Just back from Star 03/20 -03/27 (long)

[edselone]

03/20- we were picked up at LAX by the NCL shuttle bus. our wait was no more than 1/2 hour. we arrived at the port, went through security and got into the Latitudes line. we waited approximately 15 minutes- check in was quick and efficient (we did not see any of the delays that have been reported here). once on board we were free to roam or partake of the luncheon buffet in the Market Cafe or at the Topsiders Grill. we chose the grill, just wanting to be outside (this was burgers, grilled chicken or hot dogs). we were promptly asked for a drink order, which was served politely and quickly. we went to our room when it was announced rooms were ready. our outlets were not working, but a call to the front desk had them functioning within the hour. all our luggage was delivered to our room by 5:00pm. we had dinner at Endless Summer and had the Lobster Tacos which were hot and delicious. our service was excellent. the "free" margarita was half the size of a normal one, but were good and "free". later we went to a liquor tasting at the gallery shop- don't waste your time, samples were minicule and selection only fair.

03/21- we started our first sea day at the Ginza for the "Jazz Brunch" (service charge for the brunch was $15pp). the food, service and music were all fantasic. later we found a quiet spot in the lounge area between Endless Summer and the new Blue Lagoon location (wise choice to move the Blue Lagoon here, it is flourishing in its new location). we had dinner in the Market Cafe. the food was good and hot. afterwards we went to the new Spinaker Lounge (nice space, smaller than before) for the "Newlywed and Not So Newlywed" show. it was hilarious! lasts about an hour.

03/22- had breakfast in Versailles. service was great and the food was good, hot and delivered promptly. tendered at Cabo. word to the wise, getting a tender ticket is a nightmare. the line wrapped from the grand atrium clear back to the Ginza. people were very grumpy and unhappy. NCL needs to come up with a new system for this, for sure. same with calling the tender numbers. a complete screw-up. once onshore we explored Cabo on our own. after we were back and underway, we went LaCucina for dinner. I had caesar salad and pork saltimbucca and DH had house salad with cheese tortillini. both meals were excellent and the service topnotch. we asked if we could take our desserts back to our room and were told "no problem" and took them with us. our server even offered to have them sent up by room service if we were not going straight back to our room.

03/23- started our morning with breakfast at the Market Cafe, as we had a shore excursion schedule and needed to be out quickly. the food was standard breakfast fair and was hot and well stocked. we took the Trolley Tour and had a blast! our guide was Fernando and he was knowlegable, friendly, funny and interesting (we would definately do this tour again, we had a great time). highly recommend "Margaritas" in Mazatlan. the food is great, margaritas are perfect and the server brings them out on his head! must be seen to be believed! dinner was the "Murder Mystery Dinner" ($20pp). you are assigned a character with a short description of the crime, seated in groups of 8 and you try to figure out who dunit while enjoying a great dinner. DH and I both had the beef tenderloin which was tender enough to cut with a butter knife. everyone at the table had fun. after dinner we went to the Red Lion Pub and enjoyed the music (this quickly became one of our favorite spots).

03/24- breakfast again at the Market with us going on another excursion. this one was the "Tequila, Tiles and Shopping Tour". this tour combined bus ride with a bit of walking. rode through the old town area of PV. the tile factory was interesting, but very crowded with another bus tour there. shopping consisted of a bus ride to a group of shops (NOT on the Malecon, as we were led to believe) that DH and i were convinced gave a kick-back to the tour company. this part was a HUGE disappointment. on to the tequila factory. lunch was served there and was authentic and good, tacos with hand-made tortillas, as much as you wanted. drinks were NOT free. tequila tasting was just ok (the tequila was not that good, samples small), no one was going to get drunk, that was for sure (probably would not do this tour again, too long and not that much fun). Versailles for dinner, since it was a late night in port. no problem getting seated, no wait at all. my meal was shrimp cocktail, grilled salmon with pasta on the side and lemon cream pie. DH had the spinach and onion turnover, sirloin steak and fries and the lemon cream pie. service was excellent and our food was served hot. my salmon was perfect, the pasta a little under done. DH said his steak was tender. both of us liked the pie, but the crust was soggy. BTW- Spinakers is now right over the Versailles. when there is a band playing with people dancing it sounds like you are sitting underneath the gym. this is the only real negative i saw with the Spinaker move.

03/25- Topsider Grill for breakfast. omelets made to order while you watch, wonderful. we sunbathed a bit on Deck 13 right off the elevators near the steps for the Bier Garten- nice quiet spot (FYI for those interested, could sunbathe nude on our balcony- mornings heading out, afternoons heading back). lunch in the Blue Lagoon. i had the chef salad which was mediocre, DH had the fish and chips which he said were very good. we then attended the Latitudes Meet and Greet" in Spinakers. free drinks (drink of the day, wine or beer) and hor'd'overes. prizes given out. our worst dinner of the cruise was this night at the Aqua. i had the flounder which was mushy and lukewarm. DH had the beef stroganoff which was just bizzare, with dill pickle slices in it.

