Welcome back Star cruisers!

[seashore]

Welcome back!! Now spill the beans... How was your cruise? We all can't wait to hear about the first Mexican Riviera sailing. Tell us everything please!

Best wishes and a big thank you in advance. seashore

[shookri]

How was the maiden voyage? Im going in Nov.

[agehman1]

Please let us all know. I am booked in 3 weeks.

[cactgurl]

Just got back last night from a wonderful Mexican Riveria cruise on the beautiful Star. I'm exhausted and working from home so this will be a quick one...

 

I can't express enough how much fun this cruise was. The entire staff was great. We treated every one of the crew working on the ship as we wanted to be treated ourselves and we could tell that it was appreciated. They really work very hard and long hours and yet remain upbeat and friendly. We had Jenny and Edgar for our room stewards and they were awesome! We even got towel animals!

 

We had connecting rooms with my brother and his GF. There was a door in the rooms and also on the balcony. As soon as we got to our rooms I asked Jenny if she could have someone unlock them and someone was there within 20 minutes! It was very nice and convenient to have the doors open.

 

We were on the starboard side, mid-ship. We enjoyed beautiful sunsets and watching the coast as we left the ports. We even had dolphins frolicking in the waves while leaving Zihuatanejo! One note - we could hear the guy snoring in the room next to us. Also, there was a young child in the room above us who constantly jumped around. We tolerated it for a while, but when it continued on and on we called and they sent someone to our room who heard it first hand. He did go up and talk to them, but apparently they didn't care because it continued throughout our entire trip, early mornings...day time...late into the night. It's amazing how some people don't care...

 

The food was very good - some things better than others of course, but that's to be expected. We had ordered alcohol to our room prior to the trip and that worked out very nicely.

 

The shows were great - Shawn Farquhar, the magician; Bill Keller, the comedian; and the Jean Ann Ryan Company. We met Shawn and Bill and they were both so nice.

 

Ricky was our cruise director and Kevin was our assistant cruise director - both were great! Our cruise consultant, Chris, was also very nice.

 

We enjoyed the ports very much. Tendered into Zihuatanejo and Cabo. Be prepared for Acapulco - by the port seems to be a very poor area. The cab drivers swarm, but just make an offer and continue walking on. They will follow you and bargain with you and we always found an acceptable price. We did the shotover jet there. It was a lot of fun, but very short and the lagoon that it's on smells very bad. We had to back onboard to shower before we explored later on. We went up to Senior Frogs for a late lunch. Be prepared for very slow service. Several people had to leave without eating as it took so long. It would be nice if the longer time in port was at a different port. We enjoyed watching the cliff divers in the evening though.

 

We tendered into Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa. We took a water taxi over Playa Las Gatas beach. We enjoyed a very relaxing day at the beach. They prepared a wonder whole fish on the grill and the prices were quite reasonable!

 

We did the Canopy tour in Puero Vallarta - AWESOME!! Exhilerating! The staff guides there were humerous and fun and their upbeat and playful attitudes helped to encourage us to go through with it. Even the ride there in the back of a truck was great - over washed out dirt roads and through the back areas. One of the guides copped a ride back with us. He was full of local info so we got the added benefit of a tour guide on the ride back - bonus!!

 

My husband did a dive in Cabo and me, my brother, and his GF did the sail and snorkle excursion. A good time was had by all! We were on a catamaran - another fun crew although they played up to their favorites (two very young girls). The snorkling was just okay, but I'm a bit spoiled as I've dove in the Florida Keys, the Caribbean, and Hawaii. I also don't enjoy the "cattle" effect too much I guess. We went to Cabo Wabo for some waborita's afterwards - YUM! Stumbled back to the tender and took naps before some more good food and fun onboard.

 

I have all of the Freestyle Daily 's. Please ask if you have any questions! Oh..the chocolate buffet was on Saturday night, 11:30 PM - 12:30 PM. Long lines, but they moved pretty quickly.

