Reservations for Dining on Star?? Where? How?

[kidsrn]

I am booked on the Star and keep seeing posts about the dining at an extra charge. Which rest. are they on the star and where and when do you book the reservations? I don't mind paying since it seems that the food is worth it. I just don't know how or where on the ship to do it. or can I do it in advance? My cruise buddy will have a birthday while we are on board and I wanted to make reservations for that. The more specific the information the better.

[fozzyfoz]

Having been on the Star in October, these are the fees for all of the dining options....Aqua, Versailles, the buffet and Blue Lagoon are all open dining. The others require reservations (even the specialty restaurants without surcharge).

 

Included resutaurants:

Aqua dining room

Versailles dining room

Endless Summer (tex-mex)

La Trattoria (italian)

Blue Lagoon (24 hour diner)

Buffet

 

Extra fee: ($10-25 pp depending on restaurant, some ala carte also)

Ginza/Sushi Bar/Teppanyaki (Asian)

Cagney's (Steak)

Soho (Pacific Rim fusion)

Le Bistro (French/Mediterranian)

 

We loved Ginza and ate there several times (which included Teppanyaki and Sushi Bar). The first 2 sea days in Ginza were half price as long as your reservation was between 5:30 and 6:30 (but it's worth full price and even more as well). I recommend the 3 way pork.

 

In Endless Summer, the fajitas were very good (chicken, beef or shrimp). Lunches in Versailles were very good and the service was great (however we were less than thrilled with the service in Versailles and Aqua for dinner - very slow). Service in Endless Summer was very good, and service in Ginza was perfect every time and they recognized that we had eaten there throughout the week and remember faces and drink preferences.

 

You can make reservations from your cabin by calling the desk/restaurant on the phone, or you can go to the reservations desk (which is along the side of the customer service counter in the lobby area.

 

If you go to the reservation desk, you can see the menus for the specialty restuarants (they serve the same menu every day) and can also see the menu for the main dining rooms (which changes every night). That makes it much easier to decide which nights to each where based on the menu in the dining room. The specialty restaurants do book up so if you want to eat during prime dining times (6:30-8:30) try to plan ahead and book at the beginning of the week for each day. You can always change or cancel your reservation (prior to 5pm day of) if it doesnt work with your schedule once that day arrives. We booked some and played the others by ear and didnt have any trouble but we were just a party of two.

 

Any other questions, just ask away. The Star is a great ship!

[Don Haynes]

The speciality restaurants on the Star that have a service charge are the Le Bistro (French), Cagneys (Steak), Ginza, and the SoHo. You can book reservations in the atrium for the whole week when you board the vessel. There will be a table with all the menues for the week. These restaurants book fast, so reserve as soon as you can to get the best times.

[chismrules]

Are all these restaurants open for lunch. If so is the price and menue the same for the special rest. Do you have to make reservations for the ones that don't charge for lunch also. What do you think about our kids, 10 and 15 eating at the special rest. and paying the price. Can someone confirm that they can order from the same childrens menue as the main rest. in the rest. that charge and not have to pay for them. Also if they want to eat in the special rest. do they have a childs menue for that rest. Thanks

[electricron]

Most of the speciality restaurants are not open for lunch.

Not even all the main restaurants are open for lunch everyday. The 24 hour Blue Lagoon, the cafeteria/buffet, and one of the main restaurtants usually are.

 

Here's a list of all the restaurants on the Star. Note times and prices may vary, as this is an old list.

 

Versailles Main Restaurant (Main Dining Room)

Cuisine: Continental

Dress Code: No shorts or jeans after 6:00 p.m. in the dining rooms.

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours:

Breakfast: 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Lunch: 12:00 noon – 2:30 p.m.

Dinner: 5:30 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.

 

Aqua Main Restaurant (Main Dining Room)

Cuisine: Light Modern Continental

Dress Code: No shorts or jeans after 6:00 p.m. in the dining rooms.

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours:

Breakfast: 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Lunch: 12:00 noon – 2:30 p.m.

Dinner: 5:30 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.

 

The Soho Room

Cuisine: California, Hawaiian, Asian

Dress Code: No shorts or jeans after 6:00 p.m. in the dining rooms.

Surcharge: Yes, $15 per person

Reservations Required: Yes

Hours: Dinner Only: 5:30 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.

 

Ginza Restaurant

Cuisine: Asian (Sushi, Sashimi, Teppanyaki)

Dress Code: No shorts or jeans after 6:00 p.m. in the dining rooms.

Surcharge: Yes, $12.50 per person

Reservations Required: Yes

Hours: Dinner Only: 5:30 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.

