Stealthdog

We have been to 3 of the specialty restaurants (Cucina, Carney’s, and Le Bistro).  Bistro is definitely the best of the three.  The lamb and filet were amazing.  The escargot and all the deserts were also great.  The onion soup seemed different than other ships and I didn’t like it as much.  Also, partner was not a fan of the mussels.  At Carney’s they both got the oyster Rockefeller’s and loved them.  The lambs and beefs were also good at Carney’s.

14 hours ago, eowyn13 said:

I’ve read on other posts that H2O Spice is supposed to be an adults only space, however children have been spotted there. Do you find this is the case?

We haven’t seen children in there. They do all the daily meet and greets in there.  I’ve seen children on other ship H20 but not this one.  There doesn’t seem to be a huge amount of kinds on board - I’ve only seen a couple handful pre-teens.  There does look like there are a bunch of teen age kids.  There may be more kids on board later in summer maybe.

Main dining room menu for day 2.  

View of Corfu from the ship.

Excursion Best of Corfu was nice, but probably would not recommend it.  The Aquilles Museum was very nice.  The traditional Greek food and dancing is was ok, but it was very hot (you are outside in a patio) and some things you would expect you don’t get (like lamb).  You end with a little bit of free time in Old Corfu.  There wasn’t enough time to really do much there.  I don’t think an hour decision is necessary in Corfu - you can take a bus from from the pier to the old city and just do it on your own.  It’s not far and really easy to do.

7 hours ago, Yankee123 said:

Thank you for the updates

 

if possible, would you be able to share with us the process to get tender tickets for non suite passengers - when and where do they start distributing tickets? How early should we get in line? ...

 

thank you

Ill look into it.  Non excursion and non suite passengers have to sign up and they get tender tickets distributed at a certain time before arriving to port.  I’ll see if I can find a paper that I can copy.

Day 4

Dailies for day 2.  think I lost day 3 in Corfu.  

General ship notes:

- the ship is in good shape.  Looks like it has been well maintained and I think it has recently drydocked.  

- the atrium in very well done.  This may be my favorite atrium on the NCL fleet.  Still like the RCL ships better, but the Star does a great job - when they have live music in the atrium you can hear it several floors above.  It’s a good spot.

- the theater is also very nicely done.  The hallways into the theater looks great.

- the casino is TINY.  It’s not big enough for the number of guests on the ship.  Not enough slot machines or table games.  They always seemed filled.  And there is smoking inside too.  Probably my least favorite casino I’ve seen on a cruise.

- H20 is fully secluded and a very nice space for adult only with great views off the ship.  Nice addition.

- first NCL ship I’ve been on that has 5 o’clock somewhere.  It’s a nice space that’s a lot of fun. They do the karaoke inside.  

The layout on the 12/13 deck is a little weird.  It feels like you always have to walk thru the buffet cafe to get to the gym and spa.  I think there is a way to the spa one deck below but it’s a little annoying walking thu the cafe all the time.

- the gym is a little small and enclosed - you can’t be on a bike or eliptical and look outside windows.  The equipment looks to be in good shape though.

- the ammenities for the thermal pass is nice on the Star than some others.  They have the ice plunge in the men’s area - many of the other ships don’t have that.

- the pool area looks a little small for loungers, but they do a good job of having several rows of loungers along steps leading up away from the pool.  There always seem to be some free.  I don’t think too many are using them because we have no sea days.

ill post other menus and photos when off ship.  It takes too long for them to upload on ship WiFi.

Any other specific questions, please let me know.

17 hours ago, queenL said:

Hi, Thank you for posting dailies and menus.  We will be on this ship in a few weeks.  Are there lots of taxi tours waiting in port as you debark?  We aren't into ship tours.

So far you will have no problem.  For Kotor you don’t need a taxi.  For Corfu you can pick up a taxi to the Old Towne.  The pier is a little far from the town.  I haven’t seen the hordes of vendors trying to sell you tours like we see in the caribbean, but there have been taxis outside.

16 hours ago, JrzCruiser said:

1. How is the wi-fi? Debating between the unlimited wi-fi vs unlimited premium wi-fi.

2. Do you know how the specialty dining option works at an a la carte restaurant?

 

Thank you!!!

 

Wi-fi on ship is really slow.  I’m still on my original free 250 minute package and still have a 30 minute free package for platinum.  The good news is if you are a Sprint customer they have an international package for free data and you are in port every day.  I’ve been using the internet more off ship than on.

