wjb2613

Hi everybody, here’s my very long and detailed cruise review with details from what we did on every single day of our 12 day TA cruise from Copenhagen to Miami on the NCL Star, Oct. 1st – 13th, 2013. I typed this up at the end of each day so it’s got lots of detail and it’s like 20 pages long. Here it is in its entirety. If you don’t want to read all 8,700 words then go to the bottom for the basic review.

 

Embarkation

10:30

We took the city bus from near our hotel to the port. We ended up walking further than I thought we would with our 180lbs of luggage but it was still worth saving $45 to not take a taxi. If you’re not in shape, unhealthy, or rich, then pay for a taxi to get to the port. We were amongst the first passengers to arrive. Dropped 4 50lb bags outside the terminal entrance. I told the lady stationed there that I wanted 3 of the bags delivered to me on the ship and the 4th bag to be held in the cargo hold because I didn’t want it/need it in my room. I also explained that this bag had wine in it that I didn’t need on the cruise. She said it wasn’t possible to designate a bag to not be delivered to the room. She said I could carry it on and they would check the wine at the security check in the terminal. She wasn’t an NCL employee so I didn’t argue or fault her I just said I didn’t want to carry on a 50lb bag so I sent it up the ramp with the other three bags knowing I would probably get my wrist slapped later on the ship for trying to smuggle wine onboard…

Went inside the terminal and walked through the security scanner happily with no luggage. They gave us a health form to fill out and a Red #1 boarding pass. Check in hadn’t started yet so we sat down to wait for them to open.

10:38

They announced check-in was open so we got up and were one of the first in the queue so we didn’t have to wait we just walked up to the first open spot and it was fast and easy. They took the credit card I wanted to use and took our picture than gave us our ship cards. Nobody was boarding yet so we sat back down to wait for them to call our boarding pass#.

10:50

While waiting for them to start boarding I noticed people with the freestyle daily and I hadn’t gotten one, probably because I was so early. So I got up and got myself one.

11:30

They started boarding and our Red #1 was first to be called so we got up and started boarding and were one of the first people onboard. You enter the ship on deck 4 in the middle where the elevators are. Everybody was waiting for an elevator but we decided to walk up the stairs to deck 7 and enter the beautiful atrium. I went to the coffee bar to get complimentary coffee but there was none there so I asked the bartender and he said it was up on the next deck at the Moderno bar. So walked up the cool spiral staircase and over to the bar and got a cup of coffee from the self service machine. Then we headed to the Spa to get our spa pass because they only sell a certain amount. The spa pass for our 12 day cruise was $179/person and found out in the spa that they only sell 60 of them…doesn’t seem like much but that’s a good thing. I went ahead and got 2. The attendant said the spa would be open at 5pm. From there we headed to Versailles main dining room for lunch.

12:00

We got to Versailles at 11:53 but they weren’t seating until 12:00 so we waited with a few other couples and at 12:00 we were seated at a table for two next to a window. They brought us water first then took our order. I ordered Vietnamese Spring Rolls (good), shrimp Caesar salad (great), fish & chips (good), lemonade (good and free). DW ordered calamari (great), NY strip (good). DW ordered her steak medium well and I said “Hey don’t do that.” I explained that she should order it medium rare so that it comes out medium well. So she ordered it medium rare and it did indeed come out medium well which was perfect. For dessert I had apple bread pudding (great) and DW had raspberry sherbet (good). We thought everything we ordered was delicious. The steak was very tender and even if it had been overcooked (which it wasn’t) it still would have been good and tender. I thought the calamari was the best thing we ordered.

1pm

All staterooms were announced ready. We left Versailles at 1:15 and went to our room (inside cabin, forward deck 4.) On the way we walked through Red Lion Pub and got popcorn. They also had hot dogs and chips & salsa. Inside the room was a receipt to sign to acknowledge our $100 OBC and another receipt to acknowledge our complimentary bottle of house Merlot (wine glasses and cork screw provided). We had the lowest cabin category possible, inside guarantee, so I think the perks of $100 OBC and wine was a great plus for buying the cruise through our online TA. The room is the size of a small hotel room in Europe/ NY city/ San Fran. The bathroom was plenty big enough and the shower was a good size too. There’s plenty of space for everything we brought with us and we brought more than most people since we are basically moving back to the states after being gone for 2.5 years and have everything we’ve been using to live with us now on the boat.(4 bags, 180 lbs.) We were Peace Corps volunteers in Mongolia J

2pm

Went back to the Red Lion Pub because we noticed on their board that they were having a beer tasting at 2pm for $15 and that you could get 3 patron shots for $15(this deal was actually offered at all bars all the time). But the place was kind of dead and we didn’t feel like drinking alone so we went on a self guided tour of the ship. On our tour we walked through the buffet and looked at all the lunch items they had on offer. I think it all looked tasty but nothing looked as good as what we had in Versailles. We went back to the spa for the tour and raffle entry. One of the masseuses showed us around and afterward we filled out our raffle entries and dropped them off upstairs at the gym.

3pm

We returned to our room and found 3 of our 4 bags outside our door…yes the one with wine didn’t get delivered and so I figured at some point I’d be called down to the naughty room to explain myself. DW unpacked us and everything fit nicely somewhere, like I said, plenty of space.

4pm

They started announcing the muster drill was going to start at 4pm so we headed to the elevators around 3:45pm and were directed to the Stardust Theatre. We arrived in the theatre at 3:51 and an attendant directed us where to sit based on our number on our ship card. We sat and waited for it to start…they sounded the emergency alarm at 4:02 and the actual drill started at 4:08 and was over at 4:15. The theatre wasn’t too full so it didn’t take long to get out even though we were in the middle of the row towards the front.

5pm

We went back to the room to get ready for sail away at 5pm. The sail away party and bbq started at 4:30 but we didn’t head out there until about 4:55. We opened our bottle of wine, poured a glass each, and headed to the Beer Garden where CC members were meeting for sail away. Talked wth Vegascrossfire and her husband but didn’t know who else were CC members. It was a little chilly, windy, and overcast so at 5:20 we went to the buffet and got some blue cheese and bread to eat with our wine and sat inside by a window in the buffet. Then we went to the spa.

