Anyone got anything good to say about the Star Princess???

[Scrapchick]

I barely see it mentioned here and some of the reviews on the home page are less than favorable. We were on this ship in 2002 and will be back on it in July this year and February next year, so I'd really like to hear something positive about it.

 

Many reviews are very critical of the food, the entertainment and the service. We've never had a bad experience on Princess in 20 cruises and I'd hate to start now....

 

Give me some good news!!

[FLACRUISER99]

She's my favorite Princess ship.:D However 2008 was my last trip on her.

[hillslife]

On the Star Feb-March 2011 for 29 days. Crew was great, friendly, very accomodating. Food was ok - normal for cruise ship.

 

Cruise Director was Frank Castiologne then - he was pretty non-existent...never saw or heard from him except to announce a show or on the PA...worst CD we have ever had. His asst was Fernando and you could barely understand his English....???

 

Capt. Kent was pretty non-exsistent also - heard his nightly 6pm commentary; he showed up at past passenger cocktails, etc....but never saw him on the ship walking or talking with passengers. Also had a very crude sense of humor which was pretty inappropriate in that setting.

 

Ship was clean and in good repair. Love the IC coffees and goodies.

 

Entertainment was not up to par. Worst selection of variety acts ever for us. Production shows were very well done, but had seen them all before on other ships - so many repeats.

 

Never had a bad cruise - so enjoy:p

[RMM34667]

I sailed on the Star in March and LOVED the ship. Crew was outstanding. To me they seemed the happiest, friendliest and most helpful of any ship I've sailed. I also loved everything about the ship (well the casino took WAY too much of my money). Would love to board her again some day!

[alejules]

I was on the April 23rd Star sailing with my hubby and 2 teens. We loved our cruise and Star Princess. It was my 4th Princess cruise and I would say it was in the top 2! The crew was great. They were friendly and helpful. I can not think of anything that I requested and did not receive. I found the food to be very good. My entire family thought the lobster we had on formal night was the best we have ever had on a Princess ship. We never ran out of things to do but also enjoyed the fact that the Star has some quiet places to read and plain old relax. I did not find the entertainment to be all that great and that is where I think Princess could improve. It was not bad, just not great and quite frankly all the theatre shows start seeming very similar to me. My kids had a blast and met some other teens that they spent time with. The ship was in good condition and I noticed they were always cleaning it and doing minor work that did not inconvenience the passengers.

[deadzone1003]

It's our favorite ship. We sailed on the SF-Sydney cruise in 2009 and the food was good enough that we didn't bother with any of the pay restaurants except the Chef's Table which was superb. The entertainment was very good. On a longer cruise, I think they raised the quality of the food and entertainment a little bit else the passengers usually gets a little too restless.

The pizza was great and so was the softie ice cream surprisingly.

[pcsunlover]

We sailed an Eastern Caribbean itinerary on the Star in April 2010. The staff was friendly, food was about the same as what we experienced on other Princess ships as was the entertainment. We've been on the Caribbean and Ruby Princess, but the Star was the best IMHO.

[PescadoAmarillo]

We been on the Sun, Sea, Sapphire, Diamond, Grand, Golden, Emerald, Ruby and Crown. The Star Princess (we were just on the 4/23/11 Eastern Caribbean cruise) is our favorite Princess ship. Most Princess ships are more similar than different, but it is the staff and crew of the Star that makes it stand out in our minds. Plus, we far prefer the large, open aft deck on that class of ship to the more compressed decks that result from the addition of the Cafe Caribe on the newer ships. The only drawback, in my mind, is the absence of a dedicated jogging track.

[acruisingpeach23]

The star was my first experiance on any cruise and she will always hold a special place in my heart. We went to alaska in 09 and because of the food, service, etc.. I had a hard time adjusting to ncl last year. Thanks to my star experiance i quickly booked the CB for this years cruise. The star really made my expectations of cruising really high and i fear i may not be able to ever match that experiance :)

[senior lady]

Have been on the Star 3 times and love the ship.

