STAR Entertainment: What's good and not?

I am going on my first first cruise on the STAR in about a month and was wondering if anyone has returned recently that could fill me in on the entertainment options on the STAR?

Which shows are "not to miss," "pretty good" or "don't waste your time."

Also...

How is the Cruise Director and staff?

Is there kareoke and how often?

Any outstanding comedy shows?

What bands are on the STAR and what kind of music do they play?

Any outstanding in your mind?

Same with the DJ?

Thanks for your answers. (I know it is a long list!) :)

Don

Great questions, I would like to know as well. Sometimes it seems like not as many people post replies on Star questions :(.

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On the Star last Feb. Archie the CD was superb. As for the entertainment, don't remember. But, I'm not one for getting to excited to often. Entertainment quality is usually in the eyes of the beholder. Yet to see Norwegian entertainment that was awful or unacceptable.

Great questions, I would like to know as well. Sometimes it seems like not as many people post replies on Star questions :(.

 

 

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I am hoping Don will come to the rescue with loads of information when he returns for those of us waiting to cruise the Star. I don't know Don but he seems to be a stand up guy offering to report on the things I asked about on other threads.

I would love to know about the extravaganza stage shows. The shows are my favorite night time entertainment.

Linda....

I certainly will, but I am hoping that someone who recently returned from a cruise on the STAR will be providing me with some information, so I know in advance how to plan my evenings. :)

My DW loves to do kareoke and I really enjoy the shows.

This way, if a show is not that good, we will spend the evening at kareoke.

We also like to dance in the later hours and there have been some great bands on my recent NCL cruises - the Breakaway and Jewel. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the smaller STAR still provides a high level of entertainment in all categories. :)

Don

Just returned from the Star Panama cruise.

The Cruise Director, Drew, was OK but not as good as those we've seen on other cruise lines - this was our first time on NCL. We didn't see much of him around the ship.

We were a little disappointed that during the whole 2 weeks there were only 3 shows by the onboard show team. Not sure if this is the norm for NCL, but these are the shows we prefer.

We also had shows by 2 different comedians, acrobats(very good), a magician, a juggler, a hypnotist and also The Second City comedy team.

There were also game shows in the Spinnaker Lounge. There were Karaoke sessions in the Pub and Spinnaker Lounge which we did not attend so I can't comment on these.

We enjoyed all the entertainment we saw but would have loved to see more Production shows. The ones we saw were The Look of Love, Band on the Run and Paradis - which was excellent.

Hope this helps.

DG - looks like Star in PC again today if you want to look at the webcams.

Just returned from the Star Panama cruise.

The Cruise Director, Drew, was OK but not as good as those we've seen on other cruise lines - this was our first time on NCL. We didn't see much of him around the ship.

We were a little disappointed that during the whole 2 weeks there were only 3 shows by the onboard show team. Not sure if this is the norm for NCL, but these are the shows we prefer.

We also had shows by 2 different comedians, acrobats(very good), a magician, a juggler, a hypnotist and also The Second City comedy team.

There were also game shows in the Spinnaker Lounge. There were Karaoke sessions in the Pub and Spinnaker Lounge which we did not attend so I can't comment on these.

We enjoyed all the entertainment we saw but would have loved to see more Production shows. The ones we saw were The Look of Love, Band on the Run and Paradis - which was excellent.

Hope this helps.

This helps a lot!! :)

Thanks for the information.

I will make a point of seeing the three production shows when scheduled and do kareoke some of the other nights.

How were the bands and DJ onboard for dancing?

What kind of music did they play?

Were there any "Tribute Performers?"

the Breakaway and the Jewel had a Four Seasons Tribute that was fantastic.

It received standing ovations on both ships! :)

Don

Sorry, I forgot, we also had the Four Seasons Tribute show, they were superb.

The main party band were Exotique, who were good, but we preferred Xcite who played poolside most days and sometimes in the Spinnaker Lounge.

The DJ Rommel was good too, but we didn't stay up for any of his late night sessions.

Can't really comment on the party music as a lot of it was from the US and being from the UK was unfamiliar to us, Xcite played lots of classics.

