HENRY NOWICKI
5 OCTOBER 2002
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The Star Princess, a new sister ship to the Grand Princess and Golden Princess, began operations in February 2002 and had just restarted a series of seven-day voyages to the Mexican Riviera. I have always had good experiences on Princess Cruises so I thought I should reacquaint myself with their Grand Class Cruising.
I had cruised on the Grand Princess last year (13 Dec 01 article) and really enjoyed the large vessel with all its facilities and entertainment. Here is what I said: "
Grand Princess is a huge (109,000 GRT), 951-ft long, modern cruise ship with a capacity of 3,100 passengers (note: ship's capacity is also referred to as 2,600 or 2,700 passengers). It was this big ship experience I was looking for and in this I was not disappointed as the design is successful in not projecting a feeling of being immersed in a sea of people. The so-called Personal Choice dining plan of choosing one's own restaurant at one's own schedule also contributed to the uncrowded perception aboard this two-block-long vessel. In addition, the Grand Princess has often been very favorably reviewed and there was no reason not to try this highly-touted flagship of the Princess line." I was sure I would enjoy the Star Princess as well.
The ship has received good
reviews and there are few things more interesting than to see what the new ships have to offer.
I flew into the Los Angeles International Airport and rented a car the day before departure to permit some exploring of the city and coastline. It was easy to drop the baggage off at the ship's Worldport location and then turn the car into the AVIS Long Beach location. Fortunately, they provided a shuttle to the ship and made life just a little easier.
The Port of Los Angeles is the most important cruise center
(aerial photo) on the west coast and currently serves more than one million passengers annually. The World Cruise Center (berths 91/92/93A/93B) is located in historic
San Pedro which is part of Los Angeles
(map) and an area containing art galleries and a large maritime museum that might be pleasantly investigated by the many cruise passengers coming and going.
The old electrified Waterfront Red Car Line has been rebuilt and it reportedly now connects the World Cruise Center with the attractions along the main channel to the downtown San Pedro area. I drove through the historic town but saw nothing of the red car line so it is apparent its grand opening has not yet arrived.
Sep 28 Sat Los Angeles embarkation 1200. I embarked easily at about 1330 and explored the ship however it seemed familiar inasmuch as the design of the Grand Princess was still with me and it seemed like old times. The sailaway was very pleasant and there is much to look at as the giant ship makes its way to the south past Santa Catalina. A good dinner and the obligatory introductory evening show was attended. As usual, the dancers were excellent but the comedian, named Sarge, was pathetic. So ended the first day.
Sep 29 Sun at sea. I found the lap pool on the 15th deck forward which has a machine that produces a strong flow of water that a swimmer can swim against and it turns out it is quite a workout. Great for exercise. The food aboard is excellent and I still like the so-called Personal Choice dining. There is not nearly the choices that a ship such as the Norwegian Star offers (10 restaurants); however, there were enough for me on a seven-day cruise.
Sep 30 Mon at sea. I spent a good part of the day in the onboard internet cafe. It was made enjoyable in part because holders of platinum membership cards can use the terminals at no cost. The regular fee is fifty cents per minute.
I also got involved in most every type of activity I could find. Cyber Golf, miniature golf, trivia contests, dancing lessons, and a few other pasttimes were just about all I could handle. I did get to read a little about travel but just a little.
Oct 1 Tue Puerto Vallarta 0700-1800. The ship moored at the Marina Terminal which is located about four miles north of the Puerto Vallarta downtown section and about two miles south of the airport.
I had stayed up late the night before to see all the production shows (Dance, their high energy revue, was especially good) but in the morning I was not particularly fit to go exploring so I really got a late start. The ship, almost empty, was particularly attractive and I loitered in the pool area and watched some movies all by my lonesome. There is a certain charm to having the ship to one's self, if only for a little while.
In the afternoon I went to the nearby Playa de Oro for some ocean swimming. It was relaxing and I did a fair amount of walking. I ended up swimming again in one of the ship's four pools and considered it a good day. Shows filled the evening hours as there are multiple performances going on simultaneously.
Oct 2 Wed Mazatlan 0700-1700. I had previously spent quite a bit of time in Mazatlan (see 1 Jan 99 article) and I looked forward to seeing more of the old city and the golden zone. I used one of the customized open VW golf-cart style bugs to travel along the Malecon to the huge El Morro/El Cid hotel complex where I arranged to use their facilities for a good part of the day. Watching the shrimp boat fleet move in and out of the harbor also proved interesting.
Oct 3 Thur Cabo San Lucas 0700-1400. Arrival at the port was just before daybreak. The Ocean Princess, bound for the Panama Canal, followed us in trace and both of us anchored offshore and tendered the passengers in. The rock peninsula, the signature of Cabo, looked great in the morning light and the fishing charter boat activity was brisk indeed. I limited myself to looking through the town and marina inasmuch as the ship was scheduled to depart early at 1400. Incidentally, the weather has been beautiful except it has been hot and humid in all three ports. This gave many passengers pause as to how much time they were willing to spend off the ship.
The evening entertainment was excellent. The new production number "Da Beat" was superb, the last of three super shows by the Princess dancers/singers. Even the comedians have much improved performances. Incidentally, it has become common to have more than one large show going on in any given evening. If one chooses the Personal Choices dining arrangement whereby one schedules the dinner time, then one has also to take into account the entertainment schedules as there may be a conflict if one doesn't plan adequately.
Oct 4 Fri at sea. I think of a day at sea as golden. As much as I like a port visit, I do enjoy the casual time aboard the vessel. There is always much more than I can do and the time passes all too fast. In the morning a few hundred porpoise put in an impromptu appearance and livened up the passengers. There were also a few sightings of whales spouting in the distance. The afternoon afforded some pool time, some last minute reading of the library's offerings, and some little time to pack those few items I brought along. Incidentally, platinum membership card holders (those with six or more Princess Cruises) had a lovely lunch in the Amalfi Room and it looks as if Princess is making a new effort to recognize past cruisers in this new program.
Oct 5 Sat Los Angeles 0600 debarkation. I had to hurry to LAX for an early flight but it was no problem.
In summary, the Star Princess experience was very enjoyable. The ship and its services were excellent and the voyage was just as pleasant as it should be.
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