NCL STAR the worst Buffet

[cruzsnooze]

glad you still use the round file: me too and I do about the same. It seems if OP was eating breakfast and lunch in Cagney's they must have depended on the buffet for dinner. Why would anyone eat dinner in the buffet unless it was just one time for some reason. I have to wonder how many lines the OP has really sailed and what they expected?

I have sailed about 90 times, Princess, Celebrity, Azamara, RCL, Lindblad, International Expeditions, Marco Polo to name a few. I left Cagneys after tasting the lunch and went to see if there was something better in the buffet. Breakfast is breakfast so I really didn't care about that meal although orders came out wrong. At the half way point of breakfast we had to ask what happened to the toast and they said OH we ran out of Rye bread! Why didn't you state that in the beginning after placing the order?

They had a chicken dish covered in twigs, I mean rosemary and couldn't prepare it without the herbs. The french dip was a tough meat with a thick sweet gravy, not an Au Jus as per the menu. I don't eat any fish so that eliminated a lot of options. The coffee was severed tepid.

I expected a better experience. I have sailed Princess suites and had breakfasts in specialty restaurant as a comparison and found them higher quality and better service then the Star.

I'm reading that other ships within NCL have better service and food , I don't know because i only have the Star and the Pride of Hawaii (nine years ago) to compare within the NCL brand.

I spend a bit of time in Las vegas and have hit almost all the buffets there. Many are very good some even border on gourmet (Bellagio, Paris).

I'm sorry my opinion differs from some others but I am allowed to post my experience and realize YMMV.

I didn't comment on other aspects of the cruise because they were more to what I expected on a cruise. The shows were good although the seats in the threatre didn't have any leg room. It was really difficult to cross your legs or shift pressure around because the seats width was small. I think the air conditioning units on the back of every seat might be reason. The shows always started on time. The cruise director was energetic and did a magic show the last night.

 

We took the shore excursion for the whale watching and it was lovely. Not many whales but they can't control that.

The physical layout of the Star was Bizarre to me. There were so many nooks and crannies to work around it was easy to loose your way.

Edited December 22, 2014 by cruzsnooze

[Beaver1975]

I have to wonder how many times you have really sailed NCL; the reason, the Dawn is not the sister ship to the Star. The Sun is, if fact both ships were purchased at the same time, and only partially build. The Dawn was the first ship built for freestyle from the bottom up.The Sun and Star were redisigned for that purpose.

 

 

Sorry, Nita. The Dawn and Star are sister ships, they have almost the same exact layouts. The Sun is the "sister" ship to the Sky.

Edited December 22, 2014 by Beaver1975

[swedish weave]

I see no problem with the food on the Star. The ship is rated as having passenger capacity of 2348 and it was probably sold out or nearly so.

 

Two or three people are complaining and the other 2300 (plus) are not. If they can please that high of a percentage of the passengers, they are doing a wonderful job.

 

The review of the Star shows pictures of the Market Cafe food, so you be the judge !!!

Edited December 22, 2014 by swedish weave

[cruzsnooze]

I see no problem with the food on the Star. The ship is rated as having passenger capacity of 2348 and it was probably sold out or nearly so.

 

Two or three people are complaining and the other 2300 (plus) are not. If they can please that high of a percentage of the passengers, they are doing a wonderful job.

 

!

Could you point me towards the 2300 plus others review, I'd like to see what they are saying and compare their experience to mine. Thank You.

[swedish weave]

The only reason we continue to cruise with NCL is because Harrah's casino comps our cruise.

 

 

Interesting !!!!

[calex]

I see no problem with the food on the Star. The ship is rated as having passenger capacity of 2348 and it was probably sold out or nearly so.

 

Two or three people are complaining and the other 2300 (plus) are not. If they can please that high of a percentage of the passengers, they are doing a wonderful job.

 

The review of the Star shows pictures of the Market Cafe food, so you be the judge !!!

