NCL Star Inside Passage/Glacier Bay 9/17 review

We are mid 50s, have travel some overseas and in RVs…this was our 4th cruise . This time we had some family with us, but it was not set up as a “family cruise”. The 2 of us in a balcony on the 10th , SIL/DH in 1 insider, FIL across the hall from us, niece /DH in obstructed view on 6. My FIL had never been on a cruise or to Alaska, neither had DH’s niece/hubby or BIL. SIL’s 1 cruise was almost 18 years ago.

Getting there:

Starting from when we woke up to getting to DFW, there were problems. got 2 miles from home at 4 am Sunday 9/17 and DH asked if I had the birth certificates. I had my files and my paperwork, when we first planned this trip…we put the BCs in a file with his paperwork. Had to go back home. Then we tried for breakfast, after partying all night Saturday ... The place was packed with young people. Looked like no breakfast for us. Went to the car parking lot, that I had called a few days before to check on…no lights, no one at the gate and no van to drive us to the airport. Thank goodness the one down the street was open and the van was right there to help with the luggage. At the airports things really started to go downhill. The computers for the systems that the Memphis airport is on was DOWN. No computers. The people at the counters were calling in each person as they checked them in, calling a main computer somewhere. This means that the luggage tags were hand written. Took us over an 1 ½ to get up to the desk.

We did get through and to the gate. More problems, they needed more gas for the plane. We were suppose to take off at 7:30, but at that time they were still checking in folks. We did leave before 8. We were just in the air when the pilot gets on the speaker and tells us he doesn’t know is going on. Just what I needed to hear!

There are storms heading to the Midwest, no one knows how bad they are going to be. They may be diverting planes to DFW or away from DFW. Thank goodness our hour and 30 min flight became an 1 and 7 mins, no planes were diverted anywhere. We even had 30 mins to get to a far terminal and catch our next flight. From there everything got better.

Checking in:

Caught a taxi to the pier, met up with our family members who were joining us (they live in Washington state)

As a warning to those who hear you don’t even need your travel docs to check in…DO NOT get the lady we had. At baggage check in, she would NOT let us through without our tickets, only the tickets. She got really upset when DH told her he did not want his birth cert folded. That upset her whole day. (yes, we had the tickets with us, DH just didn’t know which paperwork they were with) after that things got improved. Everyone on cruise check-in was very nice. Got checked-in and on the ship in minutes. Our cabins were ready and looked great. Of course they are smaller then they look in the pictures, but plenty of room for us. The niece and her DH had a ocean view that was suppose to have obstructed viewing. The one tender was above, the other below…giving them a nice view between. It was a larger room and they were very happy with it. FIL had a inside across the hall from our balcony and SIL was other side of the ship, not far away.

That first evening we just walked around, DH ate at the buffet. It is kept very clean. Finding a table is not that bad, there are people wandering around the main side. On the other side there are more tables, even when the food line is not open. Tables are cleaning immediately. Later I tried the Blue Lagoon, a nice place for a quiet snack or meal. most people were surprised to find out it was not serve-your-self. As with most cruise ships, it is hard to find a free drink. We took our own Pepsi, even went to main dining rooms with our bottles of Pepsi. The ice tea was very strong at the Blue Lagoon or Buffet, but it was OK in the dining rooms.

We had 2 room stewards/ess, Maribel was the one we saw the most. She took care of FIL’s room also. Very nice, room was spotless the whole trip. Our linen was changed every day.

Monday: Day at Sea

I slept in, after the stress of the flight the day before, I was ready to relax. DH went the stretching class. While waiting for the class to begin, his sister and niece walked in. After the class the 3 of them did the power walk. I met up with everyone for breakfast in the buffet. I am not a big breakfast eater, but the eggs were fine…not dry and not too runny. The bacon was not over/under cooked. It was a buffet, not 5 stars but good.

That morning we had our roll call meet ‘n greet. We had a small group to begin with and then 1 family was never found. We only hope they made it on the cruise. Found out we had a pretty nice group. Made the cruise a lot nicer being able to share with these people who were strangers and now friends. (more on that later)

Went to the latitudes party. A little disappointed. The captain’s talk was nice, he was honest about the fact we were going to hit rough seas. But the drinks were free!

Monday the seas got rough again. Several of our roll callers were a little sea-sick.

