Star 10 night Mexico & Sea of Cortes: Review, photos, ship tour, and vlogs

[Sheebah]

We had an amazing sailing on Star Princess’ 10 night Mexican Riviera and Sea of Cortes itinerary. We will share our daily vlogs, stateroom tour, and loads more videos along the way (some fun tips from officers, how we organize our stateroom). We are also editing a full ship video tour, and will scan and share the menus from all 10 nights as soon as possible.

Living in California, we chose this cruise because it allowed us to unwind beyond the standard 7 night trip to the MR, and experience the ports of Loreto and LaPaz, all without flying.

While we’d been to La Paz before, we were hungry to explore more of the Sea of Cortes, and the brand new experience of Loreto. The ports we visited were San Diego, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, La Paz, and Loreto. This ship normally sails Hawaii 15 night itineraries, as well as Alaska, so this was a “one off”. My husband and I sail with our 8 year old son, and he loves to cruise.

 

We chose cabin A333, a balcony cabin on Aloha Deck and LOVED the convenience of being just one floor down the pool and Horizon Court buffet. Noise was never an issue, though you could hear the dragging of chairs on occasion during daytime hours. The balcony was fully covered, which was nice.

 

 

We departed on a Thursday from the port of San Pedro, and our first port stop (San Deigo) was the very next day. Embarkation was pretty smooth, though slow to board due to a special group ahead of us. I was sad to see that Princess no longer offers a lounge for Platinum guests, as this was our first platinum sailing. They do have a reserved seating area, but it quickly became crowded, and there was no water to drink, unless you bought it out of a vending machine. Kind of a bummer. We didn’t take a lot of still photos, but you can see our full embarkation experience in the first vlog. After boarding the ship, my husband set off to film the quiet areas of the ship that he could before the crowds hit. My son and I acquainted with our room, and headed to the Maitre’D station in the dining room to have our 5:30pm dining time moved. This was NO problem, since people were eagerly awaiting that early spot. The maitre D was lovely and moved us to a standing 7:15 table in the anytime dining room, which worked out wonderfully. Day 1 flew by and before we knew it, we were in San Diego!

 

Our stop in San Diego happened to be on Veteran’s Day, and we planned to visit the USS Midway museum. The sunrise approach into San Diego was quiet and beautiful. You can catch the time lapse in our vlog, later in this post.

 

 

To our (pleasant) surprise, the Star Princess docked JUST adjacent to the Midway, and we could watch the parking lot fill with morning employees and special visitors for Veterans Day right from our balcony cabin. It was an unseasonably hot day, about 90 degrees in November, and not a cloud in the sky.

 

 

We toured the midway for a few hours, enjoyed the Veteran’s Day celebration on the flight deck, had a greasy lunch onboard, then walked back to the ship to cool off in the pools (it was SO hot!). We caught a glimpse of the Veteran’s Day parade as we walked back to the ship, and it was wonderful to see Veterans out with their families enjoying the San Diego waterfront.

 

 

 

Once back onboard, we went to a moving Veteran's Day ceremony on the pool deck. The officers did SUCH an incredible job of honoring the occasion, and the onboard veterans.

 

 

 

Finally, here is our day 1 vlog covering embarkation, sailaway, and everything in between!

 

Questions welcome! More to come as fast as I can type and upload images ;-)

[Renmar]

Cool, we were on this cruise also. Loved the port of Loreto.

Looking forward to the rest of your adventure.

 

Theo

[Colo Cruiser]

Very nice!

[CATGUY7]

Fun! I feel like I'm there!

[Sheebah]

Cool, we were on this cruise also. Loved the port of Loreto.

Looking forward to the rest of your adventure.

 

Theo

 

Thanks Theo! Love your site!

Sheri

[Sheebah]

Here's our video of our experience in San Diego aboard the USS Midway, and the lovely sunset Veteran's Day ceremony onboard Star Princess. The sunrise approach in San Diego is so pretty! I still can't believe how silent it was sitting atop the bridge, filming as we glid into the harbor.

I loved seeing the sailors bunks on the Midway, and experiencing the grandeur of the flight deck. We hope to return another day, in cooler weather.

 

[Sheebah]

It’s going to look like all I did today was eat and drink, and I suppose that’s okay! LOL! If you’d like to skip to the vlog to see what we REALLY did, here ya go:

 

 

Before morning Zumba,one of my favorite things to do while my husband and son were still sleeping was to head to the coffee shop at the International Café, and have a cappuccino – the staff was so friendly and quick, and I used my coffee card from my last sailing, which lasted me the whole trip:

 

 

I scored some yummy sushi at the lunch buffet, which didn’t appear through the rest of the cruise (not that I saw):

 

 

I signed up for MaitreD wine tasting and it was WELL worth the $25 or so dollars, with 6 very high quality poors, and decent bite sized appetizers to pair:

 

 

One of the highlights of our first Platinum cruise was the nightly invitation to Skywalkers for reduced priced pre-dinner drinks and complimentary appetizers. The appetizers weren’t that exciting, and usually ranged from chips and guac, to cheese and crackers. The drink variety is GREAT, and after ordering the 100% alcohol “Chairman of the board” on the first night (whoa), I transitioned to something milder on night two- the midori flavored “Japanese Slippers” which tasted like it looks- refreshing and sweet!:

 

 

Next up, sunny Cabo!

