Princess Cruises had a fall special that was announced at the beginning of September, $50 a night for their 7-night cruise along the California coast. FireMouse Vacations subscribers received this announcement via email and Facebook. Trish, Alexis, Gavin and I packed up our stuff and headed to the port to enjoy a week of fun in the sun. There is a lot to be said for a vacation that does not require air travel and transfers. We just took a leisurely Sunday drive to the Port of L.A. and by noon we were in line for lunch on the Star Princess.
The Star Princess is one of the larger Princess ships, considered their “Grand” class of ships. It is 110,000 tons, serves 2,600 passengers, and has 17 decks of entertainment, shops and staterooms. Immediately upon boarding the ship we went to the two specialty restaurants, Sabatini’s (Italian) and the Crown Grill (Steakhouse), to make reservations and then we made our way to the horizon court buffet for lunch. After our lifeboat drill it was time to set sail for San Francisco and explore the ship.
The first day of our cruise was a day at sea unfortunately we had large swells and a very strong sense of going “up” and then “down”. We all handled it very well but by the evening we were counting the moments until we got to San Francisco and could walk on stable ground again. Trish and Alexis went to Sabatini’s where they dined on some excellent pasta and lobster. Gavin and I hit the Trident grill for hamburgers, hot dogs, and French fries. They also have the Prego pizzeria which serves thin crust made-to-order Pizzas (we had our share of those too).
The Star Princess is one of the larger Princess ships, considered their “Grand” class of ships. It is 110,000 tons, serves 2,600 passengers, and has 17 decks of entertainment, shops and staterooms. Immediately upon boarding the ship we went to the two specialty restaurants, Sabatini’s (Italian) and the Crown Grill (Steakhouse), to make reservations and then we made our way to the horizon court buffet for lunch. After our lifeboat drill it was time to set sail for San Francisco and explore the ship.
The first day of our cruise was a day at sea unfortunately we had large swells and a very strong sense of going “up” and then “down”. We all handled it very well but by the evening we were counting the moments until we got to San Francisco and could walk on stable ground again. Trish and Alexis went to Sabatini’s where they dined on some excellent pasta and lobster. Gavin and I hit the Trident grill for hamburgers, hot dogs, and French fries. They also have the Prego pizzeria which serves thin crust made-to-order Pizzas (we had our share of those too).
 The seas were just a tad bit rough. |  Gavin had that look that said, "You didn't tell me about the swells, Gramps!" |
Princess Cruises has a reputation of serving an “older” crowd, but they are making changes and trying to be more “family” friendly. They have a children’s program for kids over three and a play area for kids under three that has to be supervised by a parent. We visited the play area at least three or four times a day and always saw older kids in the other rooms. It is not the Disney Cruise Line! DCL has an entire deck devoted to kids! The play areas on the Star Princess were adequate for the number of children sailing, which we estimated were less than 25 compared to the 300 to 400 kids on a typical DCL sailing. We really missed the babysitting available on DCL for the under 3 crowd.
The Star Princess has a wonderful pool deck with two large pools, one which is an indoor pool with a retractable roof for their Alaskan cruises. They have another pool at the back of the ship along with a kid’s splash pool. There are hot tubs located all around the pools also. The main pool is where they have their giant outdoor movie screen which shows live concerts, sporting events, and of course movies all day long. The area was never truly crowded and finding a lounge chair was never a problem. The pool and hot tubs at the back of the ship were hardly used and often we were the only ones there. It wasn’t until the last couple of days that anyone else discovered them and we had to share our area with sometimes five or six people!
In San Francisco we took a short walk to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf showing Gavin the famous Sea Lions and sampling the sourdough bread. There is plenty to do in San Francisco and the ship does not depart until late in the evening. Make your reservations for excursions early, especially Alcatraz, as most excursions sell out months in advance. We enjoy just taking in the sites and enjoying the sunset view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the ship. Trish and I went to the top deck as we set sail from San Francisco and enjoyed the feeling of seeing the bottom of the Golden Gate Bridge as we passed underneath. It looks so close!
