Just off the Star

[oregoncruiselover]

I just wanted to take a moment to do a quick review of the Star. This was my first ncl cruise and I was not impressed. First off we were in a two bedroom family suite, and we were traveling with our kids. Our youngest is almost 2. We were at the port at 10 am and we were not let in until almost 1130 to register. Then we were stuck in a waiting area for another hour. My kids are going crazy at this point. Next we were taken to the suite waiting area and waited another 30 min. Finally we were allowed to go aboard were they usher everyone that is in a suite up to the steak house. The staff is overwhelmed at this point and one of them says usually everyone is not there at the same time. We were so exhausted at this point and could barely get over the fact that they screwed up our order. Don't get me wrong we loved the extra space in the room and we loved our butter Made . He took great care of us. Overall the food was horrible. We had just a few good meals. I am not sure we will be doing another cruise with Norwegian. Maybe I am wrong and a different ship and different home port might fix some of the problems. If anyone has questions let me know and I will try to answer them.

 

 

 

 

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[Love my butler]

Nope, you got the typical NCL experience. I do agree Made is awesome. Had him as our butler a few times. Saw him last week while on the Star.

 

Some of your complaints could have been directed at Hanno, but he can't do anything about the food. It's going downhill. For the price of a 2br suite I can understand why you were not happy with the experience.

[Trevor Fountain]

Sorry you had a bad experience. I really hope NCL are listening. So many people now talking about poor food and service in restaurants.

Come on NCL. Folks will start talking with their feet.

[old nutter]

OregonCruiseLover, I agree with much of what you say. I have already made my point about boarding on another posting. I think the problem with Cagney's on the Star on boarding day is that it is too small for the numbers and does not have many multi-occupancy tables. Don't know about the big ships, but Cagney's on the other Jewel Class ships is much larger because they don't lose such a big chunk of area to the the Atrium lifts. Even breakfasts can be a bit of a crush sometimes with the cold table taking even more table space away.

 

As to the food discussions, there are some great dishes on the ship, but they can sometimes be difficult to find in together in one place. For example, the tomato soup in the Blue Lagoon and the crepes in the buffet in the evening are superb. We eat in the two main restaurants quite a few evenings and generally, the food was tasty and came to us hot. The problem we encountered in the Versailles, in particular, was that the tables were crushed-in much too close. Staff rush around to provide service and they cannot get through the tiny gaps behind guests without constantly banging into the chairs. This constant high speed movement is not what you want in a classy eating place. The other issue with the menus is that there has been an attempt to "posh" the entree descriptions up and it can be very confusing. There was also little choice on the soups - onion soup seems to appear almost every night in some form or other. Our families have been brought up on fairly plain, but tasty fare and my OH found it difficult to fathom out what the dishes actually were on occasions. The combinations of some dressings and accompaniments did seem a little bizarre to us at times. We have sailed on Cunard where they specialise on "posh" food and we didn't have anywhere the same issues with translating menu to food - maybe it is a cultural issue between Europe and USA!

 

The buffet was massively variable. The soups and salads had a large and very tasty range. However, apart from the pasta dishes, the hot food was pretty awful at times. The choice for hot dishes was extremely limited and rarely seemed particularly tasty or appetising.

 

All in all, I can see where many guests are coming from when they comment on the new food regime. During the day there is a really wide choice of eating places and styles, but this reduces considerably during the evening unless you want to pay extra. The specialist restaurants are very good and the meal we had in the Cucina was outstanding.

 

Oh, and another great kudos to Made - absolutely by far the best butler we have had.:)

[4774Papa]

I just wanted to take a moment to do a quick review of the Star. This was my first ncl cruise and I was not impressed. First off we were in a two bedroom family suite, and we were traveling with our kids. Our youngest is almost 2. We were at the port at 10 am and we were not let in until almost 1130 to register. Then we were stuck in a waiting area for another hour. My kids are going crazy at this point. Next we were taken to the suite waiting area and waited another 30 min. Finally we were allowed to go aboard were they usher everyone that is in a suite up to the steak house. The staff is overwhelmed at this point and one of them says usually everyone is not there at the same time. We were so exhausted at this point and could barely get over the fact that they screwed up our order. Don't get me wrong we loved the extra space in the room and we loved our butter Made . He took great care of us. Overall the food was horrible. We had just a few good meals. I am not sure we will be doing another cruise with Norwegian. Maybe I am wrong and a different ship and different home port might fix some of the problems. If anyone has questions let me know and I will try to answer them.

 

 

 

 

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We were on the Star for B2B cruises in Sept and Oct. We were pleased with the food and everyone at our table (8 persons that dined together most nights) felt that it was an improvement by NCL.

 

We had a couple of meals that were not so great, but none were horrible.

 

At least you didn't say the food was inedible. I always wonder how people didn't starve to death on a cruise if the food was inedible.

 

Of course, food is very subjective. However, I doubt if the food on the Star has dropped off that much in two months.

