STAR PRINCESS REVEW by a Holland America cruiser

[JimVrhovac]

PREFACE:

As most of you are aware Ruth and I are avid Holland America cruisers. We have tried to write this review in an impartial manner and not compare it to HAL. At the end we will put in one section as a comparison.

 

Overall the true test of a cruise line is “Will we cruise on one of their ships again?” YES we will and have purchased a couple future cruise deposits while on the cruise.

Princess Star Antarctic’s Jan 17 thru February 02, 2009

 

Staff Captain……..Mark Waugh

Cruise Director…..Lee Childers

 

EMBARKMENT (BUENOS AIRES):

We arrived at the docks in Buenos Aries around 12:30 and entered the terminal. There were no lines at any of the stations and we went from one to the other and were in our cabin by 1:00 pm. Our luggage arrive at about 2:00 pm and it did not take us long to unpack and get organized. This is one of the better embankments that we have experience.

 

DISEMBARKATION (VALPARISO):

All the information about disembarkation and the tags arrived at our cabin the day before and the information provided was detailed and very understandable. We put the tags on and set our suitcases out the night before per instructions. We went to the Casino at the designated time and disembarked on schedule and found our entire luggage without any problems. It appears that we were one of the lucky ones.

 

On of the ladies in our group put out her two bags and they were not in the luggage area when she looked for them. She reported it and she was told that she was not the only one with that problem. We met our tour bus and went on the tour. She checked periodically throughout the day and they eventually found one of the bags but told her that they WOULD NOT DELIVER IT TO THE HOTEL. SHE HAD TO RETURN TO THE TERMINAL AND PICK UP THE BAG---BAD PRINCESS --. Our tour bus from Santiago took us back to Valparaiso to pick up err bag the next morning. They eventually found the second bag as it had been sent to the Hyatt Hotel by mistake. They would not deliver it to the airport so the tour operators went by the docks and picked it up and brought it to the airport for her.

 

Princess is the one that hired this Port Services Company and is ultimately responsible for the delivery of the luggage to the passenger. It found the attitude of Princess and the Port Services Company to be RUDE, INSENSATIVE, AND LACKING IN BASIC CUSTOMER SERVICE.

 

ACTIVITIES:

There was an abundance of activities scheduled by the entertainment staff during the cruise. There was everything from dancing classes to origami and napkin folding. From what we could tell these classes were well attended during the cruise NICE JOB PRINCESS.

 

BARS:

Most of the bars have a small smoking section. The Shooters Bar is the sports bar and allows cigar and pipe smoking there. Overall we found the prices of drinks fair and the service in the bars excellent.

 

There was a nice selection of wines available on the ship and the members of our group seemed to be pleased with the wines and the pricing of them.

 

CABIN E723:

Our cabin steward, Theodore III, came by to introduce himself and collect out passports.

He asked if we had any questions about the cabin or how things worked. We requested 4 extra pillows and they were delivered that day. They also provided Ruth with a shower chair.

 

We were in a mini suite with a nice balcony toward the stern of the ship. The room is neat, clean and well laid out. One of the nicer things is that it has two (2) independent televisions. One of the televisions faces toward the bed and the other television faces toward the sofa/love seat. NICE TOUCH PRINCESS. Our cabin Stewart put the ice bucket in the refrigerator and it did increase the lifespan of the ice. NICE TOUCH.

 

The bathroom is small but adequate. The balcony is another nice feature as it is deeper and has four (4) regular size chairs and a table on it. There are six (6) drawers in the cabin and one closet section is set up with shelving and there is an approximately twelve (12) foot of hanging closet. We found it very adequate for the clothing we brought with us. There was a shortage of hanger so we are going to ask the steward to bring some more hangers and he did. There was a consistent lack of hot water at the sink BAD TOUCH PRINCESS. There was adequate hot water in the shower.

 

The Cabin Steward was excellent and more than fulfilled our wishes.

 

We did have a problem with Ruth’s ships card and had to have it replaced 3 times.

 

DINING FACILITIES:

Amalfi Dining Room: Our cabin cards stated 7:45 but we were not let in until 8:15 as there was a printing error on the cards. We had a table for ten (10) that accommodated our whole group. One of our groups is on a special diet so they brought her tomorrow’s menus so she could gear the menu towards her diet. NICE TOUCH PRINCESS. Overall the food was good and the presentation good to excellent. The service was good to excellent. One night when Ruth was not feeling well they volunteered to take a tray to our room NICE TOUCH PRINCESS.

