The Ma'am's Star Western Caribbean Review with Pictures!

[Planmaam]

If it's Tuesday, this must be Costa Maya. 6 of us had made reservations at Tropicante. Here some of us are just leaving the ship.

 

 

I love the smile on the front of the Star. DH pointed out that from the front it looks like a giant face with shades, chillin'.

 

 

The water at the beach at Tropicante was clear and azur, and you could see the ship from there.

 

 

DD and DGD enjoying the the warm Caribbean water.

 

 

You could also see a light house, and beyond, the colorful buildings of the cruise port.

 

 

And a view back to the buildings from the water.

 

[Planmaam]

Screenma'am and I had made the decision to take our families to Tropicante, as we didn't want to spend the pp price of Maya Chan that day. We were also put off by the reports of murky waters and sea grass at Maya Chan. I had read reviews of both Tropicante and 100% Agave, ultimately deciding upon Tropicante. We passed by 100% Agave on the walk back to Tropicante; as Screenma'am said, the bus driver didn't seem to know where to drop us off, and we had to backtrack.

 

Tropicante is nice for a lower cost alternative, but again as Screenma'am said, I would also choose to go to Maya Chan the next time. They had much more to offer. Though DD and I did get wonderful hour-long massages on the beach for $25.00 each, whereas DBIL paid the same for a half-hour massage at Maya Chan.

 

Here you can see our 4 loungers and the adirondacks in the forefront. While DD and I were getting massages, GDG got "stung" by something in the water on her finger. You can see her here with the vinegar-soaked napkin she was given to take the sting out, as well as the chocolate, which helped take the pain away (!)

 

 

And a sucker, too.

 

 

Chillin'

 

 

Posing for Grampa

 

 

 

Screenma'am had to get a picture with one of the Tropicante waiters with a U.S. Border Patrol hat, as Bullit, her DH, is retired INS.

 

[Planmaam]

Then it's back to the cruise port, greeted by the smile of the Star. The cruise port has a lot of shops, and places to spend the day: bars, restaurants, swimming. But it looked like there were not many people who stayed in this area whenever we were walking through.

 

 

The entertainers welcoming us back to the ship.

 

 

And the towel animal waiting for us that night.

 

[Planmaam]

Wednesday we awoke to rain and fog as we anchored off the coast of Belize. The Ma'ams had decided to stay on the ship in Belize before we even began the cruise, planning to take care of the Grand Girls while their moms and dads went ashore. I'm going to get help from DH to tell you about his excursion to Lamanai ruins, an excursion booked through the ship a few weeks before we left. They had decided to go ahead and book pre-cruise, as we had read on here that it was popular and might fill up before we got on the ship.

 

DH went to the assigned gathering place in Stardust, and met up with DD, only to find that DBIL was not there. DH went to where he and DBIL had said they would meet, but did not find him, so he went back to where DD was, only to find out that DD was no longer there. DH was told he had to leave, so he went to the tender hoping that DD and DBIL were already there; DBIL was there, but DD was not. After the tender got to shore, the guys went to the bathroom one at a time to keep watch for DD before boarding the busses to begin the excursion. DD was nowhere to be found, and they were made to go ahead and get on the bus.

 

Well, come to find out, DD went back to the room to brush her teeth; she said it looked like there would be plenty of time. When she got back to the Stardust and asked about her excursion, someone told her that the tender had already left. There were about 6 of them left, and they took them down to the tender, and they got to the meeting place to board busses last. There were directed to the front of the line of busses where others were still waiting to board a bus for this excursion. So the busses all headed to the river where everyone boarded boats for the next portion of the trip. DH waited to get on a boat, looking for DD, but she was nowhere to be found when they were telling him to get on the boat. DH talked to the guide, asking him to call to see if there was another bus yet to arrive. He did and there was, and once it arrived, DD was about the third person off the bus, and DH, DD & DBIL were finally on one boat together.

 

DH & DD tell me that the lack of organization in the Stardust was the origin of the problem. There were not designated meeting points for each group, and to add to the confusion several of the excursions had to be cancelled, and those people were milling around the Stardust like lost ducks. The only separation for excursions was time, as opposed to meeting areas once in Stardust.

 

 

 

 

I love this picture; it reminds me of a Monet. DH told me the locals call it a "Jesus Christ" bird because it walks on water.

 

 

Termites in Belizian winter

 

 

The ride down the river was fast.

 

[Planmaam]

They had to slow down when they approached some local fishermen. They showed their take, at least 6 fish caught already.

