Star Princess Review

4.0 / 5.0
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Our First Big Ship Cruise and We Loved It

Review for the Mexican Riviera Cruise on Star Princess
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Jennifer A
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
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Additional details

Sail Date: Nov 2014
Cabin: Balcony

We had only been on river cruises so didn't know how we were going to like the big ship experience. We had a great time. Overall, we liked the room, food, ports, entertainment, staff and atmosphere. On the plus side: Embarkation was easy and the new terminal in San Francisco is pretty well laid out. Our room was clean and comfortable with a nice balcony where we saw some really wonderful sunsets. Our room steward, Allan, was fantastic - we asked, and we received. All of the staff we encountered with maybe two exceptions were friendly, competent, responsive and well-trained. In fact, it was remarkable how nice everyone was - I imagine it can be pretty challenging dealing with passengers night and day. The dining room food was quite good (better than I expected based on some reviews here). When the daily menu didn't appeal, they had some good everyday menu items. The beef was particularly good. The International Cafe was very good and an easy choice for a light lunch (until the desserts beckoned). There was a Mariachi group on board that played here and there for the whole cruise and we just loved them - first rate. The troupe of dancers and singers that did various shows were quite good too, and the productions were much more elaborate set-wise than we expected (where did they store all those set pieces?). The Zumba and dance classes were well done by Kaylee and we learned a lot. We went to trivia a lot and enjoyed that too. The piano bar guy was really good and it was fun to sing along there. Some of the activities offered created a sense of community, and it was a pleasant surprise to find that being around hundreds of other people was kind of fun.

On the not so great side: I didn't like lunch and dinner at the Horizon cafe - just not very appetizing for me, though of course the desserts were fantastic. The classes were basically infomercials. I wish there had been some real classes instead of just attempts to sell various products. The main pool is LOUD and there is always a movie playing. The sports bar has been turned into a cigar bar so we sports lovers couldn't watch our sports down there without being poisoned. Despite a pretty good smoking policy they don't keep the smoke inside the cigar bar or the casino - it drifts into the theater and the lobby area. Finally, I wouldn't do Anytime Dining again. Turns out "anytime" means wait in line for a long time or take your chances at getting a reservation. It was very difficult to get through to the reservations person and we wasted time every morning doing that.

None of the negatives affected our overall enjoyment of the cruise. We would do it again in a heartbeat!

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin BC

We thought the room and bathroom were great. Of course it's always nice to have more room but we didn't expect something huge. The bed was comfortable and the pillows were really good - which is rare at a hotel let alone on a cruise ship. The bathroom was functional and clean and the shower had good water pressure. Plenty of room in the closet area for suitcases and clothes. My only warning: We booked the Starboard side because we were pretty sure all smoking areas were on the Port side, but it turns out the exhaust from the casino is blown out on the Starboard side so we did smell some smoke. If I were to do it again I would probably try to be a bit further back so the exhaust wouldn't be as strong. I am pretty sensitive to smoke so it might not bother the average passenger.

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