Star Princess Cruise-Los Angeles to Vancouver--Any input?

[SuzieQ521]

Hello:

 

Has anyone ever done this 3 night one-way cruise? We are looking at one from November 29-December 2.

 

I didn't even think that there were cruises up to Vancouver that time of year. We just did a September cruise to Alaska on the Ruby Princess that we loved and wanted to try to squeeze in one more little cruise and this one seems like a bargain...even the suites are reasonably priced.

 

Any input re: the cruise itinerary, weather that time of year, the ship itself, etc.?

 

Thanks!

[LarryL]

I just looked at it and thought, at first, what a great cruise to nowhere that would be. The prices are great. The weather in the northwest is cooler that time of year with average highs in the 40s. I remember my time living on the peninsula that it could get pretty rainy also. I was thinking of doing the back to back return but saw there is a 15 day break before returning to LA.

 

I wonder if they have a private cruise booked from Vancouver on those dates. Maybe the destination is Hawaii. :):cool: Now I'm curious.

[2pbears]

We did this cruise in reverse last Fall (Vancouver to LA). We prefer to take the southbound cruises as the current along the Pacific coast heading north can (but not necessarily) produce some rough seas. It was a very relaxing cruise. As I recall it was a four day cruise with a stop in Victoria when we booked the cruise but was later changed to three day, direct to LA. We would have preferred the original itinerary but they offered a nice credit for the change. The weather will be cool so pack accordingly.

[WVBill]

Star is coming up here for a dry-dock period.

[Wandering_star]

The Star does not normally come to Vancouver this late in the year, but this year it's going over to Victoria for a short dry dock, then going back down to LA in December.

 

I'm actually booked on the LA to Vancouver trip - found a package that included a couple of days in Las Vegas before hand and included a flight to LA and transfer to the ship. Should you choose to book, you may find lots of Vancouver/BC people who are doing something similar.

 

I expect the weather to great for the first sea day, then get progressively cooler (and possibly wetter...). If there isn't a coastal storm, I would guess the ocean conditions may be a touch rougher than what you would normally expect, but nothing too crazy...

 

Whatever the weather, I think it should be lots of fun :)

[SuzieQ521]

Thanks all for your replies. Dry dock means renovation? That explains why I could not find any reviews for this particular itinerary. I did read that the Star Princess is a little more run down (than other Princess ships) and I guess we would be sailing on her before they patch her up.

 

We are coming from Vegas so it makes sense to do the LA to Vancouver one and this worked better with our schedules. A little rough seas would be ok (but hopefully no big storms!)--we just did a mid-Sept cruise from Seattle to Alaska on the Ruby which was a bit bumpy on the first sea day but bearable.

 

I suspect the potential for worse weather would be on the mid-December cruise from Vancouver to L.A.--does it typically snow in Vancouver end of November/December (although I know it's unpredictable)? We plan to spend 1.5 days in Vancouver after the cruise.

 

Thanks again.

[TheCruisingAccountant]

Snow in Vancouver is more often than not a late December to early February kind of thing, and that is not always a certainty. Last year was our worst year in about thirty for snow, the year before, I did not see a flake in the city proper living close to downtown and the ocean, but some of the suburbs had some.

 

Do be prepared for dark skies and low clouds, temparatues topping out at under 10 C (probably more like 6 C), and rain, though. That time of year, we often have a lot of that.

[LarryL]

Thanks all for your replies. Dry dock means renovation? That explains why I could not find any reviews for this particular itinerary. I did read that the Star Princess is a little more run down (than other Princess ships) and I guess we would be sailing on her before they patch her up.

 

We are coming from Vegas so it makes sense to do the LA to Vancouver one and this worked better with our schedules. A little rough seas would be ok (but hopefully no big storms!)--we just did a mid-Sept cruise from Seattle to Alaska on the Ruby which was a bit bumpy on the first sea day but bearable.

 

I suspect the potential for worse weather would be on the mid-December cruise from Vancouver to L.A.--does it typically snow in Vancouver end of November/December (although I know it's unpredictable)? We plan to spend 1.5 days in Vancouver after the cruise.

 

Thanks again.

 

We sailed the Star in Feb and they were doing a lot of work then. She was looking pretty good. Hopefully, Captain Tuvo will be back and he will make your short cruise memorable. Best captain ever. :) Hope you have a great time in Vancouver.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I've done these 3 or 4 times. I really enjoy them. If you're cruising for a lot of sun or exciting ports, this cruise isn't for you. If you like relaxing days at sea, meeting interesting people and enjoying good food, go for it! Don't be surprised if the ship has to use it's fog horn for a couple of those days though. Depending on where your cabin is, it can be really annoying or hardly noticeable. The Star is even doing one of these in mid-December. (16th to be exact). Now that's a bit crazy IMO but I guess Princess thinks it'll sell well enough.

[sfaaa]

The price of this cruise looks like a steal. My question is would this deeply discounted price still qualify for $50 shareholder OBC?

[Wandering_star]

Thanks all for your replies. Dry dock means renovation? That explains why I could not find any reviews for this particular itinerary. I did read that the Star Princess is a little more run down (than other Princess ships) and I guess we would be sailing on her before they patch her up.

 

We are coming from Vegas so it makes sense to do the LA to Vancouver one and this worked better with our schedules. A little rough seas would be ok (but hopefully no big storms!)--we just did a mid-Sept cruise from Seattle to Alaska on the Ruby which was a bit bumpy on the first sea day but bearable.

