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

[candydane]

We were on the Star in April. It's a beautiful ship and in good condition. Captain & crew were friendly and seemed happy. We had an active "cruisecritic community" that helped make the cruise memorable. Food was as good as usual in the main dining room. Food and service outstanding in the private dining venues.

 

On the downside it seemed to us that things were being cut back to save money. The Crown Grill menu selections were very limited from the menu we've enjoyed on other ships. Our Room Steward seemed too overworked to provide the personal touches we're experienced on previous Princess cruises. We had to ask for many of the room amenities we've automatically gotten in the past. Way too often we were told "they don't do that anymore" and had to insist to get the amenities we've always enjoyed before. Or told to call someone else for things -- not his job.

 

We still had a great cruise and plan to continue cruising on Princess. Just hope the cutbacks are not a sign of the future on other Princess ships.

[cruizer2d]

Count me in on one who loves the Star. We were on her for the S.A./Antarctica cruise for 16 days Jan-Feb,2010. Because of where we were, we spent a lot of time on the ship. There was always something to do-the food was excellent-I loved the library. This was the 1st cruise we were on where so many people "donated" so many books to the library. The coffee bar and International Cafe was always busy and the staff was wonderful. I'm looking forward to cruising her again.

[outerspaceguy]

I loved the library.

 

Are you referring to the wall alongside the internet area?

 

It's kind of an optimistic view to call that "a [ship] library", I think....

[1 HappyCruiser]

We were on the Star in April. It's a beautiful ship and in good condition. Captain & crew were friendly and seemed happy. We had an active "cruisecritic community" that helped make the cruise memorable. Food was as good as usual in the main dining room. Food and service outstanding in the private dining venues.

 

On the downside it seemed to us that things were being cut back to save money. The Crown Grill menu selections were very limited from the menu we've enjoyed on other ships. Our Room Steward seemed too overworked to provide the personal touches we're experienced on previous Princess cruises. We had to ask for many of the room amenities we've automatically gotten in the past. Way too often we were told "they don't do that anymore" and had to insist to get the amenities we've always enjoyed before. Or told to call someone else for things -- not his job.

 

We still had a great cruise and plan to continue cruising on Princess. Just hope the cutbacks are not a sign of the future on other Princess ships.

 

Since we were on the same cruise as you, specifically what items did you notice that were eliminated. Just curious since we didn't see anything missing.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Since we were on the same cruise as you, specifically what items did you notice that were eliminated. Just curious since we didn't see anything missing.

We did not have to ask for our Elite amenities and received the following (which is not everything we used to get):

Shower caps (2!!)

Nail Files (2!)

Lip balm (2!)

Qtips- 2 packs but that is not enough for two people for 10 days and once we used them, they were not replaced

Shower Gel (1)

Linen mist (I thought I used to like this, but I was either wrong or it's a different scent now)

Bath mitts (2!)

 

No slippers or gel mask, which we've gotten in the past.

 

The fact that we didn't have to ask was very much appreciated. The fact the we received almost all the things we used to receive was very much appreciated. The fact that we (2 people) received 2 nail files and 2 bath mitts was VERY much appreciated.

 

Interesting note- the night before the first formal night there was a formal night hor doerves order form left on the bed. We ordered the chocolate covered strawberries. The night before the second formal night, we didn't get the form and didn't think about it until the next morning. When asked, our steward gave us one, but it was different and did not have the strawberries listed. We wrote them in and still received them, but if we had gotten the second form first, we would have assumed they no longer offered the strawberries as we were told they didn't last year on the Ruby.

[1 HappyCruiser]

We did not have to ask for our Elite amenities and received the following (which is not everything we used to get):

Shower caps (2!!) - Replaced almost every other day.

Nail Files (2!) - My wife received numerous ones.

Lip balm (2!)- We got 2.

Qtips- 2 packs but that is not enough for two people for 10 days and once we used them, they were not replaced - We only got 1 replacement.

Shower Gel (1) - Don't know- We don't use it.

Linen mist (I thought I used to like this, but I was either wrong or it's a different scent now) - Don't use that either.

Bath mitts (2!) - I think it was replaced once after the first day.

No slippers or gel mask, which we've gotten in the past. - We received 2 pair each for each cruise.

 

The fact that we didn't have to ask was very much appreciated. The fact the we received almost all the things we used to receive was very much appreciated. The fact that we (2 people) received 2 nail files and 2 bath mitts was VERY much appreciated.

 

Interesting note- the night before the first formal night there was a formal night hor doerves order form left on the bed. We ordered the chocolate covered strawberries. The night before the second formal night, we didn't get the form and didn't think about it until the next morning. When asked, our steward gave us one, but it was different and did not have the strawberries listed. We wrote them in and still received them, but if we had gotten the second form first, we would have assumed they no longer offered the strawberries as we were told they didn't last year on the Ruby.