 

Horizon Court & Terrace: This is their version of the self service restaurant. The food was laid out nicely and there was a good lunchtime selection. The seating areas are broken up with partitions but it was laid out nicely. There were more than enough attendants present and they always assisted Ruth as she went through the line. NICE TOUCH PRINCEEE.

 

Went to the Horizon Court & Terrace for late night snack and the selection was good. There were salads, sandwiches, soups, and fruits available.

 

Ice Cream Bar: There were 2 attendants and a nice selection of flavors of regular and soft ice creams. There was a charge of $3.75 for ice cream. Between 3:30 and 4:00 pm there was free ice cream and cookies in the Horizon Court.

 

CHEF’S DINNER: We purchased reservations for the Chef’s Dinner and it was one of the highlights of the cruise. It started out with a tour of the kitchen by the chef with hourderves and champagne in the kitchen. We had a special table and each course was explained to us and accompanied by an appropriate bottle of wine. The food, the presentation, and the service were excellent. The desert was served on a plate made out of hard candy. So we were able to eat the plate. It was truly a memorable experience.

 

INTERNET CAFÉ & SERVICE:

Several of our group had the internet service for the cruise and experienced a lot of problems with getting on line with their own computers. There were a lot of problems with the server and the person in charge of the Internet Operations was less than useless.

They chose to do a system upgrade in the middle of the day on a sea day. Not a good idea. NOT GOOD SERVICE PRINCESS.

 

MEET & GREET:

The cruise Critic group met in Skywalker lounge on the first sea day and then went to lunch at the Portofini Dining Room. There were about 50 of us at the meeting and everyone got a chance to meet people that they had talked to on the boards. The ship did not provide any refreshments or snacks for the meet and greet.

 

SHOPS:

All the shops are positioned around the atrium on decks 5, 6, and 7. They were well laid out and nicely merchandised. They did not look like junk shops. There was a nice selection of clothing geared for the weather that we will encounter during this cruise. The staff was pleasant and very helpful when asked questions. Most of the attendants there we bi lingual as we have a heavy Hispanic attendance on this cruise.

 

GENERAL:

Hallways: They seem to be a little narrower than other lines as Ruth and her walker could not pass by the housekeeping cart without moving it into one of the door alcoves. I know a wheelchair would not fit by the housekeeping cart. This does create a safety hazard for the passengers.

 

There is a real problem with vibration and noise when the thruster’s are in use. We had to tender into two ports and when the ship was stationary in the harbor the thrusters were used a lot to keep the ship stationary. Our cabin was on deck 8 almost directly above the thrusters. When they were on the noise drowned out the television and glasses on the coffee table would vibrate across the table. I addressed this problem with one of the engineer’s and he gave me some lame excuse about the thruster system and that the nose and vibrations were normal BAD PRINCESS. We are very experienced cruisers and know what thrusters are and what they should sound like.

 

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA:

We arrived at the airport and got through customs without a problem. There is a nice shopping area there and the prices were good. Most of the staff spoke English and they were very helpful but not pushy. Watch out for the JYPSY cab drivers at the airport. We found out later that we paid a ridiculous rate to get us to the hotel. Don’t mind getting screwed but do like to get kissed while they are doing it…..

 

We had a group tour the next day and this is a beautiful town with an abundance of parks. We did get out at several spots and the tour guide did a fantastic job. We went to supper that night and then to a Tango show afterwards. The food was great and relatively inexpensive and the show was good. We arrived back at the hotel at approximately 11:00 pm.

 

MONTEVIDEO, URAGUAY (Day 02):

The seas were very rough and it created a safety problem for the ship entering the channel so the ship stayed outside the port all day and used its thrusters to maintain its position. The Captain came on the PA system early in the morning and explained the situation. He did comment that all booked shore excursions would be automatically refunded.

 

We finally were able to dock around 4:30 pm and allowed to go into town. It was imperative that we get into this port as they took on fuel here. We went into town and Ruth proceeded to purchase the Leather Warehouse. $1,000.00 plus dollars later we returned to the ship when I was not capable of carrying another bag. The prices were fair and the quality of the leather goods was excellent. I did get a Crystal and Onyx statue that I liked.

