Looking for the good, the bad and the ugly of the Star

[EmilyColwell]

Taking the Star for a 15 day cruise in October/19 to Hawaii and have never been on her before.

 

Curious what everyone's experience in the past has been with her, and any tips/must do/must sees while i'm on her.

 

Thanks again everyone!

Only 194 days to go! 😎

[Sea Hag]

It's been a few years since we sailed on the Star, but l remember her as really good. She's a Grand Class, so she has that full wrap-around Promenade deck that I love. She does have Skywalker's, which never seems to be crowded. We had the best waiter we ever had when we sailed on the Star. I can't remember anything I didn't like.

[TheRabbit]

1 hour ago, EmilyColwell said:

Taking the Star for a 15 day cruise in October/19 to Hawaii and have never been on her before.

 

Curious what everyone's experience in the past has been with her, and any tips/must do/must sees while i'm on her.

 

Thanks again everyone!

Only 194 days to go! 😎

We sailed the Star last in 2016 and thought the boat was very good and took advantage of its many pluses such as the wrap around Promenade Deck. There was a bird watchers group on board that set up in the nose area everyday.

[zogrand]

Sailed on Star February and July 2018 and this month.  Love her.  Skywalker's is great - quiet during the day - great view - perfect for reading.  We enjoyed the food and service - know this is subjective.  We had a balcony on Caribe - our favorite deck.  Captain Tuvo is lots of fun.  We don't need a lot of things to do but do enjoy trivia and the evening shows.  Most shows were good, a few not our favorite.  Didn't do MUTS but there were good movies available.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Sailed on her in 2017 and the ship was in fine shape then.  No complaints at all.

[Thrak]

The Good:  Princess cruise ship. Grand Class. Awesome Caribe Deck Balconies.

 

The Bad: I am NOT sailing on the ship but, instead, am at home reading Cruise Critic. Definitely "the bad".

 

Edit: If you want to be picky my wife would say that "the bad" includes the old style design where Skywalker's shades the aft pool. She prefers the ships where Skywalker's has been moved forward a bit so it doesn't shade her favorite pool.

Edited March 28, 2019 by Thrak

[donswife]

The Star is a great choice. It has 1 less deck of cabins, so the public areas are less crowded. The solarium pool will be lovely for the cool days at sea.

[Coral]

Great ship, love the aft pool, less crowded than newer ships. All good!

[wrl001]

We will be on this same cruise out of Vancouver.  Is embarkation as bad as several posts seem to imply?

[EmilyColwell]

On 3/28/2019 at 7:42 AM, wrl001 said:

We will be on this same cruise out of Vancouver.  Is embarkation as bad as several posts seem to imply?

As someone who lives bus distance from the port, who has only came out of Vancouver for cruising I didn't find it to be an issue, but I don't know what other people were complaining about.

[Colo Cruiser]

Love Skywalkers!

[donswife]

On 3/28/2019 at 7:42 AM, wrl001 said:

We will be on this same cruise out of Vancouver.  Is embarkation as bad as several posts seem to imply?

 

It depends how many ships are in port that day. When we embarked, Star was the only ship and she wasn't full. It was a breeze.

[caribill]

On 3/28/2019 at 9:42 AM, wrl001 said:

We will be on this same cruise out of Vancouver.  Is embarkation as bad as several posts seem to imply?

 

2 hours ago, EmilyColwell said:

As someone who lives bus distance from the port, who has only came out of Vancouver for cruising I didn't find it to be an issue, but I don't know what other people were complaining about.

 

Others have posted that:

a) Signage at the port is bad so that there is no clear direction where to go

b) Security lines are very slow

c) Immigration to USA before boarding the ship is very slow

 

With only one ship there, these may not be as bad as when there are multiple ships there.

[silversneakers]

On 3/27/2019 at 8:18 PM, EmilyColwell said:

Taking the Star for a 15 day cruise in October/19 to Hawaii and have never been on her before.

 

Curious what everyone's experience in the past has been with her, and any tips/must do/must sees while i'm on her.

 

Thanks again everyone!

Only 194 days to go! 😎

Never sailed on her but I understand she is being sold to P&O Cruise Line but don't know when.

[Ombud]

Just got off 

 

THE GOOD: Captain Michele Tuvo, SKYWALKERS, CD Fernando 

 

THE BAD: smallish theatre, full stage not visible from upper side sections (part with 2 rows of 3 seats)

 

THE UGLY: Princess Theatre chair hogs .... you can expect some passengers to try to save an ENTIRE row for "their wife in the toilet" like they have 6-9 wives. Security will tell them they cannot save a row but seem unable to do anything about it. (I watched from my seat)

[kirenne]

I was on the Star to Alaska a few years ago, beautiful ship! We very much enjoyed the wraparound deck and didn’t find it too crowded. The food was excellent, and our room (oceanview) was sufficient, no complaints. 

