Star Princess Review-LONG

[jwave]

This review is of our 7 day Western Caribbean cruise on the Star Princess, March 17-24, 2007. This is my 7th cruise, my 5th on Princess. I traveled with my husband and our 8 year old daughter. We are in our early 40's. This was my daughter's spring break. We chose this itinerary specifically because we had already been to all the ports and wanted relax more than do a lot of shore excursions.

 

We drove to Fort Lauderdale and stayed at the Renaissance Plantation prior to the cruise. The Renaissance was a nice hotel, not too far from Port Everglades. Since it was Spring Break, hotels were hard to come by and all were very expensive.

 

Embarkation: Because we drove, we were able to come and go as we pleased. Therefore, we had a relaxing morning in the hotel before heading to Port Everglades. Despite our documents suggesting we arrive after 2:00pm, we arrived just after noon. There was a line which began moving as soon as we got in it. The line moved quickly and in moments we were in the building and waiting to check in. Those lines moved quickly also, and we were on the ship by 12:30 (at the latest).

 

Our Cabin (D301): We booked a mini-suite on the starboard side. We were close to the front of the ship. We have almost always sailed in a mini-suite, since we typically sail with our daughter. We find this cabin a good value for our money. The mini-suites are approx. 323 square feet, including the balcony. They consist of the bathroom, closet area, bed area, sitting area, and balcony.

 

The bathroom door is inside the "closet area". There is a small hall with the hanging closet on one side, the bathroom door on the other and a cabinet of shelves in the back with full-length mirrored doors. Inside this cabinet is the safe, which operates with a four digit code of your choice. There are approx. 7 shelves, including the one with the safe. This is where we put all of my husband and my folding clothes. (Did I mention that I GROSSLY OVERPACKED!) The hanging area had a good amount of hangers, probably 20 shirt hangers and 10 skirt/pants hangers. There is a large shelf above, which holds life vests. We had more than enough room to store all our hanging items (though I could have used a few more skirt hangers), we used the floor space under our clothes for shoes and one of our suitcases. On the shelf above we stored carry on bags. We hung a garbage bag (from home) on a hanger as a laundry bag. The lay out of this closet/bathroom area, allows the hall to be a dressing area. The only down side is if someone is in the "hall" and you open the bathroom door.

 

The bathroom is decent sized (for a cruise ship) and well laid out. It is a rectangle with the toilet at one end (opposite the door) and the shower and sink area on either side. There is a bathtub/shower combination. This is great for us, because my daughter can take a bath. When she was younger, this was much easier than trying to shower her. The bathtub is good sized and I have even taken a bath in it and I am not a size 2...or 4...or...well you get the point. The shower curtain is fabric and did not stick to me (I HATE that). In side the tub there are two small triangular shelves, which adequately held shampoo and conditioner, razors, shave cream and soap. There was also additional room on the edges of the tub. The shower controls allowed for pressure changes and temperature changes (though they were in Celsius). There is also a massaging shower head. The water pressure was always adequate and the water temperature was always consistent. The water is however VERY soft, which makes rinsing off more time consuming. The toilet is a vacu-flush type, which is very loud and takes some getting used to (on my first cruise I scared myself pretty badly), but works well. The sink area runs the full length of the bathroom, which allows for a good amount of counter space. Along the back wall there are three glass shelves, which held two drinking glasses and storage space. There is also a decent-sized railed area on the a shelf under the sink for additional storage. Even with three toiletry bags and LOTS of little girl hair stuff, we had LOTS of extra room.

 

