Live from the NCL Star July 23-August 15, 2023. Will I survive 23 days without the beverage package?

[www3traveler]

1 minute ago, YVRteacher said:

Would now be a good time for me to tell you that there are toenail clippings on the carpet in the new cabin?

 

There are toenail clippings on the carpet of the new cabin.

 

Would this also be a good time to tell you that when I went to the Cruise Next desk today to register for the Behind the Scenes tour she told me it was full?

 

Would now be a good time for me to tell you that the room steward said that since I am back to back I don’t get the Diamond Latitudes coupon book for the two free meals and the laundry.

 

Would now be a good time to tell you that there were no chocolate covered strawberries and Flow Water boxes delivered today? Nothing.

I was hoping that this cruise would be better. WOW!!!  This is ridiculous!!!

BIG BIG BIG BIG HUG

Love and prayers

[Tyskie]

OMG, this is so terrible - almost to the point of jumping ship and taking the loss (win would be more like it) for the second half. 😮😢

 

My heart aches for you, this is not vacation.  Sending HUGS too!

[QuattroRomeo]

16 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Would now be a good time for me to tell you that there are toenail clippings on the carpet in the new cabin?

 

There are toenail clippings on the carpet of the new cabin.

 

Would this also be a good time to tell you that when I went to the Cruise Next desk today to register for the Behind the Scenes tour she told me it was full?

 

Would now be a good time for me to tell you that the room steward said that since I am back to back I don’t get the Diamond Latitudes coupon book for the two free meals and the laundry.

 

Would now be a good time to tell you that there were no chocolate covered strawberries and Flow Water boxes delivered today? Nothing.

☹️

[lgdesign]

22 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Would now be a good time for me to tell you that the room steward said that since I am back to back I don’t get the Diamond Latitudes coupon book for the two free meals and the laundry.

 

Is this really true (perhaps the steward is as misinformed as the chefs/cooks are inept?) and confirmed by the Cruise Next desk?  Are your B2B cruises under one reservation number or two?

 

I would love to know as I have a B2B (two separate reservation numbers) in Nov and was expecting laundry and specialty dining coupons for the second leg as well as the first.

 

 

[candygirl27540]

2 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Grilled cheese sandwich. Bread, cheese, butter. Simple and delicious, right?

 

I ordered a grilled cheese once back on board from a fantastic day in Tromsø. This arrived:

 

 

This photo has not been altered in any way. This is what I was served.  You bet I asked for the Restaurant Manager to come and take a look.  I think he almost cried! I also showed him my omelette from this morning. He said “it looks like they didn’t care.” 

 

On the behind the scene tour I remember seeing pictures of all the food served for various venues. I doubt that is one of the pictures! 

[InfrequentPNWCruiser]

This is a separate cruise so everything should reset. Guess everyone doesn't seem to care or is just phoning it in. Apparently everything has as the food is back to its laughable state. I'd hate to have to start all over with people after being through the last cruise.

[ceilidh1]

2 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Grilled cheese sandwich. Bread, cheese, butter. Simple and delicious, right?

 

I ordered a grilled cheese once back on board from a fantastic day in Tromsø. This arrived:

 

 

This photo has not been altered in any way. This is what I was served.  You bet I asked for the Restaurant Manager to come and take a look.  I think he almost cried! I also showed him my omelette from this morning. He said “it looks like they didn’t care.” 

 

It almost looks as if it were dropped and scooped back up. I'm glad you refused to accept it.

[lgdesign]

4 minutes ago, candygirl27540 said:

On the behind the scene tour I remember seeing pictures of all the food served for various venues. I doubt that is one of the pictures! 

It's in the section called "What to never to serve" or "How NOT to make a grilled cheese (or Reuben) sandwich".

 

 

 

 

[QuattroRomeo]

Yikes.The sandwich 'presentation' reeks of employee sabotage to me; no crew member would serve themselves that mess! Perhaps the waiters are too scared to say anything let alone return it to the kitchen..the Food and Beverage Director and Executive Housekeeper clearly have insufficient, if any, quality controls in place. Maybe the General Manager is in the dark. You have every right to be disappointed with the cruise ship facilities. 

