Star around South America 12/12 - longish review

[shepp]

I've been naughty and haven't posted reviews of my last few cruises. Nothing that the Star from SFO in December has received limited coverage aside from Amelia's thread and a single posted review, I thought I'd Do My Duty. I just submitted a review and thought I'd share.

 

It sounds pretty darn critical, but we both had a great time, honest! Igave the entire experience a 4+ rating, but...

 

Read on.

 

This was my ninth (and longest) Princess cruise, and one my partner and I were particularly looking forward to. And it was a great cruise…almost.

 

The Star was in excellent shape, except for occasional sewage smells. And the journey was wonderful. Embarking 20 minutes from my house and ending up in Argentina? I'll do that! It was great to celebrate the winter holidays aboard. The food was consistently very good-to-excellent (except in the Horizon Court, which as usual tended toward "mediocre"). Waitstaff and Stewart were fine. Lecturers like Dr. Ray and Lennard Davis were excellent. The chicken Waldorf salad at the International Café was as delicious as remembered. And dolphins leapt beside the ship while we dined.

 

The "almost" part mostly had to do with senior staffing.

 

While the CD seemed personable enough, some of the scheduling was a mess: e.g., the Martini demonstration was scheduled for the Atrium at the same time as the Captain's party, and the Jeopardized trivia event was scheduled at the same time as regular afternoon trivia. Line dancing was frequently in conflict with trivia, then a long gap in which little was scheduled. Speed trivia, a 20-minute-long event that was scheduled immediately after Bingo, often was 10 to 20 minutes late getting started.

 

And speaking of trivia….yes, I love it. But this was, for many of us, a month-long cruise. It would have been nice if a greater variety of activities had been offered. Yes, there were tango lessons. But really: "Scholarship at Sea" is now origami folding and line dancing? Would it have been so tough to schedule, say, a scavenger hunt or two? Or something a bit more thought-provoking? It really felt like non-revenue-producing activities got short shrift.

 

This was my first experience with shorter, 30-minute shows, and I can't say I'm impressed. The good ones seemed over before they began, the less-good ones were still too long, and during my umpteenth go-round with the Motown show, I found myself missing the bit with the Supremes. It seems silly to review the guest entertainers, since they won't necessarily be on future cruises. I will say I walked out on a few acts - which others enjoyed - but really liked Bobby Wilson, son of the legendary singer Jackie Wilson.

 

We're mostly independent travelers, and this was a great itinerary for that. I only booked a couple of ship's shore excursions, and both were probably a mistake. We paid a premium to have Princess bus us back and forth to Antigua from Puerto Quetzal, so we could maximize our time there without worrying about getting back to the ship. But the tour arrangements were askew, and all the Antigua buses showed up a full hour late, cutting our time in the town from 5 hours down to 4. And the pricey hike around a Nicaraguan volcano was really just a pleasant stroll through cloud forest, the only geothermal activity being one tiny fumarole. We also ended up docking late at many, many ports, perhaps unavoidably but still, after awhile... We received notice that we'd be hours late into Ushuaia just the day before, though it had to do with a change of berths which must have taken place earlier. (Which turned out to be a blessing, allowing us to see Chile's Glacier Alley during comfortable morning hours. I wonder why that highlight isn't always on the itinerary.)

 

I did hear plenty of complaints from others about the Shore Excursion department. E.g., our friends had their Falklands penguin-viewing tour cancelled by Princess, ostensibly because of a spate of bad weather. Real reason: Princess couldn't round up enough drivers for all those signed up, so half of them ended up going, others not.

 

And this was a trip with some uncertainties, due to politics. Would Argentina let us end the trip in Buenos Aires, or would we disembark in Montevideo? Would we visit the Falklands or not? We got one letter early on advising us of the uncertainty of ending up in Buenos Aires (well, others did, since our steward never got the letters to hand out, nor did we - and others - ever receive our disembarkation request forms). But after that, nothing. No update, no more information. As it happened, we were able to complete our entire itinerary, which was wonderful. But it would have been nice if we'd been treated as something more than revenue sources who didn't deserve to be kept informed.

 

Also, halfway through the cruise at Valparaiso, half the original passengers were replaced by summer-in-the-Southern-Hemisphere vacationers, mostly from Latin America, many with small children. Things got rowdier, with some misbehaving children and some very loud teens. Yeah, I sound like "You kids get off my ship!" but the indoor pool and hot tubs (in very cool weather) were monopolized by children, and kids went running up and down hallways with no apparent action by the staff. I've always avoided cruises at vacation times, and now I know why.

