When it comes to inaugural sailings, rarely are they actually the first time people have been on board.
So while I just spent three days on Star Princess’ inaugural sailing out of the United States, regular readers will know I’d already spent time on the ship during her October 4th transatlantic.
This time, we departed Port Everglades on a three-night trip to Princess Cays and Nassau. This was somewhat of a preview cruise before Star Princess begins her regular 7-night sailings.
The day before departure, the ship had been christened by Matthew and Camile McConaughey, followed by a concert with Sheryl Crow and a killer drone show.
After the christening, I was able to experience a night on the ship before it embarked guests the following morning. Those of us given this special privilege basically had the run of the ship as far as photos and experiences were concerned before its first sold-out sailing.
The sailaway was fun because they Dan the cruise director and his entertainment team had the deck jumping, picking someone to blow the horn as they were leaving port. \They picked a three year old and he was so excited to pull that lever, though the horn scared him!
The Stateroom
My stateroom on this sailing was 11114 on deck eleven forward, a Mini-Suite. It had a nice sitting area with a couch, a larger-than-normal balcony at 62 square feet, comfortable beds, a sitting area with vanity lighting and great water pressure in the shower.
I am still blown away by how comfortable the beds are on this ship. On both of my sailings, I seriously slept better than I have in years.
Breakfast in the Eatery
For breakfast, we stopped at the buffet. I made the rounds with the typical boiled eggs and bacon, and then I got into trouble when I discovered the doughnuts.
Remember that old commercial for potato chips? The one with the slogan “Nobody can eat just one”? Well, in the case of these doughnuts I didn’t stop at one or even two, but instead had three sugar doughnuts — with vanilla cream — in the span of 15 minutes. (Remember two things: Calories don’t count on cruises, and this is a no-judgement zone!)
Besides, I had a good excuse: On most cruises, a doughnut will set you back about $3 each. These were included in the price of the cruise, so really, I was being a smart consumer.
As far as the crowds in the buffet for morning breakfast, it was typical.
Go early and you’re fine. If you go during peak hours — for any meal at the buffet, really — and you’re going to find a crowd. That’s true on every ship, and this one is no exception.
On Sphere-class ships, you actually have two different options when it comes to the buffet, at least where breakfast and lunch are concerned. Conveniently enough, both are located on Deck 9.
The first one is The Eatery, which is located sort of mid-ship/aft, not far from the Piazza. Further back is Americana Diner, which is a buffet-style venue until the evening, when it transforms into a sit-down restaurant.
Of course, there are other options for breakfast as well, including the main dining room (great for those who want to sit down and have someone serve them), the International Cafe (with its huge selection of pastries) or you can raid the doughnut bar in the Eatery so I don’t feel quite so lonely in my gluttony.
Our Day at Princess Cays, Bahamas
I could not have asked for a better day, weather-wise, to visit Princess Cay. You know how sometimes, you look at a picture of the Bahamas and think, “that has to be photoshopped. It’s too beautiful to be real.” This was that kinda day.
Proving that timing is everything, if we’d arrived two days later, we’d have been stuck on the ship. A cold front rolled in which would have made tendering nearly impossible and a day at the beach a lot less pleasant.
How’s this for a coincidence: The last time I was at Princess Cay was 2014, almost to the day!
I don’t think I realized just how large Princess Cay really is. Last time I was here my friend had a cabana. They have done a lot since then, and have their own private sanctuary area at the end for retreat guests.
They have a lot of land, and it is well utilized. Things are spread out, and it never feels crowded. Although it’s a tender port, several locals told me there are currently no plans for one to be built.
This is somewhat surprising, given that cruise lines seem to be spending an awful lot of money in order to make sure their private islands and/or destinations have piers, which help cut down on cancellations due to weather that’s not conducive to tendering.
Tendering is never anyone’s favorite way to get somewhere. But in this case, the tender process was well organized.
We went to Crooner’s Bar to get tickets and then, when they called our number, headed down to Deck 4 to the launch platform. Soon as they call your number the boat is there wating for you.
There were two giant BBQ areas, bars and lots of loungers and chairs. The cabanas and clamshells seemed to be really popular here. I spent about two hours relaxing in the shade and chatting with friends.
We climbed the observation point and got some great photos of the island as well as of the ship sitting just off the coast.
Since I’d filled up with doughnuts, I decided to skip lunch on the island. Instead, I went back to the ship and ate much later during the day.
Fun fact: Princess Cays isn’t actually a “private island.” Instead, it’s actually a resort located on island of Eleuthera. And yes, that means Disney Cruise Line’s Lighthouse Point is essentially just down the road!
Crown Grill Dinner
That evening we went to Crown Grill for dinner, which made this my second time eating there in a month. This time around, I wanted to try the Goodstock beef by Nolan Ryan (of baseball hall of fame).
There is a $20 upcharge for this premium angus beef selection.
Would I do it again? Maybe.
My palate isn’t really sophisticated enough to tell the difference between cuts of steak unless you’re dealing with wagyu beef. The regular steaks included on the menu are excellent. That being said, my table mate ordered the 16 oz ribeye and loved it.
Dinner — appetizer, salad, entree — was about a 90-minute experience for the four of us. (We all opted to skip dessert.)
We probably could have gotten out of there a bit faster, but we were in no hurry. It was the kind of meal where you’re relaxed and enjoying chilling out and catching up with people, some of whom you haven’t seen in ages.
Evening Entertainment
One thing I enjoy about Princess is there’s almost always something to do. And if you can’t find an event, you make your own fun, like going to the casino. Kidding! Kind of.
After tonight’s dinner, we went for a drink at Crooner’s, which is a bar with so much character.
I think I’m personally drawn to it because of my career in broadcasting. They have microphones lining the walls which date all the way back to the 1930s, maybe even earlier.
Faarral the bartender and his team were great. Crooner’s is one of those places where if you have to answer some emails you can pop in during the day and work from the bar, or listen to the piano player in the evening.
The dark wooden counters and shelves give it a speakeasy type feel. But it’s right off The Piazza, which makes it a lot easier to find than a speakeasy would be!
Eventually we decided to bounce around to a couple other entertainment venues. We hit O’Malley’s Irish Pub around 11 PM and that place was jumping.
Of all the venues I’ve been to on over 100 cruise ships, I’ve never seen a pub jumping like O’Malley’s. (A close second would be the pubs found on Royal Caribbean.)
This place is a total vibe with big energy, fun bartenders and a lot of dancing. You can also order food here like Fish & Chips and Shepherd’s Pie.
They’ve expanded this O’Malley’s to add room for about 30 more guests, and that was definitely a good decision. There was a duo playing who stopped at midnight, so we headed across the way to watch karaoke. You can see the additional space added in the photo below that replaced where the gelato stand is on Sun Princess.
Karaoke is sort of like a spectator sport, and it’s not something I would personally do. But it’s a heck of a lot of fun to watch.
We saw fellow cruisers tackle everything from Sinatra and Tim McGraw to Neil Diamond and Jimmy Buffet.
Folks were crooning until 1 AM, and people would have been happy to keep going even later.
Holding karaoke in the Princess Live space is smart, given that it’s right across from O’Malley’s meaning people can easily hop back and forth between the hot spots.
In my next trip report, we’ll talk about a show that I actually saw from beginning to end (a big deal if you know about my aversion to shows), Spellbound by Magic Castle, take a tour of the bridge and see what some of my fellow passengers think of the new ship.
Other Star Princess Trip Reports:
