NCL Star Review- Jan 4-12

[hova]

Embarkation - No problems getting on the ship, we had a total wait time of about 90 minutes. All the staff was friendly and helpful.

 

Debarkation - Getting off the ship took about 30 minutes ( we had express debarkation due to early flight home), but, once we were off the ship, getting a taxi to the airport took a long time and there was mass confusion as there was about 100 people waiting and very few taxis. I’m sure that this was no fault of NCL, but the people who run the facilities at the pier need to make a better process for handling this. I probably was a little cranky because the last night at sea, we had 6-12 waves, and I wasn’t feeling very good. In fact it took me 2-3 days to recover.

 

Overall - The ship was well laid out, nicely decorated and very clean. The crew was friendly and really seemed to care that you had a great vacation. We had two rooms on deck 11, one for the kids and one for ourselves. We found the rooms a little crowded, and am really glad we got the extra one. I don’t know how you could put four people in one of those rooms and survive the week!

I am now a fan of free-style cruising and really wonder how I will adjust to mandatory meal times when I cruise other lines. Our family takes in a lot of activities on and off the ship, and need a lot of flexibility when it comes to meals.

 

Facilities (Theatres, pools, etc) – We really like the facilities on the ship. Lots of bars, restaurants, clubs, etc. with minimal line-ups. The only complaint was the seating in the main show lounge. I kept sliding out of the seats, at first I thought that the seat was broken, but soon discovered that all the seats were bad. NCL really should replace or make some adjustments, as I heard a lot of complaints.

 

Restaurants-

Versailles and Aqua (Main restaurants) - The food, service and décor was all great. We did prefer the Versailles over the Aqua because of all the windows and the atmosphere was more appealing to us.

 

La Trattoria and Endless Summer - We weren’t impressed by these two restaurants. Even though they were included, reservations were needed. We did enjoy the appetizers and desserts at these two locations, but the main course was a disappointment. Overall, we were not impressed with these two restaurants.

 

Blue Lagoon and Market Café – The Market Café (buffet) seemed average, and we only ate the odd breakfast there. Overall, it seemed to do the job and our kids enjoyed it. The Blue Lagoon was one of our favorites; we seemed to eat lunch there whenever we could. They have awesome fish and chips and potato skins.

 

Extra Charge Restaurants – We had meals at Le Bistro, Tappenyaki, and Cagneys. All three meals were great, and the best meals of the whole cruise. I really recommend that everyone try to visit these restaurants, even with the extra charge. The service at these restaurants is really great also.

 

Entertainment - Overall the main theatre acts were a disappointment. After reading all the reviews and how great the shows were, we expected more.

 

Dave Heenan (Comedian) – We enjoyed the show, and even went to his other shows in the Spinnaker lounge.

 

Ships Crew (Dancers and Singers)– We enjoyed the first two nights with these dancers/singers, but when they appeared with the acrobats on Cirque Pacific evening, we thought that there portion was a distraction from the main event. We really enjoyed the Chinese Acrobats however.

 

Matthew Fallon (Magician) – We were disappointed with the Magician. We thought that the magic tricks weren’t that impressive. The rest of the show which involved his wife performing acrobatics was also a disappointment.

 

Travis Cloer (Singer) – The singer was very talented, unfortunately, he didn’t sing anything modern, and we quickly lost interest.

 

Cruise Staff – We participated in several of the activities that the cruise staff put on. Most were well organized, and fun to participate in. Once exception to this, is that any events that the Assistant Cruise Director (Tommy) hosted, seemed to be less fun, and not as well organized.

The Newly Wed game and Liars club were a blast. Make sure you get their early as all the seats fill up early.

 

Kids clubs – We had one child in the 10-12 year old kids club. She loved it, and insisted on going whenever she could. The days we were at sea, she was there for 9 hours, and this gave the opportunity to do things like the art auctions or casino. We also have a 15 year old, and he did participate in the teen club, but I think that it was more of a meeting place to meet up with his new friends so they could go off and do their own thing. After our last cruise with Holland America, and the lack of children on board (my son was the only teenager), it was nice to have the 320 kids aboard the ship and the very good organized activities.

 

Ports:

Manzanillo – We spent the day at Playa Audiencia. This was a busy beach about a 10 minute taxi ride from the ship. Our favorite beach of the vacation, and well worth the effort to get there. The vendors didn’t bother you much, and there was some shopping available right on the beach.

 

Puerto Vallarta – Spent the day on the beach at the Krystal resort. This resort is an easy walk from the cruise ship terminal. Drink prices are a little inflated, but, they allow you to use their facilities in exchange. The beach is nice, although the water can get a little rough. There is some good shopping right where the ship docks, or if you wish, there is a Wal-Mart a block or so away.

 

Mazatlan – We went horse back riding with Randi, and our whole family had a great time. Even our 15 year old who doesn’t like anything had a great time, and said it was his favorite part of the cruise. We had some food and drinks with Randi at Victors on the beach after riding, everything was really good, and the prices are very reasonable. (Thanks to Angel for her constant rave reviews on Randi’s as it really talked us into trying it).

After we got back to the ship, we still had time to go downtown, so we took a taxi to the main market ( this market is more for the local people as there was plenty of fresh fish and meat stalls there, including pigs heads etc.), and then walked over to the Cathedral and the Theatre. We recommend that you go to the Cathedral if you have a chance, as it’s very impressive. Overall, Mazatlan was our favorite stop on the cruise.

