Just Back From The Star...Some Impressions from a Celebrity Cruiser

[Nebr.cruiser]

Same here. I like well-done bacon and if they're broken, so much the better. If I take it off the top, there isn't much fat/drippings. It's subjective but I find barely cooked bacon gross and can't stand it. :(

 

Me too. I like really crisp bacon, and cruises are the one time a year I really indulge. The scrambled eggs now--ugh. I like my eggs real and nice and well done.

 

I agree completely about the cramped buffet areas, and some foods are less than stellar. Celebrity's buffets are much more accessible. I do like that they bring you beverages though.

[Kingofcool1947]

So, why is the kind of deck furniture important to you?

Edited November 21, 2014 by Kingofcool1947

[Nebr.cruiser]

So, why is the kind of deck furniture important to you?

 

Have you sat in the new balcony furniture? It's so uncomfortable, doesn't recline, to speak of, and the footstool and chair don't really work together. Just give me a nice lounge chair, or at least the old, more comfortable furniture.

 

If the idea is to drive people out of their rooms and spending money, then they succeeded--well, out of our room; we don't spend any more than before.

[tml1230]

So, why is the kind of deck furniture important to you?

 

Ya know….i really don't think it is any of your business. Nor do i care about your size and weight from your prior post.

 

Rich, the original poster, did a great report and offered to answer our questions…he has been very generous with his time and responses…

 

You are not Rich the OP, perhaps your name is Dick?

[Kingofcool1947]

Have you sat in the new balcony furniture? It's so uncomfortable, doesn't recline, to speak of, and the footstool and chair don't really work together. Just give me a nice lounge chair, or at least the old, more comfortable furniture.

 

If the idea is to drive people out of their rooms and spending money, then they succeeded--well, out of our room; we don't spend any more than before.

 

Nebr.cruiser,

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Was the purpose of changing out the balcony furniture a cost saving move? Or replacing the old furniture with new?

 

Regards,

 

King aka Dick.

Edited November 21, 2014 by Kingofcool1947

[Nebr.cruiser]

Nebr.cruiser,

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Was the purpose of changing out the balcony furniture a cost saving move? Or replacing the old furniture with new?

 

Regards,

 

King aka Dick.

 

They are replacing the old balcony furniture; I don't know if the new is cheaper, but I bet it is, at least according to the comfort level.

 

When we were on the Golden last year they were also changing out the Lido tables and chairs with some very cheap looking new stuff.

[UpcountryTravelers]

We are elite on both Celebrity and Princess, so we have sailed them both a number of times! I would agree with the general comparisons by the OP.

 

On Princess, we avoid the buffet as much as possible, and consider it a 'failure' if we have to eat there. If we want a snack and it's not time for lunch/dinner in the MDR, we will head to the pizzeria at the pool or the International Cafe. In Celebrity, the buffet food (and layout) is much better and we enjoy eating there.

 

We liked the buffet on Reflection better than on the Princess ships - EXCEPT: the buffet on Royal Princess and Regal Princess is vastly superior to all of them!

[Commodore]

We are just back from our 4th Princess sailing, & had a great time! I thought I would share some of my thoughts.

 

I thought that the service in all areas was fantastic. Our room steward was top notch; always with a smile, & the knack of somehow knowing when we were out, & magically having the room done. We had a balcony (big!) room on Caribe deck, which was fine, even without the couch. But can they make the shower any smaller?!, don't drop the soap!

 

We had anytime dining, which we have had on all of our Princess sailings, however, this was the 1st time we experienced waiting just about every night. Not fun. However, we enjoyed the food, & found the wait service great. We ate breakfast in the Dr most days, & were impressed with the fact that they NEVER let you run out of coffee, & are ready with the pepper mill immediately; something that has been lacking on Celebrity in recent cruises.

 

Probably our biggest disappointment was the buffet, which we found to be cramped with too few offerings, which were just so so. We much prefer the layout & selection on Celebrity S class ships. However, we love the fact that you no sooner sat down, & someone was there with a smile to offer coffee & juice, & at lunch, a cocktail server was always there to take our order.

