Star Pride

[Spanky My]

Well ,I believe we arrive in at Balboa at 10 :00 PM on Thursday  and stay until 5 :00 PM on Saturday  .... I am going to call to verify that  : )

[Spanky My]

The above message has been confirmed . we arrive in at Balboa at 10 :00 PM on Thursday  and stay until 5 :00 PM on Saturday . Hope that helps those thinking about coming on this cruise .

[losercruiser]

Hi, we were all set to book this cruise until we found out two days in Balboa.   I'll need to look at excursions before I make my decision, but I really have not interest two days in Balboa.  Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do for these two days?

[Spanky My]

losecruiser...I posted some of the excursions under Panama canal...I would post it here but I think they have rules prohibiting it...

[hangover]

On 7/17/2019 at 11:37 AM, Spanky My said:

Should be an interesting trip.

 

WRIPRO or anyone else, did most folks get off the boat on wet landings? Or did several stay on board ? Also how long did it take to get off  the ship with only using zodiacs ? Thanks in advance for your response  🙂

 

On 7/3/2019 at 10:48 AM, FirstMateGilligan said:

I just got off Pride on Monday.  I hope to write a review later, but here are the basics.  I was on Legend six years ago before the handover. Pride looks better now than Legend did then. Two of the elevators were out at least some of the time, with the forward elevator out the entirety of the cruise. There were occasional issues with the toilets flushing, but they were corrected quickly. If you go around taking pictures of cracks in the marble bathrooms and places where the fittings are not flush you will be very busy. If you take the "big picture" then I think you will enjoy the ship. The biggest real issue I saw was that the seats in the steam room had spots, which looked like mold or mildew. I went to the dry sauna instead.  Also, the beds are horrible. I had to get my steward to bring me an eggcrate topper. That helped, but the beds are not as comfy as  Seabourn.

 

On the Hotel side, this was the friendliest staff I have ever encountered on a cruise ship. The food was good, but not exceptional. I will give Seabourn the edge there, though the food is certainly better than mass market lines. We were blessed with very un-Scottish weather and were able to eat out on the veranda several times and even use the whirlpool! Breakfasts, btw, were excellent, both roomservice and in the Veranda.

 

It is a 31 year old ship. It does need a refurb (and is going to get a big one!), but if you go with realistic expectations I don't think you would be disappointed. My friends and I put down a deposit on another cruise, and we would not hesitate to sail the little sisters again.

 

[hangover]

Was looking at doing the Pride Nov.06th 14 days return San Juan. Was concerned with the number of negative reviews regarding the ship. Everyone seems to like the food and crew which is great. Like  small ship  cruising which have the all inclusive features. and once again concerned about being nickle and dimed. Believe I can get around this by buying the exclusive package.?

Read so many reviews and when I saw this tread found it interesting . The above reply from First Mate Gilligan is excellent and makes me feel much more positive in booking. Keep expectations in perspective. We like beaches and and if none will stay on the ship.

One question as the sailing is off season it seems Windstair has a tendency of lowering prices . Any suggestions as to the best time to book?

Thanks 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Guideline Reminder: no naming (or even hinting) of Travel Agents!

[CruiseOrLand]

I agree that Balboa is out of the way, but it’s not far from Panama City, which has plenty to do on a first visit. The questions are transit time and cost. Will they run a shuttle? What is the car service cost quote?

[milepig]

This is not the first thread that hauls up those few bitter Pride reviews. Don’t believe them and I’m always reminded about how much damage a single spiteful review can do and I try to save my ire for truly horrific experiences, which is not the case with the Pride.  She a classy lady of “a certain age” and that’s OK by us. 

[linda_22003]

We were on the Star Breeze in January of this year, doing that trip in reverse, from Puerto Caldera and through the Panama Canal on the last full day - wonderful, since for me it was the highlight of the trip.  The Pope was visiting town, so that gummed up transportation a bit.  

