1st time on NCL

[rjrpar]

We are frequent cruisers, usually RCCL and Celebrity, but have never sailed on NCL. Thinking of booking the Star for February, 2018 for 14 days from LA to Miami, thru the canal. Have a few questions: what is the free specialty dining promo and is it a good choice(we don't drink very much) , and since the Star is an older ship with mixed reviews, would you recommend it for a 2 week cruise?

 

Thanks in advance for any guidance

 

 

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[ColinIllinois]

For all the details of the dining promo simply click on it to read the Terms/Conditions:

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-deals/choice

 

It's a good choice if you aren't a drinker and don't want the beverage package.

Edited September 27, 2016 by ColinIllinois

[rjrpar]

For all the details of the dining promo simple click on it to read the Terms/Conditions:

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-deals/choice

 

It's a good choice if you aren't a drinker and don't want the beverage package.

 

 

Thanks, my wife drinks soda and I have 2-3 beers each day. Need to do the math

 

 

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[jpcdds6]

The Star is a nice ship. Dawn class. It went through a refurb in 2015. Was on her last January in an Aft corner suite. Great crew, and the food was good. Both MDR's were nice, and the specialties were great. One of the best Cagney's I have visited.

[Até]

We are frequent cruisers, usually RCCL and Celebrity, but have never sailed on NCL. Thinking of booking the Star for February, 2018 for 14 days from LA to Miami, thru the canal. Have a few questions: what is the free specialty dining promo and is it a good choice(we don't drink very much) , and since the Star is an older ship with mixed reviews, would you recommend it for a 2 week cruise?

 

Thanks in advance for any guidance

 

The current offer of pre-paid gratuities is a very good offer that will save you $378. The "free" beverage package will cost you about $400 in mandatory gratuities so break even is at about one drink per day. Savings only start on your second drink per day. If you don't plan on drinking that much alcohol it is not a good choice. Check out NCL's drink prices before you answer. The "free" four meal dining package has a value of $84 per person and you will have to pay an up front 18% gratuity for that also. Internet promotion value is $125 and shore excursion value is pretty straight forward other than it's up to four ports, per cabin and cannot be combined all at one port. Only you can decide what is better for you.

 

I like the Star, a bit worn in some areas even after the refurb. No big slides or ropes course, no major productions and fewer activities than on the mega ships - often this equals less kids. Nice size ship, room sizes & balcony size seem better than new ships. Observation deck was turned into suites so on-deck viewing areas get crowded. They might let you on the bow for the canal crossing.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Até

[rjrpar]

The current offer of pre-paid gratuities is a very good offer that will save you $378. The "free" beverage package will cost you about $400 in mandatory gratuities so break even is at about one drink per day. Savings only start on your second drink per day. If you don't plan on drinking that much alcohol it is not a good choice. Check out NCL's drink prices before you answer. The "free" four meal dining package has a value of $84 per person and you will have to pay an up front 18% gratuity for that also. Internet promotion value is $125 and shore excursion value is pretty straight forward other than it's up to four ports, per cabin and cannot be combined all at one port. Only you can decide what is better for you.

 

I like the Star, a bit worn in some areas even after the refurb. No big slides or ropes course, no major productions and fewer activities than on the mega ships - often this equals less kids. Nice size ship, room sizes & balcony size seem better than new ships. Observation deck was turned into suites so on-deck viewing areas get crowded. They might let you on the bow for the canal crossing.

 

 

Thanks, good info. Is there an evening show most nights in the main theatre?

 

 

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[bonitaly]

We were in an AFT Suite to Alaska in 2010. Absolutely loved it. So relaxing and we felt very regal and pampered in our first of several suites. We would highly recommend the ship the crew and the AFT suite. Hope you enjoy whatever you choose. We are HUGE NCL FANS. Love the relaxation of the freestyle and relaxation is what we crave on our vacations. We work very hard for our paychecks and have never regretted spending it with NCL every single year. Our goal is to go on every NCL ship. So far...

 

STAR

JEWEL twice

SPIRIT

GETAWAY twice

EPIC

SKY

 

Booked very soon on the Gem, Breakaway, Dawn, Jade,

[mmeoww]

We have been on the Star many times, once through the canal and most recently for 14 days on a transatlantic. As another poster mentioned we were disappointed years ago when the observation lounge was converted to suites, however, that hasn't really impacted our enjoyment of our cruises, perhaps because we always book a balcony. There was a show every night in the theatre - usually at 7:30 and 9:30 but due to the low passenger count on the transatlantic they only did one at 7:30.

 

Our favorite thing has always been the crew and staff, I'm not sure if it's the smaller size ship or just we've always gotten lucky but they have always really had great attitudes and made our trip so fun. We thought the dining promo was nice - even though we are fine with main dining room food it's fun to add on variety with Teppanyaki and Moderno (our two favorites last time, although Cagney's is right up there too).

 

Happy traveling!

 

 

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[rjrpar]

We have been on the Star many times, once through the canal and most recently for 14 days on a transatlantic. As another poster mentioned we were disappointed years ago when the observation lounge was converted to suites, however, that hasn't really impacted our enjoyment of our cruises, perhaps because we always book a balcony. There was a show every night in the theatre - usually at 7:30 and 9:30 but due to the low passenger count on the transatlantic they only did one at 7:30.

 

Our favorite thing has always been the crew and staff, I'm not sure if it's the smaller size ship or just we've always gotten lucky but they have always really had great attitudes and made our trip so fun. We thought the dining promo was nice - even though we are fine with main dining room food it's fun to add on variety with Teppanyaki and Moderno (our two favorites last time, although Cagney's is right up there too).

 

Happy traveling!

 

 

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Thanks

 

 

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[rjrpar]

With the positive feedback, we booked the cruise today. Went with a mid ship balcony and felt we got very good value. Thanks everyone

 

 

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