Walking around Monday you saw a lot a green people sitting out on deck 7. I was just getting ready to tell DH to watch for whales, when we both spotted something in the water. It was not seaweed, nor was it a sea lion like we had seen earlier. Watched them for some time. Still don’t know what type of whale they are, but I have a good picture of a tail that I am going to investigate. When we first spotted them DH had yelled WHALE! That had everyone on their balconies looking. When one flipped a tail at us, they all cheered, hooted and applauded. The whales were small, about 10 to 15 feet, solid grey or brown. Not an Ocra or a Humpback. We had 3 of them feeding as the ship went by and got to watch them for a long time. Several people said they saw whales that day from the ship. I missed several humpback sightings.

For dinner that night, everyone in the family dressed up. DH and I had gone to Versailles and asked for reservations. (FIL has a had time waiting) at first they just said we needed to talk to the mater d, but he wasn’t there. A person with the ships uniform was there and told the girl to go ahead and make the reservation. Since it was formal night, it was a good thing. The restaurant got busy fast and stayed that way all night. We loved our dinners. Several of us had the lobsters, but there was also 2 beef Wellingtons ordered as well as the rigatoni. The crepes (dessert) were excellent, but I tried the crème brulee, also. It was very smooth, very nice. They said the chocolate mousse cake was great. Service was flawless, no long waits, everything timed just right. Most people coming into the dining room were dressed, saw very few casual…but did see them sit one lady in a jogging suit. But from the look on her face, I don’t think I could have told her NO either. She looked sloppy and out of place with all the nice gowns and suits. Even for casual attire, she was way out of place.

Some of us went to the show - Sounds of the Night- featuring Andrew Lloyd Webber music. It was nice, very pleasant. Not London stage quality, but very nice.

(they even did 2 songs from Starlight Express, my favorite all time London show)

When we came into our room, DH was first and I heard him laughing. We had gotten a towel animal. This one was the dog, with DH’s sunglasses. He had not been on Cruise Critic’s and didn’t know what a treasured treat it is to get this guys.

Tuesday: Juneau

Started the day with breakfast a the buffet. Still no problem getting a table, even with a party of 6. Everything was hot and tasty.

After reading about how hard it is to get off the boat, I was nervous. The stairwell at mid-ship was full from deck 4 to deck 6. We docked right on time. At 1pm we watched the Sun pull out and they started to move the Star into the spot on the dock.

By 2pm they were letting the excursions go ashore. We were on Capt. Larry’s ship. Even though I had gotten a embarkation “color” ticket. I didn’t wait (like everyone else) I went to mid-ship, went down the stairs (deck 7) by the piano bar. Found several people following me. I guess they thought I knew where I was going?

Went to deck 6, walked forward to the first set of stairs/elevators. Went down the stairs to deck 4. In less this 6 mins we were off the ship and waiting for the tram. Got to Ocra Enterprises early. Everyone in the office was very nice. We talk to Luke for some time about some whales we had seen from the ship (not Ocra and not Humpback that we know for sure). Met with a member from our roll call (still can’t believe she came on this trip, 2months ago she was asking why I was so gung-ho on whale watching) at 3:30 they took us to the van and away we went. As a warning to the weak heart and wuzzies out there. It was raining as we got on the boat and the weather just got worse as the trip went on. The water was Not calm, not extremely rough…but certain not calm. 5 mins after leaving the boat dock we were spotting “blows”. from there the excitement just grew and grew. It as an amazing adventure.

We saw a female and a calf. 2 breeches, several “tails”. a big display of flippers…one waved at us for several minutes and several tail slaps. The sea lions and the humpbacks were have a great time teasing each other, everyone on the boat had a even better time watching them.

You could not turn your head fast enough to see everything. It was raining, cold enough to sleet. The wind had the ice coming down hard and fast. Most stayed in the boat, a few of us brave souls stayed out in the elements, got drenched…but came way with great memories. It was better then I could have hoped. I am even glad the weather was nasty, I feel I got a true Alaskan adventure. The smoked salmon they serve as a snack was very good, too. Capt Shaun was along for the ride, he gave us a lot of information and kept us entertained for the whole trip. On the way home Capt Larry got to talking and kidding around. It was an outstanding day…thank you Ocra enterprises and Capt Larry (our trip back to bock got delayed by a whale in front of us that didn’t want to move, we got back just before dark)

After we got back and got warm, we met the family for dinner at the Aqua Room.