The bed area had the beds pushed together. I really wish they would just make some of the mini suites with permanent queen beds. The bump in the middle stinks. There has been much discussion on the mattresses on Princess, and in our case, I agree with the opinion that they need to be replaced. Even cheap hotels have upgraded their mattress and it is time for Princess to do the same. We did request and received an egg crate mattress topper, which helped. The new pillow menu, was a nice touch and we were brought down pillows in addition to the regular ones, so we had TONS of pillows. The new duvets are wonderful. On either side of the bed is a nightstand with a shelf and two drawers. We used the shelves for our reading materials and did not use any of the four drawers. On each of the nightstands is a lamp with a dimmer. Above the bed is an over head light as well. After the bed there is a vanity/desk. This has a good sized mirror and the hair dryer and three small drawers. We used these for medicines and first aid stuff, makeup and hair stuff. The desk is a nice place to write or keep your daily patters. Across the room from this is a bar/counter area. On the bed side of the bar is the minifridge in the cabinet and a bottle of water and a couple of sodas on the above shelf. (The water and soda are not free, if you drink them you will be charged). The fridge is narrow. We fit several waters, beers and sodas in it (which we brought on with us, with NO trouble), but our box of wine was too wide to fit, we had to take it out of the box and stuff the bag in the door area of the fridge. Above the shelf, is another shelf with the two tvs, one facing the bed and the other facing the sitting area. Below the sitting area tv, were two large shelves, which we used for our beach towels, sunscreen, and additional water, soda and beer. (did I mention I grossly over packed).

 

The sitting area: This area consisted of a love seat, an arm chair, an oval coffee table and another nightstand, with a shelf and two drawers. We stored all of my daughters folding clothes in the drawers and her entertainment items (coloring books, crayons, gameboy, paperdolls, books, etc.) The love seat folded out into a bed. It was completely comfortable for her, but I do not know how an adult or worse TWO adults could sleep on it. The sitting area made the room very comfortable on rainy days or down time.

 

The balcony: The balcony door slides open, which is nice. The door is very heavy though, and it does take some muscle to open and close it. That is great if you are traveling with a small child. This is the first time my daughter could open it without help. The door is outfitted with a sheer drapery and blackout drapery. The balcony furniture is new since my last cruise and the chairs are mesh and metal instead of plastic. Very nice and quick drying. Even after a long rain, they were dry in minutes. There are four chairs two regular and two that recline. The table is larger now and also metal and plastic instead of just plastic. I think it is larger to accommodate the special balcony meals they do, since the old tables would not have held a meal for two. They used to have a footstool also, but that is gone. The railing is high, with plexiglass below. Great to be able to see out while seated.

 

 

 

The ship:

 

The Star Princess is still in great shape. Yes, there are small signs of wear and tear in evidence, but they are in the minority.

 

Deck 15: The kids areas (aft), the spa and spa pool and basketball court (forward). The kids area is VERY NICE, with lots for the kids to do. There are board games, video games, crafts, art and organized activities almost all day, every day. The kids area was open from 9-1, 1-5, and 7-10 on sea days, with 10-1am available for $5 an hour (the other hours are free....though we did give them a tip at the end). On port days, the kids area was open from 8-5, and then 7-10, but you had to sign your child up the night before port days, so they were staffed correctly. My daughter loved going here and made several friends. They have ice cream socials, pajama parties, pizza parties, karoake, a disco party and a kids talent show. My daughter BEGGED to go every night and went for a least part of each day. The counselors are great. One counselor remembered my daughter from our last cruise TWO YEARS AGO, by SIGHT. We did not use the spa this trip so I can't comment. The spa pool is fabulous and quiet, with soothing "spa music" playing. My husband and I spent our time without our daughter at this pool. The deck chairs are real teak with chair pads and little pull out side tables. The pool was almost always empty, as were the two hot tubs there. Bliss.

 

Deck 14: The Horizon Court, Outdoor Pool and Covered Pool, Outdoor Grill and Pizzeria.

 

The Horizon Court is the 24 hour buffet. We ate breakfast here everyday. They do have an omelet station but it is out by the outdoor pool at the outside grill, not really convenient to the rest of the buffet. They had all the usual breakfast items (french toast, pancakes, scrambled and fried eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, cereal and yogurt every morning in addition to other items, like broiled tomatoes, oatmeal, or miso soup. We found the breakfast to be of good quality. Lunch and dinner at the buffet had many of the items on the dining room menu. We ate lunch either in the buffet or at the outside grill or pizzeria. The pizza was good (though it was much better last cruise), the burgers and hot dogs at the grill were excellent....though a line forms and gets long at the grill. The buffet at lunch had too many "dinner" entrees for me. I wish they had a sandwich station or lighter items, but the food was tasty. My daughter ate dinner in the buffet before going to the kids area twice and always found something she liked. We don't have a problem with the layout of the buffet though many do, since it is not a traditional straight line. This cruise we found that many people turned it into a traditional straight line which caused back ups. There are a few drink stations on each side offering coffee, ice tea and hot water (in the morning there is juice on the buffet line) and a water and ice machine. On this trip the water/ice machine never had ice (it was in a bin nearby) and the water was always warm. I think they should fix that! I do wish they had soda machines here so you did not have to go to the bar or get a waiter, but oh well. The coffee is okay (not great) and the ice tea is too strong for my tastes.

