Star Princess Coastal Hits and small misses

[gnatz007]

The room did have its misses.

 

• The toilet stopped working daily for the first 5 days. Evidently someone upstream of us was sticking something in they shouldn't have, or using too much paper. killing the suction to ours and our family members next door. A minor inconvience. They would have it fixed within minutes of us calling.
  
• The steel outside of our room, was pretty rusted out. A little unsightly when you were at the rail outside. Not a big deal, but it made the ship feel "tired". This was evident in a few places.
  
• One day (maybe day 4 or 5) birds did their business on our balcony and on some of the furniture. It was never cleaned up, even after mentioning it to our steward. It was cold enough in the evenings that we spent most of our time just standing at the railing and never really sat in the furniture. Again not a big deal, unless you were in a warmer itinerary.
  
• The bathroom was showing signs of aging. Need to be recaulked, etc. the floor was a little weathered. I have certainly stayed in much worse, but we remember all to well the Star in its inaugural season, in all her glory
  

 

[shredie]

I'm surprised the bird droppings weren't cleaned up. Most stewards are really good about that.

[gnatz007]

I'm surprised the bird droppings weren't cleaned up. Most stewards are really good about that.

 

yeah we were surprised also. luckily it was on the smaller chair most weathered chair that nobody really wanted to sit on anyway. We also had the doorway open to the balcony next door, so we had plenty of furniture. But never really sat, just stood and watched the seas go by while others were getting ready for dinner.

[Renmar]

We are enjoying your review. We will be on the Star in October. As for the miss in the Horizon court, you could have snagged some of those Easter eggs for breakfast. :p

 

Theo

[ar1950]

As far as the rust outside, we saw rust on the Regal on our December cruise. The ship was only 6 months old and already was developing rust in many outdoor areas including areas around our balcony. One thing we noticed was that the crew was always busy painting and doing whatever they could to keep up with it. Obviously a losing proposition on a ship that is at sea 24x7. BTW, we thought that the Star was in amazingly good condition on our 2013 cruise.

Edited April 15, 2015 by ar1950

[rdsqrl]

Your sailaway photos were stunning.

And there is no such thing as too much food porn. Bring it on!

Really enjoying your review; thanks for doing this.

[SilverLining4Me]

What beautiful Easter Eggs and the bunny made me smile/laugh out loud.

[gnatz007]

I just have to compare the Star to the Royal for a second. I'm not trying to start a religious war as I know there are zealots on both sides. But hey, this is my review, I can express my opinions right?

 

Things I liked on the Star better.

• Central Stair Case... seriously Royal, how can you not have this?
  
• Full wrap around, covered, promenade deck. How can you not have this? Our favorite thing to do is walk fully around the Promenade deck. On the Royal we really missed this and felt empty inside when we we went out on its sorry excuse for a promenade. Sure they have the running track, and its nice, but its not the same trying to run in a suit!
  
• A full view off the bow of the ship. I really like looking forward, and the Royal didnt really have that. I love being on the wings of the bridge at sailaways. I want a place I can see almost 360 deg and soak it all in. The Royal was really awkward that way.
  
• Star has so many better pools. On the Royal the pools were lacking and over crowded. I felt like I was entering a war zone everytime we went to the pool and tried to grab a chair.
  
• MDR food was exceptional on the Star. On the Royal it was good, but the Star was better.
  

 

Things we liked on the Royal better:

• The Horizon Court on the Royal... WOW once you've been to their Horizon Court the Star Princess's Horizon just seemed sooo small. The Food was considerably better in the Royals horizon.
  
• In room TV system. Wow was the Star's TV lacking. Granted we dont watch much TV while on a cruise. But the options on the Royal were awesome in comparison to the Star. Wish they would upgrade the system on the Star.
  
• The Entertainment in the Vista and Theater were sooo much better than the Star. The Star's entertainment was lacking. More on that to follow.
  
• The International Cafe on the Royal was better. They changed up their selections more. While the Star's was great (except for the egg sandwhiches) it felt like they were always offering the same selections. On the Royal they changed it up everyday. It was like IC scavenger hunt... we always had to go see what was new for us to try out. We loved the Royals IC.
  
• What can you say about the Royals Piazza. Its breathtaking! its massive and absolutely stunning. There was always something going on, and a great place to grab something from the IC and just hang out. The Star felt dead in comparison. Still beautiful, but nothing in comparison to the Star.
  
