What are your thoughts on the NCL Star?

I want to agree with this thought about the Star. I suppose if you have a balcony/suite, this may not be a huge issue but if you like to get out of your cabin, there are few places to sit that aren't rather dark and inside. Not having a nice, high up observation lounge was a huge mistake and that comment came from one of the officers. I have to say that the staff was very good and tried to make up for this short coming.

"one drawback for some folks with the Star (and the Dawn) is that in order to make those fantastic suites on deck 12, they took away the Spinnaker Lounge, game room, etc. The Spinnaker (where lots of night time entertainment happens) is now at the back of the ship and is a dark space, unlike the old Spinnaker that was at the front of the ship in deck 12 and had those great floor to ceiling windows. We are fine with that since we only went to the Spinnaker for the night time shows anyway, but for folks who are in inside cabins, the Spinnaker was a great place to view the scenery during the day.

The Star doesn't have my favorite buffet as far as layout, but the food is good"

Thank you all for your positive thoughts. We have been booked on the Star for a few weeks. I think we will have a great cruise!

 

I love the Epic, but it just gets too big. We sailed the Celebrity Equinox which is a more manageable size. The Star will be closer in size to the Equinox.

 

If I don't like the buffet, there are lots of other ways to get breakfast.

On the Star they have also had a small buffet by the pool area for breakfast including crepes and omelettes.

I will have to disagree that the change MCL made with the Spinnaker was a mistake.

It was the most under-utilized part of the ship and was almost like a ghost town during most of the day. The only time it was heavily utilized was when the ship was traversing a scenic area.

NCL increased the revenue generated by the ship with the change, and those who book the new suites love them.

What food locations are included? Which ones do you have to pay an extra fee for?

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We will also be on the Star in January. Our first NCL cruise. Have been RCL loals.. Was going to post the same questions so glad OP started this thread.

Are there any late night munchy options on the Star?

When in January will you be on the Star?

I am on the January 4th Panama Canal cruise.

Don

We have been on the Star and thought she was very beautiful. I love the ships with the open atrium that are stories tall with glass elevators (instead of the 2 story atriums like the Jewel class).

I have a review in my signature line if you are interested.

HERE are some pictures we took if you would just like to see the pictures.

When in January will you be on the Star?

I am on the January 4th Panama Canal cruise.

 

Don

We sail on the 19th. Westbound PC.

The Blue Lagoon ( soon to be O'Sheehans) is open all night and is well known for the wings and the fish and chips !!

 

Sometimes they have snacks in the casino late at night.

Guess it will still be Blue Lagoon when we sail. How about ice cream and desserts late night?

We sail on the 19th. Westbound PC.

Happy Cruising!! :)

Don

I believe I was on the Dawn when I had delicious hamburgers and got dogs for lunch at the Bier Garten.

Is that still true of the sister ship Star, or is it so long ago that I am "missing the boat?" :D

Don

Guess it will still be Blue Lagoon when we sail. How about ice cream and desserts late night?

Blue Lagoon has those also.

I believe I was on the Dawn when I had delicious hamburgers and got dogs for lunch at the Bier Garten.

 

Is that still true of the sister ship Star, or is it so long ago that I am "missing the boat?" :D

 

Don

I have never eaten at the Bier Garten, but I know they serve those items at the Grill on the pool deck.

What food locations are included? Which ones do you have to pay an extra fee for?

 

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Here is a link to the NCL website listing the complementary dining venues. Once on this site, you can also see the Specialty Dining along with the prices.

http://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/star/onboard/dining#tab_detail

I have never eaten at the Bier Garten, but I know they serve those items at the Grill on the pool deck.

When we were on the Star in Nov 2012 they had a small lunch menu up at the Bier Garten. It was printed on one of those stand-up chalk board things next to the bar. It was a burger, fries, hot dog type of menu.

I don't recall an actual server doing the rounds from table to table, handing out menus and taking orders. It was, more or less, tell the bartender what you want and take a seat. When it was ready he (or one of the servers) would bring it to you.

For all I know, they may have simply ran down to the pool buffet and made up your plate and brought it back to you. I don't think so, but I guess it's entirely possible. It seems to me the burger I had at the Bier Garten wasn't a charcoal briquette like the ones down by the pool.

