The Star - Panama Canal Cruise

[Oakman58]

I'm so glad you're posting a review. I'm really enjoying it. Great pics!

ML

 

 

I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'll be working on the November 7th post tomorrow morning.

[julie3fan]

Hi. Thanks for the nice review. Do you recall what type of t-shirts and other goodies the ship had that specifically had Panama Canal on it? Not necessarily NCL branded items. Thanks! Julie

[ranchette]

Ranchette:

Passengers who carried all their luggage off the ship were the first to leave. With the flight time you have ranchette I would plan on carrying all my luggage off so you can be in the first group to leave.

 

We had the crew take our luggage off so our experience was quite different from those who carried theirs off. Debarking in Miami was slow. We were told that Customs was being very thorough which caused long lines. It was 10:00 when our group was finally called and the line to leave the ship was still long and wrapped through the Atrium area. Once we retrieved our luggage the lines were still long and slow to get through Customs. We had a late afternoon flight from Miami so I wasn’t concerned about the slow process. For whatever unknown reason the Customs line suddenly started moving quite quickly and we zipped through Customs. We took a taxi to the airport and arrived just a bit after 12:00.

 

I hope your cruise is as good as ours.

 

Thank you so much for your quick reply we do plan to walk off with our luggage. Hopefully we will make the flight. We will also have a private car service pick us up at the ship.

Have a healthy & Happy New Year!

[dongordon]

Quote:

 

"and afterward went to the Stardust Theater for the show, Oh What a Night, a musical tribute to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The show was very entertaining."

 

Great to hear that. We saw the show on another cruise and we would see it again if it is on our Jan 19 cruise !

 

Thanks for pointing this out....I missed it! :)

 

Don

[mein18]

 

We ate dinner in the Aqua dining room and afterward went to the Stardust Theater for the show, Oh What a Night, a musical tribute to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The show was very entertaining.

.

Were the shows the same time every night? If so do you recall the times? Having the UDP We have made reservations in all of the specialty restaurants on our Jan 19th cruise and want to be sure we can make the shows afterwards, especially this one. Thanks.

[Barb Nahoumi]

November 6th Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

 

 

We had to move our clocks ahead one hour as we crossed another time zone. Even so, I was up early enough to watch the sun rise out of the ocean and into very cloudy skies.

 

 

We would be staying on the ship most of the day since we didn’t have a shore excursion planned for today. My sister and her husband would be leaving the ship for an excursion so we would have the ship to ourselves so to speak. We decided to have breakfast in the beautiful Versailles dining room. The Eggs Benedict and country potatoes I ordered were excellent.

 

Quite a few passengers departed the ship for their shore excursions. Here’s a picture of the many tour busses lined up and waiting for passengers.

 

 

On days when the ship was in port crewmen seem to appear from everywhere to perform maintenance on the ship. Here’s a photo of two crewmen painting areas on the outside of the ship that needed attention.

 

 

We did get off the ship for a short time and do some shopping at the local vendors at the port. My wife was able to negotiate a good price on a swimwear cover-up so she bought it. She loves to dicker on prices.

 

We ate lunch at the Market Café (buffet). Since many passengers were ashore I took this opportunity to take some photos of the food on the buffet line. Because of the limit on the numbers of photos in one post I put the buffet photos in my next post.

 

In the afternoon we spent some time on our balcony, walked the promenade deck to get a little exercise, and lazed around the pool.

 

 

Is it just me or does it seem as though every cruise port must have a pirate ship for parties or excursions?

 

 

By the way, at Puerto Vallarta there is a Walmart and a Sam’s Club directly across the street from the port. For those who enjoy soda I think this would be a good place to pick up a case or two to bring back to the ship.

 

 

Later we played a game of Trivia with the cruise staff in the Spinnaker Lounge. The cruise staff was really a fun group of people and always did a great job keeping folks entertained.

 

We ate dinner in the Aqua dining room and afterward went to the Stardust Theater for the show, Oh What a Night, a musical tribute to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The show was very entertaining.

 

Then it was time to head to our cabin for a glass of wine to end the evening.

 

Pirate tourist boats are everywhere, even in Hyannis Harbor.

[Love my butler]

Yes they are two different things but a quicker check-in for our cruise would have meant not standing on your feet for over two and half hours.

 

Possibly, but you said priority boarding, which you will not get.

[Oakman58]

Hi. Thanks for the nice review. Do you recall what type of t-shirts and other goodies the ship had that specifically had Panama Canal on it? Not necessarily NCL branded items. Thanks! Julie

 

I'm sorry, that's one thing I can't help with. We quit buying souvenir items from places we visit a few years back. The collection was getting too big.

[Oakman58]

Possibly, but you said priority boarding, which you will not get.

 

 

My bad, I meant check-in.

[Oakman58]

Were the shows the same time every night? If so do you recall the times? Having the UDP We have made reservations in all of the specialty restaurants on our Jan 19th cruise and want to be sure we can make the shows afterwards, especially this one. Thanks.

