Star Post Drydock Review, 5-day Cabo Spring Break, St. Patrick's Day in an OS

[craig-n-carol]

I will be posting an in depth, honest review over the next few days as time allows me to. I am very busy, so please be patient as it will not be fast, but it will be as thorough as I can make it. I'll post lots of pics as I get them uploaded.

 

Before getting too deep into the review, I want to say that overall, the cruise was great. Despite several issues related to drydock, short staff, inventory issues, and Spring Break coupled with St. Patrick's Day, we still had a wonderful time. It was obvious upon boarding that several things were not ready after the drydock, namely O'Sheehan's and 5 O'Clock somewhere bar. The stained glass in the Gatsby's bar area ceiling, wallpaper in the spa, and some computer systems in the retail shops.

 

In summary, the iConcierge app worked great, the online speed of the internet was never lacking, and always available. Best internet at sea yet actually for me. The Bermuda bump was fixed, all the carpets were replaced, new furniture in at least the OS we were in. The restaurant service was slow, specialty and MDRs. We were told that the ship was working with a skeleton crew, and that many more crew members would be picked up after this cruise, and it showed. There were many menu items that were not available, and a couple of things that seemed to be substituted for something which were still called the same thing, but weren't what we knew to be the case. Particularly the Quatres Les Coronets appetizer at Le Bistro. One of my faves, but just was not what we remembered. It also took us nearly 3 hours to get through the meal at LB!! :eek::eek::eek:

 

My honeydo list is long today before heading back to work tomorrow, so again, you may not hear back today, but you'll hear from me soon.

[Demonyte]

In summary, the iConcierge app worked great

 

Thanks for this info - we here have been waiting for confirmation that iConcierge is up and running on Star also. :)

[Ron_L]

Thanks craig-n-carol! We're on the Star in November so I subscribed to this thread!

[Kmcspoon]

Thank you so much. My family and I are very interested in your review. We appreciate the time you are taking to post.

 

Kmcspoon

[Linda the Book Lover]

Hi Craig and Carol!

 

Slowly but surely I will write a short review after my DSS goes home in a few days. We enjoyed visiting your OS...and the interesting decor;)

 

Linda

[funat55]

About 36 family members were on this cruise for my nephews wedding. I did not go because I will be on the Epic next month and I couldn't afford two cruises in a row.

 

The feedback I got from my family was that the rooms were nice and that they loved Cabo. They said the food was terrible and the service was horrible. They said dinner one night in the main dining room took over three hours and that they waited one full hour for their appetizer. Our group sailed on the Getaway last April and many of us have been on other NCL ships so we are familiar with the line.

 

It is very disappointing to hear that a cruise during spring break on a ship just coming out of dry dock was so poorly staffed. Moreover, my sister said that the crew that was on board was not as friendly as the NCL staff they have had on other ships.

 

Even though this cruise was only 5 days instead of 7, it was priced out over and above what you can get out of Miami or Galveston. In other words, it wasn't a cheapo weekend cruise. I think the cruisers deserved to have all of the amenities and service that generally go with ones cruising experience.

 

I really feel that they should have not scheduled this sailing and that they should have waited until the ship was in spit spot condition and with a full crew.

[Freespir8]

Hi Craig! Looking forward to your review. Like Linda, mine will be coming...more than likely this weekend. Thanks for sharing your OS with us...I am still invisioning that amazing forward facing balcony. So excited now for our cruise in 2016 where we are in a forward facing penthouse. The views and serenity were unbelievable. Thanks for a great time at the cabin crawl.

[maja651]

Yah a Star review post dry dock! :). Thanks in advance for taking the time to write it. By any chance was anyone on your roll call in the Garden Villa? I am curious if they made any changes.

[shout19661966]

Thanks for the review.