We spent 28 wonderful days on the Star Panama Canal roundtrip Miami this past winter. The crew was fantastic and we had no problems with the food whatsoever. The buffet was just fine in our opinion as was the MDR food. We had casual meals on the pool deck. We also enjoyed LeBistro and the Italian restaurant (did not try the others). It's not as large with as many features as the Epic, of course, but we had no problems finding places to go and things to do....and we had an inside cabin. When it's time to view the canal, one goes to the top of the ship to see the big perspective and later around the promenade to see the lower views. A great month at sea!

We have made over thirty cruises on the Star. I suppose that indicates that we like the ship.

 

The Star does not have all the bells and whistles that the new large ships have, so if you are looking for that, you will not like the Star.

 

Comparing ships and cruise lines is something I refuse to do. They all have different things that you can decide to like or dislike.

 

I also don't read nor do I believe in reviews. They are someones opinion, and may be completely different from mine.

 

Each ship on each and every cruise line is different, so the name painted on the side of the ship is meaningless. It is your attitude that is very important in making the cruise good or bad. They have all been good for me !!!!

I love your response and so agree with you. We sailed the Star for our Panama Canal cruise after sailing RCI's Oasis of the Seas. Two totally different ships. We loved the "smallness" of the Star; very easy to get your bearings and move about the ship. We also loved the awesomeness of the Oasis. The way I look at it, you are sailing and on vacation--enjoy every minute! Sue

I love your response and so agree with you. We sailed the Star for our Panama Canal cruise after sailing RCI's Oasis of the Seas. Two totally different ships. We loved the "smallness" of the Star; very easy to get your bearings and move about the ship. We also loved the awesomeness of the Oasis. The way I look at it, you are sailing and on vacation--enjoy every minute! Sue

We were on that same cruise on the Star!:D

Hello Sue!:D:D

I will have to disagree that the change MCL made with the Spinnaker was a mistake.

 

It was the most under-utilized part of the ship and was almost like a ghost town during most of the day. The only time it was heavily utilized was when the ship was traversing a scenic area.

 

NCL increased the revenue generated by the ship with the change, and those who book the new suites love them.

When I am booked in one of those suites, I admittedly greatly enjoy them. When I am in any other cabin on Star, I really, really miss the Observatory lounge. you say it was under utilized, but we used the nice Spinnakers a lot and highly valued it. the new one...yuk.

I will be on the Star soon, but understand I booked for the itinerary. I assure you, if I had the choice of the same itinerary on a different ship, different line that had the observatory lounge, I'd have booked the other, better ship for more money.

NCL made a trade-off...some revenue from those new cabins vs losses elsewhere. Maybe they came out ahead, maybe not.

Star's buffet has as much charm as my old high school's cafeteria. that does not really impact my booking decisions, but still I hope they do something for the esthetic.

We sail on the 19th. Westbound PC.

We'll be on that cruise too ! First time on the Star.

We spent 28 wonderful days on the Star Panama Canal roundtrip Miami this past winter. The crew was fantastic and we had no problems with the food whatsoever. The buffet was just fine in our opinion as was the MDR food. We had casual meals on the pool deck. We also enjoyed LeBistro and the Italian restaurant (did not try the others). It's not as large with as many features as the Epic, of course, but we had no problems finding places to go and things to do....and we had an inside cabin. When it's time to view the canal, one goes to the top of the ship to see the big perspective and later around the promenade to see the lower views. A great month at sea!

When the Star did the transit through the Canal, what deck(s) in the bow were opened for viewing. I would expect as the ship approached the entrance to the Canal in the early morning, there were many people in that viewing area....correct?

Thanks for any information you could provide. :)

Don

We love the Star! This ship is very user friendly and has an extremely friendly staff onboard!!! :)

Just sailed the Star (for the second time-first time to Alaska) in August to the Baltic! It was a fabulous cruise with a terrific itinerary!! You will love it!!

With that said, the Star is getting a little bit tired:(...The staff was great....the food was good, but you will be on her after the drydock so hopefully most of the ships issues will have been addressed!

I have to agree totally with 2 previous posters...the buffet was really not better than a school cafeteria......we just did not eat there at all and it was fine...the atmosphere is even a little depressing...hopefully they will spruce it up a bit:confused:

The MDR was great for breakfast and even room service on a port day...have fun!!:)

Thank you, OP, for starting this thread. We are also booked on the Star for next June and there just aren't many comments about the ship. So nice to hear from so many CCers that have enjoyed the Star!

OP, hope you enjoy the Baltics itinerary as much as we did (on the Sun two years ago)--best vacation ever! Happy cruising, everyone!

Edit

Blue Lagoon has those also.

:):):)