 

Several areas that could be improved on: Excursion meeting areas in port - as of now they're very confusing as to where to meet and trying to follow the correct guide to your bus/taxi area. Disembarking - long, long, long line to clear immigration. A lot of people missed breakfast because they were in line and the buffet closed at 9:00 AM. It would be nice if they would keep the buffet open for longer. Then long lines to disembark once your color tag was called.

 

There's just so much to do onboard. We did quite a bit so again, please feel free to ask if you have any particular questions!

 

I know I mentioned some of the negatives, but believe me when I say that this didn't impact our overall cruise. We really had a wonderful time and made the best of those times, too.

[SweetEmi]

Cactgurl: Thank you so much for your quick review since I know you must be beat!! I'm glad I've worked things out in Acapulco with Roberto and won't have to worry about all those cab drivers!

 

In Cabo - did your husband do the 2 hour dive through the ship? I forget what it is called but my friend booked it. (maybe something like Odessey??) If so...more specifically how did he like it??

 

When was lobster night?? Formal night?? and yes, I would like a look at the Freestyle Dailies if can...

 

Again, THANKS a ton!! I'm so glad you had such a good time. I'm sure things will smooth out a little since that was their first cruise.

 

Emi

[cactgurl]

SweetEmi,

 

My hubby did the two hour certified dive, but can't remember the name. It was a 10 minute boat ride from the pier. Loved it - saw white tipped reef sharks (2), eels, an octopus, some coral, and fish.

 

If there was a lobster night we missed it as it wasn't advertised. And if it was advertised then they didn't really make it a big deal. Formal night was the second night. We ate in Versailles that night and it was very nice. We took notice that everyone was dressed to the nines! We were, too!

 

I'll try to post some photos and the daily's soon.

[Stingray77]

Hi all,

 

So we just returned yesterday and it was, indeed, quite a trip. I was really amazed at how smoothly it went given that it was the first run for this ship on this routing.

 

Since there has already been a pretty long description of the trip, I will stick to where I have updates/differences in my review.

 

First off, we were in a mini-suite on the port side of the ship, on Deck 11. The cabin stewards were beyond fantastic and, willing to do almost anything to keep us happy. Additionally, Julie, the concierge, made the trip for us by making tender reservations and dinner reservations completely hassle free. Excellent, excellent service.

 

Even though it was said before in the earlier review, I'll say it again. The magician, Shawn Farquhar is absolutely first rate. He is a world class award winning magician and it absolutely showed. Additionally, we had a special guest singer named Alfreda Gerald that absolutely took the house down with her unbelievable renditions of songs by Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, etc...

 

Now, on to the food. The Star has an amazing array of options to choose from. Many are good, but several are barely adequate. I will start with the negative: If we ever take the Star again, we would never set foot in one of the main dining rooms (Aqua/Versailles.) They are beautiful rooms but the beauty is only skin deep. My wife and I are serious about food and service and found both to be lacking here. Food was bland, often served cold, and often served late. In one case, not one item appearing on the table was as stated in the menu and the maitre d' shrugged and said that that was what was available. Even lobster night (Sat night after Cabo) was an utter failure on their part. It was understaffed and the lobster came out tasteless and barely hot. We tried these restaurants twice and felt that we had had enough.

 

That said, I would like to stress how wonderful the specialty restaurants are. Each one was innovative, delicious, and the service was top notch. Folks, don't nickel and dime yourselves. For $10-20 a person, there is no question as to the value provided in these restaurants. Eat at them and it will *make* your cruise. I know many resent the extra charge here, but these restaurants are on par with the top 10% of restaurants in a large city and are a steal at the price they charge.

 

As for ports, we had a wonderful time at all of them. With our favorites being Xihuataneho (beautiful, quaint, fishing village with lots to do and explore,) then Puerto Vallarta (art galleries and snorkeling!), Cabo (catamaran snorkeling as well, we loved it!), and then Acapulco (fun, but I would love to hear that they replaced this big city on the tour with Mazatlan or somewhere a little smaller and more manageable.)

