star leaves a lot to be desired

[wizard-of-roz]

[quote name='fud2468']Sorry to hear this since we're booked on Star for an Alaska cruise in May.
Actually we had a bad experience with Star to Hawaii 2 years ago. Fruit in buffet was fermenting on second to last day, and rotten on the last day--they had served the same bad batch two days in a row!. This sounds trivial but was something that could've been easily avoided--don't serve rotten food!
We were unhappy enough with this that we have not cruised since, despite our having attaining platinum status on that cruise.
However we couldn't resist the Alaska offer this year and had somehow ignored that it was Star again, hoping things would be better. Oh well, too late now...
Ray Mac[/QUOTE]

[COLOR="Indigo"][B]Hopefully, that was a fluke and your cruise will be a wonderful and fruitful experience![/B][/COLOR]

[melody hounddog]

Just got off the Star last month. Sorry you had a bad experience. Ours was quite the opposite. Loved the food, staff was attentive, didn't look for flaws and didn't find any. I would not hesitate to sail on her again.

I guess I'm just happy to be on vacation and have someone else doing the cooking and cleaning.

[Starfish10]

[quote name='fud2468']Sorry to hear this since we're booked on Star for an Alaska cruise in May.
Actually we had a bad experience with Star to Hawaii 2 years ago. Fruit in buffet was fermenting on second to last day, and rotten on the last day--they had served the same bad batch two days in a row!. This sounds trivial but was something that could've been easily avoided--don't serve rotten food!
We were unhappy enough with this that we have not cruised since, despite our having attaining platinum status on that cruise.
However we couldn't resist the Alaska offer this year and had somehow ignored that it was Star again, hoping things would be better. Oh well, too late now...
Ray Mac[/quote]

My husband kept reading reviews like this prior to our Star cruise in November. I was concerned that I would not enjoy our cruise. I'm writing to tell you that our cruise was incredibly wonderful. The staff was great, the ship was in great shape, the food was excellent with the exception of one meal. Enjoy your cruise to Alaska!:)

[kpgibbs]

I was on the Star two years ago to Alaska. I loved it. We had no problems. BUT, I'm pretty much easy to please on a cruise. I can't say the food in the MDR was wonderful. Maybe just not my taste. If I didn't like it, I would go and get me some Waldarf Salad. That was the best stuff I ever put in my mouth.

[wizard-of-roz]

[quote name='kpgibbs']I was on the Star two years ago to Alaska. I loved it. We had no problems. BUT, I'm pretty much easy to please on a cruise. I can't say the food in the MDR was wonderful. Maybe just not my taste. If I didn't like it, I would go and get me some Waldarf Salad. That was the best stuff I ever put in my mouth.[/QUOTE]

[COLOR="Indigo"][B]That is so good! I can't wait to have more![/B][/COLOR]

[lukesgrammie]

Sorry for the delay, but I guess you need to walk in someones shoes to understand why the delay. Our friends that we travel with still are not home from LA yet. Bad weather in New York. I repeat...there is no bad cruise, but the Star left us wondering if the left knew what the right was doing. Some of the complaints:

1. I was in the restroom by the Onboard Outlet Sale...Someone had obviously been very sick. I walked out where there were three girls standing (not busy mind you) and told them what I had found. The one girl told me to go up to the pursers desk and report it. Really? The other two crew members didn't say a word. I did go up and the gal at the pursers desk was dumbfounded that they would send me up there. Seriously, the bathroom was gross without going into detail...it was being tracked throughout the bathroom area.

2. We witnessed two seperate falls. The first by the pool area where a woman fell down the steps flat on her back. The response time was terrible. Family members were frantic. Not one crew member to be seen for at least 10 minutes!

3. Second fall on the steps by the pizzazz..She could not move with her leg twisted...another 10 minutes..no staff intervention. A family member went to the pursers desk complaining and I and two other people were right behind her. Response time was terrible.