03/26- rough seas and high winds kept us off 12 at Topsiders Grill, so we had breakfast in Versailles. it was good, hot and served quickly. spent most of the day inside. dinner was in the Ginza. it was the perfect end of our trip. i had their house specialty lemon pepper shrimp which was great and DH had the cantonize scallops which he said was the best meal he'd had the whole trip.

03/27- disembarkation was smooth. the front desk was polite with answering the many questions. had a quick breakfast at the Market Cafe (it and the Versailles were the only two places open). took the NCL shuttle back to LAX and arrived in plenty of time for our 12:50pm flight.

 

 

Dinning room charges:

LaCucina - $10pp

Endless Summer - $10pp

Ginza - $15pp

LeBistro - $20pp

Cagney's - $25pp

Teppanyaki - $25pp

Aqua - Free

Versailles - Free

Blue Lagoon - Free

Market Cafe - Free

Topsiders Grill - Free

 

i highly recommend 1st timers take a power strip with you, you only have one usable outlet in the bathroom and one in the cabin area (balconies, anyway). blue painters tape helped us keep things organized (taping our itinerary to the door) and when we had rough seas that last day, kept drawers shut. a nightlight for the bathroom or cabin (it gets REALLY dark at sea, at night).

 

anybody got any questions?

[SuzanneH]

Thank you thank you thank you for posting your review!!! Several of us were waiting to read something new- truly appreciate it! One question- any idea on what time would be good to get in line for the tender ticket? I am dreading this one as I have seen several complaints on tendering into Cabo...... thanks again!! -Suzanne

[Coasty]

Enjoyed your review. Thanks for taking the time to post so much info. I learned a few new secrets and will take advantage of them.

[edselone]

i'm not sure what you can do to make tendering any easier. they don't start handing out tendering tickets until 11:00am. we went downstairs about 10:20am and the line was already back to the Red Lion Pub. i would imagine people went down as early as 9:45am or 10:00am to start the line. the real problem is when they start calling the tendering colors and numbers. EVERYONE tries to gather around the mid-ship stairway on 5 to wait for their color and number to be called. anyone having rooms on 5 or 4 found it almost impossible to get to their rooms. once they started calling our color, we went down to get in the line. it was VERY crowded. later we talked to some people who said they just waited until after the initial rush was over and then had no problem getting off. your time in Cabo is short (6 hours after docking), you want to get as much time in port as you can. once off the ship in Cabo, we had a great time. Cabo is a neat little city to explore. NCL really, really needs to address this problem. maybe handing out tendering tickets (with a specific tender time on them) when you check-in at embarkation? i don't know the solution. :confused:

[wonderdog1]

Here is a tip for Cabo do a NCL sponsored tour and you do not have to get a tender ticket but will wait in the theather and will be called based on when your tour is taking place.

[amistad]

You would think all of the cruise lines would come up with a better way of passing out tender tickets, we have had the same problem on almost every line we have cruised on.

[srwheelie]

WE were on the Star 3/13-3/20...we got in line at 10:15 for Cabo tender tickets. They started handing them out at 10:45-we were #103 and at 11:00 they called #'s 1-200. We went down to the 4th-I think?-deck and we were on the tender by 11:05 and on our way to the pier. No problems at all-

[LasseKjus]

Agreed to doing the NCL sponsored excursion. 13th cruise coming up on the star in a few days and this is the only time we excurse through the ship is on tender days. We booked the boat tour which is $20 per person. It will be worth it to not wait in the tender line or wait for open tendering. Thought is that while we are doing this tour, it may not be exactly what we want to do that day, we are still doing something and off the ship probably faster and less of a pain than if we waited for tender tickets or open tendering. I used to get up early for tender tickets, but not anymore.

 

It's not just NCL that has this problem, but tendering is an issue cruise-wide. We were on the Costa Atlantica at Christmas time and open tender seemingly was never going to come in Grand Cayman. We got a number, 19, about 2 hours after we anchored. They were calling no. 12 at the time we got our number. An hour later, 13 still hadn't been called. Passengers got upset, wanting to talk to the captain, complaining that excursions got to go first. Granted communication was poor, but Grand Cayman authorities slowed tenders entering due to overcrowding on land. We stood up for the ship trying to tell the angry mob (of about 10 or so) that they should have either booked an excursion or gotten in line for a tender ticket earlier, but it almost turned violent. We decided to head to the nearly empty pool area and not let that ruin our vacation, but since we've never been to Cabo, we're booking through NCL. Dockings we'll find something to do on land for a fraction of the cost.

[terrymtex01]

OP. thank you SO MUCH for posting your review. I have been waiting for more info on the Star since her referb. We loved her before the referb and are sure we will afterwards.

[cali2010]

WE were on the Star 3/13-3/20...we got in line at 10:15 for Cabo tender tickets. They started handing them out at 10:45-we were #103 and at 11:00 they called #'s 1-200. We went down to the 4th-I think?-deck and we were on the tender by 11:05 and on our way to the pier. No problems at all-

 

I was on this cruise too. We lined up between 10:00-10:30 (deck 7) and received number 189.There were only a handful of people in front of me (aprox 10), so I am not sure why I was #189. We were lucky and got into the first tender. The tender back was not a problem either, although we returned to the ship about an hour early. I had a very smooth tender experience, but I know others had much longer waits.