 

It was nice to see that Princess still has a full activities staff; Celebrity has cut theirs about in half. Also, it was very noticeable to us how much the crew seemed to get along, with a lot of interaction & smiles when dealing each other. This transcends to the passengers.

 

The new terminal in SF was fine, but the lack of inside waiting area would be missed if it were not a nice embarkation day. We were lucky to have a beautiful sail away day. We also took a very reasonably priced Princess transfer to SFO, & were entertained by a very charming bus driver!

 

Overall, a great cruise, & we are looking forward to some Platinum perks after our next Princess cruise!

 

Any questions, I will try to answer them.

I just came back from a 27days cruise on the constellation Itambul to FLL with the Holy land.

I would have never booked Celebrity but Princess cancelled their Holy Land programs 2014-15.The only good thing about the Constellation is the Thalassotherapy pool, heated sea water that was fabulous the they have that huge window in the sauna.Beside that nothing to match Princess, as it was a B2B and had gty cabins we had to change cabins at the end of the first cruise.Now regardless if Princess has it or not never again Cebrity.

[Scauronga]

I was on the Caribbean Princess in March, and tried the Thermal Suite. It does not in any way compare to Holland America. It was 4-6 beds in a small alcove facing the shower. On Holland America it's this huge room with saunas, will a wall of windows facing the ocean. Going to check it out on our next cruise, hoping it's better.

[momsb]

how much was the princess transfer to sfo? (we are comparing to shuttle at $17 pp) thanks

[bdjam]

Did you go in the Thermal Suite at all? Trying to figure out exactly what's in there in the Star and how it compares to the TS on the Ruby and Emerald.

 

I've done the Thermal Suite on all three ships. The amenities are much the same, with Star's Suite a little smaller and on the same deck as the rest of the spa.

[Auntiejo]

I've done the Thermal Suite on all three ships. The amenities are much the same, with Star's Suite a little smaller and on the same deck as the rest of the spa.

 

 

Thank you! We are sailing on the Star in April and we spend a lot of time in the Thermal Suite, so I wanted to be sure it has all the amenities we are accustomed to from the Emerald and Ruby.

[Ronnieslady]

The dining room was not open on our October 25th sailing except for BVE folks. We missed it.:(

 

The dining room was open for lunch on embarcation day , on our Star Princess cruise to Hawaii out of LA last April 2014. We would have been very disappointed if it had not been open.:( The BVE folks were there also. Hope this is not a new trend:eek:

Edited December 14, 2014 by Ronnieslady

[hilcadon]

We were on the same cruise and the Star was fantastic. We were in the Cabo San Lucas suite and it was incredible. The room was really nice with a huge bathroom and tons of storage space. The deck furniture was extremely comfortable and the deck was enormous.

We did the all inclusive drink package and thought it was worth the money. We were celebrating our 30th anniversary and enjoyed "Vines" before dinner. Chris and Valeria were the best. Crooners "Martini Bar" was packed every night. You will totally enjoy "Mar" the bartender. I think that Princess lost some money on us!!!

We also did the Chefs table that was one of the best dining experiences that I can remember on a cruise ship. Please remember to sign up as soon as you get on board as there is limited space. On the 15 day I believe that there were only three groups of ten total (30 passengers).

We also did the Ultimate Ship Tour and really enjoyed the experience. The robes are really nice and heavy so pack lightly so you can bring them home. We had to pay 285.00 in luggage fees to get home!!! Both bags were over 50 lbs.

Weather was fantastic and service was the best of any cruise line I have been on. I will be sailing on Princess again.

[UpcountryTravelers]

The dining room was open for lunch on embarcation day , on our Star Princess cruise to Hawaii out of LA last April 2014. We would have been very disappointed if it had not been open.:( The BVE folks were there also. Hope this is not a new trend:eek:

 

The dining room has been open on embarkation day on several of our Princess cruises, but with a VERY limited menu.

 

As for the buffet, I prefer the beverage "get your own" on Celebrity and the old Princess system. I really like having my beverage during the entire meal, rather than it arriving halfway through.