[oregoncruiselover]

I think you are right food is a hard one to judge because everyone likes different things. It just seemed like there was lots of things that didn't work for us. It also seems like most of my frustration had to deal with things that involved the kids. Like the process of checking them into the kids club was crazy.

Did you leave from LA also?

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[HokiePoq]

We were on the Star for B2B cruises in Sept and Oct. We were pleased with the food and everyone at our table (8 persons that dined together most nights) felt that it was an improvement by NCL.

 

We had a couple of meals that were not so great, but none were horrible.

 

At least you didn't say the food was inedible. I always wonder how people didn't starve to death on a cruise if the food was inedible.

 

Of course, food is very subjective. However, I doubt if the food on the Star has dropped off that much in two months.

 

We were on for 28 days last winter and found everything great...even in an inside cabin. That said, I imagine the hotel director has changed. Tony Winkler was the best ever and anyone else would be a downgrade in my opinion. It might be about expectations. I imagine the OP's were high, understandably, having paid for a suite. We had a bargain and were very pleasantly surprised. I would say that 10 a.m. is too early to arrive at the port, suite or not. We've never boarded any ship any line that early.

Sorry your experience was not up to your standard, OP.

[hpecorari]

I just wanted to take a moment to do a quick review of the Star. This was my first ncl cruise and I was not impressed. First off we were in a two bedroom family suite, and we were traveling with our kids. Our youngest is almost 2. We were at the port at 10 am and we were not let in until almost 1130 to register. Then we were stuck in a waiting area for another hour. My kids are going crazy at this point. Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Forums mobile app

 

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your vacation. I do, however, believe that you were at the port way to early. Your E-Docs have a time on it and if one gets to the port to early there is nothing to do but wait and wait and wait. With kids, it's even harder.

 

People are not off the ship until 10 a.m. Then it takes time before they can start boarding. If you decide to cruise again I'd follow the suggested time to get to the port. That will help in your waiting time, your kids won't make you crazy and at least the start of your vacation will be a good and relaxed one.

 

Harriet

[oregoncruiselover]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your vacation. I do, however, believe that you were at the port way to early. Your E-Docs have a time on it and if one gets to the port to early there is nothing to do but wait and wait and wait. With kids, it's even harder.

 

People are not off the ship until 10 a.m. Then it takes time before they can start boarding. If you decide to cruise again I'd follow the suggested time to get to the port. That will help in your waiting time, your kids won't make you crazy and at least the start of your vacation will be a good and relaxed one.

 

Harriet

 

I have to look again but I don't think our edocs had a time. There were lots of people already there when we arrived.

 

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[triptolemus]

The eDocs indeed show am embarkation time of 12 pm and advise not arriving more than an hour prior to that time.

 

Nonetheless, I was on the Star for the 11/30 sailing, also in a suite. The suite guest check in at San Pedro was a total disorganized mess compared to Seattle. Hanno did not appear in control at all...always reacting, never acting. Witnessed NCL staff verbally lashing one another. The tipping point there seemed to be NCL staff directing mîni-suite guests to VIP/suite check in. When those guests arrived at Hanno's little table, the commotion among staff erupted.

 

Debarkation with Hanno was equally stupefied... A group of about 60 waiting over an hour in Stardust.

 

NCL needs to get it together in LA.

[hawkeyetlse]

I have to look again but I don't think our edocs had a time.

Please do have a look and let us know what your edocs said. For ordinary passengers, they state a boarding time (for example "Boarding begins at: 12:00 pm" but it varies from cruise to cruise) and then it says clearly "Please do not arrive earlier than 1 hour prior to boarding time shown." Maybe it is different for suite guests, but I really doubt that you received anything telling you that you would be able to check-in and board anywhere near as early as 10am.

 

I sympathize with your frustration but I notice that your review focuses almost entirely on your boarding experience, and the horrible food, which are both legitimate complaints. You seemed to like your suite and your butler. Do you have any further comments about the ship's facilities, the staff and crew, the entertainment, the activities, and the itinerary?

[4774Papa]

I think you are right food is a hard one to judge because everyone likes different things. It just seemed like there was lots of things that didn't work for us. It also seems like most of my frustration had to deal with things that involved the kids. Like the process of checking them into the kids club was crazy.

Did you leave from LA also?

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We left from Copenhagen for a cruise to Norway, Shetland Islands, Iceland, Ireland and Scotland, then on the Transatlantic to Miami.

 

We particularly liked the specialty restaurants and did seven nights of the 28 there.

 

Here is my review

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=264272

[swedish weave]

We did a round trip Panama on the Star from Nov 3 to Nov 30 this year, and found ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT !!!!!

 

I don't understand the complaints except it may be due to unrealistic expectations from a mass market cruise line.

[Oakman58]

I was on the Star for the Nov 3rd Panama Canal cruise and we had a horrid experience with the embarkation and boarding in L.A. That was the only real negative that I can remember and my wife and I thought the rest of the cruise was outstanding.

