Star Princess May 31st review

[tigerdadky]

Id just like to start by saying this was a fabulous cruise, and the weather was unreal.

Just home from a great cruise aboard the Star Princess, destination Alaska. The weather was unreal, highs in the low 80s every day in Alaska. The locals were melting but the tourist were enjoying.

Our cruise began on a rainy Saturday morning at the St. Louis airport. I mention this because this is the only time I will mention rain in my report.

Flew into Seattle from St. Louis and arrived to beautiful skies in Seattle. Used the All Ready There town car service to take us from SEATAC to our hotel the newly renovated Belltown Inn right smack in the middle between Pikes Market and the Spaceneedle. It was a newly renovated apartment complex/hotel. It was perfect for us be a little warning no air conditioning and no smoking.

We used the same town car service to take us to Pier 91 to board the Star Princess. We are one of the people that try to be the first on the ship so we arrived around 10:00 a.m. They were still unloading so we did have a wait but it was pretty painless and by 11:30 we were headed up the ramp towards our balcony room. To our surprise the room was by far the largest we've had on a cruise, and simply gorgeous. After checking out the room we headed to the Lido deck for some lunch the explored the ship. Returning to ur rooms we were pleasantly surprised to find our luggage awaiting. We unpacked before the muster drill which was also the most painless drill we.ve ever done. We headed back to the balcony for the sailaway and what a glorious sailaway it was. Seattile is a beauitul town and with Mount Ranier in the background it was beautiful.

We dined each nite in one of the two anytime dining rooms, more on them on each nites reviews.

Monday was a sea day, not a lot going on the ship to interest us so we won a few bucks in the casino and just messed around the ship. One thing different from Carnival and RCCL there was never anyone from Princess walking around with drinks for sale. You pretty much had to go to a bar for a drink.

Tuesday brought us to Ketchican and beautiful skies and 80 degrees. No planned excursions here so we just walked around and collected the freebies from the shops from our Alaskan book that we picked up in the cruise ship terminal. We decided to take a wildlife tour from a group that had sat up in front of the dock and I will say this was a waste of money.

Wednesday took us into Tracy Arms Fjord. It was a breathtaking view to see all the natural waterfalls. The ice was meltiing face due to the warm weather so we didnt make it all the way thru the Fjord so we turned around and headed to Juneau. In Juneau we had booked ourselves a whale watching excursion with Capt. Larry and Orca enterprises. Captain Larry took us all over and we were lucky enough to see a baby humpback splash around in the water and saw two schools of Orcas and some more humbacks bubbling in the waters, well worth the money.

Thursday brought us to Skagway and this was one neat town, We had planned on checking out the days of 9o's show and we did and it was a very good production, it tickled my wife to be chosen to go onto the stage and dance with the girls. Had an Alaskan Ale at the REd Onion Saloon and a pizza.

Friday was a sea day and a day of rest for us.

Saturday was a sea day untill around 5 when we arrived in Victoria, B.C. This is a big city type town so an excursion is the only way to go unfortunately we didnt have one planned so we just taxi road to the downtown hit a few shops and headed back to the ship.

Sunday morning brought an end to the cruise. I will say it was a little crazy at the pier but over all I think they did a great job of getting us off the ship and on our way.

Overall a wonderful cruise. Has crab legs and lobster on the formal nights and all the dining room food was great. Just a great cruise and a beautiful week.

[Colo Cruiser]

Excellent review, while we were on the Golden at the same time we had some friends on with you. :)

[Caribbean Sunsets]

Thanks for the review. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.:)

[sherman931]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I enjoyed reading your review.

[firefly4423]

thanks for the great review!

[Colo Cruiser]

I thought the Star did not make it into Tracy Arm on your cruise? :)

[One Eye Open]

Glad that the weather cooperated on your recent cruise... we are expecting another great run of sun, mid 70's, for the next couple of weeks, which is unusual for this time of the year. We'll be on the Star in January for our South American cruise.

[Saruman]

I thought the Star did not make it into Tracy Arm on your cruise? :)

We started up Tracey Arm but never made it to the glacier. Never got in sight of it. Since we had to be in Juneau that evening, the captain determined that there was no time to attempt Endicott Arm as one of the other Princess ships did.

[Murphey]

One question (may seem strange!). Did you think people dressed for formal nights?? We've heard Alaska (and Princess) has gotten pretty casual. We would love to dress appropriately, but don't want to feel stupid in the "tux and gown". So glad you had a great trip!!

[cruznon]

Thank you for your review. So glad you had a great time. You mentioned you arrived quite early at pier 91 and passengers were still leaving the ship. At what time did the check in process start?

[Colo Cruiser]

as one of the other Princess ships did.

 

 

That was us.

