Star Princess review 4/13 - 4/21

[Cathy p]

We left Virginia on Thursday 4/12 via Southwest Airlines. Great flight and the crew were fantastic. Arrived in FLL and took a cab to the Hyatt Pier 66. We got there at 11 AM and had asked for early check in. The girl at the desk was very rude. When I mentioned that I requested an early check in she stated it may be up to 4 hours. I then asked where I could get a bite to eat as I did not remember from last year (I had just gotten out of the hospital and did not remember much). She said that breakfast was just about over in the hotel and that I could go to the pier for lunch. Well it was pouring out so the bellman took us in the golf cart only to find out it was closed because of the rain. The girl at the pier suggested lunch IN THE HOTEL. Of course our little rude check in person never mentioned that . We had a $48 lunch which consisted of a burger and chicken sandwich. My DH said the burger was good but not for $15.Lil We ended up waiting for over 4 hours so never again for the ole Hyatt.

 

We left for the cruise port at 10:30 am and by 11 we were sitting in the little room that is air conditioned. Around 12 they let us in to check in. What a breeze. Up to the counter to show our docs, picture taken and in our cabin within 10 mins.

We dropped off our carry-ons and met our steward Adrian. We were on the dolphin deck mini suite cabin D625. What a fantastic and wonderful person he turned out to be. Our wish was his command. Filled out a comment card about his great service and gave him an extra tip at the end.

We then went for lunch at the Horizon Court and the food was great. We ate their and the Portofino dining room most of the time and the food was wonderful. The pizza was great, however, if you wanted a hot dog it was barely warm and the hamburger was extremely dry. It was like killing the cow twice. lol Since we had anytime dining we really only had one super waitress and that was Ester. The rest really did not have much personalities and looked like they wanted us to eat and leave. I was going to as for Ester again, however, I wanted to try different ones to see what the difference was going to be. On my next cruise if I get a good Waiter or waitress I shall ask for them for the rest of the cruise if possible. All and all the food was great and I felt like it was 10 times better than on the CB last year.

We had several things prearranged by Hank our roll call social director as we called him. We had our first meeting on the Friday night before the cruise for anyone that could make it at the Rustic Crab house. I think there were about 16 of us. A fantastic time and the food was great. Next we met at the Mermaid Bar for Sail away and a formal meet and greet which was put on by Princess at Skywalkers. Hank and his lovely wife Shawn bought appetizers and Princess gave away door prizes. Hank gave everyone a little rubber duckie and our chore was to take pictures with our duckie and come back on Thursday for another get together and pick winners. Princess gave away champagne to the top 6 duckie picture. It was so funny. Hank also arranged a slot tourney for the CC members. We all paid $10 and the money was split for 3 places. That was a hoot. We had some fantastic roll call people that really made the trip extra special. However, Hank really took the lead and arranged everything. What a special guy he is.

We did not do any of the shows as most of our time was spent in the casino. However, we did go to the Culinary demonstration which was great. Also my DH went on stage to help with the cooking and that was so funny. I also had to go up and taste what he had cooked and also another lady. The put blindfolds on us to see what dish we would pick. It was me and the woman's hubby. Well I picked mine and he picked his wifes. It was so funny. My DH got to keep his chef's hat.

Ocho Rios was not our favorite port. We went to Dunn's River and walked the numerous stairs down to the beach and watch other people climb the falls. The falls were beautiful, however, we had to climb back up the stairs. Oh my speaking of out of breath. Whew!!! We also went to the gardens and found out that we had more stairs so opted out of that. We booked our tour through A-Z Jamaica Tours and our guide was Walter. We were the only people on his tour as the other ones off the ship never showed up. What a fantastic guy he was. If you go please ask for him. We did shopping,lunch and the sites.

We could not tender in Grand Caymans as the water was too rough so we ended up going to another little town and took a cab to Georgetown and had a great time just shopping. No tour as our tour operator did not how up there and we waited almost an hour. The price of the cab was $5 a person. The one place that I wanted to see was the Tortuga Rum Cake Factory. What a joke. We took a bus for $25 up and back. When we got there you got to walk up a few stairs and that was the factory looking in a window. OMG I almost died. However, the store had free samples of rum and the cake which was really great.

Cozumel was just walking off the ship and shopping. We had a fantastic time especially hitting Senor Frogs. They have a fantastic banana frog. YUM. We stopped there twice. They had a DJ and were giving away free shots of tequila. Many cruise folks were feeling no pain. lol

We did both formal nights at the Portofino and that was really nice. The food was great and of course the Lobster was wonderful on the last formal night.

We did not do Princess Cayes as we have been there before and did not care to go back. They have a barbecue, however, they really need to upgrade the food a bit. Some people liked it and some did not. The water is beautiful and if you have never been I would say go and try it once to see what you think. It is just not for us.

