Norwegian Star to Mexican Riviera 4/1 - 4/8/2018

[InfrequentPNWCruiser]

It had been 20 years since our first cruise, but we wanted to do things differently and NCL seemed to fit that bill. Overall, we felt it was an excellent value for the cost all around - eating, drinking, excursions, cabin, etc. I still have the paperwork from that first cruise and this one was longer with more people and as a cost per day the NCL was much less in today's dollars.

 

We flew in to LAX a day early, stayed at the Embassy Suites North which was a quick shuttle from the airport. The hotel has a restaurant and a great breakfast buffet which is helpful as food options are lacking in the airport area. I had reserved a car from NCL's site (Groundlink) which came on time and drove us to the port (10:30 AM) without the typical taxi hassle or having to go back to LAX and use the NCL transfer. Luggage handling at the port was a bit of a zoo but went smoothly. The check-in wait was a bit long but the lines moved steadily. Our check-in took a bit longer as we had gotten upgraded to a mini-suite a few days before we sailed, so all of the key cards and other paperwork had to be redone. Boarding started early around 11:30 which meant more standing in slow moving lines, but again not unexpected.

 

The larger room was well worth the extra space around the sofa bed (we had 3 in the room) plus the larger bathroom. Plenty of space to store the contents of four suitcases (they fit under the bed) in drawers or shelves. The minibar was empty on arrival so we didn't have to ask to clean it out (although it could only store a couple 1L water bottles in addition to some milk cartons and the plate of strawberries we had ordered). The bathroom was spacious - enough room to store stuff. The step into the tub was high - you had to be careful not to catch a toe. The liquid soap, body wash, and shampoo all worked well and were kept full along with all of the towels that were needed.

 

This cabin was right off of the aft elevator bank which never bothered us or traffic going to or from the spa. The only noise overhead was the occasional kids running down the hall to the Splash Zone - never heard anyone going the other way into the buffet. Very convenient location to get to Versailles MDR or to Spinnaker - just take the stairs which are right there .About a 60 second walk to the buffet - which could be a bad thing if don't want the temptation :). Going forward it was easier to walk on deck 11 then drop down on the midship stairs or elevators. we got pretty good on stair stamina going from 4 to 12 or 11 to 7 - could beat the elevators up or down as they stop almost every floor - so if you can, take the stairs.

 

We ate in the Versailles MDR on the first day for lunch and the next day, and that's about all we could stand - the lunch service or food just wasn't that good. However, the dinner food and service was much better. I had reserved times for dinner each night, but we only ended up using about half - either replaced it with a specialty restaurant, or went earlier. We hit Cagney's on the first night, which was ok - the filet mignon was not melt-in your mouth as it should be from a land-based steakhouse, but again the cost was only about half of the land based. The rib-eye steak was excellent though. Overall it was ok, but not up to the par of Le Bistro.

 

I would say that Le Bistro blew us away on the food, ambiance, service you name it. We really had no interest in it pre-cruise, as French is not our go-to choice, but I'd eat there every night if we could- we scored a couple 5:30 reservations (Tuesday and Saturday) on board though the iConcierge app by keeping an eye on it. We talked to other diners and they agreed that this was in a class by itself (Cagneys, La Cucina were rated as just ok on the Star).

 

The iConcierge app worked well - more than I was expecting it to. Once we got it registered it worked on all of our Android phones . A couple times messages were delayed but it worked well throughout the cruise. The account review section is so-so as the activity posted changes frequently, my be wrong, or duplicated - its just best to request a paper statement every couple days.