We met at 8pm for 7 of us. The room was not crowded, they seated us right away. Service was outstanding, no long wait between courses. Between the 7 of us, we have a good selection of the menu. The lasagna was not as I expected, no cheese…very haute cuisine…but very good. I do agree that the steak are not the very best. The one that ordered steak is a steak/potato man…he says they were “fine” but not great. The only pause in the service was where it should be, between the main course and the dessert. The Eskimo pie was yummy, everyone else had ice cream in they favorite sundae flavors. If dinner was over an hour, it was because we were having a good time and enjoying the food and service.

It was a early to bed night, we were tired.(by the way, the fellow roll caller is now hooked on whales, she understand why I get so excited about the chance to see more of them)

Towel animal: Rabbit

Wednesday: Skagway

Did the train, just the scenic tour. It was wet, the train windows kept fogging over.

The ride was nice (not the excitement of the day before). But it’s a nice ride, lots of history. The person who did our narration was very good, I think I learned a lot. It was very dense fog in areas and we didn’t get the vast views some get to see. It is not something I would do again. Town was crowded. Sales everywhere with the “end of season”. saw a sign in a back office of one store “last ship 9/26, last day of work 9/28..YEAH!!”. Our walk around town was very short, just got a few items and went back to the ship. We don’t fight crowds, nothing is that important to us.

Lunch at the ship was at our regular spot…the Blue Lagoon. We can’t believe how friendly and sweet the girls are that work there. It has to be one of the least important jobs in the food area, but they do it with such enjoyment. Just walking through there, you are greeted with a sincere smiles and greeting. The chili is hot and good, especially on a wet day like we had. The shepherd pie was small, but good.

Saw another show - The Fame with the Jean Ayers entertainers. For dinner we ate late, went to the Endless Summer at 8:30. They said with no reservations they could sit us at 9. The tamales was excellent, the onions blossom was very good. Fajitas were great but the enchiladas were only so-so.

We were in the casino for most of the evening.

Towel animal: none

Thursday: Glacier bay

A very early morning, wanted to try to see whales. The weather was very cold, fog all around. Didn’t look like a good day for the glaciers. Did see the Park services boat come along side. Everything was running an hour late, which turned out to be a good thing. As we went further into the bay, the sun started to come out. The views become outstanding. The water was like glass, not a ripple. We went up to Margerie Glacier, nice view. The blue was really standing out with the little sunlight we had. Then we took another 45 mins trip to John Hopkin Glacier. Cutting through the ice chucks, we made it all the way up to the glacier. They said that only this cruise and the one last week were allowed into the channel leading to this glacier. The views were great. Just enough sunlight to show up the colors. I was out on the balcony taking pictures, trying to avoid the crowds on the top deck. Just as the ship turned me away from the glacier, it calved. According to those who saw it, it calved about 6 times total. I don’t know, I will have to wait until I develop the film my DH took.

As we left the park, we were still watching for whales. From the balcony we did see a spout. Watched several sea otters as they floated in the currents. Just after the rangers boat came back to pick up our guides, we passed a fishing vessel. Around that time several people on the main decks said they saw a mother and calf humpback. The views were breath-taking. For anyone who thinks Glacier Bay is 2nd rate, should have been on our cruise. OUTSTANDING!!

Dinner was with the family in the market buffet. Believe or not, everything was quite good. I liked the salads, it was nice to not have to over eat.

Towel animal: alligator (my husband had warned me that I was not going to believe this one)

Friday: Ketchikan

We were already there when everyone starting waking up. DH and I had nothing planned, just a shopping trip into town. 4 of our family did a fishing trip in 1-man boats similar to a kayak. It was a very early start for them. They paddled out to a couple of the islands. No salmon and no halibut caught. They did catch a couple of cod and some other fish. They had a good time. But it was wet. The rain was coming down all day. DH and I went into town for a short time. Actually got to use some of my coupons from the free “Destination Alaska” book. Prices were better in Skagway, where several stores had REAL discounts…but so crowded it was unpleasant to shop. Ketchikan was nice shops. Wish the weather was nicer, would have been nice to shop some of the better stores. Saw a couple of eagles as we were on the balcony looking toward town.

