Thinking of doing our first NCL on Star in Feb 2016. Some questions.

Hi everyone,

I've cruised before on Celebrity, HAL, Carnival and RCI. My husband and I are in our mid 40s with an 11 year old daughter. We're considering doing the Star in late Feb as a family since we haven't hit Roatan and Belize yet. We like balcony rooms midship. We're laid back and like to relax and enjoy ourselves and dine when we want to. We think NCL would be a good match for us and they have a cruise itinary we haven't done. We book by where the ship goes, not by the line/ship.

I don't drink anything but water and my husband drinks soda and adult beverages. We dine occasionally in specialty restaurants on cruises (maybe one or two nights), and I love the internet. We try to do one excursion per cruise and then do our own thing the other days in ports.

Looking at the "Free" items to pick what one is the best deal for our family?

Any comments on the Star for first timers?

Thanks so much!!!

OK... I may get shouted down for saying this... but here goes.

Have you considered sailing out of Miami on the Carnival Glory instead? Carnival has their own private facility on Roatan that is hugely superior to the NCL Roatan experience. Carnival's little spot (called Mahogany Bay) is just the most wonderful little slice of paradise you could imagine. You can just walk off the ship in Mahogany Bay and within a few minutes you're at a private beach. No charge. Zero. And no pesky locals bugging you on the beach to buy stuff.

Looking at the last week of February, for a standard balcony cabin for three people, the Norwegian Star would cost you $2626 but the Carnival Glory would only cost you $2105. And the Carnival Glory is a WAY better ship. The Norwegian Star is one of the oldest in the fleet and just doesn't have the amenities of the newer generation of cruise ships. The Carnival Glory is a Conquest-class ship, which is the bread-and-butter of Carnival's fleet. Not their newest, but really well equipped and very up to date with most of the latest stuff.

For me, if the price were the same, I would choose the Carnival Glory without hesitation. With the price difference as big as it is... it's simply a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned.

Sorry, NCL die-hards! I love the Getaway and can't wait for the Escape... but the Star... that was the worst cruise I've ever been on.

The Star was recently renovated (March 2015) and by no means (an old ship) Norwegian has the YOUNGEST fleet of ships in the Industry.

The Star is a beautiful ship and with the Freestyle dining & Splash academy for kids...it's really a family friendly ship.

If price is a factor, yes Carnival is less expensive but you get what you pay for. Also with the price he quoted you above for NCL, you get a choice of Free beverage package (including Soda) for the little one, free internet or $$ (onboard credit)

Good luck with whichever you choose!

The $500 difference would make me think twice!

The Star is not my least favorite ship, and I think would be fine for your family (which is like ours). But it's not my most favorite either. I would cruise her again without any hesitation but if I was making a recommendation for a new cruiser to NCL I would say to try one of the newer ships or the Jewel class ships. (I may care more about the ship layout than you do, though!)

The "free" things you are getting, either the adult beverage package (which does not include sodas) or the dining plan (which you wouldn't normally use to it's full advantage) isn't worth paying $500 more. How many internet minutes can you buy on Carnival for $500? You aren't likely to put up with cruise ship internet speed to get to that level!

A few things you would be getting on Carnival that you simply can not get on the Norwegian Star:

A waterslide for your kid.

A glass dome that can be closed to cover one of the swimming pools, in case of inclement weather.

Guy's Burger Joint, the best hamburgers available at sea... and no extra charge for those, too.

Several options for high-speed Internet, very reasonably priced... and with tremendously better connectivity than what is offered on even the newest NCL ships.

For the adults... you can buy margaritas by the pitcher at the blue iguana tequila bar... and that gives you four margaritas for only about $25.

Star has 2 waterslides (very kid friendly) and a new Bar called "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" Jimmy Buffet theme with killer Margarita's :)

Totally disagree with Spaniel Lover.

The star is a wonderful ship which has been recently refurbished. Wouldn't hesitate to sail once again on her.

