NCL Star westbound TA for Princess Elite??

[jerbeth]

We are Princess Elite and Diamond Celebrity and RCL with most experience with Princess. Because of dates we are looking at an October 2014 westbound transatlantic on NCL's Star and looking for any thoughts/insights any might have, about 'the fit' for us. Thinking that the general age on a TA will be older than on many NCL cruises - we will be 69 and 80, very physically active. Wanting to book, thinking we will, but wondering if any of you experienced cruisers will have any thoughts positive or negative. :confused:

[Gunner22aa]

First let me say that I am a died in the wool Princess fan and have only done one NCL cruise. Last summer we sailed from NYC to Bermuda to celebrate my aunt and uncles 50th anniversary. They paid to bring their entire wedding party along. I was the ring bearer.

 

I enjoy formal nights. Not on NCL. One suggested dress up night but there were still shorts and tee shirts in the MDR. We dressed but felt hugely out of place. Freestyle is not my style.

 

18% gratuity vice 15 on Princess. Not a big deal but a difference

 

Food was definatly of lower quality. A very subjective topic but I personally found a big difference. I will say the meal I had in the speciality restaurant, Cagneys I believe, was very good and on par with the equilivent on Princess.

 

Many more drunken passangers but this may have been because it was a shorter cruise and we were docked for 3 days in Bermuda. A short cruise for us is a minimum of two weeks

 

Found the staff equally friendly as Princess. Our cabin steward was exceptionally good.

 

Found the sales pitches more frequent than Princess

 

DW said the spa was not of the same standard that she was used to on Princess. I can't comment personally. She is the family pro in this area.

 

I like the buffet layout better than Princess Horizon Court

 

That's about it. We won't sail NCL again

[fishin' musician]

Also Elite; have enjoyed the 4 or 5 NCL cruises. I've sampled most mainstream lines and among them my top 3 are Princess, HAL and NCL. NCL does some things very right. Their production shows are the best IMO. I've not been on the Star, but have been on the sister ship, Dawn and enjoyed it very much. Overall design themes are less subdued, but I consider it whimsical and fun rather than garish with signage like, "Don't throw and trash items overboard, we get complaints from the fish".

 

All things equal I'll choose Princess, but they seldom are and I have no problem sailing NCL when the conditions dictate it.

[lamchops]

We did the Grand Princess TA last November and was disappointed with the quality of service from the cruise staff. It seemed a lot of them were near the end of their contract and their attention to details were lacking. (eg. showing up late to activities, not very enthusiastic, etc) The Princess cruise staff were not even close to the NCL Panama repo staff that we did the year before. If the ships amenities were equal, I'd choose the NCL staff as we have always experienced a friendly and accomindating group. On a long cruise such as a TA or PC, the staff and amenities become more important.

[zacc]

I always say that I sailed NCL twice-the first time and the last time. Can't really say that there was anything absolutely terrible about the cruise but overall it simply was not up to the quality or experience we enjoy.

[cruzsnooze]

I like NCL freestyle. I prefer no formals. I found the food the same as all the other mass market lines. The way they have reader boards set up you can see all the restaurants listed with whether or not there is a wait or immediate seating and choose accordingly, very well organised. I wouldn't hesitate to sail on NCL again, or Princess or RCL or Celebrity. They all have their pluses and minuses.

[pris993]

We are similar to you, age and activity wise. We did the NCL Jade Mediterranean in the spring of this year, first time on NCL in 10 years, prior cruise was on the Star before they went to freestyle cruising.

 

From what I recall about the Star, it was a nice ship, cabins similar in size and decor to main stream lines. We are elite on Princess, elite on Celebrity, cruise HAL, Cunard and now NCL.

 

What we found on the Jade - mini suite cabin larger than Princess and well layed out. No real dress up nights even in the Mediterranean (we thought with more Europeans, it would be different). We like late traditional dining in the MDR, could not negotiate a set time with the Matre'd on NCL, it is first come first serve. We were not that impressed with service or food in the MDR the first day (lunch) and night (dinner). We skipped the MDR the remaining 10 nights. The food did not impress us enough to motivate us to try the speciality restrauants. Instead we did a good lunch with items we picked up at the buffet. We don't cruise for the food and are fussy about what we eat, not that into the confort foods we saw on the menu and in the buffet.

 

We enjoyed our cruise, would do the Jade or a sister ship again for the right itinerary and price. The price on our Jade cruise was $1000 pp less than we have paid on similar cruises in the Mediterranean on Princess, Celebrity, HAL and Cunard. We felt we got what we paid for on NCL.

 

We actually saved money since we did not go to the MDR... did not buy $40 bottles of wine with dinner. You can bring on wine NCL charges $15 per bottle.

 

The one negative for us on NCL was their policy of not allowing passengers to bring on any food items from ports. This was different then other cruises lines for sure, suspect it is because they have so many speciality restrauants on board. We often shop in ports when we are in the Mediterranean for nuts, fruit, pastries and sometimes some street foods that we like. To be honest, we did pick up nuts in Turkey and some pastry in Israel which they did not notice in the security check but would have liked to bring on board some other items that we did not take a chance doing.

 

Hope this helps...

[sassyredhat]

Thank you all for the replies.

We are booked for our first NCL cruise on the Star. I am very wary of this because PCL is a good fit for us.

 

We are going with many extended family, a lot who are newbies, and all of them younger than us. The 4 eldest couples have booked penthouse suites.

This gives me some reassurance, but we still love PCL. :)

Pat

[DrivesLikeMario]

I've had a Penthouse Suite and an Owners' Suite on a different ship but it's the same basic arrangement.

 

The Penthouse is nice. It's very comfortable and the added width to the cabin is very nice. The bathroom space is also very good. The Owners' Suite was incredible and the best part of the entire cruise. The beds in the suites are fantastic. Our butler was horrible and spilled water all over my cell phone, completely ruining it while filing up the cappuchino machine and wouldn't admit to it. The cabin stewards left a lot to be desired too but the worst of it was the main dining room dinner service and food. If it wasn't for the suites, our experience would've been one of the worst we've had in over 30 cruises. You're a braver soul than I. I won't go on NCL ever again.

 

That said, just go with an open mind and don't expect the service you're used to with Princess. Bring lots of extra money to dine at the other dining venues. Service and food there is better. I know a lot of other people that have sailed NCL and say that it's "good enough", so hopefully your experience will be as well. For the newbies in your group, it's a decent starting point.

[jerbeth]

Thank you to everyone who posted responses. As we all know, everything is so subjective as evidenced by the variation in thoughts and experiences. All in all it sounds as though we should have a good enough experience if we decide to book. Thank you for your help! :D