We had first seating in Amais..The food was..ok..not up to Princess standards. Believe me when I say I am not fussy, but if I closed my eyes when eating prime rib I would have thought it was ham. Our servers worked so very very hard. We were always late getting out of the dining room because they seemed to be so short handed. We saw the matradee twice..the second being last night. The waiters were just way to busy to interact with the passengers. Two of our tablemates left the table for the remainder of the cruise. Several of us went to the Horizon Court so we could make the shows we wanted to see.

The $200 credit that appeared on our statement has nothing to do with our experience. I understand that mistakes happen. But TWO DAYS to let the passengers know that there was an error? You have to wonder why?

The captain was one of the best I have ever encountered. He was in the Horizon Court one morning and stopped to speak with us at our table and several others. He was very personable and kept us informed of weather conditions and had a bit of history every day.

Food in the International Cafe and Horizon Court was great. The pizza at Pregos is wonderful and the pool waiters were great. The coffee card is a great value...although I did not use many punches for speciality coffee, my husband loved their cocoa!

The casino is pretty good the first couple of days. I am not much of a gambler, but the first machine you see (Chinese I believe) pays well. I was told by the attendent at the Internet Cafe that they just started using a new service and were having all kinds of problems with it. Fortunately, they were refunding minutes like crazy for those that had to buy packages. You would get on and start composing and then all of a sudden it woud kick you out and you would lose everything. Hopefully that will be resolved for future travelers.

The cabin (deck 10 balcony) was fine but dated and the bathroom could use some Tilex. The bed was hard and lumpy even with a topper. Our room steward was wonderful.

All in all we had a good cruise..not great, but good. We met wonderful people and had many many laughs with our friends (who I hope are in the air by now). We came home to a broken furnace and garage door opener so we have been a little busy. We have traveled Princess many many times..this one just didn't seem to connect. Perhaps it was a fluke..perhaps they were all new on this ship, but it just didn't measure up to the other ships we have traveled. Several people we spoke with noticed the same thing. The weather could have been better, but when you travel you have no guarantees.

Wishing all of you safe travels, smooth seas and good memories...

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for the update. I can certainly understand your concerns and I agree that things were obviously not up to par. I know you were impressed by the Captain but to be honest, it starts at the top. When a ship is well-run, or not, the Captain has everything to do with it. I would definitely follow up with a letter to Princess letting them know of your concerns.

[nurse@sea]

Thank you for your detailed review. Princess is my favorite line, but my first cruise with them, on the Crown, was less than stellar. Im very glad I gave them another try. So far, I have never been disappointed. Hope your next cruise is fabulous. I also agree there is never a bad cruise, but certain standards should be met. Thanks again! Edited February 5, 2014 by nurse@sea

[cr8tiv1]

I am glad you made it home and hopefully your friends will by the end of today. I appreciate you coming back to update us with a clear and concise narrative of the events that disappointed you. I agree with you that the Captain on the Star Princess was one of the best I've traveled with.

There have been several people that have started threads and left us all hanging. You have some very valid concerns. I wouldn't begin to know who to contact while on board, but a letter to Princess would surely be appropriate. I do their survey, but often times write a letter with more details as a follow up.

Again, thank you for sharing.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the comments.
At least the internet manager was giving minute credits back.
Usually they go out of their way to pin it back on the passenger.
I think the MTN managers get dinged alot when they have too many refunds of minutes. :rolleyes:

[Jasperdo]

Thank you for getting back to us and going into more detail about your cruise. I agree that some of the thing you mentioned weren't up to the usual Princess standard. It sounds like you still had a good cruise, though.

