Norwegian Star

[SmokinJoe]

HI,

What can you tell me about this ship?

Good, Bad or Indifferent.

 

Any suggestions on best Balcony Room choices?

How is the food? Restaurants? Entertainment?

Bars, Lounges?

 

We are considering booking a cruise on this ship and have never cruised on Norwegian Cruise Line.

 

Any and all comments are appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Joe

[retired rascal]

We sailed the Star for 15 nights in November / December. Parts of the ship had recently been rehabbed and were great. We LOVED our time....we were in a suite which was such a gracious way to go. The Star is not as pretty as the Pearl...the art is not gorgeous....but the ship crew is wonderful. The food varies from just o.k. to great. GREAT: Cagney's, Le Bistro, and the sushi bar....yes!!! fabulous sushi...we went there 3 nights. The MDR's were surprising good and good service. Versailles is very pretty. Aqua seems dark to me, but the food is good as is the service. We did NOT like the buffet....we'd been spoiled by the buffets on the Jewel class ships...open, airy, serving stations. The Star is cafeteria style and kind of ugly. We did eat there when we were in a rush or just wanted to eat in our too casual clothes. The food is o.k. if you pick things like the carved meats and fresh salad/fruits. The Indian food was quite good too. Some of the rest...well, not so good....not bad....like an Applebee's which is not somewhere we want to eat. The outside poolside buffets tended to be very good. The entertainment was quite good to excellent. The old lounge on deck 12 was converted into beautiful new suites. Evidently the area had had floor to ceiling wall to wall windows perfect for viewing so some people were cranky that it was gone. We didn't miss is. We like the pool area and the 'stadium' seating up the ends...didn't feel too crowded. All in all we would sail the Star again in a minute if it were going where we're going.

[STARFISH*4]

the STAR use to be our fav ship til dry-dock changes last year, but overall she is still a WONDERFUL ship and we will MISS her in CA!!

 

if you do a SEARCH on here...there are alot of threads about the STAR!!

 

BEST THING about the STAR and NCL~~~~FREESTYLE

 

eat when (within operating hrs), where and with whom you want and EVERYNITE is RESORT CASUAL...there will be 1 or 2 DRESS-UP or NOT nights...YOUR CHOICE...YOU DECIDE.

 

Blue Lagoon is open 23 hrs a day (wings, chicken strips, chicken sandwich, burger, hot dog, chef salad and a few other items)--make sure to check it out--Deck 8

and Room Service 24 hrs of the day...you can always find something to eat on the ship!

 

get to the shows at least 15-20 mins early as they do fill up fast, specially the first show (7:30p)

 

be sure to read your FREESTYLE DAILY...every nite it is delivered to your cabin--will tell you EVERYTHING that is going on the next day!

 

popcorn in the Red Lion and sometimes the Spinnaker Lounge

[big green]

For Alaska I would not sail on the Star because it no longer has a forward observation lounge nor does it have an aft outdoor area like the Pearl.

In fact because of this we will probably cancel our 15 relocation cruise in the Carib on her--with no aft outdoor area that is a deal breaker for us.

 

BG

[Basketweaverz]

3 trips to Alaska on the Star. Spent many nautical miles in the Spinnaker Lounge in a comfortable chair at those windows that no longer exist. Coffee in the morning, cocktail in the afternoon. It was lovely.

 

Probably will not sail on her again, solely because of the loss of that viewing area. Everything else on board was great. If you never had the Spinnaker looking over the bow, you may not miss it.

 

Yes, I am one of the cranky ones!!

[Hikini]

The Star is our favorite NCL ship. We've been on her 3 times, with a 4th booked for this September.

 

An earlier poster said that it's not as pretty as the Pearl, that the artwork is not as gorgeous. Everyone has different opinions. We've been on the Pearl as well and feel that (even though we love the ship) the decor is over the top. Too gawdy. The Star fits our taste more.

