NCL Star - Garden Villa 14500 (12/7-12/14) review

On Embarkation morning, we had to leave early since we had an early flight. The Concierge and our butler met us in our cabin at 7:45 am, took us down to deck 7, parted the sea of passengers waiting in the hallway for immigration to start processing people, and brought us under the ropes to get processed first (since they hadn't begun processing anyone yet).

And yes, we got dirty looks from 100s of people as we passed them by. One guy at the front of the line said, "I've been here since 6:15, why do they get to go first (meaning my group)? An NCL staff member on the other side of the rope replied, "No one said you should be here at 6:15." We were processed by immigration within minutes, escorted off the ship to an awaiting limo, and the driver whisked us off to Long Beach Airport. From leaving our room to getting to the airport was about 35 minutes. Most of that time was getting through the crowed hallway and the ride to the airport. It was crazy how fast it went.

Since I booked the Garden Villa, I've been involved in many tipping threads here on CC. None of us traveling ever had a butler before. I was going in planning on tipping the butler $10 pp/pd ($350); Concierge $100; Room Steward $100. I understand now what so many people have been saying about what having a good butler can mean for your vacation. Things were magically restocked when we'd leave the room for maybe 10 minutes throughout the day.

We didn't use the Concierge for any dining reservations. We'd walk up to a restaurant, say we wanted a table for 5. They'd ask if we had reservations. We'd say no. They say they were booked. They'd ask what room we were in. We'd say 14500, and then we'd be escorted to a table for 5 next to a window right away. So staying in a GV, you don't really need the concierge to make reservations for you. To be fair though, the times we ate were around 6pm and the restaurants weren't full.

With that being said, we ended up tipping our Room Steward $200; Concierge $200 -- just getting off the ship first through the sea of passengers waiting was worth the $200! And we ended up tipping our Butler Clint $600.

If you ever get Clint as a butler, he's indispensable. I asked him how many rooms he had, and he said the 2 GV's and 4 AFT suites. He said the other GV and suites would have breakfast delivered, so we used him for dinners (3 times). Having Cagney's below the GV is simple & great for breakfasts.

Clint also said that our neighbors in the other GV made a list of things they wanted. He said he loves that so he knows exactly what their needs are. We didn't have a list because we didn't know what we wanted. Since we're from Seattle, we drink lots of coffee. Clint leaned by day 2 to make sure espresso pods and milk were heavily stocked. On day 2 our espresso machine died. I called him and asked if he could look at it -- no rush, we were about ready to leave for dinner. I came out of my room from changing a few minutes later, and he was there with a new machine, plugging it in. Now that's service!

But let me clarify something: I didn't tip Clint $600 for bringing up chocolates and finger sandwiches everyday -- or cleaning the coffee machine. That would be ridiculous. I refilled the water and pulled out the tray of used pods and dumped them in the garbage a few times. It's not brain surgery. It takes seconds. If you own or ever used a Keurig, then it really is that simple.

I did tip him what I did because whenever we had a question or a request, he was all over it and happy to do so. We'd always give him fair warning if we were going to have dinner inside the room (maybe around 3pm) so he could prepare and be called at the last second while he's attending other guests needs. But for the most part we were pretty self-sufficient -- except for a few meals in the room.

I hate to sound like everyone else on here but tipping is very subjective and personal. Guess we had to go through this to realize it. But we tipped what we thought they were worth to US.

A few of our guests were smokers. They smoked outside in the villa or sundeck. It really didn't bother anyone. I asked our neighbors if they could smell the smoke, they said, "Nope." There was wind everyday (not heavy), so no one -- even on the basketball courts would probably smell it.

The funniest thing about smoking happened in the casino on night 4. I sat next to a young woman playing a slot with her sweater covering her mouth and nose. Two seats down from her was a 70yo woman smoking. The Young woman was lecturing her on how bad smoking was, yada, yada, yada (like the 70yo woman didn't know how bad smoking was. She probably has been smoking for 50 years). The 70yo woman kindly stated she was at her machine first and if she didn't like to go and play another machine.

