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Star Dec 1 – 14 Trip Report with some pics


Oakman58
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NCL Star Panama Canal cruise Dec 1 – Dec 15 2017 Miami to Los Angeles.

 

I guess if I’m going to do a trip report of our Panama Canal cruise on the NCL Star I’d better get started. This was a great cruise and most of my complaints, with one exception, are nothing more than nit-picking.

 

My biggest mistake on this cruise was taking pictures with three cameras, two of which didn’t have the correct date and time stamp. At noon every day two of my cameras would change over to the next date. I didn’t discover this until I was back home going through the photos. It was very confusing trying to sort through my pictures by date. Lesson learned.

 

A little about us, my wife and I are both retired and in relatively good health. I’m a 72 year old curmudgeon and my wife is much younger with the personality of an angel. We were joined on this cruise by my sister and her husband who are also retired. To protect their identity I’ll refer to them as June and Mark.

 

The four of us flew to Miami a day early and stayed at the Red Roof Inn Plus near the airport. The reason I chose this hotel was the free shuttle from airport to hotel and hotel to the cruise terminal. The hotel was just OK and I doubt I would use it in the future.

 

This was the more expensive premium room.

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December 1st

The next morning we took advantage of the continental breakfast the hotel offered. It wasn’t much but better than nothing. We had scheduled the hotel’s shuttle to the cruise terminal for 9 AM but just after finishing our breakfast the shuttle driver found us and asked if we would mind leaving at 8:30. We agreed and were at the cruise terminal by 9 AM while passengers were still disembarking the Star.

 

We were allowed inside the terminal building but just in the entry foyer. I would rather wait and kill time in a cruise terminal than kill time in a hotel room or lobby. Surprisingly security began screening passengers at 9:50. I think the four of us were in the first 25 people to enter the check-in area. 33219o8.jpg

 

My wife and I had our room card and boarding group 1 card by 10:10 AM. The waiting area was almost completely empty. By the way, there was a special check-in line for Platinum and above Latitudes members but nothing for Gold or Silver members. It really didn’t matter since there were so few people checking in.

 

June and Mark had booked a suite on the Star so they were ushered to a separate waiting area for those “special people.” Mark and June had originally booked a mini-suite but bid on an upgrade to a suite that was accepted by NCL. They were upgraded to a forward facing suite on deck 10. I was shocked that a forward facing suite would still be available on a cruise going through the Panama Canal.

 

Boarding began for special needs folks first and then Haven and suite guests at 11:15. Platinum was boarded next followed by our group 1. After boarding the ship we headed directly to O’Sheehan’s for a light lunch. I ordered the buffalo chicken wings that came with celery sticks. The wings were very good, the celery sticks…tragic (LOL).

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The cabins were ready by 1:30 PM so went to our cabin to unpack our carry-on luggage. Our balcony cabin (10692) would be more than sufficient for the 14 day cruise. We couldn’t find a remote control for the TV so we called housekeeping to report that issue. Also I noticed there were only packets of decaffeinated coffee by the coffee maker so I left a note for our room steward to leave regular coffee. We then headed directly to the Bier Garden to kill some time before the ship’s muster at 4 PM.

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Muster is called by a series of high pitched ear piercing shrieks emitted over the loud speakers that was loud enough to wake the dead. We headed to our muster station which was down in the Versailles dining room on deck 6. No pictures and no cell phone usage were allowed but I did manage to snap this photo before the drill sergeant caught me and called me out.

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After muster we headed back to our room and discovered our luggage had already arrived. Also a remote control was sitting by our TV and there was real coffee by the coffee machine. While we were in the cabin our room steward came by and introduced himself to us. During our entire cruise he would make a point of greeting us by name even if he happened to be in another cabin cleaning it.

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After unpacking our luggage we realized we had forgotten to pack an extension cord. Even though we had a number of electronic devices with us that needed charging we were able to make do without one. I also discovered I didn’t pack my swimsuit.

 

CONTINUED IN MY NEXT POST

Edited by Oakman58
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Sailaway was 30 minutes late because a crew member was running late and hadn’t boarded the ship yet. I think there must have been a partial changeover of crew members because while we were in the waiting area in the terminal I saw quite a few of the crew leaving the ship with their luggage.

 

While waiting for the ship to leave port I spent time on the balcony watching the NCL Sky and Carnival Victory sail out to sea before us. The Carnival Victory sounded as though there was quite a party going on with loud music blaring and people yelling and whooping it up as it sailed passed us. The NCL Sky was as quiet as a church mouse as it cruised by, perhaps with the free open bar on the Sky everyone was already passed out.

The Carnival Victory.

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The NCL Sky passing by.

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The ship began moving away from the pier at 5:30. As we cruised through the channel toward the ocean I saw a yacht that reminded me of the television show Below Deck. It really looked beautiful sitting at the dock with its underwater lights turned on.

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We met with June and Mark in the 5 O’clock Somewhere bar for pre-dinner drinks. We decided that we would pay the $9.99 fee for the IConcierge App so that we would be able to text and call each other while we were on the ship.