Enjoy your cruise.

We were on it last week and as others have said, they did a great job with the refurb. Like you we prefer just water, so the free ultimate beverage package we got as part of out suite deal was wasted on us!

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OP you might want to carefully check the itinerary. you said that the ports are what interest you. NCL is building their new port Harvest Caye to take the place of Belize City. It was originally supposed to open this fall but the opening was delayed; some reports said it would open February 15 but there have been some recent posts saying that their itinerary was changed. If ports are a priority check carefully and make sure you're getting what you want!

Have done over 20 cruises with NCL and was on the Star in April. Definitely our least favourite ship. No Galaxy lounge that overlooks the ocean, no great outdoors at the back of the ship. Only one public area for entertainments- mid ship with I think, no large windows. If something like bingo or deal or no deal is on in there, which didn't interest us, there were no other activities to do. Have loved every other cruise with NCL, but we were absolutely bored on the sea days and struggled to find things that entertained us

Have you considered sailing out of Miami on the Carnival Glory instead? Carnival has their own private facility on Roatan that is hugely superior to the NCL Roatan experience. Carnival's little spot (called Mahogany Bay) is just the most wonderful little slice of paradise you could imagine. You can just walk off the ship in Mahogany Bay and within a few minutes you're at a private beach. No charge. Zero. And no pesky locals bugging you on the beach to buy stuff.

 

So, what's the point of going to a country if you're not going to experience the local culture, and lifestyle? Why would I want to go to a fake experience ... all nice and shiny and clean so I don't have to deal with locals? Seriously, no wonder Americans have so little idea of what the rest of the world is really like.

Star and Dawn are probably my least favorite ships in the fleet but I have to 100% disagree with going to Roatan and staying inside Mahogany Bay.

This is a made man port with a man made beach right alongside the ship.

Roatan is a beautiful island with beautiful beaches and wonderful things to see and experience especially the snorkeling. If you want to stay inside CCL's compound there is no point in even going to Roatan, you might as well be in Freeport or Nassau in my opinion.

We sailed on the Star in 2012 after sailing in 2010 on the Pearl. thought we would be terribly disappointed but was not (was more disappointed with the GEM) The only thing I missed on the Star that was on the bigger Pearl was the fantail outside buffet for breakfast..so I solved that..got a balcony and had breakfast delivered. SOLVED..

Hi everyone,

 

I've cruised before on Celebrity, HAL, Carnival and RCI. My husband and I are in our mid 40s with an 11 year old daughter. We're considering doing the Star in late Feb as a family since we haven't hit Roatan and Belize yet. We like balcony rooms midship. We're laid back and like to relax and enjoy ourselves and dine when we want to. We think NCL would be a good match for us and they have a cruise itinary we haven't done. We book by where the ship goes, not by the line/ship.

 

I don't drink anything but water and my husband drinks soda and adult beverages. We dine occasionally in specialty restaurants on cruises (maybe one or two nights), and I love the internet. We try to do one excursion per cruise and then do our own thing the other days in ports.

 

Looking at the "Free" items to pick what one is the best deal for our family?

 

Any comments on the Star for first timers?

Thanks so much!!!

NCL has bigger and more modern ships than the Dawn class, to which the Star belongs, but she is by no means a bad ship. At around 100,000 tons she is not a runt. She has just gone through a refresh and is supposedly looking better than ever. You won't be disappointed. Roatan has some of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean to visit and sometimes the Star is the only ship in port. Enjoy.

I have sailed on both the Star and the Dawn with my tweens.

The kids club activities for the older set were a lot of fun my daughter, who enjoyed the iCarly night when the filmed their own episodes and some of the other themed nights. More than that, both my son and daughter loved getting ready for the end of cruise circus and raced to kids club to practice their circus skills.

Not using the dining plan, there are at least four options for dinner: a fancier main dining room, another smaller dining room, the now complimentary Bamboo and of course, the buffet. As a family, we never had dinner in the buffet (it is just not my thing), but we enjoyed all the other dining venues. We did two specialty dinners on a 7 night itinerary, and never felt like the food was same old thing.