 

STANLEY, FALKLAND ISLANDS (Day 05):

We had a tour scheduled to go to Volunteer Point to visit the Penguin colony there. We traveled in SUV’s and Land Rovers as the last hour of travel was over very rough tundra. If you have problems with your back you need to seriously think about it before you go on this tour. Ruth did o but paid for it that night. Overall it was a great experience and worth the two hour drives each way. It was very cold and a 40 knot wind was blowing but it was worth the experience.

 

ANTARTIC PENINSULA (Days 07 thru 11):

This is one of those trips that you need to do at least once in your lifetime, if you can afford it. There were naturalist speakers on board and they did a fantastic job explaining about the areas we were viewing and a lot of historic information. They had spotters out to advice of areas of interest and wildlife within viewing range. The trip to and from the peninsula was rather rough with 12’ to 15’ waves and up to 40 knot winds. During some of the rougher spots the bow was moving 20+ feet up and down. One of our group who had a cabin in the front part of the ship said that she was airborne several times during these days. The scenery was breathtaking and made us realize how beautiful raw nature can be.

 

CAPE HORN (Day 12):

The weather at the cape was beautiful and the seas were calm. The trip through Magellan’s Passage to the Horn was another thing. We had 40+ knot’s winds hitting the ship on the side and the seas were 12’ to 15’+ for most of the day. It was a rough ride even in a ship this size.

 

USHUAIA, ARGENTINA (Day 13):

We had scheduled a private tour to visit several of the islands where seals and birds frequented. The captain of the ship did a fantastic job getting us close to the colonies and providing us with great views of the colonies. We saw enough seals to last a lifetime. If you ever visit this port make sure you take one of the boat tours to these islands. There was a tour to go to the Penguin colony but it required a one (1) mile walk on a boardwalk from the parking lot to the Penguin colony. We ate lunch at a local restaurant that specialized in King Crab dishes and were not disappointed with cuisine.

 

PUNTA ARENAS, CHILE (Day 14):

This is a tender port and the weather in the morning was miserable. It was cold windy, and raining. We tendered in and did some shopping at the port shops and then returned to the ship when it did not appear that the weather was going to be the same all day. When we got back to our cabins we looked out and the sun was breaking through the clouds and it eventually became a nice day. We decided not to return to town.

 

The big problem this day was that the thrusters were used very frequently to keep the ship in the required position. The thrusters on this ship are out of balance and need to be repaired or replaced. Our cabin was on deck 08 and a glass would slide across the coffee table when the thrusters were on from the vibration and the noise would drown out the television with the sliding glass doors to the balcony closed.

 

AMALIA GLACIER, CHILE (Day 15):

This glacier reminded me of the glaciers we saw during our Alaska cruise. While at the glacier and the cruising for the rest of the evening we witnessed several spectacular waterfalls and some breathtaking scenery.

 

SEA DAYS (DYS 16 & 17):

Lot of ships activities and preparation for departure and the tours in Chile.

 

VALPARISO, CHILE (Day 18):

The tour bus met us at the dock as requested and they were well organized. The guide spoke good English and did a good job throughout the tour. One of the highlights was a cable car ride to a hill overlooking the city and the harbor. Like the other cities in this country there is an abundance of parks and statues that add character to the city. The seemed to be well maintained and heavily used by the citizens.

 

SANTIAGO, CHILE (Day 19):

The tour bus picked us up at the hotel on time and the guide spoke very good English. The highlight of the day was a tour of a vineyard and lunch there. It was very interesting and the wine tasting was per protocol (I think). The food was good, the presentation was great, but the service was lacking as few of the servers understood English. We were dropped off at the airport about 5m30 pm and our flight left at 10:30.

 

 

RECAP:

The true judge of any cruise line is the question “Would we ever cruise on Princess Cruise Lines Again?” The answer to that question is yes! As a matter of fact we purchased some future cruise deposits so when we schedule our next cruise on Princess the deposit will only be $100.00.

 

Overall we found the service comparable to HAL’s service. There were a lot of minute differences but they did not add up to much. No Hourderves in the bars prior to dinner, no bar nuts in the sports bag, charges for a lot of things the HAL does for free, etc. We did not feel that these differences made a whole lot of difference. The crew is was makes the ship and their crew was polite, courteous, always helpful, and overall fantastic.

