Long time Princess cruiser trying NCL for the first time

We are joining friends on the Star for a transatlantic in April. We have the Beverage and Dinner package.

I've heard NCL was the nickel and dime cruise line. Don't mind this if I know it up front. We got a great deal prices wise. We we're charged a service fee for the packages. I expected this on the Bev package but not on the dinner package. Princess doesn't require tipping for specialty dining so I was surprised by that. I have a bunch of questions...

Can you order a bottle of booze for the room? (Princess this is an extra charge even with the bev package).

Can I get cranberry juice on my bev package at the bar to take back to the room.

What else can I expect to be charged for? Cover for shows etc.

I've read you have to make reservations for everything. Kind of takes away from the free style thing but we'll go with the flow. There will be 6-8 of us. What kind of issues can we expect to run into?

How much are the ships gratuities (for cabin steward, dining room folks etc) for a mini suite?

What extra perks if any to you get with a mini. On Princess it's only a glass of champagne?

If you have been on Princess is the size of the cabin comparable?

Our friends are highest loyalty level. We are on Princess. Can we get early boarding with them? (Different travel agent so I don't think we can tie the reservation together). If not then when is a good time to get to Miami and board right away (or with limited wait)?

Do any of the specialty restaurants have lobster tails?

Does the main dining room have steak?

How is the buffet? What are the hours?

I see there is a charge for room service except for morning coffee. How extensive is the menu? Can you order dinner?

Are there robes in the room? How about shampoo and conditioner?

Is there enough room on the balcony not have to sit sidewise? (on the Princess Royal class ships the balcony is very shallow)

Where is a good place to hang and play cards with friends (on the Star)?

If you get a spa treatment i.e. message can you use the facility afterward to shower and maybe take a dip in their pool (if there is one)?

Any secrets I need to know about the Star?

I guess that's enough questions to start. LOL.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

To answer some of your questions, we were on the Star for 42 days last fall and loved every minute on this ship.

The Shows are free and no reservations required.

You will have to make reservations re your speciality dinning.

The cabin size is about the same as Princess but the best part is the shower has a shower door not those terrible shower curtains that is on Princess. We are Elite on Princess so we know.

One of our favourite places to eat is O'Sheehans, it serves breakfast, all made to order when you order it and it is open 24 hours to get pub food, burgers, wings etc. When we were on they had a nightly special ex. ribs, prime rib etc. we ate here a lot. It is one of our favourite places to eat on any ship and we have been on lots of ships.

the balcony is a normal size, not like that terrible balcony Princess put on the Royal.

I had a spa pass so I do not have answers re the Spa for you just ask when you get on the ship.

Since we are at the Platium level we get shampoo etc as will your friends so just ask them to get some for you other than that it is just a shampoo/body wash in dispenser in shower.

Re the drink package love it and the convience of visiting any bar and getting lots of different choices. Not waiting until 5pm to Pay for the bar in Elite lounge on Princess.

enjoy this great ship.

Thank you so much for your response.

A mini suite is just a bigger balcony cabin with no perks. If you want to use the indoor poools, saunas, etc., you have to purchase a pass. There is an auto gratuity charged daily to your account ($13.99?). There is no need to tip additionally. You won't have the same servers every night.

I've never sailed Princess so can't compare things but if your friends are the highest loyalty level and you are traveling with them, you could start there with some of your questions. :) I'll try with what I can below:

We are joining friends on the Star for a transatlantic in April. We have the Beverage and Dinner package.

 

I've heard NCL was the nickel and dime cruise line.

All cruiselines charge for basically the same things. On NCL there are so many more options to spend those nickels and dimes so it gets that reputation but anything extra is pretty much optional.

 

Don't mind this if I know it up front. We got a great deal prices wise. We we're charged a service fee for the packages. I expected this on the Bev package but not on the dinner package. Princess doesn't require tipping for specialty dining so I was surprised by that. I have a bunch of questions...

 

Can you order a bottle of booze for the room? (Princess this is an extra charge even with the bev package).

Can I get cranberry juice on my bev package at the bar to take back to the room. Yes on both. Bottles of booze are not included in the package and the prices are pretty high - especially considering you have the package.

