Star or Caribbean - ports or ship....?

[jlsanta]

for the dec 26th NYE sailing, both Star and Caribbean are doing an eastern itinerary,
but the Star's itinerary intriques me more than Caribbeans itinerary, although not a huge issue...
but, i tink i might want to try the caribbean ship over the star.
already sailed the grand, which I loved... the star seems exactly the same? right?
Caribbean being almost the same, but brand new with a caribbean theme... intrigues me more (altough 500 more persons...)

so.. my dilemma... choose the Star for the itinerary and less folks,
or the Caribbean princess for it's newness......

thanks for any insight!!! :)

[Coral]

I am looking at the same thing a few weeks earlier (Dec 11 or Dec 12/Caribbean or Star Princess).

I have yet to sail the Star but have the Grand and Golden. Princess did make improvements on the Golden (from the original plan of the Grand)) and from what I have heard, the Star also.

I agree that the Star has the better itinierary (I dont' like St. Maarten and have never been to Tortola) and have decided on the Star. I think having less people on the ship (especially during a holiday sailing where there will be plenty of 3rd and 4th passengers in cabins) will probably be best.

I actually don't know when the Movies Under the Stars will be installed but it may be by the end of the year.

[jlsanta]

thanks,
the movies under the stars isnt something i really care about, i cant imagine that we'd even watch a movie out there, however, if i could get a lounge in the pool..then perhaps we would.
is there a movie every night?

the thought of as few people as possible during one of the busiest weeks of the year is a good thing..

i am just wondering if the caribbean princess is much more beautiful of a ship..?

sma here, dont like St. Maarten and never been to Tortola :)

[Coral]

jlsanta - I actually am not thrilled about the Movies Under the Stars either but realize it may be on our ship come December.

I thought the Golden was much more beautiful then the Grand (primarily the atrium). I have a friend who has sailed all 3 (Grand, Golden and Star) and prefers the Star Princess. I also liked the internet cafe on the Golden (I believe the Grand now has a self serve one).

I know the Caribbean Princess has a Caribbean restaurant at night but they close the buffet for it - so it really doesn't make a difference for me. For me, there isn't anything "new" on the Caribbean Princess that makes it worth having 500 plus more passengers for. Now the Diamond or Sapphire - I probably would chose that over the Grand class to try.

[mii]

Coral: What is it that you don't like about St. Maarten? We are going next
Feb. on the Sun princess and that is one of the stops. Just curious.


Marilyn

[Coral]

Marilyn,

I find the town area pretty dirty. Last time I was there, the garbage cans in town were over flowing with trash everywhere. The sidewalks were all broken up and difficult to walk on. I had my mom with me (visually impaired and has a service dog) and there were several (4 or 5) loose dogs roaming around town that I just didn't feel safe having them with me so we went back to the pier area. The pier area is very clean but was limited in shops when we were there (Thanksgiving 2003).

I am amazed at the amount of money coming into St. Maarten and how they are not spending it on cleaning the DT area. I have been here probably at least 4 times and this was the dirtiest I have seen it.

I took a tour in the afternoon - "Under 2 flags" and while I found the drive beautiful, the stops were all shopping orientated. We stopped somewhere where there were these outdoor shops for 20 minutes and the next stop was on the French side where they dropped us off to shop for an hour or so. My TA was with me on this trip and did a different tour and they practically did the same thing (island tour turned into a shopping tour).

I think if you stick with a beach day or water tour of some sort - it would be enjoyable. With Princess Cays and planning on going to St. John when we went to St. Thomas, I didn't want to spend another day basking in the sun. If I go back again - I would probably do America's Cup Regatta since that is always highly rated as an excursion.

-Theresa

[sunnyv]

We chose the 12/26/04 sailing of the Caribbean Princess for several reasons. We like the extra day @ sea on the CP, we have never been to St Maarten or Tortola, so that was a toss up. We have been to San Juan and it wasn't one of our favorite places. (although we did find visiting the Fort interesting). The CP is newer and also new to us, as we have sailed the Star. It is a holiday sailing so both will have lots of families and kids. I've heard other posters say, if you don't want many kids/teens around, don't sail when school is NOT in session. We are taking our 16yr DD and her 16yr old friend. The CP has some fun activities/areas unique to the caribbean sailings which we look forward to.

Before the CP sailed, there were many concerns on this board for the extra 500 passengers and "who cares about an outdoor movie screen"? Since reading the opinions of those who have now sailed her, many agree that you don't notice the extra 500 people and the Movies under the Stars has been enjoyed by most.

We sailed the Star to Alaska last August and enjoyed it. I think you will be happy with either ship. Like anything else, you have to weigh what's important to you and make a decision. Hope this helps, Good Luck :D

[mii]

Thanks Coral for the info on St.Maarten. We are on the Sun Princess next Feb. and that happened to be one of the stops. I am also looking at the excursion which is the DUCK where they go into the water and in land/ I have been on duck excursions in other place and they are a blast. Have you heard anything about that excursion.