 

Hey SWEDISH WEAVE, didn't you just spend 27 days aboard the Norwegian Star in November? I wonder if that can add a little creditability to your posts?

 

I have found that your posts over time have a high degree of accuracy.

[sassyredhat]

I was on the Star in April, and we are booked again in March.

In April, we had our baby granddaughter with us. She couldn't handle the Versailles so we ate a lot of dinners in the Market Place.

 

I know food is subjective, but I found nothing wrong with the food. Not a big selection, but basic food was good. We were in a Suite, so we ate breakfast and lunch at Cagney's. We thought that food was pretty good.

 

The only issue I have is that unlike PCL, you can't get cookies any time.

 

We are happy to be back on the Star. NCL's low prices allows us to book suites and they are wonderful. :)

 

Patti

[Love my butler]

Food is subject but I found the Star was far below average in their buffet. The set up of tables was more like a Jr. High school cafeteria. There is nothing positive to say about their market cafe buffet. The good part though was I was on a cruise.

 

I have to agree. Have sailed the Star many times and always found the buffet to be subpar but adequate. Last month it had slipped even more. Selection was terrible and many items had no labels. I asked the Food & Beverage manager, Vikram, about that and he told me corporate encourages ship's to not label some items so the passengers will interact with the crew to ask what it is etc. I found that answer to be utterly ridiculous. Most questions I ask the people behind the buffet they don't even understand and many speak very little/poor English.

 

I never had any food in the buffet and thought it was really a disappointment.

[Love my butler]

Sorry, Nita. The Dawn and Star are sister ships, they have almost the same exact layouts. The Sun is the "sister" ship to the Sky.

 

You are correct and nita is very wrong.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Love my butler

[Love my butler]

I was on the Star in April, and we are booked again in March.

In April, we had our baby granddaughter with us. She couldn't handle the Versailles so we ate a lot of dinners in the Market Place.

 

I know food is subjective, but I found nothing wrong with the food. Not a big selection, but basic food was good. We were in a Suite, so we ate breakfast and lunch at Cagney's. We thought that food was pretty good.

 

The only issue I have is that unlike PCL, you can't get cookies any time.

 

We are happy to be back on the Star. NCL's low prices allows us to book suites and they are wonderful. :)

 

Patti

 

You most certainly can get cookies anytime Pattie. One quick call to your butler and you will receive all the cookies you want.

 

As far as getting cookies without having a butler you are partially correct. Sometime in the last year or so NCL started really limiting the availability of the cookies in the buffet. I can only guess they are expensive so they cut down on the cookies to save a nickel and a dime.

[Iluvcruising2]

Your buffet was gourmet compared to the Star. The Star had a line with a blue rope barrier so you could not lok at everything before you decided what you might want. The seats were long tables of 6 or 8 banquet style so someone could technically take up the table if nobody wanted to share with you. There was no beef carving like you had. THERE WERE NO COOKIES!

 

Thanks. These are useful and specific comparisons.

[Iluvcruising2]

I have to agree. Have sailed the Star many times and always found the buffet to be subpar but adequate. Last month it had slipped even more. Selection was terrible and many items had no labels. I asked the Food & Beverage manager, Vikram, about that and he told me corporate encourages ship's to not label some items so the passengers will interact with the crew to ask what it is etc. I found that answer to be utterly ridiculous. Most questions I ask the people behind the buffet they don't even understand and many speak very little/poor English.

 

I never had any food in the buffet and thought it was really a disappointment.

 

Can I please get your opinion, on how the Star's buffet compared to what I recently enjoyed on the Jade? Here are the video links I made.

 

Embarkation Day Lunch

 

Dinner

 

The more specific your comparison, the better, please. So that I can gain a better understanding on whether I would want to sail on the Star.