 

Le Bistro French Restaurant

Cuisine: French

Dress Code: No shorts or jeans after 6:00 p.m. in the dining rooms.

Surcharge: Yes, $15 per person

Reservations Required: Yes

Hours: Dinner Only: 5:30 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.

 

Cagney's Steakhouse

Cuisine: Steak

Dress Code: No shorts or jeans after 6:00 p.m. in the dining rooms.

Surcharge: Yes, $20 per person

Reservations Required: Yes

Hours: Check onboard

 

Salsa

Cuisine: Mexican, Tex-Mex Tapas Bar

Dress Code: No shorts or jeans after 6:00 p.m. in the dining rooms.

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: Yes

Hours: Check onboard

 

Market Café/Kids' Cafe

Cuisine: Assorted Buffet, Food Stations, Kid-Sized Buffet

Dress Code: Casual

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours: Check onboard

 

La Trattoria

Cuisine: Casual Italian

Dress Code: Casual

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours: Check onboard

 

Blue Lagoon

Cuisine: Food Court, Grill

Dress Code: Casual

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours: 24 Hours

 

There's is only one child's menu aboard for all the restaurants.

It should look like this one, surf to:

http://community.webshots.com/photo/353890389/353899609AeteMe

[bluedevil72]

We were on the Star this past June in Alaska and ate at Endless Summer (Mexican Food) and LaTrattoria (Italian obviously). There is no cover charge at either restaurant and we thought both were very good. We made reservations early in the day on Monday because they do fill up fast. We didn't eat at any of the restaurants that have a cover charge. La Trattoria is actually part of the buffet restaurant during the day and then it is closed off for the dinner meal.

[judyf]

great info thanks for posting.

[Happy ks]

I don't know if they still have Cruise Critic meetings onboard Star, but if they do, make a point of going. When we were onboard, we met the Food and Beverage director, he gave us his card with his direct phone number. We ended up making all our reservations through him and he was happy to do it. We also had goodies sent from him to our cabin several evenings, a pleasant surprise.

 

Our favorite meals were at Le Bistro and Soho, we didn't try Ginza, but will on our next cruise on Star. Cagneys was not on the ship when we cruised on her, so there's another choice for us. Endless summer was delightful, Aqua was very nice. We weren't especially pleased with Versailles in the evening, lovely room but too crowded and noisy. Versailles was a great spot for breakfast and lunch, though. Blue Lagoon was great for fish and chips in the afternoon as a snack to share, we did not care for the buffet at all, but we haven't found a ships buffet to our liking yet, on any cruise line.

 

You're right, the specialty restaurants are worth it, especially if you order something that isn't typically served in a ships dining room. We had far superior lobster, awesome appetizers and I even had some wonderful meat dishes and I normally don't care much for meat. The desserts actually tasted as good as they looked, not like the stuff served en mass in the dining room or on the buffet line.

[kidsrn]

Thank you so much for the information. I am excited to cruise on the star. It will be my first NCL. Have done Carnival, RCCL, and Dolphin (hahah doesn't really count) Keep seeing mixed reviews so didn't have a good picture of the ship based on opinion.

 

I know everyone has an opinion and will go with an open mind...

[californiatripman]

they also have menus for the entire week for Versailles and Aqua at reservation desk. Also have individual menus of specialty restaurants you can take with you to decide. Made all are reservations when first boarding ship for the entire week. Lebistro 1st night and the escargot and filet mignon were very good as was the chocolate fondue. Went to Cagneys and had a terrific steak, very good size too. was the boneless ribeye. Cancelled reservation to Ginza's because food in Versailles and Aqua was also very good. Need to review menus for your preferences

[vette]

Does the Star have afternoon BBQ's on the deck? We were on the Dream in November and every afternoon they had the best BBQ on deck.

 

Vette

[immargaret]

Does the Star have afternoon BBQ's on the deck? We were on the Dream in November and every afternoon they had the best BBQ on deck.

 

Vette

 

The STAR does have several afternoon BBQ's, and the ribs were really yummy last April.

 

:)

[Cuizer2]

I am booked on the Star and keep seeing posts about the dining at an extra charge. Which rest. are they on the star and where and when do you book the reservations? I don't mind paying since it seems that the food is worth it. I just don't know how or where on the ship to do it. or can I do it in advance? My cruise buddy will have a birthday while we are on board and I wanted to make reservations for that. The more specific the information the better.

I was on the Star in October 2005. I wrote a long review which you can read by clicking on the link below. I go into detail about the subject which you are asking about. The only thing I did not say in the review, which you might want to know is, there is an extension which you dial from your room phone to make reservations. That is how I did it every night I made reservations. Here is the link to my review if you want additional information ...

 

http://www.cruise-critic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=13327