Marilyn

[*KristenInCT*]

[font=Century Gothic][color=darkorchid][b]See and I think that St Maarten is great, one of my favorite stops. I have yet to see a port that is totally clean. St Thomas, Aruba and all of them have some type of litter problem...esp when you get all those people running around off the ships. I would definately go for the itinerary more then the ship, esp when its a toss up between the Star and the CP. You cant go wrong either way! :):D [/b][/color][/font]

[CruiseNut7]

[color=blue][b]We sailed on the Star Princess (Alaska) last September. She is a beautiful ship and I would not hesitate to do it again.[/b][/color]

[color=blue][b]In our case, we are going to try the Caribbean Princess on 11/27 because we have already been on the Star, and we are cruising with another couple who wanted to go on the newer ship. It would not have made any difference to me at all, other than I would like to have seen Tortola on the Star.[/b][/color]

[color=blue][b]As others suggest, go with the itinerary you want most and what is the best value -- either ship will be wonderful! I absolutely loved the Star Princess (my favorite ship, so far) and in a few months I'll be able to compare her with the CP and share my preference.[/b][/color]

[color=blue][b]Hope this helps - happy sailing. :) [/b][/color]

[spongerob]

Jlsanta, Caribbean Princess incorporates some changes beyond the movie screen that you might find interesting. My first impression of the ship and its layout was extremely positive. I like the Club Fusion much more than the old Vista Lounge, for example. It seems much less crowded. The additional passenger load doesn't pose any extra difficulties.

St. Maarten is one of our favorite ports, too. The downtown area is very cramped and there is little to be done to fix that. The Americas' Cup Regatta is a great tour. We even saw that one of the scheduled races the day we were in put the Golden Princess crew against a boat crewed by the Explorer of the Seas. I bet that was a competitive contest!

The added passenger deck gives the Caribbean Princess a bolder profile. It feels like a much larger ship than it's tonnage numbers might indicate.

[tomcarson]

I would choose the Star Princess for a couple of reasons. I also find St. Maarten dirtier than most ports. It has gotten worse through out the years and I really don't care to return to that port. The down town area is just filthy. I haven't been to Tortola but since i have not been there, that would be my choice. The stop in San Juan is an evening stop so it will feel like a sea day during the day and if you care to get off at night, you can. I have friends who cruise a lot and they have cruised on the Caribbean Princess. They did feel the extra 500 passengers. If I can choose ships that are similar in size and if one has 500 less passengers than another, the ship with less passengers is going to be my choice -- especially if the ports stops are better.

[jlsanta]

this seems to be a win win decision here, no matter what we decide...

however, a question... even though when we were on the Grand, we only went to the buffet one time in the middle of the night, we liked knowing it was open 24 hrs... when the buffet closes on the Caribbean princess for the caribe cafe... how long is it closed, and what does the caribe cafe offer?
not a deciding factor, cause we probably wouldnt even notice, but curious nonetheless....

I was never concerned about the extra 500 passengers on Caribbena princess before, but now that i am considering NYE week, i wonder if it would manke a difference....
spongerob..... can i ask (if it's not a stupid question) ca you elaborate a bit on what you meant by the ship having a bolder profile and seeming larger... does it seem larger than the Grand?
you made a point about club fusion, it seems like a much better spot than the vista lounge....
any other differnces, what about the decor of the ship???? and have you (spongerob) sailed on the Star?

I do like the sound of Tortola on the Star though... does anyone know if it tenders there or not?

thanks so much everyone!!!

[Seayalater]

Mii
We were just in St. Maarten and the shopping consisted of jewelry stores, cheesy souveineir shops and locals hasseling you into both.
It reminded me of Ocho Rios w/o the falls

[geoherb]

I'd prefer the Star over the Caribbean Princess for a holiday week because there will be fewer kids. Holiday sailings feel very crowded. We avoid them if possible.

Sometimes we treat the ship as the destination (like when we sailed on the Golden Princess back in 2001), but I like the Star's itinerary better than the Caribbean Princess' and since the ships aren't that different, I'd take it.

[Aquarian]

We have been on the Grand, Golden and the Caribbean. The Caribbean is my favorite of the three. The decor, though similar, is brighter and reflects being in the Caribbean year round. There is so much more deck space for sunning, relaxing, etc. because both mid-ship pools are open-air. It is so much easier to find a pool chair now. We didn't watch a movie but did watch a concert under the stars. It was great. There is something on the screen each night, either a movie or concert. We did not notice 500 more people. Princess is so good at this. There are so many different venues so that the passengers are evenly distributed around the ship. I never felt crowded. I really don't think you can go wrong with either ship but why not book your next cruise on board and choose the other ship for your next cruise? It's a win-win situation. The Cafe Caribe on the Caribbean is also a buffet - it's just a sit down, linens and china type of dining room rather than cafeteria style.

[jlsanta]

ahh, such a toss up,
the Caribbean princess definitely intrigues me more becasue it is new and because of the decor,
but i am a bit worried about the "hoiday sailing" and a ton of kids and more people.
we have the luxury of vacationing anytime of year and do take advantage of that (our fav. time of year to cruise or vacation onland is in Sept. - this year we will be in Hawaii for over 2 weeks in Sept.)
even though we can go away whenever we want, we thought it would be a lot of fun to celebrate NYE on the ship!!!! :)

so my choice of ships is the Caribbena princess but only slightly, we loved the grand so I know we'd love the Star also.
if i knew for sure that there would be less kids on the star (noticeably) then I'd go with the Star.. :)

[sunnyv]

I don't think you'll find any of the 7 day cruises with significantly fewer kids over the holidays. That being said, we are going with the attitude that a New Year's cruise on a New Ship will be great fun :D That's not to say everything will be perfect, because there is no such thing, but I think we will come close ;)

We would love to have you join our CP 12/26/04 Roll call if you decide on the CP :)