[cliffd64]

I have to wonder how many times you have really sailed NCL; the reason, the Dawn is not the sister ship to the Star. The Sun is, if fact both ships were purchased at the same time, and only partially build. The Dawn was the first ship built for freestyle from the bottom up.The Sun and Star were redisigned for that purpose.

 

The Sun is not a sister to the Star... it is a sister to The Sky.

 

The Dawn and Star are sister ships. I think you are confusing your ships a bit.

[californiacruising]

We were on the same cruise as cruznsnooze and have the same thoughts about the buffet. We ate almost every breakfast and dinner in the Versailles. I accompanied my granddaughters (6 and 2) who are early risers to the buffet when it opened most mornings. They were very happy to get Fruitloops, fruit, and apple juice. I had the herring and salmon there. Then later joined the rest of the family for a very nice relaxing breakfast in the Versailles. Love that they have Scottish kippers as a choice.

 

The other thing we enjoyed at the buffet were the pretzel rods. Found out about them on this board. Thanks to those who mentioned them. One of the adults would go get them at lunch while the kids were at the pool.

 

We had a fantastic cruise. So many memories for the six of us. We are glad we sailed the Star. It was a good fit for the family.

[newmexicoNita]

Sorry, Nita. The Dawn and Star are sister ships, they have almost the same exact layouts. The Sun is the "sister" ship to the Sky.

 

you are so right, I am the one that should be sorry...slap my face with a wet noodle from the awful buffet....

[newmexicoNita]

Food is subject but I found the Star was far below average in their buffet. The set up of tables was more like a Jr. High school cafeteria. There is nothing positive to say about their market cafe buffet. The good part though was I was on a cruise.

 

As i said before and will repeat, food is subjective, and there are many reasons for so many cruise lines. It is too bad you found so much to complain about. Yes, it appears this isn't the line for you or certainly the older ships are not for you.

 

It is good to know, for those who are about to sail the Star it has a 71% love it rate, and gets 4 out of a possible 5 stars. I have to say, if I was doing a review I probalby would not have given it a "love it rating" but I would have been satisfied and would have rated the food satisfactory.

[calex]

Can I please get your opinion, on how the Star's buffet compared to what I recently enjoyed on the Jade? Here are the video links I made.

 

Embarkation Day Lunch

 

Dinner

 

The more specific your comparison, the better, please. So that I can gain a better understanding on whether I would want to sail on the Star.

 

It is hard to dispute that the Jade has a superior buffet than the Star. Especially since the Jade's floor plan for the buffet was planned much better having the service kitchen on the entire port side of the deck and the serving and sitting areas on the deck's starboard side. The layout allows for buffet islands and better flow through the area. The Star's buffet area wraps around the center kitchen causing both sitting areas to be narrower than the Jade's one sided buffet. Identical foods served in both buffets would give the edge to the Jade's functional layout (see attached layouts).

 

Unless NCL makes major design changes to the physical layout of the back of deck 12 and the buffet area on the Star, there is no way it can compete with your expectations from the Jade. Unfortunately, it does not sound like the Market Café is going to be redesigned in its dry dock in Portland, Oregon in March 2015.

 

Still with these handicaps, the Star's food service staff puts out a variety of tasty food, that is hot and fresh. Most items hit the mark, but they do have some misses that become fish food when they get dumped as the plates are cleared.

Edited December 23, 2014 by calex

[luddite]

What is the difference between a good buffet and bad buffet?

Less gastrointestinal distress at a good one?

[sassyredhat]

You most certainly can get cookies anytime Pattie. One quick call to your butler and you will receive all the cookies you want.

 

As far as getting cookies without having a butler you are partially correct. Sometime in the last year or so NCL started really limiting the availability of the cookies in the buffet. I can only guess they are expensive so they cut down on the cookies to save a nickel and a dime.

 

Yes, Cipriano, our outstanding butler, brought us a plate of cookies every day. He said they usually don't put them out until 9pm.

