Back from Star to Mexico - 10/04/04

[lomo]

We just returned yesterday from the Norwegian Star to Mexico and we had a great time. I had heard some negative things about NCL and the Star, so we were pleasantly surprised. I have learned so much from these boards in the past, so I feel like it is my turn to give back and provide some info since we were among the first to go on this itinerary. I should mention that we have been on about 6 cruises with various different cruise lines, but never with NCL. We are also not very adventurous, so I cannot provide much info on shore excursions. I apologize if this turns out to be incredibly long, but I want to give you any info that may be useful to you as you plan your cruise.

 

Embarkation

The only real negative to the cruise was the embarkation process. We live in Southern California (as were many on the ship) so we drove to the port and got there a little after 11:00. We dropped our luggage off curbside with one of our party and went to park the car. After driving around the parking lot for a while, we finally parked, got our luggage and stood in line which was not out the door of the terminal. I should mention that there are 2 different cruise terminals – one is the newer cruise terminal and one is the smaller, older one. When there are 2 ships in port (as there were when we left) one of the ships uses the older, smaller terminal (which is where the Star was). This may have contributed to the process. We didn’t want to stand in line with our luggage, so we made our way over to the porters and gave one of them our luggage and a tip. We then merged back into line. They did not open the doors to check in until 12:00 and all the people in line with their luggage were told to go over to the porters and drop off their luggage. Since we had already done that, we moved up to the front of the line, went through security and got in the check-in line. Our check-in agent was new and screwed up our advanced registration which then took 30 minutes to work out. The whole process took about an hour and fifteen minutes, but I heard that others waited in line for 2-3 hours.

 

We were escorted to our cabin by one of the staff and our cabin was ready. We ate lunch in the buffet and then explored the ship. Our life boat drill was delayed from 3:45 to 4:30 and we were supposed to leave at 5:00, but actually left around 5:45. We went to the barbeque on the pool deck which was pretty good. The lines are long, but they move pretty quickly. The music on the pool deck can make dinner conversation difficult, but the atmosphere is fun and festive. Our luggage showed up around 6:30 or 7:00.

 

Food

I had read lots of comments about the food on the Star and I found it to be pretty good. We ate breakfast and lunch and a couple dinners in the buffet and enjoyed it. We also ate in the Versailles on lobster night (which is the night we were in Cabo) and it was very good. The lobster is a little on the small side, but you get 3 of them and they were tasty. I recommend arriving early for dinner that night.

 

We also ate in some of the specialty restaurants and really enjoyed them. We ate at Endless Summer, Le Bistro, and Ginza. Le Bistro was our favorite and I highly recommend the chocolate fondue. If you eat at Endless Summer, you can request to have the meal less spicy, which I recommend. All in all, we enjoyed eating at these restaurants.

 

Ports

As I said, we are not very adventurous and did not go on any shore excursions, except the City Tour of Acapulco which was really good and gave us a flavor for the city. In Zihuatanejo and Cabo, we walked around and went shopping. Zihuatanejo was my favorite port, because it was very quaint and the people and prices were very nice. If you are going to buy anything, Zihuatanejo has the best deals and the people are great to buy from. The prices are twice as high in Cabo. In Puerto Vallarta we just got off the boat and walked over to Wal-Mart and around the terminal (we have been to Puerto Vallarta before). The weather in all the ports was really, really hot – think Hawaii, but hotter and more humid.

 

Entertainment

I think the entertainment on the ship was better than other ships that I have been on. The Jean Ann Ryan productions were very good. On the night we were in Acapulco, there was a Mexican Folkloric Company that performed and they were excellent. I have seen other Folkloric shows, but this one was better than any I have seen. The Chinese acrobats of the Cirque Asia show were amazing. I guess every cruise they have a couple of guest performers and during our cruise they had JC Fisher (a singer) and Bud Andersen (a comedienne), both were good, but not my taste.

 

 

Staff

I thought the staff was very friendly, helpful, and pleasant to talk with. Ricky and Kevin, the cruise directors were great. I thought the service from everyone was terrific.

 

Misc Stuff

I just wanted to provide you with some info and helpful hints that may come in handy.

 

· Most of the restaurant meals take between an hour and 45 minutes and 2 hours, so bear that in mind if you want to go to the shows.

 

· The seas were pretty rough most nights. I am prone to motion sickness, so I used the wrist bands and ginger pills and did not get sick. After leaving Cabo, the seas were especially rough and many people were sick. I would recommend taking some precautions on the last couple days.

 

· Our cabin was on the port (left) side of the ship and we were facing the docks in all the ports. In Acapulco, there was a ship docked there already so we were back-to-back with that ship with the port side facing the docks. If there is only one ship, I believe it will dock on the starboard side. We tendered in all the rest of the ports as there was some kind of mix-up in Puerto Vallarta and another ship docked in our spot. The port side of the ship was facing the dockside in Zihuatanejo, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo.