 

The Outdoor Pool is lovely and we usually spend a lot of time here, but between the weather and the college students, this was not a place for us.

 

The Covered Pool is very nice with better lounge chairs and a quieter atmosphere. This was perfect on rainy days. This is where the children were. They now have a youth patrol which helps keep behavior in check and they were actively enforcing the no diving/no jumping rule in the pool. Chair hogging was happening, but they were picking things left for hours and putting them in a Lost and Found type area, this helped.

 

Deck 12-8: Mostly cabins.

 

Deck 5,6,7: These hold most of your bars, shops and theatres and of course dining rooms.

 

Bars: We went in the wheelhouse bar once this cruise, it is our favorite of the bars. We did not go to any of the others this cruise.

 

Shops: Did not visit them this cruise.

 

Theatres: There is not a bad seat in the Princess theatre...and on this cruise we were ALWAYS able to get a seat, no matter when we arrived. We saw at least one show each night, either in the Princess theatre or in the Vista Lounge. The Vista Lounge filled up for each show, but as long as you were a few minutes early you got a seat. The little couch like seats are comfortable, but if a tall person sits in front of you, you might not see.

 

Dining Rooms: We had anytime dining so we used the Portofino and Capri Dining Rooms. The Portofino is on deck 6, we ate there once. It is the more popular dining room and therefore more crowded. Why is it more popular? I do not have a clue. We ate 5 of the seven nights in the Capri dining room, we never ate at the same time. We NEVER waited for a table. In fact, the dining room was NEVER full. We ate by ourselves all but one night. We requested our own table with Rey and Juan. We still NEVER waited. LOVE anytime dining. We ate at Tequila's one night also. The food was great. Really good Ribeye.

 

The food: It is not Lutece, it is not even the best restaurant in your town, so don't expect it will be. But it is good banquet food, with LOTS of choices, served in an elegant manner, in a beautiful room. We are foodies, and while we never really raved about any meal (the steak at Tequila's was really good though), we found something to enjoy at all times and were very pleased with the dining.

 

 

 

The PORTS: Ocho Rios: Well it was supposed to be Montego Bay and we were going to visit friends staying at Rose Hall...BUT we went to Ocho Rios instead (we were informed when we boarded) AND it poured. So we did not go ashore.

 

Grand Cayman: A beautiful island, but there were 6 cruise ships in port. Everyone tendering people ashore Too many people for one small Georgetown, we did not go ashore.

 

Cozumel: We got a taxi on our own and went to Chakkenab. Great park/beach. Still somewhat under construction from the hurricane (as was much of Cozumel), but a nice beach with lots of lounge chairs and shade. My daughter fell on the playground and hurt her foot, so we went back to the ship to have the doctor look at it. (Great medical experience by the way and not outrageously priced).

 

Princess Cays: Raining when we arrived so we weren't sure it was going to happen, but then the sun came out and it was a great day. Don't know why they don't stay there longer, but the tenders to get back at 3pm were full full full with a LONG line to board.

 

The cruise:

 

Well the weather was not the best, we had quite a bit of rain, lots of cloudy cool days, and one day of sun. Still it was a great vacation. It was Spring Break, so there were a lot of kids and even more college spring breakers. There were supposedly 500 children on board. I NEVER noticed that many. My daughter participated in the children's program and in her age range they never had more than 20 at a time, rarely more than 12. My guess is most were teen agers. The teen agers and the college students were most evident at the outdoor pool.

 

Disembarkation:

 

We did the new Express..do it your self...disembarkation. It rocks, we were off the ship by 8am.

 

Overall:

 

We had a great time, we will be back on Princess, probably soon.