 

The Star has a beautiful grand atrium that soars about 6-7 decks. From the atrium level (deck 7) you can look up and see several floors, including the stained glass (or painted) ceilings on deck 8. There are glass elevators mid-ship that take you up and down in this area for a great view of the atrium area.

 

Not to knock the Pearl but it doesn't have the grand atrium in the same style as the Star and I missed that when we were on the Pearl. It is only 2 decks and seems so much more closed in. Not to mention that the Pearl has a giant screen in the atrium where there are presentations, as well as people playing Wii on the giant screen. Many people must love it because the Wii was always busy when there wasn't a presentation going on but we found it to be obnoxious. Does this mean I would never go on the Pearl again? No, of course not - I'd go on her again in a heartbeat! But I'd take the Star first if all else was equal.

 

The biggest drawback for many with the Star, since it has been renovated, is the loss of the big, forward viewing lounge on deck 12, called Spinnaker. That area has been renovated and is now home to several beautiful new suites and some inside cabins. But, that is part of the reason we love the Star even more now. We have been in the suites and love them! Those big, long windows offer the best view possible from the privacy of your own space.

 

The 'new' Spinnaker lounge is now at the back of the ship on deck 7. It's not my favorite venue. It is windowless, very dark and it seems crowded. Someone said it seats more than the old Spinnaker and maybe that is true, but that's because they've crowded more chairs into what seems like a smaller space, I'm guessing. But we can't have it all.

 

Versailles is the larger of the 2 MDR's and is a beautiful restaurant. Aqua is the other MDR and while they serve the same food, we much prefer Versailles for the ambience.

 

There are great walking decks on 7 and 13. 13 is open to the elements and 7 is open air, but under cover.

 

Now to speak about NCL and not the Star specifically. We love NCL for their freestyle concept. You are not assigned a dining time, and you are not assigned a specific table. Just like a land based restaurant, you walk into the dining room during open hours and ask for a table for how many are in your party and unless you have a large party or unless you are coming to the dining room at the most crowded time, you will probably be seated very shortly if not immediately.

 

The host/ess may ask if you'd like to share a table, and you can accept or decline with no problem. We prefer to dine alone and it has never been a problem. Other people love to share a table and meet new people. That's also part of the freestyle - whatever floats your boat!

 

Since you are not assigned a dining time or table, you can go whenever, wherever you want. (For the 'free' options.) There are 2 MDR's, the buffet, Blue Lagoon (on most NCL ships) and possibly another option or two, depending on your ship. The MDR's are open a few hours for breakfast, a few hours for lunch and then about 4-5 hours during the evening meal. Go whenever you like.

 

The buffet gets very crowded and it can be hard to find a table, especially if there are more than 4 in your group.

 

The Blue Lagoon is a great option and is open around the clock. They have the same menu during the day and night, but they also have a breakfast menu during the morning hours. We love the fish and chips in there as well as the chicken wings.

 

If you are in a suite you will have access to Cagney's for breakfast and lunch, which is included with your suite fare. It is not open to any other passengers during breakfast and lunch. But it is one of the restaurants in the evening that anyone can go to for a cover charge. It is a great suite perk!

 

NCL charges a daily service charge (DSC) in place of the tipping on some other lines where you put cash into envelopes on your last night for the different ones that have waited on you all of your cruise. The DSC right now is $12 per person per day. It is a bargain in my opinion. There are a lot of people who help you each and every day and they share in this tip pool. You don't have to try to keep small bills for that last day, or try to remember anything about who to tip. It is all taken care of for you.

 

If you are in a suite, please know that the concierge and butler are not included in the tip pool and you should tip them over and above the DSC, accordingly. We have always tipped our room stewards extra because we've always had such excellent service. We have also tipped certain servers extra because of the extra miles that they went to make it a wonderful experience. The extra tipping is completely voluntary and not a requirement.

 

Hope this helps!