7:15pm

We went to Versailles for dinner and there wasn’t a wait. We got pork and veggie spring roll (great) , broccoli bisque (ok), Caesar salad (great) and we both got surf & turf (great). I went with two lobster tails and didn’t get steak. DW got NY strip and lobster and the dinner NY strip was a much better cut of meat than the lunch cut. The dinner one is much thicker and more was done to enhance the flavor. Again she ordered it medium rare and it came out medium well which was perfect for her. For dessert DW had cheesecake with raspberry sauce (good, tasted like a box cheesecake from the grocery store…which is fine because at least it tastes like cheesecake that I love in America and not what Europe considers cheesecake.) I had the bread pudding with caramel sauce (ok). It wasn’t as good as the apple bread pudding at lunch.

8:15

Went back to our room and room steward Flavia was in the hall and said, “You must be Bill and Bianca.” I playfully replied back, “How did you know that?” She said that according to her passenger manifest we were the youngest people in her section so clearly it was us. We are 32/34 and I have to say that the average age of this cruise is way over that. Back in our room we discovered our 4th bag had been delivered. As I suspected they had removed the wine from it and left a receipt to pick it up the night before debarkation. They also took my leatherman and gave us a receipt for it too. Obviously nobody should be taking stuff like that on a cruise ship but we are moving back to the USA so we have lots of stuff you don’t need on a cruise ship and it’s surprising that’s all they took.

9:15

I went to the late show in the Stardust Theatre and sat next to Vegascrossfire. DW would rather read than go to live entertainment so she didn’t come. The first 15 minutes of the show was Candi the cruise director introducing the important ship people. The act followed and lasted 45 minutes. 4 guys from Spain and Uruguay covered some songs with the Star Band playing the music. The group is called FourEver and they were very talented. There was not much production value to it but they sounded nice and I would of happily sat for another hour listening to them sing.

10:15

Went back to the cabin after the show and finished off the bottle of wine with DW and watched a little TV before going to bed. I didn’t sleep very well though, there was a lot of knocking noises until about 2am when it for some reason just stopped. The bed was very comfortable so it was probably just a combination of the noises until 2am and it being the first time ever for me trying to sleep on a ship.

 

DAY 2

9:15am

Woke up to some choppy seas today and it only got choppier as the day went on. Went to Versailles for breakfast. Lots of people showed up at the same time so we had to wait for the hostess to get them seated, took maybe 5 minutes. I got coffee and DW got decaf and OJ. They brought me my own carafe of coffee which I thought was a nice touch. DW said the OJ was great but the decaf was horrible. My coffee was fine. I ordered 2 scrambled eggs, corned beef hash, and biscuits and gravy. It all tasted ok, probably below the quality of Denny’s. My order came out wrong also, they brought me bacon and hash brown potato rounds instead of corned beef hash. They quickly brought my has though. I like corned beef hash from a can and this stuff they gave me was a little too gourmet for its own good. Also, the scrambled eggs tasted like the yellow stuff from a carton. I’m pretty sure they use all fresh eggs for everything but I’d like to know how they made those eggs be that way and why they would do that. DW had ½ grapefruit (great) and a bagel w/ smoked salmon (good).

10am

Went to the gym for 20 minutes then to the spa.

11:30

Cruise Critic m&g at Ginza. Seemed like a good turnout. Candi introduced the captain and all the important people that were introduced already at the show the night before. Captain invited us to tour the bridge and answered any questions we had. There was cookies, muffins, coffee and tea.

12 noon

Went to Versailles for lunch, no wait, not busy. I got the calamari again but it wasn’t as good as the day before, good but not great. DW got the Vietnamese spring roll again and said it was good just like the day before. We got the shrimp ceasar salad again and also the cob salad (both great). I also ordered the cheeseburger (good). The burger took a while to come out and the server never asked if we wanted anything besides water to drink but other than that lunch was good and I had no complaints.

1pm

Went back to the spa. A great day to have a pass to the spa because even though it’s sunny outside it’s very windy, chilly, and the sea is pretty choppy so the pool deck would not be a fun place, if it was even open. The lap pool in the spa was sloshing back and forth pretty good and the water in the hot tub kept washing over the side. There was a wine tasting at 2pm and a martini tasting at 4pm and we would have done one or both of them but the boat was just moving too much to care about drinking. At 2:30 we went back to the room so DW could take a Dramamine and then watched TV and relaxed on the bed. We decided to wait in the room until 5pm and to go to Versailles for an early dinner.

5:30pm

We decided to eat at Aqua for dinner since it’s in the middle of the ship and it’s less up and down there. On the way I stopped and got a free coffee at the Moderno bar. The Aqua dining room is not as nice and fancy as Versailles and Aqua looks to be a bit smaller too. The service is the same in both dining rooms. For dinner I ordered the pork &veggie spring roll (great again), French onion soup (good…I’ve had really good and really bad French onion soup and this was good and I liked it better than the broccoli bisque.), and I ordered the veal schnitzel (great) which was the special entrée of the night. We spent 10 weeks in Austria and Germany before going on this cruise and the wienerschnitzel is expensive and all pretty much tastes the same and the one I had in Aqua was just as good if not better than the ones I had in Austria and Germany. DW got a beef empanada (ok), salad w/ pear & blue cheese (great), pan seared trout (good). For dessert we had pecan pie and a fruit plate and both were good. Lemonade with dinner and greet tea with dessert. We were done eating at 6:40.

6:40

Sat in the grand atrium above Java Café next to Blue Lagoon. At 6:57 a couple Spanish guys came out and played some Spanish guitar and sang. I left DW there reading her book and went to Stardust theatre for the nights show.

7:15pm

The show was Band On The Run performed by the Norwegian Star production staff and it started at 7:19 and ended at 8. This show was high on production value…when compared to the 4 guys from the night before. This was a group of about 20 people in their late 20’s and 30’s dancing around and constantly changing costumes and singing rock and disco music. There was lots of Styx, Queen, ABBA, and disco. I thought it was a little silly but hey I can neither sing nor dance as well as them so it was entertaining. They received a standing ovation at the end which I thought was generous on the part of the crowd especially considering the cast was never really able to get the audience to participate.

8pm

After the show I went back to the atrium where DW was reading her book. At that time there was a trio singing and playing melodic tunes like Simon & Garfunkel covers. DW wasn’t feeling well so we went back to the room and turned in for the night. There was a disco party tonight that would have been fun to go to. Not sure how much of a party they are going to have give the age demographic of this cruise but my guess is that the Band On The Run people will be there to make it a party. Turned the clock back an hour.

DAY 3

8am

Before going to bed the night before I put a breakfast room service order outside the door. All breakfast room service orders need to be on the door before 4am. I requested 8am delivery of coffee, OJ, chocolate croissant, and a banana. At 7:57am it arrived. They brought regular croissants, a plate of mixed fruit, a banana, a pot of coffee with 2 cups, 2 glasses of OJ, and cream but no sugar for the coffee. I’d say room service is very nice and they did a good job and I have Stevia so I didn’t need sugar anyway.

8:50am

West to Versailles for breakfast and had a 5 minute wait while they seated everyone who had just gotten there before us, maybe 20 people. DW had eggs Benedict (good) and I had a waffle and berry yogurt (good). We finished at 9:20 then went to the spa until 11am.

11:15am

Went to the Blue Lagoon for lunch. I learned that Blue Lagoon is open from 6am to 3am and they have a 30 minute period between 11am and 11:30pm where there is no food service while the turnover from breakfast to the regular menu. From 6am to 11am you can only order from their breakfast menu. We ordered spicy chicken wings (they were not spicy and they were not what I consider traditional hot wings. Despite this, they are very good, just don’t expect them to be like hot wings you get most places.) We also got the spinach dip and it wasn’t that good, very runny and not very cheesy. We also ordered the chicken tenders (good) and fish and chips (good). We ate fast because they were showing a movie in Stardust at noon that DW wanted to see.

12 noon

Went to Stardust theatre for a movie, Mirror Mirror. Stardust makes a great movie theatre and even though I didn’t care for the movie it was still a fun way to spend my time. After the movie we went back to the room and watched some tv to kill time until the margarita tasting.

3pm

Margarita tasting. On the way to Moderno we took a detour up to the pool deck to see how many people were braving the windy chilly weather to get some sun. There were some people out there and a few people in one of the hot tubs…not many people out there though. Then we went to the buffet so DW could get a plate of broccoli…she likes vegetables. At the tasting there were 3 couples and 1 single woman. For $15 you got 4 small Margaritas. The couples all shared. There are lots of alcohol tastings on this cruise, like three different kinds every day. Today was Mojito then Margarita then Scotch Whiskey. On other days there are other types of tastings like French wine, beer, old world wine, martini…There are lots of drink discount specials going on. They always have the beer bucket special and the “eye opener” $4.25 mimosa, bloody mary, and screw driver from 6am to 11am. The next day they have mojitos for $4.95 at the pool from 2-5pm. So there is always a drink special happening somewhere.

4pm

Went to guest services because there was no line when we walked by and asked them about our 2 wheel dolly that never showed up. The lady knew exactly what I was talking about and brought it right out. We took it back to the room.

4:15

In one of the inserts of the daily there was a coupon for buy one get one free on house brands at Red Lion pub from 5-7pm. So we went to Red Lion Pub and played scrabble and ate chips and salsa until 5pm and then ordered our drink with the coupon. You had to have the coupon, I’m not sure if everybody got one considering the bartender said it was only for people who had the coupon and the people at the Margarita tasting knew nothing about it and the place wasn’t standing room only…it was full though. Part of the reason for it being full was that they were having a “Name That ABBA Song” trivia contest at 5pm in there. The coupon didn’t include beer but it did include house wine. So we got a glass of white and red house wine and only paid for one of them. You only got one drink order with the coupon, they billed it has “Happy Hour” but apparently it was “Happy Drink”. It’s possible that you could order 3 drinks and get 3 free if you ordered them all at once, I’m not sure.

5:40

Went to dinner at Aqua because tonight was dress up or not and we didn’t and figured we’d fit in more at Aqua tonight. The line ahead of us was sat much faster than at Versailles. I didn’t see any gowns in Aqua and only a couple suits. We ordered pork & veg. spring roll (great as always), crab fritters (good), Broccoli Bisque (ok…don’t know why DW wanted this again), French Onion soup (good, again), mixed green salad and salmon tartar ordered together (great). The way they serve you is interesting, they bring all the starters, soups, and salads out and set them off to the side and then serve them to you as you finish them in the “proper” order. For entrée we had the Ribeye and shrimp scampi over risotto. They were both good and the Ribeye actually came out perfectly rare which is how I ordered it. For dessert we had strawberry soufflé (great). After dinner we went to the spa and then turned in for the night. The show this night was a hypnotist and I wasn’t interested so no show for me tonight.

Day 4

8:15

Got our breakfast via room service then went to Blue Lagoon to try the French toast(good). Then we went to the spa.

1:30

Went to the buffet to get some food to eat outside on the pool deck while we drank mojitos which were on special at Topsiders for $4.95 from 2pm to 5pm.

3:30

I left DW lounging on a clam chair near the forward section of deck 12 and went to the Cruise Critic Cabin Crawl. We had 8 cabins on the crawl including our inside on deck 4 which was the last one on the crawl. They did a poker hand thing for $10 and had 2 winners. After the crawl I went back to Topsiders and met DW for a couple more mojitos before 5pm.

5:40

Went to Versailles for dinner and had a very good dinner. I got a sausage appetizer (good), tomato soup (good), and Caesar salad (great) and prime rib medium rare (good). DW had a beef quesadilla (good), French Onion soup (good), endive apple salad (great), and salmon (ok, kind of dry but the sides were good).

8:15pm

I went to a show in Spinaker where the singers from Second City were performing broadway musical songs and cabaret. It was very good. I didn’t go to the main show tonight which was a juggling/comedy act. After the show I met DW in the spa and then we turned in for the night.

9:45pm

We went to the buffet to get some water and flavored water and something to snack on. They had cheese dip for the tortilla chips which was the first I’d seen of it so we got some chips and cheese dip and took it back to the room. The buffet is open for snacks from 9:30pm to 11:30pm and they have sandwich stuff and desserts and burgers/dogs and chicken wings.

