Has the food improved on the NCL STAR?

[lesharona]

We recently booked a 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise on Princess, today

we received a flyer from NCL on their 8 day cruise to Mexico. We love the

itineray, it is cheaper than the other cruise, a day longer and you get to

visit Acapulco. The only drawback for us is the food on the Star. We did

the Pacific Coastal cruise last Sept. Loved the ship, the entertainment was

superb, and the ports wonderful. But we all agreed the food was like eating

at Denneys every night. We would cancel the other cruise in a heartbeat

and book the NCL Star if it wasn't for the food being so bad on our last

cruise.

If you have cruised on the Star in the past 10 months, what is your

opionion of the food?

[immargaret]

We cruised on the STAR in April and didn't have a problem with the quality of the food in any of the restaurants on board the ship. We had slow service one night in one of the restaurants, but it was their busiest time of the evening. We didn't spend much time in the buffet, but the few items I tried from there were the appropriate temperatures and didn't appear to have been sitting out that long. I'm still craving the fish and chips that were our nightly late night snack, they were the best I've had in quite some time.

 

I evaluate restaurants for a living here in MA and would in no way compare the STAR to a Denny's.

[Happy ks]

I've only cruised on NCL Star once and it was in her innaugural year. We found the food to be, well, the low point of the ship. The service was great, the ship was beautiful, we loved our very tiny cabin.

 

We're booked for a Pacific coastal cruise next May and we fully intend to budget for dinners in the specialty restaurants each night. Breakfast and lunch was fine in Versailles, but the food just was not that great at dinner. Of course, there is always something we can find to eat, we definitely have never gone hungry on any cruise!

 

So, why not treat yourselves to a couple nights in one of the specialty restaurants? We found the food in there to be superior to many fine land based restaurants.

[Cruise_More_Often]

We recently booked a 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise on Princess, today we received a flyer from NCL on their 8 day cruise to Mexico. We love the itineray, it is cheaper than the other cruise, a day longer and you get to visit Acapulco. The only drawback for us is the food on the Star. We did the Pacific Coastal cruise last Sept. Loved the ship, the entertainment was

superb, and the ports wonderful. But we all agreed the food was like eating

at Denneys every night. We would cancel the other cruise in a heartbeat

and book the NCL Star if it wasn't for the food being so bad on our last

cruise.

If you have cruised on the Star in the past 10 months, what is your

opionion of the food?

Hmmm, cheaper trip, longer trip, better itinerary, better entertainment. Wouldn't be a question for me! We loved the food and the service on our Pacific Coastal northbound in May. We did not eat in the buffet on that trip but did eat in Versailles for most breakfasts, a lunch and dinner on the formal night (lobster). We thought the taste, amount and presentation was excellent. Take some of the money you'll save and try LeBistro or Cagney's or Teppanyaki.

[shoreguy]

Hmmm, cheaper trip, longer trip, better itinerary, better entertainment. Wouldn't be a question for me! We loved the food and the service on our Pacific Coastal northbound in May. We did not eat in the buffet on that trip but did eat in Versailles for most breakfasts, a lunch and dinner on the formal night (lobster). We thought the taste, amount and presentation was excellent. Take some of the money you'll save and try LeBistro or Cagney's or Teppanyaki.

 

Food is so subjective. Check the menus if there are nights the menu is not to your taste go to one of the specialty resturants as suggested.

 

It is a math problem. Budget $15 pp per day for the specialty resturants. That is $120 dollars. Add that to the price of the cruise. Does the new total make sense for the extra day and the stop in Acapulco. Think of it as deferred final payment :)

[cruisequeen10]

The food on the Star in the dining rooms was great. The buffet on top deck was horrible.

[newmexicoNita]

We have cruised NCL but not the Star 6 times and have always found the food to be good to very good in the dining rooms, but only fair buffets at best. Of course I didn't find the buffets on RCI or Celebrity to be even as good. Breakfast buffets on NCL are ok, how can you hurt Lox and Bagels or omelettes? The only really bad thing I have had on NCL was last November, the first night, in the dining room one choice was lamb kabobs. For me Kabobs are always a favorite and lamb is to die for: well I ordered them and I thought I was going to die!!! Oh, how bad could anything be and what did I do to deserve such a horrible meal?? NMNita

[RDeagazio]

I recently attended a TA ship inspection and lunch on the Star in LA before she left for Alaska and if the food they served us was any indication, I would pack a loaf od bread and some PB&J. Normally when they have us onboard for a TA lunch (or dinner) the lines will try to make a good impression, but that wasn't the case. We abandoned the main dining room in search of the buffet in the hopes of getting some edible food--again not the case, so we left the ship and went out for burgers.

