How's Star Cruises for Au/NZ cruisers?

Any one cruised with them lately?

How was it?

We did a great cruise on the old Super Star Virgo, but now see they have a new ship, named the same.

Good prices and not too far to fly from here.

Any feedback?

Any one cruised with them lately?

 

How was it?

 

We did a great cruise on the old Super Star Virgo, but now see they have a new ship, named the same.

 

Good prices and not too far to fly from here.

Any feedback?

 

 

 

Hi

Living in WA it is very affordable to fly up and cruise on the Star line, it's something we haven't done but we know a few people that have and not one has said anything other than they were great.

The Virgo looks fantastic, very glitzy.

Singapore is a very exciting place now with the 2 casinos and Universal studios. You can send your granny out for a pint of milk at 3 in the morning and they will be safe.

We love it there and have stayed over when we have cruised on the Legend.

Paul

It is the same Superstar VIRGO came into the Star fleet in the late 1990's.

Star have not offered cruises in Australian waters since 2008 when Superstar GEMINI was down this way .

Star is owned by Genting group whose main business is casinos and gambling .

Their two cruise boats Superstar VIRGO and the mid sized Superstar LIBRA primarily operate as floating casinos with short mickey mouse cruises of 3 - 4 days aimed at the Asian gambling market .

Virgo operates out of Singapore all year round. Libra operates out of Taiwan in the Northern Summer, and out of Singapore in the Northern Winter.

A third vessel Superstar AQUARIUS also operating a floating casino runs useless daytime or overnight cruises out of Hong Kong .

The Star product cruise wise is excellent but the itineraries do not appeal to genuine cruisers as they are too short .

If you want a real cruise 7 -10 - 14 nights in Asia then best look at other lines.

I thought that Virgo did 7 night cruises out of Singapore to Vietnam

Paul

FWIW, they're also half owners of NCL. Different lines though, like the other groups.

I agree with Kuldalai, these cruises are for the gamblers. We have cruised twice on the Virgo with the last time August 2009. Decided to give them another try because of the short flight from Perth. Unfortunately just not our cup of tea. We had a much better experience on the Legend of the Seas Dec 2010. This also was a short cruise from Singapore and the nationalities of the passengers were many and varied but the entertainment staff involved everyone. The passenger focus seemed more on cruising than on gambling. Ship was much cleaner, food was superior in every way. Price was pretty competitive also.

Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware).

Yes Star do offer what they claim to be a 7 day cruise occasionally out of Singapore BUT : It is just their 4 & 3 night cruises back to back, so you call at either Kuala Lumpur or Singapore TWICE within the 7 days .

For longer duration cruises in Asia of 10 - 14 nights look to other lines operating out of Singapore, Hong Kong and also Shanghai .

Princess - with Diamond and Ocean Princess offering excellent itineraries.

Costa - operate year round with the old and tired Classica, and from 2012/13 with a younger VICTORIA. The Yachts of Seabourne also if you have deep pockets .

I did a 7 night cruise on the Superstar Virgo 12 months ago. But it was actually a 3+2+2 meaning that we returned to Singapore twice during the 7 nights to disembark and embark passengers. In Asia the same cruise is sold as a quick getaway. We enjoyed the cruise and the ports but the show was the same every night as the majority of passengers were only on for 2 or 3 nights and it was very much catering for them. I did not notice much gambling. About half the passengers were Indians who have very different customs and personal space to us! Consequently we never ate at the buffet as it resembled a rugby scum! Tours from the boat were very well organised and alot of fun.

Here is a pic of Star Aquarius pulling into Ocean Wharf in Hong Kong

Barry

We have done 3 cruises on Virgo. The first 2 were just fantastic and we had a great time. The third, well, we said never again. We were just so disappointed. Even the staff were unhappy! It (in our opinion) turned more into a gambling ship, but with the addition of the waterslide, a gambling ship with baby sitting facilities (this is what some of the staff told us who were long term!). All the cruises, Australians were in the monority, but that certainly is not a worry for us, in fact we love Asia, but sadly it was not the same and we would not cruise with them again! We would consider Legend if we wanted to cruise out of Singapore, never Costa, but the itineries seem to be all the same. We are doing the Diamond from Singapore to Sydney and are looking forward to that cruise.

For all that are interested, we will be in Singapore next week and we are going to check out the new cruise terminal and see how it is progressing, will post back if you are interested! Cheryle:)

For all that are interested, we will be in Singapore next week and we are going to check out the new cruise terminal and see how it is progressing, will post back if you are interested! Cheryle

Hi Cheryle, that would be neat

Look forward to hearing how it is progressing.:)

Here is a pic of Star Aquarius pulling into Ocean Wharf in Hong Kong

 

 

 

Barry

Hi, she looks like a sister ship to the much maligned Norwegian Dream, which, last time I heard was still layed up in Pireus, awaiting a new buyer. (Does anyone know?)

Sad to hear about the change in direction for this company. My parents cruised on Superstar Gemini a few years ago now and loved it, what a beautiful ship she is and a great size, it's a shame Star cruises off loaded her.

