NCL Star – 2-day Cruise to Nowhere – Apr. 27, 2012 - Review and Pictorial

It's hard to write a review about a CTN, with no ports to talk about...but it's fun to share the good time we had, so I'll add my review to the board.

If you don't like "home movies" you may skip this review and check out our Cabin Pictorial (12018) and our Star Photo Tour threads.

Otherwise, stick around for a recap of the great weekend we had on the Star with our two granddaughters, Amelia (8) and Abby (6).

This may be helpful to those who are travelling with kids.

Another name for this could be "2-days of eating and fun, with Zero Downtime."

The "A-Team" are cruising vets; this was their 5th cruise, but first one in a suite. We love to take them away for an adventure and their parents don't find that idea all that bad either.

Embarkation - Day 1

Leaving from NYC is a delight (most of the time). Come crosstown on 55th Street and you plop right on the ramp for Long Term parking at the piers.

$35 a day (this 2-day was paid in advance at the gate.) then, a short walk to the cruise terminal.

Some day, we'll visit the Intrepid, right next door.

We arrived around Noon. Our priority this-and-that got us through security and the check-in area pretty quickly; otherwise, it looked pretty crowded for that early hour...this was an 8pm departure, so we weren't the only ones who wanted a full day on the ship before it sailed.

The only check-in hitch (which probably slowed the lines) was that they moved the Port personnel to the rear area and they constantly lost the network connections to their laptops. It took quite a while to get credit checked and photos taken for the cruise cards.

We got finally got to the Suite lounge and barely had a cup of juice before Monica, the concierge, called us to board.

The trip shall now begin

The veteran cruisers kept right up with our escort

Right to Cagney's for lunch.

"Kiddie menu? ...no, thanks... I'll have a NY Strip and some fries," she says.

During lunch, they announced the cabins were ready (very early!)...so now, it was time to unpack.

My wife's smile indicates that "Yes...we are now on a cruise."

Since my wife is a librarian, the first stop was...the Library.

Then...topside for the Sailaway Party and Barbeque. The line dancers had already filled the terrace.

We had a 4 pm appointment to meet our fellow Roll Call friends up in the Bier Garten....we headed up a bit early to watch the party from above.

The girls immediately made friends with the bartender

He introduced them to Strawberry Daiquris... kiddie style of course.

That became their drink of the day, every day.

(BTW, not a bad thing... $4.50 for non-alcholic drink, split into two glasses)

It was fun to meet the Roll Call group; we had been chatting about this cruise for months and it is great to put faces to screen names.

A little nippy, so we moved down a deck to block the "breeze"

Next stop, the Stardust Theater for Muster drill...we chanted: "J2 Rules!"

When we returned to the cabin, Henry, our butler, had dropped off some snacks, which continuted to sustain the happy "cruise-grin" that I love to see.

What next? Why, swimming...while the sun is still out.

Cutting through the Buffet to get to the Kids Pool...it's starting to get crowded.

Nothing like a hot tub on a chilly day to make you smile

...and nothing like a cold pool to make you fake a smile.

Time to shuffle on back to the main Pool Deck to sample the tubs up there

Dry off, back to the cabin and down to Versailles for an early dinner, so we can catch the one and only show in the Stardust Theater.

Abby checks the wine list, while I talk to the waiter.

At this point, I'll pause with the narrative to talk about the wonderful way the food for the girls was handled by NCL.

We notified NCL in advance that both girls are gluten-free and dairy-free ( I forget what the proper term for it is.)

We were instructed to contact the Restaurant Manager once onboard to discuss their meals; we did this in Cagney's during our first lunch.

He reviewed all the choices and told us all we had to do was give our room number to the waiter in the MDR and anything we ordered in advance with him will be available.

No hassles, no problems. He even arranged dairy free desserts. We were greeted with gluten-free waffles and muffins at breakfast and sliced GF bread was alway available.

Smooth as silk. Thanks, NCL....really.

The service in Versailles was super, prompt and complete. The waiter spent a lot of time chatting with the girls.

Olive Pizza, with a side of ...hot dog.

Pepperoni Pizza, with a side of ...NY strip steak.

After a nice dinner, a look at the clock...wow, we are leaving soon.

Back up to the cabin to watch us pull away from the pier

At the Stardust and a little game of chance for us all.... they won, I lost.

The show was wonderful... "Band on the Run." I think all four of us had seen it before, but a live music show is always a good time.

After that, the girls were too pooped to party, so we called it a busy first day.

Day One - in the books. Zero Down Time.

...more to come later (Day 2)

Aaawwwweeee..what a nice review! I wish I lived closer to a port so I can take my "Littles" on a CTN! It looks like the girls had a great time....you and your wife too, of course!!;)

Does anyone know if they have these cruises in the summer months? It sounds like alot of fun.

Day 2 - Sea Day

All it took was a little daylight to wake the girls up for our Sea Day.

We like to have Room Service be our wake-up call, with a little pre-breakfast to start the day.

Amelia is a bacon-hound and was delighted to find a platter of bacon with our fruit platter.

 

...while Abby watched the ocean.

