Travel, Embarkation & Our Cabins

Travel & Embarkation:  The new airport security procedures (here's a terrific resource for pre-flight checks) noticeably slowed things down at IAH (Houston)—lines were already long when we arrived at an awful, wee hour to make the first flight out, and Continental did not provide a way for e-ticket kiosk check-in if you needed to check baggage (although they did on the return trip out of LAX). Our flight was timely, and our airport-port trip via Prime Time Shuttle (private van for 8 + luggage = $71.28 + tip) was so smooth, we arrived at the Port of LA cruise terminal at an early 10:45 a.m. and transferred all of our bags directly from the van to the curbside luggage porters. Inside the cruise terminal, we were handed boarding passes 104, et seq., and shepherded straight to an Express Check-In agent. (For anyone reading this who is new to Princess, your cruise tickets will likely arrive with an Express Check-In sticker on them if you complete the online registration at Princess.com in advance of your cruise.) Our friends did not have Express Check-In, but were directed to the appointed counter and were quickly processed. By 11:15 a.m., we were all sitting in the waiting area for the noon boarding call. By noon, nearly 800 pax had already been checked in. At 12:05 p.m., the first call to board Platinum Captain’s Circle members was announced, followed by a call for pax needing special assistance. My mother-in-law needs help ambulating, so my husband took her up, and the staffer who greeted him motioned for all of us to follow, so we didn’t have to wait to see what time boarding pass number 104 was called. Our carry-ons went through the x-ray machine, the obligatory embarkation photo was taken sans the usual cutesy backdrop, and finally, we crossed the gangplank and paused for the security camera to snap our mugs and embed them in our key cards. By 12:25 p.m., we were in our cabins!

Our Cabins: (Note: This report is very light on ship detail. We didn’t photograph our cabin or the carpets. I don’t talk about the interior design of the Explorers Lounge. You can find fabulous, detailed information about the Star Princess in other online reviews. Some places I like to go for ship reviews include: Cruise Critics; the Cruise Diva; Cruise Reviews (if Tom Ogg has done a MEGA-Review, you’re in luck!); and Seacruise Reviews.)

We had three category BB balconies on the Caribe deck (742, 718 and 209) and two category J insides (746 and 733). (A couple of places I like to go to study deck plans and staterooms, in addition to the cruise line's own site, are Travelocity and CruiseStateroom.com). I wanted to try an aft-facing balcony this cruise, but all aft-facing balconies on all decks were sold out when we booked in August (almost 5 months out & the desirable cabins were gone—take note!), so our family group settled for being in that last aft stretch of cabins on the Caribe deck, port side (no significant difference port vs. starboard on this U-turn itinerary, but I did like the port side’s view of Los Arcos vs. the town while anchored at Cabo). Our friends in the 200-series cabins were far forward starboard. They felt the up & down motion of the ship more than we did (but we had an extremely smooth passage overall—I don’t think many folks were affected by seasickness on this cruise).

The Caribe deck is known for its 2x-as-large half-covered, half-open balconies. The Dolphin deck below has completely open balconies—lots of sun, no privacy. The Baja deck above has completely covered balconies. We liked the mix of sun and shaded privacy. Our C742 balcony (the farthest aft stateroom on the port side—it doesn’t have the huge amount of extra balcony space that the last Dolphin aft cabins are known for) had two cushioned chaise loungers—a stroke of luck for us, as nobody to the side or above/below had chaises. Instead, they had lounge chairs with backs that could be adjusted to partially recline and foot stools. All balconies had small dining tables.

The BB cabins are tiny—perhaps the smallest we’ve ever occupied, certainly smaller than the comparable category we enjoyed on the Dawn Princess in Alaska this summer. There is no loveseat and coffee table arrangement. You enter, and immediately to your left (or right in the reverse arrangement) is the walk-in closet and bathroom. Proceeding forward, you enter the main cabin area, with the bed & bedside tables on the left followed by a small desk/vanity/bureau (with hair dryer and sole electrical outlet) on the left wall next to the balcony door. Opposite on the right wall is the TV/refrigerator stack. The shower is small with a fabric curtain and fixed spray nozzle. There is minimal in-bathroom storage for toiletries. Princess provides body lotion, shampoo and conditioner in disposable packets, plus bar soap. There is a stack of storage shelves + safe in the closet. We requested robes from our steward, which were promptly delivered that first afternoon. (During the week, at a time when the stewards were “off duty,” my husband called to request a shower cap for his mom, and within 20 minutes, her steward appeared with two.) Our TA had a bottle of wine waiting for us in each stateroom (what was she thinking, the kids have taken up drinking?!). I always keep a wine opener in my backpack, but it was MIA. I know I could have asked the steward to supply one, but opted to take the wine to dinner—they didn’t charge a corkage fee. FYI, we asked our cabin steward if we could change the white wines to red, and he was happy to do so.

I have to say, although having the extra-large balcony was great, especially when the kids came over from their inside, I know my husband, a big guy at 6-foot, 2-inches, would have much preferred the smaller balcony but bigger cabin space of a mini-suite on this ship. Unfortunately, the decks featuring mini-suites (Emerald and Dolphin) are very light on insides, which we need for the kids, so we couldn’t configure a workable combo by the time we booked. Speaking of the kids’ category J inside, it was nicely laid out and felt about the same size as the interior of our BB balcony.