 

Apparently we weren't the only ones who thought the food was horrible as my NCL Sales Rep even apologized and was visibly embarrassed.

 

After this lunch I know what contestants have to go through on Fear Factor.

[mrg0433]

We sailed the Norwegian Dawn last December and loved the food and choices of restaurants (Mexican, Italian, Japanese, French, Steak House, Elegant Venetian Dining Room, 2 American Restaurants, Blue Lagoon Diner (Chinese & Fast Food), and also loved the Fish & Chips in the English Pub--that's unusual for people from the Seacoast of New England to say.

 

We also didn't care for the buffet much-- but we did like the kid's buffet chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies.. We espeically liked the NY Deli subs and sandwiches at lunch time.

 

Since then we've sailed Royal Caribbean and hated the food on Legend of the Seas. We missed Norwegian so much that we have booked a family Thanksgiving cruise on the Norwegian Spirit in 2006. We have another Royal Caribbean cruise coming up in October and a Carnival Cruise in Feb. We are taking those ships for the itineraries and not the one dining room option on those ships.

 

Our west coast relatives are also thinking of taking the Star cruise in January because it goes further south and stops at preferred ports--unlike the other cruiselines--Not to mention having one more night and one more port than the other lines.

 

Mary

Plymouth, MA

[CaliforniaDreamer]

i have only cruised on the NCL Star so far, 8 day mexico in march and alaska in may.

 

i thoroughly enjoyed the food. i did find that it was better in Mexico...esp the Lobster. In alaska we got lobster tails....in Mexico we got whole lobsters. yum.

 

i can't compare it to other lines however...sorry

[bssc]

We were on the Star in May going to Alaska. We didn't see too much in the main restaurant but ate in the specialty restaurants and the buffet. Again, food is subjective but we didn't have any problems finding something we liked. Our only problem is we didn't make reservations for La Trattoria far enough in advance, it was completely booked.

[lesharona]

thanks for the suggestions.

I hadn't even thought of the specialty restaurants as an alternative, we

will have to think about that........

[PROCRUISE]

:( Took our first cruise with Norwegian on the repositioning cruise 4/24-5-11/05 through the Panama Canal.Ship was okay,balconeys are tiny,service was good,shows were good, food was POOR.We will probably stick with Carnival and Holland America-have already booked with them for 2005,2006-based entirely upon the food we were served on the NCL Spirit.

[johnql]

Sailed the Star back in March on the Mexican Riviera itinerary. I found the meals in the main dining rooms good to excellent, with the exception of one entree. I let the waiter know that I wasn't happy and he immediately replaced the entree with a deliciously prepared steak. Problem solved. I also dined in several of the alternative restaurants: Le Bistro was wonderful (excellent filet mignon and wonderful chocolate fondue). I had a delicious steak at Cagney's and an excellent meal at Teppanyaki. Lastly, I dined in The Soho room but I felt their food was no better than the main dining rooms.

[dosi]

and primarily ate in Versailles. We thought the food ranged from very good to excellent. Most of the folks that we could see around us also seemed to enjoy their meals. We are certainly not ultra gourmets but we also know the difference between a hungry man dinner and a fine meal. My husband found all of the soups to be outstanding (I am not a big soup eater). The desserts were wonderful and all of the beef dishes that I ordered were outstanding.

 

We thought that the food on the NCL Star was noticeably better than the food we had on the Princess Star last year....and that was a most pleasant surprise for us.

[Zeno]

We have cruised NCL but not the Star 6 times and have always found the food to be good to very good in the dining rooms, but only fair buffets at best. Of course I didn't find the buffets on RCI or Celebrity to be even as good. Breakfast buffets on NCL are ok, how can you hurt Lox and Bagels or omelettes? The only really bad thing I have had on NCL was last November, the first night, in the dining room one choice was lamb kabobs. For me Kabobs are always a favorite and lamb is to die for: well I ordered them and I thought I was going to die!!! Oh, how bad could anything be and what did I do to deserve such a horrible meal?? NMNita

 

Ditto re: lamb kebab -really NOT good - the only entree I ever actually disliked. Oddly other lamb dishes were great.