[Theta_Potata]

One question (may seem strange!). Did you think people dressed for formal nights?? We've heard Alaska (and Princess) has gotten pretty casual. We would love to dress appropriately, but don't want to feel stupid in the "tux and gown". So glad you had a great trip!!

 

I was on the same ship except from 17-24 May. I saw more people dressed up on the first formal then the second. You will not feel stupid at all in the "tux and gown"! Wear it and have fun!

[tigerdadky]

We had anytime dining and there were fewer than on any other cruise ive been on dressed formally. I had a dark suit on and the wife had a nice pants suit but I also saw a lot of jeans and ts on formal nite, I thought that was pushing it a bit but definitley less formal than normal.

[Coolcruise02]

Thanks for sharing your review with us!

[tigerdadky]

If anyone on this cruise had a bad time they need to give up on cruising because it isnt for them. Couldnt have asked for a more perfect cruise.

[Joe Pflanz]

It was my second Inside passage cruise, and I found the ports to be very nice and culturally informative. It was my third cruise in a row on this model of ship, and I must say I was some what disappointed. Nothing major, and it was a great cruise, but there seemed to be a lack of consistency.

 

When we came on board the Patter listed the Captain as one person, but later in the cruise the name changed to another, with no explanation.

 

On the previous cruises on this style of ship the pizza and hamburger place on deck stayed open much later into the evening. This one close about 7:00 each evening. you could only get room service pizza during this same time. They kept MUTS open inthe evening, and they had sufficient people, so I think the food area could have remained open also.

 

I traveled with a group that included two full suites ( including the Grand Suite ) Those people received less than examplary service, as they were both told that they could not order regular meals during dining room hours for their rooms. That was resolved after I went to the purser's office. But even the purser's office gave me grief and said that they could not at first. Then said, well there would be a charge for it, and then finally when I asked them to check with someone who actually knows, was told that I was correct and they called the room service and alerted them to the process.

 

The ship seemed dead after dinner. Many things were scheduled for during the first seating. I was not use to having the first seating at 5:30 rather than 6:00 pm. Not sure why this changed.

 

The photographers were in too many places and blocking the way around the atrium on formal nights. The Captain's party and the champagne tower was pretty much planned for right before first seating dinner.

 

The shows in the theatre were very nice. However once they moved one to the Vista Lounge while the so called comedian worked in the theatre. They tried to say it was designed for that lounge. That is very unlikely... Princess still has the problem with people thinking it is ok to block rows of seats and try to reserve them for friends and family. In many cases some of the seats remained empty during the show. The first comedian was atrocious, but the second was very good, but humor is subjective.

 

At the coffee bar, the servioce was usually pretty good, as were the warm cookies and other treats. However this was soured on the last day when we returned from Victoria. Seems that they had been serving coffee and all the entire time, but when we returned from a tour in early evening, about 8:00 PM, We went right tothe coffee bar to get some coffee and hot chocolate. They were serving and there was a short line. When we were next to be served the crew member put out a sign that said, Due to Customs Regulations the Coffee bar woudl be closed while in port. He told the couple behind us that they woudl be last. However there were more people in line. And since it was a cool evening in Victoria and the return was on the same deck, many others got into line. A few words were often exchanged. To his credit he stayed and served everyone, until he had no one in line and then he shut down. however the food part contiuned to serve the cookies and goodies. I foudn this very strange.

 

The ship shut down at noon the last day before Victoria. The shops closed, the casino closed for the remainder of the cruise. Casino cards had to be cashed in by noon on that day. Not even all of the bars stayed open that evening, but some did.

 

I know the major attraction of an Alaskan cruise is the scenery, and that continued to be great. But the ship should still hold an attraction and the time on board left much to be desired. We only made it partially up Tracy Arm Fjord, which was disappointing, the scenery was not as glorious as I expected. I think the narrowness of the fjord is the main reason most cruises can not make it up the channel. It does nto take too many iceflows to make it hazardous. I would never book or recommend another cruise with that on the itinerary.

 

Another disappointment....on the evening before Ketchikan, we received a phone call stating our tour onthe paddleboat was cancelled by the vendor due to lack of participation. Of course we did nto receive this until we returned to the room and hte shore excursion office was closed. So we simply did a self walking tour of Ketchikan. I was surprised to see the paddle wheel boat with a seemingly full passenger contingent. I suspect Princess's participation was lacking , so the vendor gave those spaces to another ship. Not sure, but suspicious anyway.

 

Dining room service was horrible the first two nights, but picked up after that. One evening we were informed that the delay was that the chef did not prepare enough fish or that it was not ready at the correct time. Much of the delay was due to people arriving late and expecting to be served. One evening when we left the dining room, we were already 15 minutes into the second seatings time frame and they were all waiting by the doors. We were in traditional early seating. One table came in a full 50 minutes after opening....not one or two but the entire table of 8. I think this was due to the 5:30 starting time, but it was not the first few days of the cruise. As more people opted out for specialty dining, service became better. The food was good and presented well. I found the waiters and waitresses at breakfast and in the lunch dining room to be very attentive and quick to please.

