Loyal HAL Cruiser Tries NCL

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hi, I thought you might like reading my review of our first NCL cruise. I posted this on the HAL Board first since that is where most know me.

This is what I wrote there.

Yes, there are good cruises out side of Holland America.

The HAL board has been my CC posting home for many years and basically the only cruise line I really know is Holland America. This is a review of what I thought of the Norwegian Star and comparing it to the Holland America Product.

In late July shortly after I started my new career I found out about the Norwegian Star 2 Night Cruise to No Where. The prices were very good, I thought it would be a great way to try another cruise line without investing a lot of time and money plus we actually thought we may be able to take our son Andy with us. He has never been on a cruise and has always been the one to stay home and take care of the LAFFNVEGAS ZOO, but we thought for 2 nights just maybe the Dogs, the cats and the birds might be OK without us. The Dogs have their own Dog Bedroom with access to their own private dog run, the birds would just have to survive with what water and food I could place in their cages and the cats.... well they already have the run of the house but we just needed to make sure they too had plenty of food and water.

We got up very early Saturday morning with Roada programmed and ready to tell me where to drive we were backing out of the drive way at 5:20 AM Oh Yes Roada is the name I gave my car's navigation system.

We made great time even with a 30 minute stop in Barstow for breakfast at Micky D's we were parking in the lot adjacent to the San Pedro Cruise Terminal at 10:05. We grabbed a great parking spot and proceeded to walk up to the terminal. Both the Norwegian Star and the Sapphire Princess were in port. There was already a line that had formed outside ( about 30 people ahead of us) so we got in line figuring we might be here for a while. To my surprise they opened the doors at about 10:40. When we first entered we went thru the normal security screening much like the airport. It went quck and then it was proceed to check in. NCL does it a bit differently they have two check in areas and it is designated by the Deck number your cabin is on. We were on deck 11 with a Mini Suite so we went to the right but first they handed you the same as HAL the form you sign if you have been ill lately. I quickly filled it out and ready to get in line to check in. Oh Wait there was no line, we were able to walk right up to a counter. They were quick and efficient took our credit card to scan and then took our pictures and told us to have a seat. Our section also had a section near by for those in Penthouse Suites as well as those that occupied the two Garden Villas. There were plenty of chairs to sit in so we took a seat with others that were already seated. Just a few minutes after I sat down I spotted a fellow CCer that had cruised with us on the first Yummer's cruise so went up to Kathleen to give her a hug.

We did not wait long at 11:15 they started calling out numbers to board the ship. We were number 2 so with stopping by 3 security people each needing to see our passport or I.D. we were finally walking over the Gangway to board the ship. After they scan your ship card you are immediately greeted by the crew of the Norwegian Star. First you are given a glass of champagne or orange juice, then you walk past about 20 crew members all welcoming you to the Norwegian Star. I have to admit I was extremely impressed with this, then at the end were crew there to guide you to what you needed. You could go to their version of the Lido or to one of the Dining rooms for lunch, or the Pool Side BBQ or like we did we headed straight aft to where they were taking dinner reservations for the different restaurants. We had decided in advance that we would go to one of the Main Dining rooms for lunch on Sunday but would go both nights to one of their premium restaurants for the evenings. Our first and second choice was Teppanyaki and Cagney's Steak House. We got both of our choices and chose the Teppanyaki for the first night and Cagney's the last night. We chose 6:30 times for both, then off to the Deck 11 to find the Barong Spa which is located on Deck 11 aft and so was our cabin. We took the mid ship elevators in hopes that we could walk past our cabin and quickly place our luggage in the cabin since we did not check in luggage and had carry ons. They were still working on our cabin but the stewards were nice enough to allow us to quickly place them in the closet. We then continued on down the hall to the Spa. I had wanted to see what this looked like to see if I wanted to spend my one and only day or at least a portion of the day in their version of the Thermal Suite. They were offering a special if you booked before the ship sailed you would get a choice of three spa treatments for $89 but better yet if you selected an appointment time 8:00 AM or earlier you got 4 treatments for $89 so I chose an 8:00AM appointment. We then were given a tour. This area was just OK and HAL's Greenhouse Spa is definitely several grades above but they also do not charge $40 a day to use their Thermal Suite, it is only $10.00 a day. The Barong Spa is also a Steiner Spa selling all Elemis products.

