Star Princess

[Tennant]

We are considering an Alaskan cruise on the star princess. For anyone that has sailed on her recently, how is her condition? Has she been upgraded recently? How does she compared to the crown and/or ruby which are the last two princess ships we have been on. Anyone sailed her in AK? Does she have a covered pool?

 

Thanks!

[skynight]

Yes, The Star has an Indoor Pool. It's a nice ship and was in nice shape when we were on board in 2013

[denmarks]

The Star, Golden, and Grand are triplets built around the turn of the century. There are minor layout differences due to changes during dry docks. They are the only Princess ships that I have been on and they are in great shape.

Edited December 2, 2014 by denmarks

[satxdiver]

I just got off the Star and it is in good shape. The ship is a sister to the Grand and Golden. Last drydock the configuration of the HC was altered to add a separate dessert counter outside the normal food serving area which helped with the congestion. The walls present in the other two ships that separated the aisleway and tables has been removed making access to the tables much easier. Other than that she is similar to the Golden. The Grand was heavily modified in its last drydock so it is not the same anymore.

 

The Crown and Ruby are later "grand class" ships and are quite a bit different than the earlier models with more pax decks, balcony state rooms and basic configuration but with many similarities. I like the Ruby/Crown/Emerald ships better. BTW the Royal is quite a bit different than any of the other ships (Regal is the same).

[Tennant]

Thanks for the feedback. We love the itinerary for AK and plan to take a mini suite on deck 8. Hoping it's not too much different from the crown and ruby.

[tml1230]

Hi we are currently in Kaui Hawaii on the star …heading back to San francisco tomorrow….the ship is going into dry dock next week before the cruise over Christmas….it is a great ship with an even better crew….it is showing some rust here and there on the balconies but i am guessing that will be touched up in dry dock…i imagine somebody will bitch about that but it no a big deal…make sure you try the crab shack if you enjoy lobster and crab…for $ 20 bucks it is WELL worth it…..

 

We have been on a bunch of cruises with princess but first time in a caribe deck balcony…we tried one ….based on reports here…i wish i hadn't….now we are hooked on them and my attempts to convince my wife that lido deck inside rooms are just fine are not working…if you are looking at a balcony try one on caribe…they are larger and half covered…..

[pusywillow]

Hi we are currently in Kaui Hawaii on the star …heading back to San francisco tomorrow….the ship is going into dry dock next week before the cruise over Christmas….it is a great ship with an even better crew….it is showing some rust here and there on the balconies but i am guessing that will be touched up in dry dock…i imagine somebody will bitch about that but it no a big deal…make sure you try the crab shack if you enjoy lobster and crab…for $ 20 bucks it is WELL worth it…..

 

We have been on a bunch of cruises with princess but first time in a caribe deck balcony…we tried one ….based on reports here…i wish i hadn't….now we are hooked on them and my attempts to convince my wife that lido deck inside rooms are just fine are not working…if you are looking at a balcony try one on caribe…they are larger and half covered…..

 

I loved my cruise on the Star to Alaska in June. Glacier Bay was amazing!

 

I was not aware the Crab Shack served lobster. Was it a whole lobster or just the tail?

 

Sue

[caribill]

How does she compared to the crown and/or ruby which are the last two princess ships we have been on. Does she have a covered pool?

 

Thanks!

 

Star has one less passenger deck and thus about 500 less passengers than Crown and Ruby.

 

Star has a covered pool.

 

No Adagio lounge on Star.

 

Only two of the aft elevators on the Star go down to the aft dining room on deck 6 and up to Skywalkers.

 

International Cafe on the Star does not have gelato.

 

Aft show room on the Star (Vista Lounge) has a better layout than Club Fusion on the Crown and Ruby.

Edited December 3, 2014 by caribill

[timetravler]

I love the Star and will be on her after it finishes dry dock. For us it is just the right size of a ship and just nice all the way around. We like having a cabin on the Caribe deck like so many do. I LOVE SKYWALKRS both as a great place to go for the views and also for the 5pm cocktails and pupu's for elite. I am totally looing forward to seeing David Cole, the CD again. He is one of my favs. To the OP, you will not be disappointed in the Star.

[lake5298]

Compared to Crown and Ruby, Star Princess has one less deck of cabins.

 

As the theatre and dining rooms are roughly the same size, this equates to less crowding, less queueing for shows, dining and tenders.

 

In my opinion, this makes quite a difference, and I prefer Star / Grand / Golden to the other ships...

[Jasperdo]

My wife and I spent 15 day on the Star Princess on a Hawaii cruise back in March. We also sailed on her to Alaska in 2008. The Star is a great ship. We would gladly sail on her again. If you're interested I have a link to the pictures I took on both cruises below in my signature. The Alaska cruise was before it's refurbishment.

Edited December 3, 2014 by Jasperdo

[partybarbie]

DH and I have been on the Star many times, including Alaska this past June. This is one of our favorite ships. We usually book inside aft cabins. We love the proximity to Skywalkers and the Vista Lounge. There's not a a lot of foot traffic, which makes it pretty quiet and easy to sleep.

[landnsea]

When the ship returns from its current Hawaii sailing it will be dry docked for 15 days in San Francisco, new paint inside and out, new carpet throughout, new teak decking on the Promenade Deck and pool areas, and the best of all upgraded WiFi in each of the cabins throughout the ship.

A shave and a hair cut is what some call it.

 

John,Laura and Gaby

Seattle,Wa.

Go Hwaks

[DougH]

I was also just on the Star recently and IMHO the best upgrade they made was the addition of glass windbreaks at the entrance both fore/aft into the Lido buffet. This simple addition eliminated the blast of wind that would make tables near the entrances miserable. Sure hope they make this simple change on all the other Grand class ships.