 

 

The boat tour rendezvous point, and restaurant and bar.

 

 

Heading out to the ruins

 

 

Map of the ruins. The excavation is ongoing, as the excavations only began in 1974, though knowledge of their existence can be traced back to 1917.

 

Temple of the Jaguar; see it's face?

 

 

 

And another view.

 

 

The ball court that lead up to the High Temple.

 

[Planmaam]

The Royal Complex

 

 

The High Temple as you walk out of the jungle upon it. Only the front has been excavated; from the other side it just looks like a hill.

 

 

The whole temple used to painted; they think a deep red.

 

 

DD in the yellow poncho on the High Temple, which is 33 meters high. She went all the way to the top, but said coming dows was harder; her legs were shaking when she reached the bottom!

 

 

The Mask Temple. The carvings on the right were covered with fiberglass to preserve them.

 

 

The bar and restaurant area.

 

 

The meal consisted of marinated BBQ chicken, not real spicy but savory and delicious. Red beans and rice, a salad, and tortillas accompanied the chicken. Dessert was a banana bread pudding, and chestnut wine and mixed drinks were available for a cost.

[Planmaam]

Meanwhile back on the ship, the rain began to let up, the fog lifted and we could see some of the company in the bay. We never were able to see Belize, except for the shadow you can see in the distance. It was just rainy and foggy with low visibility all day.

 

 

Since the weather had cancelled some excursions, more people stayed on the ship, so they issued an amended daily schedule; the additions were in bold so you could discern them. The Grand Girls wanted to go to the Kids Club, so we ma'ams first went to play Trivia in the Pub. We won the prize for the fewest correct answers! But we tried.....................

 

We looked in the library for our favorite: Trivial Pursuit. It was there for our last cruise, but missing this time. We were directed to Moderno where additional games were located. No luck there either, so we chose to play a game of Scrabble. It was during Scrabble that we saw the Grand Girls being taken in for lunch in Endless Summer. We checked the girls out right there after lunch and went to the rooms for a "nap".

 

 

At least one Grand Girl napped, I think mine just spent some quiet time.

 

 

I did some reading while my DGD took pictures; she's already a fine photographer! You can see her reflection in the glass.

 

 

I think that's all for today. Next up: Roatan. Oh, what a day! My favorite port!

Edited February 4, 2013 by planma'am
spelling

[Planmaam]

Oops, one more. It was after the "naps" that we took the Grand Girls back to the Kids Club, and we ma'ams went to something that was added to the schedule: a margarita tasting! They made margaritas with all three kinds of tequila - silver, reposado, and anejo. I still like silver best, but all the margaritas were good. Screenma'am found out she REALLY likes peach margaritas! We were on about our second margarita when we heard "Grama! Grama!", and in marched the kids from the Kids Club to have their dinner in Endless Summer. So we were able to see them having two meals that day. There were only 4 kids, and two attendants, so the ratio was great and controllable. They looked so adult over there, having conversations just and being on their best behavior.

[Lena B]

Thank you Ma'ams! We'll be enjoying our first night on the Star in just one week and I sure am enjoying your review!

[medicalma'am]

My kids went to the cruise port in Belize City for a while on Wednesday. They had some drinks

 

 

There is not much to the cruise port. There are a lot of shops and big gates where you exit. There is not much beyond that safe in the city as far as I am concerned.

 

 

 

My DD and SIL got braided

 

 

Here is a pic of the angled window that is on two rooms on deck 12. My DS and Planma'am's DD had those rooms.

 

 

You can see just how much room there is on the opposite end of the windows.

 

Edited February 4, 2013 by medicalma'am

[medicalma'am]

This is what the Ma'ams did while the younger generation was in Belize

 

 

One of the added activities that day (because of the rain) was a pastry demonstration in Spinnaker. It was over in about 15 minutes, but interesting.

 

 

We also did a margarita tasting

 

 

That night we ate in Ginza.

 

 

It was just OK. Nothing there is any better than what you can get at an Oriental buffet at home. The service took FOR E VER. We were there quite a while and wondered why on earth it was taking so long for him to get back to us and take our orders. They were NOT busy and he seemed to have no other tables except the two gentlemen in the background. Go figure.

 

That night there was apparently a bumble bee, butterfly parade with the Kids Club. We picked up DGD and kept her in our room for the night. She did NOT want her picture taken. I think I had told her she could not have another cookie. Her mom called her Grumps more than once during the cruise. Well I finally got her picture by telling her she should stand by the towel animal.

