Back from the June 12th Sailing to Alaska on the Star

[Bsetter]

We had a wonderful trip, and it was our first time sailing with Norwegian. We previously had taken 3 different cruises on the Disney Ships. Our first time in Alaska too.

 

Just a few thoughts:

1) Alaska was beautiful and a great place to cruise too. I hadn't realized the shoreline would be soooo close most of the time - so the viewing from the balcony was fantastic. (I would recommend a balcony for cruising to Alaska).

2) We loved Freestyle Cruising..........Jeans were welecomed in the dining rooms, a big plus for my husband. And we loved being able to eat at anytime we wanted - some nights it was at 6:00 some at 10:00.

3) The entertainment on board was good. Oh What a Night - the Frankie Valley tribute was good, (if you've seen Jersey Boys, like we have, this is a nice companion to it). The Second City group was funny - and the Band on the Run show as good. The Reflecitons, who played in the Spiniker Lounge was good too. The music playing around the ship was fine. (Nothing was great - but this is a cruise).

4) The service was fine - nothing great, although the only thing I have to compare it to is the Disney ships where the service is outstanding! Our room was clean everyday - and the wait staff did an okay job. One big difference we saw with Freestyle cruising, was that you miss the individiual attention given. Sometimes this was a good thing - like at dinner when you just wanted to order a steak, eat, and go.......no pressure to order the "specialty", etc. Although, it was strange that the bar service was sometimes non-existent in the dining rooms and you would have to ask for anyother drinks besides water.

5) The food.........we only ate in the main dining restaurants, room service and the Blue Lagoon. We didn't want to pay extra for meals, (extra $$ was spent at the bars and on excursions). The food was okay - nothing great. And the selection was lacking. I was disappointed there wasn't food service outside - like Bar-B-Ques ---- We always found something to eat.

6) The ship overall - again, I can only compare the Star to the Disney Ships, which are outstanding (and can be expensive!). The Star is nice, but older, and it shows - there were some areas were the carpets were frayed, wallpaper outdated, etc. The Star was not built for Alaska - and that shows --- there isn't any public viewing areas to watch the shores go by. Half of the pool area was closed for maintenace (it looks like some changes were happening). We were happy we had a balcony - because there would have been few areas of the ship to spend the afternoon watching the world go by...........

7) Getting off of the ship was super easy - we choose the easy walk-off. We carried our own luggage and were off the ship and to a taxi in 15 minutes.....

[dow cruiser]

Thanks for the update on the Star. We are going on the Star to Alaska 9/18 for our very first cruise. I'm trying to find out whatever I can to make our experience better. Our Roll Call is very quiet right now, I guess we are the only people that are excited about our cruise. I'm sure we aren't, but I would like to talk to others on our trip.

[mousey]

Thanks for the update on the Star. We are going on the Star to Alaska 9/18 for our very first cruise. I'm trying to find out whatever I can to make our experience better. Our Roll Call is very quiet right now, I guess we are the only people that are excited about our cruise. I'm sure we aren't, but I would like to talk to others on our trip.

 

Go to the Alaska board for tons of information about cruising in Alaska. Also, it's June and you're not sailing until Sept. so thats why there are probably not a lot of people on your roll call yet. I know you're excited but don't worry, come August you will get lots of people on your roll call. Alaska is a wonderful, exciting, beautiful place to cruise to. I hope you enjoy your cruise and have a wonderful time.:D

[Budget Queen]

Thanks for the update on the Star. We are going on the Star to Alaska 9/18 for our very first cruise. I'm trying to find out whatever I can to make our experience better. Our Roll Call is very quiet right now, I guess we are the only people that are excited about our cruise. I'm sure we aren't, but I would like to talk to others on our trip.

 

One "better" is to be WELL prepared in your attire, layers, knit hat, gloves, good rain gear, two pair of walking shoes. You are going in the worse potental weather of the season.

[Budget Queen]

We had a wonderful trip, and it was our first time sailing with Norwegian. We previously had taken 3 different cruises on the Disney Ships. Our first time in Alaska too.

 

Just a few thoughts:

1) Alaska was beautiful and a great place to cruise too. I hadn't realized the shoreline would be soooo close most of the time - so the viewing from the balcony was fantastic. (I would recommend a balcony for cruising to Alaska).