In San Francisco we took a short walk to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf showing Gavin the famous Sea Lions and sampling the sourdough bread. There is plenty to do in San Francisco and the ship does not depart until late in the evening. Make your reservations for excursions early, especially Alcatraz, as most excursions sell out months in advance. We enjoy just taking in the sites and enjoying the sunset view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the ship. Trish and I went to the top deck as we set sail from San Francisco and enjoyed the feeling of seeing the bottom of the Golden Gate Bridge as we passed underneath. It looks so close!
Our next stop was Santa Barbara where the ship anchors offshore and they use the lifeboats to tender passengers to the harbor seaport. The view of Santa Barbara from the ship is wonderful and it is just a short five minute ride to the port. It was an easy bus ride from the port to the shops on State Street or a short walk to Stearns Wharf and the beach. Passengers were getting sandwich lunches and going ashore to have picnics on the beach. Princess offers excursions to local sites and wineries. We enjoyed having the ship to ourselves as we explored more areas and relaxed in our "private" swimming area.
We had another day at Sea on our way to San Diego. We participated in the “Deck Walk for the Cure” and Gavin was proud of earning his hat at the end of the 5K walk. The seas had flattened out after San Francisco and the boat ride was smooth and relaxing. We used this time to explore the art galleries and shops located in the three story atrium. Alexis and I dined at the Crown Grill where we had Steak and Lobster. We found it to be like a steakhouse of old with wood paneling and big booths to dine in. We had a great server who was kind enough to continue bringing us Lobster until we could not eat anymore. Any more Lobster that is! I still had room for molten chocolate cake.
Our final two stops were San Diego and Ensenada. In San Diego we were docked next to the US Midway aircraft carrier. The Star Princess dwarfs the Midway and gives you a true feeling of the size of the ship. Shore excursions are available in both ports but it seems like people caught on to our secret and stayed onboard to enjoy the amenities of the ship.
Our final two stops were San Diego and Ensenada. In San Diego we were docked next to the US Midway aircraft carrier. The Star Princess dwarfs the Midway and gives you a true feeling of the size of the ship. Shore excursions are available in both ports but it seems like people caught on to our secret and stayed onboard to enjoy the amenities of the ship.
The Star Princess has two show rooms with entertainment each night. They have a fourth pool located in the Sanctuary, an adults only added cost area that looks absolutely marvelous. The gym, health club and spa are located in the Sanctuary area too. They have several clubs throughout the ship where you can get drinks and snacks all with different themes. The challenge of the ship seems to be the elevators. They have three banks of four elevators. All elevators don’t go to all decks and all decks are not accessible from front to back. We often had to wait up to 15 minutes for an elevator and we would miss some too because people would block access to them while they tried to figure them out.
We fully understood the challenge of taking our 17 month old grandson, Gavin, on this cruise but wanted to fully experience the family situations on the ship before we recommended these cruises to our friends. We enjoyed the ship and
We fully understood the challenge of taking our 17 month old grandson, Gavin, on this cruise but wanted to fully experience the family situations on the ship before we recommended these cruises to our friends. We enjoyed the ship and
Cruising with a 17 month old on the Star Princess was not without
its complications and frustrations, but as you can see Trish made
the best of it.
its complications and frustrations, but as you can see Trish made
the best of it.
would love to do this cruise again when Gavin is older and can participate in the supervised kids programs. We can’t recommend this cruise for passengers under three. Princess offers “anytime” dining, which we found out it is advisable to make reservations the day prior otherwise you must wait in a long first come/first serve line. So since reservations were needed we recommend the traditional dining where you get to know your servers and they get to know you. The anytime dining servers lacked that personal touch. The food in the dining rooms was very good and we look forward to trying it again with the traditional dining.
All in all we enjoyed the cruise and the ship. Nothing beats not having to fly to get to your vacation destination. We look forward to trying their three and four day cruises they are offering this year too. Definitely recommend this for adults and families with children over three. We did escape completely, but Gavin kept finding us!
All in all we enjoyed the cruise and the ship. Nothing beats not having to fly to get to your vacation destination. We look forward to trying their three and four day cruises they are offering this year too. Definitely recommend this for adults and families with children over three. We did escape completely, but Gavin kept finding us!
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