Star Breeze was going into drydock after our trip, and we did notice some rundown bits - so we will expect that this month on Star Pride, which has not yet been renovated.  Nothing major.  

People were friendly and the food was terrific.  But I HATED the Zodiacs, and won't take another cruise that employs them.  I was told they are only used in the Caribbean area, so I am not likely to encounter them again.

 

[Spanky My]

linda 22003 Thanks for the post ! How many WET LANDINGS (zodiac) did you have on your cruise and what ports did you like the best?

[new_cruiser]

2 hours ago, linda_22003 said:

We were on the Star Breeze in January of this year, doing that trip in reverse, from Puerto Caldera and through the Panama Canal on the last full day - wonderful, since for me it was the highlight of the trip.  The Pope was visiting town, so that gummed up transportation a bit.  

Star Breeze was going into drydock after our trip, and we did notice some rundown bits - so we will expect that this month on Star Pride, which has not yet been renovated.  Nothing major.  

People were friendly and the food was terrific.  But I HATED the Zodiacs, and won't take another cruise that employs them.  I was told they are only used in the Caribbean area, so I am not likely to encounter them again.

 

What bothered you about the zodiacs? I like them - nice ride in the fresh air. I'd say that the one downside is that they don't carry as many as the tenders, but they ran enough of them that there was rarely much of a wait.

 

They use zodiacs in Alaska - not for port days but on the scenic cruising days where they run excursions on them to get closer to the glaciers or landscape. They also use them to get from the ship to the kayaks for kayak excursions.

[milepig]

2 hours ago, new_cruiser said:

What bothered you about the zodiacs? I like them - nice ride in the fresh air. I'd say that the one downside is that they don't carry as many as the tenders, but they ran enough of them that there was rarely much of a wait.

 

They use zodiacs in Alaska - not for port days but on the scenic cruising days where they run excursions on them to get closer to the glaciers or landscape. They also use them to get from the ship to the kayaks for kayak excursions.

 

Mrs. Milepig has never had a good sense of balance and gets spooked easily. Every entry and exit into the Zodiak scares the bejeezus out of her,  and she freaks and either winds up flat on her back on the zodiak wall or falls on her face in the ocean. People try to help her but the embarrassment only makes things worse. Now we just stay on board and miss out. 

[linda_22003]

I'm with Mrs. Milepig, although the falls do not make me stay aboard.  The men assisting with the hand-in and hand-out on our trip were going very quickly, and launched me into the zodiac so I missed the steps completely, except for the ones that caught me in the small of the back.  I don't mind riding in them, but the getting in and getting out is not for someone who has crossed the bar of sixty.

[milepig]

54 minutes ago, linda_22003 said:

I'm with Mrs. Milepig, although the falls do not make me stay aboard.  The men assisting with the hand-in and hand-out on our trip were going very quickly, and launched me into the zodiac so I missed the steps completely, except for the ones that caught me in the small of the back.  I don't mind riding in them, but the getting in and getting out is not for someone who has crossed the bar of sixty.

 

And even though one can be reasonably mobile you do begin to loose stretchiness and the ability to do complex maneuvers. So with the general exit procedure being to be to sit on the wall with your feet inside the zodiak and to then lift up your legs and then twist around to be able to flip them into the water side, all the while checking that you don't step on a rock or piece of coral can be challenging. I must say that investing in water socks helped a great deal, they have grippers on the soles, making slipping less of an issue and also protect you from everything except very sharp rocks.

 

I think a very rough day didn't help with the stress. We were trying to get off the Pride somewhere in Costa Rica, and after barely getting a tender off we were next in line. They tried a tender again, but it was now so rough that the tender was bouncing all over the place and repeatedly crashing against the side of the ship. They gave up on that and then tried a zodiak (remember we're standing with a scenic view of all this). The zodiak bounced ever more, before completely flipping over and landing bottom up in the ocean. Luckily there was no one yet on board and after that they just gave up completely. Not a good thing for someone who's already worried to watch.