2) We loved Freestyle Cruising..........Jeans were welecomed in the dining rooms, a big plus for my husband. And we loved being able to eat at anytime we wanted - some nights it was at 6:00 some at 10:00.

3) The entertainment on board was good. Oh What a Night - the Frankie Valley tribute was good, (if you've seen Jersey Boys, like we have, this is a nice companion to it). The Second City group was funny - and the Band on the Run show as good. The Reflecitons, who played in the Spiniker Lounge was good too. The music playing around the ship was fine. (Nothing was great - but this is a cruise).

4) The service was fine - nothing great, although the only thing I have to compare it to is the Disney ships where the service is outstanding! Our room was clean everyday - and the wait staff did an okay job. One big difference we saw with Freestyle cruising, was that you miss the individiual attention given. Sometimes this was a good thing - like at dinner when you just wanted to order a steak, eat, and go.......no pressure to order the "specialty", etc. Although, it was strange that the bar service was sometimes non-existent in the dining rooms and you would have to ask for anyother drinks besides water.

5) The food.........we only ate in the main dining restaurants, room service and the Blue Lagoon. We didn't want to pay extra for meals, (extra $$ was spent at the bars and on excursions). The food was okay - nothing great. And the selection was lacking. I was disappointed there wasn't food service outside - like Bar-B-Ques ---- We always found something to eat.

6) The ship overall - again, I can only compare the Star to the Disney Ships, which are outstanding (and can be expensive!). The Star is nice, but older, and it shows - there were some areas were the carpets were frayed, wallpaper outdated, etc. The Star was not built for Alaska - and that shows --- there isn't any public viewing areas to watch the shores go by. Half of the pool area was closed for maintenace (it looks like some changes were happening). We were happy we had a balcony - because there would have been few areas of the ship to spend the afternoon watching the world go by...........

7) Getting off of the ship was super easy - we choose the easy walk-off. We carried our own luggage and were off the ship and to a taxi in 15 minutes.....

 

So the routing is still Inside Vancouver Island??? Great news since it was a trial last season. Did you make the full Tracy Arm transit?

[Budget Queen]

The Star was not built for Alaska - and that shows --- there isn't any public viewing areas to watch the shores go by. Half of the pool area was closed for maintenace (it looks like some changes were happening). We were happy we had a balcony - because there would have been few areas of the ship to spend the afternoon watching the world go by...........

QUOTE]

 

I have to definately disagree with this, the Star has superb deck viewing. The forward viewing is totally open and very expansive, which is GROSSLY superior to many ship sailing Alaska, including the Pearl which has some of the worse in my opinion.

[newmexicoNita]

We had a wonderful trip, and it was our first time sailing with Norwegian. We previously had taken 3 different cruises on the Disney Ships. Our first time in Alaska too.

 

Just a few thoughts:

1) Alaska was beautiful and a great place to cruise too. I hadn't realized the shoreline would be soooo close most of the time - so the viewing from the balcony was fantastic. (I would recommend a balcony for cruising to Alaska).

2) We loved Freestyle Cruising..........Jeans were welecomed in the dining rooms, a big plus for my husband. And we loved being able to eat at anytime we wanted - some nights it was at 6:00 some at 10:00.

3) The entertainment on board was good. Oh What a Night - the Frankie Valley tribute was good, (if you've seen Jersey Boys, like we have, this is a nice companion to it). The Second City group was funny - and the Band on the Run show as good. The Reflecitons, who played in the Spiniker Lounge was good too. The music playing around the ship was fine. (Nothing was great - but this is a cruise).

4) The service was fine - nothing great, although the only thing I have to compare it to is the Disney ships where the service is outstanding! Our room was clean everyday - and the wait staff did an okay job. One big difference we saw with Freestyle cruising, was that you miss the individiual attention given. Sometimes this was a good thing - like at dinner when you just wanted to order a steak, eat, and go.......no pressure to order the "specialty", etc. Although, it was strange that the bar service was sometimes non-existent in the dining rooms and you would have to ask for anyother drinks besides water.

5) The food.........we only ate in the main dining restaurants, room service and the Blue Lagoon. We didn't want to pay extra for meals, (extra $$ was spent at the bars and on excursions). The food was okay - nothing great. And the selection was lacking. I was disappointed there wasn't food service outside - like Bar-B-Ques ---- We always found something to eat.