 

The special baggage checking that was offered was a nice touch, but many of our group got hit with suspicious over weight charges. And by the time you saw them it was too late to have your bags rechecked or anything.

 

I know the economy is bad , and everyone needs to manage their businesses, but the cut backs were very obvious on this trip. I do not totally blame them though.

 

As I always say, All Cruises are good, just some are better than others.

 

I have over 30 cruises under my belt, and the stomach to prove it. I am an Elite memeber of Princess's Captains Circle. However next year's cruise will definitely not be on Princess. It is time to give the others a chance.

 

We did have remarkable weather for all but Victoria, but I doubt Princess can take credit for that.

 

Joe Pflanz

[Lynda90]

The special baggage checking that was offered was a nice touch, but many of our group got hit with suspicious over weight charges. And by the time you saw them it was too late to have your bags rechecked or anything.

 

Joe Pflanz

What special baggage checking are you talking about? Is it the service where they take your bags and you don't see them again until you arrive at your home airport? I thought they stopped offering this service. Thanks!

[Joe Pflanz]

Yes, they offerred it..not for every airline, and there were four requirements that you had to meet before being allowed to use it..But sorry I do nto remember what they were...but things like no more than two bags, and no change of airlines during the trip. The charge was 20 per person, on top of the charges fromteh airlines. But entirely worth it except for the overweight charges that were suspicious

[Lynda90]

Yes, they offerred it..not for every airline, and there were four requirements that you had to meet before being allowed to use it..But sorry I do nto remember what they were...but things like no more than two bags, and no change of airlines during the trip. The charge was 20 per person, on top of the charges fromteh airlines. But entirely worth it except for the overweight charges that were suspicious

What about all the new charges for first and second checked bag. How do they handle the extra cost for this (not including overweight bags). Thanks again! :p

[Joe Pflanz]

What ever the airline charges for the 1st and 2nd bag is charged to your room account along with the 20 dollars per person service charge...and then you are still liable for overweight, which is then also charged to your room account. Remember this is hgappening the last evening before docking so you will not see the charges untill you are waking up and getting ready for disembarking. Kind of late to do anything about it.

[flyfan33]

I'm confused on the baggage weight charges, and this may have to do with that no air travel is involved for me. My TA told me that Princess does not have a weight limit nor a baggage limit (for number of pieces). While I absolutely intend to travel light, I wasn't planning on having to go through the weight headaches I do for air travel. Are these weight charges for every Princess guest, or just those with air travel and/or some baggage delivery services, thus imposed by those entities? I will be hauling my own baggage, too as I am in Seattle. Thanks.

 

I'm also posting this on the other Star review for May 31st as they seemed to have become intertwined threads. Hope that doesn't cause any confusion.

[Tinknock50]

That was us.

 

Hi Keith,

Could you tell us more about how Endicott Arm was? I have been to Tracey Arm many times but not to Endicott Arm.

Thanks!

[Tinknock50]

I'm confused on the baggage weight charges, and this may have to do with that no air travel is involved for me. My TA told me that Princess does not have a weight limit nor a baggage limit (for number of pieces). While I absolutely intend to travel light, I wasn't planning on having to go through the weight headaches I do for air travel. Are these weight charges for every Princess guest, or just those with air travel and/or some baggage delivery services, thus imposed by those entities? I will be hauling my own baggage, too as I am in Seattle. Thanks.

 

I'm also posting this on the other Star review for May 31st as they seemed to have become intertwined threads. Hope that doesn't cause any confusion.

 

I would like to hear more about this too. Would anyone still have the paper work with the details of this plan?

 

Does it apply to Alaska Airlines?

[Saruman]

I would like to hear more about this too. Would anyone still have the paper work with the details of this plan?

 

Does it apply to Alaska Airlines?

 

Don't have the paperwork, it was on the same form I turned in. But Alaska Airlines WAS on the list, because my tickets were Alaska Air. They don't charge for the first checked bag, but if your flights are codeshares, you have to abide by the policies of the codeshare airline. Since my flight was actually aboard an American Airlines plane, I had to pay the AA luggage fee. No overweight fees, though.

Good thing they didn't weigh US after a week of cruise meals!:rolleyes:

[catmand]

I want to thank both folks who posted reviews here, thank you for your time and effort.

It's so very interesting to read two opposite reviews on the same ship on the same cruise.

Tigerdadky.....maybe I missed something? Did you ever elaborate on the dining rooms and your experiences?

Thanks, Chuck