Jen's Top Five Cruise Tips of the Month

1. Specialty restaurants cover charge includes the gratuity. Even though there is a line item to add an extra tip, its just that: "extra".

2. Leave valuables, excess cash and unneeded credit cards aboard while on shore excursions.

3. On debarkation day try to RELAX. Do not wait in the stairwells with all your bags as it will only only lead to frustration. Get yourself some breakfast or sit in one of the lounges as you wait for your color to be called.

4. As for Embarkation, try not to get to the port too early. For Caribbean cruises they usually let you start checking in at 12:00pm. If you arrive earlier than that you will end up waiting in a boring sitting area with no entertainment.

5. The elevators are going to be crowded around dinner and show times. A bunch of crabby people waiting for the elevators will only stir each other up even more; why not walk off that crème brûlée and take the stairs — or maybe do a lap on the Promenade Deck.

**If you have cruise tips of your own, add them as comments to share with other cruisers. They may even end up as one of next months top five cruise tips!

Family cruise on Star Princess

Feb 28 2007
Star Princess
Family Cruise



Last Feb. Will and I went on a cruise with his parents and sister! It was their first cruise so they were a little nervous. They were also excited and full of questions before they left. They were coming a longer distance than we were as they live all the way up in Vermont. They flew in one day early to avoid missing their cruise due to air troubles. They stayed at a hotel near the port and had a nice time going to dinner the night before. The next morning they took a shuttle and met us at the pier. They were so excited the got to the pier 2 hours before they began embarkation!

Seeing them as they entered the cabin for the first time was exciting. They were so happy and ready to set sail. The first thing they did was walk out on to their balcony, which they loved! We started out our vacation by touring the ship together from top to bottom. My Father in law was very impressed with the size and amenities of the ship. We all had a blast at the sail away party on the Lido deck. We danced and had some drinks hoping to win one of the many prizes. No luck this time though :( Maybe next cruise.....

We had tons of fun at each of the ports either taking shore excursions or going off on our own. I think we had the most fun as a family in Ocho Rios when we went to Dunns River Falls and lunch at the Ruins. I had no idea what I was getting into with Dunns River Falls...I thought it would be a short easy climb and it was 45 minutes walking up the waterfalls with water rushing down. Luckily we were all holding hands helping each other up. I am so glad we went though cause it was so much fun! Our tour guide also took us all over the Island. Cozumel was fun.... the ladies went parasailing and then we spent the rest of the day at the beach sunning, eating our Nachos, and drinking our pina coladas....Most of us renting snorkel equipment for only $5 a piece and set out to the reef and saw tons of fish!







As for the ship, I loved it! I loved having my cabin in the back of the Aloha deck so that I was right near the back deck where it was never crowded and was an adult only pool. It was also so convenient to grab breakfast from the buffet and sit back take in the view. Our favorite meal was our champagne balcony breakfast, and was so worth it. (see picture below)We had a whole 5 course meal with champagne delivered and set up on our balcony. What a way to wake up!



We took advantage of the afternoon tea this time and I loved the whole experience. We went twice and sat with the same people both times. We met some very interesting people and had some very yummy scones and real cream, pastries, and party sandwiches with some hot tea. The whole thing was white glove service. I felt so special :)

We tried both specialty restaurants this time and the one I liked best was Sterling Steakhouse. It was well worth the $15 a person cover charge. I went all out and ordered a porterhouse steak! The service was exceptional and the whole meal was great...side note: I almost had to be rolled back to my cabin...hehe

The whole thing was such a blast and we all were able to spend time together like we wanted. My parents came off the ship ready to do it again.....so I will report back after our next family cruise........