First Timer Star Review Thanksgiving

[KariB]

Okay, a little long with many different areas of review. All is honest with a first timer cruisers perspective.

I am back from the 11/18 sailing of the Star. What a cruise! I will, for the most part, try to divide this into sections. It was my first cruise and first vacation with 3 kids and no husband…he went elk hunting instead!

We left 11/17 because we had Princess Air and they could not get us in for sailing on 11/18. Our flight had 2 connections (not bad for where we live) and they paid for the Marriot North in Ft. Lauderdale- awesome hotel by the way. They had us on the 8th floor and it was great. Breakfast was not included; however the buffet was $14.95 for adults and $9.95 (I think) for kids. It was great. We left about 1:00 via Princess shuttle for the ship. Embarkation was quick and smooth. No issues there. We got to our room, checked out the ship, and ate…mmmm! We did eat in the dining room for dinner and they sang Happy Birthday (twice) to my daughter who turned 7.

The next day was a day at sea which was very nice. My cousin got married that day and so I missed the Cruise Critic get together. The wedding reception was at Skywalkers which is a great bar. Then we just hung out the rest of the day. It was a formal night and me and the kids got some great pics!

Jamaica (Ocho Rios) was fun. We had a tour booked with A-Z Planners (separate review) and it was nice. The shopping area there got me…I do not like pushy people. My 7 and 10 year old and I did the falls and loved it. The water was so nice and the guides made it a lot of fun.

The next day was Grand Cayman. We didn’t make it; after reading these boards I wasn’t planning on it. I heard that none of the ships made it there. The seas were extremely rough. According to a crew member the winds were near gale force with 12-15 ft waves. They closed all the pools most of the day because the waves kept washing people out. We had a fun day anyways.

Cozumel was my favorite day. We went to the dolphin encounter at Chankanaab. It was a fun tour, however with the rough seas it was hard for my two younger (7 and 8) to stand in the chest high water by themselves. One of the lifeguards held my daughter and I held my son. That is a beautiful park and I would highly recommend it. By the restaurant is a sandy beach, very small, but the kids loved it. The food was sooo good! I would definately recommend an excursion through the ship as tendering was very slow and unorganized.

Another day at sea was nice. The pools were all open, the day too short, the beer too cold (not a complaint, simply a reflection of the bar tab!).

Princess Cays was nice. We rented a paddle boat for the four of us and a banana boat ride for each of my kids. My 7 year old loves water, but hated the banana boat. She came back soaked with a mouthful of water. She did get her hair braided though which made up for it.

My kids took advantage of the kid zone each day during the cruise. It was a blast! They had so many crafts and games that they never got tired of it. They do not take kids to the pools though, but every now and then to ice cream or dinner. They ate in the dining room the first night and then for Thanksgiving and that was it. The rest of the time I would take them to the buffet and have dinner alone.

Overall the ship was very nice. We loved our room steward who quickly became friends with my 10 year old. He would leave them all with at least 3 chocolates every night. Our room was always very nice, stocked with clean towels, and just perfect. We ate in the dining room (late seating) every night. The food was good and our waiters were great. Two hour dinners got to me real quick though. For breakfast and lunch we ate at the buffet (tried the dining room for breakfast one morning which was limited but good). I got a lot of cheeseburger for breakfast from room service. They were the best. And, my most used tip from this website: bring your own hot chocolate packets!! Every morning I would get coffee and hot milk for the kids. We added the cocoa and saved a ton of money. Also, I did hit the casino nearly every day. It was a lot of fun.

If anybody has additional question I would love to answer them. I am open to emails at barrkk@rtconnect.net with cruise in the subject line. I tried to be detailed on this without putting everybody to sleep. Lots more info though!!

[cuterlmt]

A few questions if you please:

1) how was the sewage smell?

2) Did you go to the movies? What was playing?

3) What kind of machines did they have in the casino? Any keno machines? video slots?

4) Why did the two hour dinners get to you? Was the food coming out slow?

 

We are on the princess star 3 weeks from yesterday! I can hardly wait!

Thanks in advance!

[rianvi]

You did a fine job with your review. It was very informative. I would also like to know about the smell. We sail in Feb./07. What was the entertainment like? Thank you for taking the time to write this review.

Peace, Anna:)

[KariB]

1) I have a very sensitive nose and did not once notice a sewer smell.

2) I didn’t make it to the movies; the one movie I remember seeing listed was Pirates of the Caribbean

3) The casino had all the typical machines. I do believe there was keno and video slots

4) The dinners were great. I am not one to sit around and eat for two hours. The courses were served in perfect timing. Perhaps it was just the company that got to me (my family).

Also, I did not make it to any of the entertainment. My mom went to the shows and she loved them all. She did take my daughter one night and She thought it was great as well.

[belfast]

Hi ther: thank you for your review. We are sailing on the Princess Star for my sons's wedding - he is getting married on January 7th. I'm a bit concerned about the "smells" as there are quite a few threads that mentioned it. My husband, mother-in-law and I are booked into a mini-suite D309 and we are hoping to enjoy the balcony without the smell.....

[wildabouttheworld]

I was on the Star for the Thanksgiving Cruise. How could you not notice the sewage smell? We are on the Starboard side and could not go out on our balcony many times because the smell was unbearable. Outside of our cabin it seamed to be random. You would be walking not smelling anything and then all of a sudden BAAM, it hits you like a slap in the face. My 13 year old daughter almost lost it several times if you know what I mean. There were people talking about it all over the ship. I was with a large party of 17 and we had 8 cabins in different parts of the ship and we all smelled it. There has got to be some health code violation here somewhere.

[wildabouttheworld]

I was in Dolphin 321 last week and the smell was bad, really bad.

[KariB]

Wildabouttheworld, I did not notice the sewage smell. I did, once, notice a candle burning and reported it to our room steward who tracked the candle down in quick time. I was on Aloha deck and on my balcony very often. There was absolutely no sewage smell. I thought the entire ship was ideal...weather is nonpredictable of course!

[augie]

I only had a brief whiff once or twice that could have been that.

[stewcrews]

Wildabouttheworld, I did not notice the sewage smell. I did, once, notice a candle burning and reported it to our room steward who tracked the candle down in quick time. I was on Aloha deck and on my balcony very often. There was absolutely no sewage smell. I thought the entire ship was ideal...weather is nonpredictable of course!

 

Hi Kari, Were you on the port side of the ship? We never smelled the sewer on our balcony(port front). We did smell it mostly on the starboard side. Coming out of the buffet on 14 and the front elevators. Also when we visited friends on the starboard mini suites it was bad.