Norwegian Star

[ausbod]

Thinking about doing the 45 night cruise Los Angeles to Copenhagen however get the impression that the ship is a bit run down.

When was she last dry docked and refurbished?

We have always cruised on Princess and HAL. Will Norwegian be a totally different experience with lots of children aboard?

 

Thanks for your responses.

[don't-use-real-name]

General info on the NCL STAR:

* * * * * * * * * *

Built 2001 Years old 13 Passengers 2344- 2813

Cabins 1172 Space Ratio 33 Tons 91740

Speed 25.0 Length 971 Beam 105 Crew 1084

Refurbished: 2010

* * * * * * * * * *

In terms of refurbishing or renovation she is right on schedule.

About every 10 years is the norm from what I have read.

 

Will be taking her for a ride in Oct 2014 and hope that she is in as good a

condition as the NCL SUN which I was on Jul 2013.

She is not that old and certainly not in a class as the new super ships -

Breakaway - Getaway etc.

 

I found the NCL SUN to be just my cup of tea. My first cruise was on the

Golden Princess and while it was excellent now that I have had a few cruises

I just do not like all the ANTI-Freestyle rules and protocol !

Carnival cruises were typically FUN and easy going !

The cruise on HAL Westerdam - was a much better experience than that of

the Princess - more relaxing; less serious and more enjoyable call it senior sedate !

My last cruise - the NCL SUN - has fine tuned my cruising preferences - it is

Freestyle for me.

None of the stuff you read about 4th class passengers having to dress in tux

and bow times to dine like one was on the Titanic. No this and no that -

come on folks this not a penal ship at sea - give me some slack !

So pardon the hyperbole; a fast track to reveal my cruising experiences !

 

Hope the NCL STAR fits your lifestyle - I sure am looking for a nice ride from

Miami to Los Angeles - Looks like you are doing the whole hog - Pacific coast

- Panama Canal - Caribbean - Trans-Atlantic and the English Channel and

North Sea to Copenhagen - What are you trying to do garner all the Latitude

points to go Platinum in one voyage ?

Regarding children being around - depending on the time of your cruise probably

not - and for sure not the total length of your planned trip. Even at that the

trip you have planned is not something that Disney would entertain with children.

Have a load of Freestyle Fun !

Edited May 17, 2014 by don't-use-real-name
children comment

[fishywood]

I sailed part of the middle leg of this cruise (Miami-Dover) last year.

Was an atypical crowd for NCL, more seasoned cruisers and virtually no children.

Should be the same on the LA-MIA segment; maybe a few families on the Baltics at the end, but school will still be in.

 

Assuming you are looking at 2015 the ship will have some refurbishment between now and then--including the addition of O'Sheehans Bar and Grill, a 24 hour restaurant that is very popular on the ships that now have it.

 

Otherwise I found the ship in very good shape. The Star is similar in size and capacity to the Princess Australia ships (Sun, Dawn, Sea Princess) but has more modern decor and dining options. Atmosphere is the polar opposite of HAL--or at least HAL in the US. I hesitate to make full comparisons as I don't know if you have sailed Princess or HAL in the US and/or Europe, or only from Australia where they tailor the experience to your much livelier market. But either way I think NCL would be to your liking.

Edited May 17, 2014 by fishywood

[NMLady]

I am envious of you. I'd love to take that 45 day cruise. We spent 33 days on the Star last October Copenhagen to Los Angeles and loved every minute of it.

We had an inside cabin deck 5 midship around corner from elevators and would book that cabin again in a heartbeat.

We did not notice any "rundown" areas at all anywhere on the ship.

 

I presume your long cruise is made up of segments: coastal, canal, Caribbean, transatlantic. There might be some children on Coastal and Caribbean segments but I doubt there would be many on the Canal segment or ta segment because of the length of those cruises.

 

You will have a wonderful cruise on the Star. Be sure to join your Roll Calls for the various segments. You might be able to join some private tours organized there.

Edited May 17, 2014 by NMLady

[rajones007]

...

Assuming you are looking at 2015 the ship will have some refurbishment between now and then--including the addition of O'Sheehans Bar and Grill, a 24 hour restaurant that is very popular on the ships that now have it....

That's interesting. Do you have a link with further information on that?

[garycarla]

Interesting.

 

Taking your first NCL cruise, but for 45 days. We would be okay with it, I think, but we have done plenty of NCL cruise including some in the 2-3 week.

 

To get some good feedback, I would check out some reviews in the reviews section for the Star.

 

Yes, a bit older, but not "old" at all.

 

As to children. Anything over 7 days always has less children. But, you need to look at the interim cruises offered within your 45 days. I am guessing there are some shorter stretches there.

[All-ready2cruise]

Yes, 45 days seems like a very long cruise. We're doing a 25 day cruise (British Isles and TA) next year but we've done a few other cruises on NCL so we're all ready to cruise on NCL again. :D

[fishywood]

That's interesting. Do you have a link with further information on that?

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5684

 

and I was certain there was a thread with drydock dates listing the Star as one of the first. Perhaps it was only speculation as now I don't see any gaps in her schedule.