Anyway, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the two of them start fighting! They're yelling at each other "Don't Touch Me!" "No, You Don't Touch Me!" The casino manager came over to break up their argument. It was really funny. Not trying to sound mean, but it was funny because the whole casino was filled with smoke, so it wouldn't have mattered where the young woman went to plays slots.

Overall, on a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 10. We never had a bad time; service was excellent; the food we ate was great. I'd say that if anyone is considering the Garden Villa on the Star -- you won't be disappointed by the room or service you receive. If you're considering the UDP, making sure you eat in Cagney's and Le Bistro a lot to make good use of it.

YAHHHHH! I have been waiting for your review! We will be in that villa next November, so I have some questions! :)

1. Can you please share some pictures of the villa, both inside and out? I am really looking forward to seeing recent pictures. The ones I have seen seem to be a few years old. (for example the outdoor furniture is the old wood furniture with the blue cushions, I would assume that has been replaced).

2. Do you have a copy of the list of alcohol choices for the 6 bottles? Did your butler let you swap one out (if you asked)?

3. It is good to know that you were able to get off the ship so early. We are looking at booking a flight for 11:20 am out of Tampa after the cruise, and it appears this could work based on your experience.

4. Who was your concierge?

5. Did you see any place in the villa where a rollaway bed could be used (other than the living room)? Some have mentioned there is a closet across from the rooms that may be big enough. Some have also mentioned maybe one of the master bedrooms or their closets may be bg enough. I am just trying to work out a place that is private for my brother to sleep. (Our group is myself and husband, my mom, my brother, and our friend. So, we need 4 beds, and privacy for 4 if possible).

Thanks in advance and glad you had a great time! :)

1) I didn't take any pictures inside, only outside. It looks exactly the same as in this YouTube Video:

But seriously, pictures and videos don't do it justice. They actually make it look smaller than it is.

I attached some photos I did take of the outside though.

2. I can't find the sheet, but email NorwegianConciergeDesk@ncl.com and they'll email you one. There's not much to choose from. They let us have Triple Sec at no charge, margarita mix - no charge. But charged us $40 for an upgrade to Maker's Mark. If you don't see something on the list, just ask. They'll let you know if it's free or if there will be a charge. Only half of our alcohol was there when we boarded. The rest came at about 8pm -- when our luggage finally arrived as well.

3. Our flight was at 11:10am from Long Beach Airport. We left our room at 7:45am and we were at the airport by about 8:30am -- plenty of time. Just let the Concierge know and he'll make sure the limo is there waiting for you and escort you through the crowd of waiting passengers, then someone else will escort you off the ship to the limo. Just let your concierge know a couple days before. Long Beach airport will be a breeze if that's where you're flying in and out from. LAX is 45mins to an hour away.

4. Hannoh (sp?) We rarely saw him, but we didn't really need him either.

5. No room in the front suite. The middle one, maybe -- if tables and chairs were moved out. The back suite -- if tables and chairs were moved out. There is a lot of wasted space between the desk and bar in the living room that would probably work out great.

Thanks Tim!!!!!

NP! BTW, I realize now that the first half of my review didn't get posted. LOL! Don't know what happened to it.

NP! BTW, I realize now that the first half of my review didn't get posted. LOL! Don't know what happened to it.

I was gonna say... first review I've ever read that started with leaving the ship... ;)

Hanno Meyer is the concierge. Very tall German fella. Only been a concierge a few months, so learning. The GV will get priority on leaving the ship but immigration at LA is so unpredictable. You cannot get off until they clear it. Last week the whole process was delayed due to a passenger being taken off first from the deck 4 gangway into a waiting ambulance.

I do not like the way the concierge escorts the VIPs past the long line of other passengers waiting to get to immigration. They do get very upset and many make rude comments. Wish there was a more clandestine way to do it.

