Bad Baltic On The Star

[benzrunner]

I was on the cruise as a first time princess passenger. I agree with your cousin on this cruise, the food was horrible, and yes, I love lamb and veal and have eaten all over the world, so I can judge! The security system was very inadequate, 2 different people were given keys to my room, also, arrangements for flowers were 3 days late. The service on boat was bad.The additude of the crew was not helpful, and reports to the purser was misplaced or lost, amazing! The transportation from the ship to airport was a nightmare, there was no help with luggage transfer making the elderly and handicap basically have to unload their bags to transfer to buses to the ba and delta terminal, where were the porters or even bus drivers to help? The port calls were very beautiful and interesting cities but the ship and service of the crew were lacking. Benzrunner

[PTC]

I was on the cruise as a first time princess passenger. I agree with your cousin on this cruise, the food was horrible, and yes, I love lamb and veal and have eaten all over the world, so I can judge! The security system was very inadequate, 2 different people were given keys to my room, also, arrangements for flowers were 3 days late. The service on boat was bad.The additude of the crew was not helpful, and reports to the purser was misplaced or lost, amazing! The transportation from the ship to airport was a nightmare, there was no help with luggage transfer making the elderly and handicap basically have to unload their bags to transfer to buses to the ba and delta terminal, where were the porters or even bus drivers to help? The port calls were very beautiful and interesting cities but the ship and service of the crew were lacking. Benzrunner

 

Having an opinion about a cruise whether good or bad is subjective. Obviously you were an unhappy cruiser. Please do tell us what was wrong with the food exactly? And service on the ship, exactly what was 'bad'? Many people will come on this message board only to complain and 9 out of 10 times, the poster is a crank. I know you have more to tell us on the specifics so please do tell.

 

PTC

[spongerob]

Re my cuz who had all the problems.did not get too specific to avaid boring you but didn't realize you all hunger for the details.Next time.I was also on the Star Princess once and it was pretty good but someof her complaints were valid.

My very good friend who has been a TA for 20 years and has been on over 40 cruises says that this year they are getting a lot of complaints about Princess.Maybe they are slacking a bit more.

Thanks for all the comments.always fun.

Am going this weekend on aTHousand Island cruise-in Kingston Ontario-it's 1 1/2 hours.And so much cheaper.Of course there are no cabins,entertainment,spas,casino.Will have to suffer and look at the pretty islands-1,2,3,4,5,6........................When do I get to 1000?

Be sure to pick up some of that delicious salad dressing, eh. :)

 

Second-hand reports just aren't that useful. Just saying, "Some things were bad," without providing any detail doesn't do much to help others trying to make up their minds about an itinerary or ship or even cruise line.

[SPI_Rick]

....The transportation from the ship to airport was a nightmare, there was no help with luggage transfer making the elderly and handicap basically have to unload their bags to transfer to buses to the ba and delta terminal, where were the porters or even bus drivers to help? ..... Benzrunner

 

 

Benzrunner, were you on the same cruise that I was? I thought the Princess transportation to the airport was outstanding....our bags were taken directly from our cabin to the airport without us having to touch them. The Princess buses broght us from the ship to the remote cruise passenger facility at the airport where we claimed out bags. Baggage handlers and free luggage carts were available. We moved our bags about 20 yards to the airline check-in facility where they took the bags, checked them to our final destination and gave us our boarding passes for the next set of airline flights. Then a free shuttle bus took us to the main terminal at CPH and all we had to do was clear security and go to our departure gate. I admit that the airport made getting to the gate more difficult than needed, but that's a CPH issue, not a cruise issue.

 

Concerning security: If others were given keys to your room....that would be a major problem in my opinion. That would indicate that 3 different sets of people (you and the 2 you mentioned) were assigned the same cabin by Princess. I've never heard of that happening before, but if it did happen to you then you have good reason for complaint.

 

Concerning crew attitude: I guess we just ran into different crew members. My cabin steward and assigned dining room waiters were great. Occasionally, when I was having breakfast or lunch in the open dining room I might get bacon instead of the ham I ordered or not have the coffee cup refilled as fast as I'd like it, but nothing worse than I occasionally see in any other land-based restaurant. And I certainly wouldn't call the dining experience "horrible". Perhaps we just have a different level of expectations for food service.