[Coolmama_1]

Great review. We too like the mini's for the extra room and also ate most of our evening meals in Capri on our last Star cruise. Thanks for sharing.

[lovesun14]

Great detailed review! I was on the star the week before you. Too bad the weather was not the greatest!

[dsfitz]

The Deck 6 dining rooms always seem more popular than the Deck 5 ones - I guess the ones on Deck 5 are just a little bit more out of the way!

[agmsgm]

The Deck 6 dining rooms always seem more popular than the Deck 5 ones - I guess the ones on Deck 5 are just a little bit more out of the way!

Great review! I am on this ship 3/31/07 and enjoyed reading all of your detailed information. I just hope that I get all sunny days. :)

[kath816]

Great review! Thank you. Our group is on the week of 4/7.

Is the covered pool an adults only or family pool?

 

How was the entertainment?

 

Sorry the weather did not seem to cooperate, but sounds like you made the best of it.

[DENNAS]

SUPER Review, great job. We are also going on 4/7. Can't Wait !

 

? for you..... how did the time changes work during the week?

I'm wondering about Grand Cayman specifically, as we have an early private excursion planned. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

TIA.

[jwave]

covered pool is for everyone, on our week, spring break, it was mostly full of kids.

 

We turned back and hour twice and forward twice. It was confusing. I don't remember ever changing that many times. I think it must have to do with early daylight savings time? I can't remember if Grand Cayman was the second turn back or the first....I THINK it was the second. I think on the second night (after the sea day) we turned back one hour, third night (after jamaica) we turned back second hour, fourth night (after cozumel) turn ahead one hour, fifth night (sea day) no change, sixth night (after princess cays) one hour ahead. But don't hold me to that.

[hugger]

Thank you for a job well done. You explained the mini suite in such great detail. It helps our friends who've not cruised in a mini suite before.

WAY TO GO!:)

[jwave]

Thanks!

[KKB]

SUPER Review, great job. We are also going on 4/7. Can't Wait !

 

? for you..... how did the time changes work during the week?

I'm wondering about Grand Cayman specifically, as we have an early private excursion planned. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

TIA.

 

They will leave you a note on your pillow the night you need to change either forward or back.

[KKB]

Great review! Thank you. Our group is on the week of 4/7.

Is the covered pool an adults only or family pool?

 

How was the entertainment?

 

Sorry the weather did not seem to cooperate, but sounds like you made the best of it.

 

Covered pool is for all; spa pool is for adults only. Pool is not covered, but small deck area around it is mostly shaded.

 

We did not see any of the big production shows. Our friends said the comedians were hilarious. One they compared to a young Eddie Murphy.

We really enjoyed all the smaller entertainment...Princess Idol, the not-so Newlywed game, the Feud, pool games, putt putt tourney (try THAT on a moving ship!), disco, casino tourney's captains cocktail party/gala. Loads of fun! Piano player very good...sounded a lot like Rod Stewart. Main band very good...much better than our first cruise on the Star. Entertainment staff is terrific...lack the cruise director. Frankly I found him pompous, and nearly invisible.

[Terry in NJ]

What was his name? I'm also sailing on April 7th.....

 

A good CD can add sooooo much.... Maybe this guy'll go home for Spring Break! ;)

 

Oh and how many counselors do you tip, and how much each? How did you pick who to tip? I have no idea about that stuff. Hopefully 10 yo DD will partake of the kid's club!!!

 

(P.S. Thanks for the great review!)

 

Terry in NJ

[Lifes_A_Cruze]

...lack the cruise director. Frankly I found him pompous, and nearly invisible.

 

We sailed with the current Star CD on the CB back in August 2005. He was the worst we ever encountered. I couldn't wait for him to leave any of the events or depart the stage in the evening. I know CD's carry additional responsibilities aside from making us laugh...and he better be really good at them because the comedy is definately not there. I'm hoping they have a staff rotation before we board on 4/7 but I don't think we'll be blessed with that.

[debbieinva]

Thank you for such a nice review... I am cruising on the Star in 3 days.. my first one!!!! Im reading everything I can get my hands on about the ship...

[KKB]

What was his name? I'm also sailing on April 7th.....

