Corinthians Trek to Star Princess

by Doug Owen

Star Date 3/16/02: Forty-two Corinthians and families boarded the newest of the new from Princess Cruises; the magnificent STAR PRINCESS, in San Pedro for her inaugural seven day cruise of the Mexican Riviera. The brainchild of Commodore Dan Carrico and his wife Esther, this promised to be like seven Friday nights at CYC in a row! After long lines because of increased security, we all managed to settle into beautifully appointed staterooms prior to casting off at 1730 hours for Puerto Vallarta, 21/2 days and 1100 miles distant. The evening brought our first hosted cocktail party, followed by our own area in the dining room for better camaraderie.

On a fully stabilized ship like this, with airplane type wings that extend 25 feet horizontally under water to minimize the roll, you hardly know you’re at sea. To make it even better, we enjoyed near perfect weather throughout the week; enough sunshine and warmth to let us know we were in the Tropics, enough overcast to minimize sunburn.

Star Date 3/17/02: Our Plan of the Day called for a Bloody Mary Orientation at 0930; a lot of us would have skipped this one, ‘cause we know what a Bloody Mary is! But, it was also for our Commodore to present the CYC Burgee to the Captain, as the Ship had agreed to fly our Burgee from the signal mast for the entire week!

This Ship is amazing. At 951 feet with a 118 foot beam, she carries 2600 passengers plus 1150 crew (and she was reportedly full!). She was just commissioned in February of 2002, and sailed from Italy through the Red Sea to Singapore, then to Los Angeles where we met her. The reason she didn’t cross the Atlantic and arrive via the Panama Canal? Too much beam. Can’t fit in the Canal, and has to find other routes. There are three dining rooms plus two alternate restaurants and a 24-hour restaurant, eight bars, four swimming pools, three Vegas type show lounges, and a three story atrium encompassing shopping from diamonds to toothpaste. She burns over 2,000 tons of fuel per day, and gets 56 feet to the gallon!

During days at sea, there were CYC golf tournaments (yes, aboard ship!), water volleyball, ping pong and Bingo tournaments, lots of time to relax and read (for those that could tear themselves away from the spa….) or sun, and the ever-present hosted cocktail party in the evening; I guess they like groups that book a lot of cabins! One night we failed to have a cocktail party hosted by the Ship, so Ken & Ilinka Brehnan hosted a beautiful Champagne and hors d’ oeuvre reception in their suite! What class! What Champagne! What Corinthians!

Star Date 3/19/02 was spent in Puerto Vallarta, the following day in Mazatlan, and the third day in Cabo San Lucas, with overnight passages between each port. We went off individually and in groups to find our way around the shops and restaurants in each location, and some stayed aboard to enjoy a very uncrowded and relaxed Ship.

Star Date 3/21/02: we departed Cabo San Lucas mid-afternoon for the passage back up the Baja to San Pedro. In today’s world, security is all-important, and it is virtually impossible to tour the bridge of a ship at sea; however, through the efforts of Cindi Marques and Fred Mayo, CYC members were invited for an hour-long hosted tour of the most technologically advanced control center of the most modern ship in the world. The guidance systems and sophistication of this nerve center were fascinating, and a privileged look at the state of technology at sea today.

Arriving back in San Pedro on Saturday the 23rd, all agreed that it had been a wonderful voyage that we were all happy to have shared with friends.

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