rjrpar Posted September 27, 2016 #1 Share Posted September 27, 2016 We are frequent cruisers, usually RCCL and Celebrity, but have never sailed on NCL. Thinking of booking the Star for February, 2018 for 14 days from LA to Miami, thru the canal. Have a few questions: what is the free specialty dining promo and is it a good choice(we don't drink very much) , and since the Star is an older ship with mixed reviews, would you recommend it for a 2 week cruise? Thanks in advance for any guidance Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinIllinois Posted September 27, 2016 #2 Share Posted September 27, 2016 (edited) For all the details of the dining promo simply click on it to read the Terms/Conditions: https://www.ncl.com/cruise-deals/choice It's a good choice if you aren't a drinker and don't want the beverage package. Edited September 27, 2016 by ColinIllinois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjrpar Posted September 27, 2016 Author #3 Share Posted September 27, 2016 For all the details of the dining promo simple click on it to read the Terms/Conditions: https://www.ncl.com/cruise-deals/choice It's a good choice if you aren't a drinker and don't want the beverage package. Thanks, my wife drinks soda and I have 2-3 beers each day. Need to do the math Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpcdds6 Posted September 27, 2016 #4 Share Posted September 27, 2016 The Star is a nice ship. Dawn class. It went through a refurb in 2015. Was on her last January in an Aft corner suite. Great crew, and the food was good. Both MDR's were nice, and the specialties were great. One of the best Cagney's I have visited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Até Posted September 27, 2016 #5 Share Posted September 27, 2016 (edited) We are frequent cruisers, usually RCCL and Celebrity, but have never sailed on NCL. Thinking of booking the Star for February, 2018 for 14 days from LA to Miami, thru the canal. Have a few questions: what is the free specialty dining promo and is it a good choice(we don't drink very much) , and since the Star is an older ship with mixed reviews, would you recommend it for a 2 week cruise? Thanks in advance for any guidance The current offer of pre-paid gratuities is a very good offer that will save you $378. The "free" beverage package will cost you about $400 in mandatory gratuities so break even is at about one drink per day. Savings only start on your second drink per day. If you don't plan on drinking that much alcohol it is not a good choice. Check out NCL's drink prices before you answer. The "free" four meal dining package has a value of $84 per person and you will have to pay an up front 18% gratuity for that also. Internet promotion value is $125 and shore excursion value is pretty straight forward other than it's up to four ports, per cabin and cannot be combined all at one port. Only you can decide what is better for you. I like the Star, a bit worn in some areas even after the refurb. No big slides or ropes course, no major productions and fewer activities than on the mega ships - often this equals less kids. Nice size ship, room sizes & balcony size seem better than new ships. Observation deck was turned into suites so on-deck viewing areas get crowded. They might let you on the bow for the canal crossing. Edited September 27, 2016 by Até Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjrpar Posted September 27, 2016 Author #6 Share Posted September 27, 2016 The current offer of pre-paid gratuities is a very good offer that will save you $378. The "free" beverage package will cost you about $400 in mandatory gratuities so break even is at about one drink per day. Savings only start on your second drink per day. If you don't plan on drinking that much alcohol it is not a good choice. Check out NCL's drink prices before you answer. The "free" four meal dining package has a value of $84 per person and you will have to pay an up front 18% gratuity for that also. Internet promotion value is $125 and shore excursion value is pretty straight forward other than it's up to four ports, per cabin and cannot be combined all at one port. Only you can decide what is better for you. I like the Star, a bit worn in some areas even after the refurb. No big slides or ropes course, no major productions and fewer activities than on the mega ships - often this equals less kids. Nice size ship, room sizes & balcony size seem better than new ships. Observation deck was turned into suites so on-deck viewing areas get crowded. They might let you on the bow for the canal crossing. Thanks, good info. Is there an evening show most nights in the main theatre? Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonitaly Posted September 27, 2016 #7 Share Posted September 27, 2016 We were in an AFT Suite to Alaska in 2010. Absolutely loved it. So relaxing and we felt very regal and pampered in our first of several suites. We would highly recommend the ship the crew and the AFT suite. Hope you enjoy whatever you choose. We are HUGE NCL FANS. Love the relaxation of the freestyle and relaxation is what we crave on our vacations. We work very hard for our paychecks and have never regretted spending it with NCL every single year. Our goal is to go on every NCL ship. So far... STAR JEWEL twice SPIRIT GETAWAY twice EPIC SKY Booked very soon on the Gem, Breakaway, Dawn, Jade, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmeoww Posted September 28, 2016 #8 Share Posted September 28, 2016 We have been on the Star many times, once through the canal and most recently for 14 days on a transatlantic. As another poster mentioned we were disappointed years ago when the observation lounge was converted to suites, however, that hasn't really impacted our enjoyment of our cruises, perhaps because we always book a balcony. There was a show every night in the theatre - usually at 7:30 and 9:30 but due to the low passenger count on the transatlantic they only did one at 7:30. Our favorite thing has always been the crew and staff, I'm not sure if it's the smaller size ship or just we've always gotten lucky but they have always really had great attitudes and made our trip so fun. We thought the dining promo was nice - even though we are fine with main dining room food it's fun to add on variety with Teppanyaki and Moderno (our two favorites last time, although Cagney's is right up there too). Happy traveling! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjrpar Posted September 28, 2016 Author #9 Share Posted September 28, 2016 We have been on the Star many times, once through the canal and most recently for 14 days on a transatlantic. As another poster mentioned we were disappointed years ago when the observation lounge was converted to suites, however, that hasn't really impacted our enjoyment of our cruises, perhaps because we always book a balcony. There was a show every night in the theatre - usually at 7:30 and 9:30 but due to the low passenger count on the transatlantic they only did one at 7:30. Our favorite thing has always been the crew and staff, I'm not sure if it's the smaller size ship or just we've always gotten lucky but they have always really had great attitudes and made our trip so fun. We thought the dining promo was nice - even though we are fine with main dining room food it's fun to add on variety with Teppanyaki and Moderno (our two favorites last time, although Cagney's is right up there too). Happy traveling! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Thanks Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjrpar Posted September 30, 2016 Author #10 Share Posted September 30, 2016 With the positive feedback, we booked the cruise today. Went with a mid ship balcony and felt we got very good value. Thanks everyone Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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