Star to Bermuda review - 9/2/12 - lots of pics and food!

[broadwaystar32]

Saturday, Sept. 8th - Day 7 "At Sea"

 

Today was our last full day on the cruise. We started off early in the morning by getting a bridge tour, courtesy of our cruise critics meet up. It was very cool to see and I recommend you do it if you get the chance, it only lasted about half an hour. They explained how a number of things worked and allowed us to ask questions. We also got to learn more about how they make the decision of whether or not to continue to Bermuda during a storm, and things like that.

 

 

 

 

Afterward we grabbed a quick breakfast from the buffet. The next event we attended was the crew and staff Q and A. People could ask questions about what life is like working on the ship, and they had about 5 or 6 staff members there to answer questions. We learned some really interesting things, and I'm always fascinated by how different the lifestyle must be to do this, and how much some people give up to do it. One crew member's wife had just had a baby recently, but he won't even get to see them for a few more months. The only negative about this activity was that they did it in the atrium, where it was loud, and the sound system wasn't all that good. I could only really hear and understand two of the six people that spoke.

 

For lunch we did the "Presumed Murdered" luncheon.

 

 

It takes place in La Cucina and is performed by Second City. I only got a picture of the salad because I turned my camera off after that (no pictures during the show). The good was good, if a bit generic. The salad was okay. My salmon was actually really good, but DH had the chicken which was just average. I was excited to get salmon as the original menu we'd been given had a choice of chicken or meatloaf, but once we got there the meatloaf had been replaced by salmon. The dessert was I think a chocolate canoli.

 

 

 

The show was really entertaining. It's much more of a comedy show than a real murder mystery. They mixed in some improv, where they ask for suggestions from the audience about certain scenarios. DH got picked on and was asked what his least favorite thing about the cruise so far was. He said, "having to pay extra for the good food" lol! And then they ran with it in the play and gave a whole speech about the unfairness of having to pay for your food, and all Americans should be entitled to eat in restaurants for free!

 

I didn't think the murder itself was particularly "solveable" and there seemed to be some plot holes once you heard the resolution. But it was still a ton of fun, as I don't think the focus was on actually being able to figure it out. You also get to choose which of the characters is the murder victim, so I'm sure the show changes a bit based on that.

[broadwaystar32]

After the murder mystery we headed up to the pool deck to watch an ice carving demonstration:

 

 

Then it was back to the room for a bit so we could start packing - boo. At 4:00 we went to another martini tasting, and sat with our cruise critic friends. The first one we tried was a passion fruit one. It was kind of heavy on the orange juice, and I remarked to DH that it would be a good breakfast martini, haha.

 

 

Today they definitely seemed to get better as they went along (though arguably that's because by the time you get to the fourth one you've already had three other martinis!). Next up was a melontini. I like melon flavored things and this was very nice:

 

 

Then there was the French Kiss, which I believe was chambord, vodka, Grand Marnier and pineapple juice. This was amazing. I think it was my favorite out of any martinis that we tried, though the last one was absolutely delicious in its own way:

 

 

And speaking of, that last one was a chocolate raspberry martini. It was DH's favorite, and might have been mine (either that or the French Kiss). Can't really go wrong with that!

 

 

Then our martini bartender showed us a cool trick - he poured five martinis from five different shakers at the same time! I didn't have a great view, but here's at least a shot of the five different poured martinis in their glasses:

 

[broadwaystar32]

For dinner we went to Versailles. I started with the seafood chowder, which I didn't really like. It was very fishy tasting, and while I love seafood that was just too much for me. It also had mussels in it, which I don't really like, and the menu had only listed shrimp and scallops:

 

 

Jason started with the salad, which he didn't really care for either. He said the tuna in it tasted like canned tuna:

 

 

For the entree I had the chef's special, the Pina Colada chicken. It was pretty good, a nice big piece of chicken:

 

 

DH had the seafood cippiano, which he enjoyed:

 

 

For dessert I had the chocolate raspberry truffle cake. I'd had it one day before and it was so delicious I had to get it again. I love the combo of chocolate and raspberry (if you couldn't tell from the martini tasting!):

 

 

DH got the coconut souffle. It was served with a lime sauce I believe. The souffle was very good, I love coconut and had to steal a few bites of it!

 

 

After dinner we went to see the show for the evening, which was Elements. It was a really excellent show, and combined dancing, music, acrobatics, and magic. My favorite is the acrobatic stuff, and the French duo were back for that. Even if you don't normally go to the cruise ship shows, I recommend you check this one out!

