Onboard Star Princess in Alaska (Live)

[luv2cruise2much]

:) Thanks for the info. We'll be on the May 18th. voyage.......absoultely can't wait. Hope our weather is good like yours! Look forward to your next update.

[minniemom]

Thanks for the report. We will also be on the Star on June 1.. with funforus.

Hope you post more things

WE went from Baja to Dolphin deck to get a minisuite... HOpe that was a good choice.

[minniemom]

Movies what are the movies on board right now??? ARe they good ones, are they everyday?

[Shelly97060]

thanks for posting. Very glad to hear you are having a wonderful trip.

[brwneyedgirl72]

:) Thanks for the info. We'll be on the May 18th. voyage.......absoultely can't wait. Hope our weather is good like yours! Look forward to your next update.

 

Don't forget to join the roll call for the 5/18 cruise!

[LEtue]

Just checked out the bridge cam and it looks like there are some rough seas heading to Victoria.

 

Reminds me of our trip last year on the Oosterdam :eek:

[Bilyeu5]

The Internet was very slow, so I was too cheap to post another report while on the ship. Our biggest expense was Internet- burned through 100 minutes at $55 for the package, then bought 250 minutes for $100. Overall, our shipboard account was only $680, which we though was quite reasonable. That included mini-suite tips at $11 pp per day, dinner for 2 in Sterling Steakhouse, 1 Princess excursion (for 2), and a few drinks and sundries.

 

We had rough seas on Friday. Outside decks were closed and they canceled the 2nd production show for safety of the dancers. They still stacked up champagne glasses in the atrium, though, for the champagne waterfall. Although I am a white-knuckle flyer during turbulance, I don't mind the rock and roll of a ship at sea. The captain had to slow our speed and we were late getting into Victoria, as were other ships on the same general routing. This was the only port where we encountered rain. Our trip ashore consisted of walking down the gangplank, taking about 10 steps in Canada, then turning around and going back up the gangplank. We've been to Victoria a few times, so were happy to spend those last few hours on the ship.

 

Our favorite port was Skagway. We arranged a combination bus/train ride through Chilkoot Charters and were very pleased with our knowledgable local guide and the comfort of just 8 people in our minibus and train car.

One advantage of the early season is that there was LOTS of snow alongside the road as we made our way to the Canadian border. It was very beautiful, but will soon melt away for most of the summer. We're not big shoppers, but we did enjoy a few of the local stores in this port.

 

 

Juneau was our least favorite port. I wish we had done one of the gold mine themed tours here. We did a private van tour that was nice, but scenery was not much different than in our home in Oregon.

 

Our favorite feature on Princess is the entertainment. Every night there were several options available. We saw two good stage productions, two comedians (one great and one so-so), and a pretty average magician.

There were 3 musical groups playing in the various lounges and we thought they were all great. Also 2 or 3 piano bar venues each night and a D.J. in Skywalkers.

 

I also like the passenger demographic on Princess. I debated between Holland America, Celebrity, and Princess. One of the reasons for selecting Princess was that I liked the "vibe" better here on Cruise Critic and thought it might carry over to the shipboard experience. We met so many nice people of all ages. There were 62 kids onboard, too, which I found surprising this early in the season. All seemed well-behaved. Many of the people we met were from southern states...Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Florida. One lady asked the tour guide if they had alligators and water snakes in Alaska. These people seemed to find the weather quite cold.

Being from the Northwest, we thought it was pretty good weather ...particularly the fact that it didn't rain until the last night in Victoria.

 

We had cruised twice in the past, but it was many years ago. I remember scoffing at the big white boats when they first came out. Now I like them! I don't think the price is much different now than it was back then. Since we drove to the port and didn't have the expense of airfare, it was a great value. We tend to favor land-based vacations, but if we were to cruise again my first and only choice would be Princess.

[lindanick]

Nice review, thank you.

Linda

:) :)

[minniemom]

Thank you so much for posting. WE will be on her in June. First time Princess cruisers here. We have done Celebrity to Alaska twice and 2 Disney cruises, so I am kind of excited to try another line. I have no complaints with the other cruise lines though. Just fun to try something new...

Glad you liked her. We will be minisuite too. Taking 2 DS's 18 & 15... 15 year old can't wait, and 18 year old said he would rather stay home and work....

Oh well,

What about movies on board, did you happen to see what they were showing, My DS 15 wants to know...

Thanks

[Bilyeu5]

What about movies on board, did you happen to see what they were showing, My DS 15 wants to know...

Thanks

 

We watched some oldies movies in our room, but probably nothing that would interest a 15 year old! They had 2 or 3 different movies in the Princess Theater during the week, plus 2 movie channels on television. No Movies Under the Stars on this ship. There is also a pretty cool looking teen center that looked very high tech with big screen TV. They might have other movies there.

We saw several kids in the covered pool from time to time.

I tried the pool and hottub myself one sea day and liked it very much. The pool is pretty large for a shipboard pool, and ranges from 5' to 7' deep. There are 3 other pools, but they are outdoors. BBrrrr.

Barbara

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review. :)

[minniemom]

Thanks so much

[First_Time_Sailer]

 

Our favorite port was Skagway. We arranged a combination bus/train ride through Chilkoot Charters and were very pleased with our knowledgable local guide and the comfort of just 8 people in our minibus and train car.

 

 

I have to ask....were we on the same tour? We left the port at 8:30am on the bus and rode the train back. There were only 8 people in our car.....car 211?

[Bilyeu5]

I have to ask....were we on the same tour? We left the port at 8:30am on the bus and rode the train back. There were only 8 people in our car.....car 211?