We were off the ship by 9 with no problems and at our hotel the Marriott North by 9:30. I cannot say enough about the Marriott. The service was fantastic and when I walked in a room was ready. It is a $37 cab ride from the port and I will stay there again after a cruise without hesitation. Our waiter for dinner was Poncho from Bulgaria. He was 20 and a fantastic personality and really took care of us. Another person was Paul. If you hit the button on our phone for at your service you will most likely get him. What a guy. He made sure everything was perfect. He would call back to make sure you did not need anything else. This hotel was 50 times better than the Hyatt and I used Marriott points to book it. The food was better and alot cheaper.

All in all this cruise was far better than the one last year on the CB. From service to food (except the dead cows) were great. Not once did we smell the dreaded sewage smell. Oh and I almost forgot we did the balcony dinner and it was great. Well worth the extra dollars.

So now back to real life as my grandson just had 4 wisdom teeth pulled and boy oh boy do I wish I was back on the Star with her beauty.

I will try and answer any questions!

[cruzinsusan]

Cathy, we were on the same cruise and had a great time. I had been reading many of your posts prior to the trip (I'm mostly a lurker) and it seemed you were so excited about it, and then I read that you had been ill. I was so happy to hear you were doing better and able to make the trip. Hope you are still feeling good. I know I was pretty wiped out after the trip.

 

We stayed at the Hampton Inn Airport North the night before the cruise. This place was great and I highly recommend it. The hotel was very clean & all the staff were friendly and provided great service. They have a shuttle that picked us up from the airport, took us to the port the next day and even took us to a wonderful restaurant on the water for dinner the night we arrived and picked us up when we were finished.

 

We arrived at the ship around 1pm. No lines, no waits, just walked right in and were headed to our rooms within minutes.

 

We had cabin E728. This was a mini-suite (very last one on port side) with a covered (HUGE) balcony and very private. We loved this cabin and enjoyed the extra space on the balcony more than I can say. Yes we did hear a little noise from the Vista Lounge below us, but never went past 11pm or so, and we were usually inside the lounge at that time watching whatever show they had going on, so not a problem for us. The room is beginning to show signs of wear such as stains on carpet and a bit of mildew in the shower, but nothing that interfered with our good time. Kraiwit from Thailand was our Steward and did an incredible job for us.

 

We saw many shows and although the performers certainly do try hard; I think the entertainment on the Golden a few years ago was much better.

 

Food was good for the most part. We had anytime dining and ate most nights in the Capri Dining Room. We always had a table for 2, and only had to wait the first night for about 10 minutes. That's when we were seated at table 16. We had a great wait staff (Bruno and Silvia from Portugal) and so we ended up calling each morning and requesting that same table for whatever time we wanted to eat that day. We enjoy eating later on vacation and never had a problem making a reservation for 8 pm or so. We did have dinner one night in Tequila's. The service was Outstanding! However, I think the food was no better than in the dining room. I still think it was worth the few extra $$$ for the nice change and relaxing atmosphere. We especially enjoyed the live music in there. We opted out of the 2nd formal night and hit the buffet. It turned out to be a good choice for us, very quiet & great food choices that night as we are not lobster eaters.

 

Ocho Rios - We did the Bamboo Beach Club excursion through Princess. Well worth the money, however, if you a looking for a place to "swim" you may want to find another beach. The water was pretty shallow (maybe up to my knees and I'm only 5ft tall) so the most you could do was wade or sit down. Still a nice way to cool off after lying in the sun. Also, if you walk down the beach a bit away from the club, there are a few area's that are bit nicer for swimming.

 

Grand Cayman - We did the Reef & Wreck snorkel through Princess. I was very impressed with how quickly they were able to get things organized given that we tendered in a different spot near the island. I really feel fortunate that Princess was able to arrange this as I have read about how often this port gets canceled. We had great guides on the snorkel trip and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Cozumel - We actually got to dock at this port even though it listed it as a tender port on our itinerary. We grabbed a cab for $10 to Chakanaab Park and enjoyed a great day of sun and snorkeling.

 

Princess Cays was beautiful. We did some great snorkeling there. We didn't stay on the island long, but enjoyed the couple hours we spent there very much.

 

All in all a great trip made even better by all the fantastic information I was able to get before hand on these boards. A sincere thank you to all the princess cruisers who post here and on the ports of call boards. This is a terrific community!

 

Wishing you all smooth sailings ahead…….:)

[Cathy p]

Susan, you lurker you. I wish you had joined us. Thank you so verymuch for your well wishes. Yes, I am feeling much better and I was so thankful to be well enough to go on that fabulous cruise.

We did a table for 2 always as well and never had a problem finding a seat.

I have been a member of the ole CC since 2005 and have always been thankful for the wonderful ideas from everyone. It is amazing how much you don't know until you read some stuff on the boards.lol

 

As our son is getting married May of next year, I do believe unless I win the lottery our next cruise will be 2008.

 

Happy cruising!!!

[CMVAC]

Susan and Cathy,

We were on the week before you. I would go again tommorrow if I could. It was wonderful. I'm glad you guys had a good week. By the way, Susan, the other family we cruised with had E728 and E726 the week before you. Hopefully they left it in good shape for you. They loved the little extra balcony too.

Cindy