6) The ship overall - again, I can only compare the Star to the Disney Ships, which are outstanding (and can be expensive!). The Star is nice, but older, and it shows - there were some areas were the carpets were frayed, wallpaper outdated, etc. The Star was not built for Alaska - and that shows --- there isn't any public viewing areas to watch the shores go by. Half of the pool area was closed for maintenace (it looks like some changes were happening). We were happy we had a balcony - because there would have been few areas of the ship to spend the afternoon watching the world go by...........

7) Getting off of the ship was super easy - we choose the easy walk-off. We carried our own luggage and were off the ship and to a taxi in 15 minutes.....

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and gave a fair comparison, noting the difference in prices. Yes, Disney is in a class all its own and yes it is special. Your attitude helped make your cruise a happy experience.

 

NIta

[Bsetter]

We did sail inside Vancouver Island on the way up and outside on the way back. We were able to sail up Tracy Arm - but to Dawes Glacier instead of Sawyer Glacier where the captain said there was too much ice. This was the highlight of our trip and we saw many, many seals floating by on the ice flows on the way to the Glacier.

As for the outside viewing areas on the Star - the decks are nice. But this being Alaska, it was too cold and windy to be outside for very long. Also, there were very few deck chairs out, in fact most were stacked and wrapped up along the decks and not put out.

[Budget Queen]

We were able to sail up Tracy Arm - but to Dawes Glacier instead of Sawyer Glacier where the captain said there was too much ice. This was the highlight of our trip and we saw many, many seals floating by on the ice flows on the way to the Glacier.

QUOTE]

 

Sorry, you did NOT sail Tracy Arm. The Dawes is at the end of Endicott Arm, a much shorter, less scenic fjord.

[fidoprincess]

BudgetQueen, Thanks so much for all of your help regarding taking the smaller ship. I was disappointed that we didn't go up Sawyer Arm but by taking the smaller ship, we really enjoyed the entire day.

 

We stopped and watched a whale for about 30 minutes and even saw his face! We stopped again and watched a bear along the shoreline for another long period of time and we were very close to Dawes Glacier and got to see it calving. Being so close to the icebergs and seeing the mom and babies seals was so great. When we got back on the ship, I ran out to my balcony and could barely see the seals from the 11th deck.

 

Thank goodness I listened to you! That excursion and the float plane through Misty Fjords just made the whole cruise for our family.

 

I agree with you too that the outside viewing area on the Star was great. We went up and forward a lot and saw many whales. It was fun to walk along the side all the way back to see the whales go off into the horizon. Why they kept tieing the deck chairs up, I have no idea.

[Budget Queen]

BudgetQueen, Thanks so much for all of your help regarding taking the smaller ship. I was disappointed that we didn't go up Sawyer Arm but by taking the smaller ship, we really enjoyed the entire day.

 

We stopped and watched a whale for about 30 minutes and even saw his face! We stopped again and watched a bear along the shoreline for another long period of time and we were very close to Dawes Glacier and got to see it calving. Being so close to the icebergs and seeing the mom and babies seals was so great. When we got back on the ship, I ran out to my balcony and could barely see the seals from the 11th deck.

 

Thank goodness I listened to you! That excursion and the float plane through Misty Fjords just made the whole cruise for our family.

 

I agree with you too that the outside viewing area on the Star was great. We went up and forward a lot and saw many whales. It was fun to walk along the side all the way back to see the whales go off into the horizon. Why they kept tieing the deck chairs up, I have no idea.

 

 

Thanks for your post. I always take this add on tour with NCL, and now, several other lines are now offering it with their Tracy Arm itineraries. It is hard to convey, just HOW superior this add on tour is, and how "necessary" it is IF you truely want the most out of your trip. I have also done round trip boat tours out of Juneau to Tracy Arm, again superb touring choice. I put together this photo sample a few years ago, to hopefully give an idea of what can be seen with the add on tour. http://community.webshots.com/user/budgetqueen

This is one of my top recommendations for Alaska. :)

[tonyrobin]

great pictures

[fidoprincess]

Yes, I remember looking at your pictures before they went along with some helpful info you gave me in my posts. I think you should make this a "sticky"!

Thanks again.

[medford2]

I have to agree with Budget Queen. We sailed on the Star May 29th, and found plenty of inside places to view the scenery from, and plenty of outdoor places completely out of the elements (wind and rain).