 

We will be booking on Princess in the future as Holland America is making its smoking policies so restrictive. One of the few ways that we can voice our opinions is how we spend our money and we choose to start doing more land based vacations or cruising on other cruise lines, such as Princess.

 

Ruth & Jim Vrhovac

[custompcsys]

Thank you very much for your detailed, well thought-out, and fair review. And most importantly, glad you had a good time! :)

[DrivesLikeMario]

What an excellent, informative, well-balanced review!! Awesome job! ;) It's always interesting to hear Princess compared to another cruise line. I agree with many of your observations. The two are very similar, but there are little differences. Both do a good job, just in slightly different ways.

 

How did you get your over-the-door shoe organizer to stay up? We used the 3M hook with the strips and ours kept falling. :mad:

[JimVrhovac]

I think you mean my slipper holder.

 

Get the ones at Target or Wal Mart as they have four (4) hooks and eyelets agross the top to hold them up. The pictures are bolted to the steel wall so they will support the weight. Actually we used two the hang up all our slippers.

 

We gave our Penguin slippers to members of the crew

 

Ruth & Jim

[iancal]

Great review, very fair. It mirrors our experiences as well.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I think you mean my slipper holder.

 

Get the ones at Target or Wal Mart as they have four (4) hooks and eyelets agross the top to hold them up. The pictures are bolted to the steel wall so they will support the weight. Actually we used two the hang up all our slippers.

 

We gave our Penguin slippers to members of the crew

 

Ruth & Jim

 

AH!!!! No wonder!! I have the over-the-door 4 hook shoe organizer, but have never tried hanging it on the picture. Great idea! Thanks! ;)

[kywildcatfanone]

Jim,

 

Great, detailed review. We have sailed on Princess multiple times and are looking for a HAL itinerary that we want to do. You mentioned Princess charging for a few small things that HAL does for free, can you elaborate on some of those things for a potential HAL cruiser?

 

Thanks again for the great review!

 

Mike

[cgoingmom]

Thank you for the great review. Welcome to Princess.:)

[sherman931]

Thanks for taking the time to write such a comprehensive review.

[KLLund]

Jim

We love HAL also but cruise more often on Princess and I am truly glad you had a good experience since the Star is our next Princess ship. I must take a moment to read the HAL smoking policy changes .. I have always thought they were quite similar.

Great review!!

[cpristash]

Thanks so very much for your review of the Star.....we were on the "Star" last June on the inside passage. While on the Ruby last week, I took advantage of booking the "Star" for next Spring.....however, I have some questions that I hope that you can answer!

It appears that the "Star" had gone into "dry dock" and underwent some changes since 6/2008. Could you be kind enough to tell me where the MUTS is located....

Thanks for the info!

Cpristash

[RickEk]

Thanks so very much for your review of the Star.....we were on the "Star" last June on the inside passage. While on the Ruby last week, I took advantage of booking the "Star" for next Spring.....however, I have some questions that I hope that you can answer!

It appears that the "Star" had gone into "dry dock" and underwent some changes since 6/2008. Could you be kind enough to tell me where the MUTS is located....

Thanks for the info!

Cpristash

 

The MUTS on the Star Princess is located above the outdoor Neptune's Reef and Pool.

[snowman]

Jim, Jim, Its the Snowman. Where have you been? You know that Sail, Laffin, Rev. Neal etc. over at the H** board are not going to like it that you and Ruth defected to Princess. LOL I defected a number of years ago and have never looked back. Its a great cruise line and welcome aboard.

[nailsmhc79]

Hi Jim

 

Glad you & Ruth had a good time on Princess. Great pictures you posted, but it looks like the slippers were only about half of your normal quantity. Guess you half to cut back when you can't drive to the port:) We have booked our next trip on Princess which will be our first cruise since being on the Veendam with you in October 2007. Finally going to go thru the Panama Canal. Take care & great review of your trip!!!!!

[JimVrhovac]

I am answering a question here and would realy appreciate it if this thread does not turn into a smoking rant thread --- Thank You

 

HALs changes in their smoking policy are that you can no longer smoke in the Oceans Bar. The only bar you can smoke in is the right side of the Crows Nest (which has no live music) and the sports bar (which they are going to do away with on the R & S class ships during their Signature renovations, and the casino. You can still smoke in the cabin and on the verandah.