[Evelyn143]

Benzrunner, were you on the same cruise that I was? I thought the Princess transportation to the airport was outstanding....our bags were taken directly from our cabin to the airport without us having to touch them. The Princess buses broght us from the ship to the remote cruise passenger facility at the airport where we claimed out bags. Baggage handlers and free luggage carts were available. We moved our bags about 20 yards to the airline check-in facility where they took the bags, checked them to our final destination and gave us our boarding passes for the next set of airline flights. Then a free shuttle bus took us to the main terminal at CPH and all we had to do was clear security and go to our departure gate. I admit that the airport made getting to the gate more difficult than needed, but that's a CPH issue, not a cruise issue.

 

Concerning security: If others were given keys to your room....that would be a major problem in my opinion. That would indicate that 3 different sets of people (you and the 2 you mentioned) were assigned the same cabin by Princess. I've never heard of that happening before, but if it did happen to you then you have good reason for complaint.

 

Concerning crew attitude: I guess we just ran into different crew members. My cabin steward and assigned dining room waiters were great. Occasionally, when I was having breakfast or lunch in the open dining room I might get bacon instead of the ham I ordered or not have the coffee cup refilled as fast as I'd like it, but nothing worse than I occasionally see in any other land-based restaurant. And I certainly wouldn't call the dining experience "horrible". Perhaps we just have a different level of expectations for food service.

 

We were very satisfied with Princess sending our luggage to the airport and claiming it there. We didn't know about the shuttle service at CPN. When we cleared security we checked the airport moniters to locate our departure gate. We have no complaints about CPN airport.

 

We had very good service in all areas of the ship. We had anytime dining. On the first night we had a very good waiter and assistant waitress and made arrangements to sit at their tables every night. Our cabin steward was also very good. Some of the waiters we encountered during open seating at breakfast and lunch were inexperienced, but tried their best. Whenever they made a mistake they corrected it. All the staff we encountered were very polite.

 

Rick, we hope you got your luggage.

 

Evelyn & Bob

[SPI_Rick]

Rick, we hope you got your luggage.

 

Evelyn & Bob

 

 

E&B, yes!!!! We have our final bag! I believe the bag received a few thousand more frequent flyer miles than we did, but it has now come home.

 

My comment about some difficulty getting to the gate at CPH was only due to the fact that our gate wasn't listed on the monitor until just minutes before boarding was supposed to start and then the security/boarding procedure required you to stand in line out in the hallway instead of using the waiting area at the gate. Those issues were inconvenient, but not a major problem.

 

Also, I won't make any judgements, but I did notice that Benzrunner has only made 2 posts to the board....both posts exactly the same...to 2 different threads. So, apparently he has never had a good comment or even a question about cruising before....that doesn't mean he didn't take the cruise and have some problems on it, but....then again, who knows.

[NDGma]

I. too, enjoyed your report on the cruise to the Baltic. Thanks so much. We are going on the Aug. 30 cruise and are looking forward to it so much. I think that you mentioned attitude before you go somewhere in your report and that is so true! Thanks again.

[CamelliaCity]

DH and I sailed Star Princess Scan/Russia Sept 12 2006.

 

We had the worst cabin steward in our cruise history. He had some type of chip on his shoulder:eek: that made us very uncomfortable.

 

We would have to rate the cruise food as 'bad'.

 

We had a 'funkie' smell on our balcony and sometimes it would be in the cabin. We had an aft corner. We loved it but would never book it again because of the smell.

 

Our cruise was wonderful! The ports were wonderful! A week in Copenhagen was wonderful! St.Petersburg was a 'shut-my-mouth-can't speak' experience.

 

Fortunately, for us, food and bad attitudes can't ruin our cruise. We find them on every cruise. I hate cruise food. I rate it right down there with casino buffets:rolleyes: We use cruising as a cheap way to see different parts of the world.

 

I do think that we should all remember that every CC poster is entitled to their opinion of their cruise and should not be subjected to the normal cc 'Shame-on-you-for-having-that-opinion' type postings.