 

Here are brief comments for all of you going on this trip re: each city:

1. Xihuatenjo: The books and others on this board are right. Don't book an excursion here. It is a fantastic town that needs no guided tour to explore. The people are wonderfull and this was the single best town for jewelry and bargaining because of the massive number of small stalls and vendors selling it.

2. Puerto Vallarta: A wonderful city with tons to explore. If you are at all interested in diving or snorkeling, skip the boat's excursions. We were dying to do the Marieta Island Eco Tour and it was cancelled by the excursion folks. At a loss, we walked off and found a stall right at the port for Chico's Dive Shop (the shop named #1 in our guide book in the city.) They took a whole boatload of us out for 1/3 of the rate charged by the boat and we all had a wonderful time. Got us back with time to spare before needing to return to the boat.

3. Acapulco: Definitely see the cliff divers and the views from high up in this town but try and use this stop to get off the boat and do something not in town. It is a crowded, touristy town (see: beachfront Wal-Mart Supercenter for an example of this) that didn't have nearly the exotic feel of the other stops. Definitely avoid the Acapulco Enigma Rally. We did this and it was money wasted. The tour stops were fun, but no lunch was offered and it was basically a guided tour in four different jeeps with no A/C under the hot summer sun. We were all dying of heat and couldn't go back early because we were tied in to the whole tour. Did I mention they also lost three girls in a jeep on this one for an hour because they made a wrong turn and no one could find them?!

4. Cabo! Fun place with lots to do. If you like snorkeling, the catamaran tour was a great value, with the best snorkeling of all the cities we went to and plenty of fun drinks to go around.

 

Let me know if you have any questions - We have tons of answers (and pictures!)

-Eric

[CalicoCat]

That was all very helpful and informative! We're sailing on Nov. 13th and we will put all of that good info to work. Thanks So Much!

 

How did you arrange to order alcohol delivered to your room before boarding? Was it reasonably priced?

 

THANK YOU!!

[SweetEmi]

Cactgurl: Oh Great!! My friend will be happy to hear about the dive! Thanks!

 

Stingray: Thank you, thank you!!!

 

So...am I understanding this right?? Lobster night and Choc buffet are both on the same night? (Sat night after Cabo?)

 

Also...did you all have a CC meeting?? How did it go??

 

When did they let you start boarding?? When was muster??

 

Thanks again!!

Emi

[Stingray77]

So...am I understanding this right?? Lobster night and Choc buffet are both on the same night? (Sat night after Cabo?)

 

Also...did you all have a CC meeting?? How did it go??

 

When did they let you start boarding?? When was muster??

 

Emi

Hi SweetEmi:

 

Yes lobster night and Chocolate buffet were the same night. I really can't stress enough what a waste of time the lobster night was. It is not worth the stress of dealing with all of those people and, to be honest, we got lobster in Cabo and Xihuatenejo that was far better and very, very reasonable. In Cabo, skip CaboWabo and try Marisco Marimba. It was in our LonelyPlanet Mexico book and it was fantastic and cheap. The tourist info booth got us there and even gave us a coupon for free drinks once we were there as well.

 

We boarded at 11:15am (unbelievably, given that we debarked yesterday at 9:15 and the boat was still packed) and muster was at 3:30, I think.

[marilynbn]

So glad to hear you had a great time on the Star. We will be sailing on her in Jan. and I am very excited! I do have a couple questions that come to mind for both of you.

 

1. What are the "Must eat at" fee'd restaurants. We need to keep the extra costs down but we love good food...so help me make some choices.Is the steakhouse really worth $20 a head? We have 3.