 

Over the 14 day cruise I only had one meal in the Aqua dining room that I didn’t like. We also had one night that our waitress steered us away from one of the dishes offered that night. After we had finished our entrée that night she brought that dish out for us to taste and we all agreed it wasn’t very tasty. I’m always surprised when people complain about food in a main dining room on any cruise ship because if you don’t like your entrée you can reject it and order a different one.

 

The buffet on the Star was quite good too with an excellent variety. Actually I was really impressed with the buffet because the hot foods were always hot and they were never dried out.

 

On our anniversary night we had reservations at Cagney’s and the steaks were outstanding. Instead of ordering a dessert that night the staff brought out a small anniversary cake and then sang “Let me call you sweetheart” to us. A nice touch and it thrilled my DW.

 

As I mentioned, embarkation was a terrible experience and I told my DW the rest of that evening we would never use NCL again. By the end of our cruise I couldn’t wait to go on another NCL cruise, it was that good for us.

 

Everyone has different tastes and expectations I guess.

[Trevor Fountain]

Oregoncruiselover, you started by saying you were going to do a review. Are you going to do one, or is that it?

Would like to hear more about your onboard experiences.

[sassyredhat]

Wow~~have things changed THAT much since April ?

We were in a suite last April, and have another one booked for March. We saw nothing like what was mentioned.

 

That said, we are older,~~ NCL has the smallest inside cabins I have seen (our DS, DDIL and DGD had one), Not for us. :)

We are not fans of anytime dining, but the food in Versailles was good. We did choose to eat breakfast and lunch in Cagney's, but the times we ate with the DG in the buffet wasn't bad at all.

We are actually looking forward to going back in March. Really sorry that everyone can't have the same experience.

 

Patti

[Love my butler]

I do, however, believe that you were at the port way to early. Your E-Docs have a time on it and if one gets to the port to early there is nothing to do but wait and wait and wait. If you decide to cruise again I'd follow the suggested time to get to the port.

 

Ridiculous. Arrive at the port around 10-10:30 for every cruise and you will be one of the first to board. This applies if you are in a suite or not.

[hawkeyetlse]

Arrive at the port around 10-10:30 for every cruise and you will be one of the first to board.

You will be among the first to board, but you may have to wait two hours, as the OP did.

[calex]

We did a round trip Panama on the Star from Nov 3 to Nov 30 this year, and found ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT !!!!!

 

I don't understand the complaints except it may be due to unrealistic expectations from a mass market cruise line.

 

We were on the second half of Swedish Weave's marathon BTB cruise from Miami to Los Angles between 11/17 and 11/30 and I would second his observation.

 

That does not mean there were not incidents. If you let the crew onboard know of any perceived problems, they would bend over backwards to resolve the situation and make things better for you. When my DW's suitcase sunk to the bottom of the harbor in Miami, that could have been a vacation ending event (see thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2133787). But, the dedication of the crew got us through this unpleasant ordeal.

 

At our Meet and Greet for our Cruise Critic Roll Call, we were each given a list of contact information for the major ship officers. Hotel Director Hugo Vanosmael told the group, if we had any issue, they should call him directly to get the issue addressed. He said, "If you don't let him or his staff know about it, he can't do anything."

[Love my butler]

You will be among the first to board, but you may have to wait two hours, as the OP did.

 

Just about every cruise I have been on with NCL starts boarding around 11:30. Or course that varies by a few minutes and on rare occasions by an hour or two. If you arrive at 10:30 or so you will have the best chance of boarding quickly with the least amount of time spent waiting.

[sykimball1498]

You will be among the first to board, but you may have to wait two hours, as the OP did.

 

My thoughts exactly. If you don't want to have to wait, then show up when the e-docs tell you, which is no earlier than 11am.

Edited December 16, 2014 by sykimball1498
misspelling

[hawkeyetlse]

If you arrive at 10:30 or so you will have the best chance of boarding quickly with the least amount of time spent waiting.

As you said, boarding begins around 11:30. So you will spend at least one hour waiting. If it is really important to you to be first on board, show up early. If it is really important to you to avoid waiting, show up later in the afternoon. If you want the full mass-market cruise experience, show up at noon :p

[oregoncruiselover]

Sure I will do a longer one! I have to get the photos and our videos together and I will start working on it!

 

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[Trevor Fountain]

Sure I will do a longer one! I have to get the photos and our videos together and I will start working on it!

 

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Great. Look forward to it.

 

 

 

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[swedish weave]

Ridiculous. Arrive at the port around 10-10:30 for every cruise and you will be one of the first to board. This applies if you are in a suite or not.

 

Your posts are very contradictory. First you say OP's experience is typical, then you say it isn't.

 

quote--- (Nope, you got the typical NCL experience)

 

Are you sure you are posting correctly ??? Accurate information is beneficial to those seeking information from these boards.

Edited December 16, 2014 by swedish weave