 

 

She then decided to let me get a picture of her wings......sort of

 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2013 by medicalma'am

[medicalma'am]

The next morning she was my little Sugar Dumplin' again. We had Breakfast in Cagney's with her.

 

 

So, it is Thursday so it must be Roatan!

 

I had made reservations for our entire group of 21 for Little French Key for the day. You meet their driver upon exiting the port. We were loaded into two large vans for the ride to Frenchy's 44 restaurant. They pay the drivers once you are there. You do not pay them until you arrive. It is best to take cash as the government charges a 12% fee/tax for credit cards.

 

We paid and were loaded onto a boat for transport to the Key (island). This place is heaven on earth.

 

This is the baby island

 

 

This is on the island

 

 

You could jump off the deck into the water there that was deeper.

 

 

There is a small zoo with birds and monkeys

 

 

These chairs would be awesome on a hot sunny day in the water.

 

 

The weather that day was overcast, cool, and misty. This would have been our favorite day of the cruise if the weather had cooperated. The food was provided and we had our choice of any two drinks we wanted. We had chicken, lobster, beef and pork I believe for lunch with sides. The meal was great. They have several packages at Little French Key to choose from. Three in our group also did zip lining. They were taken to the highest point on Roatan and took 8 different zip lines down! I asked them what they could see and my DD said "Everything!!!" It sounded incredible and was cheaper doing it through them than elsewhere.

 

The folks who own the island and restaurant on Roatan live on the island and are developing it into a limited destination for cruise ship customers. They limit the number of people each day. They have a volleyball court, several beach areas, hammocks in the shade, a bar or two, and plenty of covered shelters. I will definitely go back here when the Jewel is cruising our of La Porte terminal near Houston in the future.

Edited February 4, 2013 by medicalma'am

[medicalma'am]

Many in our group took advantage of the snorkeling on Little French Key.

 

 

TaDa!

 

 

 

 

Every inch of it was beautiful

 

 

 

The whole island was groomed and they had VERY nice, clean bathrooms.

Soon it was time to load on to the boat and go back to the Frenchy's 44 restaurant and await our vans back to the pier.

[medicalma'am]

Here are more pictures of that angled window room of my son's on deck 12: 12730

 

 

I gave the kids cruise things in their stockings. They got bungee cords to tie up those massive curtains, since I had seen pics online of towels tied around them to tame them. I saw that my niece used towels!

 

 

Dressing area with big closets on each side.

 

 

Full sized tub with shower wand

 

 

Shower next toilet with rain head and another hand held wand

 

 

And double sinks with storage drawers between. Wow. What a bathroom.

 

 

 

 

[medicalma'am]

And the bed area. You could sit on the couch and see out the angled window toward the front of the ship.

 

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You also have a good view of the 'wing' of the bridge one deck below.

 

[medicalma'am]

On Thursday when we got back on board, I got myself ready for a real treat: The Chef's Table.

 

I knew I wanted to do this but waited too long to get it arranged.

 

POINTER: If you want to do the Chef's Table, do NOT procrastinate!

 

I mentioned it to David Contreras Tuesday morning I believe. Tuesday evening I had not heard back and was getting nervous, as I thought that it was being held on Wed. evening. We were at a gathering, I believe cocktails with the Captain, when I mentioned it to Katherine, the group services rep. A few minutes she got back to me and said that there were already 13 signed up and I would be added and receive an invite in my cabin. She also informed me that it was now held on Thursday evenings.

 

As it turned out, we had 16 in attendance. There was an officer there and maybe his parents. (I just assumed that as they were older than he was.) They never spoke to the rest of the group and did not join us in the cocktails before or afterwards, nor did he partake in any of the wine pairings.

 

 

My DH did not want to attend this, so I was 'alone'. I don't know if he would have enjoyed it. When I fix something new, he will look at it and say "Have I had this before?" I have learned to say "Yes, I made it ten years ago and you LOVED it!" No way will he remember, and he will then eat it happily. ;)

 

Let me say this.....I am in love with Chef Andreas! (figuratively)

 

 

 

 

He spoke to us at length about each course and educated us. We had wine pairings with each course. There were nine courses, yes nine. It lasted about 4 hours!!!

 

Course one: Amuse Bouch 'Molecular Gastronome'. This was spherical mango, vodka and jalapeno ravioli. He explained how they made the sphere, and it exploded in your mouth!

 

 

Course two: Basil, tomato, curry and lavender lavosh

I do not have a picture of this buy it was a tortilla chip kind of flat bread. It was used to clean the palate between items and wines.