We then headed to the Market Cafe (their version of the Lido Buffet) At this point since we stopped to go to the Spa and make reservations a large majority of people had already gotten on board so it was crowded but we got in line. This was very similar to HAL where it was more cafeteria style not separate stations much except for the dessert area. The selection was good and I was actually very impressed with the pork cutlet. There are crew everywhere and all are greeting you and asking if they can help. There was a lady in a scooter that a crew member came up and asked if she needed help and she did, with in seconds there was another crew member there to go with her thru the buffet to help her get her food, they were right behind us in line. Of course they too do not have any trays just a plate that was not overly large. It was self service for the water, tea, coffee and milk.

Because it did seem a bit crowded (no different than any HAL ship on embarkation day) we headed out to the tables that were out by the pool and "The Grill" area Bar staff were all over ready to sell you what ever your alcoholic pleasure was. Of course I knew going in that this was one of NCL's ways of making money. But they were never ever pushy and badgering. I honestly felt they did it in a way that felt more like great customer service. The majority of the NCL Star's crew are Filipino so I kind of felt like being on a HAL ships.

After eating we decided to start investigating the ship, it was definitely a totally different lay out than we are accustom to so it was like discovering something brand new. They like HAL do not let you in the cabins right away and they had announced that cabins may not be ready till 1:30 or a little after. It was actually a little after approx 1:40 when the announcement was made that cabins were ready. At this point we had already investigated a good portion of the ship. There had been band playing lively music out by the pool as well as a Trio in the Main Atrium area that was also performing. There was definitely a more upbeat atmosphere with extremely friendly crew. We headed up to Deck 11 and found our cabin once again. This is one area that HAL does have a bit of an edge over NCL. HAL cabin furniture is definitely much nicer to NCL's. We had a Mini Suite but I would say it was ever so slightly smaller than a HAL S or R Class Verandah cabin in both the cabin size and it was definitely much smaller in the Balcony than HAL. What NCL does have much better is the bathroom lay out. Because we had a Mini Suite we had a full bathtub/shower. The lay out is you walk in and directly in front of you is the sink which I thought was much nicer than HAL's. To the left was the tub/shower and to the right was the toilet with a sliding door to close. In the bathroom they do not have the Elemis little bottles sitting out but rather a nice chrome dispenser in the shower with the same Pure Shine Shampoo and Sharp Shower Gel. At the sink they have what I wish HAL had and that is their Elemis Lavender hand soap. In HAL's Green House Spa they often have this liquid soap in there but not often. It smells just wonderful and to me does not seem to Dry out my hands like the Elemis Bar Soaps that HAL has.

We unpacked which was quick and easy since we were only there 2 nights, the closet definitely had more room than a HAL closet with being much deeper shelves to one side. The one thing I did not like is that the hangers were the kind that you had to hook them on the slider that did not come off. The furniture in this Mini Suite more closely resembled a College Dorm and not the elegance of HAL but then the average price of a NCL cruise with the same days and itinerary as a HAL cruise is considerably less money. In some cases I have seen the Mexican Riviera 7 night cruises to be about 1/3 the cost of the same on the Oosterdam. I guess it all depends on what is important to you.

At 3:30 was our Life Boat Drill and our Muster station was outside under our Life Boat ( I Believe there might have been a few stations that they met somewhere else. Unfortunately the Life Boat Drill seemed a lot longer than HAL's but I think it mainly was due to the fact that there were a lot of First Time Cruisers and so many arriving late. After Life Boat Drill our CC Roll Call was meeting at the Bier Garten. Unfortunately the Bier Garten was packed and we did our best to try to find each other. dobiemom aka Marcia was there and we met right away. I had done her Banner Wave from the Oosterdam in the past and will be doing one for her Roll Call next weekend on the Oosterdam the also going next weekend who was joining us on the cruise was Grampy which is Mike and Pat. It was great to meet up with them as well. I want to thank Marcia for all her hard work, she made up door signs as well as adorable pins that said Norwegian Star, CTN a picture of the ship, then our first name and the date November 21, 2009

After Sail Away Party we went back to the cabin to freshen up for dinner. After we freshened up we decided we had plenty of time before our 6:30 Teppanyaki dinner so we checked out the shops. Like HAL's shops I was not overly impressed, there seemed to be a lot of junk. Although people were lined up for their free liquor tasting The Jewelry part appears to be operated by Columbian Emeralds International so there was a lot more high end jewelry that HAL normally does not carry. Walking around there killed enough time and it was then time to go the our dinner. The Teppanyaki table is in a private area off the Asian and Sushi restaurant. The table accommodates 12 but for our seating there were just 10 of us. I enjoy Teppanyaki Style eating I will say it was not the very best I have ever had but it definitely was not the worst. The three of us had the Steak and Shrimp and both were great, the filet was very tender and the shrimps were huge and tasty. The service was really good and we had two chefs cooking and entertaining us. The Chefs were both from the Philippines. We walked out of there stuffed and impressed because we really enjoyed this.

