Just off the Star Princess and likely a Princess Convert (formerly a Disney cruiser)

[ov911lady]

Like you, we are embarking on the STAR on March 28 and so delighted there have been so many nice comments about the ship. It will be our first ELITE cruise so looking forward to the perks esp. the free laundry. Are you on the roll call? Please join some of us at the Outrigger Bar after the muster drill on the 28th. :) Good friends are on the STAR right now on their way to Hawaii-their first Princess cruise as they usually cruise with HAL. Their first days comments have also been favorable.

Yes, we are on the roll call thread for the 28th. We will keep the Outrigger in mind, not being sure what DH has in mind.

Congrats on Elite! That's us next cruise.

I believe I recognize your board name. We're you on the Ruby on the same itinerary early last March? I made it to that MAG. Nice to put faces to the names.

Getting excited for this much needed time off!

[coopco]

Thanks for a GREAT review. I love the insider's view. I wanted to book a Disney cruise for the kids when they were younger but never felt it fit the budget. My kids grew up on cruises --, Carnival, RCCL, and Princess, but I never felt Disney was in the budget but felt badly we never did one. Your review is so informative for someone who has never been on a Disney cruise. There are pros and cons for sure (like the entertainment from what I read). But now I don't feel badly about never going on a Disney cruise. My kids (now in college) love cruising and are trying to convince their friends to go on group cruises. I love your honest review so people know the pro and cons of each cruise line. THANK YOU!

[MeeMawJ]

Hi, I'm enjoying finding this post. My husband and I (& two other couples) are doing Princess LandCruise in June - Star Princess. My husband and I have done three RC cruises and our first time on Princess. If I'm understanding correctly, Star Princess will be updated before our June cruise. Anyone know?

[AVCruzers]

Yes, we are on the roll call thread for the 28th. We will keep the Outrigger in mind, not being sure what DH has in mind.

Congrats on Elite! That's us next cruise.

I believe I recognize your board name. We're you on the Ruby on the same itinerary early last March? I made it to that MAG. Nice to put faces to the names.

Getting excited for this much needed time off!

Yes-we were on the cruise last March-esp. loved our time in Loreto since a friend's brother (owns a family home there) took us around the town on his golf cart (he won't be there this time-darn!) Friends are on the STAR right now enjoying their first cruise with Princess; she mentioned today that the captain is really friendly/often around ship! :) Packing list is out for smaller items but we don't pack clothes until almost last day.

[tinybiny]

I guess I need to wrap up my comparison because I didn't take any notes and the cruise is already fading from my memory since there's so much going on back in non cruise life.

 

Overall, I'd say that Disney is a more elegant ship. Pretty much anywhere you look, you'll see something pretty. Things are kept very clean, sparkling clean. The public bathrooms are gorgeous. It's like going to a very nice hotel lobby bathroom.

 

Food is much better and more plentiful on Princess. There's really no comparison. This can be a double edged sword, as it would be easy for me to eat too many calories on Princess.

 

Service is excellent on both.

 

Adults only areas - Princess has much more to offer. Disney has areas, but parents are always walking their kids through the areas. For some reason, kids need to stomp when they walk through it. I can always tell when a kid is walking through before I even look up. The floor vibrates. The Sanctuary on Princess is truly a Sanctuary.

 

I didn't really see kids running wild on Princess. I was in the quieter areas most of the time, though. Kids run wild on Disney. I've never used a pool on a ship, but there are more pools which seemed generally better on Princess. Although, I have to give the fun factor to Disney for their water slides and features.

 

Princess pricing is much better than Disney.

 

Disney has full blown broadway caliber stage shows. They are great, but also a minus to me since they are only Disney themed.

 

Staterooms are far better on Disney. Since I don't spend much time in my room, that doesn't matter much to me.

 

My husband said he liked Princess more than Disney and I did, too. I'll still sail both. Disney sails out of my home port in San Diego and that is very convenient, especially their quick weekend getaways. Princess seems to have more west coast options.

 

One thing I didn't like on the Star was that we couldn't walk across all the decks. I am fairly certain that I always walk across every deck on Disney. There were places were we had to go up and down levels to get where we wanted to go. I was pretty sure I was never going to cruise on Star again after the first couple times that I needed to do that, but I did eventually get used to it.

 

I recently added another Disney cruise (only 2 nights) in September because I had some timeshare points I needed to use up and it's way more convenient and easier for me to take a 2 night cruise out of my home port than book another timeshare stay somewhere.

 

I have a Disney 5 night Baja cruise scheduled next year. I actually looked to see if Princess had a similar itinerary around the same time and didn't find a close enough match. I was going to cancel Disney and go with Princess. I guess that could still happen after my 2 night in September on Disney if I feel like a need a longer break from the constant Disney music and kids running around.