 

Course three: Ahi Tuna Tartare

 

 

Course four: Asparagus Cream (cauliflower flan, crispy beetroot and safron angle hair) The beet crispys on top were wonderful.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2013 by medicalma'am

[medicalma'am]

 

Course five: Short Crust Tartlet (goat cheese, sun dried tomato chutney, basil oil, kalamata olive tapenade) I had cut it apart but had not taken a bite yet.

 

 

Course six: Granite (grapefruit & Moscato) I ate it all up to this point.

 

 

 

Did I mention that we had wine pairings with each course? There had been two wines served at this point. I usually do not like white wines and stick to Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet. I love my reds! But I did enjoy these white wines that were served. I have NO IDEA how much I was drinking. NO IDEA. But.....I can guess. :p They kept refilling your glass.....and refilling your glass. I had no telling full glasses of wine at this point and began to slow down. I realized this when I got up to go to the ladies room and had to concentrate on walking in a straight line. :o We had to be led to the ladies room and the person then waited for us to lead us back. You see, we were in a secret room! It was entered at the back of La Cucina, but when we went out to the ladies room, we exited a door on the other side, and voile, we were in Aqua dining room. We walked through a kitchen at some point on that trek, but my memory fades.....

 

Course seven: (I may have been counting wrong because it is not coming our right, but onward) Pan seared sea bass. I ate only half of this.....getting full. It was wonderful.

 

 

NEXT course: Mild-fed veal chop Oh my goodness, this was heavenly! Now we were served Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon from California. I finally had my RED. SAD NEWS....I KNOW that I must slow down on the drinking!!!!!! I AM SO FULL!!!!!

 

I had two unbelievable bites of this to die for chop, carefully having a sip of wine before each bite and after each bite. Alas, I could handle no more.

 

 

 

 

[medicalma'am]

Conversation, and time, cured that tipsyness and fullness and I was able to sip my blessed red with the next course: Cheese Platter

 

 

I was introduced to Stilton cheese and loved it. There is also honeycomb, port wine infused figs, bagel chips and pickled watermelon. I ate it all!

 

 

 

The last course was dessert: Chocoholic's Delight - This was 'spiced' dark rum infused banana cocoa mousse. There was also another that the men were served, a yougurt mousse dome, of which I don not have a picture. The lucky couples all got to taste each other's, but I was SO happy with my chocolate. How did they KNOW I was a cholaholic? The Cabernet was great with this course.

 

Edited February 4, 2013 by medicalma'am

[medicalma'am]

 

The Chef introduced us to all the chefs who helped prepare our meal, the wait staff and the Master Sommelier.

 

 

 

That is she to the right. (Sommelier)

 

We then retreated back to Gatsby's, where we started, and had an after dinner drink. All of the choices included alcohol, AGAIN. I chose to have a capaccino instead.

 

I think all were feeling a bit tipsy at this point. That is just how everything looked to me! Blurry.

 

 

Edited February 4, 2013 by medicalma'am

[medicalma'am]

At the beginning of the meal we had a menu at our place. I was sad that they removed it. I was pleasantly surprised to be handed this

 

 

at the conclusion of the meal!

 

I waltzed back to our cabin, and told my DH of my adventure and drifted off to sleep.

 

The next morning was.....Cozumel.

 

I have many happy memories of Cozumel. I visited there with my late husband in 1987 for 8 days. He was a physician assistant to a cardiovascular surgeon, the father of my children, and had every dive certification that you could get. He was a member of our city's Civil Defense (remember when it was called that as opposed to Homeland Security?) and I was a volunteer Paramedic in our volunteer EMS. He passed away in March of 1993 of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).

 

I also visited there in 1998 on a cruise with my DH's family for his parent's 50th anniversary. DH and I went there on our 2009 cruise from NOLA on the Spirit. Chankanaab Park has REALLY changed since 1987! That is where we would be spending our day.

Edited February 4, 2013 by medicalma'am

[Lena B]

One of my friends on our Star cruise was asking about the Chef's Dinner - thank you for sharing this!

[GORDONCHICK]

If I'm reading the stripes on the officer's uniform right, I think he would have been the staff captain.

[suzannebander]

How much was the margarita tasting? Mmmmm ;)

 

First time cruiser

Ncl star 7 night western Caribbean

March 2013

[medicalma'am]

All of them I have done were $15 then the tip.

[NYGirl1002]

I am loving this review. I like that everybody chimes in here and there with a post so we are getting all viewpoints.

 

Thanks so much for posting it.