Star Review 8-5-2012

[chrisc71]

Some quick notes about our cruise. Thanks to all here who helped plan this trip.

 

Family of 5; DW, DS 6, DD 6 and DS 2. This was our first NCL and will not be our last.

Embarkation...Breeze. We live about a hour from the pier so we drove in and parked. Got to pier around 10:30-11:00. There was a line to get into the lot and when we got close we saw it was due to the dogs checking the luggage in everyone's car. We had Priority boarding due to suite and there was no one in line for suite check in. Checked in and went to Priority waiting area where we met Patrick the concierge. Coffee, juice and some snacks were available. We only waited about 20 minutes before we were allowed to board and on our way to Cagney's for lunch.

 

Room...We were in one of the SJ Family Suite (12016) and it was awesome!:) Everything others have written is true. Plenty of room for the five of us. Cipriano was out butler and was great. Spoiled our kids with treats all week. Armando, our steward, kept on top of everything.

 

Food...Breakfast, every morning but one when we got room service, in Cagney's. For dinner we ate in Aqua twice, Blue Lagoon once and Ginza three times.

 

Breakfast at Cagney's was great. It was nice to have a quiet place to start the day. Very nice being greeted by name every time we went. The food was very good.

 

For Ginza they were running a promotion where if you booked at a specialty before 6 you got a bottle of wine and since my kids ate off the children's menu and we did not pay for them it was worth it. Enjoyed the food here. Orange peel beef was good and spicy. Calamari was good also.

 

Blue Lagoon had the wings and the fish and chips. Both good.

 

Aqua was fine although the first time we went there was a wait of about 30 minutes. Not sure if they were overwhelmed at that time or if there was an issue but some others who were waiting and sailed NCL before said they never saw waits like that. The second time we went we made a reservation and sat right away. Food was fine. Had the cod the first time we went and that was the only thing all week I did not like.

 

Pretzel rolls were also as good as advertised.

 

Ship...I like the size of this ship and never felt too crowded. Easy to get around. Always saw people working and painting, etc. Not sure where some of the posters who say it is worn out are looking. Saw a few areas like missing tiles by the pool but you really have to be looking to find a worn out ship. Spent time in Red Lion and enjoyed the popcorn. One of the wait staff started talking to me about the cricket matches that were on TV. Think he thought he found someone who follows the game. I do not, but he filled me in a little on the sport. This interaction was typical and what made the cruise enjoyable. Casino was good also. Dealers friendly. The photo staff were also very pleasant.

 

Staff...How do they find so many happy people to work in the service industry? Every place we went on the ship all staff said "hello". They gave our children tons of attention. Always got a feeling of "happy to see you".

 

Bermuda...Been here before and it was beautiful. We had good weather.

 

Kid's Club...Children used it once and seemed to have fun but did not go back. Staff was very friendly. I think the children were excited to be on the ship, their first time, and wanted to explore and use the slides.

 

Show..Caught the Elements show and enjoyed it.

 

Meet & Greet...Had a nice group and were invited on a bridge tour. Heard a little about when the Star assisted the boat a few weeks back.

 

All in all a very enjoyable trip and were are ruined with the suite life now:D. Looking to next year with the Dawn or the Breakaway.

 

Any questions feel free to ask.

[family cruisers]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Star, I enjoyed it very much.

We'll be on the star in september. First for the Star but not NCL and certainly not Bermuda. We cruise to BDA every fall.

No one has mentioned if this ship has a comedian on board? This will be a first if there is none.

 

If you think of anything else, please do add on!

 

Thanks,

Carrie

[chipq]

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

 

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[www3traveler]

Did any ONE staff member stand out among the rest??

[eiffeltower07]

No one has mentioned if this ship has a comedian on board? This will be a first if there is none.

 

We were on the Star in April and they had Second City for comedy.

[Hikini]

Glad you enjoyed the Star - she is our favorite ship. And we LOVE the new family suites too - we've stayed in 12022 twice.

 

Thanks for writing!

[chrisc71]

Did any ONE staff member stand out among the rest??

 

Outside of our butler who was great I would say Alma who was a hostess at Cagney's. She greeted us every morning by name as soon as we got off the elevator. Very nice way to start the day. There was also a gentleman who worked in Cagney's who made sure my kids were stocked up with Froot Loops each morning. :)

[chrisc71]

Glad you enjoyed the Star - she is our favorite ship. And we LOVE the new family suites too - we've stayed in 12022 twice.

 

Thanks for writing!

 

Thanks!

 

That is why we are looking at the Dawn for next year. So we can stay in that room again. Boston is only three or four hour drive for us.

[chrisc71]

Another comment I meant to make is about the Freestyle concept. I felt it worked out very well. An example is while in Bermuda we were on the other side of the island waiting for the ferry back and instead of wondering how fast we would have to get on the ship and cleaned up for dinner, we just discussed where we would eat that night.:)

[vivavegas]

Thank you for sharing your cruise experience with us!:)

[philatiger]

Thanks for the review, we are sailing on the Star Oct14th. Were they offering the free bottle of wine for all the specialty restaurants with reservations before 6, or just Ginza?

[chrisc71]

Thanks for the review, we are sailing on the Star Oct14th. Were they offering the free bottle of wine for all the specialty restaurants with reservations before 6, or just Ginza?

 

I believe it was all. They had some signs up around the ship about the program.

[family cruisers]

I remember a few years back if you ate in a specialty restaurant before 6pm it was buy one get one free. Those days are gone. They were great!

Thanks for the review, we are sailing on the Star Oct14th. Were they offering the free bottle of wine for all the specialty restaurants with reservations before 6, or just Ginza?