[Solara]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][B]Who was the captain on the Star?[/B][/COLOR]

[lukesgrammie]

[quote name='Pam in CA']Thanks for the update. I can certainly understand your concerns and I agree that things were obviously not up to par. I know you were impressed by the Captain but to be honest, it starts at the top. When a ship is well-run, or not, the Captain has everything to do with it. I would definitely follow up with a letter to Princess letting them know of your concerns.[/quote]


You are so right Pam. I heard that a couple of times on the ship. He asked how we were enjoying the cruise at breakfast but I didn't feel that was the time or place to go into detail...but I will..(: We do not cruise soley because of the food, but you have to admit it is part of the total experience. The lobster on formal night was delish and even impressed our friends from Maine. The quality of the food just wasn't there. Perhaps because they want you to frequent the speciality restaurants? We did dine in a speciality area on the Caribbean Princess, but the food was so good in the traditional dining room we never went back. Quite honestly, we shouldn't have to pay another $25.00 to chew your steak(:

[DShock]

I was on the same cruise and posted below last night. There were falls and injuries but that is certainly not the fault of Princess. Fact is there were many people on this cruise that could barely get around on smooth seas, must less the ones we encountered. Shouldn't there be some requirement for physical abilities to be on a cruise ship? Would lack of mobility or cognitive function not make a disaster even worse should it happen? I'll be there some day...we all will...but this cruise was literally a floating nursing home.

Just off the Star Hawaii cruise. Just so you know we are Elite and cruise on Princess 4 times a year.
Boarding in San Pedro was easy and efficient. The Doubletree San Pedro is "tired", meaning old, out dated, and not very nice. Will not stay there again until its updated.Staff there was great.
We were in C748 aft.
Star is in excellent shape and the crew, as always, were amazing.
Cruise was cold, cloudy, rainy, rough seas, and missed port. Will never book another cruise out or LA in January.
Rained at every port in Hawaii but we still had fun. Did helicoptor tour at Kauaii...amazing and worth every penny. Pearl Harbour and Mighty Mo in Honolulu...not to miss. Volcanos National Park on the big island...great tour guide and an amazing tour.
Missed Maui entirely because the captain felt it too windy and rough for tender operations...even though land tours (whale watching, parasailing, Nautilus sub) were all operating as normal. Soooo disappointing to miss Maui. Many passengers called and urged the captain to take us over to Kona but we headed to Ensanada instead...disapointing.
So 5 sea days over (due to huge swells) and 5 days back for three stops in Hawaii. I'll crusie again soon (April) and I'll return to Hawaii but will never do a cruise to Hawaii again. It will be a land trip.
As mentioned we experienced huge swells going...roughest I've been on. Captain said they were 41 foot swells and urged passengers to take seasick meds. Rough night sleeping for sure.
Promenade deck was closed a lot due to rough seas, spray covering deck, and wind.
NOTE: This was an older crowd for sure and I would not recommend this cruise for younger folks, younger defined as 65 and under! And not sure why but I've never ween so many men leave public restrooms without washing their hands in all my days of cruising. Amazingly enough we didn;t have a Noro outbreak!!
Room service was excellent.
Elua was EXCELLENT. Helped made the trip good despite the negatives. Can't imaging Princess not keeping them for every Hawaii cruise.
Naturalist on board...EXCELLENT.
Hawaiian choices on menu were EXCELLENT.
Park West sucks and after first auction never attended again.
Sabitini's and Crown grill EXCELLENT.
Cruise Director...not so good...just OK.
Horizon Court food...mediocre at best...bland, predictable, no enforcement of hand sanitizer use...kind of gross so we only ate there a few times.
MUTS...love it a lot on all ships but weather (cold) prevented use most of the evenings and on some days.
Sanctuary...love it on all ships but because of weather only used twice. Crew staffing the Sanctuary were amazing.
As usual the "sales push" was excessive in my opinion and boarders on annoying. God knows how much paper Princess could save if they didn't push their sales so hard.
Photo crew annoying as always...too pushy. Again so much waste in the photo department and Princess should take a look at this. How many photos are thrown out after each cruise...fleet wide. I'm not a tree hugger but this bothers me.
Disembarkation was well organized, easy and efficient.

Over all we enjoyed our trip but it won't go down in our cruising history as on of our best. I'd rate it as one of our least enjoyable. Missing Maui was huge and we feel the Captain was overly concerned over safe operations of tenders due to the age/physical condition of passengers. There were so many that could barely walk on even the modestly rough days. So those that were more than fit to make the trip from ship to shore, even on rougher seas than normal, were penalized because of those that physically were not up to it. Bad decision on his part.

