Im onboard the Star Princess right now, its about 1am and we are due into Christchurch (New Zealand) in a few hours. Im Sailing 12 nights between Auckland and Sydney, have been onboard 3 days now. Having a great time, and have to say the Grand Class is great! Yes it has a few drawbacks but you couldn't not enjoy yourself onboard this ship. Ill have a full report when i get back.

For the most part though, Princess have been great. We are sailing full 2968 Passengers, and yet i have not once encountered a crowd! Infact, i want to know where all these people are because there has never been a congregation to suggest anything like this many people are sharing this ship with me!

Food so far has been good to excellent, only the Horizon court has dissapointed. Staff have been wonderful, and yes, the service does feel personal even with so many different staff and pax. I have to say the small ship feel is a mixed bag. While ALL of the public rooms suggest you are on a much smaller ship than you are, the vast array of them and the distance between them definately suggest otherwise!

24 hour pools are a godsent! And referring to another topic on the board, the indoor/outdoor pool area (the conservatory) is very nice, and well used.

Anyway i have to go now, am off to Skywalkers which deserves a whole topic of its own. I know alot of you hate the shopping trolley handle, but it truly is an enginering masterpiece, and an absolutely breathtaking room, day and night! It really needs to be experienced to be appreciated. Against what many have said, i feel the relocation to behind the funnel on diamond/sapphire will rob this unique venue of core appeal. I think it deserves pride of place, sitting high in its commanding position overlooking the ship.

Shall update again when i can. Any questions feel free to fire away, i have over a week left onboard. Its getting rocky now, so the dancefloor shall be moving! have to run.

First, the space is small. It really is not as large as one would hope. It gets very crowded at night. And it is broken into different levels and enclaves- most of which don't offer good views. The new skywalkers on Diamond and Sapphire appear to be larger.

Second, the room suffers from a great deal of vibration. While the location gives great views, it also makes the room suseptable to motion and vibration. This is ok when the room is used as a thumping disco- not good if used for a relaxing obervation lounge (which it is not... see below).

Third, unlike RCI's Viking Crown Loung, Skywalkers does not function as a true observation lounge or bar in the daytime. In fact the rooms is often vacant or closed in the day. When I ventured into the room during the day it was empty and the bar closed. It is not a well used space of the ship- not a place to gather and admire the views with a drink. Oddly, the time the room is most used- late at night- one can't see much of anything.

Ive heard other people mention the split levels in Skywalkers on Grand Princess, but this isn't the case on Star. Im not sure about Golden but at some point after Grand they altered the design and it is now all on one level, with floor to ceiling windows providing uninterupted views.

You are correct that there is alot of motion up there, but Vibration has not been bad at all, infact the ship is very smooth. I dine in the Amalfi restaurant which all the way aft and on deck 5 and even there vibration has not been a problem.

As for its use, it is very effective as an observation lounge, i feel its better than a far forward lounge because you look out over the ship and have 360 degree views. Its great for entering and leaving port and it is usually crowded then. During the morning it is very quiet and a great place to read, much better than the small library, and there is a selection of magazines up there each day to.

The bar opens at 2 and from then it is used as a venue for daily events as those posted in the patter etc. As the sun isn't setting till well after 9 now, it is also very popular for pre-dinner cocktails as you can have 360 degree views and watch the sun setting. Looking down 18 storeys onto the massive wake is mesmorising also!

And then after 10 it becomes a fabulous club venue with amazing lighting and sound effects! Its truly a versatile venue! I dont think its size is a problem at all, it comfortably seats over 200 people and many more dancing. I think the open level plan would have been an improvement over Grand though.

Anyway am off there now, we are in Dunedin tommorrow. It has been quite rough today since we left port, but i love knowing i am at sea!

We are wondering how you/others are finding local transportation (availabiliity/costs) at the ports ?

We will be watching the Ships Cam as you transit the fjiords tomorrow........

Trust the cruise is up to your expectations,
looking forward to chatting once you are home .....

Well its quite exciting here onbard the Star Princess at the moment, its 4.30am and im sitting here in the net cafe on promenade deck and the window to my right is being pounded by water and waves!