For the first night there was one production show from the Ship's cast This was called "Band on the Run" since it was not till 9 PM and we finished dinner at 7:45 we decided to go listen to the Entertainment in one of the many lounges that all had entertainers at. We ended up at the Java Cafe in the atrium area. I had a Spanish Coffee and while not flaming like in the Explorer's Lounge on HAL it still was very good. The band performing was a Filipino Trio called the Melodic Trio that did a little bit of everything as for music. The one thing that will stand out right away is that every lounge had LIVE entertainment and not just for short periods of times like on HAL. There performing time was long the breaks shorts. We headed to the show room the Stardust Theater at about 8:30 and of course walked past the Gatsby Bar where a piano player was singing Elton John songs. The theater was filling up but we got seats in the middle. This theater is much larger than even the Eurodam's with theater style seating much like the Eurodam but with no large poles in the way of anyone's view. I thought the theater was beautiful, definitely impressive. Within minutes of the show starting you knew you definitely were not on a HAL ship. The performers had far more energy and for the most part seem far more professional. Living in Las Vegas I have seen numerous productions shows and this was definitely Las Vegas quality. Frankly it blew away HAL in every way. I have said for years that HAL's entertainment was not great but this really was a night and day difference.

After the show there were numerous other things going on thru out the ship for entertainment but we decided to go up to the Spinnaker NCL's equivalent of the Crow's Nest. I have been up to HAL's Crow's Nest so many times looking for something going on 99% of the time finding absolutely nothing total, deadsville. That was not the case in the Spinnaker. There were people all over and the dance floor was packed playing music from the 70's and 80's. For what I think may have been the first time in many years I got Tom out on the dance floor, then I even went out and danced with our Son to a little "Play that Funky Music White Boy" I have to say I have not danced that much in well over 20 years. We had an absolute blast and so was everyone else that was there. There were no party hardy total drunk people that I saw, just a lot of passengers having a great time. The nice thing it was all age groups out there dancing and lots and lots of the Entertainment Department's crew. There were guys and gals from the ship dancing with passengers. It is obvious that the Cruise Director has a lot crew in his department keeping the passengers entertained. I am guessing it was about 12:30 or a bit later when we decided to call it a night because I did have a Spa appointment at 8 AM.

We got back to our cabin and there had been turn down service but there were no Towel animals or pillow chocolates just the "Freestyle Daily" and some Art Auction info. The couch had been turned into a bed for Andy. BTW the beds are not HAL comfy but they certainly were not bad in any way.

The next morning the wake up call phone rang at 7:30 and my son was already awake. I think he was a bit excited to start exploring the ship again. The cabins have a small coffee maker and they provide you with coffee in the little pouches to make as well as have coffee creamers. I got ready quickly for my spa appointment ( not much to get ready for) and we made a little pot of coffee so I could have some before I left.

My morning in the Spa was great, granted it was not quite as nice of facility as the Greenhouse Spa but then I was not paying prices like I pay at the Greenhouse Spa. The treatment lasted exactly 1 hour and 20 minutes which was longer than I expected and the young lady from Ireland that did my Facial and neck shoulder, arm and hand massage did a wonderful job. She did the usually sell of Elemis but was a very soft sell and I think I shocked her when I said that yes I was going to buy some products. I had already decided before boarding the ship that I was purchasing the Pro-collagen Marine Cream that I was almost out of if the price was right. I always compare it to what it is going on eBay and what I last paid or was quoted. I almost bought it on the Westerdam but it seemed a bit high and sure enough when I got home I found it on Time To Spa cheaper (Not all ships quote the same price) but the price I paid on the Star was actually a bit cheaper and since now I was almost out at home. I spent the remainder of the morning in their Thermal Suite, as I mentioned it was not near as nice as HAL but for $10 for the day it was worth it. I spent time in the Dry Sauna, then went out to the lounge chairs where hardly anyone was and enjoy a peaceful relaxing 1 and 1/2 hours reading. This area looks directly aft overlooking the wake. Thru this time we were being entertained by some Spinner Dolphins that were swimming in the ships wake as well as seeing several spouts of water from some Humpback Whales. It was about 11:30 and I decided it was time to head back to the cabin and see if the guys were there. They were not but the cabin stewards were. It was a Male and Female team that were very friendly and very apologetic, I told them to keep doing what they were doing and I would just go out to the balcony and read. About 10 minutes later they opened the slider to the balcony and told me they were done and thanked me again. I hopped in the shower and thought I might as well get ready before the guys returned. About Noon in they walked and I too was about ready so we decided we wanted to try one of the Main dining rooms since we were not having an evening meal in there. We went to Versailles, it is decorated very French and is actually quite beautiful. We were asked if we wanted to be seated at a table for the three of us or at a larger table and we said a small table was fine. Lunch was good and of course a smaller selection like HAL has at lunch. The service was quick and the food very tasty. I had one of the best individual size portions of Breading pudding I have ever had, it was great. We decided after lunch we would head back to the cabin to relax and Andy was going to go hit some golf balls and explore some more. When we got to the cabin there was a message from fellow CCer Sage who was staying in the Garden Villa and her and I had been playing phone tag, I called her back and was able to catch her so we then headed up to meet up with her by the door near Cagney's mid ship Deck 13 so she could escort us up to the Garden Villas. ALL I can say is WOW!!!, this truly makes the Penthouse on HAL look like an Inside cabin down on A Deck. This was very impressive and I want to Thank Sage for giving us the tour.