We've had Richard Joseph as our CD and he is fantastic.

Spent 30 days on the Star in 2009 for a Australia / South Pacific cruise.

Will be on the Star again next March for a 16 day South America cruise.

10 day Mexican cruise in 2008

One of our favourite ships!!!!

 

We've had an inside, mini suite, and Caribe cabin and have always had excellant service!!!

Food has always been good.......... some days better than others, but hey, if I don't have to plan or cook it I'm happy:D

[shipaheadannie]

Was on the Star 23/04/11. it was wonderful, staff were all tremendous. Captain was v pleasant. Everywhere exceptionally clean. Could maybe have more hand sanitizors out and about. Food was fine (as I never was hungry) but personally preferred RC. for choice and flavour. Would sail on her again, tomorrow if I could!

[cruzinchris]

DH and I have sailed on the Star Princess five times to date. Our first Princess cruise was on the Star in March, 2002. Since then we haven't sailed with any other line and are now Elite :)

 

Here are links to my two member reviews of the Star Princess:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=47329

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=23008

 

Bon Voyage!

Chris

[outerspaceguy]

Cruise Director was Frank Castiologne then

 

Capt. Kent was pretty non-exsistent also - heard his nightly 6pm commentary; he showed up at past passenger cocktails, etc....but never saw him on the ship walking or talking with passengers. Also had a very crude sense of humor which was pretty inappropriate in that setting.

 

Was on Star in April; both of them were still in those roles. The Capt was just about ready to go on vacation, and so his humor was even a little less restrained than I suspect is typical. It was fine, though.

 

I don't love the ship's design, but I think that is more of a comment on Princess-designed-ships in general than on Star herself. For example: the gym is still way too small, there is no jogging track, etc.

 

The comedians I did not care too much for (they are always kind of hit and miss), but the production shows were good (the last 2 were better than the first 2).

[Mom33]

We were on the Star 2 years in a row on lengthy Trans Pacific and Trans Atlantic cruises. We enjoyed every moment on the ship. Her Captain and crew were first rate and her cruise director one of the best. We had no major complaints about the food or service. We also like the conservatory pool ( the larger ships do not have the cover) and the aft pool has much more seating than the larger ships.

[bdjam]

Capt. Kent was pretty non-exsistent also - heard his nightly 6pm commentary; he showed up at past passenger cocktails, etc....but never saw him on the ship walking or talking with passengers. Also had a very crude sense of humor which was pretty inappropriate in that setting.

Sounds like my kind of guy - up on the bridge where he's supposed to be instead of milling around with the passengers and with a wicked sense of humor!

[Mrterryl]

I was on The Star in 3/11. The service and food was excellent and I have 27 princess cruises to compare it to. The only issue was the mini suite never was cold enough even though I advised the staff of the issue.

[1 HappyCruiser]

We just got off the Star in early May & though the food to be above the other ships except for the Ruby but that was about 2 years ago so it might have changed. The food was so good we didn't even go to the Specialty restaurants as planned. Why spend the extra money when not necessary. The service was very good in all areas.

Fernando was OK if you could understand him ;) but the CD, Sammi was annoying. There wasn't a time when she talked that it didn't turn into a commercial to buy something.

The AC in out mini was lousy for the first 2 days. They adjusted it twice & then it became just tolerable. (and it wasn't even that warm out). I can't imagine how it would be during a hot Caribbean summer.

[ssbeagle]

Been on the Star several times and would gladly go again. She's been through a lot in her lifetime but she's always come shining through. Service has always been very good. CDs change periodically so you never know who you will get. But I would give the Star a shot.

[sunsetbeachgal]

We were on the Star on March 23rd sailing of this year and have nothing but good to say about the experience. Food good, service good, never felt crowded...really a wonderful cruise!