Hanno Meyer is the concierge. Very tall German fella. Only been a concierge a few months, so learning. The GV will get priority on leaving the ship but immigration at LA is so unpredictable. You cannot get off until they clear it. Last week the whole process was delayed due to a passenger being taken off first from the deck 4 gangway into a waiting ambulance.

 

I do not like the way the concierge escorts the VIPs past the long line of other passengers waiting to get to immigration. They do get very upset and many make rude comments. Wish there was a more clandestine way to do it.

Yep Hanno. It took him a few days to realize we liked to joke around and he could loosen up around us -- which he did eventually. Nice guy. We did notice a family at the end of the cruise, who we knew from conversation was in a suite, tip Hanno a generous $10 and thank him for everything he did for his family for the week.:confused:

It was bizarre that we were being escorted past obviously angry passengers seeing us pass them by. When we got off the elevator, crew members had one hallway blocked off. They let us through, and I was thinking "Great! A private way to immigration!" Nope. That hallway was full of people, that's why they blocked it off, so no one else could stand in line there.

The thing was, people had their bags all over, and about halfway down, we had no choice but to just start pushing our way through -- even with Hanno leading and our butler bringing up the rear. People wouldn't move their bags or move aside.

And with the last guy at the front of the line complaining to the crew, he wheeled his bag in front of my wife and she knocked it aside with her suit case, then he put it in front mine and I knocked it to the other side. I apologized and kept moving. But he was just being a jerk.

But I would assume that ANY suite passenger -- not just GV -- would get the same kind of escort if they needed to get off the ship early. Like you said, wish they could find a way to do it more discreetly. It was crazy cool, but embarrassing too.

Does the GV have a sauna or steam room? Does it have an outdoor shower?

So I guess I should state how it all started, since I wrote the ending first :)

This is my wife's (35) and I (42) first vacation in 4 years. Third cruise for me; Second for my wife; First time on NCL. We decided to take her brother (33), sister (26), and her sister's boyfriend (28).

We flew into Long Beach from Seattle the night before and stayed at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach. Really nice and modern hotel.

The next day, we showed up at the World Cruise Center in San Pedro at around 10:45am. The cab dropped us off in front of where people were leaving the cruise. So it was chaos. We asked a worker where to check in and they pointed us in the right direction -- and we just followed the crowd of other confused passengers. Once we got to the area to check in, they told us we had to drop our bags off with porters, so we wheeled them over to the porters and finally made it inside.

Once inside, two NCL reps greeted us and asked to see our paperwork. We showed them, and the gentleman said he'd been expecting us and he escorted us to a counter to check in. We were done in about 10 mins.

We waited in a section for another 15 mins until someone escorted us over to the suite section. There we met our Butler Clint. We chatted for about 15 mins until he escorted us first on to the ship -- all by ourselves. Very strange compared to previous cruise experiences...

I asked Clint how many cabins he had, and he said the 2 GVs and 4 AFT suites. He escorted us to our room and showed us around, and then whisked us to Cagney's. We had lunch then explored our GV more. Videos and pictures cannot capture the amount of space you have. It's crazy!

We only had about half of our alcohol waiting for us, but when our bags arrived at 8pm so did the rest our our alcohol.

The experience was like no other. We didn't use Hanno, the concierge, really at all. We all had the UDP and we either had Clint bring us dinners (3 times), or just walked up to restaurants and we were seated by the windows.

As an example: We went to La Cucina one night at around 5:45. The maitre D' asked if we had reservations. I said no. He said they were booked for the night and asked what room we were in. I replied, 14500. He grabs menus and said, right this way. There were 4 people in the restaurant. By the time we were done eating, it was only 75% full. So they had tables available. But we did that with Cagney's too.

Also, the UDP was great. One of the times we ate in Cagney's we were considering getting steak & lobster. The server said that they only had 4oz lobster tails and Le Bistro had 10oz. So the next night we had Clint bring us 5 lobster tails from Le Bistro and steaks from Cagney's. All was covered under the UDP.

