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Live From The Star Princess 9/6/-9/13/2009

KLLund

By KLLund,
in Princess Cruises

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KLLund

KLLund

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A little background .. We are Bill and Kathy.57 and 58 .. on our 14th cruise but our first to Alaska.

Since we are blogging this cruise I thought I would share the same information with my cruise critic friends who have been so helpful over the years.

Embarkation Day

All in all, a good start to this cruise. We set the alarm for 7a.m. which is actually quite late for us on a day that we are traveling to a cruise (by air or car) but the alarm actually was needed to wake us up. Picked up Laureen and Phil and … well watched Bill fit together the luggage jigsaw puzzle in the back of the jeep (yes I do TOO need all those clothes and shoes , and so does Laureen!) The we were on our way.

I want to commend the auto industry as a whole for providing 97 different windshield wiper settings. I think I used every single possibility on the drive from Portland to Seattle. We passes through sunshine, mist, drizzle, sprinkles, intermittent showers and a few minutes of hang on I think I still see the road thought this deluge rain. Never a dull moment with this Pacific Northwest weather.

Did anyone ever mention that there is a LOT of traffic in Seattle? I think they may have understated it if you are cruising in the middle of a holiday weekend that features Seattle’s annual party called Bumbershoot. I don’t know much about this, but I can tell you it must be fabulous because the crowds were enormous and the traffic was, lets just say we could have walked from the freeway in the same amount of time. As we neared out turn at one intersection, Laureen said “ I wonder why they took you this way, it would have been much easier to come down Seneca to Denney and miss all of this” I will be asking for those directions on the way back.

I will say there were a good number of signs to the cruise terminal and they were designated Terminal 91 or Terminal 66. These made it quite easy to find the route. And we did eventually arrive at Terminal 91.

This was amazing! We drove up and I let everyone off with luggage at 1PM. I drove to the parking lot, parked the car, walked a short distance to the shuttle which left almost as soon as I boarded. Bill and I were at the top of the escalator by 1:15, on the ship by 1:35. We walked directly to our cabin and every piece of our luggage was already waiting for us, kudos to Terminal 91 and Princess. This was as easy as it come.

Since the luggage had arrived I unpacked and it was time for Muster Drill. Princess gathers all passengers in one of 4 inside muster stations which is nice on a cold day. I word of advice here, If you are going to either of the two non-theatre type seating lounges arrive early for a good seat close to the door, but if you are going to the Theatre or the Vista Lounge arrive at the last minute or you will be in the first row and it will take a while to get back to your cabin!!

Business taken care of and it was time to let the party begin!

If you have anything you would like me to find out.. just post it here

More Later

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jpm19

jpm19

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I'm going to be on the Star in Nov. - can't wait as I'm relatively new to cruising. What reasonably priced dry red wines are there on board? Thanks for taking the time to answer any questions while on your cruise!

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Infi

Infi

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Thanks for posting your live from! I'm looking forward to reading more as the week goes on. :) Glad to hear you had such an easy experience at Pier 91...the arrival time makes such a difference here. Enjoy your cruise!

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KLLund

KLLund

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First Sea Day

Dinner last night was wonderful We met our tablemates and it seems to be a great mix. Conversation was steady and it is always interesting to meet our fellow cruisers. The food was even better than we remembered it. It was an interesting co-incidence that one of the couples at our table was from our Cruise Critic roll call.

We called it an early night and were back in the cabin by 10:30. Our cabin is very far aft and there was a lot of action from the sea. We absolutely love that, but if you are not so inclined, aft is not the place for you on this segment of the cruise.

Today we are at sea and I always love sea days. You can do as much or, as in our case, as little as you please.

We enjoyed the Cruise Critic meet and greet. It was well attended and it is always nice to put a face to the rest of the group. There was a lot of discussion of the ship movement. In fact there was a lot of discussion throughout the ship about this. Apparently some did not fare at all well through the night.

We did wander the ship to see everything. The piazza was quite busy all day it seems. We happened by there as they were doing a preview of the nights production show “Cinematastcs” with the dancers and singers. A nice touch I thought.

An amusing activity was when there was about an hour of sunshine and we watched about 10 crew members scurry to put the lounge chairs out next to the pool. Of course the pool was not accessible what with the waves and white caps in the pool itself. We wandered back through the area about an hour and a half later, and the lounges were all put away again!!

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judyfssw

judyfssw

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When we were on the Star in July, we had an aft cabin and loved it. We've been in aft cabins several times and I really don't feel that the movement is any different from other parts of the ship, midship on back. Since there was much discussion about the movement throughout the ship, that was probably the reason. Although, I probably shouldn't have said the above because I fee that the aft is one of the ship's best kept secrets.