 

Cabo San Lucas – We took a glass bottom boat ride to the Arch and Lovers Beach, the tour is inexpensive, only takes an hour and we recommend it. We then walked down the mall for some shopping. Cabo is very different from the other ports, and is interesting to explore.

 

Dislikes - We did have a few things that we thought could have been improved such as more tables and seating at Blue Lagoon, as this restaurant was busy during the day, and of course those nasty seats in the main theatre. Still wished we could have made it to Acapulco, but, the two “new” ports were very good. A little more time in Cabo would have been nice though. Also, we thought drink prices were pretty expensive, so, I would usually wait until I was at port before I had any.

 

The last two things aren’t a fault of the ship, but of some inconsiderate passengers.

It seemed that after every show started in the main theatre, there were latecomers who ended up disturbing everyone else, while they tried to get a seat in the middle of the aisle, therefore making everyone stand up to give them room to get in. Really…. Is it that hard for people to show up on time for a show, or do they enjoy disturbing everyone else while they get to an open seat.

And the last item that bothered us was the Chocoholic buffet. The people in the front of the lineup took such big plates full of chocolate, that by the time we got to the chocolate, there were only a couple of choices left. This would be ok, but, I seen several plates of leftover chocolate left on the tables as people took more than they could eat. Jeez…. How much chocolate do you need at midnight anyways?

 

Likes – Definitely Free-style cruising is the best; to go to any restaurant on your own time is great. We also enjoyed the casino, art auctions and the events that the cruise staff hosted. Kids club was also enjoyed. Perhaps we enjoyed the evening piano player at Gatsby’s the most; he could play/sing anything from classical to Led Zeppelin. The ship itself is very nice with everything you need.

 

Well that’s my review, mostly positive. I expect that I will be cruising with NCL again, but would like to try RCL first. We do know that we prefer NCL over Carnival and Holland America.

 

hova

[Hikini]

Thanks for your honest opinion of this great ship. We sailed on the Star in June of 2004 and are going on her again this coming June.

 

I whole heartedly agree with your assessment of the Blue Lagoon - we LOVED the fish and chips. And yes, it would be nice if it had a few more seats in there, but we really didn't have any trouble finding a table anytime we needed a snack from there.

 

I wonder if the seats in the Stardust have broken down a bit or something since our last cruise on the Star, because we didn't find them to be uncomfortable or sloping forward, but I've read several who have complained about that recently. Hope they fix it soon!

 

Hikini:D

[lisabrooke1130]

Thank you Hova. We are sailing the Star on 4/10 and it will be our first time with the freestyle dining. I am worried I won't like it (I like developing the relationship with the waiter/asst. waiter over the week and not having to think about when/where to eat), but it sounds like it worked for you.

[cruzzer]

Thanks Hova for the wonderful review. We sail away on Dec. 1, and are looking forward getting on a ship again.

You did a great job!

L

[immargaret]

Great review, thanks for taking the time. I do agree with both of your complaints, most of the time we ended up taking our fish and chips to our balcony to eat... they didn't mind wrapping them to go for us.

 

:)

[tequilamary]

Thanks so much for the review. Sounds like you had a good time. We are looking forward to our cruise next month. Lynn:)

[judyf]

Nice review of the Star and the ports. Sounds like you had a good cruise. I love freestyle and that's one of the reasons I lean towards NCL when I can.

 

One question in Cabo did you did a ship excursion or on your own?

 

Your comment on latecomers disturbing everyone else while they get to an open seat. Part of the problem with this is freestyle, some don't plan the time they dine with the show. This was the hardest part of freestyle for me. The first time it was hard to decide what time to make ressies to still get to the show in time.

 

Plus I find this a problem just going to a local movie, the ones that arrive first set in the asile seat and then everyone else has to climb over them to get to a seat, cause half the time they don't even stand up for you to get to the 8 seats past them. This is a pet peeve of mine. We always arrive early and take the seats close to the wall and watch everyone else just seat in the first two asile seats. I hate to climb over rude people and then they give you the aditude and they're the ones that picked those two seats and left 8 empty on the other side of them.

 

Off my saop box now. That's for taking the time to post a review.

[hova]

One question in Cabo did you did a ship excursion or on your own?

QUOTE]

 

No, we didn't book any excursions through the ship. We thought they were overpriced, and prefer to go in much smaller groups on our schedule.

As for Cabo, as soon as you hit land, you will be bombarded with vendors selling you everything from Whale Watching, Glass bottom boat rides, etc.

Our tour cost us $10 each, for about one hour (child was free). The boat held about 20 people, and we really enjoyed. it.

See link below for our photos.

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/ghovanak

 

hova

[judyf]

Thanks I always book tours on my own also.

 

Thanks for the info and posting the pictures. But this is what I get when I go to look at them No albums are available for public display.

[hova]

Thanks I always book tours on my own also.

 

Thanks for the info and posting the pictures. But this is what I get when I go to look at them No albums are available for public display.

 

My apologies.... try this link

 

http://community.webshots.com/album/543375186QkNlEe

 

hova

[judyf]

Thanks for posting the pictures they are great!