Hi, she looks like a sister ship to the much maligned Norwegian Dream, which, last time I heard was still layed up in Pireus, awaiting a new buyer. (Does anyone know?)

Thats what I thought when I first saw Barrys pic, so I went off on a search.

She is indeed a sister ship to Norwegian Dream, and she was the Norwegian Wind.

They were both built at the same time, and both stretched, to have a new section welded into the middle of them.

We cruised N Dream on a Baltic cruise, so I was very interested to see the pic.

Thanks for posting Barry.

editing to add...

Star Cruises also owns Norwegian Cruise Line , or most of it.

I know they have a big involement, but not sure who owns what!!!

NCL Dream languishes in Syros, awaiting buyer. EM

A better pic

Barry

Erk, lot of pollution there.

Big M

Recently went to Manilla, HK, Ho Ci Minh City, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Mumbai. The pollution in all these places has to be seen to be believed. In Singapore, there are literally thousands of high rise apartment blocks - all containing hundreds of individual apartments. Every apartment has an airconditioner hanging off of it.

Apparently there are now 7000 million people on the planet - with 3000 million more to come over the next 40 years.

Have a good life now - and don't have any grandchildren!

Barry

Thanks for the info on Star Lines.

No wonder there's next to no info/advertising available to Aus/NZders.

Yes thank you for the info.

At one point a few years back I had looked into Star cruises.

They seem to have changed focus.

Based on whats been said we would be very disappointed and we will give them a wide berth.

However, I was interested when the point was made -

Never COSTA

Why ???:confused:

I have a friend who recently went on a Costa cruise out of Singapore ( Allegra , I think - or may have been Classica??). She enjoyed her cruise. I wouldn't mind doing one myself - I am sure it would be an "eye-opener", in many senses of the word!

But she is an ardent traveller - who always enjoys any travels she is fortunate enough to be able to do. I like her style - and I reckon that enjoyment/appreciation/experience can be had on any cruise anywhere on any cruiseline. There are way too many Princesses - and I am not talking about ships!

Star Cruises altered their business name to Genting and based in Hong Kong rather than in Malaysia. Their primary business is casinos and gambling in Malayasia, and other Asian centres including Manila. Their cruise operations in recent years have shrunk down to basically SS VIRGO (based in Singapore), SS AQUARIUS (based in Hong Kong), and SS LIBRA (based in Taiwan/Singapore) being floating casinos doing "mickey mouse" 1 - 3 day gambling cruises .

These days Star Cruises owns 50 % of Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) , with the other half owned by a US Private Equity Firm Apollo Management .

Yes thank you for the info.

 

At one point a few years back I had looked into Star cruises.

They seem to have changed focus.

Based on whats been said we would be very disappointed and we will give them a wide berth.

 

However, I was interested when the point was made -

Never COSTA

 

Why ???:confused:

I have heard some not so good things about Costa, so decided not to try that line!. We have some friends leaving on Costa on Saturday out of Singapore, so I am waiting with interest to see what they say......so perhaps, I should say....never say never and listen with an open mind!

Cheryle

These days Star Cruises owns 50 % of Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) , with the other half owned by a US Private Equity Firm Apollo Management .

Further info on Apollo Management.

They also have other cruise lines.

Norwegian Cruise Line 2008

In January 2008, Apollo completed a $1 billion investment in the cruise line operator to support a recapitalization of the company's balance sheet.

Oceania Cruises 2007

In February, 2007, Apollo acquired the luxury cruise line and provided additional capital to fund the expansion of the company with the purchase of two new cruise ships.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises 2008

In February 2008, Apollo purchased the luxury cruise line from Carlson Companies for $1 billion. Following the purchase, Apollo made public their plans to order a new ship for Regent.

We have done 3 cruises on Virgo. The first 2 were just fantastic and we had a great time. The third, well, we said never again. We were just so disappointed. Even the staff were unhappy! It (in our opinion) turned more into a gambling ship, but with the addition of the waterslide, a gambling ship with baby sitting facilities (this is what some of the staff told us who were long term!). All the cruises, Australians were in the monority, but that certainly is not a worry for us, in fact we love Asia, but sadly it was not the same and we would not cruise with them again! We would consider Legend if we wanted to cruise out of Singapore, never Costa, but the itineries seem to be all the same. We are doing the Diamond from Singapore to Sydney and are looking forward to that cruise.

For all that are interested, we will be in Singapore next week and we are going to check out the new cruise terminal and see how it is progressing, will post back if you are interested! Cheryle:)

Cheryle would love to hear feedback from your trip to Singers. We are on the Diamond in November too - (we are from hobart). I really hope the new cruise terminal is open. Let us know how you go. Can you post on the Roll Call for the cruise too, so we can all read the latest?

Cheers

Angie

Not that well known on the Australian Market given that apart from the various brochures they have on their product the rest of it is usually sold through wholesalers that specialise in Singapore.I am considering Superstar Virgo if the price is Right for my next cruise but if it costs more than any P&O Product and doesn't cater for under 40's without families They can forget trying to gain my business.