Star Review - October 7-14, NYC to Bermuda

[teeny25]

A review of the ship we are going on AND animal pictures?? My type of review!! :D Looking forward to the rest!

[emsiam]

Day Four: Our first day in Bermuda! We bought a two day transportation pass for $20 and went with a great family we met here on CC to the Bermuda Aquarium and Zoo. We took the ferry to Hamilton, then a few walk block up a shallow hill to the bus stop. With my mobility issues I handled the walk OK I think. We took the bus towards St. George’s where there was a bus stop directly in front of BAMZ. It was pretty easy to get there. To get back to the Dockyard, we took another bus to St. George’s where it was an easy walk downhill to the ferry. I wish they had a better waiting facility to wait for the ferry in St. George’s – there is not much, all in the sun, with a huge, long line. Thank you “ensiam” for letting Leonard & I tag along!!

 

As for BAMZ, we LOVED IT!! Here are some photos.

 

Anytime, thanks for coming with us it was a great day! Erica loved the place and is still talking about it!!

Jan

[bsblindab]

Holly, I have to agree wholeheartedly with your review. the shows were great,,but either to loud or something, hurt my ears a bit. We didn't eat in the MDR every night, but much more than before,,and did not have any issues with the prime rib (we raise beef cows so normally don't eat this out..but it was done perfectly) the beef lasagne, while good, was a tad different than what I was used to..it looked like it was made with cheese whiz.

One thing I'd like to add to everyone..Bermuda is SOOOO clean!! and don't have the people at the dock bombarding you as soon as you get off the ship making you feel so uneasy. By day 3 on land, my husband was hurting due to his walking issues, but I went out by myself and felt very safe at the Royal Dockyard while shopping. I did miss the great outdoors which we had on the Pearl..but having a balcony made up for it..and the Gorgeous Atrium..loved it. The wings at Blue Lagoon we had several times..the hot ones weren't what I consider hot,,but still good. After reading some prior review about the Star I had some reservations going on her,,but no more!!! The ship was immaculate, the crew was awesome. We had Joseph as our room steward on deck 9 , and Raymond as our MDR waiter..never made it to the Aqua MDR..oh well maybe next time..

[shepherdqueen]

Anytime, thanks for coming with us it was a great day! Erica loved the place and is still talking about it!!

Jan

 

:D It was a great day and a great place! I highly recommend!! Thanks again!!

[shepherdqueen]

Holly, I have to agree wholeheartedly with your review. the shows were great,,but either to loud or something, hurt my ears a bit. We didn't eat in the MDR every night, but much more than before,,and did not have any issues with the prime rib (we raise beef cows so normally don't eat this out..but it was done perfectly) the beef lasagne, while good, was a tad different than what I was used to..it looked like it was made with cheese whiz.

One thing I'd like to add to everyone..Bermuda is SOOOO clean!! and don't have the people at the dock bombarding you as soon as you get off the ship making you feel so uneasy. By day 3 on land, my husband was hurting due to his walking issues, but I went out by myself and felt very safe at the Royal Dockyard while shopping. I did miss the great outdoors which we had on the Pearl..but having a balcony made up for it..and the Gorgeous Atrium..loved it. The wings at Blue Lagoon we had several times..the hot ones weren't what I consider hot,,but still good. After reading some prior review about the Star I had some reservations going on her,,but no more!!! The ship was immaculate, the crew was awesome. We had Joseph as our room steward on deck 9 , and Raymond as our MDR waiter..never made it to the Aqua MDR..oh well maybe next time..

 

Hi Linda!

 

I agree the prime rib was wonderful! I was going to try the lasagna, but that was the night of the Captain's dinner and I had the rosemary chicken instead. We too never made it to Aqua. We would have missed the "great outdoors" if we did not have our balcony. On the last night, Leonard & I both had the strip steak again and this time is was 5 star! Tender, delicious, better than our local steak house!

 

On day three we discovered Felimon as a server in Versailles - we had him as our server on the Dawn in 2009!! He was wonderful, as was his assistant (I wish I caught her name) and we requested him every night after. Alas his section was busy our last night but we made a point to say goodbye.

 

And what you say about Bermuda is the reason we came back! It is the only island we want to visit now. Last year the Bahamas was so dirty, and everyone trying to sell you stuff... urgh. We definitely felt safe to explore on our own without a ship excursion. We plan to go back to Bermuda again.

 

Holly

[shepherdqueen]

Day Six: Our last day in Bermuda! A quick breakfast at the Blue Lagoon (where we discovered our favorite breakfast, their “full house”) and then off to our bridge tour. It was so amazing!! We were allowed to take still photography and we took advantage of that.

 

The steering "wheel"

 

 

 

After our tour, DH & I decided to do some shopping at the Clocktower. Unfortunately, I was pretty tuckered out from our wanderings the previous two days, and we waited for the tram to take us. The tram was packed full, and no one got off at the ship, so no room for any new passengers. At the same time it started to rain, so we did our shopping in the customs building and decided to relax the rest of the day back on the ship.

 

We missed the show in the Stardust that night, but we did catch “Battle of the Pans” with Shark Bait. Very funny!!!

 

Having the aft balcony, we did enjoy our private space during sail away. We had the best last views of the island. We were sad to see Bermuda disappear, but we plan to go back a third time.

[shepherdqueen]

Some views from the bridge...

 

[shepherdqueen]

Day Seven: Our final day at sea was a very rough start. We had rough seas, and even though we do not get sea sick, DH & I did find it difficult to walk sometimes. Late morning we gathered at the casino for our Meet & Greet Slot Pull! DH & I found it to be lots of fun, cheering everyone on! We all had 2 pulls for $6, which we all decided to do a 2nd round of two pulls, and everyone walked away with $4. Not a bad loss.

 

We enjoyed another lovely lunch and a fabulous dinner at Versailles. The same steak that was disappointing our second night was spectacular this night! Better than our local steak house!

 

We did make sure to see Elements – and if you only want to see one show in the Stardust, this would be my recommendation! It was great!!

 

Now for special assistance disembarkation… we had to make arrangements and pick a luggage tag in accordance to which time we wish to leave. We selected 10:00 am disembarkation. We were told to meet at the Stardust. What a line, but that was not NCL’s problem, it was a hold up through customs. We did not get off the ship until close to 11:00, but we were not in a rush and tried to be patient. And, I was wheeled direct to taxi stand on level two. Talk about service – thank you NCL!

 

We were able to get a sane taxi driver back to Penn Station. Unfortunately, we could not find an elevator and had to take the escalator down with our luggage (scary)! I did find that going to the red cap stand they will assist you any way they can.

 

Would we cruise with NCL again? Yes! I am booking #4 as I type this. Thank you NCL for a relaxing vacation!

[LaPrincesa]

Great review!

 

~ La Princesa

[shepherdqueen]

I forgot to post photos of our cabin.

 

 

The balcony in the rain.

 

 

BTW if you want a forward suite, the balcony is not that private. Here is a photo I took from the bridge.