kirenne

Wow, excellent upsell! We've booked an oceanview obstructed for Hawaii in November - I'm really hoping for an upsell. A balcony would be great, but even a regular oceanview would work for us! 

These look delicious! Will have to look for them in November. 🙂

I think that's the only perk you'd get! 

I got plenty of sunburns on our Alaska cruise back in June 2016, very unexpected, given the weather still called for a light jacket! We had beautiful weather though. 

Glad to see my cruise went up in price since my booking on Monday! Also took advantage of the airfare promo before it expired. 

8 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Depends.  Usually I don't notice them.  But I was on Celebrity Infinity and kept hearing the elevator ding, but thinking I was awfully far down the hall to hear it.  then I discovered a crew work area across the hall which had a service elevator...EM

It looks like there are doors in the hallway near E404 - do you know if those are just sliding doors, or what's there? 

Just now, Essiesmom said:

Crew area of some sort.  Laundromat is mush further back opposite E618.  EM

Thanks! Are crew areas usually loud? 

Hi, wondering if anyone can tell me what the space is across the hallway from E324?  Is it laundry rooms?  We're just concerned about noise and want to double check.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/star-princess-deck-plans/dp/?shipID=255&deck=8

Thanks!! 

I have a great experience I can share where Princess went ABOVE and BEYOND.

I borrowed a friend's GoPro for our Alaska cruise a couple of years ago, and accidentally left it in a Jeep after an off-roading excursion to the Yukon. I didn't realize I had forgotten it until we were back in our cabin and my boyfriend was asking for the GoPro. I ran to the front desk area to ask them if they could help me at all, since the ship was scheduled to leave at any moment.

Amazingly, the staff member got in touch with employees on the ground outside - they tracked down the Jeep we were in, retrieved the GoPro, and ran it back to the ship and up the gangway just as they were closing up to leave! I was practically in happy tears. 

When I posted my review and explained the above after getting back, somebody here on CC commented that they had seen the commotion at the gangway before we left that day, and wondered what was going on! 

I will never forget that! Princess truly does go above and beyond.

Excellent review, thank you! 

We are booking a Hawaii itinerary on the Star for November. My only concern is the choppy waters, it sounds like a toss up depending on the weather. Glad to hear your sail back was smooth - crossing my fingers we get some similar conditions. Going to stock up on sea sick meds regardless! 

I remember them being available in the Piazza, though it’s been awhile since I was on the Star. 

13 minutes ago, cruisingrob21 said:

This is a trip review from late 2017.

https://cruisingrobsblog.blogspot.com/2017/12/pictures-of-star-post-drydock-121617.html

 

and video is first post on this page:

https://cruisingrobsblog.blogspot.com/search/label/star princess

 

Yes, the star is older, but the original grand class boast a pretty good Passenger/tonnage ratio, 4 nice pools (1 with a cover) and was updated in late 2017 with some nice features.  The new TV's in cabins are very nice.

Thanks for sharing - this is very helpful, since I haven’t been on the Star in years! 

I was on the Star to Alaska a few years ago, beautiful ship! We very much enjoyed the wraparound deck and didn’t find it too crowded. The food was excellent, and our room (oceanview) was sufficient, no complaints. 

We’re planning to book Hawaii for Nov 4 on the Star, would love to hear about your experience when you get back from your trip! 

Thank you everyone for the valuable information & feedback. This will only be my 2nd cruise so it’s all very useful! 

3 minutes ago, skynight said:

Option 1. Recommended if you really want to go on this voyage on this date. Book the cruise you want under the current promotion. You can always change it if a better offer comes around before final payment date, around the end of August. The current Come Back New offer has a refundable deposit, so you will not lose it if you change to a better promo.

Option 2. Wait until after final payment date, closer to the sailing date, and see what you can find.  Don't know where you are from, but you may have to consider air fare.

The Sip & Sail was offered the last few years from June until September. Fares may actually be higher for this promo. It was mainly for cruises in the following year. The promo also only applied if you booked a Balcony cat. cabin or higher.

The 3 for free has been offered in the fall the last few years. Unlikely it would be available for your sailing.

If Princess follows the same pattern these promos, if offered, would most likely not cover a Nov. 4th cruise.

Points of information. Hawaii cruises have lots of sea days, 9 of them. You have to enjoy sea days. Usually 2 to 3 going to Hawaii and the last few days on the return are not tropical sit around the pool. Seas may be choppy. There are lots of inside activities. Tiki Dave and Leialoha are scheduled to be on the Star next season offering Hawaiian cultural programs and entertainment. They are good.

That was excellent information, thank you very much! I think we will likely book now and see what happens given that we can change it later.

