My First Star Princess Review

[Solent Richard]

My wife and I have recently returned from our first cruise with Star Princess. We sailed from Los Angeles on her 15 night Hawaiian Adventure and had a very enjoyable time.

 

We had booked a mini-suite on Deck 9...

 

 

...and were very pleased with it. The bed was one of the most comfortable we have experienced and that includes the beds on Oceania.

 

 

We were also well pleased with the quality and variety of food onboard

 

 

...and also found the Princess wine package to be excellent value...

 

 

 

I have written a full review on my cruise blog which contains over 70 photographs and includes descriptions of the itinerary, port stops and the excursions we took. Here is the link...

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2018/04/01/star-princess-hawaiian-islands-adventure/

 

 

Cheers Princess.

[rocklinmom]

Thank you for this wonderful review and pictures! We will be on the Star in June.

[Solent Richard]

Thank you for this wonderful review and pictures! We will be on the Star in June.

 

Bon Voyage.

[LawDog61]

Star is my favorite Princess ship.

[paul929207]

Thanks for the comments

[MWcruiser]

Great review and pictures. I especially enjoyed the perspective of a first time Princess cruiser who has lots of other travel experience. With all the talk of declining quality of mainstream cruising, your fresh eyes on the Princess product reminded me of the things we enjoy about Princess.

 

Your assessment of the game show type entertainment is spot on. It should not replace good production shows and other talented entertainers. Quality of entertainment has varied from excellent to mediocre on Princess ships we have been on, and we have become selective in what we choose to attend. We do enjoy MUTS which you did not mention. I also hate the lack of enforcement of the dress code and the tolerance of chair hogs.

 

 

I am glad you enjoyed your first Princess cruise and thank you for your interesting review. I intend to spend some time reading other travel articles on your blog.

[IECalCruiser]

Solent Richard,

 

I just looked at your photos and noticed on the Dining Room menu you posted and noticed the option of "Crown Gril Selects." Was that offered every night?

 

Also, was the "Sea Day Brunch" on a Sunday?

[anthonyy7]

Very nice review, thank you.

[FritzG]

We were on the March 4 Hawaiian cruise, and it was our 24th Princess cruise. It was by far the best cruise we've had in several years, and the Star is quickly becoming our favorite ship.

 

I think our cruise was the first one to offer the brunch buffet in the Amalfi dining room, and it appeared to be very popular. There was a wide selection of food including both breakfast and lunch entrees, and there was also a full menu. You could order from the menu, the buffet, or try both. Everything we tried was excellent, and I hope they introduce it on other ships. Our was on a Friday which was a bit of a disappointment for me as it was Lent, and we could't eat meat, but there were plenty of non-meat items.

[mindy2]

Thank you for such an interesting and detailed review. Most enjoyable.

 

 

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[Lucky TGO]

Great review and excellent photos!! Thank you.

Tony

[Solent Richard]

Solent Richard,

 

I just looked at your photos and noticed on the Dining Room menu you posted and noticed the option of "Crown Gril Selects." Was that offered every night?

 

Also, was the "Sea Day Brunch" on a Sunday?

 

 

Hi there IECalCruiser.

 

Yes it was, and at the supplements posted.

[IECalCruiser]

Hi there IECalCruiser.

 

 

 

Yes it was, and at the supplements posted.

Thanks for the info. Enjoyed looking at the pictures of the Star as we were on her for 23 days in South America in 2010.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[vtcman]

Thanks for this review, we are sailing in a week and it's refreshing to see what's current. Some of the speculation I read about in comments on older reviews left me concerned about a lot of things. I am looking forward to our upcoming cruise regardless.

[couchking]

Thanks for the great review and photos. I am going on the Star one week from today and your review was a wonderful preview.

 

quote=MWcruiser;55726259]Great review and pictures. I especially enjoyed the perspective of a first time Princess cruiser who has lots of other travel experience. With all the talk of declining quality of mainstream cruising, your fresh eyes on the Princess product reminded me of the things we enjoy about Princess.

 

Your assessment of the game show type entertainment is spot on. It should not replace good production shows and other talented entertainers. Quality of entertainment has varied from excellent to mediocre on Princess ships we have been on, and we have become selective in what we choose to attend. We do enjoy MUTS which you did not mention. I also hate the lack of enforcement of the dress code and the tolerance of chair hogs.

 

 

I am glad you enjoyed your first Princess cruise and thank you for your interesting review. I intend to spend some time reading other travel articles on your blog.

[Solent Richard]

Thanks for this review, we are sailing in a week and it's refreshing to see what's current. Some of the speculation I read about in comments on older reviews left me concerned about a lot of things. I am looking forward to our upcoming cruise regardless.

 

Thanks for the great review and photos. I am going on the Star one week from today and your review was a wonderful preview.

 

quote=MWcruiser;55726259]Great review and pictures. I especially enjoyed the perspective of a first time Princess cruiser who has lots of other travel experience. With all the talk of declining quality of mainstream cruising, your fresh eyes on the Princess product reminded me of the things we enjoy about Princess.

 

Your assessment of the game show type entertainment is spot on. It should not replace good production shows and other talented entertainers. Quality of entertainment has varied from excellent to mediocre on Princess ships we have been on, and we have become selective in what we choose to attend. We do enjoy MUTS which you did not mention. I also hate the lack of enforcement of the dress code and the tolerance of chair hogs.

 

 

I am glad you enjoyed your first Princess cruise and thank you for your interesting review. I intend to spend some time reading other travel articles on your blog.

 

Thank you both for your kind comments.

 

When it comes to the enjoyment of a cruise I always say that so much depends on one's research and, equally important, the attitude one takes on a cruise..

 

While it never affected me personally, one practice I noticed purely by accident, usually due to me passing a venue, was the number of other passengers prepared to queue ( that's 'form a line' in American speak) for dinner a good 15 to 20 minutes before a restaurant opened.

[azbirdmom]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog. It was wonderful to see the Star through your eyes as we've cruised on her many times. Glad you had a wonderful cruise and thank you for sharing your experiences.

[Alaskanb]

When it comes to the enjoyment of a cruise I always say that so much depends on one's research and, equally important, the attitude one takes on a cruise..

 

While it never affected me personally, one practice I noticed purely by accident, usually due to me passing a venue, was the number of other passengers prepared to queue ( that's 'form a line' in American speak) for dinner a good 15 to 20 minutes before a restaurant opened.

One of the "downs" on the Star Princess is the lack of tables for two at the early traditional dinner. The option offered to us was that the doors to the Capri anytime dining room are opened at 4:45 pm for the 5 pm seating -at that time tables for two are usually available. We quickly discovered that we needed to be in line by 4:30 pm for this to work.

[ChrisB123]

Thank you so much for your wonderful review. It was the best I've ever seen (your blog). It answered many of my questions. My husband and I will be taking this trip in October and can't wait. I do have a question, is the ship as empty as it appears to be? Most of your pictures are spectacular with no people around. :)

[AF-1]

great review and a wonderful blog. I enjoyed reading all about your cruise and then went on to read your American Queen review. Thanks for posting