 

I didn’t care for the look and feel of the beach themed 5 O’clock Somewhere bar. I preferred the old Lions Den that used to occupy this same bar area before the 2015 rehab of the ship.

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We went to the Aqua dining room for dinner and were told we would have about a 20 minute wait to be seated. We were given a pager so we headed to Gatsby’s Bar for another pre-dinner drink. We had only been in Gatsby’s a mere 10 minutes when our pager went off so we had to down our drinks quickly and head back to the restaurant.

 

The menu on that first night included prime rib and also duck. Our meal was excellent. My only complaint is the French Onion soup which I ordered for my appetizer was a bit disappointing. I didn’t care for the hockey puck crouton and definitely not enough cheese.

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When dinner was finished it was time to head to the Stardust Theater for the Welcome Aboard show. I have no recollection of this show and have no clue what transpired, I didn’t put anything in my notes about this show, and I have no photos from the show, so I don’t know if I enjoyed it or not. Perhaps the bottle of wine with dinner coupled with the pre-dinners fogged my memory a bit.

 

When the show was over we headed back to our cabin and called it a night.

 

It will probably be tomorrow before I get more of my pictures resized for Day 2 of the cruise.

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My wife and I boarded the Star in L.A. on December 15th right after your cruise. Reading your review is like Deja Vu for us. We boarded, had lunch at O'Sheehans. The wings were delicious but did not enjoy the so called Irish Stew (that wasn't a stew at all). We headed to the Bier Garden for a few. Had the Muster drill in the same location and couldn't tell you a thing about the show that night. LOL ... The only differences were that we were in cabin 10706 and had the Prime Rib at Versailles. Looking forward to the rest of your review for more Deja Vu :D

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Great narrative. You sound like someone we'd love to bump into on the ship. Laughing so hard about you not remembering the Welcome Aboard Show. Can see how that would happen.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed review. Dealing with misdated photos must be a real headache and its nice of you to go to so much work to help the rest of us.

 

We're planning a Panama Canal cruise on the Sun in the future.

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My wife and I boarded the Star in L.A. on December 15th right after your cruise. Reading your review is like Deja Vu for us. We boarded, had lunch at O'Sheehans. The wings were delicious but did not enjoy the so called Irish Stew (that wasn't a stew at all). We headed to the Bier Garden for a few. Had the Muster drill in the same location and couldn't tell you a thing about the show that night. LOL ... The only differences were that we were in cabin 10706 and had the Prime Rib at Versailles. Looking forward to the rest of your review for more Deja Vu :D

 

OMG, I had forgot about the Irish Stew in O'Sheehan's. You are absolutely right, that was more like some type of soup and I wouldn't call it Irish soup either. That is a food item everyone should pass on and perhaps NCL will add something worth while to replace it.

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Looking forward to the rest of your review. Quick question, do you know how many kids were on the cruise? Thanks

 

I couldn't give you a number but there weren't many kids at all. There were a lot of senior citizens like me on this 14 day cruise.

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December 2nd a full day at sea.

The morning dawned with mostly cloudy skies and very windy but the temperature was nice and warm. After a leisurely breakfast at the Market Place buffet we took a walk on the promenade deck. I love the promenade on deck 7 of the Star because it runs completely around the ship. Apparently when the ship was refurbished in 2015 the murals on deck seven were painted over, I missed seeing them. I think they made the ship seem more festive compared to the plain white walls that are now on deck 7.

The current look of the walls at the rear of the promenade deck 7.

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This is what it looked like in 2014 before the refurbishment.

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The wind was strong enough that it chased us back in after just one loop around the ship. We decided to go up to O’Sheehan’s for some coffee and tea. We took a couple of stools in the area that overlooked the atrium. It was then that I noticed the Master and Commander of the Star and he seemed to be having a coffee klatch with two other ship’s officers. I guess all is well with the ship if no one needs to be up in the wheelhouse steering the ship. There’s probably an app on his smartphone for controlling the ship anyway.

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When the Trade Winds shops opened we went there to see if they sold swimming suits. Yes they carried men’s swimsuits but at $40 I decided to wait and think about how badly I wanted or needed a swimsuit.

 

At 11:00 AM we headed to the La Cucina restaurant for our Cruise Critic roll call Meet & Mingle. It was very well attended and many thanks to Dianne (mains_dream) for setting up the Meet & Mingle. NCL provided some refreshments and introduced some of the ship’s officers to us.

On the right in the photo is the Cruise Director Tom Hopkins.

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After the meeting I tried calling Mark using the IConcierge App but that didn’t work and then I couldn’t get a text to go through either. IConcierge was a waste of money in my opinion. We never could call each other and texting was spotty at best. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact I had an Android phone and he had an IPhone. IConcierge is a good idea but the current app as it pertains to the Star sure isn’t ready for prime time.

 

We ended up bumping into June and Mark at the Java Café a little later anyway. At the time there wasn’t anyone standing in line over at the excursion desk so the four of us walked over and booked our excursions for the rest of our cruise.