It was now nap time, in all honesty I never ever take a nap but tend to do so while on a cruise, it was good to get in 2 hour nap.

The last night our reservations were for 6:30 at Cagneys so at about 5:45 we headed up to the Star Bar just across from Cagney's and I had a Margarita in a mini fish bowl that had the NCL fish on them. That is one thing with NCL is you have to be aware up front that when ordering a drink they will more than likely serve it to you in a Logo glass of some sort and charge you extra. This is just one of the ways they like to make money but if you know this going in you either ask them not to do it or in this case I wanted it so it was not a problem. While they love to sell their drink items the one thing I did not notice was the lack of announcements. There were very few announcements on the ship, definitely nothing like the constant Bingo or Art Auction announcements on HAL. Dinner at Cagneys was very nice while they did not have the nice Meat Presentation like on HAL they do have a much larger selection on the menu with what seemed to me an even larger Wine list with a much wider variety of prices. The three of us chose the Steak (filet) and Lobster tail. Cagney's cost $25.00 per person but this was one of the 4 items that cost an additional $10.00 per person. It was very good, the Lobster tail was very good size, tasted fresh, the filet was very tender and good but not quite the quality of the Pinnacle on HAL. The one thing I like about Cagneys is that there were far more options to chose from. The Lobster Bisque was delicious and much better than HAL's and the Oysters Rockefeller was even better. The after dinner coffee had the foam on the top much like the coffee in the Pinnacle but was so much better, very rich and smooth and not that bite that the coffee in the Pinnacle often has.

Tonight's show was Frankie Valli and The Four Season Tribute. We were assuming it would be similar to Jersey Boys which we recently saw in Las Vegas. But since we missed the first show at 8 we needed to wait till the 10 PM show. So we went to the Gatsby Champagne and Cigar Bar where the piano player was once again playing music of Elton John. While it was not nearly as good as Joel Mason he was a good piano player and singer but the problem was the three of us were getting tired after the big meal and a bottle of Merlot. We did head down to the Stardust Theater at about 9:30 and sat down. After about 5 minutes Andy decides he was too tired and wanted to head back to the cabin. And another 5 minutes later we too decide we are tired and were ready to call it a night.

This morning we woke at 7 from the wake up call, we had placed a room service order on the door the night before for 7:30 much to our surprise at about 7:20 Room Service calls us to tell us they are on their way with breakfast and it arrived just 5 minutes later. The other surprise with Room Service is the coffee was very good. I never drink the Room Service coffee on HAL because it has so much acid to it, this was actually good coffee and they brought lots of creamers. Unfortunately the Room Service menu is a bit limited compared to HAL but still nice to have toast,Danish, coffee and juice. Oh yes and speaking of juice I ordered Grapefruit juice and it was fresh squeezed grapefruit juice with pulp.

Since we were taking our own luggage off the ship we could disembark any time between when we were cleared and 9:30 we left at about 8:20, no crowds, several sections to have your card scanned to disembark. It was quick and easy.

In conclusion as you might have been able to tell we had a fantastic time. I have learned to never say never because I will be honest less than a year ago I said I would never sail on NCL. The rumors I have heard about the quality of the food in my opinion were false, the service was as good as HAL. We actually liked the NCL Product. Were there things that HAL has better?....Oh most definitely such as the cabin amenities but then you are not paying HAL prices. There were also many things done much better on NCL such as the entertainment. This really was a fun Two Night Cruise to Nowhere and it gave me the opportunity to try NCL. I know it will NOT be the last time we sail on NCL.