 

The shows in the Stardust Theater were 7 PM and 9 PM every night. I hope you have a great cruise.

[js4rq]

Really enjoying your review, looking forward to more! :D

[Oakman58]

Really enjoying your review, looking forward to more! :D

 

 

Thank you very much.

[Oakman58]

November 7th Sea Day

 

I failed to mention that I loved having a small coffee maker in our room. I drink a lot of coffee and all I had to do was to ask our room steward to put more coffee packs in our room. She made sure I always had plenty.

 

I loved the mid-ship location of our cabin (9612). My wife is a hot tea drinker so whenever she wanted some tea it was just a matter of a few steps to the stairs, down one flight to deck 8, and the Blue Lagoon restaurant was right there. The Blue Lagoon was open 24 hours and always had hot water and tea bags available.

 

At 8 AM I went down to the promenade deck to do the scheduled “walk a mile with the crew.” Three laps around the promenade deck is just a little over one mile.

 

 

I never did find out the reason for the jogging track on deck 13 being closed every day from 8 PM to 8 AM. I felt the track should have been opened by 6:30 AM at the latest.

 

After the walk I went back to our cabin to get my DW so we could go to breakfast at the Market Café. The Market Café has two buffet lines, one on the port side and the other the starboard side of the ship. Both lines have the same food but there are some differences, one side had a section where you could order an omelet or fried egg. That side also had freshly made waffles.

 

My DW wanted to get some exercise after breakfast so we walked the promenade deck for a couple of laps.

 

We headed to the Spinnaker Lounge for a 10:30 culinary demonstration by Chef Wesley Bagamano. Chef Bagamano’s demonstration was making sculptures from various fruits and I have to say, that man had some awesome knife skills. Here are a couple of pics of him and his creations.

 

 

INDIAN CHIEF.

 

 

TEDDY BEAR.

 

 

At noon we attended the Champagne Art Auction. I’ve never bothered with the auctions on other cruises but I wanted to satisfy my curiosity about the prices paid for the art so we decided to attend the auction. Besides, those who attended were given a free glass of champagne. That was a waste of time for us. The first 30 minutes was dedicated to asking the art staff questions about any piece of art you might be interested in. Once everyone was seated, champagne was served and then we were introduced to the art staff with a short bio for each. Once that was done the auctioneer went over the many rules of the auction explaining each one. My wife and I finally gave up on the auction at 12:40 and went to lunch. The auctioneer was still explaining auction rules when we left.

 

 

After eating lunch at the Market Café we met up with my sister and her husband at The Oasis for some drinks and a few games of Yahtzee.

 

 

At 5:30 we headed to the Spinnaker Lounge for the scheduled Fun Film Visual Trivia. Of the trivia games we played during the cruise this was the easiest one. I think we only missed two of the questions.

 

The Chef’s Signature Dish this night was Chicken Cordon Bleu. This dish did not disappoint, the chicken and ham were tender, juicy, and delicious. The dessert I order was the warm bread pudding with caramel whiskey sauce and apple chips, sounded great but it was just OK.

 

The show in the Stardust this night was part of two previous acts, the comedian Sam Fedele and the Stars of Oh What a Night for more tribute songs to Frankie Vallie. We took a vote and decided to pass on this show. Instead we went to the Spinnaker Lounge at 8 PM for the Friendly Feud Game Show. That show was a lot of laughs.

 

After the show we had a couple of nightcaps and then retired to our cabin.

[marsworth75]

I'm thinking that the reason the jogging track was closed 8pm to 8am is that there are multiple suites on deck 12 right under that track. I think there trying to avoid overhead noise too early or late.

[Oakman58]

I'm thinking that the reason the jogging track was closed 8pm to 8am is that there are multiple suites on deck 12 right under that track. I think there trying to avoid overhead noise too early or late.

 

I'll bet you're right, that makes perfect sense to me. Thanks for clearing that up.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Thank you for your great review. I did this cruise on the Pearl several years ago, LA to Miami, and loved every minute of it. Maybe next time we'll try it in reverse.

 

I wonder if "Walking a mile with the Crew," is avaialbe on all NCL ships. It's a great idea.

[Oakman58]

Day 6

 

The scenery coming into Huatulco was beautiful with its rocky shoreline and cliffs.

 

 

So far I think we’ve seen the Mexican Navy at every port we have visited. I guess that's a good thing.

 

 

 

The Holland Statendam was already in port as the Norwegian Star backed alongside the pier.

 

 

I was surprised at the appearance of the Statendam. There was quite a lot of rust showing on her giving me the impression that she wasn’t being maintained very well.

 

 

A passenger had a medical emergency and had to be evacuated from the ship. This wasn’t the first medical emergency nor would it be the last. I guess such situations should be expected when you consider the number of senior citizens we had onboard.

 

 

Our excursion today was a beach escape. It was a 30 minute boat ride to the beach and we passed some interesting shoreline on the way. A funny thing, we were required to wear our life jackets on the way to the beach yet when we returned on the same boat it was OK not to wear them. Go figure.

 

 

 

The rest of Day 6 will be in my next post.

