Star Princess 15-Day Hawaii (2/22/17-to-3/9/17) **** (four stars)

Any discussion of the Star Princess has to begin with its Captain, Michele (Muh-KEE-lay) Tuvo, the most personable skipper I have ever come across on the high seas. His omnipresence (i.e., he’s everywhere), humor and energy are the loadstar for the entire crew, which seems to draw its inspiration from his leadership. He photobombs your portraits, calls bingo numbers, sings in the Princess choir and literally seems to be in every venue at every hour of the day. I understand he sails four months on and two months off, so you may want to inquire if Capt. Tuvo will be working your cruise. If so, you will soon be mimicking his trademark public address signoff: “Nevertheless….bye-bye.”

I consider myself a moderately-seasoned cruiser, having sailed on all the major brands (Royal, Celebrity, Disney, Norwegian, Carnival) several times plus once on Oceania. This was my first on Princess and I would put it up there with Disney in terms of quality, but not the level of Oceania. We were pleasantly surprised by the overall quality and consider this 15-day trip a very good value at roughly $240/pp per day (Dolphin deck with extended living and balcony). Read more