 

I suddenly feel very old just typing this!

[Spanky My]

Linda22003...Previously I posted   "How many WET LANDINGS (zodiac) did you have on your cruise on your reverse panama canal trip and what ports did you like the best? " Did you have a response ?   🙂

[new_cruiser]

2 hours ago, Spanky My said:

Linda22003...Previously I posted   "How many WET LANDINGS (zodiac) did you have on your cruise on your reverse panama canal trip and what ports did you like the best? " Did you have a response ?   🙂

I already answered your question in post #8 covering which ports were wet landings.

 

Note that there are several Panama Costa Rica itineraries so "how many ports are wet landings" is only meaningful if you know which itinerary. 

 

I always found the crew very supportive with help boarding & exiting the tender. You can hand any bag you are carrying first to make it easier. Always grasp the crew member's forearm and they will grasp yours. The hand to forearm hold gives better support than hand to hand. If you need extra help, don't be shy about letting them know. I'm mid-60 & my husband is early 70's. 

 

Quepos was one of my favorites because we had so many good animal sightings at Manuel Antonio Park. All the ports were quite good. There are plenty of things to do around Panama City so 2 days there was fine even with already flying in a couple of days before. 

 

It is about $10 for taxi from where you tender near the end of Fuerte Amador to Casca Viejo. 

 

I would have liked to do an excursion to one of the Embera villages (check the Panama port of call board for recommendations), but couldn't fit that in.

[Spanky My]

Thanks... 🙂

[linda_22003]

We'll be on the Pride next week, from Copenhagen to Reykjavik.  Does the Pride have dual voltage, or do we need a converter?

[linda_22003]

On 8/8/2019 at 3:53 PM, Spanky My said:

Linda22003...Previously I posted   "How many WET LANDINGS (zodiac) did you have on your cruise on your reverse panama canal trip and what ports did you like the best? " Did you have a response ?   🙂

They were all by  Zodiac.  The ports themselves were not the highlight of the trip for me, but the wildlife tours and the actual transit of the Canal were wonderful!

[sb44]

42 minutes ago, linda_22003 said:

We'll be on the Pride next week, from Copenhagen to Reykjavik.  Does the Pride have dual voltage, or do we need a converter?

Both are in the suite. I take JMFONE International Travel Adapter from Amazon to use on the European outlet. It has 4 USB ports so I use this for all the electronics charging and save the US plugs for my hairdryer as I don't use theirs. No converter needed, just the 2 prong plug for USB or I can also change volatge on the dryer. I like the JMFONE. Have had others and this is the best. Also it's bright green so less likely to leave behind.

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, sb44 said:

Both are in the suite. I take JMFONE International Travel Adapter from Amazon to use on the European outlet. It has 4 USB ports so I use this for all the electronics charging and save the US plugs for my hairdryer as I don't use theirs. No converter needed, just the 2 prong plug for USB or I can also change volatge on the dryer. I like the JMFONE. Have had others and this is the best. Also it's bright green so less likely to leave behind.

 

It doesn't look like it will accept a US three-prong plug (e.g. Apple laptop)?

[sb44]

42 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

It doesn't look like it will accept a US three-prong plug (e.g. Apple laptop)?

Just tried a 3 prong plug on my Kitchenaid mixer and fits perfectly.  I've had 3 different brands for travel and this one is awesome.

[sb44]

BTW my other newest favorite for the last 2 years is the Shackle luggage tag also from Amazon. We travel a lot and my tags were constantly breaking. These have a steel loop that screws on and the tags are day glow yellow and have a privacy cover. I've super glued the threads on the loops and so far the luggage gorillas have not broken them off. 

[Spanky My]

Linda 22003 Even though it will be a complete different itinerary,I would love to get an updated condition of the pride. Look forward to your response and have a great trip from Copenhagen to  Reykjavik.