Review of Star to Alaska 5/28/06

[cruisetexas]

What a great review! We'll be taking our first Alaskan cruise in July on the Star. Do you remember if there was a mystery dinner onboard, and if there was, what night it was? Sounds like it might be fun. Also, which restaurant was it in? Thanks for the information....ready to hear about Victoria!

[Hikini]

I looked at the webcam yesterday morning when the Star was entering Glacier Bay and it looked to be a gorgeous day. The water was as smooth as glass and the snow capped mountains were nice and bright.

 

I can't waiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!:D

[dam1050]

I sure am enjoying this review, as well as all the pix that have been posted from so many here on the boards.

 

Does anyone happen to know if the Star has video input jack on the TV's in cabins to watch (&/or delete bad shots ;) lol) one's digital pix onboard?

 

Dave

[Hikini]

 

Does anyone happen to know if the Star has video input jack on the TV's in cabins to watch (&/or delete bad shots ;) lol) one's digital pix onboard?

 

Dave

 

The TV's did have the video unput jack, when we were on the Star in 2004. We were able to watch our videos of Glacier Bay that same evening. I was lucky enough to catch 2 major calving episodes on tape!

 

I take my laptop, so I use that for deleting bad shots on the digital camera.

[dam1050]

The TV's did have the video unput jack, when we were on the Star in 2004. We were able to watch our videos of Glacier Bay that same evening. I was lucky enough to catch 2 major calving episodes on tape!

 

Thanks for that info Hikini -- you were certainly lucky having a video to capture the wonders of the calving. It's never the same with a camera compared to a video, but still get some beautiful shots of the glaciers and all the wonders of Alaska.

 

You must be getting excited with just over a week to go !!! We're going to spend a couple days in your nice city before our cruise -- just a few weeks away ....

 

Dave

[Hikini]

Yes I am getting very excited. You would think it was our first cruise all over again!

 

I hope the weather here in Seattle is nice when you are here. I also hope it is nice for our sailaway day on the 18th. Right now it feels more like March than June!:rolleyes:

 

My brother and his family are driving up from AZ for this cruise and they've been well over 100 degrees for a few weeks down there, so this will seem very COLD to them! Heck, it seems cold to me and I live here!

[brunolvr]

What a great review! We'll be taking our first Alaskan cruise in July on the Star. Do you remember if there was a mystery dinner onboard, and if there was, what night it was? Sounds like it might be fun. Also, which restaurant was it in? Thanks for the information....ready to hear about Victoria!

In looking at the Daily's, on Tuesday there was a "Murder Mystery Sign-up" starting at 9:30 in the library. Then I see that on Wednesday at 5:00, "Murder Mystery meet--only those who signed up" in the Stardust Theater.

So, when you go, just make sure you read your Daily's to find out the specifics.

[cruisetexas]

Thanks! Our family group (sixteen of us, ranging in age from two to eight five) will watch for details. I appreciate all the information you've been able to share with us!

[brunolvr]

Friday, June 2, 2006 – Ketchikan

As we left Glacier Bay Thursday afternoon, the Captain announced that we would be tendering in Ketchikan the next morning. He indicated he was going to try to get to Ketchikan by 4:00 AM so that tendering could begin on time. By the way, the Star is scheduled to tender in Ketchikan about five times this cruise season.

It rained pretty hard Thursday night and into early Friday morning with the wind at 40 knots. Our balcony and sliding glass door were absolutely soaked! But by the time we anchored in the Tongass Narrows, though, about 6:00 AM, the rain had stopped.

Since we had an early excursion (we were to meet in the Stardust Theater at 6:30 AM), we decided on a quick breakfast in the buffet since they opened at 5:30 AM. This was our one and only meal in the Market Café and it was fine. NCL has to have the best bacon in the world! We were glad to see crew members encouraging people to “sanitize” their hands before handing over the plates and silverware. Also, there was no “self-serve” at the buffet—you were served the food you wanted and also there was someone to serve the beverages.