 

 

Yes! Same tour. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

[minniemom]

So you liked the Chilkoot tours? We are thinking of booking them instead of Princess? 3 1/2 hour tour. I would like to do the longer one, but I don't think boys 15 & 18 would go for that...

Thanks for the feedback. I want to hear it all, since we are going in 3 weeks...

Any tips, or pointers about the ship, or the ports, just pass them along...

Thanks

[bordersj]

Thanks so much for the report! I'd love to hear more.

We will be on the Star 3 weeks from today!! :)

[GoBlueCruiser]

we were late getting into Victoria, as were other ships on the same general routing. This was the only port where we encountered rain. Our trip ashore consisted of walking down the gangplank, taking about 10 steps in Canada, then turning around and going back up the gangplank. We've been to Victoria a few times, so were happy to spend those last few hours on the ship.

 

Thanks for your live post and review! We are looking forward to sailing on the Star on September 14, the final voyage of the Alaska season. Even though you only took a few steps on shore, we wondered what it was like arriving at a port on the final night of the cruise. Do many people skip the last night in the dinner room? What about packing? We've never been to Victoria and want to spend some time ashore. Is it difficult to do everything?

 

Mike

[FunForUs]

Thanks so much for the report! I'd love to hear more.

We will be on the Star 3 weeks from today!! :)

If you are on the June 1 Star cruise, please join our roll call. Here is the link. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=564140

Shirley

[Bilyeu5]

So you liked the Chilkoot tours? We are thinking of booking them instead of Princess? 3 1/2 hour tour. I would like to do the longer one, but I don't think boys 15 & 18 would go for that...

Thanks for the feedback. I want to hear it all, since we are going in 3 weeks...

Any tips, or pointers about the ship, or the ports, just pass them along...

Thanks

 

I had originally booked the longer Chilkoot tour, but changed to the 3 1/2 hour one so we would have some time to explore town. I don't regret this decision, and felt the time allotment was "just right".

 

As for other advice, I recommend breakfast and lunch in the dining room rather than the buffet. The Portofino dining room has open seating for breakfast from 7am-9am, and lunch from 12-1:30. Food is much better than at the buffet. Service is very fast, too...I don't think it takes much longer than standing in line at the buffet.

[Bilyeu5]

we wondered what it was like arriving at a port on the final night of the cruise. Do many people skip the last night in the dinner room? What about packing? We've never been to Victoria and want to spend some time ashore. Is it difficult to do everything?

 

Mike

 

Disembarkation tags and instructions were distributed on Friday. They want most bags in the hallway by about 5:30pm Saturday. Since arrival in Victoria isn't until 5pm, there's plenty of time on Saturday to pack and set out suitcases before going ashore. Final time for checked bags in the hallway is 10pm.

 

We ate in the Sterling steakhouse on the last night, so not sure about dining room head count. It was very light, though, on our Juneau port day. Juneau is from 1:30pm til late evening. We returned from our shore excursion a little after 6pm. Although a bit late for the 5:45pm seating, I rang the Amalfi dining room (traditional) to see if we could still be served.

It was not a problem at all, and we were still in and out in plenty of time to get good seats for the early show. You might want to consider an early dinner (late lunch?) from room service if you plan to get off right away in Victoria. Although the menu is limited, we liked the freshly-prepared food. I had a grilled ham & swiss sandwich w/ fries one day that was very substantial.

[Colo Cruiser]

As for other advice, I recommend breakfast and lunch in the dining room rather than the buffet. The Portofino dining room has open seating for breakfast from 7am-9am, and lunch from 12-1:30. Food is much better than at the buffet. Service is very fast, too...I don't think it takes much longer than standing in line at the buffet.

 

 

I do this whenever possible too. :)

[minniemom]

Good idea about breakfast, we ususally do the buffet. But if the food is really better, we should try it.

We are waitlisted for early dinning. My DH likes tradional.. Well, however, we have never tried the other, but he likes it when our server brings him his pepsi/coke everynight without asking for it.

So we'll see.

Thanks... Keep the information coming, I love it.....

[senior lady]

We have the same cabin booked for our 30 day Sidney, Australia ----LA cruise next yr in October.

 

I was really excited about having a covered balcony, but have read about possible noise from the Vista Lounge at night. Did you experience noise or vibration from the lounge???? I understand that there is some vibration at the back of the ship, but that doesn't bother us.

[Bilyeu5]

We have the same cabin booked for our 30 day Sidney, Australia ----LA cruise next yr in October.

 

I was really excited about having a covered balcony, but have read about possible noise from the Vista Lounge at night. Did you experience noise or vibration from the lounge???? I understand that there is some vibration at the back of the ship, but that doesn't bother us.

 

Karen,

No noise at all from Vista lounge; bandstand is on the opposite side.

We thought the vibration was minimal...barely noticeable. Bed was surprisingly comfortable. Great bathroom and lots of storage. My only slight complaint was that the sitting area was not very comfortable- small chair, and loveseat which was too short for sprawling out. We brought in one of the deck chairs, which worked well. I was surprised that we spent quite a bit of time in the stateroom. We enjoyed many of the movies, and lunch from room service. The balcony furniture is very nice, by the way. Table was high enough that you could sit at it and read, eat, etc. There were 4 comfortable mesh chairs and two of them had high, reclining backs. In Alaska it was too cold to sit out there much, but we kept the blinds open and enjoyed the expansive view.

Barbara

[TrnrMom]

Hi - thanks for your review! We will be on the 6/1 cruise. How was the boarding & disembarkation process in Seattle? Was it chaos or organized? What time did you go?