Our 5/28/06 Star Vacation (long review)

[wyboy]

Sunday Seattle:

 

After a good nights sleep and continental breakfast at the Seatac Sleep Inn hotel, we caught the 10:00am Seattle Express shuttle to the pier. The shuttle was a good bargain at $10.00 per person. After picking up a few more people, we headed for the pier and arrived at around 10:40. The porter took our check in bags as soon as we exited the van and we were directed upstairs to check in. Since we arrived so early, there were very few people so check-in went smoothly and took no more than 15 minutes to receive our ship cards and boarding numbers. Since they were still cleaning the ship, we had to wait until noon to actually board. We headed to our room and dropped off our carry-on luggage and headed to the Market Cafe on the 12th floor lunch. The buffet wasn’t spectacular, but they had a nice selection of food (pizza, stir-fry, salads, sandwiches, desserts, etc.).

 

After lunch, we decided to leave the ship to walk to Pike’s Place. As we were leaving the ship we discovered why it’s important to get to the docks early as there was a very long line of people waiting to get on board. After walking through the market, we returned to the ship and went to the mandatory lifeboat drills. Before we knew it, we were leaving Seattle. We went to the send-off BBQ on the top deck for a quick “snack”. We had the ribs, chicken and corn, which were very tasty. We decided to go to the reservation desk to check out the menus for the week. The menu for Versailles and Aqua are exactly the same. They let us take copies of the specialty restaurant menus but not the main one’s. We then explored the ship and returned to our stateroom to plan our week. After looking at the menu’s we felt the Wednesday and Thursday offerings didn’t appeal to us so we made reservations at La Trattoria and Le Bistro for those nights.

 

My only complaint is that we didn’t get our luggage until 7:00pm. I guess it was just the luck of the draw since other people on the 10th floor got their luggage earlier. We only had jeans on so we decided to wait until we got our luggage to change into our “resort casual clothes” although we saw a few people in jeans at the main dining rooms. After changing we decided to go to Aqua for dinner. The food and service were exceptional. I had one of the best slices of Prime Rib I have ever had. Cooked medium rare, it was perfectly cooked. Don’t miss the soufflé for dessert! It was so good…my wife is still craving it today. We went to sleep that night quite full and content.

 

Monday at Sea:

 

We went to breakfast at Versailles, which wasn’t the best experience of the trip. My wife is very susceptible to motion sickness and we were seated next to the big windows facing aft. We were in open-ocean and the ship was rocking slightly. To make matters worse it took about 45minutes to get my breakfast order, so by the time we finished, my wife was getting a little woosy. On hind sight, we should have asked for a table facing forward or skipped Versailles that morning. Luckily, we had been taking ginger pills which I think helped us from experiencing any major nausea. After breakfast we returned to our room to lie down until lunch.

 

After a short nap, my wife was feeling much better and we went to get a bowl of ice cream at the juice bar. We went to the basketball court to play a game of HORSE and took a brisk walk around the ship. It was formal night so we dressed up and went to dinner at Aqua where we made friends with our waitress Jennifer who served us the night before. We learned that they work at least 10 hours a day, seven days a week for 10 months straight! She also shares a small room with four other crew members. I don’t think I can complain about my work hours ever again. We definitely feel that the $10/per day tip they withhold is well deserved and tipped extra when the service warranted. I had the lobster while my wife had a steak. Once again, everything was delicious. They were also offering half off the cover charge at Ginza, SoHo and Le Bistro.

 

After dinner we went to the Spinnaker Lounge to see the Newlywed Not-So-Newlywed Game. We had some great laughs…a good way to end the evening.

 

Tuesday Juneau:

 

Had a nice breakfast of fruit, yogurt, locks and bagels at Versailles. The service was prompt and the salmon was delicious. We were sailing in the inside passage a so the seas were smooth. We headed to the Spinnaker Lounge for some comfortable sight seeing. Get there early to obtain a good seat by the window. With binoculars in hand, we saw more than a dozen humpback whales, some eagles, and lots of sea birds. We saw one whale surface right alongside of the ship. Who needs to pay for a whale watching excursion when you can see them from the leisure of your own lounge chair? Although we heard rave reviews from a couple that went whale watching with Capt Larry later that day.