Thanks for the tips on the itinerary - sea days were our favourite part of our last cruise (to Alaska, so we unfortunately didn't have as many), and I have read about some choppier waters to and from. I will be bringing motion sickness meds for sure! I've been studying the patters, a lot of activities look very interesting. Thanks again! 

10 minutes ago, knbcruisers said:

Since Princess let’s you reprice your cruise if it decreases prior to final payment, I would book the cabin catogory you want and then just keep watching the prices.

I didn't know that was an option! Thank you! 

Hi everyone,

I am positive that I have read this here and there in other topics, but I couldn't find where I saw it.

My boyfriend and I are looking to book the Star Hawaii cruise for Nov 4, 2019. The current offer seems fine, but I can't help but wonder if I should be waiting to book with a 'better' deal. Do you all have favourite offers that you wait for in order to book? I think I read that Sip n' Sail is probably coming soon - but I'm not sure how beneficial this would be to us, considering we do not drink alcohol & I personally only really drink water anyway (not a coffee/tea/soda fan). 

We're also trying to save for a house, so our budget is not very high - we're considering an oceanview obstructed cabin, since we don't spend much time in there anyway, but would like some natural light. I tried contacting a TA, but she said her company could not give a great offer for an obstructed, only a regular oceanview, which makes booking direct with Princess the better option at this point. 

Any suggestions would be welcomed! I tried to search the forums for a similar topic but came up short - apologies if this is posted elsewhere. 

Thank you! 

23 minutes ago, SRF said:

While I really enjoy cruising, if you really want to see Japan, a land visit would be better.

 

So much to see and do and eat there.  To much to hit for a few hours here and there.

I think it’s mostly the culture difference, it sounds nice to be able to enjoy Japan without having to worry about language and other barriers if we did it ourselves. I know we can still book tours, etc., but we also just love crusing and the all-inclusive nature of it. 

Hi everyone - not a first time cruiser but it has been a couple of years now. 

my boyfriend and I are looking to book a cruise to Japan, so I have some questions. 

- in your opinion, which cruise line is the best to see Japan?

- what is the best time to book a Japan cruise?

- are there any itineraries you’d recommend?

we previously enjoyed an Alaskan cruise on Star Princess. 

Thanks for any help!

Does anyone know how often / if at all these cruises go on sale? Very interested in a british isles from Paris for 2018, but price is just a liiiiittle more than I can afford right now.

Hello All,

 

I have found many of the links on this site talk about warm climate cruises, but not as much about northern cooler climate cruising to Alaska. How do I pack for this type of cruise / weather? I am travelling in August

 

Ladies -- I'm wondering what footwear you brought for on board and for excursions? For dinner, hanging around the boat and looking at scenery and going on excursions.

 

Also Ladies - how formal is formal night on the star princess to Alaska and what does smart casual even mean for a regular every day dinner

 

Finally -- for an excursion, jeans, runners, sweatshirt and raincoat? good enough or do I need a different coat or shoes?

Sailed on the Star in June to Alaska.

I brought running shoes, hiking boots, flip flops, and some flats for formal night (though I'm sure many would prefer heels). I didn't actually need the hiking boots at all - I thought I might for an excursion we booked, but didn't. It was just extra weight.

I think formal night is going to depend on the passengers rather than the cruise ship/itinerary. There were many who were not as dressy, but the majority wore very formal attire on our formal evenings (evening gowns, heels, nice dress, etc.)

For our excursions, I wore 3 layers, including my windbreaker jacket. It will depend on the excursion. When we were hiking on the Mendenhall Glacier, it was fairly chilly in spots, but on other excursions, I was plenty warm. Don't overthink it - I also read tons about how many layers you should be wearing, etc. etc., and found that I was often too hot and sweating. A couple of thin layers and a jacket should be fine!

This makes me worry so much every time I see people saying I'd go w/ the Coral any day - I'm glad yall like the ship, but now, I'm so worried about going on the Star next May, I'm going on the Star b/c it works out better for my time frame - Can someone say why they wouldn't go on the Star? I'm not writing this to sound mean, I'm just so worried :eek:

I sailed on the Star last month and absolutely loved it. I have not been on the Coral to compare, but can say without a doubt you will still have a fantastic time on the Star! Zero issues, and amazing staff.

Can't say we used any of the coupons in the book we found in our cabin, but I did however use a couple of the shop coupons in the port specific coupon books we received before leaving the ship. Got a free gift at a jewelry store, then a discount on a purchase.

Wish I could afford to buy!! Free OBC sounds like a tempting perk.

Excellent photos! Thanks for sharing