Star Princess Aug 1 Alaska

[dcdisney]

I just returned from our first cruise on the Star. Everything for the most part was wonderful with our cruise experience. We LOVED our cabin locations (plaza deck) and the other guests and staff were all so welcoming. The weather was just about ideal with the only overcast day coming in Ketchikan. We did have a few minor issues (toilet didn't work one morning but they fixed it within an hour) and a few larger ones. One of the big issues was a mattress that was way too old. Luckily we are "young" and don't have aches but anyone with a bad back would have suffered greatly as the mattress was very compressed in areas so it was very lumpy. The pillows were so old that it felt like a bag of lumps and smelled strongly of someone's perfume. I did ask for some new pillows and got 2 that were a tiny bit better (no smell!) but I will bring some cheap ones from Target next time and just throw them out at the end to have room for souvenirs. The ship was in good condition and kept very clean. There was a flu outbreak towards the middle of the week. I had a shot recently and caught a mild version so wasn't miserable but people who had a fever were being confined to quarters. One of the families on our excursion in Juneau were initially not able to leave the ship because their cards were flagged as being on quarantine as they tried to leave since one of their family (in another cabin) was sick. They were all healthy and were able to get cleared off the ship after much arguing. The food was mostly all very good. I was surprised because we are not much of a buffet family but we enjoyed breakfasts and lunches at Horizon Court. I mostly had the fish dish of the day for lunch and they were all tasty and not overdone. If they offer fish in a phillo nest definitely try it that was a great dish. I liked that the dessert servings were small so we didn't have to feel too guilty. The only meal I would say was bad was a lunch in the formal dining room. They had very inexperienced wait staff and the food wasn't cooked properly. Maybe since it isn't a busy time of day it's a time to work with newer staff? We ate twice in the Crown Grill and once was amazing food and service. The lobster, lamb, and molten chocolate dessert were among the best I have had. The second visit we had a sub-par waiter and though the food was still good it was just kind of a weird meal. We also ate in the Crab Shack and it was OK. On the Star it is not all you can eat. Those who got the mixed basket got plenty of food and were happy but those who got shrimp and crab got a small handful of small shrimp and 1 crab leg (which was super good) and did have to seek out the buffet immediately after. We also got 2 fried shrimp and a small hush puppy as an app. I don't really understand why they wouldn't allow for more shrimp as they serve bigger shrimp on the buffet with no limit at dinner but anyway it was just kind of awkward having half the family done eating after 5 minutes and clearly hungry while the others had heaps in their baskets but was cooked in wine which limited sharing with the hungry ones. We will definitely cruise on Princess again. It was a great time just sharing some of the minor issues so others can benefit.....

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your comments.

I find the pillows exactly how you describe, "bags of lumps". :mad:

 

No excuse for those terrible mattress's. Seems like its still an issue on all ships except for the 2 new ones.

[Bruinboy]

Going on the Star for the first time in Feb so appreciate your quick review of the ship. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[Working 2 Cruise]

Mattresses are being replaced. On my two last cruises on the Crown, we had fabulous pillows and new, very comfortable pillows.

 

So, these things do depend on the ship. We definitely didn't feel the need to go to the Crab Shack since, crab legs were served in the MDR, the day we were in Juneau. Got two servings! It's too bad you weren't aware of it.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[Grayce]

On our Emerald cruise last year the mattress was horrible. Had a huge dip in the middle. The steward did put an egg crate mattress pad on it but it didn't help much. I mentioned it in my post cruise survey. Seems that I have heard multiple people complain about the mattresses on Princess.

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your review. Did you do Princess excursions or independent ones in the ports?

[dcdisney]

All of our excursions were through Princess and we were happy with all of them. Our time in Ketchikan was adjusted I think by 30 mins and we had 2 excursions there with zip lining getting back to the ship at exactly the on board time so I was glad that was through Princess. Our full day excursion in Skagway ran about 45 mins late which was fine because there was still plenty of time. If I was on my own I probably would have done private. I'm sure I would have been happier with the private excursion in Skagway (smaller group but same stops) but for Juneau I think we got a much better excursion through Princess (Gastineau Guiding if you google them it lists their excursions through Princess) than what I would have booked privately. We did glacier hike and whales. I'm sure the whales would have been the same but we saw much more at the glacier with a guide than we would have just being dropped off plus the convenience of pick up/drop off, GREAT guide, and even a nice snack bag.

[caribill]

Juneau I think we got a much better excursion through Princess. We did glacier hike and whales. I'm sure the whales would have been the same but we saw much more at the glacier with a guide than we would have just being dropped off plus the convenience of pick up/drop off, GREAT guide, and even a nice snack bag.

 

About how many people were on the whale watching boat with you? Any problem getting a good view?

[dcdisney]

There were 18 total and we all had seats by windows plus you can stand outside front and back with plenty of room for all.