 

The OP's relative didn't have a great experience and shared their opinion with someone. That someone posted about it. So what? That's allowed. Cruise Critic would be a much nicer community if posters were not so 'hungry' for any and every attempt to jump on new posters.

 

Why can't you just say you're sorry about a bad experience and let it go?

 

I'll jump down from my soap-box and go back to impatiently waiting for our next not-so-perfect-but-wonderful cruise:)

[gacruiser123]

We just returned from the Star's Transatlantic crossing followed by the Baltic Cruise.

 

As Evelyn and Bob mentioned the gym and spa were closed during the Baltic segment due to a broken salt water pipe that flooded the area. The spa did re-open in a limited capacity before the end of the Baltic cruise, but the gym remained closed.....and the ship's 'wake-up call' system was down for a day or two.

 

We also found the food to be 'normal' Princess faire....good, not great....except at Tequila's Steakhouse where we had great steaks on both visits.

 

But, in spite of a few inconveniences, it was an excellent cruise.

 

If anyone is interested, I posted comments, travelog and pictures most days during the cruise. You can find them at the travel website listed in my signature below.

 

Note to Evelyn and Bob: Sorry to hear about your bags. We managed to make it back with 75% of our luggage. We are still missing one of our bags somewhere between Copenhagen and Toronto.

 

Rick,

 

Thanks for the very enjoyable and hilarious stories from your trip. I am currently in the middle of a passport nightmare situation and that was just what I needed to get my mind off of it.

 

What kind of camera do you have? It (and you) takes awesome pictures.

[SPI_Rick]

Donna, thanks for the kind words.

 

Concerning your questoin: I use an older model of the Canon Digital Rebel camera.

 

See:

http://www.ricklongbrake.com/may2007transatlanticbalticcruise/id44.html

 

for a little more informatoin.

[bigs2man]

It's sad that someone didn't enjoy their cruise, I feel sorry about that, a vacation should be fun. That said, what amazes me is how the food suddenly gets "better" [allegedly] after someone complains. Did the cooks suddenly learn their trade? Do they goof off until someone complains? I recently went on a 15-day Hawaii cruise on the Island Princess. The food was just fine--every single day. But, I forgot to thank the guy that was seated at our table one night for dinner--he took credit for the sudden "improvement" in the food quality because he had complained early in the cruise. Sorry, I try not to respond to negative posts; but, I couldn't resist.

[bdjam]

I do think that we should all remember that every CC poster is entitled to their opinion of their cruise and should not be subjected to the normal cc 'Shame-on-you-for-having-that-opinion' type postings.

You’re absolutely correct. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and to express it here. How many times have some of us been bashed for posting opinions that the vocal minority disagree with.

The “shame on you” comes not so much for having an opinion, but for having one that is stated with no support behind it. If people want to post negative comments about a cruise, that’s fine and it gives us all something to read – but if they’d support their negative comments with something more than just generalities – boring or not – the “shame on you” attitude wouldn’t be so prevalent.

[gacruiser123]

Donna, thanks for the kind words.

 

Concerning your questoin: I use an older model of the Canon Digital Rebel camera.

 

See:

http://www.ricklongbrake.com/may2007transatlanticbalticcruise/id44.html

 

for a little more informatoin.

 

Thanks Rick. How is the camera without the extra lenses? Does it still take great pictures? Does it have a stabilizing feature without the extra lense? Thanks for the info. I want to get a new camera before our trip next year to the Baltic.

[SPI_Rick]

Thanks Rick. How is the camera without the extra lenses? Does it still take great pictures? Does it have a stabilizing feature without the extra lense? Thanks for the info. I want to get a new camera before our trip next year to the Baltic.

 

Donna, the standard lens that came with the camera is the EF-S 18-55 zoom lens....with no image stabilization. That is the lens I used for most of the standard landscape type photos on the trip. I used the other, higher power, image stabilized lenses for the "close-up" type photos. The camera itself is not image stabilized.