 

We only ordered the strawberries once for both trips but received a card for formal nights. After a while all the food seemed overboard & they was no reason to order something neither of us was going to eat.

[NSWP]

At least Star still has the Skywalkers, whereas they took it off Grand. More's the pity, Skywalkers was the best feature of the 'Grand Class ships.'

 

We were on Star in Feb 2004, it was new then, very nice indeed.

[AmberTeka]

We were on the Star at the end of March..and I agree with most of the posts. The crew was beyond reproach. Nice..hard workers..good job from on all we saw...The food was good I thought..until the last three nights..then took a downward plunge..of course..I could have ordered off of the Alternative Menu..Never went away hungry..and they certainly cook better than I do. First time I have used room service for lunch..twice..and loved it. Sandwich was perfect...cookies soft and sweet...coffee...hot.

 

The ship was clean. The Theater was hard for me to access..R.A. not in a wheelchair or on crutches..but challenged on Stairs. Not enough reserved seats for handicapped when you did get there..like one row..before more stairs.

 

The Productions were ..well, I went to sleep in two of them. The other one..there was not a seat when I got there..or not one without climbing many steps.

 

Casino...didn't win..didn't lose too much..had fun.

 

Shore trips..all good. All Ship Tours. All on nice buses..air conditioned with drivers who seemed sane.

 

Trivia...enjoyed the passengers who played. they were a hoot..more fun...but one of the Activities Directors..did not seem to be in the spirit of the Game. He seemed annoyned when anyone answered a question..and he yelled at some of us. EVERYONE HAS A BAD WEEK..PEOPLE HAVE WORRIES WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT...AND EVERYONE ACTS OUT SOMETIME...perhaps it was this....the rest of the Activity Staff was fine..NEVER saw the C.D except on Morning TV..which played a lot during the day.

 

THE STAR HAS FOX AND MSNBC..AND NATIONAL WEATHER AND NEWS......LOVED IT.

 

The I.C...great as usual. Cookies divine.

 

So..if you don't plan on seeing good production shows...and can climb stairs easily...and don't mind Staff yelling at you ( and deserved it..I blurted out an answer..I totally had it coming..once..twice..but not three, four five times!!! i mean..like people enjoy making an ass out of themselves?

 

You will have a great time on The Star..but the next cruise we booked is on The Emerald. Better Access to the theater.

[candydane]

Since we were on the same cruise as you, specifically what items did you notice that were eliminated. Just curious since we didn't see anything missing.

The "missing" amenities were mostly suite related. There were no flower bouquets or ashtrays or wine opener or wine/champaign glasses or ice when we arrived on first day and no room steward to greet us.

 

I called & had to leave a message for room steward who didn't contact me back for almost an hour. 2 flower bouquets (we usually get 3 in the Grand Suite) got there an hour or so later. Ashtray more than an hour later.

 

Room steward told me to call room service for wine opener, glasses and wine -- it was their job, not his. Room service said they didn't provide wine openers to suites anymore but I could call and they'd send someone anytime I needed a bottle opened! Finally agreed to send one when I insisted but it was a cheapo one not nearly the quality we usually got.

 

We were short two of our "free" sodas -- room service said they'd been there and we were out of luck.

 

Room steward didn't empty the dirty ashtray the first evening -- said he wasn't sure we were done and needed us to tell him it was ok????

 

Dirty glasses/dishes weren't always removed in morning or evening. No one replaced the used wine glasses until I called room service for more.

 

Suites have the option to order room service from the dining room menus. The lunch/dinner menus for the dining room were not provided. Thought they were just missed the first day. When they weren't there the 2nd day, I asked room steward. He said his supervisor said he wasn't to provide them anymore. When I insisted, he later told me he'd checked with his supervisor and he could provide them if the the suite passengers specifically asked for them.

 

Our suites have always been made up as soon as we put out a "make up the room" sign and left. Not the case on the Star. The final straw was the day when we left a little after 8 am -- the room steward was just starting to clean our room when we returned at 1:30 pm.

 

All just little petty things but they added up to a lack of the amazing suite service we've always gotten on other Princess ships.

[GBeret]

The Star is one of our favorites!

[isujim]

We were also on the Star in April..........loved it!! Friendliest staff we have ever seen in 20 cruises.........loved every minute of it.

[drb888]

Sailed on the Star a couple of years ago, right after it came out of dry dock. We had a wonderful cruise. Service was excellent, food in the MDRs was very good (Horizon Court was just OK, but that's true on every Princess ship), basically a good time all the way around. You'll be fine on the Star.