[katiel53]

I would have liked to have had an omelette station on the Star Alaska. They had pre-made omelettes that were acceptable, but not necessarily great. The buffet lunches were passable. We did eat dinner in LeBistro, the Trattoria, Cagneys, Endless Summer, Versailles and Aqua. The pay restaurants were great and even the non-pay specialty restaurants were good. We were in Aqua for lobster night, and it was good. The service in Versailles on our trip was horrible, so we only had dinner there the one night. I would opt to go to the specialty restaurants as much as possible. We also enjoyed lunch a couple of times at restaurant that serves fish and chips, Blue Lagoon. There are many venues for meals and I am sure you will find some that appeal to you. I am looking forward to going on another NCL cruise.

 

Katie

[bethaniesmom]

anyone know anything about vegetarian selections on the Star....my vegetarian daughter would like to know what to expect...we have done Princess, Carnival and RCL before and had multiple vegetarian selections but heard that NCL is rather limited in this regard!

 

I have never been disappointed by cruise food, although I will say I have been a little surprised at what some things looked like after I ordered them!

 

Beverly

[parrothead0918]

We have been on the Star twice in the last 2 years on the Hawaiian and Mexican itinerary. Food was good while in Hawaii and better when in Mexico. Versaille, Aqua and Endless Summer were all good to excellant. While inAqua a cruiser didn't care the his entre or any item on the menu that night and was provided a steak within minutes much to his satisfaction. Cagneys had superb steaks as good as any restaurant I have eaten in. The filet was awesome. The 24 hour Blue Lagoon is delightful for a 24 hr. diner. The buffet is ok and is helped by the stations around it at breakfast and dinner.

[dosi]

anyone know anything about vegetarian selections on the Star....my vegetarian daughter would like to know what to expect...we have done Princess, Carnival and RCL before and had multiple vegetarian selections but heard that NCL is rather limited in this regard!

 

I have never been disappointed by cruise food, although I will say I have been a little surprised at what some things looked like after I ordered them!

 

Beverly

 

 

On our cruise, an entire half of the buffet was vegetarian. I do not believe it was vegan, but was meatless. Hope this helps.

[bluedevil72]

We were on the Star two weeks ago and found the food to be very good to excellent. (We know what bad cruise food is as we were two of the guinea pigs on the POA last summer, but that's another story.) We ate at the Versailles two nights and thought the food was very good, but did think our service both nights was just average. We also ate at Endless Summer (Tex-Mex) and LaTrattoria, which are two of the specialty restaurants with no cover charge, and thought they were both excellent. We didn't eat at any of the cover charge restaurants. We did eat at Blue Lagoon, the 24-hour restaurant, a few times and thought it was good. We ate all breakfasts and and lunches in the buffet and thought it was better than most of the buffet food we have had in the past. There were some things we didn't like but usually we found something to our liking. We schedule meals around excursions and sightseeing so it probably looks like we didn't do ourselves justice where food was concerned, but it is ALASKA, and food comes in a distant second. (We made reservations for the specialty restaurants early in the week after we determined what our schedule was going to be.)

[Don Haynes]

Food is sooooo subjective. If you didn't like the dining room food at all whether its too rich or too poor for your tastes, and everyone has different tastes, try the Italian restaurant, the hamburgers or hot dogs on the grill, or the fish & chips in the Blue Lagoon. Be prepared to wake up early in the morning to reserve at speciality restaurants.

 

I used to love Mexican food when I was living in Oklahoma, then I moved down to Texas. In Oklahoma they diced the jalepenoes, in Texas the taco meat's jalepenoes are the size of quarters..... My stomach can't take food that's too spicy.....

[GinaJ]

Don-

 

You mentioned that you needed to get up early to make reservations. I have been told that you could make reservations for the entire week on the first day you board the ship. Have I been told incorrectly or did you just make yours day to day?

 

Thanks

 

Gina

[Cruise_More_Often]

Gina, if you're in a mini-suite or higher, you can make reservations for the entire week. Otherwise, I understand that you make them one day ahead.

[johnql]

You mentioned that you needed to get up early to make reservations. I have been told that you could make reservations for the entire week on the first day you board the ship. Have I been told incorrectly or did you just make yours day to day?

On my Star cruise back in March, we were allowed to make reservations for the entire week for the specialty restaurants. It didn't make any difference what category stateroom you were in.