 

· We take all of our clothes on wire hangers, but found there wasn’t enough room in the closet (there were 3 of us), so we removed all the wooden hangers and put them on the shelves.

 

· The TV on the ship gets CNN, ESPN, TNT, Cartoon Network, 2 movie channels and some CBS programming. These become less available the farther south you go. We were able to watch 2 Angel games on ESPN, but were unable to get the 3rd game.

 

· We went to the Arts and Crafts sessions and really enjoyed them, because they teach things that are better than what you find on most ships. Plus, it was a great way to meet other people on the ship.

 

· Even if you stay on the ship when you are in Acapulco, go up to the pool deck and check out the city lights, they will take your breath away. The bay is totally lit up and looks really, really beautiful.

 

That’s all I can think of for now, but I am happy to answer any questions the best I can.

 

 

-Lori

[seashore]

Dear Lomo,

Thanks for giving back. I very much enjoyed reading your review. Thanks for all of your suggestions. ss

[jjduck]

Your very informative review is quite helpful to us. We will sail on Nov.5th. Thanks very much for taking the time to write the review. I know what you mean about learning so much on these boards.

 

Aloha,

Noreen and Jon

[Oppgaard]

A week from tonight we will hopefully be on the STAR heading South. Reading your review made us even more eager to be leaving.

 

Thank you for taking the time to share your opinions and give us a taste of what to expect.

[jjduck]

Hi again, Lori!

 

We would appreciate your help on the parking issue. We note on the cruise ship calendar that the Monarch will be in the same time as the Star on Nov. 5th, so looks like we will board at the "older" pier, where you did. We read about a shuttle from the parking lot to the pier. Is this accurate? Also, parking lots 6,7,8 are designated for this cruise. Are the lots easy to find (follow signs?).

 

And while we're here......what about the debarkation process? What time did you get off (presuming those with cars/private travel plans would debark similarly?)

 

Thank you very much for any info.

 

Aloha,

Noreen and Jon

[lomo]

Noreen and John,

When I first read about the parking, I thought it was a parking structure or something like at the airport, but it was a bit different. The parking is one big lot right out in front of both terminals. There is only one way in at the back end of the parking lot. Its a bit confusing, because there are no signs to really direct you. When you exit the 110 freeway, you will go straight into the port and then make the first right turn. There you will go to a guard station and they will ask you which boat and they will tell you which lane to be in. This takes you up to the actual terminal (I would suggest dropping your luggage off with someone to watch it). Then you will need to circle back around and enter in the back of the parking lot. One of the things I didn't think about was that we would be coming back through the newer terminal, so I parked very close to where we left from, but had a major hike when we came back. So, if you can look at the cruise schedule and figure out where the Star is leaving from next cruise, it will give you a better idea of where you need to park (I hope that makes sense). The lot is big, but not huge and I saw parking shuttles, but I don't think you really need them, unless you are carrying a great deal of luggage.

 

As for the debarkation process, it went very smoothly. We actually got into port sometime around 4:00 - 4:30 in the morning. They have something called Express Walk Off where you can be the first off the boat (between 7:00 and 7:15) but you have to be able to physically carry all your luggage off the ship. We didn't do this, because driving home at 7:30ish in the morning during rush hour was not appealing. All the people with flights and tours are let off first and then everyone else. I think it goes by deck number starting with 11. We were on deck 11 and were scheduled to leave at 9:20, but we were called before 9:00 and we were through the process by 9:20. The line from the boat into the terminal can get very long, but it seemed to go quickly. We did not have a long line at all.

 

I hope I answered your questions, but let me know if you need some clarification. I hope you have a great time, but I'm sure you will.

 

-Lori

[Sillyjilly]

Iomo,

 

We will be on the Star in Dec. Which wrist bands did you use? I purchased the stretchy ones with a ball in the middle. Just curious if they are the same ones that worked for you. Thanks, Jill

[dee dee gold]

Iomo,

Thanks for the info on the debarkation process/timing. I am going on the Feb. 9th NCL Star cruise. I am from MN and my return flight leaves LAX at 11:50 AM. I booked my own air, it was around $200 and NCL add on air was over $400. I am concerned about getting off the ship early enough to make the trip to LAX. NCL told me it takes about 2 hrs. from the cruise ship terminal to LAX. On the map it doesn't look that far, but I guess with LA rush hour traffic, it could take 2 hrs. What do you think?

I am going to buy the NCL transfers in hopes that they will get us to LAX by 10:45 AM.

[Oppgaard]

NCL will not sell you a transfer if your flight leaves before 2PM, or at least that is what I was told.