All of us loved the main shows in the theatre...there is a variety of shows thoughout the week. On the Star a million years ago, there was an aerialist act that really wowed my kids and on the Dawn more recently, it was a magic show that awed them. The point is that the main entertainment is top notch, free, and enjoyable to the family.

Outside of the kids club, there were plenty of activities to keep us as busy as we wanted to be: from learning NCL line dances to folding napkins, from martini tastings to cupcake decorating, we had more difficulty choosing what to do when than we did finding something to do.

The Star has a small slide, the Dawn does not, but honestly: my kids were too busy to really have time to play in the pool much. They did have fun playing giant chess with their dad and late night shuffle board.

The Dawn Class ships are not the biggest, but they do not feel small or under-appointed. And they do have the most wonderful lobby atrium.

As to which of the free offers to choose: do the math. If you are going to specialty dine more than a couple of nights, that is your best bet. If you are going to use the main dining rooms or the buffet, the shore excursion money might be your best bet. The drink package is by far the best bang for your buck if you drink....but if you only have an occassional cocktail, you can always find inexpensive ways to imbibe on the ship: the drink of the day, the martini tasting, etc.

Have fun planning!

My wife and I did the star in June and Freedom OTS in February. Here is my opinion on the Star -

Smaller ship. One of the smallest in NCLs fleet. It wasn't tiny but definitely lacked the amenities and entertainment found on Freedom OTS.

Food was very good. We did the UDP and that really made it worth it. 9 total restaurants to choose from and I have to say I don't think we had a bad meal. Breakfast in MDR was eh...and buffet was very lacking. Osheehans was hit and miss but everything else was excellent including lunch and dinner in MDR.

Entertainment was shoddy on the star. Compared to Freedom OTS it was lame. Comedian was funny but the staging and sets were like community theater. Performers and musicians were good but the theater itself needed a bit of love. The performers made the best of it.

Our trip on the Star was through the Fjords of Norway so the ship really didnt matter to us. It was just a means to get us there. The trip itself was amazing. The crew was heads and shoulders above the crew on the Freedom OTS. It was excellent service.

Our at sea days were playing cards and walking around the promenade deck. We jumped in a Jacuzzi when it was 40 degrees outside. We had the spa package and enjoyed the hot tubs and Jacuzzis and saunas in the spa area. It was a completely different experience than the Caribbean on the Freedom.

Bottom line - its a good ship. But 7 days in the Caribbean and youll need to be able to keep yourself entertained. The worst thing about this ship is that they took an amazing lounge and observation deck (spinnaker) and turned it into rooms and built a new spinnaker with no view.

It is lacking areas inside the ship to view the ocean. Its much smaller than newer ships and while it is laid out well for what it is, its certainly not cutting Edge. Its best feature is the crew and specialty restaurants.

My wife commented many times how she missed the large open promenade on the Freedom. She really liked being able to walk through the stores and grab a coffee and snack and relax in a comfy chair while watching the ocean slide by. But our trip on the Star was amazing. The crew was great and if you can take advantage of the specialty restaurants you'll enjoy it. But if you love a buffet and good entertainment you'll find it lacking.

-Sean

For what it's worth the Star is around 100,000 tons displacement. The Getaway, one of NCL's largest is around 140,000 tons. Yes the amenities are better and there are more bells and whistles on newer, larger ships but the Star is not an outdated relic. It's clean, has great restaurants, nice bars and cabins, and a great crew. Isn't that what you want in a cruise ship? It might not have everything the Oasis of the Seas has, but who wants to be on board with 7,000 other passengers on every vacation? By the way the Carnival Glory, which has been mentioned in this post, is 110,000 tons. If you think the Star is cramped, does anyone remember the pre stretch Majesty?

We just booked the Star and couldn't decide which offer, so we upgraded to a suite and got them all!