[valleyvillage]

...they are just inside one of the great new suites! We really love deck 12 now, and those family suites are still a bargain, even though NCL seems to have discovered that pax don't mind not having a balcony.

 

The first time we booked one of those suites it was only 100 dollars more than a mini-suite!

 

We have sailed her 5 times, starting when she was doing the Hawaii Fanning Island cruise. Since then we have done Mexico a few times, CTN, and Pacific Coastal. We'll sail YVR to LAX this fall and then who knows.

 

We'll miss her, but that Big Apple to Big Easy 14 cruise next October looks pretty yummy!

[OceanDreaming2]

The Star was the first NCL ship I was on. That alone makes her a favorite! ;)

[CP50]

Hikini, thank you for all the wonderful information. In less than 3 weeks we'll sail for the first time on the Star. Your post has doubled my excitement. We are fortunate to have booked 12002, which I know we'll enjoy. Thanks again!

[CornMuffinsMama]

We sailed to Alaska on the Star in May last year and we fell in love with NCL, the Star, and Alaska. :D Oh, and with cruising. And with being suite guests. It was our first time for all of those things. We were in one of the Romance Suites and the only complaint we had is that the tub is not really big enough for 2 people to be comfortable at one time and it being a Romance Suite, we had expected to both be able to fit in there together. Other than that though, we loved it.

 

My husband really enjoyed going to all the jewelry seminars even though we weren't shopping for jewelry, he liked the raffles. Between seminars and jewelry shop giveaways, he actually ended up winning 2 necklaces, a pair of earrings, and a ring which made me very happy. ;) We enjoyed the Cirque Pacific show, and the Second City troupe. We also liked the game shows they did in the Spinnaker throughout the cruise. I was a participant in Dancing With The Stars and it was HYSTERICAL!

 

We really liked Blue Lagoon and Versailles. Tepanyaki was pretty good too but I'm not big on Oriental food so it wasn't my favorite. I do like Tex Mex and Mexican and I was pretty underwhelmed by the "Tex-Mex" restaurant.

[Married on Enchantment]

I have been on many cruises and lines over the years, and I know that the food is hit and miss. However I just got off the Star on May 14th, 2011 and this cruise by far had the worst food ever. Many things were either under/overcooked or had been sitting in a warming tray. That also applies for the pay restaurants. When this was brought to the attention of the wait staff, the same result happened on the next plate. The butler service, I thought was a good perk with a suite, but most of the trays of (treats) were already stale. Did have a great cruise because of the destination and our room, but we were suprised at how poor the food was.

[che5904]

I have been on many cruises and lines over the years, and I know that the food is hit and miss. However I just got off the Star on May 14th, 2011 and this cruise by far had the worst food ever. Many things were either under/overcooked or had been sitting in a warming tray. That also applies for the pay restaurants. When this was brought to the attention of the wait staff, the same result happened on the next plate. The butler service, I thought was a good perk with a suite, but most of the trays of (treats) were already stale. Did have a great cruise because of the destination and our room, but we were suprised at how poor the food was.

 

Gee, Barington must not be head chef now. Or you just had a bad week.

 

We were on the Star in March and our food was very good. I can only speak for the MDR since I don't do buffets. Although my DH did do breakfasts there and never comlained but he'll eat anything so I can't judge by him.

The night we went to Cagney's our steak melted in our mouths and my lobster was fabulous.

 

Sorry your food experience on the Star wasn't as wonderful as ours.

[faymuiheng]

I do agree with the quality of the food. We were in the suites, so breakfast and lunch were amazing. When it came to dinner, we ended up going to the pay restaurants, cause...1/ the main dining room was not good. Everything was cooked with a heavy hand in salt, and 2/ the service was just ok.

 

We really liked La Cucina, as it was a plesant surprise. Really worth going.