 

It was then time to go back to the room and finish packing. We got a nap in too before heading up for the nighttime entertainment. First up was the Quest, an adult themed scavenger hunt. DH and I watched, but we didn't participate. This one got pretty crazy! It was a lot racier than Carnival's. If seeing a bunch of guys without their pants on (still in boxers though!) is not appealing to you, then definitely skip this one. But if you're not easily offended I recommend at least going to watch! I won't ruin too much of the fun by telling you about it.

 

The final show we watched was Second City's scriptless adult show. It was hilarious - I laughed so hard I cried. The best game was when they had two audience members "fill in the blanks" and then they had to work with what they said.

 

After the show it was to bed so we could get up early in the morning to leave. I'll do another post about leaving the ship and how that all went, as well as some of my overall thoughts, favorites, and recommendations, so look for that in the next day or two!

[Jacy613]

Love your review! You cover sooo much! thank you very much for posting it, I am going on the Star in a few weeks and your review is very helpful!

Joanne

[Tatka]

Thank you again for your review. It is very nice!

We are falling in love with NCL more and more and on the way to our 5th NCL cruise in 6 years. :)

 

I think I had salmon tartare every day. Loved it.

 

Martini tastings look amazing. $15 right? Do you know if they allow to split between 2 persons? I am not sure I can drink 4 martinis safely. :D

[broadwaystar32]

Love your review! You cover sooo much! thank you very much for posting it, I am going on the Star in a few weeks and your review is very helpful!

Joanne

 

Thanks, glad I could help! Before I did a Carnival cruise I read a ton of really detailed reviews, but noticed there aren't as many for Norwegian - so I figured I'd try to provide one!

 

Thank you again for your review. It is very nice!

We are falling in love with NCL more and more and on the way to our 5th NCL cruise in 6 years. :)

 

I think I had salmon tartare every day. Loved it.

 

Martini tastings look amazing. $15 right? Do you know if they allow to split between 2 persons? I am not sure I can drink 4 martinis safely. :D

 

Yup, the martini tasting was $15. You can definitely split the tastings between 2 people because that's exactly what we did! I don't think I could've handled four either ;)

[flowers44]

I am voting for that strange critter being a Prairie Dog since you said it was country western night onboard. He would be sticking his head out of his den.

[Northern Bear]

We were never told how we got VIP.

 

Great review!

 

One question, what identified you as VIP once it was given to you? Did you need to show something to get into venue's or were you on a list?

[broadwaystar32]

I am voting for that strange critter being a Prairie Dog since you said it was country western night onboard. He would be sticking his head out of his den.

 

Good theory, I like it! :D

 

Great review!

 

One question, what identified you as VIP once it was given to you? Did you need to show something to get into venue's or were you on a list?

 

They never really told us but I'm pretty sure it was our key card. Ours was pink and most of the others we saw were blue or yellow. If it didn't have to do with the color then it definitely came up as a notice on our account once our card was scanned.

[cruzcrazze]

Thank you Becky for your review and terrific pictures. Really enjoyed them. DH and I, DB & SIL, and 2 friends are leaving on the Star Oct. 21st New York to New Orleans (Big Apple to the Big Easy) and can hardly wait!

My DH was really impressed with your photographic skills.

PS with food like that, how much weight did you put on? LOL!!

and PPS Happy Anniversary!

[sjn911]

What a fabulous review and nice looking ship!!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!

[bsblindab]

Becky,

do you remember when you first boarded the ship what floor/area they took you to?

 

When we boarded the Pearl a few years back, I believe we got on at the 7th deck and they had lines go right to the elevator which the attendant pushed the deck where the buffet was...Did that..don't want to do it again..would rather go to a dining room instead

[broadwaystar32]

Thank you Becky for your review and terrific pictures. Really enjoyed them. DH and I, DB & SIL, and 2 friends are leaving on the Star Oct. 21st New York to New Orleans (Big Apple to the Big Easy) and can hardly wait!

My DH was really impressed with your photographic skills.

PS with food like that, how much weight did you put on? LOL!!

and PPS Happy Anniversary!

 

Thanks! New York to New Orleans sounds like it will be a ton of fun! And I gained 5 pounds that week... still working on getting rid of that! ;)

 

What a fabulous review and nice looking ship!!

 

Thank you!