 

I am very glad you are enjoying the ports, tours and the port bakeries! Your beach glass "excursion" description was fun to read!

[Seas2mountains]

1 hour ago, bstreep said:

We are on day 3 on Spirit in Alaska.  The food here is an order of magnitude better than we had last year on the Star.  Almost excellent. And that’s in the free restaurants. On Star we resorted to specialty restaurants about 4 or 5 days in, because the food just wasn’t even “fair”.  I can’t believe the food 2 NCL ships could be so different.  

Sorry to @YVRteacherfor the hijack, but did you find Cherryl on the Spirit? I sure hope I didn’t misunderstand when her contract was ending. 

 

We are considering the Star for next June but maybe not with all these negative reports. 

[JeanKC]

Your experience on that ship is a nightmare! At least the stops have been amazing....Imagine the poor souls who are on their first cruise or first NCL cruise! At least, I guess, you have good experiences on other ships to offset this disaster but even with that, it's really just not good enough. And while many "important" people like the restaurant manager etc, meeting with you and saying the right things, it's not really translating into much action. It has definitely put me off the Star.....which is a shame as I like some of the itineraries, and I do like ships on the smaller side. Hopefully it gets better for you but I think everyone reading this live review has been hoping that for you since you boarded day 1 and our hopes have been in vain. ☹️

[Turtles06]

19 minutes ago, lgdesign said:

 

Is this really true (perhaps the steward is as misinformed as the chefs/cooks are inept?) and confirmed by the Cruise Next desk?  Are your B2B cruises under one reservation number or two?

 

I would love to know as I have a B2B (two separate reservation numbers) in Nov and was expecting laundry and specialty dining coupons for the second leg as well as the first.

 

 

It shouldn’t matter whether there are two reservation numbers or one. These are separate cruises, and anyone booked on both (whether under one booking number or two), should be getting their Latitude benefits and “Free at Sea” perks on both legs of the B2B. 

 

There’s a fairly recent thread discussing just this topic right here in the NCL forum.

 

 

[Turtles06]

@Yv0nne I’m really sorry to read of your terrible experiences on the second leg of the cruise. It’s as though all of your conversations about the problems during the first leg had never happened. The GM really needs to make all of this right. 
 

I’m glad that you have maintained your sense of humor and your ability to enjoy the ports, shore excursions, bakeries, reindeer, sea glass, and all the other things that are not controlled by NCL. 

Edited August 4, 2023 by Turtles06

[odie1024]

1 hour ago, Happy fool said:

I had a Rueben on our recent cruise on the Star. I’m not sure what the meat in it was, but it not corned beef. It was not good. 

I agree with you, we did a B2B on the Dawn in February and the first week had a fantastic Reuben, the second week I am not sure what happened but it was something gray and tasted awful. 

[Seas2mountains]

56 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Would now be a good time for me to tell you that there are toenail clippings on the carpet in the new cabin?

 

There are toenail clippings on the carpet of the new cabin.

 

Would this also be a good time to tell you that when I went to the Cruise Next desk today to register for the Behind the Scenes tour she told me it was full?

 

Would now be a good time for me to tell you that the room steward said that since I am back to back I don’t get the Diamond Latitudes coupon book for the two free meals and the laundry.

 

Would now be a good time to tell you that there were no chocolate covered strawberries and Flow Water boxes delivered today? Nothing.

Unbelievable.  I’m so sorry. Ewww, not toenails. Yuck! 

 

You have done several B2B and you have never had this happen have you?  We got all of that on the B2B on the Spirit. 
 

 

[lgdesign]

9 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

It shouldn’t matter whether there are two reservation numbers or one. These are separate cruises, and anyone booked on both (whether under one booking number or two), should be getting their Latitude benefits and “Free at Sea” perks on both legs of the B2B.

 

Completely agree... it absolutely should not matter.  Two cruises should equal two Latitudes benefits.  I was asking in case it contributed to some confusion among onboard staff.

