Cruise did not live up to expectations
Star Princess Cruise Review to Hawaii
Contributor Level:
Cruise Director
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 8
Helpful Votes: 246
15 Night Hawaiian Islands (Los Angeles Roundtrip)
Sail date: November 04, 2019
Ship: Star Princess
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 4 years ago
Review summary
This cruise is geared for an older crowd. And by older I mean people probably over 70 (and I am 59). There were a lot of scooters, wheelchairs, and people with canes. Not that I have a problem with people that need to use them (however seeing a scooter pulling a woman in a wheelchair who was holding onto the scooter with a cane was a bit much) but they had a tendency to leave them in walkways while doing other things. We tried to go see a show in the Vista lounge one night and had someone in a scooter tell us we could not sit in front of him in case he needed to get out quickly. However where he was at it would be impossible to get out quickly. When you see activities like Knitter and Natters and Ballroom dancing you know who the target audience is. Even the elevators are designed for them. They were slow and the doors opened and closed very slowly. We did not let that deter us from enjoying the cruise. The sea days were nice and relaxing (although the first two days it was cooler than I expected). However the shows were only okay and the food was underwhelming. The comedians (we saw the magician and the ventriloquist) were okay (even the ventriloquist made a comment about the ago of the cruisers saying it looked like a Walmart greeters convention) but not very funny. Nothing special about the dining room and the burgers and hot dogs at the Trident Grill were of low quality (similar to McDonalds or the roller hot dogs you can get at a gas stations). The ship needs more alternate dining locations. In Hawaii the ship stops in commercial ports so there really is nothing near the ship to do. Lahaina was the exception to this (you did have to tender in though). Not too impressed with our excursion out of Hilo (might not have picked a good excursion though) but part of the excursion included a barbecue lunch. They ran out of food at this. For the amount of money charged you would not expect this. Our excursion on Kauai was cancelled but the ones on Oahu met our expectations. Our cabin was a mini suite so it was a good size and had plenty of storage space. The room steward did a good job of cleaning our room (even though we try to keep in clean anyway) and getting us towels on days we did not need our room clean. There was a problem on our deck (Dolphin) of water leaking from the ceiling in the aisle that was never fixed (even though they were trying the entire cruise). The carpet was getting so wet they had blowers out almost the entire cruise and there was a mildew smell (meaning this is not a new problem).Embarkation
Smoothest embarkation I have ever had and luggage was at cabin when we got to it.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Food was bland and there was not a lot of variety, especially for a 15 day cruise. Best meal we had was when we ordered room service one night. Other than that nothing was great about the food.
Onboard Activities
Unless you are interested in playing board, tile or card games or reading there was not much to do. There were lectures on Hawaii but they became monotonous. Seeing that one of the first items listed in the Patter was "Knitters and Natters" will tell you what kind of cruiser this cruise was designed for.
Entertainment
Mediocre at best. Geared toward the "older crowd". Theater shows were okay. Nightclubs were essentially boring and comedians were tame.
Service and Staff
Cabin steward did a good job but the waiters in the dining room seem uninterested in prompt service.
Ship Quality
Ship is old and shows its age in places. Lots of rattles and squeaks in the cabin. Had a problem on our deck of water leaking from the ceiling that was never solved.
Cabin / Stateroom
This was a mini suite and was spacious with lots of storage area. The bathroom could have been cleaner because the shower curtain seemed old.
Ship tip
Unless you are "older" this cruise is not for you.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Did the "Secrets of Hamakua" excursion. The secret is you drive a while to look at something for 10 minutes. Just drove by the statue of King Kamehameha so did not have a photo opportunity there.
Visited the USS Missouri and the Arizona Memorial in the morning and the Luau at night. Both met expectations but it made for a long day.
Our excursion was cancelled due to rough water so we went to the beach near the ship. It was a nice beach where you can rent chairs and eat at the restaurant in the Marriott. Also there were a handful of shops near here also.
Went to Kaanapahli Beach which is supposed to be one of the best beaches anywhere. After going not sure why other than the fact that there are a lot of places along the beach to eat or stay. Went back into Lahaina in the afternoon and did some shopping. This was the only stop where there were a lot of places to go near the ship.
Heard bad things about this place but still went into town. Most of what we heard was true. Lots of people begging for money and shops (if you can call them that) trying to lure you in to buy junk (literally). Had the worst nachos and salsa ever when we were there. There was also a fire near the city that was dropping ash on us occasionally.
Disembarkation
Almost as smooth as embarkation.
8 Comments
Shaun72 4 years ago
If you had done your research ahead of time, u would of learned the Star princess was built in 2002. You sound like someone who needs a ship that holds 4500 people, water slides, lots of young screaming children 🙄 I am looking forward to taking the star out of San Francisco to Alaska July 2. The ship is going into dry dock in April for updating as well as installing the medallion class. Next time Fly to Hawaii, cruising is not for you, I have seen your other reviews
Patty4paws 4 years ago
Hey! I'm 63, and I'm not OLD! My husband & I loved the enrichment lectures, but there were also plenty of other activities, and I'm not talking the casino or bingo. Sorry, you didn't enjoy. Maybe you need "The Fun Ships". Our first 2 cruises were on Carnival, and even though most of the activities were not our thing, we made it work for us and made many "cruise-friends". Hopefully you'll find a cruiseline you like better.
ernurseamber 4 years ago
When an individual writes a mostly negative review, I play the game of looking back at their previous reviews. It appears as though, cruising may not be the thing for you. Repeated negative reviews seems to be a pattern. I'm taking this same cruise in January and plan to have a grand time!
willwork4cruz 4 years ago
Glad you "don't have a problem" with seniors or you would have had an even longer bashing session. You will be there before you know it and I'm sure there will be insensitive people making fun of you. I'm not a senior yet but I try to show a little respect. I've been on that cruise a few times and yes there were more scooters than typical but it was never like your description. My wife even went to the Knitters club and enjoyed it; she's in her forties. Not a party ship but lots of interesting activities for all ages.