizon Court every morning for 30 0f the 31 day cruise! Glad to know we may have to look for it at the trident grill in the future!

[bhopal21]

Is Todd McBain still the captain on The Star?

 

Mike:)

[bordersj]

Thanks for the review! It's always nice to know others opinions and experiences

[sherman931]

Nice review; very informative. Appreciate you taking the time to write...wich more cruisers would do so as these reviews are always interesting and informative. Thanks :)

[jeanscruise]

So, the big question. Did the DH wear jeans or something else to the diningroom? (per your jeans thread a while back) ;)

 

To avoid any future dress code "wars," I will just say that he looked very nice and...we both loved the lobster. :cool:

[jeanscruise]

You could get omelets made at the burger grill between 7am-10am which is new to Princess

 

Ice cream is free btween 3pm-4pm (I should know, I had it and they make delicious ice cream)

 

Internet problems are always a problem with Princess...you just bear with it.

 

I just told my husband about the omelets, and it completely changed his opinion about Princess. It really is a feature that a lot of people like. He just wished we had noticed it while on the cruise. :D

 

We did know about the afternoon ice cream, but the scoop with dinner desserts was enough of a fix for us. Thanks.

 

The internet problems didn't bother me as much as many of the other people in the internet cafe who were making their feelings known to one and all. I began to feel sorry for the man on duty there.

[jeanscruise]

Thanks for the review!! We just booked this cruise and looking forward to it. I am hoping that they will get the kinks worked out of express check-out by the time we go . . . first time we have booked a morning flight out. We thought that 11:15 would be safe because we have always been off the ship by 8:00.

 

Did they let you keep your cruise cards when disembarking? Would like to hear about what did you do in the ports?

 

Nope, they took the cruise cards as we disembarked. This was our second cruise to Alaska (first on Princess), and this time we simply roamed around the towns. It was great! Last time we did the tram in Juneau and White Pass railroad in Skagway, both of which I would recommend.

[jeanscruise]

Is Todd McBain still the captain on The Star?

 

Mike:)

 

Edward Perrin was the captain on this cruise.

[jeanscruise]

Nice review; very informative. Appreciate you taking the time to write...wich more cruisers would do so as these reviews are always interesting and informative. Thanks :)

 

You're welcome, Bob, and everyone. I have to go now and start researching Panama Canal cruises...;)

[bhopal21]

Edward Perrin was the captain on this cruise.

 

Wow, McBain just went from The Golden to The Star February 16th 2008.:confused:

 

Mike:)

[jeanscruise]

Thanks for the review, glad to hear you had a good time on your cruise. The negatives seem to outweigh the positives though.

 

I guess it does seem that way but doesn't really feel that way. When it comes to a cruise ship, the most important things to me are the room, the storage area, the room steward, and the dining experience. I give the Star an A+ in all of these areas.

 

Oh, and I forgot! We went to almost every art auction, and they were so interesting and informative. I loved hearing the stories about the artists and their work. We enjoyed them very much.

[downrunner]

We took the star on the May 4th sailing to Alaska and found that many of your likes and dislikes to be the same as we found them. The embarkation was very smooth but the disembarkation was a complete circus. Express disembarkation is an oxymoron with this cruise line. Having been on other cruises with other lines we found the food to be alright but not exceptional, however, the service was good and we really enjoyed the anytime dining and the chance to meet other people. The buffet seemed to have a shortage of tables on the few occasions we ate there and a clear lack of direction. As you said, our room steward was great also and the room had great storage space but an awfully small shower. My wife and I are not large people but yet smacked our heads more than once on the shower walls or protuberances. I can sympathize with your husband about the omelets because I dreamed about eggs benedict prior to the cruise but was only able to obtain them on one morning. Entertainment was only fair depending on the venue. We thought the excursions were great and Alaska extremely beautiful . Another thing I did not like about the Star was the Gym hours. Being a morning person I like to exercise early. I found the gym to open at six on some mornings and on others to be a seven or later. Don't really care to sit around for an hour and smell my gym socks and drink coffee for an hour or more. Seems they could get a little consistinency to it. Would we do it again? Absolutely! Would we do it again on the Star? Have to think about it.

[minniemom]

Well, thanks for the reviews, I am also going on the Star June1... Can hardly wait. This will be our first Princess. Glad to hear about the free Ice Cream. But I read 2 different times.. 3-4 and 3:30-4:30. I guess to be safe I better get there before 4..

Omlets are in the buffet?? I don't know the layout of the Star, so I guess I will have to learn quick.

Some have suggested breakfast in the dinning rooms and NOT the buffet. I have always done the buffets for breakfast,, did anyone try the dinning rooms..

My boys who have done Disney before and get free Ice Cream all day long, think it is sad, that they have to wait until that time of day to get it... Are the lines long?

On Celebrity, they bring it out to you by the pool, or you could just go into the buffet area's where they have it all day long. Does Princess have it in there that you could go in and get it?

What movies were playing does anyone know??

Thanks

[phylainmanilla]

hi.... I am wondering about the dress code for dinner.... I was told that the alaska cruise seems to be very casual.....just asking... thanks:confused:

[Mbouck1]

The omelet station is "not" in the buffet. You could get scrambled eggs or fried eggs in the buffet and sometimes eggs benedict there. You can get omelets at the Trident Grill which is on the Lido deck by the outdoor pool.

 

I think if Princess started to pass out ice cream on the decks they would not keep up with the making of it because it is in my opinion some of the best smooth ice cream I have had. They do however pass out homemade cookies and milk in the afternoon which are very good especially the oatmeal or peanut butter cookies.

 

I did however find the dress code a bit lax in the dining rooms. I did notice a few people wearing jeans (but decent looking). I did also find that more people wearing suits than tuxes on formal nights than I noticed on other ships in the past.

 

I would also recommend taking the White Pass train up to Fraser B.C. It was a beautiful ride with great scenery especially the 5 feet of snow when we got to Fraser. You must remember your passport although. The border patrol with check them when you get up there and also when you leave and reenter Alaska. Also I would recommend taking the whale watching tour with Captain Larry. His boats are great and much less crowded than other boats that were out there and we were able to see many whales (orka's and humbacks) and the crew were great and very knowledgeable

[minniemom]

mbouck1:

How long was your train ride in Skagway. I know there are 3 & 7 hour ones. Some into Carcross, I know the rest of my family won't want to do 7 hours on the train, so I am trying to decide if it is worth the $120. a piece to ride up on the train and back on a bus...???