 

I suspect the potential for worse weather would be on the mid-December cruise from Vancouver to L.A.--does it typically snow in Vancouver end of November/December (although I know it's unpredictable)? We plan to spend 1.5 days in Vancouver after the cruise.

 

Thanks again.

 

We were on the Star for 15 days in April for Hawaii round trip from Vancouver itinerary and found the Star to be in fine shape. There's at least one thread on here about what changes might be made to the Star while it is in dry dock.

 

As for Vancouver, snow is possible - but plan for rain for sure - that way if it's just chilly, no harm done.

 

As for the question regarding CCL stock credit - we received it when we went on a one day cruise to Vancouver (from Seattle) this past September :)

[DrivesLikeMario]

The price of this cruise looks like a steal. My question is would this deeply discounted price still qualify for $50 shareholder OBC?

 

Yes, of course! The price of the cruise has no bearing on the stockholder benefit.

[freshair8]

I love those little getaways!!

 

:):):):)

[Pierlesscruisers]

The price of this cruise looks like a steal. My question is would this deeply discounted price still qualify for $50 shareholder OBC?

 

Since both the shareholder and the veterans OBCs both apply to even a 1-day cruise, I would think that it would apply to even a deeply discounted fare also.

 

Tom

[abbydancer2003]

We're doing the return - we're going to request the stockholder credit in about a week. I don't anticipate a problem.

 

We have friends on the November cruise, but the December one worked better both for date (farther from Thanksgiving) and it also has more weekend days.

[mrcruise66]

The ship is going into drydock. I think it's in Victoria. I'm going on this cruise. I did the Ruby last year going the other way. Great cruise. I'm looking forward to seeing the star again. Haven't sailed on her for about 15 years ago.

[AE_Collector]

Yes, dry dock at Esquimalt (Victoria). Ruby did the trip to Vancouver and then back to LA at the same time of year last year. Last year I think Ruby was off to Hawaii once she was back to LA.

 

This made me wonder why someone planning these itineraries doesn’t get a bit more adventurous and do something like Vancouver to Hawaii to LA on the way back or the opposite route coming to Vancouver for dry dock. They could completely go off the rails and combine the 3 days back to LA with the usual 15 day Hawaii trip to come up with an 18 day Vancouver to Hawaii to LA reposition meaning they would have time for 5 or 6 Hawaiian Ports and an overnight or two in Hawaii Ports.

 

A cruise like this would be certain to get the attention of those who like a Hawaii cruise but would like more than the usual 4 Ports. Just thinking out loud...hopefully loud enough for Princess to hear! A missed opportunity!

 

AE_Collector

[CeeCee59]

Yes, dry dock at Esquimalt (Victoria). Ruby did the trip to Vancouver and then back to LA at the same time of year last year. Last year I think Ruby was off to Hawaii once she was back to LA.

 

This made me wonder why someone planning these itineraries doesn’t get a bit more adventurous and do something like Vancouver to Hawaii to LA on the way back or the opposite route coming to Vancouver for dry dock. They could completely go off the rails and combine the 3 days back to LA with the usual 15 day Hawaii trip to come up with an 18 day Vancouver to Hawaii to LA reposition meaning they would have time for 5 or 6 Hawaiian Ports and an overnight or two in Hawaii Ports.

 

A cruise like this would be certain to get the attention of those who like a Hawaii cruise but would like more than the usual 4 Ports. Just thinking out loud...hopefully loud enough for Princess to hear! A missed opportunity!

 

AE_Collector

I would definitely be interested in this option. I hope Princess considers this. Also with so many new ships (on many different cruise lines) I hope that there are more options out of Vancouver - perhaps more cruises starting here and going to Mexico.

[ceilidh1]

Yes, dry dock at Esquimalt (Victoria). Ruby did the trip to Vancouver and then back to LA at the same time of year last year. Last year I think Ruby was off to Hawaii once she was back to LA.

 

This made me wonder why someone planning these itineraries doesn’t get a bit more adventurous and do something like Vancouver to Hawaii to LA on the way back or the opposite route coming to Vancouver for dry dock. They could completely go off the rails and combine the 3 days back to LA with the usual 15 day Hawaii trip to come up with an 18 day Vancouver to Hawaii to LA reposition meaning they would have time for 5 or 6 Hawaiian Ports and an overnight or two in Hawaii Ports.

 

A cruise like this would be certain to get the attention of those who like a Hawaii cruise but would like more than the usual 4 Ports. Just thinking out loud...hopefully loud enough for Princess to hear! A missed opportunity!

 

AE_Collector

 

We are doing exactly what you described! We are taking Star on the 3 day Vancouver to LA on Dec 16th and then staying on for the 15 day LA-Hawaii trip. I was surprised it wasn't sold as one trip, but this way I guess we get twice the cruise credits....

[abbydancer2003]

We are doing exactly what you described! We are taking Star on the 3 day Vancouver to LA on Dec 16th and then staying on for the 15 day LA-Hawaii trip. I was surprised it wasn't sold as one trip, but this way I guess we get twice the cruise credits....

I was going to say that's what they are doing, but I think the original point was that if it didn't stop in LA they could overnight in Hawaii or something like.

 

Sadly, we have to get off in LA.