 

But no, I'm really, really not one of those cruisers who just seek out the negative. And yes, I know no cruise is perfect. It's just that when you're onboard for a full month, the niggling details begin to add up and rankle. Had this been my first Princess cruise, I might have been disinclined to book another one.

 

Oh, one other negative thing. Disembarkation at Buenos Aires - from the difficulties of finding luggage to the utter disorder of grabbing a taxi - was a full-fledged nightmare, and Princess did nothing visible to ameliorate that.

 

But the positives? Almost everything else.

 

Best port experiences? Ziplining over 11 waterfalls in Costa Rica. Grabbing a local bus from Manta to buy a Panama hat in Montecristi. Strolling around the wonderful town of Valparaiso. Taking a boat From Punta Arenas to see nesting penguins. Hiking up a mountainside high above Ushuaia. The Falklands penguin tour, in a caravan of 4WDs that kept getting stuck in the mud. Renting a car in Puerto Madryn and driving to see yet more penguins in Punta Tombo. Exploring beautiful Montevideo. And, after the cruise, spending days touring Buenos Aires and seeing the amazing Iguazú Falls.

 

Yes, I'll be sailing Princess again, in just a few months, to Hawaii this time. And yes, I'd sail the Star again. But I would hope for a less flawed experience…and a different CD.

[bdjam]

Hey Shepp - thanks for the review and welcome home. I was on Star Princess in late October and one of the things that we noticed too was the totally horrible scheduling. Ours included things like a sound check in the atrium at 10:00 pm, right in the middle of a nice evening listening to the piano player in Crooners over cocktails and a showing of Spiderman on MUTSA during what should have been a beautiful evening sail away from Honolulu. I thought it might have been Martyn Moss since he's accountable for the scheduling - and he was, I might add, a little sad that his "favorite" ;) crew member was leaving the ship - but in talking further with some of the staff, they blamed the new entertainment schedules which were apparently decided in a dark room at Princess headquarters rather than by observing any shipboard activity.

 

Was Ulrich your CD? I got to know him on one of the last Regal Princess sailings and he seemed pretty level headed to me - but from what I could tell on Star Princess the corporate mandate overrode any common sense.

 

And speaking of Star Princess, my exerience was that she need to have some nuts and bolts tightened. I have sailed on some of the older Princess ships more regularly than the newer ones, and she's the only ship that I can remember that creaked and groaned that much for the entire 15 days!

 

Glad to hear that most of the trip was good for you. I'm heading out on Grand Princess to Alaska in the summer so it will be interesting to see what's happening six months down the road.

[shepp]

Was Ulrich your CD? I got to know him on one of the last Regal Princess sailings and he seemed pretty level headed to me - but from what I could tell on Star Princess the corporate mandate overrode any common sense.

 

Yep. Like I said, he seemed personable enough. (Though, not that I'm a CD groupie, but in a month onboard, I rarely saw him around and he never acknowledged my existence.) Maybe I was unfair laying problems at his feet, but when there are outright mistakes in the Patter (and there were), it's ultimately his responsibility. And I doubt anyone in Santa Clarita declared, "Thou shalt schedule two trivia games in the same time slot."

[bdjam]

Yep. Like I said, he seemed personable enough. (Though, not that I'm a CD groupie, but in a month onboard, I rarely saw him around and he never acknowledged my existence.) Maybe I was unfair laying problems at his feet, but when there are outright mistakes in the Patter (and there were), it's ultimately his responsibility. And I doubt anyone in Santa Clarita declared, "Thou shalt schedule two trivia games in the same time slot."

You're right about that - but now that you mention it, I remember mistakes in the Patter when we were on board as well. There did seem to be some looseness around the ship that I hadn't experienced before...still, like you, the experience was 4 plus stars...

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for the review. Unfortunately, the Star (and likewise large ships) are just too da$&@m big for the Falklands. I've been there twice: once on the Golden and maybe 50% of the passengers could be accommodated on any tour, and once on HAL's Amsterdam, a much smaller ship and great experience. It's unfortunate that many don't realize that they really need to book tours, either through the cruiseline or independently, well in advance. There were a lot of pissed-off people on the Golden but nothing could be done. There just aren't the resources for that many people.