Just returned from the Star Panama cruise.

The Cruise Director, Drew, was OK but not as good as those we've seen on other cruise lines - this was our first time on NCL. We didn't see much of him around the ship.

We were a little disappointed that during the whole 2 weeks there were only 3 shows by the onboard show team. Not sure if this is the norm for NCL, but these are the shows we prefer.

We also had shows by 2 different comedians, acrobats(very good), a magician, a juggler, a hypnotist and also The Second City comedy team.

There were also game shows in the Spinnaker Lounge. There were Karaoke sessions in the Pub and Spinnaker Lounge which we did not attend so I can't comment on these.

We enjoyed all the entertainment we saw but would have loved to see more Production shows. The ones we saw were The Look of Love, Band on the Run and Paradis - which was excellent.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info. The DH and I love Second City. I am a huge fan of magicians (I still love the ooh and ahh of it all and don't want to know how a trick is preformed). Acrobats?? Was this a show like Cirque?

Linda....

 

I certainly will, but I am hoping that someone who recently returned from a cruise on the STAR will be providing me with some information, so I know in advance how to plan my evenings. :)

 

My DW loves to do kareoke and I really enjoy the shows.

This way, if a show is not that good, we will spend the evening at kareoke.

 

We also like to dance in the later hours and there have been some great bands on my recent NCL cruises - the Breakaway and Jewel. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the smaller STAR still provides a high level of entertainment in all categories. :)

 

Don

No dancing for us...but we love listening to the music.

I am hoping Don will come to the rescue with loads of information when he returns for those of us waiting to cruise the Star. I don't know Don but he seems to be a stand up guy offering to report on the things I asked about on other threads.

 

I would love to know about the extravaganza stage shows. The shows are my favorite night time entertainment.

Oh totally agree, can't wait for Don's review!

DH and I are doing the Mexican Riviera on the Star; leaving Dec. 7th. I'll do a review when we get back. Any other specific questions?:)

DH and I are doing the Mexican Riviera on the Star; leaving Dec. 7th. I'll do a review when we get back. Any other specific questions?:)

I think the wine offerings will change for the bottle package. I would love to know what will be offered.

Thanks for asking!

We were on the recent Star TA cruise from Copenhagen to Miami. This was our sixth NCL cruise.

Would disagree with earlier post about the Cruise Director, Drew. I don’t need to see the CD walking around the ship and he was the best that we have seen during our time with NCL.

There was a lot to do, even with all the sea days. Art lectures and auctions, trivia, cooking demos were some of the events we attended. The trivia players are very serious and the one negative is sometimes having a non-English as first language person reading the questions is difficult. The head Chef was great with the cooking demos, I thought he had better humor than the comedic entertainment at night.

They had a number of smaller venue music events in the evenings that were good, some centered around dancing and some not. Also had all the game show stuff with “Dancing with the Stars”, Newlywed Show” etc…all comedy and often edgy.

We went to all the evening shows, sometimes because there was nothing else to do. Unfortunately, with all the ships and itineraries, we saw two of the same entertainers two years ago on another ship…and the shows hadn’t changed. The music and dancing was good but they push the edge (our opinion) with the sexual element. Juggler was great at juggling but the jokes were flat.

Personally we do not cruise for the entertainment, it is an extra. Plenty to do but from my perspective, it was good but not great.

Thanks everyone for all this great information.....it is greatly appreciated! :)

Question: What is "Dancing with the Stars" that they have on the STAR....is it a contest?

If anyone has anything else to contribute, please do so.

I will keep my eyes open and I shared this thread with my Roll Call.

Linda....I will certainly provide a review for you and others when I return on the STAR.

I am really excited about being on the STAR....I loved her sister ship - the DAWN....it was very new when I first cruised on her. :)

Don

Thanks everyone for all this great information.....it is greatly appreciated! :)

 

Question: What is "Dancing with the Stars" that they have on the STAR....is it a contest?

 

If anyone has anything else to contribute, please do so.

I will keep my eyes open and I shared this thread with my Roll Call.