Day 5

Just like every day there are lectures, seminars, demonstrations, alcohol tastings for a fee, etc…a movie in the Stardust, live music like everywhere, and the show tonight is a violinist.

7:55am

Room service breakfast delivered. I’ve decided that with all the food we are eating we need to start cutting back somewhere because I don’t want to spend an hour in the gym every day. So just a chocolate croissant and coffee for breakfast from now on…at 8:15…yeah they were 20 minutes early today.

9am

Spa.

12noon

Had lunch on the pool deck at the grill. Had some good bratwurst, sauerkraut, chicken leg, and fries. Hung out on the pool deck in the sun.

3pm

Watched The Bourne Legacy in Stardust Theatre.

5:30

Went to Gatsby’s to listen to the Spanish guitar duo and get a couple drinks before our dinner date in the main dining room with another couple our age we met on the cruise. I had a 25oz can of Fosters and DW had a Long Island. Cost including gratuity was $17.77.

7:15pm

Met a couple for dinner at Versailles. I had ribs and shrimp (great) and DW had the NY strip, ordered medium and came out medium. (good). For dessert I had a baked apple wrapped in puff pastry (good). After dinner we went back to the room for the night.

Day 6

8am

Room service showed up early at 8am again. I went to the gym after we ate and then met DW in the spa.

11:30

Went to Blue Lagoon for some chicken wings for a snack before the movie in Spinnaker. They showed Sherlock Holmes. Today is our only day on the TA that’s not at sea. We are at port in Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal. DW and I decided we would go onshore if the weather was nice to walk around the center of town but…weather was overcast and a little drizzly so we stayed on the ship. They showed the movie today in Spinnaker probably because there wasn’t enough people on the ship to fill up the Stardust theatre. Watching a movie in Spinnaker is like watching a movie in your buddy’s awesome man cave. It’s very cozy and comfortable but it’s not like a real movie theatre like Stardust is.

2:15pm

Went to the pool deck/buffet to get some lunch to eat while we sat at the bar and had a couple margaritas. The margaritas were on special, $4.95 from 2pm to 5pm. I ate a hot dog from the grill and got some seasoned curly fries from the buffet. We drank 2 margaritas at the bar and got 2 to go and took them to the 3pm show featuring a local group that came onboard just for the day. The price including gratuity for 4 margaritas was $22.77.

3pm

This local show was put on in Spinnaker. There was enough people back onboard by 3pm that Spinnaker was full for the show. It was a good show featuring local folk music and dancing. It was kind of like watching a hoe down with a Portuguese theme. After the show we went back to the spa and stayed until we had sailed away.

6pm

Went back to Blue Lagoon and got some chicken wings to snack on and sat in the chairs overlooking the Atrium and listened to the piano player while we played scrabble.

7:45pm

Went to Versailles for dinner. Ate the usual apps and ordered a sirloin (good) and a Thai chicken and shrimp coconut curry (great). The shrimp they used were the same breaded and fried shrimp from the ribs and shrimp dinner the night before and I loved those. For dessert I had the no sugar added carrot cake and I thought it was going to be bad but it turned out to be good. I’d get it again if there wasn’t something else new and exciting on the dessert menu. After dinner DW went to the room to read and I went up to Star Bar where the Showband Trio was playing jazz music. I hadn’t been in the Star Bar up till now and I really liked it there. It’s at the top of the boat next to Cagney’s and it’s glassed in overlooking the pool deck. It’s a great place for jazz or blues. When the musicians took a break I headed down to Gatsby’s to check out Kenny the Human Juke Box playing there. I listened to a couple songs then retired. On my way back to my room I stopped by Stardust to poke my head on the late show that had started 15 minutes before. It looked like a good show but I didn’t stay.

DAY 7

8:30am

Room service showed up 15 minutes late today…which is better than early in my opinion. After we ate we went to the spa.

11:30am

Went to Versailles for lunch. Got a grilled chicken sandwich (great) and a Philly cheesesteak (ok). For appetizers we had calamari (great) and eggplant and olive tapenade. Then we went back to the spa.

3:30pm

Went to the pool deck and laid out on loungers until 5:30pm.

5:30pm

Had dinner at Aqua by myself tonight. Had 2 spring rolls (great) and English Cut Beef Sirloin(good). For dessert I had mocha cheesecake (good).

6:30pm

Sat in the atrium on deck 8 overlooking Java Café and listened to Kenny the human jukebox play a few songs while I waited for the night’s show in Stardust to start.

7:15pm

Second City performed their sketch comedy routine. It wasn’t my cup of tea but the audience seemed to like it. They were clapping and getting into it…they didn’t get a standing ovation though; despite the Norwegian Star production staff sitting in the audience and standing up at the end…nice try.

8:15pm

Went to Star Bar to listen to some melodic piano playing and drank some wine. When I have been in the Star Bar in the evening there hasn’t been many people there which is surprising because it’s a nice place with a good location and the music entertainment is very fitting for the atmosphere there.

Day 8

9am

Went to the buffet for breakfast then went to the spa.

12noon

Went to the buffet for lunch; they were having a German theme. I had 2 types of sausage, sauerbraten, braised red cabbage, wiener schnitzel, and bread dumpling (all ok).

1pm

Went to the gum for the Spa Raffle which took 15 minutes and we didn’t win anything. They gave us a coupon for a multi service package for $129. A great deal if you were already planning on using those services but for me $129 wasn’t in the budget so I threw it away. We went out to the pool deck to get some sun but there wasn’t any sun so we went back to the spa.

3pm

The group from the opening night show called FourEver did an encore performance at the Stardust theatre and it was just as good as the first performance and Stardust was packed out. These 4 guys can really sing. After the show we went back to the room and watched a movie.

6pm

I had room service bring us a bottle of house red wine which cost $27.80 gratuity included. We took that to Aqua and had a glass of wine with dinner. They had the lunch calamari as a dinner appetizer tonight but with marinara dipping sauce instead of the mayonnaise dipping sauce it comes with at lunch. It was just as great for dinner as it is for lunch. I got a split pea soup which was just ok. For dinner I had beef brochettes (great). DW had parmesan chicken but she change out what it came with for spinach which totally changed the dish so I’m not rating it.