 

A good CD can add sooooo much.... Maybe this guy'll go home for Spring Break! ;)

 

Oh and how many counselors do you tip, and how much each? How did you pick who to tip? I have no idea about that stuff. Hopefully 10 yo DD will partake of the kid's club!!!

 

(P.S. Thanks for the great review!)

 

Terry in NJ

 

We had a WONDERFUL CD & asst on first cruise...this was a let down. Luckily this staff was overall a hoot! Asst was good, not great, but she tries very hard...I think she is really covering Billy's *ss...she looked positively haggard. She was everywhere all the time. CD & asst pretty much split duties on first cruise.

 

We used kids club on DCL...I gave several of them $10 prepaid phone cards w/ a bit of chocolate (the good stuff!)...all the ones we saw daily.

[canadiansnowbird]

Geat review!! We were on the same cruise and because we have been to many of the ports before, the weather didn't bother us - just enjoyed the ship. It was our first Princess cruise and we compared it to Hal, just not so stuffy. We certainly thought the meals were wonderful and any table we ate at, the waiters were attentative the same as regular dining. Ate mostly on Deck 6 also. Would recommend Anytime Dining over Regular. Never had to wait any night; entered from 6PM to 8PM. Some nights we felt like company and sat with 6 to 8 other diners and other nights chose a table for 2. This will work out beautifully for our 31 day cruise next year on the Sapphire.

 

Snowbird

[fegan01970]

Thanks for all the information. My fiance and I are also on the 4/7 aboard the star and I can NOT wait!

[biggiebigs7]

How did you get your alcohol on board?

 

 

 

This review is of our 7 day Western Caribbean cruise on the Star Princess, March 17-24, 2007. This is my 7th cruise, my 5th on Princess. I traveled with my husband and our 8 year old daughter. We are in our early 40's. This was my daughter's spring break. We chose this itinerary specifically because we had already been to all the ports and wanted relax more than do a lot of shore excursions.

 

We drove to Fort Lauderdale and stayed at the Renaissance Plantation prior to the cruise. The Renaissance was a nice hotel, not too far from Port Everglades. Since it was Spring Break, hotels were hard to come by and all were very expensive.

 

Embarkation: Because we drove, we were able to come and go as we pleased. Therefore, we had a relaxing morning in the hotel before heading to Port Everglades. Despite our documents suggesting we arrive after 2:00pm, we arrived just after noon. There was a line which began moving as soon as we got in it. The line moved quickly and in moments we were in the building and waiting to check in. Those lines moved quickly also, and we were on the ship by 12:30 (at the latest).

 

Our Cabin (D301): We booked a mini-suite on the starboard side. We were close to the front of the ship. We have almost always sailed in a mini-suite, since we typically sail with our daughter. We find this cabin a good value for our money. The mini-suites are approx. 323 square feet, including the balcony. They consist of the bathroom, closet area, bed area, sitting area, and balcony.

 

The bathroom door is inside the "closet area". There is a small hall with the hanging closet on one side, the bathroom door on the other and a cabinet of shelves in the back with full-length mirrored doors. Inside this cabinet is the safe, which operates with a four digit code of your choice. There are approx. 7 shelves, including the one with the safe. This is where we put all of my husband and my folding clothes. (Did I mention that I GROSSLY OVERPACKED!) The hanging area had a good amount of hangers, probably 20 shirt hangers and 10 skirt/pants hangers. There is a large shelf above, which holds life vests. We had more than enough room to store all our hanging items (though I could have used a few more skirt hangers), we used the floor space under our clothes for shoes and one of our suitcases. On the shelf above we stored carry on bags. We hung a garbage bag (from home) on a hanger as a laundry bag. The lay out of this closet/bathroom area, allows the hall to be a dressing area. The only down side is if someone is in the "hall" and you open the bathroom door.