Excuse any typos as I wrote this as quickly as I could. I'm not asking for opinions, past experiences, advice so please save your time and posts. Just thought you would like a brief review.

[cr8tiv1]

[quote name='Solara'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][B]Who was the captain on the Star?[/B][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Without referencing my Patters (at home), I believe his name was Todd McBain. I am sure someone will either epverify or correct my error. He was on the ship's speaker every night around 5 to give us an update and a little bit of information. On my voyage in November, he wanted to reassure all of us that the creaking and crackling of the ship was normal and that we were in no danger of splitting in half from bow to stern.

I found him very pleasant and personable. Would love to cruise with him again.

[KruzPrincess]

The captain in December was Todd McBain. I liked him, too. He gave some informative announcements.

I already posted a couple times on this thread that I had a fine cruise in December. It's funny how differently things can be viewed by different people. Personally, I had good food most places. I didn't think the food in the International Café was as good as other ships, but the OP loved it. I enjoyed the food I had in the MDR, but the OP didn't care for it. We agreed that the pizza was good. I eat many meals in the Horizon Court and thought the choices were limited because of the size of the buffet, but the OP thought it was great. I rarely judge my enjoyment of a cruise on food. If I don't care for one meal I can always find something else that I enjoy. I love just making a salad in the Horizon Court and they had a good salad bar.

I also found a mess in a rest room by the photo gallery. I notified a gallery worker and he was calling someone as I walked by him a minute later. They were right on top of it.

The Star Princess was built in 2002. It is dated, but I expected that. If my room wasn't clean I would report it. Princess is famous for their hard mattresses. I know that's a possibility. My neighbors on my cruise had a bad mattress and called about it. They had it taken care of.

I'm sorry the OP had a cruise that wasn't up to par for them, but my friends and I all had a pretty good time. It was a really nice time. Perfect...no, but I haven't had a perfect cruise yet.

[Colo Cruiser]

41' swells? :eek:

[fud2468]

We are quite elderly: I get around without assistance but wife needs a wheeled walker to go any distance. We try not to get in others' way. On earlier cruises she used a wheelchair but this was too difficult for me to push in the carpeted areas, plus I got tired of getting pitying glances.
I would certainly agree that those on powered carts are a nuisance and their mass can be a real danger if they hit someone.
Princess excursions provide information on the level of difficulty for pass to get around on them--but it sounds as though this is not effective.
We were not able to afford to cruise until well past age 70. Please bear in mind that there may be many in the same situation. Of course we would have preferred to do it when younger since we have to miss a lot, but that's life..
Ray Mac

[caribill]

[quote name='lukesgrammie']
2. We witnessed two seperate falls. The first by the pool area where a woman fell down the steps flat on her back. The response time was terrible. Family members were frantic. Not one crew member to be seen for at least 10 minutes!

3. Second fall on the steps by the pizzazz..She could not move with her leg twisted...another 10 minutes..no staff intervention. A family member went to the pursers desk complaining and I and two other people were right behind her. Response time was terrible.

[/quote]

No excuse for not having prompt attention to a fall. Did you or someone else dial 911 to get medical help there.

[lukesgrammie]

If I would have found a phone I would have called 911 but I believe the crew would have known where they were located faster than I. That is how they should be trained..all of them!!....believe me...passengers were more help at that time than the crew!!!!!! I agree with DShock totally..falls are not the fault of Princess, but it is their responsibility to act in a timely and efficient manner when they do happen. I have had the perfect cruise...many of them. We did have a good time like I said, but certainly not what I expected. If Princess is known for their hard mattresses they should fix them. I did ask for a topper...it didn't help. Our friends had no hot water for two days until they found out it was a valve inside the shower..two days! By the way, we stayed at Crown Plaza in San Pedro (priceline 75.00) and it was wonderful...except for the $16 breakfast buffet and $ 6.00 for oatmeal. Don't eat in the hotel. The are are restaurants (even a Subway for breakfast sandwiches) within walking distance, but a great, modern and clean hotel! Great restaurant on Pacific Avenue and Sixth street. Also, a grocery store for soft drinks (numero ono(: and water.