 

The buffet was the preferred breakfast choice (who knew that pickled herring and eggs is a great combination :) ) , but we did get the complimentary room service couple times which came as ordered and on time. We did the buffet once for lunch - only because we tended to eat too much. It was convenient to hit for a late dessert run back to the cabin which lots of tasty choices (lots of apricot fillings though which seemed to overwhelm the rest of the plate). The standard coffee was great - no real need to "upgrade" at the Java Cafe. It was interesting to note that the Lavazza coffee ordered as part of a meal in the MDR never ended up on the final bill - I guess it was overlooked (we had one drink in Spinnaker that never was carded either)? Another good food location is The Grill on the pool deck for a simple breakfast in the morning (not busy at all). Burgers and hot dogs were fantastic at lunch time - which was never busy even with a full deck - seating was a good place to play games. The ice cream line was longer than the drink line on most days (which wasn't much of a wait ) .They could use a better cooling system for the ice cream - it tended to be too melty.

 

The CC meet and greet went well although only about 12 of us showed up and the slot pull ended up about a couple dollars short of the initial buy-in , but definitely fun. One thing I like about the Star is that it is big enough to have enough activities but not so much to get lost on and the ability to run into the CC meet and greet attendees (and others) all cruise long - very personable.

 

The staff was friendly from the maintenance workers, to the servers and to the senior officers including the captain who I ran across on my early morning walks on deck 13 or in the evening on the promenade (deck 7) (I logged almost 5 miles day just walking around the ship plus umpteen stair flights). No sourpusses on this voyage! We had an excellent room steward who kept the ice bucket full and the towel animals coming plus made up and put away the sofa bed every night.

 

There was always something to do and we got plenty exercise especially going up/down stairs (much faster than the elevators) or traveling between the Stardust theater and the Spinnaker Lounge on each end of the ship (fastest route is to take the Promenade deck versus lines of people on the inside). Shows and events were really good. Deal or No Deal (we scored a number of cash wins, photos and pulltabs along the way) is a better deal than bingo which is pretty costly for 3 games although the staff does make it fun so it works out to a good value for the time spent. There were servers working the events in the lounges so no bar waits were necessary. we had purchased soda packages which we could have done without - we're not big drinkers (we paid for the few individually).

 

Shore excursions were great - The itinerary change (as the ship couldn't travel as fast as desired so Cabo was moved to Tuesday instead of Friday) blew away the Cabo excursions - which we replaced with better ones. Oddly enough we ended up getting tickets for the original ones anyway which we had to cancel again - the corporate NCL email said that the Cabo's were all cancelled but they ended up being rescheduled on the ship like the Puerto Vallarta ones - so not very consistent. The Baja Highlights tour gave a good introduction to the area especially with our tour guide ("Memo") who gave lots of insights and history of the area. Our Puerto Vallarta tour to Yeplata was fantastic - lots of things to do (we didnt snorkel or kayak) - got to see another side of Mexico on the waterfall hike (need to like steep and have a good gripping sole) plus Chai and the crew of Boat #5 kepts us well entertained and with a good lunch and drinks along the way. In Mazatlan - we just got a taxi to take us to the downtown market ($7) and we wandered around - completely different than the other cities and more enjoyable mixing in the hustle and bustle.

 

Debarkation was more or less on time - mostly in lines waiting to get into Customs - but once in it was like 10 min to the bus back to LAX. Our flight was not until 5 PM so we had to wait around for 90 minutes or so in some of the few chairs that exist on on the streetside until we got within 4hrs so we could check the luggage.

 

The cruise was fun - I think we'll do NCL again - but probably in Europe somewhere for the next one...but less than 20 years though:)

[shadowmeboy]

Great review! Thank you for taking the time to share!

[Love Blue]

We cruised in early March on the Star and had Memo as our tour guide in Cabo for the Todos Santos excursion, which was excellent. He recommended the margaritas across the street from Hotel California and we were not disappointed!

[BirdTravels]

Thanks very much for a comprehensive review! Did they tell you why the ship was moving slower than planned (causing the port schedule changes)?

[InfrequentPNWCruiser]

Thanks very much for a comprehensive review! Did they tell you why the ship was moving slower than planned (causing the port schedule changes)?