 

We’re planning to book Hawaii for Nov 4 on the Star, would love to hear about your experience when you get back from your trip! 

[cruisingrob21]

This is a trip review from late 2017.

https://cruisingrobsblog.blogspot.com/2017/12/pictures-of-star-post-drydock-121617.html

 

and video is first post on this page:

https://cruisingrobsblog.blogspot.com/search/label/star princess

 

Yes, the star is older, but the original grand class boast a pretty good Passenger/tonnage ratio, 4 nice pools (1 with a cover) and was updated in late 2017 with some nice features.  The new TV's in cabins are very nice.

[memoak]

The only bad thing that I can remember is the smoking bar aft of the casino - for a non smoker it can get really bad much worse than in the casino because they try to keep the doors closed

[kirenne]

13 minutes ago, cruisingrob21 said:

This is a trip review from late 2017.

https://cruisingrobsblog.blogspot.com/2017/12/pictures-of-star-post-drydock-121617.html

 

and video is first post on this page:

https://cruisingrobsblog.blogspot.com/search/label/star princess

 

Yes, the star is older, but the original grand class boast a pretty good Passenger/tonnage ratio, 4 nice pools (1 with a cover) and was updated in late 2017 with some nice features.  The new TV's in cabins are very nice.

Thanks for sharing - this is very helpful, since I haven’t been on the Star in years! 

[Baatman]

On ‎3‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 7:40 PM, zogrand said:

Sailed on Star February and July 2018 and this month.  Love her.  Skywalker's is great - quiet during the day - great view - perfect for reading.  We enjoyed the food and service - know this is subjective.  We had a balcony on Caribe - our favorite deck.  Captain Tuvo is lots of fun.  We don't need a lot of things to do but do enjoy trivia and the evening shows.  Most shows were good, a few not our favorite.  Didn't do MUTS but there were good movies available.

 

 

I agree - love her also. Sailed on her three times.

[tawlaw1526]

30 minutes ago, cruisingrob21 said:

This is a trip review from late 2017.

https://cruisingrobsblog.blogspot.com/2017/12/pictures-of-star-post-drydock-121617.html

 

and video is first post on this page:

https://cruisingrobsblog.blogspot.com/search/label/star princess

 

Yes, the star is older, but the original grand class boast a pretty good Passenger/tonnage ratio, 4 nice pools (1 with a cover) and was updated in late 2017 with some nice features.  The new TV's in cabins are very nice.

Excellent video and pictures.   Thank you for sharing.   I will be on the Star for the first time in a couple weeks.   

[KCsealegs]

I took the Star last October on a 15 day Hawaii and it is one of my best cruises to date. The sea days are packed with activities and entertainment. The Star is big enough to offer lots of options but small enough to still feel intimate. I’ve never celebrated Halloween on a cruise before and it was so much fun! Be sure to pack a costume!! 

[cruisingrob21]

2 hours ago, tawlaw1526 said:

Excellent video and pictures.   Thank you for sharing.   I will be on the Star for the first time in a couple weeks.   

My pleasure, it's fun to share.

 

I'll be going on the Amsterdam, sky princess and grand princess over the next 12 months so more updates to come for those ships.

[elliair]

Well, we took the Star a few years back to Hawaii.  We liked everything about the ship EXCEPT for sausage, sausage, and more sausage served at the buffet.  Breakfast/lunch/dinner sausage.  I dubbed the Star Princess "The Sausage Ship."  I think the chef got a good deal on sausage or he loved the stuff so much that he thought everyone on board would too!  There was meatloaf served hot one day with a hot dog shoved down the middle of it.  The next day the meatloaf/hot dog was served cold on the salad bar.  That's about all I can remember about the ship.  So, we booked a cruise on the Star leaving November 19, and I hope the sausage served has come to an end. I'm sure you'll have a great time.  I hope you like sea days!

[DrivesLikeMario]

 

16 minutes ago, elliair said:

Well, we took the Star a few years back to Hawaii.  We liked everything about the ship EXCEPT for sausage, sausage, and more sausage served at the buffet.  Breakfast/lunch/dinner sausage.  I dubbed the Star Princess "The Sausage Ship." ...

 

OMG, my sausage-loving German husband would LOVE that!  In fact, my dad would've loved it too.  Maybe the chef is appealing to male, German clientele?