 

The bathroom is decent sized (for a cruise ship) and well laid out. It is a rectangle with the toilet at one end (opposite the door) and the shower and sink area on either side. There is a bathtub/shower combination. This is great for us, because my daughter can take a bath. When she was younger, this was much easier than trying to shower her. The bathtub is good sized and I have even taken a bath in it and I am not a size 2...or 4...or...well you get the point. The shower curtain is fabric and did not stick to me (I HATE that). In side the tub there are two small triangular shelves, which adequately held shampoo and conditioner, razors, shave cream and soap. There was also additional room on the edges of the tub. The shower controls allowed for pressure changes and temperature changes (though they were in Celsius). There is also a massaging shower head. The water pressure was always adequate and the water temperature was always consistent. The water is however VERY soft, which makes rinsing off more time consuming. The toilet is a vacu-flush type, which is very loud and takes some getting used to (on my first cruise I scared myself pretty badly), but works well. The sink area runs the full length of the bathroom, which allows for a good amount of counter space. Along the back wall there are three glass shelves, which held two drinking glasses and storage space. There is also a decent-sized railed area on the a shelf under the sink for additional storage. Even with three toiletry bags and LOTS of little girl hair stuff, we had LOTS of extra room.

 

The bed area had the beds pushed together. I really wish they would just make some of the mini suites with permanent queen beds. The bump in the middle stinks. There has been much discussion on the mattresses on Princess, and in our case, I agree with the opinion that they need to be replaced. Even cheap hotels have upgraded their mattress and it is time for Princess to do the same. We did request and received an egg crate mattress topper, which helped. The new pillow menu, was a nice touch and we were brought down pillows in addition to the regular ones, so we had TONS of pillows. The new duvets are wonderful. On either side of the bed is a nightstand with a shelf and two drawers. We used the shelves for our reading materials and did not use any of the four drawers. On each of the nightstands is a lamp with a dimmer. Above the bed is an over head light as well. After the bed there is a vanity/desk. This has a good sized mirror and the hair dryer and three small drawers. We used these for medicines and first aid stuff, makeup and hair stuff. The desk is a nice place to write or keep your daily patters. Across the room from this is a bar/counter area. On the bed side of the bar is the minifridge in the cabinet and a bottle of water and a couple of sodas on the above shelf. (The water and soda are not free, if you drink them you will be charged). The fridge is narrow. We fit several waters, beers and sodas in it (which we brought on with us, with NO trouble), but our box of wine was too wide to fit, we had to take it out of the box and stuff the bag in the door area of the fridge. Above the shelf, is another shelf with the two tvs, one facing the bed and the other facing the sitting area. Below the sitting area tv, were two large shelves, which we used for our beach towels, sunscreen, and additional water, soda and beer. (did I mention I grossly over packed).

 

The sitting area: This area consisted of a love seat, an arm chair, an oval coffee table and another nightstand, with a shelf and two drawers. We stored all of my daughters folding clothes in the drawers and her entertainment items (coloring books, crayons, gameboy, paperdolls, books, etc.) The love seat folded out into a bed. It was completely comfortable for her, but I do not know how an adult or worse TWO adults could sleep on it. The sitting area made the room very comfortable on rainy days or down time.

 

The balcony: The balcony door slides open, which is nice. The door is very heavy though, and it does take some muscle to open and close it. That is great if you are traveling with a small child. This is the first time my daughter could open it without help. The door is outfitted with a sheer drapery and blackout drapery. The balcony furniture is new since my last cruise and the chairs are mesh and metal instead of plastic. Very nice and quick drying. Even after a long rain, they were dry in minutes. There are four chairs two regular and two that recline. The table is larger now and also metal and plastic instead of just plastic. I think it is larger to accommodate the special balcony meals they do, since the old tables would not have held a meal for two. They used to have a footstool also, but that is gone. The railing is high, with plexiglass below. Great to be able to see out while seated.

 

 

 

The ship:

 

The Star Princess is still in great shape. Yes, there are small signs of wear and tear in evidence, but they are in the minority.

 

Deck 15: The kids areas (aft), the spa and spa pool and basketball court (forward). The kids area is VERY NICE, with lots for the kids to do. There are board games, video games, crafts, art and organized activities almost all day, every day. The kids area was open from 9-1, 1-5, and 7-10 on sea days, with 10-1am available for $5 an hour (the other hours are free....though we did give them a tip at the end). On port days, the kids area was open from 8-5, and then 7-10, but you had to sign your child up the night before port days, so they were staffed correctly. My daughter loved going here and made several friends. They have ice cream socials, pajama parties, pizza parties, karoake, a disco party and a kids talent show. My daughter BEGGED to go every night and went for a least part of each day. The counselors are great. One counselor remembered my daughter from our last cruise TWO YEARS AGO, by SIGHT. We did not use the spa this trip so I can't comment. The spa pool is fabulous and quiet, with soothing "spa music" playing. My husband and I spent our time without our daughter at this pool. The deck chairs are real teak with chair pads and little pull out side tables. The pool was almost always empty, as were the two hot tubs there. Bliss.