After everyone was dressed and ready for the day, it was on to Cagney's for some real breakfast.

GF Waffles and muffins for the A-Team. Abby was never without her bunny and her journal.

Definitely a hit...no leftovers.

The first morning appointment was to go see Shaun, the Cruise Consultant onboard.

We had met Shaun on the Pearl, probably 5 years ago and spent a lot of time with him then, planning future cruises.

His detail knowledge was amazing and he gave us tips down to the different room sizes of similar cabins and which ones were the best to pick.

If the cards fall right, Shaun may be the CC on the Breakaway... he deserves the recognition...a great guy.

The girls stayed in the Atrium while we met with Shaun and picked up our Future Cruise Cert.

By this time, the Pool Deck was in full swing and we went topside for some sun.

We grabbed a table right by the hot tub, shown in this "Where's Waldo" picture.

While Amelia, flexing a bit of independance, preferred to find her own lounger on the terrace to make a dent in her current read.

Mid-day lunchtime...so a quick hop to Cagney's

The staff at Cagney's was great, greeting us by name after our first visit. Alma, the Maitre d', was a delightful hostess; she worked double duty at the Asian restaurant at night and we always stopped to say hi as we passed.

After some more pool time it was back to the cabin to freshen up. Sean, the HD, had sent some treats up for the girls.

Abby wasn't too sure about them.

Amelia had no problems.

It was getting close to the dinner hour and the specialties were filling up fast. You would expect that on a CTN.

We wanted to take the girls to Teppanyaki; Monica, the concierge, made sure we had the seating time we wanted, so we could catch the early show in the Stardust.

Alma came over with some kiddie-rubber-banded chopsticks, so the girls were ready for eats.

Forgive me here, but I do try and have fun. Everytime a photographer came over to us during the trip, I would ask them to pose for a picture. I told them if they wanted a print to send home, they would be on display outside my cabin.

They didn't find it as funny as I did.

After dinner, it was off to the Theater for "Elements." Two shows tonite, early and late.

I thought this was an amazingly good production show...no pictures allowed...sadly.

The finale was a virtual blizzard of paper shards and the girls joined with a few other kids throwing it around after the show.

If they do "Elements" on your cruise, don't miss it.

Back to the cabin to wind down the day. Henry, the butler, surprised the girls with gluten-free chocolate cake that was a great bedtime snack. :rolleyes:

With their eyes swappin' sockets it was time to hit the sack

and watch "Rio" to fall asleep to.

Although the DVD Library is quite broad, I find it better to bring a pack of our own to not be disappointed with availability.

Day 2 - in the books - Zero Down Time.

Thanks for the wonderful review. Im glad you decided to do one on this cruise to no where. Really shows that you can have a great time even if its a short trip.

Looks like the girls had a wonderful time

Day 3 - We are home

The sun came peeking in through the Manhattan skyline as we arrived early back in NYC

We had the Gem just over our shoulder on the way in.

One last ride in the glass elevators

Our last meal at Cagney's; by this time, the girls had become buffet experts

If anyone else on this cruise was wondering why there were never any strawberries left....the culprit.

Abby has some scrambled eggs and GF toast.

Note - to get scrambled eggs made without milk, ask for a scrambled "fresh" egg and they will comply.

Although I didn't show much of my meals, they were outstanding. I love breakfast and here's a sample:

Eggs, over medium...perfectly done. Filet medium rare...perfectly done.

All the food at Cagney's was exceptional.

It was time to pack up and say our good-byes.

Henry, our butler, was great with the girls.

Amelia had to check out the cam pics on each keycard as we disembarked,

Even the best times have to come to an end

Both us and the girls now have a new ship to add to the list.

A fun weekend for all of us...with no (yawn) down time.

I hope this gave some personalization to the background pictures of the Star....and a good snapshot of the NCL way to do suites...the best there is.

My wife and I will sail again at the end of the year, on the Spirit to the Canary Islands; this CTN should hopefully hold us over until then.

(P.S. - we are currently scheming to see if we can swing a 7-day Bermuda trip with the girls late Summer 2013.

Right now, the deal killer is I won't promise that I won't take them on a scooter....shhhh.)

Fun review and wonderful pictures! Thanks for putting the review together and for the cabin photos. We have 500 days until we are in the same cabin in Norway!

Great review, glad everyone had a good time.

Great review! Thanks for sharing your travels and photos! Sound like ya'll had a fun time!:)

Thanks for taking the time to post all these great pictures and info.:)

Thank you for your review and pictures, your grandchildren are little dolls, it looks like they had a great time. I am on the Star June 10th counting down the days and you made me smile when I read your review and saw pictures of my ship. Thanks again

Joann

Thanks for the great review and pics !!

I got a special treat when I saw the pic of my good friend Ketut cutting the steak in Cagney's. You started the cruise right with him as your waiter !!

Nice review! Glad everyone had fun.

Great review! Your grandkids are adorable. Good to know how good they treated the GFCF dietary issues. WTG NCL!

Nice pictures. Can't wait for our cruise next year.

I was on the same cruise and I love your pictures. Your granddaughters are so precious :).