5/12 Star Cruise Review

[vegasnvcruiser]

Our trip on the NCL Star was the 10th cruise for myself, the 5th for my DH. We are in our late 40’s and are fairly easy to entertain.

 

Tip for flying into Seattle… use the shuttle service at the airport. $14 each. Quick, efficient service to the pier. NCL did have folks there to greet us and even though we hadn’t bought transfers from them, they allowed us to drop the baggage there. In hindsight, probably wouldn’t do that again as it was late before they got to our room, even though we dropped them off there at about 10:30am!

 

Embarkation was a breeze. Walked into the pier, followed all of the friendly greeters and we were ready to go within 5 minutes. We then waited about 30 minutes until they boarded us. Drinks were provided for our comfort. On ship before noon.

 

The cabin:

We had a guaranteed balcony. Adequate storage, although they could have had more. The beds were not high enough off the floor to store luggage. Odd, never had that happen before. The bed was comfortable after we got the steward to bring us more pillows and an egg crate. We were glad we got that tidbit off of the boards here. The bathroom was not good for us. Both of us are large folks. The shower was great with a door and hand held shower head. There was no storage except for under the sink on shelves and the toilet… EEEKS! It was in it’s own little “room” that was closed off with a sliding door somewhat like the shower… except it wasn’t as wide of a door and there was no room in that place. Getting in to do your business was a challenge, and the “after business” business was near impossible. We discovered that we could bend in ways I thought no longer possible. I would NOT advise you pick this ship if you are larger or taller. The television showed CNN, ESPN, 2 movie channels and the cartoon network. Would have been nice to have the major networks since there wasn’t a lot in the area of entertainment. Refrigerator was nice, although it was filled with liquor and beer. The coffee maker was good for making decent tea. We brought along our own large glasses for iced tea!

 

The Dining:

So many choices. The buffet is laid out very strangely and was a sore spot all week. The tables are for six. There are four separate areas and finding a place to sit down is nearly impossible at noon. Go after 9:00am, 1:00pm. The rush is before those times! There are grills on either end, but the food gets cold quick in the weather we were dealing with. Must haves at the buffet at breakfast… waffles? Actually, nothing was outstanding. The omelets are prepared like crepes. Cook faster, but just not what I look for in an omelet. DH thought they were small, I thought they were tasteless. At lunch time, they will prepare cold cut sandwiches for you and there’s a stir fry guy that became my best friend. The desserts were disappointing , but an ice cream cone did the trick at the back of the boat. Flavors changed daily.

 

The main dining rooms were good for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The service was good, the food was good and you were given options of sitting by yourself or joining others. The Versailles was beautifully appointed and always offered a spectacular view. The Aqua was more “intimate”. We were always seated immediately.

 

Blue Lagoon was okay if you had some time or wanted to do a “drive by” cookie, fruit or pound cake run! Getting food off the menu took 20-30 minutes and they served it piece meal. Fries, then sandwich, and you found yourself watching your tablemates eating as you waited for your order. Try the banana “cake”, white chocolate macadamia nut cookies and fresh pears!

 

We tried La Trattoria and Endless Summer, the two free restaurants. The Italian was okay, but not what we like. The location was actually part of the buffet divided off, table clothes and chair covers thrown on. The Tex Mex didn’t thrill DH, but I enjoyed the fajitas and be sure to try the fresh berry and the chocolate cream puff dessert. We ate there twice. The first time with reservations, the second without. It was 7:20. The maitre de informed us it would be a 30 minute wait, that we really needed reservations. I asked if there was a 7:30 reservation available, which there was. I said, “we’ll take that then.” We were then seated. The guy acted like he was doing us a big favor. There were plenty of tables available. I think they actually staff the restaurants based on the reservations made.