[skierjj]

Thanks for letting our roll call join you in your beautiful suite.Thanks for letting me in on what an owners suite is! That cabin was like a two bedroom penthouse. I really enjoyed sitting in all of your different seating areas to get a feel for the space. Thanks for the big spread of food and drinks in your suite.:)

Looking forward to your review,

Joyce

[sasnks]

This was our first Norwegian cruise having cruised Carnival and Royal Caribbean several times. In all honesty, I wouldn't recommend the Star. Here is a small breakdown of how our cruise (myself, the wife and two teen children in their own cabin).

 

Daughter's key didn't work and she had to go down to Guest Services four times (and wait in line all four times) then finally someone went to the room with her. They discovered the batteries to the lock were bad (weird because our son's key worked fine) and had to reprogram lock.

 

Upon arriving the A/C did not work in our cabin. We spoke to the desk and someone came and looked at it, reset the breaker and it came on, however it wasn't cooling very well. We had to go back to guest services (g/s). The second time, two hvac persons (according to their jumpsuits) came and disconnected the thermostat to make a/c work (we had a/c, yay!!). We were told that they would be back to drop the unit out of the ceiling at 10am the next morning. When we woke up the next morning the room was freezing. We left for onboard activities and came back at 1:00. The thermostat still wasn't working (we could tell because it wasn't lit up) and you could have hung meat in the room. Back to g/s and asked them when the repair would be complete as the room was now ridiculously cold. Guest services didn't seem to understand that the thermostat wasn't working and couldn't grasp that the room was freezing. They did however assure us maintenance was called. Got back to the room 5 hours later to prepare for dinner and they had installed thermostat back & again room was hot. Gave up talking and sweated for last 3 nights.

 

Dessert chef appears to be allergic to sugar. Every dessert except volcano cake was not sweet. Food was VERY bland (this from an ex-smoker who can now taste everything). Strip-Loin was so tough I could barely cut it, much less chew it, 3 nights in a row!

 

Staff ripped handle off of suitcase that was being used on it's 4th trip and did poor repair with two screws. We were told "sorry" and that was as good as it got, however we could file it on our insurance and they would give us the paperwork to do so (insurance for a $100 suitcase?).

 

We decided to take advantage of the laundry service so the Mrs. would have less laundry to do when we got home. Another poor choice on our part. When we got our laundry back (supposed to be before 6, however we had to ask for it from the steward at 9:00 on second to last night of cruise) three of my shirts had oil stains on them. Back to g/s again... Spoke with g/s and they assured me they would have the laundry fix the shirts and they would call me when they were done. The next day (last day of cruise) we went back to g/s about noon and they said the shirts were being laundered and they would let us know when they would be ready. Finally at 10:00pm on last night I had to wait in line 1 hour to speak to g/s about my shirts as we were packing and still hadn't gotten my shirts. G/S said that the shirts couldn't be cleaned and I would have to file with my insurance. Insurance for three shirts? After another 45 minutes we agreed on a $50 credit and removing the $27.99 laundry fee as compensation. When we received our final bill, the credit wasn't applied so as we left the ship, we had to again speak to c/s. They assured me it would be on the final bill. Called customer service on Monday and found it wasn't credited, however they did credit me (supposedly) the $50.

 

Met and spoke with several people who had cruised Norwegian before that this was the worst Norwegian cruise ever. We won't be back!

[shout19661966]

This was our first Norwegian cruise having cruised Carnival and Royal Caribbean several times. In all honesty, I wouldn't recommend the Star. Here is a small breakdown of how our cruise (myself, the wife and two teen children in their own cabin).

 

Daughter's key didn't work and she had to go down to Guest Services four times (and wait in line all four times) then finally someone went to the room with her. They discovered the batteries to the lock were bad (weird because our son's key worked fine) and had to reprogram lock.