 

BA has got to be the worst embarkation/disembarkation port ever. It's just plain nasty. :(

 

Many say, "Oh, I don't care who the CD is as he doesn't affect my cruise." News flash! Whether you participate or not, he or she does. Poor or lack of planning affects everyone onboard, from available activities to crowd control.

[gelo7]

Thanks, for sharing your thoughts.

[CruisinChris]

Just out of curiosity, who was the Captain? I find that they often set the tone.

 

That's a real shame about the CD and a real problem. Scheduling is one of his chief responsibilities and if he can't do that well, he shouldn't be a CD. just sayin'

 

Brian - maybe she squeaks more as a result of some the deck repairs that were done after the fire? I personally find that this whole class is noisy when the water is up. In rough water they just bang, bang, bang. (I love it though).:D

[Lew's cruise]

Thanks for the review. We're trying to figure out the best itinerary for us to take next year.

Lew

[shepp]

Thanks for the review. Unfortunately, the Star (and likewise large ships) are just too da$&@m big for the Falklands. I've been there twice: once on the Golden and maybe 50% of the passengers could be accommodated on any tour, and once on HAL's Amsterdam, a much smaller ship and great experience. It's unfortunate that many don't realize that they really need to book tours, either through the cruiseline or independently, well in advance. There were a lot of pissed-off people on the Golden but nothing could be done. There just aren't the resources for that many people.

 

Definitely. I booked my tour with Patrick Watts ten months in advance; it sold out quickly. As you say,there aren't that many people on the island, and there are just so many drivers and vehicles to go out to Volunteer Point.

 

In all fairness, the weather had been extraordinarily wet, and I heard that a number of drivers didn't want to spend the extra time and effort making their way over boggy ground. But the letter from Princess made it sound like it was simply a matter of bad weather, yet half the passengers were able to take the ship's tour, half not. Not a very transparent way of doing business. And since the ship's tour cost twice what Patrick's did, I wonder whether Princess could have offered a bonus to recalcitrant drivers, even if it meant trimming the profit margin.

 

The trip overland took an hour longer than usual each way, every 4WD in our caravan got bogged down at some point and had to be pulled out of the mud, halfway through our time at Volunteer Point we got caught in a freeing rain. And when I got back to the ship, I heard others saying what I thought: it was one of the best port adventures ever.

[Pam in CA]

The Princess tours cost more because they guarantee a certain # of bookings, have insurance and liability, and guarantee the passenger's return to the ship. When I was there, I've seen 4WDs bogged down, have mechanical problems, etc. The mud could easily cost a diver his vehicle so even a bonus couldn't cover his loss. :( Patrick is good (as long as you pay in £ but that's another story) but if one or two of his vehicles had broken or you were delayed, you would have had a very long, expensive return to the ship.

[Mom33]

Thanks for your candid and informative review.:D

[bdjam]

Brian - maybe she squeaks more as a result of some the deck repairs that were done after the fire? I personally find that this whole class is noisy when the water is up. In rough water they just bang' date=' bang, bang. (I love it though).:D[/quote']

Could be - I was on Caribe deck on the port side (where the fire was) but I was in section 6 and I think the fire was in sections 3 through 5 - not that it wouldn't affect the whole deck.

But yeah, there was a lot of bang and a lot of creaks and groans. I've been on Golden and Sapphire and neither of them seemed to be complaining as much as Star Princess. I had a nasty creak in my cabin ceiling that woke me up a couple of times. That's NEVER happened before - I usually sleep like a log at sea.

I still enjoyed the ship and I think I'm one of the few who really likes the original Grand Class footprint...so it was OK, just interesting :)

[lovevacadays]

Thanks for your review. I didn't think it was negative. It sounds like you had a really good cruise but there were some issues. You provided good information for others you might be doing this cruise.

[rdsqrl]

I enjoyed your review, and thank you for the penguin photo. Penguins -- my new obsession (like I needed another one . . . ). It sounds like an amazing cruise and I don't think you were overly critical. You do make a good point -- a month aboard can be a long time to shrug off small inconsistencies/annoyances. A point to keep in mind, should I ever be fortunate enough to sail for that long. Thanks for doing a review of an itinerary that I'm very anxious to take myself.

[caribill]

Oh, one other negative thing. Disembarkation at Buenos Aires - from the difficulties of finding luggage to the utter disorder of grabbing a taxi - was a full-fledged nightmare, and Princess did nothing visible to ameliorate that.