We never ate in the main dining rooms so I can't comment on those. We would grab some breakfast in Cagney's or something small at the Market Cafe. The Buffet was probably the worst food on the ship next to the chicken wings we got at a bar that tasted like it was coated with ketchup. But Buffet food is always terrible -- land or sea, IMHO.

The other thing Hanno did for us was escort us to the tender first in Cabo. There was a line coming down the stairs that was roped off for people waiting. He took us from our room, down the elevator and out to the tender.

It was a great cruise. We were surprised by how good of shape the ship was in. I was expecting it to be falling apart from all the reviews i read on here. I expected the food to be terrible. I went in thinking the worst and hoping for the best. The crew was great.

My wife and I only went to one show -- Paradis. It was good in parts but very strange. I would've cut out 2-3 numbers in it and it could've moved along quicker.

We had a few smokers in our cabin -- who smoked outside on the decks. There's enough wind out there that it won't bother anyone in the GV next door or the basketball courts.

There were only 2 smoking incidents in the casino. One of them involved 2 women; one, who was maybe 30yo. She had her sweater over her mouth and nose, because a 70yo woman two seats down from her was smoking. So the Younger Woman was preaching to the 70 yo about how bad smoking is for you, how it will kill you, yada, yada, yada... (like the 70 yo woman hasn't been smoking for probably almost 50 years and doesn't know this). The 70 yo woman politely said she was at her slot first and that the younger woman should move to another machine.

The next thing I know, the two women starting arguing, and yelling "Don't touch me!" "No, You don't touch me!" The casino manager had to come over and break it up. It was ridiculous! As I got up and left the slot I was on, all I could see was the casino filled with smoke! This Younger Woman shouldn't step foot in the casino if she doesn't want to be around smoke.

The other thing that surprised me was on days 1,2 and 6 how many $10k, $15k slot jackpots people were winning. Yeah, on days 3, 4, and 5 -- nothing. But I did manage to walk away with around $2k just from slot play. Plus by day 2, I had free drinks in the casino, so that helped keeping my drink bill down.

So that’s it without going into too much detail.

Scroll to the top to read the ending...:)

Does the GV have a sauna or steam room? Does it have an outdoor shower?

In the picture of the GV I posted where the hot tub is... the RED DOOR is the steam room -- there's a shower inside of it as well.

Thanks again Tim for your review and helpful answers to my questions! I am so happy enjoyed the villa, and I can't wait until it's our turn! Well, at least it is less than a year away now! :)

5. Did you see any place in the villa where a rollaway bed could be used (other than the living room)? Some have mentioned there is a closet across from the rooms that may be big enough. Some have also mentioned maybe one of the master bedrooms or their closets may be bg enough. I am just trying to work out a place that is private for my brother to sleep. (Our group is myself and husband, my mom, my brother, and our friend. So, we need 4 beds, and privacy for 4 if possible).

Thanks in advance and glad you had a great time! :)

We were in the Star GV in 2012 and the Dawn GV last month. They are structurally the same.

The front room has a King bed (can be two twins) no room for a third person.

The middle room has a Queen sized bed and a pull out single sleeper sofa. The Queen size bed has drapes that go around it providing privacy. This is the best room for sharing. It is the quietest room, has the most floor space, most seating room, most usable storage, a closet that can be accessed by two sides, a small sofa, dining table and two chairs. It also has the smallest bathroom. But it's the same as a penthouse suite bath. So not a small bathroom.