7:15pm

Tonights show was Oscar Silvera which was billed as a show of interactive comedy, music, and visual effects. It started at 7:22 and it was a good show. They guy did some amazing stuff with a guitar and a piano and two ropes with a hard ball tied on the ends. He was pretty funny too.

8:15pm

After the show we took our bottle of wine up to Star Bar and listened to some melodic piano playing until 10pm. We still had a little wine left for DW to drink tomorrow.

Day 9

8:15am

Breakfast room service showed up today around 8:05. Left the room around 9 and went to the gym for 15 minutes before going to the spa where I stayed until lunch.\

12 noon

Went to Versailles for lunch. DW had appetizers only and I had roasted corn and potato chowder (good) and the grilled chicken sandwich(great). After lunch we went outside and lounged in the sun and I got a bucket of beer (6 cans, 25oz each, $40).

3pm

I went to a matinee magic show in Stardust which was pretty good and then went back outside.

6pm

Went to Aqua for dinner. Had oyster Rockefeller (great), mushroom quesadilla (good), tortilla soup (good), mixed green salad with chicken skewer (great), eggplant parmesan (great), and shrimp and minion steak (great). For dessert we had flan (good) and a no sugar added peach tart (ok…I ate it).

7:15pm

Tonights show was a comedian, he was ok. After the show I met DW in the spa before turning in for the night. Lots of stuff going on today that we didn’t do. Our cruise critic bridge tour was this morning but we skipped it.

Day 10

Room service came at 8:10am today. Went to the spa.

12noon

Went to the buffet for lunch, it was a Mexican theme today. There was a few really good things like the Spanish rice, chicken in tomatillo sauce, and a chicken tortilla casserole which they called Mexican lasagna.

1pm

We watched Sherlock Holmes 2 in Spinnaker.

3pm

Went outside to get some sun but we were about to hit rain right then so we waited out the rain in Star Bar. After the rain was done we went back out and got a little sun before the sun went away completely around 4:30.

5pm

I took one of my Fosters to the Java Café and listened to some live music. DW ordered the Ultimate Margarita, $10.93 gratuity included. While we were there I went over to the credit desk and got a printout of our onboard account transactions and there was no surprises…ok there was 1 surprise, we had an extra $100 OBC that we didn’t know about. Up to this point we have spent $200 on alcohol and $358 on the spa passes. We had $100 OBC plus that additional $100 OBC we didn’t know about so up to now our alcohol has been completely covered by OBC.

6pm

Went to Aqua for dinner. I had an excellent tomato cream soup (great) and DW got the French onion soup (good). DW had the Caesar salad for entrée and much to my surprise they had prime rib again. The first time we had prime rib on the cruise I asked about if they would have it again and they said no…guess the server didn’t know but answered “no” anyway. So I got the prime rib (good). It wasn’t as great as it was the first night but I think I just didn’t get as good of a cut as I did the first time. Also, I asked for medium rare and it was medium. For dessert I got a molten chocolate cake. It was delicious but DW didn’t agree. It wasn’t like the molten chocolate cake you get at Chili’s which in my opinion is the best you can get but, this version was good and I ate it all even though I was full. I had the server bring me a large mug of the tomato soup to take with me to the show. The tomato soup was seriously good, too bad they didn’t have it every day. Also, there was a tomato soup offered earlier in the cruise but it wasn’t as good.

7:15

Tonight’s show was the Duo Bolshakov billed as aerial skills, quick change, aerial straps, acrobatic duo, aerial ring, balance and cube elements. It’s a husband and wife team and they are pretty young. It’s a nice show, nothing too awesome, but I have a feeling they could probably do a lot more if they were not doing it on a cruise ship. They showed a cute video of themselves with pictures of them as little kids and wedding photo and pictures with their little baby. They got a standing ovation by everyone.

8pm

Went to Star Bar and played scrabble and drank another Fosters. DW ordered a drink called Paloma which has grapefruit juice and tequila and a couple other things, $8.05 gratuity included. Piano music started up at 8:40pm and we sat there killing time until 9:20.

9:30pm

Tonight is the chocoholic buffet. The schedule said it started at 9:30 but they opened the doors a little early. I was not impressed with anything they had to eat but it is at the very least worth going just to look at the chocolate sculptures and ice sculptures. They were selling champagne for $9 and Godiva chocolate liquor shots for $6.25. Practically all the chocolate desserts they had was stuff that’s available in the buffet every day so I don’t really understand the novelty of it but people were going crazy pushing and shoving and scurrying about trying to get their chocolate…pretty ridiculous. My suggestion is go and have a look around but don’t get inline for the chocolate buffet and don’t eat anything. Also, they had 3 lines so if you go don’t get in the first line that starts at the door just go in and walk past the first buffet area and possibly the second area too if it’s also busy. We turned in after this.

Day 11

8:05am

Room service came at 8:05. Ate breakfast and watched some tv shows that we had on our computer then went out to the pool deck to get some morning sun before the sun got too strong. It was warm and sunny out on deck so it was pretty nice. I got into the pool on deck for the first time and found out that it’s a salt water pool, a little longer and a foot deeper than the pool in the spa. I also went down the water slide but ended up having to push myself down the slide…guess it’s not designed for adults ( I only weigh 155 lbs so…). It was actually so hot outside that we only stayed out in the sun for 30 minutes before we decided to go to the spa and go back outside later in the day.

12noon

Went to the buffet for lunch and grabbed some curly fries and then went out to the grill by the pool and got a hotdog. DW got a pineapple burger. After we ate we grabbed a couple loungers and lounged around outside until 4:30 when the clouds took over the sky and the sun was gone forever. We also got a couple margaritas while we were out there for $5.69 each, gratuity included. It seemed like almost every day on this cruise they had $4.95 margaritas at the pool from 2-5pm. I actually took the second one to the room and put it in the fridge to drink later. We get our margaritas straight up so that there is no ice melt to water it down.

5pm

Went to Versailles for dinner. I had baked shrimp scampi (great), pumpkin and ginger soup (great), and leg of lamb (good). DW had the Caesar salad and a lobster and seafood extravaganza linguine alfredo (excellent). For dessert we had a no sugar added raspberry cheesecake (very poor), and a crème brulee (good).

7:30pm

Went to Star Bar to listen to jazz and took that margarita in the fridge with me and DW ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc which was $8.91 gratuity included.

