Star Princess Not What It Used to Be

Star Princess Cruise Review to South America

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 8

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Star Princess

14 Night Cape Horn & Strait Of Magellan (Buenos Aires To Santiago)

Sail date: February 01, 2016

Ship: Star Princess

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: Baja B237

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

I haven't been on a cruise in some years, but I did hear from others passengers who do that the princess Line has fallen in quality - perhaps in part due to it now being owned by Carnival. The crew and cleanliness onboard were tops, but I did have some issues wit the overall experience. Firstly, the bottled water and the "nickel & dime-ing" onboard. No bottled water was available, even in your cabin refrigerator. You had to buy it - the smallest being $ 2.50 US a pop. This is simply cheap. On excursions you could not take food or drink off the ship, which I understand, but they didn't offer water free of charge on disembarkation, even though some trips are 3-5 hours. This is especially unsafe for the many seniors who use cruise lines. The other big issue was that Princess automatically charged, without my permission, $ 12.50 US per day as gratuity for their crew. In addition, drinks carried another charge, if you paid it. I also found the art gallery, sales and auction garish. Most of this 'art' was reproduction and garish, which cheapened the Princess Line, in my opinion. I also found some of the nightly entertainment, especially with the Show Time crew, cheesey and predictable. All in all, I would not sail on another Princess/Carnival Cruise Line.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
The cleaning staff were tops. Towels and linen changed daily. They were also very helpful. Room service was prompt and professional.

Ship tip

I had difficulty with the maitre' d's with a table for one, as I travelled alone this time. After two nights they got that a table for one is a table for two. I am a travel writer, so maybe this helped.

Ports of call

Montevideo, Uruguay

5 out of 5

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

3 out of 5

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

5 out of 5

Cruise Cape Horn

5 out of 5

Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina

3 out of 5

Punta Arenas, Chile

3 out of 5

Cruise Amalia Glacier

3 out of 5

Puerto Montt, Chile

3 out of 5

Valparaiso (Santiago), Chile

5 out of 5
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7 Comments

CruzinT    8 years ago

I have been on both Carnival and Princess many times and I find the drinking water in the dining rooms and lido deck drinkable.....sure I love bottled water but it's not a problem. I'm going on a Hawaii cruise in December on the Star Princess and you can preorder 12 bottles of water for $5.90, and I'm going to order some. I like that the gratuity is automatically taken out too.

Jaam    8 years ago

I absolutely agree it is really cheap and extremely tacky not to supply life sustaining hydration. If one is captured on a vessel drinking water should be easily available and free. Making money from water where people don't have an alternative option is despicable. I just learned of this lack of water today just a few weeks from our trip. Excursion prices are outrageous so should include water.

Rkhagle    8 years ago

I prefer carnival as its more relaxed. But I like princess a lot. This is not home, you want bottled water, you pay for it. As far as gratuities go, that's normal and expected part of a cruise, any line. Quit being a Whiney cheapskate. It's a vacation, enjoy it.

kimberlybehr9    8 years ago

I love carnival! The quality is A+ and that's why I have booked with then yet again!

enjoyurdaysmile    8 years ago

I cruised with Holland in February of this yr. The staff was amazing and liked how I was treated. Every line is different, so you have to make it for yourself.

GloriaHB    8 years ago

We have been cruising with Princess for years and love it. They are the best in many ways.

banaford    8 years ago

Carnival has owned princess for yrs. Just so you know, they also own Holland America, Cunard, Seabourn, and Costa. Might want to avoid those too.

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