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Princess first timer...CP or Star??

PrincessMelody

By PrincessMelody,
in Princess Cruises

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melissa_bel

melissa_bel

Posted
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Well... both are "Grand Class" ships.

 

I have been on the Grand (sister of the Star) and from what I know, the Star is even more beautiful. I don't think you can't go wrong with any of them. From reading the reviews for quite a while now, it seems like the Caribbean Princess has more "active" crowd. It is slightly bigger than the Star (one more passenger deck) but with approximately the same amount of public spaces. That is probably why some of us found the CB to be overcrowded.

 

The Star doesn't have Movie Under Stars, the giant screen by the pool where you can watch movies (you'll find the board is quite divided about the subject). It also doesn't have the Cafe Caribe which seems like a big hit.

 

To me, the Grand class is the perfect "introduction" to Princess. I guess it really depends on the itinerary you like best, your personnality, etc. Since your previous cruise have been with HAL, I suspect your best pick would be the Star.

 

Good luck and let us know what your choice will be.

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Konagold

Konagold

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I've been on the Caribbean Princess and loved it, and will be on the Star next month. I figure the ships will be very similar. The MUTS was unique but I think I'd rather watch a movie in my stateroom. The Caribe cafe was great. I might miss that. I expect that the fewer passengers on the Star will be nice, although, the only time I really noticed the CB was crowded was when the show lounges would be filled very early. There was also a bit of a bottle neck where the pictures were diplayed. You could probably just flip a coin and have a great time on either.

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melissa_bel

melissa_bel

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One thing... the CB does not have a retractable roof pool while the Star has one (the Caplypso pool). The Star has also a larger aft terrace (where the aft adult-only pool is). It's one of my favourite area of the ship. The Horizon Court has been extended to accomodate more passengers and the Terrace look kinda small.

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CruiseFever

CruiseFever

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In the last few months we've been on both and I would sail either one again...actually last week was our second sailing on the CP.

 

But as noted above there are differences, some subtle, some major that make each ship unique when compared to the other.

 

Here's how we (just one couple mind you) viewed both

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PrincessMelody

PrincessMelody

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Thanks for all the replies...:) Both ships seem really nice. I had been kind of concerned about the CP being overly crowded, since hearing that it holds 500 more pax but has no more public areas...but I guess it's not nearly as bad as some had said. I wonder why people are so divided on the muts? It seems kind of neat to me...

Do you know if the mini suites and thier balconies are about the same size on both?

Thanks all

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CruiseNut7

CruiseNut7

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I have sailed on the both the Star and Caribbean Princess. Returned on December 4th from the CP.

 

Both are fabulous ships and I would cruise on either of them again ... and probably will, particularly since we have two open bookings now! We cruised on the CP because we enjoyed the Star so much.

 

Since the Caribbean Princess is newer and has a few more features ... MUTS, the Caribe Cafe ..... that would be my suggestion.

 

We also had a mini-suite guarantee and ended up in cabin D406 midship. We really enjoyed the open balcony on the Dolphin deck ..... ahhh, to be on that balcony again. Fabulous, just fabulous!

 

Whichever ship you select, you will enjoy it. They are both beautiful vessels!

 

Happy cruising!

Diane

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PrincessMelody

PrincessMelody

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We also had a mini-suite guarantee and ended up in cabin D406 midship. We really enjoyed the open balcony on the Dolphin deck ..... ahhh, to be on that balcony again. Fabulous, just fabulous!

 

Diane,

 

Thanks for the info...we are kind of leaning towards the CP now. I wanted to ask, when you say your balcony was open...do you mean uncovered? Because I love the sun!!

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CruiseNut7

CruiseNut7

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Diane, Thanks for the info...we are kind of leaning towards the CP now. I wanted to ask, when you say your balcony was open...do you mean uncovered? Because I love the sun!!

Hi trinity1 .....

 

The mini-suite balconies on the Dolphin Deck are not covered at all. Prior to our sailing, I kept reading opinions about these open decks and was unsure how I'd like it. However, we found them to be great.

 

During the day, we could sit in the sun on our balcony. We enjoyed breakfast (sometimes with mimosas) in the morning sun .... very relaxing.

 

Yes, people can look down on your balcony, but you can look UP at them too! I never felt like it was a disadvantage and would book a Dolphin Deck mini-suite again.

 

Let me know if I can answer any other questions. I do have photos of our mini-suite. If you'd like, I could email a few of the pictures to you. My email address is depace717@aol.com ..... just put "Cruise Critic CP" in the subject line so I know it's you!

 

Diane

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AnnMorin

AnnMorin

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hi Diane-jumping in on this thread, I was wondering if you had a photo of the Dolphin mini suite balcony? My one concern is the lack of privacy- did you find a lot of people staring down at you? I love the idea of being able to lie in the sun on my own deck though, we have spent the last five cruises on disney and our verandas were all covered, no way to get a tan on them

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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hi Diane-jumping in on this thread, I was wondering if you had a photo of the Dolphin mini suite balcony? My one concern is the lack of privacy- did you find a lot of people staring down at you? I love the idea of being able to lie in the sun on my own deck though, we have spent the last five cruises on disney and our verandas were all covered, no way to get a tan on them

 

I just returned from the Star and here are pics of our minisuite:

 

star minisuite

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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Those were great photos, I noticed your beds were set up as twins, will they push them together for my husband and I in advance or will I need to ask the room steward?

 

Yes they will push together - I was traveling with my mom on that cruise.

 

When you make the reservation with Princess, they ususally ask if you want the beds in a twin configuration or queen configuration. So it should be setup when you arrive - if it isn't, the room steward will do it in the evening for you.

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cynbar

cynbar

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We have had 3 mini-suites on Grand-class ships and loved them all, especially the balconies!! We love that they were uncovered ---- plenty of sun in the daytime, beautiful stars overhead at night. It's true that those above you could look down on you, but they have to be standing at their railing and making an effort to do so. However, I have to say that some people have not liked this feature at all, so I guess it's personal preference. Also, some have been bothered by cigarette and cigar ashes coming down on them , although I have never had this happen to us. Bottom line, I always recommend the mini-suites---

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Crazsea

Crazsea

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Hi trinity1,

My vote would be for the Caribbean Princess. We sailed on her 12/04 sailing and LOVED the cruise. It was by far our favorite cruise. As others have said, the Cafe Caribe & the Movies Under The Stars is something not to be missed in my opinion.

 

As for the open balconies, all I can say is GIVE ME THE SUN! I was in a Aloha deck balcony overlooking those larger balconies below and I never felt as though those people on those decks were giving up any privacy. It's just a cruise, you're not buying the place!LOL

 

We loved the ship so much that we have her booked for two cruises in 2005 and a lot of friends that we have met on other cruises and have never been on her are joining us! It's obvious we were impressed and if you choose the Caribbean Princess we hope you will be as happy as we were.:D :D

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PrincessMelody

PrincessMelody

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Well, thanks for all the replies!! I think we have decided on the Caribbean Princess 9/17/05 Eastern Caribbean itinerary. We really want to experience the MUTS, and the Caribe cafe. Turns out this one's a CC group cruise...hope we made the right choice!!:)

 

Melody

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