STAR Mex Riv 2/21 Review

[Melady]

Hi, just returned Wed. night from 8-day Mexican Riviera cruise on NCL Star. Had a wonderful time!

 

Flight from Newark to LAX 6.5 hours. Longer flight due to winds. Arrived at LAX & took taxi to Hilton at the airport for our overnight stay. Coming home was alot shorter, only 4.5 hours! (Note: Remember to go to the reception desk and ask for the RED LUGGAGE TAGS - they were the first to get off the ship after the Express passengers on our cruise, and we were off by 9:35 a.m. Plenty of time to make our 12:55 p.m. flight back to Newark.)

 

On Tuesday, 2/21, the Super Shuttle was waiting for us at 10:30 to take us to the pier. (We called the Super Shuttle on our own from New Jersey, made reservations for them to pick us up at the hotel to take us to the pier for embarkation & to pick us up at the pier at disembarkation. Very reasonable & reliable.)

 

Embarkation at the pier went smoothly. We were on the ship by 12:30.

 

Our room was 8650 AFT, very clean and comfortable. Cabin Steward left chocolates on our pillows at night but no towel animals. Hot pot in the room left us able to make that first morning cup of coffee in our room every day. We also used room service which was speedy.

 

The Star is beautiful, very clean and decorated well. Only complaint was that the POOL WATER WAS FREEZING every single minute of every single day! I swear they put ice cubes in the water every ten minutes. I braved jumping in one day and almost froze to death! Not many people in the pool all week, even when the temps were warm. Hot tub was nice, but too hot!

 

Missed the Cruise Critic meeting on Wed. 2/21 due to OVERSLEEPING! we had a bad case of jet lag, and needed the sleep. Sorry we missed seeing everyone!!

 

Puerto Vallerta was wonderful, clean and modern. Manzanillo was beautiful, and Matazlan was preparing for "Carnival" while we were there. Took the City Tour via bus in both Mazanillo and Matazlan. Plenty of people accosting you in all the ports to buy their wares. Cabo was FABULOUS and we did lots of shopping there. Wish we had more time to spend there - we were there from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 

The casino on the ship was alot of fun - me & my hubby both won several jackpots, including the "mystery jackpot" twice, and we were served free drinks all week long (we also gave the waiters $1 tip). My hubby also won two poker tournaments, although I stunk at the slot tournaments (or should I say my machine did!) Anne Marie, Catalina & David were the outstanding hosts - they took good care of us! NOTE: 11:00 p.m. mini-buffet in the casino. Snacks, cheese, crackers, cookies.

 

Food was good! We ate at La Trattoria & Cagney's specialty restaurants. All three were delicious and well worth the surcharge we paid. Endless Summer was delicious also. We ate at the buffet a few times, and the selections were pretty good. The desserts didn't appeal to my sweet tooth at all.

 

We loved the wings & macaroni & cheese at Blue Lagoon. And the ORANGES on the ship were to DIE for -- alot tastier than the oranges we have on the East Coast!

 

Coffee is still nasty! After 7 cruises, which includes 4 on NCL, I've given up the coffee protest. I switched to tea!

 

The Jean Ann Ryan shows were very entertaining! Dave Heenan (the comedian) was "rolling on the floor funny" and we loved him! Jeff Trachta, performer, and former "Bold & the Beautiful" actor, was fabulous!

 

As far as kids sitting in the hot tubs after hours, kids being obnoxious, adults trying to outdo each other, etc., we ignore everything. After 21 years of marriage, we just go with the flow, focus on each other and concentrate on having a FUN vacation!

 

In summary, we recommend this cruise, and hope all those who are either booked or are considering booking this trip, keep an open mind and don't sweat the small stuff.

 

TIME TO DO MORE LAUNDRY!!

 

ENJOY YOUR VACATION! :)

[judyf]

Thanks for the review. Congratulations on the casino wins, I never have any luck. Part of that might be I don't go there that much if I spend $20-$50 that's a lot for me to lose.

 

What time did you arrive at the port? Glad to hear the positive comment on super shuttle we are using them. How much did you tip? Is it the $2.00 per bag?

 

On the cc's meeting I myself think 10am on the first day at sea is a little too early. I think that has something to do with the attendane also. I will get up and be there but I know on the Dawn same time a few missed it cause they just couldn't get up then. We're flying in from Albany.NY and will have some jet lag too.

 

 

Thanks

[Chipster2]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post your review of the Star. Reading this makes me so less anxious that I had chosen the Star for our first cruise in October.

Can never get enough!

Thanks again.

[newmexicoNita]

Hi, just returned Wed. night from 8-day Mexican Riviera cruise on NCL Star. Had a wonderful time!

