What are your thoughts on the NCL Star?

[dexddd]

When the Star did the transit through the Canal, what deck(s) in the bow were opened for viewing. I would expect as the ship approached the entrance to the Canal in the early morning, there were many people in that viewing area....correct?

 

Thanks for any information you could provide. :)

Don

 

They open up the area by the crew pool on the very front of the ship - the part you normally see in the webcam. They put up a little tent for a bar. Number of people varies from packed to not so packed as they keep it open not just in the locks. Someone who has been on can tell how long it stays open.

[NoleMini]

We have sailed many of NCL's ships. My two favorite parts of a ship are the back outside deck and the front observation lounge, neither of which the Star has. It did not make/break our trip, still had a great time, but if another ship has the same itinerary, we will choose that ship over the Star. :cool:

[swedish weave]

They open up the area by the crew pool on the very front of the ship - the part you normally see in the webcam. They put up a little tent for a bar. Number of people varies from packed to not so packed as they keep it open not just in the locks. Someone who has been on can tell how long it stays open.

 

On our last Panama cruise, the bow area on deck 8 was open for the entire transit.

 

To get there, go forward on deck 8 as far as you can go and use the cross hallway. The door is in the middle of that hallway.

[NCruiser2012]

Great comments!

 

Just to summarize:

 

Reasons Cruisers like the Star

 

The Atrium

Friendly staff

Good sized ship

 

What Cruisers Don't Like

 

The buffet - There are other venues. The food is good. Try outside.

 

Lack of public observation sites

 

Ship is a little tired - It sounds like NCL has been installing new carpeting, etc. Hopefully dry dock will also improve the look.

 

I am excited to sail on the Star. I love the Baltic itinerary and ports of call.

[GORDONCHICK]

When sailing Europe & Alaska, I'd always consider itinerary first. Especially in Europe, you will spend more time off the ship than on, so the itinerary should be king.

 

I will say that we enjoyed our cruise on the Star for ringing in the New Year of 2013.

[mein18]

Great comments!

 

Just to summarize:

 

Reasons Cruisers like the Star

 

The Atrium

Friendly staff

Good sized ship

 

What Cruisers Don't Like

 

The buffet - There are other venues. The food is good. Try outside.

 

Lack of public observation sites

 

Ship is a little tired - It sounds like NCL has been installing new carpeting, etc. Hopefully dry dock will also improve the look.

 

I am excited to sail on the Star. I love the Baltic itinerary and ports of call.

 

Many say the Star is a little tired. We will get along quite well. We are VERY tired and need the R&R so should make good company. :D

[swedish weave]

Great comments!

 

Just to summarize:

 

Reasons Cruisers like the Star

 

The Atrium

Friendly staff

Good sized ship

 

What Cruisers Don't Like

 

The buffet - There are other venues. The food is good. Try outside.

 

Lack of public observation sites

 

Ship is a little tired - It sounds like NCL has been installing new carpeting, etc. Hopefully dry dock will also improve the look.

 

I am excited to sail on the Star. I love the Baltic itinerary and ports of call.

 

The Star has a right to be a little tired !! She has carried DW and I to many beautiful ports in over 30 cruises and has gotten us there and back safely without fail. Not to mention the hundreds of thousand others who have had the same benefit.

 

Public observation sites are unlimited on decks 7 and the top deck. They are outdoors where the air is fresh and the views are forever.

 

The buffet is good food, and unless my memory is embellishing the benefits of a school cafeteria, I liked it !!

 

I am excited to sail again on the Star in a little over a month !!!!

[sail2sea]

Never been on Star but was on Dawn and Sky.

 

Agree with most about the Spinnaker lounge and the aft open deck. We would've liked her MUCH more if Dawn still had those like Sky does.

 

Ship showed some age but was in better shape than an old HAL ship I was on. I thought the decor was fun. Others in my group took objection to it.

 

Dining rooms services very inconsistent but that's hardly a unique problem. You may encounter the same inconsistency on Star or any other ship.

[dongordon]

On our last Panama cruise, the bow area on deck 8 was open for the entire transit.

 

To get there, go forward on deck 8 as far as you can go and use the cross hallway. The door is in the middle of that hallway.

 

Thank you for that information.

Does the bow of the ship on deck 13 and 14 also provide the ability to observe the Canal transit?

 

Don

[parmen123]

Our family will also be sailing the Baltics in June, I was not aware the Star scheduled for dry dock in the spring. Looking forward this itinerary!!

[Pamster]

I've been on the Star once (7 day W. Caribbean from Tampa) and have booked her again this coming November for a 13 day Panama Canal (Miami to LA).

 

We will be there with you in November. Making the round trip from San Pedro to Miami and return !

 

SOOOOO jealous. We'll be with you on the Miami back to LA - but I would have LOVED to be able to do the round trip from LA to Miami and back, without having to fly to Miami.

[Demonyte]

Never been on Star but was on Dawn and Sky.

 

 

 

Agree with most about the Spinnaker lounge and the aft open deck. We would've liked her MUCH more if Dawn still had those like Sky does.

 

 

Sky is a different class ship than Dawn and Star. Dawn class ships have never had Great Outdoors unlike for example Sky and the successors of Dawn class, Jewel class ships.

[swedish weave]

Thank you for that information.

Does the bow of the ship on deck 13 and 14 also provide the ability to observe the Canal transit?

 

Don

 

Yes ! The views are good from the higher decks, but they become very congested early on the morning of transit.

On my last trip, I went up there with my coffee at 530am and there were about a hundred people there already.

 

The glass windbreak panels can restrict the view and photo-ops on deck 13.

Edited September 23, 2014 by swedish weave

[swedish weave]

 

SOOOOO jealous. We'll be with you on the Miami back to LA - but I would have LOVED to be able to do the round trip from LA to Miami and back, without having to fly to Miami.