 

Upon arriving the A/C did not work in our cabin. We spoke to the desk and someone came and looked at it, reset the breaker and it came on, however it wasn't cooling very well. We had to go back to guest services (g/s). The second time, two hvac persons (according to their jumpsuits) came and disconnected the thermostat to make a/c work (we had a/c, yay!!). We were told that they would be back to drop the unit out of the ceiling at 10am the next morning. When we woke up the next morning the room was freezing. We left for onboard activities and came back at 1:00. The thermostat still wasn't working (we could tell because it wasn't lit up) and you could have hung meat in the room. Back to g/s and asked them when the repair would be complete as the room was now ridiculously cold. Guest services didn't seem to understand that the thermostat wasn't working and couldn't grasp that the room was freezing. They did however assure us maintenance was called. Got back to the room 5 hours later to prepare for dinner and they had installed thermostat back & again room was hot. Gave up talking and sweated for last 3 nights.

 

Dessert chef appears to be allergic to sugar. Every dessert except volcano cake was not sweet. Food was VERY bland (this from an ex-smoker who can now taste everything). Strip-Loin was so tough I could barely cut it, much less chew it, 3 nights in a row!

 

Staff ripped handle off of suitcase that was being used on it's 4th trip and did poor repair with two screws. We were told "sorry" and that was as good as it got, however we could file it on our insurance and they would give us the paperwork to do so (insurance for a $100 suitcase?).

 

We decided to take advantage of the laundry service so the Mrs. would have less laundry to do when we got home. Another poor choice on our part. When we got our laundry back (supposed to be before 6, however we had to ask for it from the steward at 9:00 on second to last night of cruise) three of my shirts had oil stains on them. Back to g/s again... Spoke with g/s and they assured me they would have the laundry fix the shirts and they would call me when they were done. The next day (last day of cruise) we went back to g/s about noon and they said the shirts were being laundered and they would let us know when they would be ready. Finally at 10:00pm on last night I had to wait in line 1 hour to speak to g/s about my shirts as we were packing and still hadn't gotten my shirts. G/S said that the shirts couldn't be cleaned and I would have to file with my insurance. Insurance for three shirts? After another 45 minutes we agreed on a $50 credit and removing the $27.99 laundry fee as compensation. When we received our final bill, the credit wasn't applied so as we left the ship, we had to again speak to c/s. They assured me it would be on the final bill. Called customer service on Monday and found it wasn't credited, however they did credit me (supposedly) the $50.

 

Met and spoke with several people who had cruised Norwegian before that this was the worst Norwegian cruise ever. We won't be back!

How were the shows ? How was the activities during sea days. How were the ports of call that you stopped at ? How was the general condition of the ship knowing this was the first sailing after dry dock, hopefully you were aware of this. Personally I would avoid these sailings because I am sure there were many projects not fully completed after drydock.

Edited March 24, 2015 by shout19661966

[cadien]

How was the general condition of the ship knowing this was the first sailing after dry dock, hopefully you were aware of this. Personally I would avoid these sailings because I am sure there were many projects not fully completed after drydock.

 

The drydock wasn't announced until June. An awful lot of us had already booked by then.

[craig-n-carol]

OK here we go...

 

Pre cruise: We drove from the Sacramento foothills area, and decided since this was our first 5 day cruise that we would leave on Saturday, and drive the entire PCH from Watsonville south to Long Beach. We chose to do it slow and spread it out over 3 days. We stayed in Gilroy, San Simeon at Best Westerns, and then the Doubletree in San Pedro, which I highly reccommend. For $199, we had a Jr. Suite with a park and cruise package. They were even kind enough to let our friends who drove straight in from Nevada on Tuesday to park there and ride the shuttle with us.

 

Somewhere a bit north of Big Sur

 

Here is our view from the balcony at the Doubletree

 

Time to get this party started!

[Arizona Packer Backer]

This was our first Norwegian cruise having cruised Carnival and Royal Caribbean several times. In all honesty, I wouldn't recommend the Star. Here is a small breakdown of how our cruise (myself, the wife and two teen children in their own cabin).

 

Daughter's key didn't work and she had to go down to Guest Services four times (and wait in line all four times) then finally someone went to the room with her. They discovered the batteries to the lock were bad (weird because our son's key worked fine) and had to reprogram lock.