[seamanfs]

[quote name='melody hounddog']Just got off the Star last month. Sorry you had a bad experience. Ours was quite the opposite. Loved the food, staff was attentive, didn't look for flaws and didn't find any. I would not hesitate to sail on her again.

I guess I'm just happy to be on vacation and have someone else doing the cooking and cleaning.[/QUOTE]

We agree. Same experience in Nov going on Star to Hawaii. It was our first Star experience after 21 Princess cruises and we loved the ship and staff. No problems noted and would sail her again.

[gingera]

Thanks so much for your honest comments...

[waltd]

[quote name='lukesgrammie']If I would have found a phone I would have called 911 but I believe the crew would have known where they were located faster than I. That is how they should be trained..all of them!!....believe me...passengers were more help at that time than the crew!!!!!! I agree with DShock totally..falls are not the fault of Princess, but it is their responsibility to act in a timely and efficient manner when they do happen. I have had the perfect cruise...many of them. We did have a good time like I said, but certainly not what I expected. If Princess is known for their hard mattresses they should fix them. I did ask for a topper...it didn't help. Our friends had no hot water for two days until they found out it was a valve inside the shower..two days! By the way, we stayed at Crown Plaza in San Pedro (priceline 75.00) and it was wonderful...except for the $16 breakfast buffet and $ 6.00 for oatmeal. Don't eat in the hotel. The are are restaurants (even a Subway for breakfast sandwiches) within walking distance, but a great, modern and clean hotel! Great restaurant on Pacific Avenue and Sixth street. Also, a grocery store for soft drinks (numero ono(: and water.[/QUOTE]

Gosh I hope they don't fix the hard mattress. Nothing worse then waking up with a back ache from a soft mattress.

[KruzPrincess]

[quote name='lukesgrammie']If I would have found a phone I would have called 911 but I believe the crew would have known where they were located faster than I. That is how they should be trained..all of them!!....believe me...passengers were more help at that time than the crew!!!!!! I agree with DShock totally..falls are not the fault of Princess, but it is their responsibility to act in a timely and efficient manner when they do happen. I have had the perfect cruise...many of them. We did have a good time like I said, but certainly not what I expected. If Princess is known for their hard mattresses they should fix them. I did ask for a topper...it didn't help. Our friends had no hot water for two days until they found out it was a valve inside the shower..two days! By the way, we stayed at Crown Plaza in San Pedro (priceline 75.00) and it was wonderful...except for the $16 breakfast buffet and $ 6.00 for oatmeal. Don't eat in the hotel. The are are restaurants (even a Subway for breakfast sandwiches) within walking distance, but a great, modern and clean hotel! Great restaurant on Pacific Avenue and Sixth street. Also, a grocery store for soft drinks (numero ono(: and water.[/QUOTE]

Just want to add that Princess is changing the mattresses, but it's taking some time to replace them all. My last few cruises I've had a super comfortable mattress. Mattresses were my only real complaint about Princess. I just meant that I thought you had said you'd sailed on Princess several times. If so, you probably had the hard mattress in the past. Maybe I was mistaken in what I read. I do agree that a bad mattress can affect your cruise. I used to take a memory foam topper with me.

I stayed at the Crowne Plaza last time, too. It was a nice stay, but the restaurant food is pricey.

[waltd]

[quote name='KruzPrincess']Just want to add that Princess is changing the mattresses, but it's taking some time to replace them all. My last few cruises I've had a super comfortable mattress. Mattresses were my only real complaint about Princess. I just meant that I thought you had said you'd sailed on Princess several times. If so, you probably had the hard mattress in the past. Maybe I was mistaken in what I read. I do agree that a bad mattress can affect your cruise. I used to take a memory foam topper with me.

I stayed at the Crowne Plaza last time, too. It was a nice stay, but the restaurant food is pricey.[/QUOTE]

We usually split a sweet roll and have coffee in the morning. Figure by lunch time we will have all the food we can eat so why spend money at the hotel. :)