[coka]

Wow Lisa, what an excellent well balanced comparison! Thank you for taking the time to write your review and to post it here. I think the cruise line comparison reviews are very helpful. You never know...you just might read "Loyal NCL customer tries HAL for the first time" over on the Holland boards! Some of HAL's itineraries are intriguing indeed. I never knew they sailed out of Montreal until I actually looked.

coka

[Cruise_More_Often]

Lisa, what a wonderful review! I am so glad you liked the Star and found NCL not nearly as bad as you thought last year. Your description of dancing in the Spinnaker and compaing the entertainment on the two lines, "within minutes of the show starting you knew you definitely were not on a HAL ship," cracked me up.

It was a wonderful read, Lisa. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thanks Sorry it was so long but I tend to tell long stories

I did want to mention that they were already decorating the Star for Christmas with many Christmas trees all over and many holiday decorations going up thru out the ship.

[Pete&Cat]

I agree whole heartedly, although we never did find you guys at sail away in the beer garden, we had a fantastic time! We did love gatsby's it was really relaxing.

Pete

[DMH15]

Lisa, thank you for your review. It was very interesting.

I have enjoyed NCL but not opposed to trying other lines myself.

[cruisewmn]

Thanks for the wonderful, fair review. We haven't tried HAL, yet -- but we will! I'm always saddened when I read other boards and see how some put down NCL. Each line has strengths and weaknesses and caters to different interests. NCL delivers are strong product at a reasonable price. I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[STARFISH*4]

THANKS for the review and the comparisons with HAL...maybe one day we will TRY for now we are SATISFIED with NCL and looking forward to SAILING on the STAR* in 12 days GLAD you had a FANTASTIC time aboard the STAR!!!

[panamacruisin]

Lisa, Color me SURPRISED to you your handle over here on NCL. I've been on Both NCL (first cruise) and HAL last cruise. I loved them both and would be proud to sail either again.

[Host Michell]

I really enjoyed reading your review, Lisa, and I'm glad you enjoyed yourself!

I've never met a cruiseline (or a ship) I didn't like, so it's always fun to read about how others compare their experiences. Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts and helpful information.

[Zeno]

Very nice comparison review!

[roger001]

I saw the Four Seasons tribute on the Star several weks ago. Wow...it was great, a very professional Vegas style show and group. I even had to go out and buy a Four Seasons anthology CD when I got home. But then I haven't seen The Jersey Boys yet.

[pictonite]

Lisa- thank you for your review. We love HAL too, but have sailed with NCL for our past two cruises, and will be on the Sun to South America next week
For us it is the itinerary that dictates, and we find that HAL and NCL offer great options. We agree with your opinion of the staterooms. Hal has larger cabins, with more elegant furnishings (in my opinion!), but we really like the bathrooms on NCL. We'll be trying our first suite on NCL, so we'll be able to see how the suite life measures up!

Thanks again.

Annette

[ute_fan]

Lisa -- what a wonderful review! I loved the way you compared specific items between the different lines. I recognized your "name" from another board (no idea which one), and was glad to hear that you'd enjoyed your first try with NCL.

I've always thought of HAL as "too old" for us, but I am intrigued with the idea that their ships are still smaller than the newer NCL ones, so I'm sure we'll try them out one of these years.

[johnql]

Thanks for the excellent, detailed review. I really enjoyed reading it. Glad you had such a good time on NCL.

[RichNY]

Thanks for a great review. Next year we get to try HAL for the first time. Glad you had a good time.

[GORDONCHICK]

Lisa - thanks for the very fair and open-minded review! HAL is on our list of lines to try,, specifically because of a couple of itineraries. We have five cruises under our belt, but on four different lines. I have no problem finding the pluses (and sometimes minuses) of each line.

[lambs2]

WELL DONE REVIEW! We also enjoy HAL (as well as several other lines) in addition to our NCL cruises. Isn't it nice that there is so much to enjoy with BOTH cruiselines?

[arabrab]

Lisa --

Thank you for the excellent review. We're going on our first NCL cruise after more experience with Princess and HAL, and it was very helpful to see your thoughts.

Did you happen to peek into the library at any point, and if so, any comments?

Also, the one thing we loved about the Crow's Nest was that it was rather quiet, and we enjoy finding someplace in the evening for a drink without a music combo or big crowd -- anything particularly fit the bill for that? (I like music too, but my hearing is such that I can't hold a conversation if there is any significant music going on.)

Again, thanks!

[flashdog_1]

Lisa, thanks for your review.

I remember my first NCL cruise after having sailed only Celebrity and HAL. Not only was the music poolside inviting, but the people were, as well. I commented in my reviews, "I don't think there'd be a bunny hop on X." Thanks for reminding me. Glad you enjoyed yourselves.