DH and I had planned to spend as much time with the FIL. We don’t see him as much as the rest of the family does. He would not get off the ship. He has a hard time with anything but mild, sunny weather. Ketchikan was very wet! It was a great time to just enjoy the ship and Dad.

This night some of the family ate at the main restaurants, DH and I ate at the buffet. We eat at casinos/fancy restaurants all the time. On trips like this, we enjoy just sitting back and relaxing. Plus we were running out of good clothes.

Towel Animal: Elephant

Saturday: Victoria

The ride to Victoria was fairly good. Had some “bumps” in the seas the night before. I did not see any whales, but did see some other marine life. The ship goes slow around the island leading to Victoria. Went to the last Bingo game, but didn’t win anything. We had been too busy all week to go to any of the other games.

At the amateur contest, we HAD to go. One of the members of the roll call was in it. He had the title of the “Karaoke King” by mid-week. But he was a real surprise when he sat down at the piano and gave a strong performance of “ Georgia”. When they announced him as a winner, our group cheers (very loud)

It had been so much fun to have our Roll Callers on this cruise.

Got to Victoria, the weather was beautiful. A lovely night to just walk around. 3 ships were in town, the streets along the harbor were crowded. Not a lot to see unless you like shopping. This time of the year, it’s dark by 7PM.

Before going into Victoria, we did eat at Cagney’s. They had made reservations a couple of days before. We sat at 5:30 for all 7 of us. The filet was very good, but not the melt-in-your-mouth that I have had at other places. The prices were ½ price by only for the regular menu, not for the surf & turf or lobster. Service was excellent.

The chocolate dessert was the best of the cruise.

Towel Animal: none (dang it )

Leaving the Ship:

None of us were ready to go home. We took the next-to-last colored tags. Since they were an hour late letting people off, we didn’t leave the ship until 9. Everything went smoothly. I stayed in the room until it was time to leave. With the FIL’s wheelchair and all the luggage for the 7 of us, we didn’t want to deal with the luggage ourselves. It was where it was suppose to be, when it was suppose to be there. No problems.

We found that we wore everything we took (some twice). Did not do laundry, since we are staying with family for a couple of days. Isn’t wireless nice, I am sitting in house south of Seattle and on the internet.

Be sure to take:

Wrinkle releaser - used it to freshen everything. Worked great for the whole cruise

Power strip- worked on the computer at quiet times, while sitting on the balcony

Kept the camera battery charged. Just watch, they do turn it off when They clean the room.

Water-proof shoes- on rainy days…the gangways are slick. Whale watching, the decks are slick. Make sure you take good shoes.

Layer- fleece sleeveless vest, hooded sweat, water proof jacket. Warm and dry.

Cameras - had plenty of memory with 540 chip. Did need more battery power.

But I downloaded my pictures once a day.

Good manners - leave the bad attitude at home. The crew was very nice, you smile at them …they smile back. The ladies at the Blue Lagoon were the nicest with the worse jobs. Everyone was great, strangers in the elevators, other diners, crew, people on shore. No reason to not have a good time.

Towel Animals:

Between 4 rooms we got: dogs, rabbits, elephants, alligators, snakes. Everyone had a great time guessing what was going to be next

The Ship:

Clean, clean, clean…public rooms were always being cleaned. Our room was kept clean, fresh towels by mid-morning. Turn-down and towel animals by 8pm every night.

Food: ranged from good to excellent. Nothing was below good. Some of it was “different”, but we liked it. Never had a hard time finding a table at the buffet. Only saved a table when all 7 of us went. The ice tea could be better.

Entertainment: Very, very good. The family saw the Magician and loved him.

We saw the main shows and thought for a small stage they were good.

Drinks: I only drink when they are free (like when the casino comps) the family enjoyed drinks at dinner. No one complained about the price. They even enjoyed a couple of the “tasting” parties.

I will be downloading pictures in the next few days.

All in all, everyone in all our age groups enjoyed the cruise and the ship. I didn’t realize how much they enjoyed the ship until we got home and I heard them talking.

about it.

Sounds like you had a great time!

I love those towel animals too!

Can I ask what kind of waterproof shoes you wore?

they were from Bass shoes. not boots, but high ankle slip-ons. they were life savers. dry feet the whole time on the boat with the whales and i was out side most of the time.

Thanks!