Returning from the Star Princess, I want to report that their Anytime
dining is a great thing. The dining room opens around 5:30p, and the
dress requirements are quite relaxed. Traditional dining is also
available for early and late seating for those who enjoy dressing up
more. We felt that the service was fine and the only downside was
things like the Baked Alaska parade didn't happen because folks were in
different stages of dining. We were usually seated at large tables and
occasionally the waiter would ask if it'd be OK for him to delay service
until others joined us.
The food selection was far better than we experienced on the Veendam
earlier and the passengers probably averaged 20 years younger in age.
While that was not of primary concern, it meant the speed of
getting food on the Lido deck was about twice that of the Veendam,
elevators emptied faster, lines moved better and getting on/off the ship
or tenders was far, far faster. I have to admit that the Veendam
offered a superior selection of breakfast items and there were more
waiters present to help the older folk, folks with scooters and people
with walkers. While Mrs. Nonny could always get someone to help, she
had to ask on the Star, where it was freely offered on the Veendam. We
also preferred the trays of HAL to the large platters of Princess.
Something I thought I'd dislike again was the pre-cooked eggs of
Princess on the Lido deck. They're cooked from whole eggs and served in
a round "manufactured shape" in a tray- about a dozen at a time. My
anticipated dislike of them mitigated over the cruise to the point where
I could always pick out an egg or two cooked the way I preferred. The
Star offers cooked-to-order eggs at its hamburger/hot dog station way
forward of the Lido deck, but I didn't find that necessary once I got
past my prejudice of their eggs on the Lido deck line. Mrs. Nonny tells
me that their pizza was good, also. Princess also seemed to offer more
baked goods at breakfast, but they were not nearly as tasty as those of
HAL. Where we'd have to stand and wait for English muffins and bagels
to be toasted on the Veendam, they were "anticipated" and were usually
falling out of the toaster on the Star to eliminate a wait.
Desserts on Princess were more limited than on the Veendam, but while
the selection was smaller, the quality and taste were just as good, we
felt. We DID miss the HAL bread pudding, but the Princess version was a
close second. Princess also almost always had a hot dessert, such as
apple cobbler, rice pudding etc. available with a vanilla sauce.
While there was no complimentary ice cream offered for dessert on the
Star, they did have a free 3:30p afternoon ice cream service on the Lido
deck daily, along with afternoon Tea downstairs. The downside was that
they usually had some of the weirdest flavors of ice cream imaginable,
instead of good stuff like vanilla, chocolate, lemon etc. I found that
by hanging around the atrium of deck 5 and reading, that each afternoon
I'd be offered a WARM cookie, however and they were terrific.
Coffee was always available on the Lido deck, as with most ships. My
favorite coffee is on Carnival, with its large mugs. Princess had tiny
coffee cups more suited for the fingers of a lady than a grown man, and
also they required frequent trips to refill. Toward the end of our
cruise, for some reason, we found the circulating coffee refill gal on
the Lido deck far more in evidence than initially. Perhaps some folk
complained.
Princess had the typical Welcome Aboard drink fest the day after
boarding each segment. Unlike most cruise lines, I found the drinks to
be generous and service available. In fact, one server at all the
parties was also my favorite from the lounge, and when he spotted me,
he'd go and get my favorite libation without being asked. The same held
true for the Captain's Circle folk a few days later. Appetizers were
served at both, and were fine.
FWIW, our cabin was nicely appointed and the door width was fine for
Mrs. Nonny's scooter. We'd been on the Star earlier for an Alaskan
cruise, so we had an idea of what to expect. The South and Central
American ports we visited were typically commercial/industrial ports and
separated from the city by miles. Princess capitalized on this by
marketing the availability of their shore excursions from the port.
However, we quickly learned that almost every port separated from a city
or market area also offered a free shuttle.
Something unusual, for me, was Captain Perrin of the Star. The guy
looks to be about 40 or so and is quite personable. He has a
"mechanical"--type interest and we had 4-5 rather lengthy discussions
about his career, ships in general and propulsion systems. He's the
first Captain I've met that really seems to enjoy bumping elbows with
the passengers and by far the most interesting to visit with. He works
3 months on and 3 off, which appeals to him greatly.
--
Nonny
Nonnymus
Never believe a person who is
Drunk, Horny or Running for Office. |