9:30pm

Went out to the pool deck and got in one of the 4 hot tubs that are around the pool. 2 of them were too hot to get in which explained why when we got out there nobody was in them. After a few minutes it started raining pretty hard and even though there is a covering over the hot tub it’s too high up to keep the blowing rain off you so we were still getting a little rain on our heads and in our faces but we stayed anyway. The pool area is supposed to be closed at 10pm but nobody from NCL was enforcing it. We went back to our room around 10:15pm.

Day 12

9am

Went to Versailles for breakfast. DW had eggs benedict (good) and I had 3 eggs over easy and hashbrowns (good). I also ordered a chocolate croissant to have with my coffee but they never brought it and I didn’t really care so I didn’t ask them about it. We decided to spend the day outside on the pool deck and not go to the spa today. We were able to get good lounge chairs by the pool but in the shade. There were plenty of free loungers in the sun too so when we wanted to get sun we just went to one of those for 20 minutes. They had a bbq at the pool today where they were grilling steaks, chicken, hotdogs, and vegetables (excellent). When 2pm rolled around we started ordering margaritas for the $4.95 2-5pm special at the pool. We ended up getting a total of 4 for $22.77 gratuity included. They had some live music interspersed with DJ music all morning and afternoon. They also did the NCL Star sexiest lady contest. A woman from the Azores won, she was in her 50’s and a ship full of people of advanced age were clearly not voting based on “sexy”. So here’s a tip, if you are a young good looking woman looking for some self esteem I suggest you not try and find it by crawling on all 4s meowing like a cat and rubbing ice all over you because grandma and grandpa will not vote for you and you’ll have ended up degrading yourself for no reason. I also did the waterslide one more time, this time I did the other slide and made it all the way down without getting stuck. So one slide is better than the other, you should try both. We stayed outside at the pool until 5pm.

5pm

We left the pool and went back to the room and changed into our evening clothes. Then we went to Gatsby’s to listen to the jazz music and we got a bottle of Blackstone Merlot ($37.95 gratuity included). We drank half the bottle there and took the rest to dinner.

7:45pm

Went to Versailles for the last dinner of the cruise. I had seafood fritters (good), seafood chowder (excellent) and beef stroganoff (good). DW had the quesadilla (good), nicoise salad (good), and Ribeye (good). For dessert I had a coconut soufflé (good, not as good as the strawberry soufflé from earlier in the cruise) and DW got the cheese plate (good). Dinner took a while tonight, probably because the cooking and serving staff was making an appearance at the 7:15 Elements show and that slowed dinner down. We spent a lot of time sitting at the table with nothing in front of us to eat which is normal when you go out to eat at a restaurant but wasn’t normal for the cruise. No big deal though since the 2nd Elements show didn’t start until 9:30 so we had plenty of time. After dinner we went to Stardust early and got our seats then DW went to the room to finish packing our stuff.

9:30pm

When you first walk into the theatre for this show you can tell that it’s going to be cool. Instead of walking into a lit theatre with the stage curtain closed you walked into a dimly lit theatre with cool earthy music playing and the stage set was there looking all cool. We sat two rows behind the row where they blocked off some seats which ended up being blocked off because during the show people were dangling from the ceiling directly over those seats. I thought the show was pretty cool and even if all the people on stage would have had no talent it still would have been cool. The stage set was cool, the lighting was cool, the music was cool, it was just all around very cool. The show mainly consisted of the magician and his wife, the acrobatic duo, and the Star Production performers doing stuff that melded all their talents into one very cool show. After the show they brought out a bunch of the staff from all the different departments on the ship. I’ll note that DW didn’t think much of the show but, she doesn’t care for such things anyway which is why I attended many of the shows on this cruise by myself. After the show we went to bed because this was the 3rd day in a row we had turned our clock back 1 hour so it felt a lot later than 10:30.

Day 13 (Debarkation)

5:30am

We docked in Miami early, we were supposed to get there at 8am. Now’s a good time to tell you that there was a lot of very loud noise when the ship docked in the Azores and in Miami and it probably is because of where our cabin was at deck 4 forward so keep that in mind when choosing a room, especially if you’re going on a port intensive itinerary and don’t want to be awake at 5:30am every day. Went back to sleep until 7am. At 7am they announced that people carrying off their own luggage were free to leave the ship. At 8am they started announcing luggage tag colors. I went to the Java Café and got a large café mocha ($4.92 gratuity included) and 2 chocolate croissants and 1 regular croissant for DW. After we ate the room steward came by to see if we were still there. We explained we were leaving soon but not yet and then we went up to the top deck to take a look at Miami and get a picture. Then we went down and got our stuff and made our way up to deck 7 forward to exit the ship. When we got to the exit a long line had started to form and the people doing excursions had also just started exiting and we couldn’t get in front of them. So we walked with our 180lbs of luggage to the mid section and exited there only to get stuck in another line, but at least it wasn’t as long. It turns out that customs was having issues…2 hours later we were through customs…yeah let’s not talk about it. Our cruise had a high percentage of foreign passengers (because it was a TA from Europe) and each of them had to be photographed and have their fingerprints taken and had to be extra thoroughly questioned. So that’s the reason this was one of the slowest debarktions of all time. So it turns out that easy walk off was not so easy since we spent 2 hours getting 180 lbs of luggage through customs.

 

THE END

OVERALL:

Service: Excellent. I overheard a couple people saying it was the best service they ever had on a cruise. I was most impressed with the serving staff, they pulled out your chair for you, put your napkin in your lap for you, handed you the menu, explained the daily special, took your drink order and cleared unnecessary glasses from the table, brought bread, water, took your empty dish immediately after you took your last bite and replaced it with your next course immediately…it was really nice.

Stateroom: Good. I thought the inside room was plenty big enough but I did overhear a few people complaining about how their stateroom was the smallest they had seen on a cruise ship. But if you are large or have trouble moving around in tight spaces then you’re going to think it’s too small.

Ship: People have commented previously that they could see signs of wear and tear on this ship. I didn’t see any…but I wasn’t looking for it either. I thought it was nice. We never had trouble finding a lounger on deck during “this” cruise. The spa is very nice with a great aft view and I would get the spa pass again on a similar TA cruise like this.