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KLLund

KLLund

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I'm going to be on the Star in Nov. - can't wait as I'm relatively new to cruising. What reasonably priced dry red wines are there on board? Thanks for taking the time to answer any questions while on your cruise!

 

Can’t help you with the Dry Red Wine. Sorry but I would not know much about the Reds. I would ask around but I think that it is very subjective as to what is “Good” and what is “reasonable

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KLLund

KLLund

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We'll be on the ship next week! Keep us posted on the movies playing on the big screen if you have time!

 

MUTS is an interesting question. I heard talk tonite that it has not been running. There were movies listed in the patter “He’s Just Not That Into You” “Monsters vs Aliens” “Mama Mia” and “Angels and Demons”. I will try to find out tomorrow if there is a problem or not.

It could be weather related ..it has been quite cold this first day.

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KLLund

KLLund

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We are on the Star next week. What is the entertainment? Hopefully some good comedians. If you go to the gym, could you check on the pilates/yoga/spin classes and their times?

 

Also, who is the naturalist?

 

Since they gave us a handy “Cruise Planner” which tells us what to expect for the week .. here is the entertainment schedule

The Production shows this week are “Cinematastic”, “Motor City” and “Destination Anywhere” (today in the Piazza they were featuring previews of the production number, I don’t know if that is routine or if it was a feature of Sea day)

There is an Illusionist .. Alexander and there are two comedians Jim McDonald and Rodney Johnson.

The Naturalist is Kathy Slamp and she is Very good!!

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KLLund

KLLund

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When we were on the Star in July, we had an aft cabin and loved it. We've been in aft cabins several times and I really don't feel that the movement is any different from other parts of the ship, midship on back. Since there was much discussion about the movement throughout the ship, that was probably the reason. Although, I probably shouldn't have said the above because I fee that the aft is one of the ship's best kept secrets.

 

Couldn't agree with you more on how great the aft is. We aren't actually ON the aft this time .. they were all taken when we booked .. so we are in C743 which is the last balcony on the Caribe deck before the aft. A very nice cabin with a little jog on the balcony that makes it see more spacious and the solid wall next to the balcony seems to dispace any wind so it can be really windy at the rail .. but sit back at the table or lounger and no wind at all!! I will post some pictures as soon as we upload those to the web.

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KLLund

KLLund

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Hi Kathy!! Loving your Live-Blog!! Are you gonna do one next year on the Dream? lol...I know you're loving that Aft Cabin. I hope the seas get calmer for all. Enjoy!!:D

 

 

LOL Char .. remember we have all sailed together before .. where would I find the time with that aft crowd we will have!!

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KLLund

KLLund

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Some information that I often see asked on these boards.

I have seen it asked many times about the amenities in the bathroom. We are not in a suite and we are not platinum (next time) or elite. However, the shampoo, conditioner and lotion are all in the plastic bottles and not the little cardboard packets. Here is a quick hint from Kathy’s Klutz Korner .. read the bottle before you use it .. I am here to tell you that the lotion and conditioner are NOT interchangeable. I promise this is absolutely true.

Remember I am dealing in the facts “Just the facts M’am”. No starting of a debate. On this ship, at this time and no representations made about other Princess ships. The non-smokers have apparently spoken loudest. Smoking is now limited to the stateroom and balcony, a few places on the outside deck, the casino most nights (not at the casino bar however), Skywakers (at the bar) and Shooters where there are no non-smoking areas. Our observation here is that if you would like a drink and a cigarette before dinner, it would need to be Shooters where there was plenty of entertainment last night, NASCAR was playing loudly on each screen. We did not try Skywalkers since the guide tells us that it doesn’t open until 10PM.

Formal night was a very nicely dressed crowd with about 30% in long gowns, tuxes were sparsely worn (but they do look wonderful) and a lot of cocktail length dresses. We saw no jeans (until after dinner).

Since I had some medical problems last year, I am not allowed alcohol, but the mock-tails are really tasty. I never tried them before but I might have had I known how good they are.

We did buy the coffee card and the stainless cups .. well worth the investment for us and the stainless cup is very practical for on deck (I imagine it will be REALLY good for the scenic cruising at Tracy Arm). The card was $24 for 15 brewed or specialty coffees (I love Americano but all the lattes etc are available at the International Café. The card is $30 if you want the cup too, however the servers selling them on deck did not mention that. The cup is $7.50 if you buy it separately so if you want that don’t forget to ask!!

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KLLund

KLLund

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Please tell about the ship itself .Layout.....Look etc I will be on it next winter and any info...SECRETS .. SHHHH ..... will be welcome!!!

I too have an aft balcony ..is it really rocky???

I have C 750

 

Thanks

 

Stay tuned .. pictures are coming including the ship.

It was only rocky the first evening and until mid morning or so of day two. Then it got very smooth and as soon as we entered the inside passage .. it is very very smooth.

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