[camofwilliamsburg]

So were we, and for the next one. Spent 20 glorious days on STAR and the staff was fantastic. We enjoyed the food also. Did not like their shows but we have been spoiled by MSC entertainment which is so much better than the other lines. The dining staff even though we took anytime dining held the same table for us each night so any time we showed us we got the table and then they filled it as we got there. The staff made us escargot for our table on the last night. The cruise director staff members were all smiles and warmth each time we saw them. Helped to get to know them by being on winning trivia , etc teams...LOL!!!

 

Ship was a bit run down around the tiles of the pools and the steps but I can over look that.

[Who knew?]

My sister and I were on the Star for the 10-day Southern Caribbean medley March 24 - April 3 and found almost everything wonderful. We picked the cruise for the itinerary and price, but the ship was also great.

 

Our cabin was comfortable and fine for us. (It was obstructed view that we took potluck on with a great flash sale, but we lucked into a partial view.)

 

We liked the food in the MDRs and the buffet, also the burger and pizza bars. Didn't go to the specialties. We were going to go to Sabatin's one night, but the menu on Italian night in the MDR looked just as good, so we skipped it. Service in the MDR was prompt and efficient. We sat at tables for 8 three times, and I don't recall any mistaken orders. The setup of the buffet was good for minimizing the crowd effect. No mob scene. We loved the light lunch options and pastries and desserts in the Intl. Cafe.

 

Staff we interacted with were all great -- cabin attendants, waiters, pool attendants, servers at IC, ice cream and pizza bars, etc. Never saw anyone without a smile, let alone rude. You never have an empty plate or glass in front of you long before some whisked it away. My sister saw the captain and some of the officers twice in the buffet line and had a bit of conversation with him.

 

One thing I missed is hand-dipped ice cream without extra cost at the ice cream bar. (Only available in MDR.) Soft-serve vanilla is okay on top of desserts, but I don't call it ice cream. But I guess this is the practice on Princess.

 

We were always able to find a deck lounge in the sun, as long as we didn't insist on right next to the pool. (Even though there were often lots of empty "saved" chairs.)

 

Enjoyed movies under the stars with popcorn (and blankies).

 

Fernando was the asst CD and yes, he has an accent, but we didn't have trouble understanding him.

 

We took ship excursions in 4 ports and enjoyed them all. They were all good value for the $. Went on our own in Bonaire, and just relaxed, ate, and shopped at Princess Cays.

 

I agree with others about the entertainment, especially the first night. That show was strange -- a lot of people thought so. Some of the skits and songs didn't seem to make sense for the overall theme. The sound was also bad -- if we had understood the lyrics to the less familiar songs the tie-in to the "plot" might have been more clear. We complained afterward, and others must have too, because the sound seemed to improve for the rest of the cruise. Comedians, singers and juggler were pretty good.

 

I'm a relative newbie cruiser (this was just my 3rd), but I'd go on the Star again with no hesitation.

 

Linda

[Kinkacruiser]

Being accustomed to the Sun class ships downunder, I thought the Star was brilliant. She was spacious and offered a good variety of relaxing spots. I missed the live band on Riviera deck and the bar service there was a little poor.

The views from Skywalker were fabulous. I wish she was based over here.

[2forseas]

We were on the Star in 2003 for DW 50th birthday, LA to Mexico, and again in 2009, Seattle to Alaska, and she was just as nice as the first time!

[cactusrose]

We've been on 10 cruises on the Star and have two more booked. This was our first princess ship and our last B2B on her was 31 days. In 2009 we did 60 days on her. We love this ship but as PescadoAmarillo pointed it's the officers and crew that make the difference. I found Captain Kent to be quite personable, but our all time favorite captain on the Star is Captain Perrin. That man is everywhere and leaves his ego in his cabin. The crew seems to love and respect him also. Maybe others just have higher expectations than we do but I've never had a bad cruise because of the crew or the food. Now talk to me about some of my fellow passengers. . . . that's a different story;).

[Scrapchick]

Wonderful feedback- thank you everyone!!! I've never had a bad Princess cruise yet, so it's hard to believe the Star would be any different than any other ship.

 

Looking forward to seeing it for myself again....