After sitting in the Stardust Theater until about 7:00 AM or so, we were escorted onto the tenders. It was a quick trip to the dock and then onto the awaiting buses for the various excursions.

We had decided on “Lighthouse, Eagles & Totems” since it had been recommended to us last year by the family in the cabin next to us. It was “okay” but I wouldn’t do it again. Maybe if the weather had been a little better, we would have a better opinion of it. We did see lots of eagles, eagle’s nests and slowly went by Totem Bight State Park, then out to Guard Island to see the lighthouse. But it was so windy and the water so rough that the boat was rocking severely for most of the trip. We thought it was going to tip over! Some people actually slid right off their seats and a couple were on the verge of seasickness. The boat was bouncing so much, it was almost impossible to take pictures.

We got back into Ketchikan a little after 10:00 AM and wanted to do a little shopping but the stores were absolutely packed with people, with only the Carnival Spirit and Serenade of the Sea and the Star there. Finally about 10:30 AM we decided to catch a tender and head back to the Star. I couldn’t believe how long the line was for the tenders, but because the Ryndam was getting ready to dock (about 3 hours ahead of schedule), no tendering was allowed until she was docked. We finally made it back to the Star about 11:30 AM.

At 2:00 PM under cloudy skies and the temperature around 54 degrees, the Star headed away from Ketchikan to Victoria, BC.

When we had dinner Thursday evening with Andre Paez, the Assistant Food & Beverage Director, he had recommended that we have the salmon for dinner on Friday as they were getting a load of fresh salmon while in Ketchikan. We did and it was delicious. It was some of the best salmon we’ve ever had!

The show tonight was “Cirque Pacific” which was pretty good and then it was a couple of laps around the promenade deck to get ready for the Chocoholic Buffet. We were told where to meet at 10:45 PM then promptly at 11:00 PM we were allowed a VIP viewing of the buffet. The ice sculptures were beautiful and all the exquisitely decorated chocolate “goodies” were a wonder to behold! At 11:15 PM we were told to get our plates and fill them up. There was so much to choose from, it was hard to decide what to take! Everything we sampled was delicious! We didn’t waste a bit of it!

What a way to end the day!

[Hikini]

Thanks for passing along the tip about the salmon on Friday. I wonder if that was just your week, or if it is every week? No matter; I will be ordering salmon on Friday night because that is probably my least favorite menu of the whole week.

 

Thanks for writing about your whole week - I've certainly enjoyed reading it and look forward to more!

 

Hikini:D

[swtpnk]

Many THANK YOU's to MBisson and Brnolvr...

As i have re-read my little note i sent, golly, it sounds as though im desperate for something free, as i laugh at myself:rolleyes: ... but i DO thank you so much for all your info, ya'll are GREAT people. I will look into the car rental, we did that in Hawaii last yr, had a good time then too!!! Im enjoying all the posts, and of course, all the information that Brnolvr posts. What a writer you are!!! you are very much appreciated! Cant wait to read more!! D.E.:) :D

[brunolvr]

Saturday, June 3, 2006 – Victoria, BC

Late Friday night and early Saturday were the roughest part of the trip. We had a few rain showers and on Saturday morning, the Navigational Channel (#9), indicated that the seas were rough (7.5’ to 12’ seas) with gale force winds (Force 7 wind). All through the night we felt quite a bit of movement of the ship and heard the creaking noises. My sister-in-law, among many others, was feeling the effect of the motion of the Star on Saturday morning. No breakfast for them!

By late morning, though, things had settled down and it was smooth sailing from then on. My husband went to the disembarkation talk while I did the packing. Not a fun time.:( It was hard to believe that this fantastic week full of wonderful memories was coming to a close.

We got to Victoria a little early (about 5:30 PM) but couldn’t dock as the Infinity, who was scheduled to leave at 5:00 PM, was still in our berth. So, we sat out in the harbor with the Westerdam behind us waiting for the Infinity to leave. Finally we were able to dock right beside the Sun Princess but it was around 6:30 PM or 6:45 PM before the first passengers were able to get off the ship.