 

Upon arriving the A/C did not work in our cabin. We spoke to the desk and someone came and looked at it, reset the breaker and it came on, however it wasn't cooling very well. We had to go back to guest services (g/s). The second time, two hvac persons (according to their jumpsuits) came and disconnected the thermostat to make a/c work (we had a/c, yay!!). We were told that they would be back to drop the unit out of the ceiling at 10am the next morning. When we woke up the next morning the room was freezing. We left for onboard activities and came back at 1:00. The thermostat still wasn't working (we could tell because it wasn't lit up) and you could have hung meat in the room. Back to g/s and asked them when the repair would be complete as the room was now ridiculously cold. Guest services didn't seem to understand that the thermostat wasn't working and couldn't grasp that the room was freezing. They did however assure us maintenance was called. Got back to the room 5 hours later to prepare for dinner and they had installed thermostat back & again room was hot. Gave up talking and sweated for last 3 nights.

 

Dessert chef appears to be allergic to sugar. Every dessert except volcano cake was not sweet. Food was VERY bland (this from an ex-smoker who can now taste everything). Strip-Loin was so tough I could barely cut it, much less chew it, 3 nights in a row!

 

Staff ripped handle off of suitcase that was being used on it's 4th trip and did poor repair with two screws. We were told "sorry" and that was as good as it got, however we could file it on our insurance and they would give us the paperwork to do so (insurance for a $100 suitcase?).

 

We decided to take advantage of the laundry service so the Mrs. would have less laundry to do when we got home. Another poor choice on our part. When we got our laundry back (supposed to be before 6, however we had to ask for it from the steward at 9:00 on second to last night of cruise) three of my shirts had oil stains on them. Back to g/s again... Spoke with g/s and they assured me they would have the laundry fix the shirts and they would call me when they were done. The next day (last day of cruise) we went back to g/s about noon and they said the shirts were being laundered and they would let us know when they would be ready. Finally at 10:00pm on last night I had to wait in line 1 hour to speak to g/s about my shirts as we were packing and still hadn't gotten my shirts. G/S said that the shirts couldn't be cleaned and I would have to file with my insurance. Insurance for three shirts? After another 45 minutes we agreed on a $50 credit and removing the $27.99 laundry fee as compensation. When we received our final bill, the credit wasn't applied so as we left the ship, we had to again speak to c/s. They assured me it would be on the final bill. Called customer service on Monday and found it wasn't credited, however they did credit me (supposedly) the $50.

 

Met and spoke with several people who had cruised Norwegian before that this was the worst Norwegian cruise ever. We won't be back!

 

I'm very sorry that you had such a poor experience! I don't blame you for being irritated, that kind of awful service is unacceptable, especially the a/c issue, not to mention ruining your shirts!

 

We had a poor GS experience as well, and a charge that I had to fight to remove. It shouldn't be that difficult!

 

Looking forward to the rest of Craig-n-Carol's review...that martini looks delicious! :)

Edited March 24, 2015 by Arizona Packer Backer

[triptolemus]

This was our first Norwegian cruise having cruised Carnival and Royal Caribbean several times. In all honesty, I wouldn't recommend the Star. Here is a small breakdown of how our cruise (myself, the wife and two teen children in their own cabin).

 

With all due respect, this is the OP's Review Thread... why not start your own thread instead of hijacking the OP's?

 

Disrespectful.

[craig-n-carol]

Embarkation: We booked the 10:30am shuttle from the Doubletree, it was about a 10 minute ride in a 10 passenger van to the port. The check in process was extremely easy, and the most painless of all the ports we had been to to date. We waited in the VIP lounge for about 45 minutes before we could board. We were then escorted by the concierge to the elevators where we would board on the 7th deck and get our cards swiped, and then on to Cagney's for lunch. Very easy to get onboard. In my boarding excitement, I forgot to take pictures until we got to our cabin, which was OS 9006, the Matisse Suite.

