Star Princess Review

4.0 / 5.0
0 reviews

Great Itinerary...awful cruise

Review for Alaska Cruise on Star Princess
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aautomo884
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Jul 2013
Cabin: Balcony

My family and I have cruised several times over the years prior to booking this cruise. We had never cruised with Princess before, but I heard Glacier Bay was amazing and since Princess has permission to cruise inside Glacier Bay, I booked it.

Starting with the GOOD. Embarkation was pleasant, and the lines moved quickly and efficiently. Our stateroom was large, was equipped with lots of closet space, and had a nice sized balcony. Alaska itself was breathtaking and majestic so there were absolutely no disappointments there what so ever. In Juneau we did the Whale Watching/ Mendenhall Glacier combo tour and we saw Whales, Eagles, and Seals. The Glacier was magnificent. In Skagway, we did the helicopter tour to the Mead Glacier which was exciting, and amazing. Plus the tour is literally right outside the ship so there are no shuttles to worry about. Next was Glacier Bay, we had great weather and booked the sanctuary to relax and have our own area to call our own equipped with personal Bose headphones and MP3 players, complimentary Bloody Mary/Mimossas and lots of Hot Chocolate. It was an up-charge to stay there, but I felt like it was worth it. We didn't go into Ketchikan because the itinerary was very early in the morning and also very short. Victoria, BC was simply gorgeous, the people there were so friendly and accommodating. It is a lovely city, and I wish we had more time to explore, but again the port of call was very short, and in the evening from 7-11pm. We managed a couples massage, and that too was very enjoyable until they tried to sell sell sell.

Now the BAD. The Buffet in the Horizon's cafe was not very good at all. The food was either cold or lukewarm, or dried out. The salad was wilted on more then one occasion, and the selection seemed to be left overs after left overs. The carving station was ALWAYS dry and overcooked. The desserts were exactly the same every day. On this ship, they take your drink orders, and that was a bit of a hassle because often times you were done eating before you even got your drinks. Breakfast was limited to orange juice as opposed to other ships where its self service and you have your choice of Orange/grapefruit/cranberry juices. Ice cream was also manned by ship personnel, so you couldn't just run up and grab a quick cone, there were always lines. Pizza was good, but closed very early as opposed to other ships where Pizza, and ice cream flows until the wee early morning hours. The ship is furnished with two specialty restaurants that we did not try because I don't think you should have to pay additionally for food when you pay so dearly for the cruise itself. We dined in the dining room every evening, and found the food to be ok, but not 4-5 stars. It's almost substandard so that you WILL go and pay the specialty restaurant to get a great dining experience.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin BA
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