• Princess@Sea. We really missed having the patter on our iphone's. I hate having to carry that thing around. I'm sure it will come to the star... but we really missed it.
  

 

Overall I would sail on either ship in a heartbeat. But we really like the layout and ease of getting around on the Star better. If I had to choose between the two, the Promenade, better views, and central stair case would push me to the Grand Class ships everytime. If the Royal Class ships are going to a place I want to go, I wouldn't hesitate at all to jump back on.

 

BTW, the service on both was exceptional.

[partybarbie]

I'm really enjoying your review. The Star is one of my favorite ships. I would like to try the New Royal and Regal, just to see the new shows and their HC and IC. Thanks for sharing your cruise with all of us here on CC.

[gnatz007]

How about some more pictures? Here are some more food picts for you addicts...

 

Some sort of seared fish that I had, I think Mahi Mahi but I will have to look at my menu's (sorry I forgot to push it to the better lighting)

 

Dessert choices in the Horizon:

 

Seafood appetizer (once again will have to look at the menus for the real name)

 

 

Baked Alaska

 

 

Sorry these are so random... We didnt take pictures of everything, and I didn't have them all cataloged and in order.

 

Pork Tips

[Cruisin' Chick]

Great photos and review so far. The Star was our first Princess ship and that was for the Mexican Riviera during Valentines Week in 2003.

[gnatz007]

More Pizza! The Pepperoni pizza was the BOMB!

 

 

Found them! Their are the missing Chocolate Donuts! My personal fave!

 

Ooops... Party eaten Prime Rib before I could get a pic. Bad Son!

 

 

Sorry some are kind of dark. the lighting at our particular table wasn't fantastic..

 

Crayfish. I didn't try this, but my son said it was AMAZING!

[gnatz007]

Ooh Crap! Late for a meeting! I will post some walk around the ship pictures later! Enjoy.

[gnatz007]

ok ok one more real quick one to finish the food... Crab, Shrimp, Scallops with caviar

 

[TLC535]

THANKS for the great review & pics:D we are sailing the Star 2 weeks from today and this is helping pass the time ;)

 

Love the food porn but would also like to see more pics around the ship if you have them...;):D

[gnatz007]

THANKS for the great review & pics:D we are sailing the Star 2 weeks from today and this is helping pass the time ;)

 

Love the food porn but would also like to see more pics around the ship if you have them...;):D

 

I have tons of ship pictures... they are coming... very soon...

[Northender]

Love the pictures and the review. Did you go to Crown Grill or Sabatini's?

 

Also, in your excursion packet (if you still have it) was there a post cruise tour of San Francisco with the Princess Transfer to SFO?:D It seems they have a tour some of the time only.

 

I will have a chocolate donut in your honor.;)

[Colo Cruiser]

I will have a chocolate donut in your honor.;)

 

 

ummmmm Cronut!

 

 

[TLC535]

I have tons of ship pictures... they are coming... very soon...

 

wooohooo...Thank you !

[TLC535]

I will have a chocolate donut in your honor.;)

 

ummmmm Cronut!

 

I'll have one of each...needing a afternoon "sugar buzz" about now...:p;):D

[gnatz007]

The Head Waiter was making spaghetti and meatballs on Italian night right in the main dining room. My kids thought that was a cool thing.

 

[gnatz007]

Just a cool sculpture out of fruit

 

[gnatz007]

The first morning I had the opportunity to walk around the ship a little earlier and get some pictures before my family woke up.

 

The Promenade... my favorite.

 

Vista Lounge

 

 

Entrance to Sabatini's

 

 

Just a cool meat slicer in Sabatini's

 

Inside Sabatini's

 

[gnatz007]

Love the pictures and the review. Did you go to Crown Grill or Sabatini's?

 

Also, in your excursion packet (if you still have it) was there a post cruise tour of San Francisco with the Princess Transfer to SFO?:D It seems they have a tour some of the time only.

 

I will have a chocolate donut in your honor.;)

 

I'll take a look at my patters and other stuff and see about post cruise tours. We were faced with an 11 hour drive home, so we asked for early disembarkation and left as soon as we could... as much as it pained us.

 

Unfortunately we didn't eat at either the Crown Grill or Sabatini's... next time.

Edited April 16, 2015 by gnatz007

[Colo Cruiser]

Great photos. :)