[Oakman58]

Day 6 continued

 

Heading out to for our ride to the Beach Escape. The Star looked so much nicer than the Statendam.

 

 

We passed by a rock formation that looked like a face. Our guide told us the locals had a name for it but I don’t remember what it was. I hope you can see the face with the heavy brow, nose, and lips.

 

 

We also passed a blowhole in the rocks. Not a great photo of it but good enough.

 

 

Here’s a photo of the beach.

 

 

The water was perfect for swimming and the one negative about this excursion was the vendors that were constantly coming by trying to sell everything from sunglasses and bracelets to souvenirs. There were a lot of vendors at this beach and each one must have come by us at least three times. They really detracted from this beach experience.

Here’s a picture of a photo vendor wanting to take a picture of our group.

 

 

Our beach escape included a lunch and beverage at the outdoor restaurant. I had a couple of beers with my lunch. I was surprised to discover there was a fifty cent charge to use the bathroom by the restaurant. Oh well, at least the attendant kept the bathroom clean.

 

Someone asked in another thread if the dent was still on the stern of the Star so I thought I’d include a photo of that dent.

 

 

We were back to the Star by 3:00 PM and after freshening up we headed to the Spinnaker for the 5:30 Trivia, Name That Tune: The Beatles. I thought this would be easy for us but they played a number of rather obscure Beatles tunes. Our group of four only managed to get 10 of the 20 tunes correct.

 

The main entrees at the Aqua dining room were a bit unusual tonight, at least I thought so. The Chef’s Signature Dish was the “Texas” gourmet burger. Also on the menu were:

 

Baby Back Ribs & Bourbon BBQ Sauce with Southern Fried Shrimp

Cajun Chicken ‘Mac and Cheese”

Vegetable Burrito

Sirloin Steak Au Poivre

Grilled Sausage Trilogy – Bratwurst, Knockwurst, Italian

Kung Pao Chicken

Atlantic Salmon Bake

 

I opted for the Salmon and it was very good. What surprised me about the Salmon was the skin was completely removed. Every restaurant I’ve eaten at always served the Salmon with the skin on.

 

After dinner we went back to the Spinnaker for the 8:00 Game Show, Sing it, if you know it.” There was a lot of audience participation in the game and we had a blast at that show.

 

The show in the Stardust tonight was TerranceB – Celebrity Hypnotist and we went to the 9 PM show. My sister was involuntarily selected to be one of the subjects and called up onstage for the show. I laughed my butt off for the rest of the show.

 

After the show we went back to our cabin and called it a night. As we left the theater the movement of the ship was quite noticeable.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Oakman58

[calex]

You get the better deal going from Miami to L.A since you will cross three times zones thus gaining 3 extra hours for your cruise. We lost those three hours on our trip to Miami.

 

Having the extra hour of sleep on three different mornings was really a positive about going from Miami to Los Angeles. I know I commented to DW that this was so much nicer than losing the hours heading eastbound. Like your posts and pictures OAKMAN...

 

BTW, are people aware you head SOUTH through the Panama Canal to head WEST? And NORTH to head EAST?

 

Here are a few photos of food carvings that were used to decorate the ship dining areas for Thanksgiving 2014. The first one is in the Versailles:

 

 

A closer look at the detail on the watermelon:

 

 

and the flowers:

 

 

and the turkeys. They are from the displays in (1) Versailles, (2) Aqua, (3) Market Cafe.

 

 

 

 

Really neat stuff they can do with food carvings.

 

Chris

Edited December 21, 2014 by calex

[WeBeCruisers?]

Education please: After viewing a photo how do you return to the thread to view the next photo or to continue reading. My back arrow returns me to the top of the thread and I have to go find where I was. Clear?

[calex]

Education please: After viewing a photo how do you return to the thread to view the next photo or to continue reading. My back arrow returns me to the top of the thread and I have to go find where I was. Clear?

 

I would start by checking your User Options for Cruise Critic. If you click on the User CP (control panel) at the top left, then select Edit Options in the left hand column. You have a couple choices that will change how things appear in posts. Try changing the ones highlighted in this image:

 

[mimmy52]

I think you had to wear life jackets to the beach so if anything happened, you'd still be able to buy from the vendors. They might even have swam out to you while you floated around.

[mein18]

The shows in the Stardust Theater were 7 PM and 9 PM every night. I hope you have a great cruise.

 

Thanks for the times. Being used to the times on another line, I think we messed up our reservation times. Made most of them at 7:30 most of which are in specialty restaurants. Guess we either need to move them up to 7:00 or back to around 8:30. 1 1/2 hours in a specialty is rushing it to make the 9:00 shows. From your recent experience do you agree?

[WeBeCruisers?]

Unable to view your image.

[swedish weave]

A funny thing, we were required to wear our life jackets on the way to the beach yet when we returned on the same boat it was OK not to wear them. Go figure.

 

 

We were told that the local authorities watch the boats departing, and if the guests are not wearing life vests, they penalize the boat operator. They don't check them when they return.