Entertainment: I liked all the shows I went to except Second City. Second City did at least 3 different shows and I only went to the first one, and since I didn’t like that one, I skipped the other ones so it’s possible they did better in those. I also don’t like sketch comedy to begin with and that’s their shtick. If you only see one show than see Elements at the end of the cruise.

Food: Good. Breakfast and lunch options are always the same and there are some good and some bad. Lots of people have commented that the food on NCL is too salty but I never thought that was the case and I added salt and pepper to a lot of things. Dinner was always good and sometimes great. Highlights were anything that involved beef, anything that involved shrimp, the opening night lobster, tomato basil cream soup, and the spring roll. Desserts were very hit and miss. Every night they had 1 or 2 new desserts and I always at least tried one unless they just didn’t sound appealing at all to me. The crème brulee and soufflés were good. I overheard lots of people complaining about the desserts and one person who raved about the crepes in the buffet (which I never tried). We never ate at one of the pay restaurants. The chicken wings at Blue Lagoon were great.

Best: Spa, dinners, Elements show.

Worst: Debarkation

Cost: $275 alcohol. $358 Spa Pass, $200 OBC = Net cost $432

Base cost: Stateroom $1,400, Prepaid Gratuity $288 = Total $1,688 + $432 = $2,120 = $177/day

I am posting this review in thanks to all the people on Cruise Critic who have ever posted something I found helpful in planning for this cruise and am paying it forward to everyone else.

Hi there Danish Viking

Someone posted on our roll call that they weren't sure which port in Copenhagen the Norwegian Star would depart. I didn't know there were two ports. Can you help clarify this at all?

 

One day I read through all the pages of this extremely long thread and got extremely informed on Copenhagen(it took a really long time)...5 seconds ago I did a search for your specific question...(it took 5 seconds)...

 

Use the Search bar...tell your friends. :)

 

Since there are multiple ports in Copenhagen, I dug around to find the port schedule so I could keep the travelling to a minimum. Thought I would share.

 

http://www.cmport.com/ships-in-port/cruise-ships/~/media/docs/business%204/cruise%20passenger%20information/cruise%20calls%20season%202013%20as%20per%20march%202013.ashx

 

 

Sundkaj C245 and Orientkaj C254 is on the same pier (freeport terminal) so it doesnt matter which one it is.

 

The others are Langelinie Pier C190, Nordre Toldbod C170 and from next year C330 aka the cruise terminal.

 

It varies between 245 and 254 but as i said, it doesn´t matter for you, just if you have to turn left or right at the terminal.

 

http://www.cmport.com/maps/copenhagen/frihavnen

 

 

Depending on the date you can take bus 26 directly from the bus stop at Pakhusvej towards Færgehavn Nord or Unicef and get off at Kalkbrænderihavnsgade.

 

But its only on regular weekdays, so not on public holidays and weekends.

Hey you people! Stop laughing at me. :D

 

cruise_alot123 - My DW lived in Wash.DC at Capitol Hill near Eastern Market before we got married. We have family there. We are there every year...if we're not abroad that is. We'll meet you at We The Pizza for a pint and pie and laugh about the time you offered to buy me a hot dog. Enjoy the Cherry Blossoms! I hope the recent cold weather hasn't sent them to an early demise this year.

 

"In 1807 the British attacked Copenhagen from the sea and then landed thousands of troops and destroyed most of the city. Several historians consider this battle was the first terror attack against a major European city in modern times." Wikipedia-paraphrased.

I find that to be the most interesting part of Copenhagen's history. Bam! this post is now Copenhagen related. :)

:mad:

It's amazing why some people willing to spend $ 5,000 plus for the cruise and air but willing to go through the hassle and stress to save a few bucks which is not even enough to buy a hot dog. LOL...

 

If my wife makes me "walk 3 miles" with luggages to save "48 kroner" I'll tell her get a divorce lawyer ASAP.

 

48.00 DKK = 8.40 USD

 

1. I paid $1,688 for the cruise net of taxes, fees, and gratuity.

2. I'll already be in Germany so I'm not paying to fly anywhere. The train will cost me about $150.

3. My wife and I are in Peace Corps. We have no income other than what they give us for a living allowance and in Mongolia that ain't much.

4. Luckily we have no debt and are very mobile but by the time we get to Copenhagen we will have no job, no income, and about $10,000 to our name.

5. I am young, strong, and full of stamina so if my wife wants to walk 3 miles it's not the end of the world...or my marriage.

6. Our PC service is done in July and PC will buy us flights home to the USA or give us the cash equivalent. The cost of the cruise plus travel from Mongolia to Europe is the same as the cost of a flight home from Mongolia. We're going home...the cruise is less than the cost of a flight from Europe to America so cruise it is.

7. There is a wide range of budgets. I don't think it's amazing to see people show up to the port in a limo, stay in the 6,000 sq ft Garden Villa, drop 20,000 at the casino, and pay extra for specialty dining every night.

8. Just because a hot dog costs $10 in Copenhagen doesn't mean you should LOL @ me because I can't afford it. :p

 

 

On a somewhat similar subject, the citybike system of public bike transportation was phased out in 2012 and a new system called gobike (gobike.com or gobike.dk) will be introduced in the 3rd quarter of 2013 according to the gobike staff that E-mailed me. So, gone are the 20 kroner coin operated bikes :(. The new bike system is totally integrated into the latest technology and looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. Details are scarce but it doesn't seem like it will be a free system like the coin operated bikes were which is really the sad part about all this. The new gobike system looks like it is pretty cool though. :cool:

http://ruk.ca/content/how-use-copenhagen-city-bikes

 

 

This is awesome. No deposit, no time limit, completely coin operated.

 

"The greatest thing about the City Bike program over renting a bike, other than price, is that you can get a bike where and for as long as you need it."

 

You can basically just get a bike for $4 and leave it where ever you want.If somebody takes it no big deal, you are just out $4.

If you want to make sure nobody takes it then just lock it back up at a near by bike station.

 

Wow, you guys...this is really cool! :cool:

I told her it was going to be a 5km walk from the hotel (3 miles) and she said she would rather walk 3 miles and spend the 48 kroner on something else. I told her we'll walk over there the day before so she can see how far it is and then decide...lol, we are like 2 budget levels below Rick Steves.