 

2. Did you book the shotover jet on your own for $35 of go with the $75 NCL excursion?

 

3. Cactgurl what cabin did you have? Any photos? We have a cat. BB.

 

4. Did you do the NCL Canopy tour or the Veranos one?

 

5. I would love to snorkel and go to lovers beach in Cabo..best excursion or company?

 

Thanks so much for your willingness to share! We all know how vital this info can be in "making" our vacations. Marilyn ;)

[marilynd]

We finally have reviews from the Mexican Riviera cruise on the Star.

 

I'm getting excited !!! January is just so far away

 

Thanks for the great reviews and information

 

Looks like our choice for the starboard side of the ship was a good one.

 

We hadn't decided what to do at Xihuatenjo. Thanks for the "heads up", shopping in a quiant Mexican village will be great

 

cactgurl I look forward to those photos and dailys.

[marilynbn]

What hotel did you stay in pre/post cruise in LA? Marilyn

[marilynbn]

Hey Marilynd I hope we don't get mistaken for each other! ;)

 

I have "seen" your name and done a double take myself.

 

Are you cruising on Jan.8th also? Marilyn(bn)

[TamaLee]

Thanks Stingray77 and Cactgurl for your reviews. We have all be so starved for information on the Star and the MR cruise. I can't wait to see your pictures and read any additional details you have to share.

 

Marilynd - you think January's a long way away...my cruise isn't until March!

[Stingray77]

1. What are the "Must eat at" fee'd restaurants. We need to keep the extra costs down but we love good food...so help me make some choices.Is the steakhouse really worth $20 a head? We have 3.

2. Did you book the shotover jet on your own for $35 of go with the $75 NCL excursion?

5. I would love to snorkel and go to lovers beach in Cabo..best excursion or company?

Marilyn ;)

Hi Marilyn:

 

I'm not kidding about this: I would skip 1 shore excursion for your entire group if it would pay for the specialty restaurants. Almost every town (except Acapulco) had plenty to do/book right on shore for much, much cheaper. As for which restaurants are worth it, the only one we didn't hit was Cagneys. We loved Soho, the Japanese Restaurant (there are really two and you should do both: Tappenyaki (Benihana style) and regular), and Le Bistro were our favorites. (Be careful at Le Bistro - They use enough butter to choke a horse in most of the dishes!)

 

The snorkel tour that we did there skipped lover's beach as a stop, but we stopped right by it and got time to take plenty of pictures of the Arch and the walrus colony. Really neat and well worth it. I think that was the sail and snorkel to Santa Maria Cove.

[cactgurl]

Cabo was Saturday and the chocolate buffet was also Saturday night. Stingray is right - the food in the specialty restaurants was much better! We did eat in Versailles and that was okay, but very loud. We ate at Aqua after Cabo and the food was definitely not the best and it was the least favorite for all of us.

 

We didn't have a CC meeting :(.

 

We boarded around 12:00 and were in our rooms by 1:00. Very smooth and easy. Muster was at 4:00 and very quick.

 

We call NCL to order liquor prior to the cruise. Fairly expensive, but nice to have the option of a cocktail while in our room.

 

I'd like to say that the catamaran sail and snorkel was a LOT of fun overall!! The captain and his crew were a lot of fun and very nice. They made sure a good time was had by all. It really was a fun excursion and I highly recommend it!

 

As this was our first cruise, we booked all excursions through NCL. We will book less, and explore more in the future. There were a total of 14 left behind - a few at each port - and we didn't want to be a part of that total LOL!

 

Don't skip Cabo Wabo if you want a delicious marguarita! We had a lot of fun there. If we go back I would love to check out the Marisco Marimba, but I wouldn't say to skip Cabo Wabo.

 

We stayed at the Sheraton in San Pedro for two nights prior to the cruise. We took a water taxi over to Catalina while there.

[Stingray77]

Looks like our choice for the starboard side of the ship was a good one.