 

Flight from Newark to LAX 6.5 hours. Longer flight due to winds. Arrived at LAX & took taxi to Hilton at the airport for our overnight stay. Coming home was alot shorter, only 4.5 hours! (Note: Remember to go to the reception desk and ask for the RED LUGGAGE TAGS - they were the first to get off the ship after the Express passengers on our cruise, and we were off by 9:35 a.m. Plenty of time to make our 12:55 p.m. flight back to Newark.)

 

On Tuesday, 2/21, the Super Shuttle was waiting for us at 10:30 to take us to the pier. (We called the Super Shuttle on our own from New Jersey, made reservations for them to pick us up at the hotel to take us to the pier for embarkation & to pick us up at the pier at disembarkation. Very reasonable & reliable.)

 

Embarkation at the pier went smoothly. We were on the ship by 12:30.

 

Our room was 8650 AFT, very clean and comfortable. Cabin Steward left chocolates on our pillows at night but no towel animals. Hot pot in the room left us able to make that first morning cup of coffee in our room every day. We also used room service which was speedy.

 

The Star is beautiful, very clean and decorated well. Only complaint was that the POOL WATER WAS FREEZING every single minute of every single day! I swear they put ice cubes in the water every ten minutes. I braved jumping in one day and almost froze to death! Not many people in the pool all week, even when the temps were warm. Hot tub was nice, but too hot!

 

Missed the Cruise Critic meeting on Wed. 2/21 due to OVERSLEEPING! we had a bad case of jet lag, and needed the sleep. Sorry we missed seeing everyone!!

 

Puerto Vallerta was wonderful, clean and modern. Manzanillo was beautiful, and Matazlan was preparing for "Carnival" while we were there. Took the City Tour via bus in both Mazanillo and Matazlan. Plenty of people accosting you in all the ports to buy their wares. Cabo was FABULOUS and we did lots of shopping there. Wish we had more time to spend there - we were there from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 

The casino on the ship was alot of fun - me & my hubby both won several jackpots, including the "mystery jackpot" twice, and we were served free drinks all week long (we also gave the waiters $1 tip). My hubby also won two poker tournaments, although I stunk at the slot tournaments (or should I say my machine did!) Anne Marie, Catalina & David were the outstanding hosts - they took good care of us! NOTE: 11:00 p.m. mini-buffet in the casino. Snacks, cheese, crackers, cookies.

 

Food was good! We ate at La Trattoria & Cagney's specialty restaurants. All three were delicious and well worth the surcharge we paid. Endless Summer was delicious also. We ate at the buffet a few times, and the selections were pretty good. The desserts didn't appeal to my sweet tooth at all.

 

We loved the wings & macaroni & cheese at Blue Lagoon. And the ORANGES on the ship were to DIE for -- alot tastier than the oranges we have on the East Coast!

 

Coffee is still nasty! After 7 cruises, which includes 4 on NCL, I've given up the coffee protest. I switched to tea!

 

The Jean Ann Ryan shows were very entertaining! Dave Heenan (the comedian) was "rolling on the floor funny" and we loved him! Jeff Trachta, performer, and former "Bold & the Beautiful" actor, was fabulous!

 

As far as kids sitting in the hot tubs after hours, kids being obnoxious, adults trying to outdo each other, etc., we ignore everything. After 21 years of marriage, we just go with the flow, focus on each other and concentrate on having a FUN vacation!

 

In summary, we recommend this cruise, and hope all those who are either booked or are considering booking this trip, keep an open mind and don't sweat the small stuff.

 

TIME TO DO MORE LAUNDRY!!

 

ENJOY YOUR VACATION! :)

thanks for sharing your experience: don't sweat the small stuff is the answer to life period. I think all cruise lines are taking a revies beating right now: read any board and you will get negatives. yes, some more than others as some are so loyal to the line they frequent they don't want to admit the ships are changing. Cruising period is changing as many of us are realizing. The days of gourmet food: gone, how do we expect the kitchen crew to be able to give us the very best when they are cooking for 2000 or more everyday? This applies the suites as well: there was a time, not many years ago when ships had just a handful of suites, now some of 100 or more. It hasn't been too many years ago when many didn't know what the word concierne even meant. Again, if we all board our chosen ships with open eyes, entend on having a good time and can accept the changes cruising will still be fun and rewarding. NMnita

[cruzeluver]

Thanks for the review. We're considering the Star for next year.

 

Agree with you about the coffee. Not sure why good coffee is so hard to find on cruises. Been on three different cruise lines and all had mediocre to un-drinkable coffee. Oh well. If that's the worst I can say, then not too bad.

[BARBARAFUNK]

I was on the Star last June to Alaska. First time for NCL. I highly recommend this ship. It's beautiful. As a matter of fact I'm going on the same ship, Star, April 2, 2006 to the Mexican Riviera. Looking forward to it. I really liked the idea of Free Style Cruising. I can't imagine anyone not liking this ship.

[newmexicoNita]

We are thinking of taking her on her repo in September. NMnita