 

Something else I was wondering about is the public bike system. I read that it requires a 20kroner deposit. In Paris you just go up to the bike station and put in a credit card and start a 7 day account and the deposit is charged to your card and then after you return the bike and your account period ends the deposit is auto refunded on your card. In Hangzhou, China you had to go to one of the "main" bike stations and have the attendant generate a card for your account and you had to pay something like $50(yuan equivalent) in cash which they would give back to you when you returned your account card. Obviously the Paris bike system was superior to the Hangzhou method. Do you know how it works in Copenhagen?

http://www.cmport.com/maps/copenhagen/frihavnen

 

That site shows that Freeport quay C254 (Orient) is not at the very end of the port like I thought it was but much closer to the main gate so of course you are right about the bus stop being Kalkbrænderihavnsgade. Thanks!

 

I wasn't able to read the maps that were linked to in previous posts.

My wife says she'd rather walk 5km with our bags than ride a bus for $10...holy cow we really are low budget :).

 

I was thinking we could take the bus all the way to Færgehavn Nord stop since I thought Freeport 254 was at this stop. Is that not true?

 

Thanks again for answering.

Whew! Finally made it to the end of this sucker.

 

Danish Viking you are a real blessing. Thanks for all the great info.

 

My wife and I are very low budget travelers making our way home to the USA on the Norwegian Star Oct. 1st TA cruise. According to the port schedule the Star should be at Freeport 254. We are coming to Copenhagen by train from Munich (Oktoberfest ;)). We will arrive Sept. 30th and stay the night at Hotel Nebo. This was the cheapest accommodation I could find in and around Copenhagen for a private double. It's even cheaper than the hostels for a private double. We'll probably spend the 30th(Monday) walking around taking pictures and looking for the cheapest food we can find. As I read through all 22 pages of this thread I was mostly looking for tips on where exactly the Star is docking and what the cheapest way to get there is going to be on a Tuesday morning. Fortunately, Hotel Nebo is next to the central train station so we have two cheap options, bus 26(assuming Oct. 1st isn't a holiday) or S-train. I've gathered all the important info together from 22 pages of you answering questions, in some cases you have answered the same question many times without complaint. Can you please take a look at the info and correct any mistakes and add any comments if you have them?

 

S-train

Central station(any train from track 9 or 10) to Nordhaven stop then walk about 15 minutes to port terminal. Train time = 14 minutes. Cost = 24 kroner

 

Bus

Bus 26 from Central station (every 20 minutes, direction UNICEF), get off at Færgehavn Nord stop(last stop?). The bus stop is on Kattegatvej just a couple hundred feet away from the water(according to google maps). Time = ?. Cost = 24 kroner

 

Sorry for this long post but after 22 pages of info, believe it or not, I do still have a couple questions:

 

1. Someone asked you if it would be OK to take the bus with all their luggage and you said yes because the floor at the front of the bus was low. I have the same question but my issue is that we will have a lot of luggage. We have been living overseas for 2.5 years and are moving back so we have a little more luggage than the average cruiser. We will each have a large 50lb duffel bag and a hiking back pack. For us it's not a matter of being able to lift our luggage but whether we can fit on the 26 bus at 10am on a Tuesday with all that stuff without looking like total jerks in the eyes of the nice daily commuters?

 

2. The Nebo Hotel is on the South East side of the train station, opposite side as the Hotel Nimb/Tivoli. Should we be on the Tivoli side or our hotel side of the station to catch the 26 bus?

I like beer and wine. My wife likes them also but not as much.

 

We usually share the alcohol when we eat out so on average I would say that for lunch we would get 3 beers and for dinner we would get 3 glasses of wine. Now on a normal day that's plenty. I've never cruised before :(but on a cruise ship the days are not normal. Everyday begins early and ends late with plenty of food almost 24/7. Whether I'm lounging outside or inside at one of the ships many venues I would probably enjoy a drink while doing so. Heck I'm on vacation, I might even want a Bloody Mary with breakfast everyday, after my coffee of course. During the afternoon between lunch and dinner I would enjoy a couple beers while lounging outside in the sun or inside at a trivia contest or something. After dinner I would probably enjoy a specialty alcohol coffee drink. And really late at night before heading off to my cabin for bed I might enjoy a late night snack of fish & chips or buffalo wings with a Sam Adams or Guiness.

 

All of that sounds like an amazing day and I would love to do that on vacation everyday. If my math is correct that's 11 drinks a day with my wife only drinking during lunch and dinner...doubt it but lets be conservative. At an average drink price of $5.50 that's about $60 a day for alcohol. I could get the cost down further by ordering buckets of beer and keeping them cold in my stateroom over a couple days while I drink them.

 

That being said...I will not drink that much because I'm not made of money. If I did drink that much I would not buy the UBP because my wife simply wouldn't hold up her end of that deal. I think the UBP sounds like it could be a good deal for a spring breaker or for somebody who wants to be a little "drunk" (not a little tipsy, not a little buzzed...a little "drunk") the entire cruise. In another life I'll sip Glenfidich scotch all day while playing games in the casino and listening to piano and jazz music in the lounges/pubs. In that life I'll have a throaty chain smoking wife who does the same. In that life I'll buy the UBP.

This is an extremely long thread and this card's rules and offers and in some cases everything about it has changed a lot over the last 7 years. That being said, I did look back to Sept.2012 and didn't see anything posted regarding this and I searched for "two cards" and didn't find a topic started.

 

Has anyone applied for two NCL cards, one for you and one for your spouse, and applied the bonus credit from each card to the same stateroom? I'm not talking about getting one account and having two cards issued for it, one with your name and one with your spouses name.

 

It would be nice if my wife and I could get two separate NCL credit card accounts and that both of us could apply the 10,000 points for OBC to the same stateroom thus giving us $200 in OBC for the cruise in addition to the OBC NCL gave us when we purchased the cruise.

 

I did call and talk to BofA WorldPoints and asked them if it was possible. They said it's possible to get two separate accounts and transfer the points from one account to the other if your spouse was listed as a co-applicant on the account you are listed as the primary. But my opinion is that when it comes to credit cards and banks, nothing is possible until it's been done. So has anyone done this?