We are in the middle of a severe storm with gale force winds and a rather large swell! I can't beleive just how much this massive ship is moving around. Water is crashing up onto the promenade deck, and as i am typing this the ship is jerking and shudering side to side making it hard to type!

I was up at the Lotus Spa pool earlier and watched as it emptied itself, the water just crashed over into the lowered deck area, it was amazing! All outside deck areas have now been closed, the wind was nearly strong enough to take me off my feat, i can still hear it howling in here.

We were in the Fjords today and we had to make an emergency stop in Milford sound to let of someone for medical reasons. A smaller boat came to get them. Then the weather started turning from bad to worse with terential rain and strong winds, during dinner we sailed through an electrical storm with lots of lightening and since about 11pm it has just gotten rougher and rougher.

I have never been in seas this bad before, and i have never felt a ship move like this before. It feels like im in an earthquake simulator! The shudders are quite severe and everynow and then the ship will jerk sideways very severely! Everything is creaking and growning, especially around the stairs. Lots of banging and loud groaning noises constantly coming from underneath.

I wont use the lifts either, i can hear them creaking and banging about in their shafts! I was in the library earlier and the windows were often going under masses of white wash from the waves as they pounded the side of the ship!

Anyway im off to bed now, although i may get shaken onto the floor! I will await official statistics from the crew when i can find out exactly how bad this weather is, but i KNOW it is pretty bad! Im sure its not normal for this ship to be thrown around like this. Will post anything i hear.

Oh a good indication is all the crappy art from the art gallery on Plaza deck is gone, they must have packed it away so it doesnt fall over? Wouldnt be any loss!and also the Atrium is creaking and moaning the most! you can actually feel the stairs their twisting and the big ornate light in the centre gets the shakes!

Still having fun though!
As our cruise director FRANK would say "Ciao for now"!

[ 12-15-2003: Message edited by: bmajor ]

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Originally posted by SydneyBoy:
Hello all!

Well its quite exciting here onbard the Star Princess at the moment, its 4.30am and im sitting here in the net cafe on promenade deck and the window to my right is being pounded by water and waves!

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I hope you took a stroll up to Skywalkers during the storm. It's quite an event up there.

During a transatlantic crossing on GOLDEN PRINCESS we hit some pretty rough weather, and sitting on the window sill of Skywalkers with a drink in hand was better then any ride I experienced at WDW or Las Vegas!

Anyway we survived the rough seas lol, I saw the Captain (David Calibreze) this morning and asked him about the weather, he said it was quite rough compared to what this ship is used to. Winds were 50 knots coming almost straight from ahead but slighty to starboard, and seas were 6-8 metres (think thats over 20 feet?). He is a wonderful Captain! I see him on deck most days.

This morning we sailed out of the weather and into beautiful sun! the perfect pool day, and the sun is not setting now until almost 10pm! its still light during late sitting dinner, feels very wierd!

We arrive at Hobart tommoro, but i wish we had another sea day! Oh can anyone tell me if princess normally open the roof over the calypso pool or is it always closed to make an indoor pool. I assumed it would open in good weather but it has been closed our whole cruise?

Ate at Tequilas tonight and it was mind blowing, the biggest and best steak ive ever had. It was a meal to remember, and fabulous staff. Was worth every cent and is really a highlight! Sabatinis was good to, but if i went again it would be Tequilas!

Oh and earnie you are absolutely right, Sky walkers was great while it was rough. Definately a fun ride. It almost felt like an earthquake simulator up there yesturday!

Oh and i had a tour of the galleys today, very impressive, but ill put all that in my review. Am off to bed now, need some sleep.

Look forward to seeing your review - particularly the excursions as I am booked for a cruise around NZ in Feb on Discovery.

I hope the seas will have calmed down by then.

[ 12-15-2003: Message edited by: Nautical Nigel ]

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Originally posted by SydneyBoy:
Anyway we survived the rough seas lol, I saw the Captain (David Calibreze) ... He is a wonderful Captain! I see him on deck most days.

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