 

The refurb really changed the outlook of the ship. Loss of the public places was really noticeable. Saw alot of people just sitting on the window seats throughout the ship. Thought it was funny seeing all the mah jong tables being set up at ENDLESS summer everyday...

[SmokinJoe]

Thank You to everyone, for all your comments.

Good, Bad, and Indifferent.

I asked, and I was informed.

I have to say, the good won over the bad.

 

I will be booking on NCL Star. My first NCL cruise.

 

We have cruised on Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Holland America.

 

I will sail with an open mind and a great attitude.

 

Thanks again to everyone.

 

Joe

[Springwater21]

just to throw in my 2 cents. We were in one of the new suites with balcony on deck 12 back in February. First time in a suite, it was amazing. Loved the location, port side and the balcony was great. The room was huge, and the bathroom, superb! More storage than 2 people could ever use, useless I was a forever passenger!

We really liked the food, breakfast and lunch in Cagney's, was as others have stated, just amazing-do try the crab cakes eggs benedict.

The Aqua dining room was just ok, service a bit slow, and the ceiling appears too low for me! Versailles was much better and larger.. Blue lagoon was spacious, either a window seat to watch the ocean, or balcony seat to people watch in the atrium below.

We are laid back kind of people, went to enjoy the warm weather of Pacific Mexico and enjoy the ship. Hubby liked the casino and the martini tasting.

It was a most enjoyable cruise, relaxing. A few children, well behaved and having a good time.

We have sailed Celebrity in the past, way to dressy for us, but also a good cruise to the Eastern Caribbean for 11 days a few years back.

With freestyle on NCL, you don't need to pack as much and pay the airlines baggage fees..

Hope you enjoy your research and have a wonderful time. Dona

[che5904]

Thank You to everyone, for all your comments.

Good, Bad, and Indifferent.

I asked, and I was informed.

I have to say, the good won over the bad.

 

I will be booking on NCL Star. My first NCL cruise.

 

We have cruised on Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Holland America.

 

I will sail with an open mind and a great attitude.

 

Thanks again to everyone.

 

Joe

 

Great attitude, happy sailing.

[carebear71]

I sailed on the Star in April, and here are my opinions:

Pluses- Food in dining rooms and Blue Lagoon were decent to very good. Loved the fish and chips at the Blue Lagoon. The buffet at breakfast was decent. My favorite was the chocolate croissants! My kids loved the Kids Club. Liked getting popcorn at the Red Lion. Sushi was pretty good. Cagney's was wonderful. Great shrimp cocktail, filet mignon, fantastic coffee and dessert! I had the chocolate espresso brownie thing which was incredible!! :D We went to 2 shows, Angels and Elements and liked them both.

 

Minuses- The food in the buffet was mediocre for Lunch and Dinner. Couldn't find anything very appetizing. Service was a little uneven in the dining rooms. Sometimes the servers would be very friendly and efficient and other times they weren't. My DH got a soda sticker and felt that he got inferior service because of it. Not very fast with the refills. The only complaint about the layout of the ship is that we had to cross through the buffet every time we had to go from our room midship to the Kids Club, Kids Pool, or the Fitness Center. I got so tired of having to walk back and forth through the buffet several times a day, especially when it was crowded.

 

We had a pretty good time on the Star. There could be some improvements in food quality, service and layout, but all in all a decent ship.

[swedish weave]

I sailed on the Star in April, and here are my opinions:

Pluses- Food in dining rooms and Blue Lagoon were decent to very good. Loved the fish and chips at the Blue Lagoon. The buffet at breakfast was decent. My favorite was the chocolate croissants! My kids loved the Kids Club. Liked getting popcorn at the Red Lion. Sushi was pretty good. Cagney's was wonderful. Great shrimp cocktail, filet mignon, fantastic coffee and dessert! I had the chocolate espresso brownie thing which was incredible!! :D We went to 2 shows, Angels and Elements and liked them both.