The room in the rear has a King sized bed (that can be two twins) with room for a roll away near the sliding door, but no privacy curtain. There are two chairs and a table that would have to be removed to fit a roll away. The rollaway would block the sliding door, which is the best feature of this room. But I know of people who have done that. There is room in the walk in closet for a roll away but it would have to go in the middle of the closet making it hard to get to the bathroom. You have to walk into the closet a few steps, then turn right into the bathroom. On the left, longest wall of the closet, there is a short, wide, set of drawers in the middle of that wall, making it impossible to put a roll away against the wall. Maybe it's movable like the night stands, but I don't think so. I've heard of people putting kids in the closet, so I think they put them on a mattress on the floor at the farthest end of the closet. I'm pretty sure a roll away or adult would not fit there. But a kid would fit. The bathroom is really big, not as big as the front room, but I think it's the second biggest bath on the ship.

One nice thing that few people mention is that there is a guest "powder room" in the 14th floor elevator hallway. When you exit the elevators, it's to your left, before the doorway to 14,500. The door is not marked, so it's often overlooked. This is a great place to send guests who attend parties in the GV, and people who don't share well.

Hope you have as much fun as we did. Cheers!

Thanks DTampa! Very helpful!!!!

I am surprised the 2 master bedrooms have beds that can split into twins. This is the first time I have heard that. That actually could make our decision simpler. Thanks again!

 

It was bizarre that we were being escorted past obviously angry passengers seeing us pass them by. When we got off the elevator, crew members had one hallway blocked off. They let us through, and I was thinking "Great! A private way to immigration!" Nope. That hallway was full of people, that's why they blocked it off, so no one else could stand in line there.

 

The thing was, people had their bags all over, and about halfway down, we had no choice but to just start pushing our way through -- even with Hanno leading and our butler bringing up the rear. People wouldn't move their bags or move aside.

 

And with the last guy at the front of the line complaining to the crew, he wheeled his bag in front of my wife and she knocked it aside with her suit case, then he put it in front mine and I knocked it to the other side. I apologized and kept moving. But he was just being a jerk.

 

But I would assume that ANY suite passenger -- not just GV -- would get the same kind of escort if they needed to get off the ship early. Like you said, wish they could find a way to do it more discreetly. It was crazy cool, but embarrassing too.

It is for ALL suite passengers. And I agree - it was bizarre. We were in a 2br family suite and got off the Star after her 13 day PC from Miami at the end of November. We were also escorted from the theater to the back entrance of Ginza. We arrived to a room full of glaring non-suite passengers. If looks could kill, well, we'd be dead.

The NCL crew did rotate the two lines so it wasn't like we jumped the line all at once. They did a "one from line A and one from line B" type of thing. Which, all things considered, was about the only fair way to handle it.

I found the situation quite awkward and very uncomfortable. You just have to go with the flow and not look at the non-suite people in the eye. I paid for the privilege, after all. I felt bad about it, but what can you do when placed in that situation? *shrug* Not much, I guess.

It is for ALL suite passengers. And I agree - it was bizarre. We were in a 2br family suite and got off the Star after her 13 day PC from Miami at the end of November. We were also escorted from the theater to the back entrance of Ginza. We arrived to a room full of glaring non-suite passengers. If looks could kill, well, we'd be dead.

 

The NCL crew did rotate the two lines so it wasn't like we jumped the line all at once. They did a "one from line A and one from line B" type of thing. Which, all things considered, was about the only fair way to handle it.

 

I found the situation quite awkward and very uncomfortable. You just have to go with the flow and not look at the non-suite people in the eye. I paid for the privilege, after all. I felt bad about it, but what can you do when placed in that situation? *shrug* Not much, I guess.

Ok, maybe it is just me, but I do not feel bad moving to the front of the line if it is perk of the suite. Suites pay a lot of money for the perks, and one of the major ones is not waiting in long lines for anything. It just is what it is. If you are not in a suite, you really do not have any reason whatsoever to be mad at the suite guests being escorted ahead of you in line. If that bothers you, go on a different cruise line that does not offer that perk to suite guests, or do not get up so early and stand in the long line.

I think it was actually NOT the right thing to so to switch the lines back and forth from the suite guests and those waiting in line. Suite guests should have been first, end of story. They paid for that privilege.