 

Patti

[Iluvcruising2]

It is hard to dispute that the Jade has a superior buffet than the Star. Especially since the Jade's floor plan for the buffet was planned much better having the service kitchen on the entire port side of the deck and the serving and sitting areas on the deck's starboard side. The layout allows for buffet islands and better flow through the area. The Star's buffet area wraps around the center kitchen causing both sitting areas to be narrower than the Jade's one sided buffet. Identical foods served in both buffets would give the edge to the Jade's functional layout (see attached layouts).

 

Unless NCL makes major design changes to the physical layout of the back of deck 12 and the buffet area on the Star, there is no way it can compete with your expectations from the Jade. Unfortunately, it does not sound like the Market Café is going to be redesigned in its dry dock in Portland, Oregon in March 2015.

 

Still with these handicaps, the Star's food service staff puts out a variety of tasty food, that is hot and fresh. Most items hit the mark, but they do have some misses that become fish food when they get dumped as the plates are cleared.

 

Useful information. Thanks for this. I didn't realise that the design differences could lead to such stark differences in outcomes.

Edited December 24, 2014 by Iluvcruising2

[Iluvcruising2]

What is the difference between a good buffet and bad buffet?

Less gastrointestinal distress at a good one?

 

Good question. Some thoughts.

 

Variety of food. (factual)

 

Quality of cooking. (subjective)

 

Whether you have a la minute stations like pasta stations or meat stations. (factual)

 

Whether the buffet area is over-crowded.

[HokiePoq]

We were on the Star for 28 days in September and October. The Buffet is not as large as the Gem, since it doesn't go all the way back to the stern. It is an older design.

 

As far as the food was concerned, we thought the food was generally good. There were people we dined with and went on tours with that had been on the Star earlier in the year and they said that the food and menus on the Star had defiantly improved.

 

We had a couple of poor meals in one of the MDRs, but otherwise the food was very good.

 

We were on 28 days last year and had no problem with it. We always eat breakfast there and found it the same as most every other buffet on a ship we've been on. We choose MDR for other meals or a burger on the pool deck. It is not as large as some others and that is the only way I'd perceive it negatively compared to others. (Only buffet we've found horrible was one on Legend of the Seas which was dirty and very limited in choices.)

We try to get through the breakfast buffet among the first.

[Yellow_hats]

Good question. Some thoughts.

 

Variety of food. (factual)

 

Quality of cooking. (subjective)

 

Whether you have a la minute stations like pasta stations or meat stations. (factual)

 

Whether the buffet area is over-crowded.

 

I'm going to sail NCL after staying away for several years. My experience on the Spirit MDR soured me. 2016 I'm going to give the Star a chance at winning me back.

I do hope it's nicer. I was made to feel like MDR dinners weren't worth the effort. The pay restaurants seemed to have waitors that cared (or had experience).

 

This will only be my 2nd time on NCL so every achieving a status level will stay with 2 other cruise lines.

[NH Cruisers]

I was made to feel like MDR dinners weren't worth the effort. The pay restaurants seemed to have waitors that cared (or had experience).

 

I hear folks say this all the time. I have never felt that the MDR staff cared less about their job. In fact the standouts will get promoted to a specialty.

 

Also the cruiseline would not want everyone just to go to the specialties. Not even close to the seating capacity needed. The specialties are for that extra special or specialized food theme.

 

Even in the grand days of ocean voyages, the Queen Mary had a specialty resturant.

[Love my butler]

I hear folks say this all the time. I have never felt that the MDR staff cared less about their job. In fact the standouts will get promoted to a specialty.

 

Also the cruiseline would not want everyone just to go to the specialties. Not even close to the seating capacity needed. The specialties are for that extra special or specialized food theme.

 

The waiters are rotated to the specialty restaurants. They don't get promoted to them. Only being singled out as a poor server will prevent you from being rotated to a specialty restaurant.

 

With the current promotion, not ending until January 31, the specialty restaurants are going to get much more crowded.