 

Also, please note that this camera is not a small "pocket" camera. It is a full-sized (35mm size) SLR camera. And it uses the same Canon EF and EF-S series lenses that the 35mm film cameras use. Which is why I originally purchased it....so I could take advantage of the better lens systems. But this means that the camera and lenses can take up more room than you'd like in your travel bag.

[dog]

Re: Rick & camera.

 

I have been using the canon elph for a couple of years and love it!

 

So, I thought it was time to move up to the EOS digital Rebel XTi. I just bought it and took a workshop on its use. I still have a lot more to learn about it though. I took some photos with it at my son's wedding on the weekend and I am very impressed. I would recommend this camera!

 

Rick, as I mentioned on your roll call...I read along as you wrote on your site from start to finish about your cruise. Wish I could have been there. Thanks so much for sharing this with us.

 

I always like to hear "first hand experiences" from people who have done it!

Thanks,

dog

[Dimarie]

Rick, My sister Donna called me this morning to tell me about your website and your travel logs. I have spent most of the day reading thru them all and I haven't laughed so hard in I couldn't tell you how long.

 

We cruised the Polynesian Islands in 2005 on the Tahitian Princess and the family that was at our table we renamed the Griswolds. It was truly like being on the Tahiti Vacation with the Griswold family. You're log just reminded me of that trip and made your writings all the more hilarious to me.

 

I just want to know where you go next so I can be on that ship. It seems to me that you travel like we do.....make the best of everything with humor.

 

Thanks for making me laugh. It felt great.

 

Di

[gacruiser123]

Donna, the standard lens that came with the camera is the EF-S 18-55 zoom lens....with no image stabilization. That is the lens I used for most of the standard landscape type photos on the trip. I used the other, higher power, image stabilized lenses for the "close-up" type photos. The camera itself is not image stabilized.

 

Also, please note that this camera is not a small "pocket" camera. It is a full-sized (35mm size) SLR camera. And it uses the same Canon EF and EF-S series lenses that the 35mm film cameras use. Which is why I originally purchased it....so I could take advantage of the better lens systems. But this means that the camera and lenses can take up more room than you'd like in your travel bag.

 

Thanks again Rick. Yep, I searched for your camera and saw that it is more like a regular camera, but I think I would like that better than the smaller compact ones. I am new to the digital era and currently have an older Canon Powershot. I am looking for an upgrade, something that shoots much faster and doesn't have the shake problem.

 

By the way, after reading your story on this recent trip, I phoned my sister and told her she had to read it also. She called tonight still laughing over some of your other past cruises and said she wants to know where you are going next, as we would have a blast traveling with you.

 

Post note: My sis beat me to the post, that's her right above, DiMarie

[VaTraveler]

We were amazed at your pictures and slide shows. Absolutely beautiful! What did you use to create your slide shows?

[SPI_Rick]

DiMarie, Donna and VaTraveler, thank you for the kind words....my ego is soaring....my wife will not be able to stand me for the next week.

 

DiMarie: Sadly, I don't have any further cruises scheduled at this time. I have a few in mind for later....next year or the year after, but my vacatoin schedule is pretty well booked for the rest of this year since I am planning to spend Oct, Nov and the first half of Dec at the beach on South Padre Island, Tx.....which is where the SPI part of SPI_Rick comes from.

 

VaTraveler: The slide shows were made using Photodex's ProShow Gold software. I have recently upgraded to Photodex's Producer software, but have only completed one slideshow with that package so far. For more information on the slideshow software please see:

 

http://www.photodex.com/

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the narratives and the slideshows. Once again, thanks for the comments.

[VaTraveler]

Thanks for the response. We will be looking into that one.

[California Native]

greetings from lithuania...for those of you that didnt read my roll call post!

 

still roaming the countryside and returning home in a couple of days..

 

i was on this cruise...and have posted just 3 of the issues out of about 10 that we experienced on my roll call. Side note...the spas issue is NOT one of them. All legit, all documented by Princess Managers and a focus file was opened by the Passenger Relations Manager which is read by everyone in a position of Manangement on the ship including the Captain and then sent to Santa Clarita for further review. Also, the notes that I made while onboard as I began to document were deemed relevant and complete by the Passenger Relations Manager to the point that they were scanned and included with the focus file in addition to his documentation . I did not mention all that transpired because quite frankly I didn't want to to deal with the negativity that this board can produce nor did I want to be in the position to have to defend myself to unwarranted attacks which we've all witnessed.