Edited August 4, 2023 by lgdesign

[Seas2mountains]

On 8/2/2023 at 4:16 PM, YVRteacher said:

I do miss Froilan’s Matadors! For the next cruise we only have one sea day. It is port-intensive with long hours in each port. I am loving these ports so much I’m spending every moment possible exploring and taking photos (and eating cake.) There’s not enough time to enjoy the beverage package. I’m enjoying the drinks when I have them (Dinner with the Officers, Latitudes Party, Sail and Sustain, free bottle of wine with one meal) so won’t add the beverage package next cruise.
 

For how long did you live in Germany and which city?

By now, they need to give you the beverage package for free. Or a year supply of the worlds’s best Norwegian cake. I hope you can figure out a way for Dad to try that cake. 
 

I lived in the beautiful wine town of Sommerach for a little over 3 years. Sorry for the delayed response. I’m catching up. 

[LauraAnneC]

Oh wow, I didn’t think your second leg could be worse than the first but already it’s outdone itself. IMHO the Star needs to be boycotted until they improve everything on it! 
 

Here’s hoping that someone, somewhere takes note of such shoddy service, food, staff and does something about it. 
 

Sending you lots of hugs!

[Turtles06]

This may be the recent thread about B2B benefits that I had recalled. Note the advice in comment 8 about how that poster had dealt with missing benefits on the second leg. 

 

 

[bstreep]

39 minutes ago, Seas2mountains said:

Sorry to @YVRteacherfor the hijack, but did you find Cherryl on the Spirit? I sure hope I didn’t misunderstand when her contract was ending. 

 

We are considering the Star for next June but maybe not with all these negative reports. 

Yes!  This is her last cruise in this rotation. She was so excited to see us.  

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, odie1024 said:

I agree with you, we did a B2B on the Dawn in February and the first week had a fantastic Reuben, the second week I am not sure what happened but it was something gray and tasted awful. 

Some years ago, at O’Sheehans on the Jewel or the Gem, I forget which, I ordered what the menu called a “corned beef sandwich.”  Imagine my surprise when what was served to me was a Reuben, which was not listed on the menu!  I had no problem with this, as I love Reubens, and the one I was served was actually pretty good. 

 

It sounds like, across the fleet, some of the chefs and servers are unfamiliar with Reubens. That’s no excuse though, if they have it on the menu, they need to make a good one.

[www3traveler]

15 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

Some years ago, at O’Sheehans on the Jewel or the Gem, I forget which, I ordered what the menu called a “corned beef sandwich.”  Imagine my surprise when what was served to me was a Reuben, which was not listed on the menu!  I had no problem with this, as I love Reubens, and the one I was served was actually pretty good. 

 

It sounds like, across the fleet, some of the chefs and servers are unfamiliar with Reubens. That’s no excuse though, if they have it on the menu, they need to make a good one.

What she ordered was a plain grilled cheese sandwich, what she got was 3 half pieces of toast, a piece of something spread over french fries.  She showed it to the Restaurant Manger and asked him what it was-- he guessed a Reuben.  Since she does not eat meat (and he is supposed to know that), it would not have been a Reuben.  

Apparently she is going to have to endure another nightmare.

[Grimix]

Did you look for the TV cameras? They're usually behind a mirrored surface... I'm pretty sure someone has brought back an AI Allen Funt...

[Turtles06]

40 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

What she ordered was a plain grilled cheese sandwich, what she got was 3 half pieces of toast, a piece of something spread over french fries.  She showed it to the Restaurant Manger and asked him what it was-- he guessed a Reuben.  Since she does not eat meat (and he is supposed to know that), it would not have been a Reuben.  

Apparently she is going to have to endure another nightmare.

I know. I was responding to another poster. 
As for the OP’s food, it should never have been served. And the hope she is successful in nipping the nightmare in the bud. 

[insidecabin]

Another toe nail incident.

 

Since the cabin service changes cabin standards have dropped also readiness on embarkation can run late.

 

Stewards are rushed and getting sloppy.

 

We now do a thorough cabin check before moving in.

 

Find the cabin steward for corrections and our standing orders if they have not knocked off for the day.

 

If not available it's a call to housekeeping/guest services if the corrections can't wait(like a clean bathroom or a vaccum).