[Joywrk]

We have sailed on her twice in the last year, once in the Baltic and once in South America. Staff were fantastic and I thought Captain Kent's descriptions the best we've experienced. Food was fantastic and entertainment really good. We had a mini Suite and loved it. Would not hesitate to recommend.

[luv2cruise_the-Caribbean]

Its the meat and potato cruise.. they change the sauce every nite. The buffet is the same every nite. The Cruise Director, female blonde , cant remember her name,, she is terrible,, she cuts in when the captain talks, she is very disruptive in the theatre when a musical show is playing and terrible ship host.. The rest of the entertainment team are great! Only one or two deckhand by the pools and the service has gone hill around the pools and in the buffet areas.

 

 

sadly, the Blonde old cruise director, the ship music band that hardly played outside with the wrong tunes, the head chef and all the buffet supervisors must go.

 

i've been on this cruise twice,, the last one was april of this year 2011.. was upgraded from a oceanview obstructed to a mini-suite for $549pp I really enjoyed the mini suite on this cruise.

 

The room attendants now do over 20 cabins,, really overworked. please tip $100 or more

 

Princess sure cutting cost on this ship.

 

i've sailed 27 times in the last 6 years,, why do people have to list how many cruises and on what ship and what date? are they Narcissistic or unsecured?

 

one more thing, it was a 10 day caribbean cruise we did in April.. The Band sucked! in and out!

[Cash123]

i would agree with your comment re the band if your talking about the one that played in the explores Lounge but I would have to go with the other posts that the Star was fantastic when we sailed March 24th for the 10 day caribbean.

 

Room attendent did everything we wanted always with a smile, great room service every morning for breakfast and the same girl did our UBD which was the best thing we have done on a cruise.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Its the meat and potato cruise.. they change the sauce every nite. The buffet is the same every nite. The Cruise Director, female blonde , cant remember her name,, she is terrible,, she cuts in when the captain talks, she is very disruptive in the theatre when a musical show is playing and terrible ship host.. The rest of the entertainment team are great! Only one or two deckhand by the pools and the service has gone hill around the pools and in the buffet areas.

 

 

sadly, the Blonde old cruise director, the ship music band that hardly played outside with the wrong tunes, the head chef and all the buffet supervisors must go.

 

i've been on this cruise twice,, the last one was april of this year 2011.. was upgraded from a oceanview obstructed to a mini-suite for $549pp I really enjoyed the mini suite on this cruise.

 

The room attendants now do over 20 cabins,, really overworked. please tip $100 or more

 

Princess sure cutting cost on this ship.

 

i've sailed 27 times in the last 6 years,, why do people have to list how many cruises and on what ship and what date? are they Narcissistic or unsecured?

 

one more thing, it was a 10 day caribbean cruise we did in April.. The Band sucked! in and out!

 

Wow, if I hadn't sailed on the Star in April I would think you were talking about some other ship. You should upgrade to a more exclusive cruise line like Seabourn.

Different stokes I guess.

[boomerone]

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!!

Hello scrapchick----the "personality" of any cruise ship on any line can invariably change on every sailing. So many factors come into play as crewmembers come and go and different people sail as passengers. Star Princess provided us with our second most favorite cruise (after an expedition to Antarctica) about 3 years ago and it was magnificent in all regards. Since then I've read both positive and negative reviews of the ship. Unless you sail on back to back to back to back voyages one cannot get a good feel for consistency in effort and service so a reader of reviews only has a quick snapshot of someone else's personal experience. What gets one person excited might be boring to another. I take reviews here on cc as minimally advisory in nature as some folks either over-inflate or become unrealistically harsh in airing their opinions. I've viewed comments of sailings immediately preceding and following the one I took and comments shared by others bare no semblance to what I experienced on the same ship with supposedly the same port visits, crew, service, food, and entertainment. Even comments about ship cleanliness and appearance seem distorted as compared to what I have observed. I am no expert but I have been around ships since 1972 and feel as if I can tell which ones are well run or not. Bottom line, focus on having a good time for yourself and your traveling partner, take advice and comments from strangers for what they are worth, and don't climb onboard with any bias one way or the other. Happy and safe sailing!

[Cras108er]

The "missing" amenities were mostly suite related. There were no flower bouquets or ashtrays or wine opener or wine/champaign glasses or ice when we arrived on first day and no room steward to greet us.

 

I called & had to leave a message for room steward who didn't contact me back for almost an hour. 2 flower bouquets (we usually get 3 in the Grand Suite) got there an hour or so later. Ashtray more than an hour later.

 

Room steward told me to call room service for wine opener, glasses and wine -- it was their job, not his. Room service said they didn't provide wine openers to suites anymore but I could call and they'd send someone anytime I needed a bottle opened! Finally agreed to send one when I insisted but it was a cheapo one not nearly the quality we usually got.