 

Deck 14: The Horizon Court, Outdoor Pool and Covered Pool, Outdoor Grill and Pizzeria.

 

The Horizon Court is the 24 hour buffet. We ate breakfast here everyday. They do have an omelet station but it is out by the outdoor pool at the outside grill, not really convenient to the rest of the buffet. They had all the usual breakfast items (french toast, pancakes, scrambled and fried eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, cereal and yogurt every morning in addition to other items, like broiled tomatoes, oatmeal, or miso soup. We found the breakfast to be of good quality. Lunch and dinner at the buffet had many of the items on the dining room menu. We ate lunch either in the buffet or at the outside grill or pizzeria. The pizza was good (though it was much better last cruise), the burgers and hot dogs at the grill were excellent....though a line forms and gets long at the grill. The buffet at lunch had too many "dinner" entrees for me. I wish they had a sandwich station or lighter items, but the food was tasty. My daughter ate dinner in the buffet before going to the kids area twice and always found something she liked. We don't have a problem with the layout of the buffet though many do, since it is not a traditional straight line. This cruise we found that many people turned it into a traditional straight line which caused back ups. There are a few drink stations on each side offering coffee, ice tea and hot water (in the morning there is juice on the buffet line) and a water and ice machine. On this trip the water/ice machine never had ice (it was in a bin nearby) and the water was always warm. I think they should fix that! I do wish they had soda machines here so you did not have to go to the bar or get a waiter, but oh well. The coffee is okay (not great) and the ice tea is too strong for my tastes.

 

The Outdoor Pool is lovely and we usually spend a lot of time here, but between the weather and the college students, this was not a place for us.

 

The Covered Pool is very nice with better lounge chairs and a quieter atmosphere. This was perfect on rainy days. This is where the children were. They now have a youth patrol which helps keep behavior in check and they were actively enforcing the no diving/no jumping rule in the pool. Chair hogging was happening, but they were picking things left for hours and putting them in a Lost and Found type area, this helped.

 

Deck 12-8: Mostly cabins.

 

Deck 5,6,7: These hold most of your bars, shops and theatres and of course dining rooms.

 

Bars: We went in the wheelhouse bar once this cruise, it is our favorite of the bars. We did not go to any of the others this cruise.

 

Shops: Did not visit them this cruise.

 

Theatres: There is not a bad seat in the Princess theatre...and on this cruise we were ALWAYS able to get a seat, no matter when we arrived. We saw at least one show each night, either in the Princess theatre or in the Vista Lounge. The Vista Lounge filled up for each show, but as long as you were a few minutes early you got a seat. The little couch like seats are comfortable, but if a tall person sits in front of you, you might not see.

 

Dining Rooms: We had anytime dining so we used the Portofino and Capri Dining Rooms. The Portofino is on deck 6, we ate there once. It is the more popular dining room and therefore more crowded. Why is it more popular? I do not have a clue. We ate 5 of the seven nights in the Capri dining room, we never ate at the same time. We NEVER waited for a table. In fact, the dining room was NEVER full. We ate by ourselves all but one night. We requested our own table with Rey and Juan. We still NEVER waited. LOVE anytime dining. We ate at Tequila's one night also. The food was great. Really good Ribeye.

 

The food: It is not Lutece, it is not even the best restaurant in your town, so don't expect it will be. But it is good banquet food, with LOTS of choices, served in an elegant manner, in a beautiful room. We are foodies, and while we never really raved about any meal (the steak at Tequila's was really good though), we found something to enjoy at all times and were very pleased with the dining.

 

 

 

The PORTS: Ocho Rios: Well it was supposed to be Montego Bay and we were going to visit friends staying at Rose Hall...BUT we went to Ocho Rios instead (we were informed when we boarded) AND it poured. So we did not go ashore.