 

 

What happens in the terminal building, from the way luggage is placed to getting a taxi, is totally out of Princess' control.

 

As Pam pointed out, this port has been and still is a nightmare for disembarkation and also for embarkation.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[shepp]

The Princess tours cost more because they guarantee a certain # of bookings, have insurance and liability, and guarantee the passenger's return to the ship. When I was there, I've seen 4WDs bogged down, have mechanical problems, etc. The mud could easily cost a diver his vehicle so even a bonus couldn't cover his loss. :( Patrick is good (as long as you pay in £ but that's another story) but if one or two of his vehicles had broken or you were delayed, you would have had a very long, expensive return to the ship.

 

While I understand that basically Princess is providing trip insurance, I'm unclear that it's worth and additional $175 per person. I suspect that whatever Princess spends on holding up departures for late arrivals is far outdone by the profit margin on their markups on tours.

 

In this case, it's my memory that the ship's tour actually had more problems than we did. It's odd that Patrick could find sufficient drivers, while Princess couldn't. And anyone who book the Princess tour figuring it was more of a sure thing stood a 50/50 chance of having their tour cancelled.

 

(Oh, and Patrick had specified long in advance we'd have to pay cash, and dollars were fine - I don't know what happened to you.)

 

When I booked the "Antigua on Your Own" tour, I figured it would have been superior to four of us splitting a taxi. Instead, we were kept waiting in the Princess theater for a long, uncertain 90 minutes while Princess scraped up enough buses, the advertised "walking tour map" was a pathetic joke, our scheduled five hours in Antigua was cut short by a full hour, and reboarding in Antigua was utterly disorganized, with some people unable to find their correct buses and no one from Princess around to help.

 

The only thing I got for the premium price was the assurance the ship would wait for me. Fortunately, I'd already spent weeks in Antigua and had brought along a decent guidebook. If that had been my only opportunity to see the town, I would have been more peeved. It would have been nervy of me to ask for some compensation for the experience, but we never got much expressed concern from Princess at all.

 

I have no idea whether this was just bad luck, or whether tours are staged better on other ships, but I do know that other passengers had complaints about the way their tours were handled. If I'd booked the Antigua trip with a private tour company, I would never use them again.

[shepp]

What happens in the terminal building, from the way luggage is placed to getting a taxi, is totally out of Princess' control.

 

As Pam pointed out, this port has been and still is a nightmare for disembarkation and also for embarkation.

 

I have no idea how the Buenos Aires port operates. I do know that when we boarded in SFO, Princess had pretty total control of what happened to us in the terminal, from the doorperson onward. If the BA port is a known catastrophe, Princess could have provided someone to make sure the luggage was correctly sorted by color. They might even have gotten someone to do what my partner ended up trying to do: keep order in the taxi queue so people didn't break in with impunity, leaving a crowd of hot, angry people yelling at one another while waiting forever for a ride. It really felt like once Princess had extracted their last dollar, they washed their hands of us.

 

Which reminds me: As I said, I never got my disembarkation form. When I went to the CS desk, telling the staffer I had independent arrangements, she gave me tags for a group going on a Princess after-cruise tour. Had I not double-checked and gotten replacements, my luggage would have ended up in some Buenos Aires hotel instead of in a crowded, disorganized pile at the pier. Had this been an isolated incident, it would have been easier to shrug it off. Taken with other things, it added to my feeling that the Star was sloppily run.

[caribill]

In this case, it's my memory that the ship's tour actually had more problems than we did. It's odd that Patrick could find sufficient drivers, while Princess couldn't. Not so odd. There are a limited number of drivers and many of them work for Patrick.

 

 

When I booked the "Antigua on Your Own" tour, we were kept waiting in the Princess theater for a long, uncertain 90 minutes while Princess scraped up enough buses, the advertised "walking tour map" was a pathetic joke, our scheduled five hours in Antigua was cut short by a full hour, and reboarding in Antigua was utterly disorganized, with some people unable to find their correct buses and no one from Princess around to help.

 

It would have been nervy of me to ask for some compensation for the experience, but we never got much expressed concern from Princess at all.

 

No, it would not have been nervy to ask for a partial refund as Princess did not deliver the excursion you had been promised. Amytime the excursion does not deliver what Princess promises, you should report it to the tour desk. You may or may not get some money back, but unless people complain, similar problems will exist for future cruisers.

 

 

see above in red