 

We only tried 2 of the pay restaurants. Cagney’s and the Teppanyaki. Cagneys served a great steak. Everything there was tasty, so much so, we went 2 nights. $20 per person cover charge… but Happy Hour was between 8:30 and 9:30. 2 for 1 dinners, not including the specialty, higher priced entrees. Teppanyaki was more fun than anything. The food was good as well. Have the fruit dessert. $20 per person …no happy hour there though. The other specialty restaurants didn’t have anything on the menu that appealed enough to us to pay extra for it.

 

The bars.

Typical, high priced drinks. Although the smoothies at $3.50 wasn’t as pricey as other cruise lines. The soda card was a HUGE RIPOFF! DH has always purchased the drink card and was able to get his money’s worth. The staff did not like to get the sodas for him and never came back and offered refills, except for in the dining room.

 

The service.

Hit and miss. I don’t like the “service charge” as opposed to coming out and saying it’s the gratuities. We have never taken away gratuity, but often give more. We did tip extra in the restaurants but felt awkward in doing so in the dining rooms on a meal by meal basis.

 

The ports.

We loved them. The scenery was what we went for and we were richly rewarded. Each port was quaint, clean and full of gracious habitants! The first cruise we’ve been on where folks made actual honest conversation - without a hand out! Unfortunately the glaciers were “calving” and we were unable to get into the fjords like we had hoped.

 

Disembarkation.

The highly recommended “freestyle” was a mess. We did the old fashioned luggage tags, stayed in the cabin until the color before us was called, waited for the line to die down a bit with our color and then walked off the boat, found our bags and got a shuttle van to the airport in short order.

 

All in all, we won’t do NCL again anytime soon. Freestyle is not for us. Call us old fashioned, but there was something missing on this cruise. Seemed like we were nickel and dimed for everything and not a lot of activities for “out to sea” time. Luckily, the destinations made up for the cruise line’s shortcomings and having a good time was up to us, and we did enjoy it.

[Droopy_Sails]

Thanks for the review. How weird that luggage won't fit under the bed on the Star. Hadn't heard that before.

 

The question of specialty restaurant reservations keeps coming up here: "walk-in" people unable to get a table without a reservation in a half-empty restaurant. For some reason this always seems to be the Tex-Mex restaurant when reported here: Endless Summer on the Star, Tango's on the Jewel, etc.

 

Maybe someone from NCL who posts here can explain how they do the reservations and staffing for the venues that don't always fill up. Obviously it's a different situation in Le Bistro, Cagney's, etc., where reservations go quickly and tables are snapped up.

[CRUZIN TOM]

The freestyle of eating is the biggest reason why we love NCL. Having to eat at dinner at 6:30 or 8:30 just doesn't fit into our life style. We are extremely flexible. This is just what makes life wonderful about the different choices of the various cruise lines and the services they offer.:)

[nclcruiser76]

Good morning,

How early did you arrive at the cruise terminal in Seattle? I'm cruising out of Seattle in August, and I was wondering how early we could get there.

 

Thanks in advance :D

[vegasnvcruiser]

We're not quite sure of the exact time... somewhere between 11:00 and 11:30. There was very comfortable seating awaiting us, along with juice and water. Seattle is probably the best port I've gone out of. If you don't want to sit and wait, once you drop your luggage, you can always go walking down the street as it is full of shops and eateries.

[Toyz711]

we did this ship last sept...all of our luggage fit under the bed perfectly..with room to spare. didn't need the egg crates, i expected to ask for them..but we were very comfortable without them. also had a balcony room.

i loved the bathroom, hubby is larger..shower was fine, but other room was tight, but he made it work. the bathroom was so much better then any other ship we had been on.

with any buffet, one of us saves the table..the other will get starters. then we go for what we want, with one of us staying at the table. that gives us time to see what we want and where it is. it took DH once around to find all the food stations, don't know if that was because he likes food or that he has worked hotel banquets?

at meals we only tipped extra for service way up and over the normal.

at the surcharges restaurants, we tipped like a normal (at-home) dining.

never felt the "need" to tip more, just did in the aqua room, once...but the service was so great!!

we took the stuff out of the refrig, left it on one of the top shelves above. we had our own sodas and kept fruit (from the buffet) for snacks.

one of the reasons we are on a diet, right now...next trip being big is going to be a real problem. long flights on small planes and fitting into a kayak!!!