All the specialty dining are a la carte except Moderno.  If you don’t have a package you can go and just order what you want.  We have a third with us and she is a la carte while we are on dining packages.  We are able to share our appetizers and deserts.

16 hours ago, Say811 said:

Thanks for the reassurance on the walls...any chance you are biking in Corfu tomorrow?  Lol...

View from the top in case you need motivation.  We did Best of Corfu today.  Tomorrow we do the volcano hike.  

Room service menu.  It’s a suite menu - not sure if it’s different from nonsuites.

2 hours ago, firstimer2009 said:

 

 

I take it you ate at Lu Cucina first night.  How was it?  I ate their years ago on the Pearl and thought it was good.  I know they've really changed the décor.  I kind of liked the trattoria style it was before. 

Cucina was wonderful.  It was better on the Star than the Sun.  The location on the Sun was better because they have seats along the windows the ship looking out.  On the Star it is inside the middle of the ship.

We got 3 appetizers, 3 entrees, and 2 desserts.  All were great.  We doing 2 nights in Carney’s and 2 in Bistro.

9 minutes ago, Say811 said:

We also booked NCL excursions in every port.  We are booked on the hike up the walls as well...we are both in our 30’s and of average fitness but I have a lot of anxiety about this one!  Did everyone in your group make it to the top?  What is the guide’s pace - meaning can you stop if you need to or are there breaks along the way?

You will be fine.  3 people stopped halfway up - an old man and a couple of his grandchildren.  There were 3 stops on the way up.  The pace was not that tough, but some of the steps are really narrow.  Bring some extra water with you.  They will only give you one small bottle per person.  We brought a large bottle for each of us as well.

16 hours ago, eowyn13 said:

I would love updates on the main dinning room menus please.

Also the room service menu please.

will be on board in 2 weeks 

I’ll take a few photos of the MDR menus.  We probably won’t eat there so won’t be able to give any recommendations.  The ship is doing daily meat specials though.  Last night was a tenderloin and tonight is pepper steak.

On 6/8/2019 at 2:30 AM, Say811 said:

Can’t wait for the updates...we are on this sailing on 6/23!  Most curious about shore excursions (did you book any with NCL??) and disembark process as I’ve been majorly stressing that our noon flight home is going to be tight.  

We booked all excursions with NCL this time.  With the status discount and $50 off per port, it made sense for this trip.  We are debating cancelling one and just doing a beach trip on our own.  Today in Kotor we did the Hike up the city walls.  It was really strenuous but definitely worth it when you get the castle have great views of the whole port.  Kotor is a really cute town though.  It’s a tender port, but the city is across the street from the port.  IMHO an excursion is not necessary.  You can just get a map and walk through the city yourself.

Embarkation - getting to the pier was really easy.  Again, water bus was cheapest option - $8/person from San Marco and only took about 20 minutes.  Buses leave every 30 minutes.  Be prepared for a long walk though. There were 5 ships in port (including the MSC Opera which still looked grounded from its crash into the River Princess 2 weeks ago).  It was about a 3/4 mile walk from the waterbus station to the luggage drop off.  We are in a suite so it was really quick to get on the ship.  The lines did not seem very long so boarding once there should not take too much time.  It looked like they were giving people boarding numbers and were boarding people by group.  On the way out of pier, you will pass Venice on the left side and it is a really nice sailing out of port.  You will also be able to see the River Princess - it is roped off and being repaired.

Daily for embarkation day, wine list, and cucina menu.

Pre-embarkation.  We stayed in San Marco - about 100 feet from the Basilica.  It is a great location and near everything.  The waterbus from the airport to the main island is the cheapest but it takes about an hour and half.  If you are rushed for time a water taxi is quicker but costs more.  They have a number of options for museums - we paid for a package that includes 10 museums because we are spending two more days there after cruise.  Did the Doges Palace, the tower, and the museums in the square.  They are all great and you could spend hours in each.  Getting to cruise port is very easy as well - water bus on the blue line.  $8 a person and only takes about 20 minutes.  Busses leave every 30 minutes from San Marco.

First drink on board.  Of course it’s a mimosa.  😎

On 6/8/2019 at 2:30 AM, Say811 said:

Can’t wait for the updates...we are on this sailing on 6/23!  Most curious about shore excursions (did you book any with NCL??) and disembark process as I’ve been majorly stressing that our noon flight home is going to be tight.  

We booked all thru 

I’ll get you #1 and #3.  We are doing Carney’s, Le Bistro, and La Cucina.  We arent doing Moderno, so won’t be able to talk that one. 

We we are staying in San Marco area before cruise and spending another 2 days in Venice after.