 

The initial emails did not say anything but the captain did mention in one of his early afternoon updates (I think on Monday) that there were engine issues restricting the speed (around 17 knots instead of the normal 24 or so). Because of the slower speed the port order needed to be changed. It all worked out well regardless. For us, it did put the intensive shore excursions back to back so when we reached Mazatlan we were kinda wiped out. I'm glad that we had opted for a DIY exploration of the city at our own pace.

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review!

[newmexicoNita]

Nice upbeat review and glad you aren't going to wait 20 years to do a med cruise. ;p You started your cruise out perfectly with a night at Embassy Suites. We always try and stay at one if we can.

[jdvmd]

Thanks for your comments! Isn't Le Bistro great? I, like you, could eat there every night.

[InfrequentPNWCruiser]

Nice upbeat review and glad you aren't going to wait 20 years to do a med cruise. ;p You started your cruise out perfectly with a night at Embassy Suites. We always try and stay at one if we can.

 

Thanks! We even took one for the team and let our adult daughter sleep on the bed while we took the sofa bed as we figured she was going to get the sofa bed for the next 7 nights. Staying in a nice place to kick it off was a good choice - it was more than I would typically pay for a room , but hey, we were going to splurge here and there - its a vacation after all.

 

I wasn't going to let the little things interrupt our experience, although I did witness a few folks trying to get too wound up over petty items (most of these were the result of too much alcohol). I had some strawberries go awry probably because of the late upgrade (we also "got" the sparkling wine from what would have been the original occupants of the mini-suite. We even had a thermostat malfunction. Everything was fixed with quick trips/calls to the Guest Services desk - they followed up with calls and written notes and even an extra plate of berries for the delayed arrival. Being positive, returning the smiles and saying "thank you" really goes a long way. The service was definitely impressive. We tipped servers extra and even gave more to our steward as they earned it.

[InfrequentPNWCruiser]

Thanks for your comments! Isn't Le Bistro great? I, like you, could eat there every night.

 

I don't even care for duck - but Le Bistro's was amazing - not gamy at all. The meals were better than french restaurants that I've had costing 2-3 times as much.

[Clarea]

Very nice review, thanks!

[AusQueen]

 

I would say that Le Bistro blew us away on the food, ambiance, service you name it. We really had no interest in it pre-cruise, as French is not our go-to choice, but I'd eat there every night if we could- we scored a couple 5:30 reservations (Tuesday and Saturday) on board though the iConcierge app by keeping an eye on it. We talked to other diners and they agreed that this was in a class by itself (Cagneys, La Cucina were rated as just ok on the Star).

 

 

Being positive, returning the smiles and saying "thank you" really goes a long way. The service was definitely impressive. We tipped servers extra and even gave more to our steward as they earned i

The cruise was fun - I think we'll do NCL again - but probably in Europe somewhere for the next one...but less than 20 years though:)

 

Great review ! I have been aboard NCL thrice - Star, Pearl and Jewel and hands down the best Le Bistro is the one at the Star. The one in the Jewel was the worst. Don't even waste your money on it. I have to agree Le Bistro at the Star was really really good and that is why you can get frustrated when you go to another ship to try Le Bistro.

 

Star remains our favorite ship within the NCL fleet. We had no issues with the staff etc. Our concierge was excellent and am wondering where he is now - Hanno ? Am just sad they had mechanical issues early last year. Hope they sorted that out.

 

And truth be told, Star was the only ship that we even tipped the regular staff of the restaurants at the end. Of course we tipped our concierge and the 2 other cabin staff /butler. They did a great job and should be given something for their excellent service. We were on a 21 day cruise and we felt we were truly spoiled.

Edited April 12, 2018 by AusQueen

[AusQueen]

I don't even care for duck - but Le Bistro's was amazing - not gamy at all. The meals were better than french restaurants that I've had costing 2-3 times as much.

 

Oh yes - that duck at the Le Bistro of the Star was really great. I got so frustrated when I tried it on the other ships especially at the Jewel. You are right - that restau can put some French restaus anywhere into shame.