 

Linda....I will certainly provide a review for you and others when I return on the STAR.

I am really excited about being on the STAR....I loved her sister ship - the DAWN....it was very new when I first cruised on her. :)

 

Don

Dancing with the Stars was kind of a contest and a comedy show at the same time. Four cruisers were paired with four staff with four staff/entertainers as the judges. No practice...just played several styles of music and expected the pairs to ad lib. Judging was based more on the comic content than any talent tossing a pair after each song. It was a "contest" but not a serious one.

DH and I are doing the Mexican Riviera on the Star; leaving Dec. 7th. I'll do a review when we get back. Any other specific questions?:)

Joaniedee72 cant wait for your review. Enjoy your trip! Would you mind posting your dailies when you get back please. We will be on the star for new years. Thanks!

We were on the recent Star TA cruise from Copenhagen to Miami. This was our sixth NCL cruise.

Would disagree with earlier post about the Cruise Director, Drew. I don’t need to see the CD walking around the ship and he was the best that we have seen during our time with NCL.

There was a lot to do, even with all the sea days. Art lectures and auctions, trivia, cooking demos were some of the events we attended. The trivia players are very serious and the one negative is sometimes having a non-English as first language person reading the questions is difficult. The head Chef was great with the cooking demos, I thought he had better humor than the comedic entertainment at night.

They had a number of smaller venue music events in the evenings that were good, some centered around dancing and some not. Also had all the game show stuff with “Dancing with the Stars”, Newlywed Show” etc…all comedy and often edgy.

We went to all the evening shows, sometimes because there was nothing else to do. Unfortunately, with all the ships and itineraries, we saw two of the same entertainers two years ago on another ship…and the shows hadn’t changed. The music and dancing was good but they push the edge (our opinion) with the sexual element. Juggler was great at juggling but the jokes were flat.

Personally we do not cruise for the entertainment, it is an extra. Plenty to do but from my perspective, it was good but not great.

Could you tell me what time the ship docked in Miami and what time were you able to debark? We are not doing the self walk off with our luggage.We have plane reservations in Fort Lauderdale and are worried we will miss our flight at 12:00.

Followed my fellow PC cruiser Don here and found all this very interesting and it is definitely starting to spark some excitement for me! I was trying to get through a big Thanksgiving party before the real cruise planning and excitement started but I just got a jump start.

Anyone know if Stan Sykes is still around? I've seen him I think on 4 or 5 of my Star cruises and really enjoyed his music.

The Dancing with the Stars "contest" sounds fun. :)

Emi

Joaniedee72 cant wait for your review. Enjoy your trip! Would you mind posting your dailies when you get back please. We will be on the star for new years. Thanks!

Yes we are going on the Star on Dec. 13 and the Dailies from the Nov 30 or Dec 7 runs would be great so we can plan. Nov 30 is the first run she is doing of the 7-day Mexico itinerary - she was over in the Baltics for a bit and then I think did little repositioning...

Followed my fellow PC cruiser Don here and found all this very interesting and it is definitely starting to spark some excitement for me! I was trying to get through a big Thanksgiving party before the real cruise planning and excitement started but I just got a jump start.

 

Anyone know if Stan Sykes is still around? I've seen him I think on 4 or 5 of my Star cruises and really enjoyed his music.

 

The Dancing with the Stars "contest" sounds fun. :)

 

Emi

Hey Emi....

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Tell me more about Stan Sykes....what kind o music does he play?

Is he a soloist on the STAR?

See you over on our Roll Call! :D

Don

Hey Emi....

 

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

 

Tell me more about Stan Sykes....what kind o music does he play?

Is he a soloist on the STAR?

 

See you over on our Roll Call! :D

 

Don

I found a link for him http://www.stansykes.net/

Emi :)

I found a link for him http://www.stansykes.net/

 

Emi :)

Thanks Emi...gave me a chance to start my cruise on the Star early :)

Emi and Linda....

We do not know whether or not he is on the STAR yet.....or do we? :)

Hopefully, someone who came off the STAR recently can tell us.

Don