 

Needless to say, I would NEVER call this the cruise from hell. A list, an evacuation, etc etc...would be the cruise from hell in my book. Everything else can be worked around and either compensated or not by corporate.

 

Every ship is diffrent even if they are sister ships... the spirit of the ship can be enhanced by the crew, yet the crew changes constantly.

 

Attitude is everything when life gives you a curve ball you can duck or close your eyes real tight and swing.

 

We loved our ports and we loved being able to share this wonderful time together. Travel never goes the way it's suppose to, but thats

why it's called an adventure!

 

Ciao Ciao from Vilnius, my break time is over and we're on our way to listen to the carillion while sitting on the town hall steps!

 

 

 

K.

[Pam in CA]

i was on this cruise...and have posted just 3 of the issues out of about 10 that we experienced on my roll call. Side note...the spas issue is NOT one of them. All legit, all documented by Princess Managers and a focus file was opened by the Passenger Relations Manager which is read by everyone in a position of Manangement on the ship including the Captain and then sent to Santa Clarita for further review. Also, the notes that I made while onboard as I began to document were deemed relevant and complete by the Passenger Relations Manager to the point that they were scanned and included with the focus file in addition to his documentation . I did not mention all that transpired because quite frankly I didn't want to to deal with the negativity that this board can produce nor did I want to be in the position to have to defend myself to unwarranted attacks which we've all witnessed.

Thank you for your post. Every cruise on every ship has some problems. They're not perfect and we all understand this. It's how you deal with them that makes the difference. You have taken the appropriate route for notifying management of problems. I've taken a number of communication courses and they emphasize that you need to be: clear, concise and complete. You did the correct thing by documenting the issues and notifying the appropriate channels.

 

General complaints posted to this board without any specifics about what was wrong or bad or without including the steps taken to correct the situation or notify supervisors will almost always get a negative reaction. You can also bet that two people on the same cruise will have completely different cruise experiences. That happens all the time and shouldn't negate the issues of the first person's experience as long as they do what you did. Bravo.

[benzrunner]

I was on the cruise as a first time princess passenger. I agree with your cousin on this cruise, the food was horrible, and yes, I love lamb and veal and have eaten all over the world, so I can judge! The security system was very inadequate, 2 different people were given keys to my room, also, arrangements for flowers were 3 days late. The service on boat was bad.The additude of the crew was not helpful, and reports to the purser was misplaced or lost, amazing! The transportation from the ship to airport was a nightmare, there was no help with luggage transfer making the elderly and handicap basically have to unload their bags to transfer to buses to the ba and delta terminal, where were the porters or even bus drivers to help? The port calls were very beautiful and interesting cities but the ship and service of the crew were lacking. Benzrunner

To the people who think I am a prankster, I am not. It is true I have never used this site before, I was informed of the site from a veteran cruiser on the ship and decided to check it out. I did make a formal complaint about my problems to the passenger relations manager, Renier Van Rooyen, he also wrote corporate a letter . I am very happy for the people that had a uneventful trip, I was just telling the other side of the coin.

[Truth Detector]

Does Princess furnish free transportation from the port at Gdynia into Gdansk?

We will be going on the Star Princess July 21. Just wanted to know if we need to arrange transport into Gdansk. Thanks.

[BJS]

quoted from where2next "gdansk we took the on your own princess shorex...which if you want to do the town on your own YOU MUST DO!!! the entire road to and from is under construction...before construction in 2005 it took 45 min. between gydnia and gdansk...it took us 2 hours this time, probably will be longer in the summer with beach traffic going to sopot..the town can be done on your own.. and if you get a chance do the tour of Artus court the tile stove is WOW! Organization is the key here, you will be moving if you truly are into seeing all the culture and history but it can be done."

 

Check out the entire thread from the May 22nd sailing for great information on the Baltics.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=439659

 

Also the Ports of Call Board Europe the Baltics http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=192