Star Princess Review
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This was a great cruise overall. As most know, the PNW weather can be iffy in the Fall and we surprisingly had amazing weather for this trip for late September/early October 2019. I didn't know what to pack (even though I live in the PNW) and even with the weather being good, I still didn't pack enough warm clothes for enjoying the outdoor space at sea. We had a balcony room (L301) and many days we sat on our balcony as we sailed away and I could have used more layers. However, days in port I was perfectly fine with capris, long sleeve, and a vest. But on the ship I needed to dress warmer. Layers would be my advice for future cruisers on this with gloves, scarf, hat, vest, coat, and some lighter clothing layers for warmer weather in port. But the weather was so nice on our first at sea day that we even could lay out in swimsuits, by the pool, heading south on our at sea day! But on our at sea day going north I used the atrium pool area as it was cooler. Go figure!
We stayed pre-cruise in downtown at our time share. We flew into Sea-Tac and took the light rail into the city (SO EASY if you've not used this before, and cheap!!!) (YouTube Seattle Light Rail system and it'll show you how easy)Then we walked to our resort and used Lyft to the port. Lyft dropped us right off at the ship where we boarded around 11:30am. Barely any lines, hardly any waiting, probably less than 30 minutes from drop off, to on the ship. Got on the ship and made our way to the Horizon Court for a buffet lunch. Seating was crowded indoors, so we sat on the back outside deck and had lunch. It was cooler, so needed our warm jackets & coffee during lunch. At 1pm it was announced that our rooms were ready and we made our way to our cabins where we were happy to see our luggage was waiting for us. Unpacked, and met up with the rest of our party to explore, do the muster drill, and then set sail.
Princess has an app that you can download on the ship that you can leave messages for one another via this app. Instructions are on a card in your stateroom about this. It was a little tricky to find our friends on the app (had to enter their number on their stateroom card directly to make them come up) but you can use this feature with Princess' wifi and not be charged. I had my phone on airplane mode while onboard, but wifi was on and we used this app for free. This is not the internet package through the ship. We could also call each others room number and leave messages on their in room phone as well, to communicate. We also had a cabin nextdoor to our friends, and our room steward opened the door, per our request, so we could sit on the balcony and visit.
Cabin Review
Balcony
Very good location on the ship. Near pool, buffet, pool bar, pizza, grill, & ice cream. Near elevators, but noise was not an issue from them at all. Balcony was nice. Bathroom had a smaller than average shower with a shower curtain that would accidentally go outside of the shower stall and soak the bathroom floor. Had a hanging shampoo/conditioner combo & body wash available in the shower and a small body lotion on the bathroom counter. Bathroom could have used a stand alone air freshener as it was a bit septic tank smelling the entire cruise. Closet space was above average in size with great shelves for smaller items. Bed comfortable. No couch. Vanity/desk area. Balcony had a nice overhang that was good for when it rained, we could still use the balcony. Great room.
Port Reviews
Astoria, Oregon
No ship excursions. Shuttle into town was $7r/t. Great town to walk around when not raining with great eats & breweries.
Victoria
We've been to Victoria before so didn't feel the need to sight see this trip. Uber/Lyft are currently not an option in Victoria. There were shuttle buses from port to town (my parents used this as they have mobility issues) I can't remember the cost for the shuttle ($15/pp???-I could be off). Hubby and I walked to the harbor via the walkway (maybe a mile-ish????) very accessible if walking isn't an issue for you. Lovely walk actually. Popped into pubs and had some local brews and watched our local college football game at Darcy's pub. Friends went on the mansion tour via the ship and liked it a lot. Other friends went to the gardens, said it had a few things in bloom, but they didn't overly enjoy it. We've done that one before and we liked it in the past. Overall, easy, laid back port of call. Love Victoria.
San Francisco
Did Alcatraz on our own. Port was literally next to the Alcatraz pier. Easy walking distance to Pier 39. Took a private Little Italy Food walking tour by Blondina as our guide, highly recommended!!! Most fun day.