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Valpariso to Seattle on Star Princess |
| Reviewed By: Tebbutt, Birmingham on 7th May 2008 |
| Cruise Line: Princess Cruises |
Times cruised before: 10+ |
| Cruise Ship: Star Princess |
Sailed:
April,
2008 |
| Destination: South America |
Age: 46-55 |
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This was a 23 night cruise made up of two back-to-back voyages, Valpariso to Acapulco and Acapulco to Seattle. As a result there was some repetition of menus and lectures. Nevertheless the cruise was very enjoyable with a fascinating itinerary visiting ports in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico and the US. Apart from the last few days the weather for the trip was hot and sunny with very calm seas. After a disappointing cruise on a new line boasting 5 star deluxe standards last autumn it was a pleasure to return to the consistent quality of product delivered by Princess. This was our visit cruise on Star Princess which gives the appearance of a well looked after ship. The food quality and choice has improved since our last Princess cruise and the Any Time Dining concept is working much better with no pressure to make reservations and we never waited more than a couple of minutes to be seated on the 5 occasions we used the Capri restaurant. We took most meals in the Horizon Court which offers a wide choice of items.
On the last day, problems with a computer file meant that a considerable number of passengers had their credit card payments blocked and the manual input of data was subject to several errors. As a consequence. my wife's name was associated with my card and the start date had been inputted as the expiry date. This resulted in stiff letters from the purser's office demanding an immediate cash deposit even though the my card had already paid the account for the first leg of the cruise. Better staff training and the use of back up files would have prevented these problems. Disembarkation in Seattle was somewhat shambolic with baggage transfer being delayed and bags not then sorted into the colour codes. Although we were about half way down the disembarkation list our bags were the last to appear. Apparently this was the first Princess ship to visit Seattle for about 6 months and many of the baggage handlers were new.
It is a pity that Princess no longer issue the daily news digest - CNN and trawling the web are not satisfactory ways of keeping up the events in the real world! Platinum Captain's Circle members should note that their internet access is no longer unlimited but is restricted to a fairly generous level of 250 minutes for a 15 day cruise.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Horizon Court was used most of the time. Capri restaurant delivered high quality meals and was very helpful with my wife's need for gluten-free meals | | Entertainment |  |
| Production shows in both Princess Theatre and Vista lounge were excellent. Lectures on old liners were also excellent | | Shore Excursions | |
| A good choice of excursions in most ports - best was the catamaran trip to the rocks at Cabo San Lucas | | Staff | |
| With the exception of the purser's office all staff were friendly and helpful. Cabin steward, John, was very efficient | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities | |
| The usual choice of activities and pastimes | | Cabins | |
| The standard Princess balcony layout on Baja deck was perfectly acceptable. | | Overall Rating | |
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