 

We hadn't decided what to do at Xihuatenjo. Thanks for the "heads up", shopping in a quiant Mexican village will be great

 

cactgurl I look forward to those photos and dailys.

One note on Starboard vs. Port: If you like to watch the sunset, you may find that Port is a better side. On the 8 day cruise, only the first 3 nights got starboard-side sunsets. The rest of the way, you are travelling north and only get them on the port side. However, some people like to see land the majority of the time. If that's you Starboard is a good side for that.

 

Where can I post photos of the ship, by the way?

[Stingray77]

Cabo was Saturday and the chocolate buffet was also Saturday night. Stingray is right - the food in the specialty restaurants was much better! We did eat in Versailles and that was okay, but very loud. We ate at Aqua after Cabo and the food was definitely not the best and it was the least favorite for all of us.

 

We didn't have a CC meeting :(.

 

We boarded around 12:00 and were in our rooms by 1:00. Very smooth and easy. Muster was at 4:00 and very quick.

 

We call NCL to order liquor prior to the cruise. Fairly expensive, but nice to have the option of a cocktail while in our room.

 

I'd like to say that the catamaran sail and snorkel was a LOT of fun overall!! The captain and his crew were a lot of fun and very nice. They made sure a good time was had by all. It really was a fun excursion and I highly recommend it!

 

As this was our first cruise, we booked all excursions through NCL. We will book less, and explore more in the future. There were a total of 14 left behind - a few at each port - and we didn't want to be a part of that total LOL!

 

Don't skip Cabo Wabo if you want a delicious marguarita! We had a lot of fun there. If we go back I would love to check out the Marisco Marimba, but I wouldn't say to skip Cabo Wabo.

Hi Catgurl,

 

I agree with everything you said. You are exactly right. How did you find out how many we left behind? What do those folks do?!

[SweetEmi]

Cactgurl: How did you like the Sheraton? I'm booked there too but only the night before. (Club floor)

 

Emi

[cactgurl]

A note for the starboard vs port. We enjoyed the starboard side. We have some beautiful photos of us on our balcony at sunset on formal night. We also enjoyed the sunset while leaving Puerto Vallarta due to the southwest heading :). Other nights worked out as well as we just went up on deck.

 

We ended up sharing a table with a good friend of Shawn's (the magician) so he had the inside scoop on everything so that's how we found out about those left behind. I don't know how they got back onboard, but I believe they have to fly to the next port.

[cactgurl]

SweetEmi,

 

It was very nice. We didn't stay on the club floor (no rooms available), but no complaints about 4th floor. We had a view of the Princess Saturday and then the Star on Sunday morning - totally added to the excitement!

[seashore]

Thanks to all who have posted. I feel like I am on the ship now!!! I have already decided to make a change with regard to my chosen excursions. Are any of you out there vegetarians? If so, how was the food for you?

[marilynbn]

Cactgurl and Eric:

 

Did either of you try these restaurants?

 

Endless Summer

Market Cafe

La Trattoria

Blue Lagoon

 

 

Thanks you guys are a great help!! Marilyn

[cactgurl]

Endless Summer - Didn't try it.

 

Market Cafe - By the pool. Hamburgers, hotdogs, salads, fries. Nice for a quick bite. BBQ's by the pool were pretty good - steak, ribs, and chicken were good.

 

La Trattoria - Didn't try it.

 

Blue Lagoon - All night small cafe - good chili and chicken wings - heard the tomato soup was good, too. Fish and chips weren't that great.

 

Our favorite restaurant was Le Bistro. Ginza was pretty good - some things were delicious and others just ok. Sushi was very good. You can order from Ginza, Teppanyaki, or the Sushi Bar while sitting at any of the three.

 

Aqua was our least favorite. Versailles was just okay and very loud, but the breakfast here was good. We got tired of the morning buffet - same thing every day for the most part with side stations making omeletts, waffles, etc., but with lines. FYI...you can have the omelett chef make fried eggs - just ask :).