Since we have been to Victoria numerous times and don’t live that far away, we didn’t plan any excursions there. We made dinner reservations for 6:00 PM at Endless Summer and had an enjoyable meal watching the passengers getting off the Star and observing the Sun Princess just across the pier.

About 7:30 PM we decided to get off the ship for a while just to walk around the pier to look at the other ships and take some pictures of the Star. Since the Star had backed into the berth, our aft cabin was up-close and personal for picture-taking. After about an hour, we got back on the Star, sat on our balcony and watched a beautiful sunset as passengers started to return from their various excursions. Then as it got dark, we did some wandering around the Star one last time. We were in bed by 11:00 PM and didn’t hear a thing (even with our balcony door open) as we left Victoria, presumably at midnight.

[brunolvr]

Sunday, June 4, 2006 – Seattle

Around 5:30 AM we were entering Elliott Bay with the Sun Princess close beside us. It was foggy and raining lightly in Seattle. By a little after 6:00 AM we were docked.

At 6:30 AM we went to Versailles for our last meal aboard and were not disappointed. The French toast with bacon is simply delicious! If you’re really hungry, just ask for a double portion.

At 7:30 AM, they announced that passengers who had registered as “Express Walk Off” could begin disembarking. To do this, you must carry all of your own luggage as you get off the ship.

Regular debarkation is done by decks, starting at Deck 11 (at approximately 8:35 AM) and working down to Decks 4, 5, & 6 (at approximately 9:45 AM). Everyone must be off the ship by 10:00 AM. However, my brother was on Deck 8, scheduled to get off at 9:35 AM and they were off by 9:00 AM.

Since we were in a suite, we were given the option of VIP debarkation. We

were to meet Alex, our concierge, at 8:00 AM, and we would be given priority disembarkation. Normally we like to stay on the ship as long as possible, but since my husband was leaving on a business trip early Monday morning, we decided to get off early this time. About 8:15 AM we were escorted off the ship by Alex right thorough immigration, picked up our luggage in a special holding area and handed customs our custom declarations as we walked out of the terminal. It was quick and easy! We walked across the sky bridge to the parking garage, found our car and off we went. We were home by 9:15 AM.

A big thank you to all the crew members of the Star and all of our cruise critic friends who helped to make this a fantastic, unforgettable cruise!:)

[marilynd]

WOW !!! What a great review. Makes me really excited for my Alaska cruise on the Star in just 28 days !!!!!!!! Just marked the Friday of the cruise on my calendar as Salmon night, thanks for the hint.

 

 

Glad to hear you had such a great time.

[TxLnghrnz]

WOW !!! What a great review. Makes me really excited for my Alaska cruise on the Star in just 28 days !!!!!!!! Just marked the Friday of the cruise on my calendar as Salmon night, thanks for the hint.

 

Why wait until Friday for the Salmon? We were glad it was available on each night's menu as an "always available" selection.

 

We often ordered the salmon steak in addition to our nightly entree and it was always outstanding. My partner doesn't like fish too much and fell in love with salmon on this cruise... Now, come to think of it...that could be why each in our group gained "a little" weight! The NCL Sun's stop in Ketchikan was on Monday, so maybe that's why it was fresh all week!

 

There are menus posted on the site shown below my signature, if you want to see what else is available throughout the week. Have a great cruise!

[mbisson]

Why wait until Friday for the Salmon? We were glad it was available on each night's menu as an "always available" selection.

 

And that's a delicious suggestion ;)

 

-Monte

[brunolvr]

WOW !!! What a great review. Makes me really excited for my Alaska cruise on the Star in just 28 days !!!!!!!! Just marked the Friday of the cruise on my calendar as Salmon night, thanks for the hint.

 

 

Glad to hear you had such a great time.

Marilynd, I know you'll have a great cruise.

There was so much good food to choose from, some nights it was hard deciding what to order. Don't be afraid to experiment and try some new dishes. We're not the gourmet-type, but found it fun trying new things. A lot of their salads did not appeal to me, but the Caesar salad is available every night for dinner and it's delicious!:D