 

Minuses- The food in the buffet was mediocre for Lunch and Dinner. Couldn't find anything very appetizing. Service was a little uneven in the dining rooms. Sometimes the servers would be very friendly and efficient and other times they weren't. My DH got a soda sticker and felt that he got inferior service because of it. Not very fast with the refills. The only complaint about the layout of the ship is that we had to cross through the buffet every time we had to go from our room midship to the Kids Club, Kids Pool, or the Fitness Center. I got so tired of having to walk back and forth through the buffet several times a day, especially when it was crowded.

 

We had a pretty good time on the Star. There could be some improvements in food quality, service and layout, but all in all a decent ship.

 

Your complaint about the layout of the Star is conveying incorrect information. It is not necessary to go through the buffet to get to the aft locations on deck 12. You can use the aft elevators to avoid the buffet. It appears it was your choice to use the midship elevators.

[Jokelady]

It is amazing how quality can differ from ship to the next on the same fleet. I guess it depends on who is running the kitchen. We loved the Star when we went to the Mexican Riviera but we didn't get the same feel from the Dawn last month while in the Caribbean. Food was better on the Star by far. Nothing is recession proof I guess.

[carebear71]

Your complaint about the layout of the Star is conveying incorrect information. It is not necessary to go through the buffet to get to the aft locations on deck 12. You can use the aft elevators to avoid the buffet. It appears it was your choice to use the midship elevators.

 

Our cabin was located on Deck 5, closest to the midship elevators. The aft elevators don't go directly to Deck 5. Could we have gone up to Deck 7, go through the Lobby area towards Spinnaker, then take the Aft elevator and got to those places that way? Sure, but that would have taken 2 elevator/stair trips one way as opposed to 1 elevator ride directly to Deck 12 and going through the buffet to get to the Aft. All I'm saying is that I wish there would have been a more direct way of getting to Deck 12 aft from our cabin that wouldn't involve going through the buffet. That is all. :)

[che5904]

Our cabin was located on Deck 5, closest to the midship elevators. The aft elevators don't go directly to Deck 5. Could we have gone up to Deck 7, go through the Lobby area towards Spinnaker, then take the Aft elevator and got to those places that way? Sure, but that would have taken 2 elevator/stair trips one way as opposed to 1 elevator ride directly to Deck 12 and going through the buffet to get to the Aft. All I'm saying is that I wish there would have been a more direct way of getting to Deck 12 aft from our cabin that wouldn't involve going through the buffet. That is all. :)

 

Although I absolutely loved the Star and our Cruise, I do have to agree that part of the layout of the ship was a little screwy ;)

[Hikini]

Hikini, thank you for all the wonderful information. In less than 3 weeks we'll sail for the first time on the Star. Your post has doubled my excitement. We are fortunate to have booked 12002, which I know we'll enjoy. Thanks again!

 

You will love it! And you will love Cagney's. Enjoy!!!

[hawaiideb]

We were on his last week before transferring off for a while, and then onto another ship. They didn't say which one I don't think! The food was amazing the week we were there!

[swedish weave]

Our cabin was located on Deck 5, closest to the midship elevators. The aft elevators don't go directly to Deck 5. Could we have gone up to Deck 7, go through the Lobby area towards Spinnaker, then take the Aft elevator and got to those places that way? Sure, but that would have taken 2 elevator/stair trips one way as opposed to 1 elevator ride directly to Deck 12 and going through the buffet to get to the Aft. All I'm saying is that I wish there would have been a more direct way of getting to Deck 12 aft from our cabin that wouldn't involve going through the buffet. That is all. :)

 

The kitchen is located on deck 6 between the Aqua and Versailles restaurants. There are no cabins on deck 5 that far back. That limits access to the lower decks since the aft elevators only go down to deck 7 (one goes to deck 6 to accomodate handicap from the Versailles) but there is only a small lobby on deck 6. You can access the aft part of the ship from any of decks 7 and above.

[swedish weave]

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