 

We ate a late lunch by the pool choosing to get burgers, hot dogs, and fries from the grill. For some unknown reason there were no napkins with silverware anywhere to be found. I got up and went inside to the buffet and was met with the same shortage. Fortunately as I headed back out on deck a crew member showed up with the tableware. This was the only day of the cruise that this shortage happened.

 

After lunch we went our separate ways agreeing to meet in the Spinnaker Lounge for the evening trivia at 5 PM. I decided I would probably need a swimsuit at some point during the cruise so we headed back down to the shops to buy one. It turned out the Nautica brand suits were on sale so I was able to buy one for 20 bucks.

 

June and Mark joined us in the Spinnaker for the trivia contest that was supposed to begin at 5 PM. Trivia was very popular on this cruise and some of the passengers took the contest very seriously. This first night of the cruise the trivia started 20 minutes late and the natives were getting restless.

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Thanks to the concierge that is available to Haven and suite passengers, Mark and June had made dinner reservations for all of our evening meals, including those in the complimentary restaurants. We had 7:30 reservations for the Versailles dining room this night. Dinner in the complimentary restaurants was always good to very good.

 

After dinner we went to the theater for the show What the World Needs Now. It featured the music of Burt Bacharach and the NCL cast of singers and dancers. I thought the production was very good but if you’re not a fan of this genre of music you might want to pass.

 

After the show we said goodnight to June and Mark and headed back to our cabin. We had a towel elephant awaiting our arrival.

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We had problems with the iConcierge app as well. Calls never worked and we had a kill and restart the app to get texting to work.

 

Trivia looks a lot more popular on your cruise than on ours. The only time we had a room that packed was when we were stuck in fog waiting to get to get to port and disembark and there was nothing else to do.

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December 3rd a sea day

Normally I wake up just before dawn but this morning I didn’t wake up until 7 AM and the sun was shining brightly. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day at sea.

 

We went to O’Sheehan’s for breakfast and I ordered the Express breakfast. It didn’t take long for the food to be served so I guess that’s why they call it the Express. The food was hot but the bowl it came in was RED HOT and the server used a towel to put the bowl on the table. My guess is they prepare the food ahead of time and when someone orders the Express it’s put in a piping hot oven to heat it up.

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The breakfast menu at O'Sheehan's restaurant.

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After eating we took a stroll on the promenade deck. The promenade deck was very popular with those who walk for exercise every day. There was rarely anyone using the jogging track on deck 13.

 

After our walk we went inside to talk to the cashier about our onboard account. I had tried to use IConcierge to check our onboard account a number of times but it continued to show “account not available” which made no sense since we had purchased excursions and my swimsuit. It turned out our onboard account was in my wife’s name so it didn’t show up on my phone. Oh well, we would just do without account access. When we had cruised on the Epic the cabins were equipped with interactive TV’s so you could check your account, dinner reservations, etc. That was one of the few things I liked about the Epic.

 

Our next stop was the Internet Café on deck 9 because we were having problems buying the Internet using my tablet. I guess I wasn’t the only one because there were quite a few people waiting to talk to the Internet manager. While waiting in the line I was able to connect and buy the 250 minute package ($125.00). Yea, I don't have to wait in the line after all.

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Our next stop was the Bier Garden on deck 13 where I planned to start my day with a healthy beverage. June and Mark were sitting in the Bier Garden when we arrived. Mark said he texted me with IConcierge but I didn’t respond. When I checked my phone I didn’t have any messages from him. Funny thing, while we were chatting with them suddenly Mark’s text message finally came in on IConcierge. Nope, that app didn’t work very well on the Star. My healthy drink this morning was a Bloody Mary. It came with fruits and vegetable...what could be healthier?

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We ate lunch in the Market Cafe buffet with June and Mark. I thought the buffet food was very good with a plenty of choices that should have pleased just about anyone. Finding a place to sit in the Market Cafe during peak times can be a challenge though.

 

After lunch we found a table on deck 12 by the pool and played the game Left Right Center for a couple of hours. L,R,C is a simple game that requires no thinking but it’s fun to play. I think we had a few bushwackers while we played the game so not needing to use your brain was a bonus. After having a few drinks just determining right from left became a challenge.

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Later in the afternoon we said goodbye and set up a meeting time in the Mojito Sugarcane bar for pre-dinner drinks. We had reservations at 7:30 for dinner in the Moderno restaurant.

 

When we returned to our cabin there was a health questionnaire for Nicaragua that each of us to fill out and return to Guest Services. All guests had to fill out the form regardless of whether they planned to go ashore or not.

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The Moderno restaurant was very good with some hits and misses with the meats. The small salad bar was awesome and had some great selections on it. Almost like a gourmet salad bar. I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of it.

 

The entertainment in the theater was the hypnotist Brenda Kaye. Her show was funny but I thought the 30 minutes it took to select the subjects and then put them in a hypnotic state took too long and was somewhat boring. We sat in the balcony for this show because Mark is a tall man and there is more legroom in the balcony. There isn’t much leg room in the regular seating in the theater and the seats are lower to the floor. The theater seating could use a serious makeover. More about the theater in my next post.

 

After the show we went back to our cabin and called it a night. No towel animal for us tonight.

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