 

What else can I expect to be charged for? Cover for shows etc. Same as on other lines - photos, bingo, booze tastings and specialty coffees (not included in package). For the drink package if you order a drink that costs over $15, you will be charges the overage plus 18%. There shouldn't be any pay for shows on the Star.

 

I've read you have to make reservations for everything. Kind of takes away from the free style thing but we'll go with the flow. There will be 6-8 of us. What kind of issues can we expect to run into? Reservations for specialty dining might be needed - but not for the main dining rooms or for shows on the Star.

 

How much are the ships gratuities (for cabin steward, dining room folks etc) for a mini suite? https://www.ncl.com/faq#service-charge

 

What extra perks if any to you get with a mini. On Princess it's only a glass of champagne? None -just slightly bigger room.

 

If you have been on Princess is the size of the cabin comparable?

 

Our friends are highest loyalty level. We are on Princess. Can we get early boarding with them? (Different travel agent so I don't think we can tie the reservation together). If not then when is a good time to get to Miami and board right away (or with limited wait)?

 

Do any of the specialty restaurants have lobster tails?

 

Does the main dining room have steak? Yes - there are tons of menus online. The specialty restaurant menus are the same each day. The Main dining room restaurants will change daily but will have something like "classic selections" which are available each day.

 

How is the buffet? What are the hours? Hours will vary so check your Freestyle Daily each day but NCL buffets are good.

 

I see there is a charge for room service except for morning coffee. How extensive is the menu? Can you order dinner? No charge for continental breakfast. Room service menu is not extensive.

 

Are there robes in the room? How about shampoo and conditioner? MiniSuite should have robes - if not ask your cabin steward. They usually just have the All-in-one type shampoo/conditioner.

 

Is there enough room on the balcony not have to sit sidewise? (on the Princess Royal class ships the balcony is very shallow) Probably depends on the room

 

Where is a good place to hang and play cards with friends (on the Star)? Not sure about the Star but you should be able to find something

 

If you get a spa treatment i.e. message can you use the facility afterward to shower and maybe take a dip in their pool (if there is one)? Not usually but probably depends on the treatment - the facilities are available to those who purchase a spa pass

Can you order a bottle of booze for the room? Yes, call customer service before the cruise and you can order a liter bottle with set up for about $80-$90. I don’t know if you can do this once on board.

Can I get cranberry juice on my bev package at the bar to take back to the room? I think you can probably get a glass of cranberry juice included from a bar since soft drinks and virgin drinks are included but I’m not certain since bottled water and specialty coffees are not.

What else can I expect to be charged for? Cover for shows etc. Although reservations and extra charges for some of the shows on the larger Norwegian ships are required, all the evening entertainment is open and free on the Star. There may be a for fee reserved lunch murder mystery offered, if so you must sign up early as it fills quickly. Use of the spa requires either a day pass or weekly pass.

I've read you have to make reservations for everything. Kind of takes away from the free style thing but we'll go with the flow. There will be 6-8 of us. What kind of issues can we expect to run into? If you all want to sit together for meals it would probably be a good idea to make reservations, even in the main dining room. We never had any problem when there were just 2 of us but when we sailed with 7 it could be a problem even with the help of the concierge.

How much are the ships gratuities (for cabin steward, dining room folks etc) for a mini suite? If booked prior to 4/01/17, $13.50 per person a day. If after 4/01/17 $13.99 pp a day. Gratuities are added to drinks purchased and specialty restaurant charges at 18%.

You probably cannot board with your friends, if you get to the port by 11:00 you will get to board at a reasonable time.

Lobster tails are not to be had!

Main dining room sometimes offers steak but personally I would not recommend it. Cagney’s or Le Bistro have good steaks. Haven’t tried one at the Italian restaurant.

Can you order a bottle of booze for the room? Yes, call customer service before the cruise and you can order a liter bottle with set up for about $80-$90. I don’t know if you can do this once on board.

Wow! On Princess you can get a pint of Skye for $18. So for a liter that's $36 (almost a liter). That almost 3 times as much!