 

We canceled our Disney Alaska cruise for next year (already did it twice with them) and booked on Island Princess instead. I think I am more excited about that cruise than any other cruise I've ever booked.

 

I'm still interested in trying other lines,too. Since I don't care to fly, I'm pretty much only looking at cruises that sail out of southern California. I did think about flying to Oahu and taking the Pride of America, but the reviews are generally bad and I think I'll stick with my land visits to Hawaii for a while. I get bored on sea days, so round trip Princess isn't something that I'd do - especially with having to pay $100/day for pet sitting.

[jeromep]

We canceled our Disney Alaska cruise for next year (already did it twice with them) and booked on Island Princess instead. I think I am more excited about that cruise than any other cruise I've ever booked.

 

I think you'll really enjoy Alaska as Princess presents it. I firmly believe that Princess has one of the best cruise products for visiting Alaska. They generally have great guest lecturers and enrichment programs to go along with where you are cruising.

 

It's nice to have somebody new to Princess present such a realistic review of the line. Realistic and thoughtful. You have done well acknowledging what you like and miss from Disney, but are able to discern what made Princess a line you would go back to again.

[paradise4ever]

Thanks for your review. Love it. I love chicken strips and am happy to hear I can order them off the childrens menu. Many times I have asked my waiter for things not on the menu like fried pork chops, chicken noodle soup, oso buco, white rice, etc. They have always accommodated us. They delivered the pork chops on a platter for everyone to have some. My husband had alzheimers and sometimes was sharp with the waiters. He couldn't understand why he had to wait to eat as others were ordering. Every nite there was a bowl of chicken noodle soup at his seat. They took such good care of him. I think that Princess has the best wait staff over and above any other line. If you don't see anything you really want, ask. The pork chops and oso buco was ordered the nite before. Enjoy, they are there for you.

[So_Tweetie]

I am loving the review, we were on the same trip and agree with everything you say so far. (Except the Disney comparison as we haven't cruised with them)

 

Thanks for the review! I was glad to meet you in the Sanctuary even though we didn't chat.

 

Your observations of the Star are on point. Very accurate. One thing I wanted to mention is that while the Sanctuary was very nice on the Star, the attendants weren't nearly as observant as on other ships. They were "OK" in my book but had to be flagged down if you needed or wanted anything.

 

PaminCA I think I recognize you from your profile image - my boyfriend and I were a few chairs to your right in the Sanctuary. We reserved chairs for the full cruise and noticed the same thing with the attendants. I was surprised that my nearly empty glass of lemon water was still sitting at the table when I came back one evening, after leaving it there around 10AM.

[riclop]

Glad you enjoyed it now step up to the Regal/Royal.

[nanabananna]

I am loving this review of the 2 cruise lines.

 

I have often thought about Disney Cruise Lines but looking at the prices, scared me away. Also, unless my grandchildren were traveling with us I think the kids might not be an experience I want on vacation! I keep my 4 grands everyday our vacation is time to regroup and rest. LOL

 

We will be on the Star to Alaska, May 27. I am glad you had a nice time on Star Princess.

 

Sandra :halo:

[Sillyjilly]

Glad you are enjoying it. I feel like I need to hurry and post the rest before I forget, lol.

 

My daughter wasn't on this cruise. If she was, we would have asked about chicken strips for sure. I didn't even look at the room service menu - it could have been there like it is on the Disney room service menu. I also never asked for the child's dinner menu (might be on there), but I did request a child's dessert one night. I told my server I read about a Love Boat dessert and he explained 2 versions to me. I asked for the volcano one (read about it on here) and he brought it. It was crazy good and I could only eat about half of it. Tips from reading here gave me a huge edge on this cruise.

 

Now to try to post as much as I can before I forget everything that I wanted to post. :p

 

I'm sure they are on the children's menu in the dining room. You can order from that menu every day if you want.

[Pam in CA]

PaminCA I think I recognize you from your profile image - my boyfriend and I were a few chairs to your right in the Sanctuary. We reserved chairs for the full cruise and noticed the same thing with the attendants. I was surprised that my nearly empty glass of lemon water was still sitting at the table when I came back one evening, after leaving it there around 10AM.

Yup... did we chat about being in the Sanctuary together on another cruise? We had to get an attendant's attention to get anything. My daughter's lunch plate was left until afternoon tea when they had to clear off the table. I did tip but not as much as I have on other cruises.

[Robinsoncruiseso]

Great review. Just got back from a week on the Regal Princess. That buffet will put you in a food coma! We will be on the Star to Alaska May 20th. This is a new ship for us (not new to Princess) and I am excited to try her out. I love Skywalker's on the Grand Class ships. We do several west coast trips so maybe we will see you on board sometime.