[SweetEmi]

Thank you soooooooooooooo much for the great review!!! I'm hoping there are no other ships there when we leave. Maybe I should check on that.

 

I'm so excited!!!

Emi

[dee dee gold]

Thanks, I just called NCL and yes, they will not sell us transfers if our flight leaves before 1:30 PM.

They were very helpul in telling me the distance is 18 miles to the LAX airport and the cab fare is $30 one way. They will allow us to be "first off" the ship, so I guess we'll take a cab and hope for the best!

[lomo]

Thanks, I just called NCL and yes, they will not sell us transfers if our flight leaves before 1:30 PM.

They were very helpul in telling me the distance is 18 miles to the LAX airport and the cab fare is $30 one way. They will allow us to be "first off" the ship, so I guess we'll take a cab and hope for the best!

Dee Dee,

The airport is not real far from the port, but the traffic can be very bad between the port and the airport at any time of the day or day of the week. I can't really give you a lot of input on driving to the airport since I live south of the port, I didn't even go by the airport which is north of the port. I will say that everyone who had flights to catch got off the boat before 9:00 and you only needed to request the luggage tags for that time from the reception desk. I think the first group starting leaving around 7:30.

 

I hope that helps.

-Lori

[lomo]

Iomo,

 

We will be on the Star in Dec. Which wrist bands did you use? I purchased the stretchy ones with a ball in the middle. Just curious if they are the same ones that worked for you. Thanks, Jill

Jill,

It sounds like I used the same wrist bands that you have. I wore them the whole time, except when we were in port. I also took ginger pills and started taking them before we left home. I took 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening. The other thing that works for me is to make sure that I always have food in my stomach (which is not much of a problem on this cruise) and that I don't go long periods without eating. I also bring little oyster crackers or other things to munch on in case the seas get really rough like there were after Cabo.

 

I hope that helps.

-Lori

[Sillyjilly]

Lori,

 

Thanks for the cracker idea. I didn't think of that. Also, thanks for the info on the wrist bands. I've heard about different ones and I started to think I goofed on my purchase. Great to know they worked for you! Hopefully they will work for me and my hubby too.

Why the ginger? I did buy dramamine. What does the ginger do ? Thanks, Jill

[Trey]

Lori,

 

Thanks for the cracker idea. I didn't think of that. Also, thanks for the info on the wrist bands. I've heard about different ones and I started to think I goofed on my purchase. Great to know they worked for you! Hopefully they will work for me and my hubby too.

Why the ginger? I did buy dramamine. What does the ginger do ? Thanks, Jill

APPLES, just lay down and eat an apple. Works wonders. Candied ginger also works well. On the QE2 they have dishes of ginger scattered around the ship due to the fact that she is old and can really rock.

[orchid_dream]

Just in case people wanted to look it up, here's a link to the Port Calendar .

 

Emi, it looks like you embark along w/ Diamond Princess on Nov 13 and disembark with Vision of the Seas on Nov 21. So be prepared!

 

:) Orchid

[Sillyjilly]

Great link!!!!!!!! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!:p

[jjduck]

Lori, you are a gem. The useful info is just what we need.

 

Aloha,

Noreen and Jon

[Jessica_2020]

Thank you so much for posting your review! It was wonderful to read and informative! Can't wait to go on the Star on the 28th of this month...getting so close!!!! I am also curious about the ginger pills, do they really work well???

[lomo]

Thank you so much for posting your review! It was wonderful to read and informative! Can't wait to go on the Star on the 28th of this month...getting so close!!!! I am also curious about the ginger pills, do they really work well???

Jessica,

The ginger pills work at settling and calming your stomach. It works great for motion sickness, nausea, seasickness, and indigestion. It works well for me. And, I'm willing to try anything that will keep my from getting seasick, especially since all the seasick pills (even the non-drowsy) make me totally drowsy and out of it.

 

-Lori

[SweetEmi]

Orchid...Thanks for the info!! Okay, I'll be prepared then for a long line...*smile*

 

Emi

[Jessica_2020]

Thanks for all the helpful info! I will definitely be trying some of those ginger pills..I think I may buy a seasickness relief band as well!!! I don't know if I will get motion sickness or not...but if I do...I don't want it to ruin my trip!

[KLynnG]

I also posted this on another thread but I'll mention it again. On the 3 times I cruised to I spent the previous night in a relatively inexpensive hotel close to the pier. I received a nice breakfast, free parking for the duration of the cruise & free shuttle to the pier in the morning. I met some people who live in LA that did this also even though they could easily drive. The cost of the hotel is offset by not having to pay a parking fee, a free breakfast, avoiding the issue of dropping off the luggage & paying someone to watch it while you park or dragging them a quarter of a mile & the traffic jam getting out of the parking lot. There are several hotels close that provide this & the prices vary depending on your need for basic necessities or luxury.