 

Grand Cayman: A beautiful island, but there were 6 cruise ships in port. Everyone tendering people ashore Too many people for one small Georgetown, we did not go ashore.

 

Cozumel: We got a taxi on our own and went to Chakkenab. Great park/beach. Still somewhat under construction from the hurricane (as was much of Cozumel), but a nice beach with lots of lounge chairs and shade. My daughter fell on the playground and hurt her foot, so we went back to the ship to have the doctor look at it. (Great medical experience by the way and not outrageously priced).

 

Princess Cays: Raining when we arrived so we weren't sure it was going to happen, but then the sun came out and it was a great day. Don't know why they don't stay there longer, but the tenders to get back at 3pm were full full full with a LONG line to board.

 

The cruise:

 

Well the weather was not the best, we had quite a bit of rain, lots of cloudy cool days, and one day of sun. Still it was a great vacation. It was Spring Break, so there were a lot of kids and even more college spring breakers. There were supposedly 500 children on board. I NEVER noticed that many. My daughter participated in the children's program and in her age range they never had more than 20 at a time, rarely more than 12. My guess is most were teen agers. The teen agers and the college students were most evident at the outdoor pool.

 

Disembarkation:

 

We did the new Express..do it your self...disembarkation. It rocks, we were off the ship by 8am.

 

Overall:

 

We had a great time, we will be back on Princess, probably soon.

[jwave]

We thought the entertainers we saw were good. We did not go to any singing/dancing review type shows. We saw the juggler comedian, the magician comedian, and two regular comedians (do you sense a theme). The juggler was good, better on the second night (two different shows), the two comedians were funny, and the magician was a pretty good magician. We usually really enjoy the Wheelhouse Bar and the band in there is usually pretty good. This time we only went once and left after a few minutes. They were awful. Poorly covered songs, in a heavy accent, with LOTS of canned back up music.

 

We tipped the kids area staff $40. We gave it to the worker in charge with a thank you note that said it was for the workers for the 8-12 year old section.

 

We got our alcohol on board in our carry-on luggage. One box of wine, a 12 pack of beer, a case of water and a 12 pack of diet pepsi.

 

We agree that Billy London was useless. We rarely saw him, instead we saw the very sweet ACD, Leah Hemsley, who seemed to grow more weary with each day. She tried so hard, she was everywhere, all day and night, but she did look fatigued at the end. Billy London did not even attend the Captain's Circle party.

[kath816]

Thanks for all the helpful info. It is much appreciated.

 

Geez, I have to wonder why this Billy London is still onboard. The reviews about him have been downright awful.

[rosebud6362]

Our Cabin (D301): We booked a mini-suite on the starboard side. We were close to the front of the ship. We have almost always sailed in a mini-suite, since we typically sail with our daughter. We find this cabin a good value for our money. The mini-suites are approx. 323 square feet, including the balcony. They consist of the bathroom, closet area, bed area, sitting area, and balcony.

 

Hello, I am wondering if you could hear much noise outside the cabin from the stairs/elevators. I am booked for this cabin and I noticed the lifts are right outside the door. It makes me nervous:(

[latitude 22]

for those of you joining the star on the TA and Skan/Russia itinerary

 

John Lawrence will be our CD, he's my favorite!

[RIGirl]

I have to agree with the previous posts regarding Billy London. We were on the Star back in Jan/Feb. He got onstage one night to introduce an act, he told a joke, then when he came back on after the show was over, he would told the same joke again! When no one laughed he made comments about what a tough crowd we were. One night up in Skywalkers, I was having fun getting some of the people who were sitting there watching everyone dance to get up and dance with us. It wasn't very crowded but after a while, we got most of the people there to get up and dance. Billy London walked in, looked around with that pompous air and fake (politician) smile of his, then left. A few people came up to me and told me I should have HIS job! That's not saying much for him! :( Leah, on the other hand, worked her tail off through the entire cruise. She was at events first thing in the morning and was still out at events when I retired for the night. Our group couldn't figure out when she slept! She probably isn't the most lively ACD out there but she certainly worked hard!

[hugger]

takes over on the Star - hoping it's the 28th of April for our cruise :)