[broadwaystar32]

Becky,

do you remember when you first boarded the ship what floor/area they took you to?

 

When we boarded the Pearl a few years back, I believe we got on at the 7th deck and they had lines go right to the elevator which the attendant pushed the deck where the buffet was...Did that..don't want to do it again..would rather go to a dining room instead

 

I don't remember for certain. If I had to guess I think it might have been the 4th - I'm almost positive we took an elevator up. We were led to Versailles by our escort, so I'm sure you could go where you like! A couple in our "group" broke off, saying they would rather go to the buffet and knew how to get there and just went off on their own.

[broadwaystar32]

Disembarkation was a very easy process. We chose to carry our own luggage off. As VIP we met our concierge in the lounge anytime between I believe 7:30 and 9:30, or something like that. We left around 8 am. She led us off and we got into the line for customs (had filled out our form the night before). We waited maybe 10-15 minutes in the customs line and then got out. We needed a taxi to Penn station and right across the street from the cruise ship terminal they had tons of taxis waiting, and people organizing everything, telling you where to go, so it was very simple.

 

Overall Thoughts on the Norwegian Star and Bermuda

 

We had a great week. So know that any "complaints" I might have are really minor in the grand scheme of things. I don't know if it's possible to not have a great time on a cruise!

 

We only really ever cruised on Carnival before (Celebrity once but I was only about 11 at the time and don't remember enough of it) so that's all I have to compare Norwegian to. The thing that I think Norwegian does a million times better is main stage entertainment. They really only had two of those cheesy cruise ship musicals, and they had some excellent acts come in - Duo Amory was amazing, Second City hilarious, and the Elements show was breathtaking. I also love having the various specialty restaurants to choose from. Both of the specialty places we ate were delicious.

 

That being said, I was disappointed in the main dining room food several times. On Carnival we only ate in the main dining room, and everything we had was outstanding. There were some great dishes on Norwegian, but also some not so great ones. There were also a few little things that bugged us about Norwegian - things that seem so minor, but overall it can be the little things that make it or break it. Some examples: a number of shows were scheduled in Spinnaker Lounge, but unless you were in one of the two dozen or so seats right in the front, you could hardly see anything. Why not use the Stardust Theater more often for things like the Newlywed Game and the late night Second City show? Public toilets were often clogged and I found a bathroom completely flooded one night. The pool was way too small. Bingo/Deal or No Deal was overpriced for us. A $5 fee for room delivery pizza. Ice cream machine shut off by 9pm (no late night ice cream?).

 

Again, these are all things from my personal experience that may not be true for everyone and may not matter to everyone (not everyone craves ice cream late at night! ;) ) Overall we were pleased and had a good time. I guess the big question is: would we book Norwegian again? I think the answer is yes, but it wouldn't necessarily be our first choice. I would like to try one of the newer ships, and if they had a good itinerary and the price was good I would do it. But if there was another line offering the same itinerary and price I would probably go with the other line (Carnival again because we liked it, or any of the others because we always like trying something new too).

 

And finally, Bermuda was wonderful. We loved it and can't wait to go back, especially since our visit was cut short!

 

Thanks to all of you who have been following along with this review! I hope I was able to provide some useful information or entertainment for you. :D

[vlapinta]

No ice cream after 9:30? That's not good! We love ice cream and usually look for it much later than dinner...

I guess its not terrible, just a little disapointing

[chel2thec]

What a great review! Thank you very much for sharing!

[SMSACE6]

Very nice review! Great photos too! Im considering returning to Norwegian after cruising another line for too many years! Your review and photos are helping me to make up my mind!:)

[broadwaystar32]

No ice cream after 9:30? That's not good! We love ice cream and usually look for it much later than dinner...

I guess its not terrible, just a little disapointing

 

I know!! The only place I could find ice cream at 10 at night was by ordering room service - and even then it was hard to find on the menu, only listed as a possible dessert on the kid's menu. And it wasn't soft serve of course, which is what I really wanted! Sigh.

[arkhokie]

[quote name='broadwaystar32']I know!! The only place I could find ice cream at 10 at night was by ordering room service - and even then it was hard to find on the menu, only listed as a possible dessert on the kid's menu. And it wasn't soft serve of course, which is what I really wanted! Sigh.[/QUOTE]

Good review! Hope we're shipmates again one of these years! We're thinking about the Epic in Europe next year!

We miss our martini tastings!

John and Sue from Syracuse