 

This new policy has really disturbed our life style when we are on the ship. Below is an open letter that we posted on the Holland America boards and sent a copy to Stein Kruse, CEO, Holland America, to which he never replied. I guess our business is not important to him.

 

Mr. Stein Kruse

CEO

Holland America Cruise Line

300 Elliott Ave

Seattle, Washington 98117

 

Dear Mr. Kruse,

 

Ruth (my spouse) and I just cruised on the MS Oosterdam in February and we had a fantastic time. We were advised of the changes in your smoking policies the first time we went to the Oceans bar and were not allowed to smoke. You saved us in the neighborhood of $80 to $100.00 per day and we wanted to thank you for this.

 

Our normal pattern is to go to the Oceans bar prior to dinner and have a few drinks. After dinner we returned to the Oceans bar for a few more drinks and then Ruth would go to the Casino and generally drop around $50.00 per night in the slots. I would walk around the ship have another drink in the Oceans bar and then return to the cabin.

 

Since you have changed your policies we changed our patterns during the Oosterdam cruise. We purchased bottles of wine in the ports and sat on our balcony and had a few drinks listening to the radio (or a disk) until it was time for dinner. After dinner we would walk around the ship a little and maybe take in a show and then return to the cabin. Ruth rarely goes to the casino as we sit on the balcony under the stars and have a couple glasses of wine or watch a DVD.

 

This change does not sound very drastic to you but it saved us a little over $400.00 on a seven day cruise. When you look at the fact that we cruise about 60 days a year on Holland America ships that comes to somewhere in the neighborhood of $4,200.00 in savings to us and lost income to you over a years time.

 

We wonder how many other smokers will change their patterns because of your changed policies.

 

 

Ruth and James Vrhovac

JVrhovac@AOL.com

 

 

We will continue to cruise on HAL as we have several booked but in the future we are going to concentrate on some land based vacations in the United States and some other extended ones overseas.

 

 

 

Mike:

The only thing that Princess charges for that really sticks out is the ice cream bar. HAL has one the is open 8 hrs per day with ice cream and desserts that we have become acustomed to.

 

Snowman

We will take at least one long cruise a year on HAL but there are lot of people I will miss over there and more than a few that I will not miss.

 

Thank everyone for you responses

 

Ruth & Jim

[wilfros]

I read the whole review with great interest and join the other in thanking you for your time and effort.

 

One thing stood out more than anything else and I would love an answer from anyone for claification:

 

The OP states:

"CABIN E723:

Our cabin steward, Theodore III, came by to introduce himself and collect out passports."

 

What is this all about. Do they really collect your passports? Am I expected to just hand my passport over to a room steward? No insult intended but we are talking about my passport.

 

This flies in the face of everything I have come to understand about the handeling and security of one of the most important documents we (as citizens of our country) can possess. Especially after 9/11!

 

I would love some explanations, logic and reassurance about this PLEASE.

 

As a new cruiser, and had I not had this conversation, there would have been a rather UGLY scene if a steward demanded my passport and I was unprepared.

 

Do the Cruise Liines tell us anywhere that this is going to happen? If so then I completely missed it, and I thought I read everything very carefully.

 

Thanks in advance for your input and reassurance.:eek:

 

OH YES .... One other little thing.... When and how do we get it back? Never mind lost luggage, poor food, and anything else, this tops my list of "what ifs"!

 

Thanks

[Mom33]

I read the whole review with great interest and join the other in thanking you for your time and effort.

 

One thing stood out more than anything else and I would love an answer from anyone for claification:

 

The OP states:

"CABIN E723:

Our cabin steward, Theodore III, came by to introduce himself and collect out passports."

 

What is this all about. Do they really collect your passports? Am I expected to just hand my passport over to a room steward? No insult intended but we are talking about my passport.

 

This flies in the face of everything I have come to understand about the handeling and security of one of the most important documents we (as citizens of our country) can possess. Especially after 9/11!

 

I would love some explanations, logic and reassurance about this PLEASE.

 

As a new cruiser, and had I not had this conversation, there would have been a rather UGLY scene if a steward demanded my passport and I was unprepared.

 

Do the Cruise Liines tell us anywhere that this is going to happen? If so then I completely missed it, and I thought I read everything very carefully.