 

Before I booked, I checked the cost of air, hotel, transfers, etc. and subtracted that from the cost of the cruise, and it was a no brainer for me.

 

If time is a concern, that makes a different picture altogether.

[swedish weave]

 

SOOOOO jealous. We'll be with you on the Miami back to LA - but I would have LOVED to be able to do the round trip from LA to Miami and back, without having to fly to Miami.

 

Before I booked, I checked the cost of air, hotel, transfers, etc. and subtracted that from the cost of the cruise, and it was a no brainer for me.

 

If time is a concern, that makes a different picture altogether.

 

They just dropped the price of the LA to Miami leg to $699 for an inside a couple of days ago.

[ruby_tuesday]

If you are travelling to the Baltic, you will have a brilliant time. The ports are amazing. Sorry to say I was very disappointed with Star, having travelled on a variety of lines and ships, large and small. The food in the buffet is to be avoided at all costs....! Most of the staff are great but the hotel director was just plain rude and quite aggressive when we mentioned the poor quality food to him and his staff. He really upset me. That said, we got a very good deal, it did nearly out me off sailing with NCL again, but the ports are incredible on that cruise- enjoy!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[HokiePoq]

When the Star did the transit through the Canal, what deck(s) in the bow were opened for viewing. I would expect as the ship approached the entrance to the Canal in the early morning, there were many people in that viewing area....correct?

 

Thanks for any information you could provide. :)

Don

 

The key is to get in place early on the front. They open the crew area on one deck...6 or 8, I forget, but they will tell you. We went up on top where the Biergarten is and then went forward to the rail. All is not lost if you are not there early as places clear out later in the day before you get to the second set of locks. We did the same on the reverse trip but made sure to go around the promenade deck to see from that perspective as well. On the eastbound it is neat to get the perspective of being on the lake, seeing the locks ahead and then the ocean. Don't forget a hat and sunscreen. Have a great trip!

Edited September 23, 2014 by HokiePoq

[fmrlkr]

We did both TA last year on the Star. Sailed from NOLA to Copenhagen, flew home then flew back and sailed from Copenhagen to Miami. The second cruise was practically free after the savings on round trip airfare vs one way.

 

What we didn't like... the food. It was terrible. Not just bad tasting but badly presented. On the buffet they never changed out the serving spoons so after hours of use they were coated with food. The food was inconsistent. In the MDR one item on a plate would be hot, another cold. Unfortunately this was true on both crossings. Crew was untrained (could have been a lot of new crew due to the repositioning).

 

On our first trip we had a balcony, the second a mini-suite. We would give up the extra room in the mini-suite so that we don't have to deal with the bathtub. Getting in and out was treacherous, my husband and I took to "spotting" each others "landings" in and out.

 

What we did like...we love the smaller ship so although we noticed the tiredness, it really didn't bother us. The ship had a very intimate feel and you really had a chance to meet a lot of people. Since we had a balcony we never worried about finding a place to be on deck. We won in the casino and the casino staff was terrific. Back to food. YES, the crepes! We would skip dessert, go get crepes and eat them on the balcony. The specialty restaurants. Love Le Bistro, its our favorite specialty restaurant on any line. The Italian, Asian and Steak house are also very good.

[sail2sea]

Sky is a different class ship than Dawn and Star. Dawn class ships have never had Great Outdoors unlike for example Sky and the successors of Dawn class, Jewel class ships.

 

Thanks for the info. I knew they were different class but didn't know Dawn never had the Great Outdoors. Didn't sail Dawn until 2012. It would nice if Dawn had Great Outdoors along with the old Spinnaker. Good thing that Pearl will now be accessible from Florida.

[Tag617]

I've been on 3 cruises so far. Gem then Star then Epic and I'm going on the Breakaway this coming Sunday. If you're going on the star comparing it to the Epic you might be a bit disappointed. The Gem being my first cruise I compared everything on the star to it and it was not on the same level as far as food/entertainment in my opinion. Would I go on the star again? Absolutely. A cruise is a cruise, I'm going to have a good time regardless.

[NCruiser2012]

We will be on the Star on deck 9 over the lifeboats. Are they completely tucked in on deck 8 or will we see a little bit of lifeboat from our balcony?

[chery4lbooks]

These are not my photos. This is from a UKcruise88 - he/she posted them on another thread here. It shows Great photos of the STAR. It will show the lifeboats "tucked in"

 

 

http://shipsinbergen.blogspot.no/2014/09/norwegian-star-and-albatros.html

Edited September 26, 2014 by chery4lbooks

[dongordon]

The key is to get in place early on the front. They open the crew area on one deck...6 or 8, I forget, but they will tell you. We went up on top where the Biergarten is and then went forward to the rail. All is not lost if you are not there early as places clear out later in the day before you get to the second set of locks. We did the same on the reverse trip but made sure to go around the promenade deck to see from that perspective as well. On the eastbound it is neat to get the perspective of being on the lake, seeing the locks ahead and then the ocean. Don't forget a hat and sunscreen. Have a great trip!

 

Thank you and "Swedish Weave" for this information.

I am so looking forward to the transit and have read several books preparing for the special day! :)

 

Happy Cruising!! :)

Don

[parmen123]

Looking forward to getting to know the star from this thread. Doing the Baltics June 2015 [emoji2]

[NCruiser2012]

These are not my photos. This is from a UKcruise88 - he/she posted them on another thread here. It shows Great photos of the STAR. It will show the lifeboats "tucked in"

 

 

http://shipsinbergen.blogspot.no/2014/09/norwegian-star-and-albatros.html

 

Belatedly, thank you for the photos. They do show that the lifeboats are tucked under. I am starting to get excited about cruising on the Star. I am sure we will have a lovely time.