Star Flyer Costa Rica/Panama 2/20/11; 7 days

[Hydrokitty]

Just returned from our Vantage booked Star Flyer cruise of Costa Rica and Panama. Trip was wonderful, Vantage portion was fine considering we were only second group to do this trip! BUT, there are a few things I wish I had known before booking that I think are very important so I'm only sharing those things:

 

1. Star Flyer carries about 170 passengers and has two swimming pools. 12 chaise lounges under tarps is not enough shade on the sun deck. The weather in Costa Rica was bright sunshine, hot and humid every day and unless you were comfortable lying in the sun for hours at a time, there was very little shade.

 

2. Ship only docked in one port(Golfito) all others required tender. Now, if you have ANY problems going up or down a ladder, please reconsider this ship. Since it's a sailing vessel you leave and reboard the ship via gangway, which is about 1 1/2 stories long, very steep and both steps and handrails move. This coupled with the relative movement between the tender and the bottom of the gangway caused one person in our group to fall after which several others were afraid to leave the ship at all. There were also several "wet" landings, which means that after the tender gets where it's going you jump off the rear of the tender into the water which can be anywhere from ankle to waist deep! Several people fell into the water and I got my hand caught between the ladder and the tender when reboarding at Isla Gamez. The crew was very helpful but it was still very difficult.

 

3. Shore excursions: What a surprise to find out that only a handful of people would actually be able to get a shore excursion! Virtually all of the excursions offered closed after 20-40 people signed up and others were on a waiting list. There were people in our group unable to get ANY excursions because by the time they got through the line all the good ones were filled. IMHO this is totally unacceptable. Excursion to wildlife refuge and orchid garden very over-priced....we were supposed to spend two hours at refuge and only spent one and the gardens were lovely but not worth 80E per person! The excursions to the mangrove forest of Drake Bay and Manuel Antonio NP, which were by the same company, were outstanding. The young men doing the tours were very knowledgeable, helpful and funny! In fact, they taught me more about how to use my camera than Casio did! The BBQ on Isla Gamez was wonderful but Isla Tortuga is a rip-off! They actually charged you to walk through their garden grounds!

 

4. Food: Herman was a delight and the food was really good with a nice selection of fish, meat or vegetarian at every dinner. Only complaint is that they need more waiters and they need to do something to lower the noise level, which is deafening, especially if you wear a hearing aid.

 

5. Air Conditioning: Sorry guys, but the advertised "individually controlled climate control in every cabin" isn't quite accurate. There is an a/c duct in the ceiling over the beds with minimal amount of air coming through and you could NOT control the temperature. If you are in the cabin with the lights on, it quickly becomes a sauna! A/C doesn't mean turn off the lights and stay out of the cabin till it cools off! :rolleyes: Also, in the dining room the a/c was totally inadequate once the room filled with people, which was every night! Only rooms that were consistently comfortable were the library and the piano bar.

 

All in all, it was a wonderful trip, but I'm not sure I would do another Star Clipper Cruise.

[fromday2]

Oh-oh. We are doing the April / May trip from Nice to Rome, 11 days. I am worried about how do you spend your time if there are not places to be outside, other than in the direct sunshine :eek:. Sounds like I had better bring another thick book.

 

I had better get thinking about how to deal with it.

 

Al

[Hydrokitty]

good morning Al...April from Nice to Rome should be ok because you won't have the hot sun all the time. Problem with Costa Rica in Feb. is that it's closer to the equator and the sun was relentless and there wasn't enough shade for all those who wanted it. Books are a good idea, although I would go for several paperbacks because they don't weigh as much and you can leave them in the ship's library when you're done:). As a fellow reader, we are never bored unless we have no more books so you should be fine. The area around the Bar is all open and fully covered but the benches aren't really comfortable enough for prolonged periods of reading. Kind of like sitting in a straight backed chair and reading Gone with the Wind! The library had a fair selection of used paperbacks/books and a few games. If you like to play cards, bring your own! Time does pass pretty quickly though I found myself reading and talking and watching the sailors work. The deck is totally accessible and you can even climb the mast and help hoist the sails if you wish.

[Hydrokitty]

I don't want to mislead anyone about the seating on the sun deck. There are more than enough chaise lounges for every passenger to sit on the top deck and enjoy the fresh air. My complaint is that only a handful of them were in shade and the sun in Costa Rica was very, very strong.