The Star - Panama Canal Cruise

[Freespir8]

Do a search on google play for "NCL iconcierge" and it should show up. Will not be able to do anything with it until you are on a ship that has it active. Still trying to find out if Star is one of them. I have searched CC and one list shows the Star and a couple others do not. Hoping the OP can tell is.

 

We were on the Star in Oct/Nov and iconcierge isn't activated yet. That may change when they go into dry dock in March of this year.

[dongordon]

http://www.ncl.com/downloads/iconcierge

 

I downloaded along with a cute NCL puzzle ap when I had an iPhone (I am an android person now) and never used after finding out there was a fee to use onboard. Silly me thinking something would be gratis...LOL When I travel with my DD we go the old school way and get an extra daily and decide what we are going to do. Most of the time we are together but it helped us when we planned different activities so we knew where the other would be.

 

2 days Don!:D

 

Linda....

Hours away!!!! :D

 

Don

[dongordon]

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.

 

Hi Oakman....

Hours away from our departure.

One last question on the "Beach Escape":

 

How long a boat ride is it to the beach?

Is it a large boat? My wife is afraid of getting seasick.

 

Thanks.

Don

[Linda the Book Lover]

Linda....

Hours away!!!! :D

 

Don

 

Have a great time!!!!!

[julie3fan]

Hey, Linda. I view CC on my smarter-than-me phone, and on the main screen where it shows who posted last on my subscribed threads, it shortens the screen names of those that are too long. It cuts out some of the middle letters. Your name becomes Linda th...ok lover. :eek: Too funny!

Edited January 4, 2015 by julie3fan

[julie3fan]

This is what it looks like.

[Oakman58]

Hi Oakman....

Hours away from our departure.

One last question on the "Beach Escape":

 

How long a boat ride is it to the beach?

Is it a large boat? My wife is afraid of getting seasick.

 

Thanks.

Don

 

Have fun on your cruise.

The boat ride to the beach was about 20 to 25 minutes and the seas were rather calm the day we did the excursion. The boat could hold about 20 passengers and no one seemed to be bothered by seasickness.

The boat in this picture was very similar in size and design to the boat that took us to the beach.

 

 

Sorry I couldn't respond sooner I was attending one last Christmas party last night.

Edited January 4, 2015 by Oakman58

[runchadrun]

Do a search on google play for "NCL iconcierge" and it should show up. Will not be able to do anything with it until you are on a ship that has it active. Still trying to find out if Star is one of them. I have searched CC and one list shows the Star and a couple others do not. Hoping the OP can tell is.

I just got off of the Star this morning and can confirm that iconcierge is NOT available on the Star. It's going into drydock in March so hopefully it will get some technological upgrades then.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Hey, Linda. I view CC on my smarter-than-me phone, and on the main screen where it shows who posted last on my subscribed threads, it shortens the screen names of those that are too long. It cuts out some of the middle letters. Your name becomes Linda th...ok lover. :eek: Too funny!

 

Yikes suddenly I am a x-rated senior!:eek: that is interesting you would think the last letters in my name would be eliminated.

[julie3fan]

I think the moderators read my post, because you have been uograded to using your entire name! I'm sorry my picture was blurry, but you could still read it.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks for securing that upgrade for me...lol

[mein18]

I just got off of the Star this morning and can confirm that iconcierge is NOT available on the Star. It's going into drydock in March so hopefully it will get some technological upgrades then.

 

Thank you. Guess I can delete the app. Hope you had a great cruise.

[jebby]

I hope everyone has as much fun as Oakman58 and I had on this cruise. And thank you, dear husband, for journaling and photographing our trips.