Birding at Sea #5 – The Cruise

View from the stern

Of course, I have said it before – and after this trip – I will say it again: I am not a Big Ship person. I would never go on a Big Ship cruise just to cruise.

My first Big Ship, way back in 2007, was a trip with Caty and Becca to Turkey, Greece and Egypt on Norwegian Cruise Lines. The destinations were fabulous and, I must admit, cruising is possibly the most efficient way to travel among the various Greek Isles.

Norwegian Cruise to Turkey, Greece and Egypt

However, I had always heard how fabulous cruises were – food, service, activities … Not so much. The ship was fine (except that the “third bed” in our triple was a hard shelf) and we immensely enjoyed the multiple performances of Second City we saw onboard. The itinerary was good and the offered tours were OK, but a bit crowded and expensive (overnight to Cairo cost more than the cruise!). But the food was so-so and the staff bordered on surly.

Since then, I have taken two Small Ship Alaskan Cruises: the now defunct Cruise West ...

Cruise West  in Alaska

... and its heir apparent, InnerSea Discoveries) ... 

InnerSea Discoveries in Alaska

Fabulous in every way. I would do another in a heartbeat. Both were before I was blogging.

I also took one Viking River Cruise on the Danube in 2017. Once again, lovely ship, great food, great staff and good destinations. My only complaint was a too slow pace and too much time onboard vs. on tours. To be fair, Alaska is easier because the cruise IS the destination; the Danube is gorgeous in some places, but industrial in others. 

Viking Cruise; left, going through the locks; right, Wachau Valley

I would consider another Viking Cruise if I carefully selected the location and season.

This pelagic trip was on a Princess Cruises ship, the Star Princess. 

The Star Princess

Because this was primarily a re-positioning cruise, the fare was really cheap even with added port fees and gratuities. And, it put us right with the pelagic birds.

Fork-tailed Storm Petrel

But, would I do this trip without a birding agenda? Nope.

Main lobby area

The Star Princess, commissioned in 2001, is a bit long of tooth. It think a lot of the design was an attempt to be jaw-droppingly grand, but I found the décor to be dated and a bit cheesy. 

I also though some areas bordered on shabby.

Our room – upgraded from “view” to balcony – was fine. Tiny, but that’s expected on a ship, but with comfy beds, ample hot water, a pretty good-sized closet and a huge TV (so big, I bumped my head on it). I hardly spent any time in the room, so it was fine.

Central staircases allowed me to get a little exercise; I never made it to the gym

Check in was fine, except that the agent who inspected our bags in security moved Rick’s wallet to a small pocket in his bag that he never uses and he had a long search before he found it. Once on board, we couldn’t go to our room right away, but the wait wasn’t too long.

Horizon Dining Room

The food in the main cafeteria-style dining room was OK, but it was so crowded, it wasn’t really worth standing in line. Since I was dieting, its ho-hummedness was a blessing. I wasn’t tempted by anything. I ate almost exclusively fruit (some canned) and yogurt for breakfast and salads for lunch. 

We ate dinner in one of the restaurants included with our fare, but that offered table service. 

I actually liked it because there were light and vegetarian options and the portions tended to be very small. Heartier eaters could just order another entrée with no extra cost. 

We had signed up for “anytime” dining so we could be seated when we wanted. They seemed pretty militant with people who had seating times. Apparently, Bryan hadn’t signed up and, when he came to join us for dinner one night after we had been seated (at a table with a seat for him), the maitre’d wouldn’t let him in. he had no way to contact us and they wouldn't even let him in to talk to us, so he ended up eating alone.

Our room

Every cabin has an assigned steward. 

Ours wasn’t great, although we didn't really have many requests of him. We had to hound him for clean bath towels after he brought us only wash cloths and hand towels. 

But, he seemed pretty busy. 

I am not sure if repositioning cruises are staffed at the same level as regular cruises.

We were so spent after birding all day and having a rather relaxed dinner that we did not try any of the onboard entertainment. We were so exhausted, I probably would have fallen asleep as soon as I sat down, anyway. 

Oh, they did have an art auction – with really cheesy art. Why? Why? Why?

You could buy this stuff

On the last full day onboard, I took a quick walk around to “see” the ship. Since we were going from room to breakfast to deck to lunch to deck to dinner, we hadn’t seen much.

On Deck 8, you can walk the entire ship

From the looks of things, it was generally too cold for any outdoor sports or pools (except for a few diehards). But, even when Caty, Becca and I were in sunny Greece, we found the pool too chilly.

A virtually empty deck

I visited "The Sanctuary,” an area restricted to adults only. Oddly, there were just a few people in the nearby pool and the only people in the lounge were an employee, a man and a toddler! So much for adults only.

"The Sanctuary"

When I went by the casino – a popular spot in the cold gray weather – it reeked so much of cigarette smoke that I had to hold my breath and move quickly. When I commented on how surprised I was that they allow smoking anywhere inside, I was informed that they had stopped allowing smoking several years ago. The reek was just left over from 15 years of smoking. ICK.

Oh, and I paid $69 for 120 minutes of Internet, thinking that’s no better than no contact. Not so much. It was so slow and so bad, it wasn’t worth it.

They show movies at the main pool

That ship held 2,600 passengers and, for the life of me, I have no idea why most were on the ship. There was no view. It was chilly and damp. There were no stops.

Drinking? Gambling? As much food as you can pack in?

I don’t get it.

Some like to cruise, some don't

But, to each his own.

As I said, I am scheduled to cruise to Cuba in November. Once again, I am not going for the cruise. This time, I am going for the camaraderie. The tour is a high school reunion of sorts. We shall see how that goes. Maybe there will be birds!

Ocean view

Trip date: May 7-14, 2019