 

We were short two of our "free" sodas -- room service said they'd been there and we were out of luck.

 

Room steward didn't empty the dirty ashtray the first evening -- said he wasn't sure we were done and needed us to tell him it was ok????

 

Dirty glasses/dishes weren't always removed in morning or evening. No one replaced the used wine glasses until I called room service for more.

 

Suites have the option to order room service from the dining room menus. The lunch/dinner menus for the dining room were not provided. Thought they were just missed the first day. When they weren't there the 2nd day, I asked room steward. He said his supervisor said he wasn't to provide them anymore. When I insisted, he later told me he'd checked with his supervisor and he could provide them if the the suite passengers specifically asked for them.

 

Our suites have always been made up as soon as we put out a "make up the room" sign and left. Not the case on the Star. The final straw was the day when we left a little after 8 am -- the room steward was just starting to clean our room when we returned at 1:30 pm.

 

All just little petty things but they added up to a lack of the amazing suite service we've always gotten on other Princess ships.

 

Hi Linda,

I can see why you would be disappointed. If I paid for the Grand Suite, I would expect the things you mentioned, witout having to ask. Sounds like you didn't have the best room steward, but I guess you can blame that on the housekeeping staff as they should be putting their best stewards on the suites. Our experience was very good, but our expectations weren't (and shouldn't have been) as high.

[teachinla]

My daughter and I were on the Star princess last summer for a Baltic cruise. We had a wonderful time and everyone was very helpful. Our luggage was lost in transit to Copenhagen (no fault of Princess) and they tracked our luggage each day, provided us free overnight laundry and rental of formal wear. It was my first experience with Princess and was sold.

[Scrapchick]

 

i've sailed 27 times in the last 6 years,, why do people have to list how many cruises and on what ship and what date? are they Narcissistic or unsecured?

 

one more thing, it was a 10 day caribbean cruise we did in April.. The Band sucked! in and out!

 

Oh dear... I'm the OP... Look at my cruise signature... Am I narcissistic or unsecured??? I've cruised over 40 times in 17 years and the reason I list my cruises is as much for my benefit as anyone else's. It's a handy way of keeping track of my own travels, nothing more than that. The older I get, the harder it is for me to remember where I went last week let alone last year....

[Scrapchick]

Thank you everyone.... I'm still reading the thread and catching the new posts, and really appreciate the feedback. All my Princess cruises have been good ones, but you're making me feel very reassured about the Star P.

[Who knew?]

i've sailed 27 times in the last 6 years,, why do people have to list how many cruises and on what ship and what date? are they Narcissistic or unsecured?

 

As a relatively new cruiser, I enjoy seeing the lists of ships and itineraries people have been on and how long they've been cruising.

 

BTW -- I think you mean insecure? (Unsecured makes me imagine somebody flying off the deck because they weren't properly tied down...) No offense intended, it just made me laugh:p.

[Bowie MeMe]

I was thinking the same thing about flying off the deck or perhaps scattering around like leaves in the wind. Or for the financial types perhaps being unsecured means not having any backing or money to guarantee that all will be well. :D

[captainron]

Its the meat and potato cruise.. they change the sauce every nite. The buffet is the same every nite. The Cruise Director, female blonde , cant remember her name,, she is terrible,, she cuts in when the captain talks, she is very disruptive in the theatre when a musical show is playing and terrible ship host.. The rest of the entertainment team are great! Only one or two deckhand by the pools and the service has gone hill around the pools and in the buffet areas.

 

 

sadly, the Blonde old cruise director, the ship music band that hardly played outside with the wrong tunes, the head chef and all the buffet supervisors must go.

 

i've been on this cruise twice,, the last one was april of this year 2011.. was upgraded from a oceanview obstructed to a mini-suite for $549pp I really enjoyed the mini suite on this cruise.

 

The room attendants now do over 20 cabins,, really overworked. please tip $100 or more

 

Princess sure cutting cost on this ship.

 

i've sailed 27 times in the last 6 years,, why do people have to list how many cruises and on what ship and what date? are they Narcissistic or unsecured?

 

one more thing, it was a 10 day caribbean cruise we did in April.. The Band sucked! in and out!

 

Not nice to speak of Sammi like that...tsk tsk.

How would you like someone to say that grey haired old boot in stateroom XXXX?

 

Sammi was on our Diamond cruise from Whittier to Vancouver last fall and she was super.

 

Ciao for now!!!

[BosoxI]

Not nice to speak of Sammi like that...tsk tsk.

How would you like someone to say that grey haired old boot in stateroom XXXX?

 

Sammi was on our Diamond cruise from Whittier to Vancouver last fall and she was super.

 

Ciao for now!!!

 

We've had Sammi on a number of cruises now. DW loves her, I try to avoid her, believing she is best taken in very small doses.