 

Thanks in advance for your input and reassurance.:eek:

 

OH YES .... One other little thing.... When and how do we get it back? Never mind lost luggage, poor food, and anything else, this tops my list of "what ifs"!

 

Thanks

 

The ship will notify you in your cabin with a letter, that you should hand your passport to the steward who will give you a receipt. The passport collection is done so that the ship can clear immigration at the ports that won't let you off until they see it. They work on the ships manifest without us waiting in line for hours to get off the ship. It is a time saver. Your passport will be returned to you before the port of disembarkation.

 

Always make a copy of your passport and carry it with you when you are off the ship. That and our driver's license was all the ID we needed for an emergency.

:)

[JimVrhovac]

She is completely correct about the passport. Got a receipt for it. When it was returned last sea day it had the stamps of every country that we were in.

 

When they were collected he had a minifest of his room and a lock box to put them and pre printed receipts to hand ot. Very professionally done.

 

It was new to us also. It seems that when you travel to more exotic ports they do it this way so that it does not take a lot of time to get cleared into the ports. On a larger ship like the Star Princess with 3000 passangers can you imagine how long it would take to get everyone to file past the inspectors and that is not counting the ones that are perpetually late.

 

The only problem we see is that if you mis the ship at the port as US Customs will not accept a copy of a pasport to let you back inot the states. I guess the moral is not to miss the ship when it leaves..

 

Ruth & Jim

[RickEk]

I read the whole review with great interest and join the other in thanking you for your time and effort.

 

One thing stood out more than anything else and I would love an answer from anyone for claification:

 

The OP states:

"CABIN E723:

Our cabin steward, Theodore III, came by to introduce himself and collect out passports."

 

What is this all about. Do they really collect your passports? Am I expected to just hand my passport over to a room steward? No insult intended but we are talking about my passport.

 

This flies in the face of everything I have come to understand about the handeling and security of one of the most important documents we (as citizens of our country) can possess. Especially after 9/11!

 

I would love some explanations, logic and reassurance about this PLEASE.

 

As a new cruiser, and had I not had this conversation, there would have been a rather UGLY scene if a steward demanded my passport and I was unprepared.

 

Do the Cruise Liines tell us anywhere that this is going to happen? If so then I completely missed it, and I thought I read everything very carefully.

 

Thanks in advance for your input and reassurance.:eek:

 

OH YES .... One other little thing.... When and how do we get it back? Never mind lost luggage, poor food, and anything else, this tops my list of "what ifs"!

 

Thanks

 

If your signature is accurate, you won't have to surrender your passport onboard the Caribbean Princess. The OP's cruise was to a variety of South American countries and because they don't participate in the US's WHTI initiative, that's the reason the passengers had to surrender their passports. No worries on your cruise!

[wilfros]

WOW!!! Thanks very much for the replys, I will get copies of the docs before leaving home.

 

Now with that worry out of the way, I can go back to being worried about the parking lot in Brooklyn being full when I arrive.

 

Thanks very much for all your clear responses! That was news to me and boy it sounded strange but with your comments, it does make sense.:)

[JWJs]

Thanks for your review/comparison and welcome to Princess. Glad your 1st Princess cruise was a good one.

[Coolmama_1]

Thanks for the great review! This cruise is on my dream list!

[DougH]

Thanks for a great reveiw, I was on the same crusie and it brought back some great memories. This one was at the top of my "wish" list for a long time.

[themerle]

Thanks for the review, Jim. I was eager to read what your view of Princess would be as you have cruised with HAL so much. Happy to see that you enjoyed the cruise. :)

[JimVrhovac]

Ruth and I would like to thank everyone for their responses.

 

One thing that we have noticed over the years is that the passangers perception or "unrealistic expectations" in a lot of ways determines their overall outlook about a cruise.

 

There are so many people that watch the commercials and think they are the reality of what a cruise is and when they don't get that romantic drink on formal night on the back railing of the ship while there is a gorgous senset feel that the trip was not successful.

 

And then there are the passangers that got mad when they were born when someone slapped them on the butt and have been mad ever since. We have all cruised with these type of people and just think "No wonder they will not have a good time.".

 

Most of us that have cruised a couple times just roll with the punches, or the problems, and just say to outselves "S... Happens" and then go on with the day and do not let it get to us.

 

We sincerely hope that your next cruise is as great as the one we had in Antartica or the one we leave on May 1st.

 

Ruth & Jim