Ok, maybe it is just me, but I do not feel bad moving to the front of the line if it is perk of the suite. Suites pay a lot of money for the perks, and one of the major ones is not waiting in long lines for anything. It just is what it is. If you are not in a suite, you really do not have any reason whatsoever to be mad at the suite guests being escorted ahead of you in line. If that bothers you, go on a different cruise line that does not offer that perk to suite guests, or do not get up so early and stand in the long line.

 

I think it was actually NOT the right thing to so to switch the lines back and forth from the suite guests and those waiting in line. Suite guests should have been first, end of story. They paid for that privilege.

I agree but making us suffer the rude comments from non-vips is uncomfortable. I have no problem jumping the line with my suite perk but most of the time the concierge has a discreet system in place so others don't even know we jumped the line.

I agree but making us suffer the rude comments from non-vips is uncomfortable. I have no problem jumping the line with my suite perk but most of the time the concierge has a discreet system in place so others don't even know we jumped the line.

Yes, I do agree with that. A back door or something like they use for the shows would be helpful.

by an chance do you have the dailies? :) we are sailing out a week from Sunday and are super excited. Thanks!

Thanks for your review. Sounds like a very nice cruise for you.

by an chance do you have the dailies? :) we are sailing out a week from Sunday and are super excited. Thanks!

Yes, I have the dailies right in front of me. What did you want to know?

I agree but making us suffer the rude comments from non-vips is uncomfortable. I have no problem jumping the line with my suite perk but most of the time the concierge has a discreet system in place so others don't even know we jumped the line.

I don't feel bad about it, but you're 100% right -- there should be a more discreet way in place so you don't have to fight through a sea of angry passengers.

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I was just curious about it all. Just wanted to check them out and daydream haha. Mainly just the shows and stuff. If you have time would you mind uploading them?

I was just curious about it all. Just wanted to check them out and daydream haha. Mainly just the shows and stuff. If you have time would you mind uploading them?

I will give you a quick run down.

Day 1 Welcome Aboard Show 6x & 8x

Lifeboat Drill 3x

Day 2 At Sea

Band on the Run 6x & 8x

Newlywed Not So Newlywed Game Show 7x

Norwegian's 70's Funky Night Out 9x

Time Change-Set Clocks One Hour Forward Tonight

Day 3 Cabo San Lucas 12-6x

Comedy of Alvin Williams 6x & 8x

Night of Cabaret 7x

50's & 60's Sock Hop 9x

Prime Rib Dinner-Buffet

Day 4 Mazatlan 8-4x

The Look of Love 7 & 9

Dancing Through The Decades 10:15pm

Tropical Deck Party 10:15pm

Time Change-Set Clocks One Hour Forward Tonight

Day 5 Puerto Vallarta 8-4x

Acrobatic Duo Maria & Dmitry 7 & 9

The Perfect Couple Game Show 8:15pm

White Hot Party 10:15pm

Time Change-Set Clock One Hour Back Tonight

Day 6 At Sea

Paradis 7 & 9

55 To Stay Alive Game Show 8:15pm

Dancing With The Norwegian Stars 10xpm

Time Change-Set Clocks One Hour Back Tonight

Day 7 At Sea

The Magic Of Iain Bagshaw 7 & 9

Sing It, If You Know It! Game Show 8:15pm

Quest Mania Game Show 10:15pm

Crew Show 2pm

I thought the acrobats were great, band on the run was just ok. Seen it several times. Same with the look of love. Paradis has some very nice costumes but the show itself was lacking. Alvin William was pretty good and didn't see Iain's show. He is the cruise director and was just doing a fill in show because they didn't have anything else to put on.

I thought the most bizarre show was Paradis. It was good, but I was expecting a storyline going in, and realized there really wasn't one by the third act in.

Again, it was good and bizarre at the same time. But if they would've cut a few numbers it would've moved along quicker.

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