[Amcdon]

Thanks for your review. I cannot wait to see Alaska! Glad you had a good time. 18 days and counting.....

[Chipster2]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. It is always interesting to listen to others opinions and experiences.

 

We were on the Star last fall and fell in love with freestyle cruising. For us, traditional would be tough, but then again that is why there are choices.

 

Thanks again.

[Catmomma]

You mention the NCL shuttle. Did you use that after the cruise to get back to the airport as well? We are staying a few days in town before our trip in September but have not figured out how we are getting back to the airport after the cruise. Is the shuttle we can wait to book till the last minute?

 

Thank you so much for your review. It is very helpful. This will be my 2nd NCL cruise but my first Alaska trip.

[vegasnvcruiser]

We DIDN'T use NCL. We just used an independent shuttle. When you exit the facility, walk out towards the street and there are van drivers asking if you need a ride.

 

We paid $14 each going on one from the airport, and $15 each going on a different one back to the airport. About half of what NCL was charging.

 

We were told cabs were about $35-$40

[SweetpeaOne]

Thank you very much for the review of the Star. Not many people talk about the ship. We are going on our first cruise on the Star in July.

[Flipper1965]

Hubby and I cruised on the Star last month and LOVED it! This was our 5th cruise and the 1st on any NCL ship. I don't think we could ever do "traditional" cruising again! Freestyle cruising is for us! Just being able to arrive for dinner when we are ready and not on the ships schedule is the only way to go for us! Also having the option to dine alone OR join a group is nice as well. Sometime one just does not feel like making new friends and other times it may be just what you want...either way, it was nice to have the option!

 

As far as the ship itself...it was very comfortable and our stateroom was generous in size. We opted for a balcony room this time (first time) and now we are spoiled! It was so relaxing to sit on our private balcony and welcome the ports. Having breakfast, or even just morning coffee on the balcony was the perfect way to start each day for us! We highly recommend springing for a balcony cabin...it is well worth the extra cost!

 

All of the dining options satisfied us. We especially enjoyed "Aqua" for dinners. By the 2nd evening, the server had memorized our names, the wine we ordered the evening prior and the fact that I took my coffee VERY HOT. This in itself, made this one of our favorite dining options, as she did not have to make such an effort since the gratuity was a given.

 

Our cabin stewards were "Johnnies on the spot!" they were very attentive and aimed to please. They knew and used our names and went out of the way to make sure we were happy and had everything we needed/wanted. Very impressive indeed!

 

The entire ship was clean and well maintained. We especially appreciated the hand sanitizer around every turn! I am normally not one for buffets for the very reason that you can not always be sure all folks clean their hands before touching buffet utensils, plates, etc...NOT the case here, as you are forced (for lack of a better word) to do so by ship associates stationed for that very purpose.

 

The highlight of my week was in the casino where I hit on a slot machine for just over a GRAND! I was so excited and even had the good sense to take the money and run! Something I normally tend not to do! :rolleyes: I usually end up putting my winnings back in until I am back to NOTHING again! Of course, I had been playing for several hours and was nearly $400 in the red! So, this win gave me back what I had lost, plus added $600 to the deal! I would have been really angry with myself had I lost that after being smiled down upon....and would have deserved it too, had I been stupid enough to feed it all back in! :p

 

Overall, our experience aboard the Star was EXCELLENT! We could not have asked for anything more. The service, accomadations, food and everything else made for the ideal vacation. I would highly recommend NCL, or more precisely, THE STAR vessel to anyone! Above and beyond our expectations!

 

Thank you for reading!

Flipper1965