 

 

 

 

 

[craig-n-carol]

Front Balcony

 

Side Balcony

 

[craig-n-carol]

This should answer many questions about the bar service included with the OS. 3 bottles of liquor with mixers and yes, a blender. One thing though, it comes with a European 220v plug, so the only available, reasonable outlet was near the TV, and the coffee table became the obvious choice for the mixing surface. :)

 

Another heads up is ice management, as in, don't wait too long to ask the butler for more ice, do it before you run out. It took about a half hour for ice delivery.

 

[craig-n-carol]

Next up, the Muster was a Cluster!

 

We went to the Stardust for our muster drill, which was extremely rough. The Spring breakers were VERY rowdy, wolf calling the attractive lady on stage the whole time she was trying to assemble the group into a organized fashion, or every time she spoke. I realize it was Spring Break and all, but bad form from the disrespectful folks who were really accomplishing nothing other than compromising the safety of their fellow passengers. The other problem was, it seemed they tried something different, by having a PA announcement from one of the ship's officers to run the audio portion of the life jacket demonstration ship wide. The only problem was, the audio was so low in the theater for this "canned" announcement, it was indiscernible. At least we all got the visual representation of how to put on the life jacket. Once that was over, we could get down to the serious business of sailaway partying!!

[craig-n-carol]

We were well protected by the USS Iowa, lol.

 

[craig-n-carol]

Sailaway was delayed for some reason, I think it had to do with a customs hold up. We were scheduled to sailaway at 4pm, but I think it was about an hour late IIRC.

 

Approaching the jetty, and the lighthouse

 

[craig-n-carol]

After sail away, we headed up to Cagney's for a wonderful dinner.

 

My favorite salad on board, the mixed greens with mandarin oranges and hearts of palm.

 

 

And of course the 8oz. filet, mmmmm!

 

[sasnks]

With all due respect, this is the OP's Review Thread... why not start your own thread instead of hijacking the OP's?

 

Disrespectful.

 

I truly didn't mean to be disrespectful to the OP. As you can see by the number of posts, I am new to Cruise Critic. I was going to post an original thread, but (a) couldn't spot where to click to create a new one and (b) some boards prefer one to add to a current thread to give an opinion that is in the same vein a a thread that's already been started. If I offended, I apologize.

[sasnks]

How were the shows ? How was the activities during sea days. How were the ports of call that you stopped at ? How was the general condition of the ship knowing this was the first sailing after dry dock, hopefully you were aware of this. Personally I would avoid these sailings because I am sure there were many projects not fully completed after drydock.

 

 

 

To reply to Shout19691969 questions: The shows were actually very enjoyable. Our favorites were the "reality" shows such as the New Newlywed game and Perfect Couple. They had us laughing hard. The comedian (I'm sorry I don't remember his name was very good as well. Over all I'd rate the shows an 8 out of 10. We only stopped at one port and that was Cabo San Lucas for 1.5 days. We really enjoyed getting off the ship and spending time there. We normally book excursions with the ship but decided to wing it this time to see what happens and we were very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the excursions available away from the ship. Cabo is beautiful but touristy (of course) especially around Los Arcos etc. The wind kept picking up, so 1/2 of us was able to parasail, which was an amazing view.

 

The general condition of the ship was one that needed cleaning in some areas (the roofs of the glass elevators was particularly nasty) to quite nice in others (the Stardust & restaurants).

 

We didn't find out that the ship was fresh out of drydock until we had boarded her and the Captain made his first announcement. Had we known, we would probably have booked elsewhere as I've experienced that before on another line. We were impressed with the cabins that we had and commented on how much more spacious and nicer they were than what we were used to on other lines. We found the decor (overall, cabins, restaurants, etc) to be nicer than we expected. It was the poor customer service and lack of staff I don't know how to excuse. It would have been nice to know that they were operation on a reduced staff so I could have lowered my expectations somewhat, but I didn't find that out until getting on this board. As they say, "Unmet expectations lead to disappointment".