 

We got to Juneau a little late. Disembarking the ship was a madhouse, with everyone trying to leave the ship through one gangway. We got caught in the mad rush and it took us nearly half an hour to finally make it off the ship. We finally got into town just before 4:00PM. We had originally planned to head up to Mendenhall Glacier and the Mt Roberts Tram, but got vetoed on the Tram as my wife wanted to get in some quality power shopping. We were able to buy bus tickets at docks to head out to Mendenhall ($12.00 roundtrip). Much cheaper than booking through the cruise line. The glacier looked to be much smaller than when I last saw it 10 years ago. My wife had never seen it before so she was pretty impressed. By the time we got back into town, we only had time for shopping. We hit practically every shop downtown and brought back some nice gifts for our relatives back home. We headed back to the ship to wash up and get ready for dinner. Since our Anniversary was coming up, NCL gave us a card to present to our waiter that night. At the end of the meal they brought out a delicious coconut cream cake and sang for us at our table. We took the cake back to our room to eat later.

 

Wednesday Skagway:

 

This was our favorite port of call. We pre-booked a Yukon horseback adventure with Southeast Tours. As we were walking towards town the train pulled away full of passengers. We checked in at 9:00 at the tour office and went shopping in town for an hour. There were about a ten of us taking this tour, eight from the Star and a couple from Malta traveling on the Serenade of the Sea. The weather started off a little cloudy, but soon cleared up and it was blue skies the rest of the way. Our driver Brian Freeman gave us some interesting facts and was quite entertaining. He also had a great eye for spotting wildlife. On the way to the Canadian border he spotted a bear on the side of the road. We pulled over and got great photos of the bear munching on dandelions no more than twenty feet from our van. We also spotted mountain goats and got great shots of the sawtooth mountains. Talk about extremes, going through the White Pass Summit we stopped to play in the snow and in Carcross stopped at their tiny desert. The horseback ride was exhilarating with breathtaking views of Emerald Lake. On the way back we stopped to take photos of two baby bears on the side of the road. Other people stopped to take photos and a few crazy ones got out of their cars! Boy if the momma bear came back they would have been in big trouble…that would have been some photo!

 

When we got into town our guide took us to this great “secret” waterfall that you can walk to. It’s right above the cemetery where the cruise tours go. The cruise ship tours don’t take people up there because of liability issues. The path is on a slight upgrade with a bit of loose gravel. It took us less than five minutes to walk up there.

 

We did a little bit more shopping, stopping at this great little store selling smoked salmon and Halibut. The proprietress had free samples of about a dozen of the different varieties of salmon and halibut products. We tasted them all and they were all good. We bought a few things and were back on the ship for dinner at La Trattoria. They do a good job at converting the buffet area into a nice restaurant. The Caesar salad and soup were good. The pasta dish my wife had and my Salmon were excellent as well. I believe we had a delicious Teramisu for dessert.

 

Thursday Glacier Bay:

 

After breakfast, we went up to deck 12 to see the glaciers. The ship does a 360 turn so that everyone gets a good look. We got great photos of the Margerie Glacier calving. Hint, there is an ice cave at the middle of the glacier with water running out and seagulls swarming about. This is the most unstable area of the glacier and where we saw numerous pieces of ice breaking off. We then went to pick up tender tickets at the reception for Ketchikan.

 

We went to dinner that night at Le Bistro. It is well worth the $15.00 cover charge. We tried all three appetizers, the Seafood Timbale, escargot, and asparagus which were all delicious. We had the French Onion soup, which was a little better than the main dining room’s version. We also tried the Spinach and Caesar salads. We each had the Filet Mignon each with a different sauce and finally the Chocolate Fondue and Mango Flambe. The Filet was cooked to perfection and the Fondue was great…not too sweet, just right. The Flambe was just so so...I guess I’m spoiled on the sweet Mango from my mom's tree back home.

 

After dinner we went to the Stardust Theater for the magic show. If there is one show you must see, it’s the magic of Shawn Farquhar. He taught David Blaine how to levitate, which he gladly demonstrated for a family after the show was over. After the show we changed into shorts and went to the gym to work off our dinner. If you use the gym, bring a pair of headphones so you can plug into the TV screens on every cardio machine.

 

Friday Ketchikan:

 

We got up early since we weren’t sure when they would call our tender number. Sure enough while we were eating breakfast they called our number. The tender went smoothly and we immediately went to the visitor’s center to pick up some walking tour maps and proceeded to see the sights. We walked to the Heritage Center, Salmon Hatchery/Raptor Center, and Dolly’s House. The Salmon Hatchery/Eagle Center was okay. They had two Eagles on display and a few hatchling salmon. It was too early to see the salmon run, I guess it would have been worth it had we come in July or August. The weather was nice a cool and amazingly, no rain. After taking the tour of the town, I bought my wife a Tanzanite pendant for our Anniversary and my mom a Topaz pendant for her birthday. The prices are decent if you shop around. The larger stores tend to have higher prices so we went to several places to compare prices before actually buying anything. You’d be surprised how mentioning a competitors price can suddenly bring about an unadvertised “sale” price.

 

The line to the tenders was very long, but NCL had several boats going to and from the ship so the wait wasn’t too bad. We had dinner at Aqua again and I believe we had the Monkfish for dinner and another soufflé for dessert. We went to see the Cirque Pacific at the Stardust. The show was okay, more dancing than acrobatics. I guess after seeing all the Cirque du Soleil shows in Vegas my expectations were a bit high. The Chinese acrobats were excellent though and balancing on a moving cruise ship is no easy feat. We missed the Liars Club in the Spinnaker, but watched the replay on the TV. It looked to be very funny and entertaining. At about 11:30PM we made our way down to the Chocoholic Buffet. There were way too many selections to fit on your plate. The ship was rocking pretty good especially in the back of the ship where the Versailles is located, so we took our plates back to our room. We put the leftovers in the refrigerator for later.

 

Saturday Victoria:

 

We got up late and kind of took it easy since we weren’t scheduled to be in Victoria until 6:00PM. After lunch we went to see Shawn Farquhar again in the Stardust to see his close up magic tricks. We went to the gym again and played a little shuffle board, then went to wash up for an early 5:00 dinner at Aqua. It was French night and had the lamb riblets. The lamb was excellent. We each had the crème caramel for dessert. We finished dinner just as we pulled to the docks. We were a little late as another ship was in our spot. Due to the time constraints, we booked the Butchart Gardens through the ship. We got on the buses at the dock and were wisked away to the Gardens. They had just replanted a lot of their flower gardens so it wasn’t in full bloom yet. Maybe in a few weeks there will be more color. Nonetheless, we had a nice time and our bus driver took us to a spot where we could view the city lights. We didn’t have much time to do anything else in Victoria. Later that night, we picked up a late night snack of fried rice and French fries at Blue Lagoon to take to our room. Earlier in the cruise we also tried the won ton soup (not bad), fish and chips (excellent) and the chili (good-kind of like Wendy’s chili). Before bed we packed up our suitcases.

 

Sunday Seattle:

 

We got up at 6:00 AM and headed to the buffet for our last breakfast. We had turned in our freestyle disembark paper the day before which allowed us to leave the ship at our leisure. After breakfast, we got our luggage, and went down the gangway to the street. Now back to the real world. We caught a taxi to the Paramount Hotel. The skuzzy taxi driver initially didn’t want to take us to the hotel when he found out we weren’t headed for the airport. Thanks to the porter and the other taxi drivers he hesitantly opened his trunk. Before we were in the taxi, I saw him turn on his timer and proceeded to stall as if waiting for traffic. Before we even left the curbside the meter was at a dollar. Other than that, we had a great time in Seattle.

 

We spent another two days in Seattle, visiting the underground tour, aquarium, Pikes Place, Space Needle, EMP, Science Fiction Museum, and the Science Center. We fed the seagulls at Ivars (the fish and chips at Blue Lagoon were better), had the sinful donuts at Top Pot donuts, and had a wonderful dinner at Ettas (loved their rub-with-love salmon). We were a bit disappointed that the monorail was broken, but the bus system is pretty good and almost everything was within walking distance. After our experience with the taxi driver, I’m glad we chose Shuttle Express to take us to the Airport. It was cheaper than a cab and we had wonderful conversation with two sisters from Nebraska.

 

I have sailed on the Holland America before and had a superb cruise, but we liked the freestyle flexibility that NCL offered. We would definitely cruise with NCL again and are looking forward to another cruise sometime in the near future.

[Hikini]

Thanks for taking the time to write this all out - it was fun to read!

 

I didn't realize you had to tender in Ketchikan. I wonder if it was just that week? Did you ever dock in Ketchikan, or was it anchored the whole time you were there?

 

Hikini:D

[mbisson]

Great review! Thanks.

 

Just an FYI and that's about the sailaway dinner. That first night NCL really doesn't bother with a "no shorts-no jeans" policy in the dining rooms at all. They realize that some may not have received their luggage yet so you won't need to wait in the future, unless you want to of course.

 

 

-Monte

[wyboy]

Thanks for taking the time to write this all out - it was fun to read!

 

I didn't realize you had to tender in Ketchikan. I wonder if it was just that week? Did you ever dock in Ketchikan, or was it anchored the whole time you were there?

 

Hikini:D

 

 

We were anchored the whole time, but the tenders were quite organized. It wasn't a mad rush to disembark like in Juneau. The line at the dock was quite long though. Hopefully you don't have to tender when you go.

[wyboy]

Great review! Thanks.

 

Just an FYI and that's about the sailaway dinner. That first night NCL really doesn't bother with a "no shorts-no jeans" policy in the dining rooms at all. They realize that some may not have received their luggage yet so you won't need to wait in the future, unless you want to of course.

 

 

-Monte

 

Thanks I'll remember that the next time we go.

[Hikini]

We were anchored the whole time, but the tenders were quite organized. It wasn't a mad rush to disembark like in Juneau. The line at the dock was quite long though. Hopefully you don't have to tender when you go.

 

I just looked at the schedule, as to which ships will be in Ketchikan the same day as we are, and we will be docked, not anchored. It looks like your sailing was one of the only times the Star has/had to anchor in Ketchikan. Luck of the draw.

 

Hikini:D

[dam1050]

It's so great that you were able to see so much wildlife as well as the calving glacier ...

 

Thanks for sharing your thoroughly enjoyable review with all of us!

 

Dave

[dwrist]

Thanks for the review. Can't wait until our turn in Aug.

[Cholita]

Thanks so much for your review! My husband and I and my parents are going on the 6/18 sailing- one more week, can't wait! I know I'm going to return home and not want to do any cooking as we will be totally spoiled in terms of the food! Can't wait to see wildlife, too! Thanks again!

[Cholita]

Hikini, are you getting really excited? One more week and we'll be on the Star! Thanks for obtaining the information as to whether we'll be docked or anchored in Ketchikan. We are doing a 7:50am excursion (Classic Tours with Lois Munsch) that we booked privately. She takes you around town in a red 57 chevy- her website is http://www.classictours.com. Anyway, thanks for all the info you've provided and continue to provide. When will your family be arriving from Arizona?

[newmexicoNita]

Thanks for your review: this is one of the best features of CC, reading reviews plus getting and giving advise prior to sailings. We too loved Skagway. It was our favorite port on our Alaskan cruise several years ago. NMnita

[mbisson]

Hikini, are you getting really excited? One more week and we'll be on the Star! Thanks for obtaining the information as to whether we'll be docked or anchored in Ketchikan. We are doing a 7:50am excursion (Classic Tours with Lois Munsch) that we booked privately. She takes you around town in a red 57 chevy- her website is http://www.classictours.com. Anyway, thanks for all the info you've provided and continue to provide. When will your family be arriving from Arizona?

 

I love '57 Chevys, so not to be splitting hairs, I looked at her website and the car in the photos there is either a 55 or 56.

 

-Monte

[Cholita]

oops, my bad! It's a 55 chevy! Can't wait to ride in it!

[Jett456]

How far to walk to Pikes Place from the ship. How much time did you have?

[wyboy]

How far to walk to Pikes Place from the ship. How much time did you have?

 

It's about a ten minutes walk there. We spent about two hours walking around before heading back to the ship. On the Western Avenue side of the market (street level) they have the fishmarkets and the flower vendors (my wife's favorite). After a quick lunch at the Market Cafe, we got off the ship at about 12:45 and got back on the ship by 3:15 for the mandatory lifeboat drills at 3:30. There is only one way on and off the ship so when leaving the ship, we had to go against the crowd of people coming on the ship, but we made it off okay. Just make sure you take your ship card and id when leaving the ship. Have fun! :)

[nurseapple]

I'm really late in finding your post but I'm glad I did!!!

Great stuff. We leave on Sunday the 9th...got some great ideas (waterfall and specialty rest. nights)

[wyboy]

Hope you have a nice trip. Alaska is such a great place to go exploring. There's so many things to do and so little time. We can't wait to go back.

[sweetpea-2]

great review and wonderful to read...sounds like a fantastic cruise you had ;)