[Sheebah]

Fun! I feel like I'm there!

 

Thank you! I wish we all were!

[Sheebah]

Very nice!

 

Thanks Keith! Looks like you've been on a few Princess cruises yourself!

[senior lady]

We were on this cruise also. Brings back great memories.

I thought it was one of the best cruises I've been on

[srpilo]

Sheebah, I was on this cruise also, and was surprised how much we enjoyed this itinerary :)

 

 

 

Love the Star, and like you had a fantastic cruise .. Thanks for the review !

Srpilo

Edited January 9, 2017 by srpilo

[easyboy]

Very nice video!

[jeromep]

Saw all of your videos about this cruise. They were all really nice.

[shipfriend_max]

Hey, thank you for your review and videos! :)

 

We are going to sail this itinerary the 28th of March on Star Princess, and REALLY LOOK FORWARD to it.

 

How did you perceive the overall conditions of Star Princess?

Did you have great food, crew, etc? And still tea time, as well as snack service @Movie Under the Stars? :)

[besito20]

Searched for Princess Star cruise ship reviews and your videos popped up when I was doing my research for my next cruise. I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed your videos and tips! Helped me decide to book on the Star for the repositioning cruise in October this year. Thank you for helping me decide! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your review. I'm looking forward to reading more. I've been on 8 MR cruises and will be on my 9th in December. I still love reading about people's experiences as I'm always looking for new things to do. I have been blessed with so many excellent experiences cruising in Mexico.

[Thedesertrat]

It’s going to look like all I did today was eat and drink, and I suppose that’s okay! LOL! If you’d like to skip to the vlog to see what we REALLY did, here ya go:

 

 

Before morning Zumba,one of my favorite things to do while my husband and son were still sleeping was to head to the coffee shop at the International Café, and have a cappuccino – the staff was so friendly and quick, and I used my coffee card from my last sailing, which lasted me the whole trip:

 

 

I scored some yummy sushi at the lunch buffet, which didn’t appear through the rest of the cruise (not that I saw):

 

 

I signed up for MaitreD wine tasting and it was WELL worth the $25 or so dollars, with 6 very high quality poors, and decent bite sized appetizers to pair:

 

 

One of the highlights of our first Platinum cruise was the nightly invitation to Skywalkers for reduced priced pre-dinner drinks and complimentary appetizers. The appetizers weren’t that exciting, and usually ranged from chips and guac, to cheese and crackers. The drink variety is GREAT, and after ordering the 100% alcohol “Chairman of the board” on the first night (whoa), I transitioned to something milder on night two- the midori flavored “Japanese Slippers” which tasted like it looks- refreshing and sweet!:

 

 

Next up, sunny Cabo!

Great job! We are going on 3/28 can hardly wait!

Saw all of your videos about this cruise. They were all really nice.

 

 

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

[Sheebah]

Thank you for your review. I'm looking forward to reading more. I've been on 8 MR cruises and will be on my 9th in December. I still love reading about people's experiences as I'm always looking for new things to do. I have been blessed with so many excellent experiences cruising in Mexico.

 

 

Thank u!! We love the MR too- so convenient if you live nearby.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Sheebah]

Searched for Princess Star cruise ship reviews and your videos popped up when I was doing my research for my next cruise. I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed your videos and tips! Helped me decide to book on the Star for the repositioning cruise in October this year. Thank you for helping me decide! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

Thanks so much! A repo sounds amazing!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Sheebah]

Hey, thank you for your review and videos! :)

 

 

 

We are going to sail this itinerary the 28th of March on Star Princess, and REALLY LOOK FORWARD to it.

 

 

 

How did you perceive the overall conditions of Star Princess?

 

Did you have great food, crew, etc? And still tea time, as well as snack service @Movie Under the Stars? :)

 

 

Yes, tea is still lovely and is 3:30 on sea days. Movies under the stars were also awesome- the ship is old and showing west but well cared for if that makes sense. Crew was exceptional on this ship!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Sheebah]

Saw all of your videos about this cruise. They were all really nice.

 

 

Thank u! So glad you enjoyed them [emoji41]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Sheebah]

We were on this cruise also. Brings back great memories.

 

I thought it was one of the best cruises I've been on

 

 

Me too! There was something truly special about it. It didn't fly by, the staff were friendly and I want to go back!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Sheebah]

Sheebah, I was on this cruise also, and was surprised how much we enjoyed this itinerary :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love the Star, and like you had a fantastic cruise .. Thanks for the review !

 

Srpilo

 

 

So glad you enjoyed it- I'd love to get back on this ship.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[shipfriend_max]

Sheebah, thanks for your reply. ☺ I know the ship is older but many of my last booked ships have been older, so no problem. For me it's important to have a feeling of cruising many new builds do not offer.

Nice you could enjoy it all... will you upload more pics, and also menus? [emoji924]☺

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Gold Mine Gal]

Thank you. We will be on the Star to Hawaii in November. Looking forward to more of your review.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums