Star Trek: The Cruise VI Navigator of the Seas 2/24/23 - 3/3/23 Review

[rimmit]

For those that have never been on a charter cruise this is my review of the Star Trek: The Cruise Charter by ECP (Entertainment Cruise Productions) from Feb 24 - Mar 3 on the Navigator of the Seas out of LA.  This was my first charter cruise, but have been on 40+ cruises, am D+ on RCI, and been cruising since 1990, so I have a decent amount of comparison.  On a charter cruise, C&A status does not matter and there are no benefits.  That being said I have only been on one cruise since March of 2020 so limited comparisons for the post pandemic cruising experience.   I normally do not write cruise reviews, but I could not find a review of the Star Trek: The Cruise prior to going so thought I’d make one for anyone considering it.  This will be a pretty long and comprehensive review so it will be broken down into parts as I find time to write it.

 

This is our first cruise I have gone on since my wife was run over a car last June in Zimbabwe.  It’s been a long recovery road and we booked this cruise as it was a bucket list thing and because the entertainment is the highlight so we wouldn't have to worry about her mobility as we were uncertain where she’d be in her recovery.  Thankfully she is able to walk, albeit painfully, around the ship in short bursts, and only required a wheelchair going through the airports.  So making progress!  

 

TL;DR - WE LOVED IT AND WOULD GO AGAIN!!!

 

Cost and Booking Process

By the time we decided to go on the cruise it was sold out.  These cruises traditionally sell out 9-10 months in advance.  At that point you need to join a Facebook group for the cruise and find someone that can't go and have them transfer the reservation to you.  There is a $500 reservation transfer fee, which is typically paid by the seller of the cabin.  The cancellation policy is brutal and the only way you can get any money back is by selling your cabin.  There is no point of return when you book a Star Trek  Cruise.  The only way out is to find someone to take the cabin.  So we transferred an inside cabin to our name and the transferee paid the $500 dollar fee.  The total was $4960 dollars all in cost for an inside cabin for 2 people on a 7 day cruise to Mexican Baja with stops in Mazatlan, Cabo, and Puerta Vallerta.  So definitely NOT A DEAL for those deal hunters.  However, if you are going on a chartered theme cruise, you are obviously not deal hunting and going for the experience and energy.  We had previously done these ports on the Vision in 2008 before RCI pulled out of LA so we truly were doing this strictly for the Star Trek experience.  

 

If you are a previous ECP cruiser you can get a discount which equates to around $500 dollars for an inside cabin but we were not.  The $4960 includes a $350/person fee that covers port taxes, fees, and gratuities.  So ALL gratuities are paid to ECP.  No gratuities are paid to RCI at all.  There is no daily charge to the cabin.  It is totally done via ECP.  The fee covers everything a typical cruise would cover including most ECP Entertainment.  It does not cover actor signatures, photos with the actors, and some of the actor led activities that involve resources such as wine tastings, tequila tastings, charity breakfasts, stocking decorating, cupcake decorating, etc.  These are extra and only about 75-100 people will be able to do those.  Those are all booked ahead of time and sell out in minutes once going live, so you cannot book those once boarding.  Really the only thing you can book after boarding are photos and signatures.  

 

Embarkation

 

Well this was a total disaster.  Not RCI’s fault as it was just bizarre weather in LA for the couple days prior and the day of embarkation.  On embarkation day it was 40’s, there were flood warnings for LA, hail, and POURING the rain with 20-25 MPH winds.  We landed at Long Beach airport rather than LAX as it was closer to the terminal.  For those that don't know, LGB is primarily an outdoor airport, as in you walk outside between buildings, there is no jetway, baggage claim is outside, etc.  So minimal cover from the elements when getting off the plane and going to baggage claim.  OMG, we got poured on in the rain getting our luggage, and walking to the cab stand as it’s all outside with no cover.  They are clearly not equipped to handle poor weather at all.  We walked to the taxi stand and went straight from Long Beach to the cruise terminal.  

 

At the port it was still pouring the rain, and they used a small tent to corral people until embarkation is opened up.  This is a very small tent.  We had the first embarkation time available at 1100 and arrived right on time, but there was no space left in the tent.  Needless to say, us and several hundred people were in a line outside the tent getting poured on in 40 degree weather with 20-25 mpg winds in LA.  It was actually warmer in our hometown in KY ironically.  Not exactly the way to start our vacation, but we didn’t care.  This was our first real vacation without kids in years, and our first cruise since the accident, so as far as we were concerned we might as well have been in heaven.  Everyone despite the rain was in relatively good spirits as everyone was just so excited to go on the cruise.  The energy was palpable just waiting in line to board.  

 

After about 30 minutes of freezing and getting soaked we finally made it into the terminal.  As with any RCI embarkation these days it is incredibly efficient with a bunch of people on iPads, just checking people in.  For a charter cruise, your C&A status does not matter.  You get zero benefits. No priority embarkation, no drink vouchers, absolutely nothing.  All you get are the cruise points for the cruise. But it really doesn’t matter as there is zero line once inside the terminal  and once you get past security it's not even 5 minutes to board.  My wife was impressively able to walk all the way through the cruise terminal and to Windjammer with no assistance.  There were wheelchairs available, but she was determined to do it and she made it!

 

 

Not exactly LA weather.

 

 

Inside, warm and changed.  Much better!

 

Demographic

 

Given the peak of Star Trek popularity was in the 90’s, not surprisingly the average age of people on the ship ranged between 45-60.  I was definitely one of the younger ones on board, and I am 41.  There were maybe 10 teenagers at most that were not part of the guest talent on board by my best estimates.  The crowd definitely came to party for sure.  Much more so than any cruise I’ve ever been on out of the US.  Most people are either empty nesters, or Adults without kids or Single with no kids, but we did meet some couples that had kids being watched at home by a grandparent, but that was rare.  Not surprisingly, a large contingent of people I met were in science related fields, but there was quite the variety of people on board.  More so than a normal cruise in the off season.  Not quite as diverse as a Spring Break cruise where you get all sorts of families from everywhere on board.  People came from all over the world for this cruise, with the farthest I heard being New Zealand.  Most of the people on board have cruised before, but I’d say the majority have only done Star Trek Cruises.  Eighty percent of the boat is composed of previous Star Trek Cruisers so it has a VERY high repeat rate.  If they were not exclusive Star Trek Cruisers, as in someone who has ONLY cruised on Star Trek: The Cruise, the average number of cruises seemed to border between 4-7 for experienced non exclusive cruisers.  I did not meet any pinnacles on this boat, but since there is no C&A status or really any status of any kind on this boat except for a very small VIP program (only 200 can buy that package option), everyone is equal.  Makes for a very utilitarian environment.  

 

The VIP program is new for this cruise, and many were worried it would impact the experience.  I can say it did not impact my experience although I had never been on a Star Trek Cruise before.  Everyone I talked to who had been on the previous 5 said the VIP program did not impact their experience either.

 

Theming

 

The theming starts when ECP sends you a really nice thick booklet prior to boarding called “Mission Orders” that lists all the actors and actresses and basic info about the cruise about a month before the cruise.  This definitely starts to get the excitement amped up. 

 

Once you board you get another large thick Star Trek themed pamphlet printed on nice thick paper stock giving a general schedule of the next 7 days with all the major headlining events and times along with a general daily schedule that is subject to change, the itinerary for the boat, bios of the actors, etc.  It’s basically like playbill for when you go to play except the size of a magazine.

 

 

ECP did an excellent job doing their best to theme the boat where they could.  From placing Star Trek Signage on elevators and windows, having the interactive screens displaying Star Trek signage and graphics, playing Star Trek Music, overlaying windows and store fronts with Star Trek references, they did a very good job.  Also placed Large Star Trek signs etc around for photo ops.  They had a prop museum of the new show Star Trek: Picard take up the teen area.  All the lounges and restaurants were rethemed and renamed.  There are too many too list on the retheming but the only ones with original names were Cosmopolitan Club, Windjammer and Royal Theater and the MDR.  Pretty much everything else was renamed with a signage overlay.  

 

 

Elevators were themed to turbo lifts.

 

There were Star Trek themed drink menus in all bars.  

 

 

This included all of Playmakers which was themed to a Star Trek Baseball team that existed in the show, the main screen by the pool, and ALL Screens everywhere, including the elevator screens.  

 

 

The daily cruise compass was also themed to Star Trek.  These were delivered daily to the cabin without asking your cabin steward. 

 

 

The stateroom TV had 12 channels devoted entirely to Star Trek shows and movies which was really nice.  When you walked the hallways, you heard Star Trek Music.  They had Star Trek Boardgames and books in the Library.  Nearly every shop, bar and restaurant were renamed for the cruise with new signage.  The company had door and window decorating contests so about 20-25% of doors that you passed had some type of Star Trek Decoration on it which was nice. Some with VERY elaborate overlays with puzzles, giveaways, etc.  Overall it definitely felt very Trekkie.

 

If there was a screen they'd stick Star Trek on it.

 

On Embarkation day they also had a Star Trek Themed cake.

 

 

Still to come, next time on Star Trek: The Cruise...

Entertainment

Ports

Cabin

Ship

Service

Edited March 16, 2023 by rimmit

[mjmiller]

Thanks so much! Your detail is fantastic. I'm looking forward to reading more - as you stated, it's difficult to find reviews of Star Trek cruises.

[PolicromaSol]

This looks like it was fantastic!

 

My husband and I used to go to various conventions when we were younger. I don't know that we'd ever find a good time to do this one, but it's nice to have a peek in on what it was like.

 

Did they change up the food?

[h20skibum]

Interesting.  I got the email for next year’s cruise, and it looks like a good itinerary. 

[rimmit]

10 hours ago, PolicromaSol said:

This looks like it was fantastic!

 

My husband and I used to go to various conventions when we were younger. I don't know that we'd ever find a good time to do this one, but it's nice to have a peek in on what it was like.

 

Did they change up the food?

The food is the exact same as a typical cruise, They did have some Star Trek themed cupcakes but that’s about it.  I will talk more about the food when I get to that portion of the review, but unfortunately, per ECP it is very difficult to change to themed foods and menus.  They state the bar staff is very nimble and can adapt easily to new themed drinks but food is a whole nother logistical ball game.

 

It was absolutely incredible and worth the premium cost,  we had an absolute blast.  Best cruise we’ve been on and we’ve done a lot.

Edited March 16, 2023 by rimmit

[rimmit]

11 hours ago, mjmiller said:

Thanks so much! Your detail is fantastic. I'm looking forward to reading more - as you stated, it's difficult to find reviews of Star Trek cruises.

Yes.  I couldn’t find any so we went into it blind just basing off what we heard at conventions and the Star Trek Facebook groups.  Hopefully, this will help people make a decision in the future.

[rimmit]

Entertainment

This is by far the highlight and the whole reason you book a themed cruise.  Let’s be real, if you are going on a Star Trek themed cruise you are likely have at least some basic affinity for the Star Trek, or you know someone that does.  You don't just randomly end up on a themed cruise.  

 

There were over 25+ actors/actresses on board including William Shatner, along with many production staff, make up artists, writers, and science advisors for the show.  

 

 

The entertainment and activities are basically nonstop while the ship is at sea with multiple things going at anyone moment, and you are constantly having to decide between doing one activity or another.  While the ship is docked, they do their best not to have any entertainment so you can explore the port without missing things, but this was not always possible with some of the later departure times from the ports.   

 

Of note these upcoming pictures will likely mean nothing if you don't know some of the Star Trek Actors.

 

Daily there was one main show in the main theater with two showings that typically involved anywhere from the almost all the actors on board to just one of the actors.  The type of show would vary from a stand up comedy routine with Garrett Wang,

 

 

singing with Robert Picardo,

 

doing a stage reading of a classic episode of Star Trek, or a Radio Play,

 

Variety show, etc.  These were must see and were highly entertaining and enjoyable.  Probably our favorite was the “Rat Pack” where 5 of the Star Trek actors sing parodies of songs in a “Rat Pack” style presentation.

T

 

The Match Game show was also hysterical and a highlight.

The variety show had a good variety of acts with actors performing various arts, such as Doug Jones miming

or Robert Picardo, the Doctor on Voyager, playing operation.

 

For anyone that has ever been to a sci-fi convention, panels are also a highlight.  As such there were multiple panels with the actors and actresses throughout the cruise typically based around a specific show, like The Next Generation of Deep Space Nine.  Seeing the actors talk and answer questions is always a fun time.  Especially when some of them are completely inebriated. LOL.  

 

I almost fell out of my chair from laughter in some of the panels listening to some them.   Marina Sirtis, who plays Troi on ST:TNG was incredibly entertaining after some tequila shots.

 

There are also many free opportunities to interact with the actors and actresses throughout the day just through sheer coincidence.  Such as waiting for an elevator, walking by them on deck, in the hot tub, at the windjammer, in the MDR,  etc.  Some actors are out more than others, but you definitely see them A LOT, and I had several chance interactions with them where you can talk to them for a bit.  As a general rule of thumb you don’t crowd the actors, and you don’t take selfies, otherwise it would become an absolute selfie-a-thon as you can imagine.  But I can definitely say I ran into actors on a very regular basis.  Typically interactions would be quick "Hi's", but if they were standing still waiting for an elevator or something, you had a good opportunity to chat with them.  It is total luck as to when you see the actors though, and your interactions depends on your ability to be outgoing enough to talk to them.  They were all very friendly though and seemed to really enjoy being there.

 

There are also free activities to interact with them, as they run things like trivia, yoga, karaoke, and some smaller panels and game shows.  There is no way you can remotely do it all.

 

As you can see they really got in to Karaoke some nights.

 

The actors also were the judges in a gong show....  Without a doubt, there were some absolute train wrecks which were just hysterical.  I cannot even describe the insanity going on in the pic below where one passenger was doing a show with balloon art.  

 

 

There are also paid opportunities that sell out in minutes of going live about a month before sailing.  These involve wine tastings, tequila tastings, cupcake decorating, cocktails, Christmas stocking decorating, and things where materials are involved or space limited.  These sell out within 15 minutes of going live, so you have to be fast if you want to book one.  I did not do any of those and found the free activities more than ample and if we signed up for any of the extras, honestly question how we could possibly fit that into our schedule.  

 

Since practically everything had to be booked prior to boarding, it was VERY refreshing to not constantly reminded to book this or pay for that.  In actuality, outside of photos and autographs with the actors, ECP runs a very inclusive cruise.  Reminds me of the old days of cruising.  Also since this is a charter, ECP controls all announcements, advertisements, etc.  So the beauty of this is that there is literally no advertising on board.  No constant reminders to book a dining package. No DBP or UDP Table tents, no people walking around trying to get you to buy internet packages or DBP going table to table in the WJ.  No advertising at all unless it’s Star Trek related and that is even minimal.  It made it feel more luxurious and not cheap. There are no prices anywhere in the Star Trek Themed Cruise compass.  Heck there is so little advertising, honestly, it is easy to miss things such as if you want a shuttle to the airport or that there is a bookable escape room to book on board based on advertising.  It was definitely one of the nicest things of the cruise was the lack of continuous bombardments to buy stuff or upgrade.

 

There really isn’t much to spend your money on once you board the ship which is nice.  They do have a small merchandise shop on the Promenade in which they empty out one store (looked like a perfume or purse store) and sell merchandise starting on the Day #2.  

They don’t have much to buy other than some polos, t-shirts, hoodies, and a couple other odds and ends, but to be honest they really could use a more expansive merchandise selection.  They ran out of a lot of sizes within hours.  Thankfully, me and my wife are size small which was not a very common purchased size so we were able to get stuff, but sizes M to XXL were very picked over. 

 

The cruise has a theme every night but the last night.  These themes are obviously Star Trek related.   I’d estimate anywhere between 30-70% participation based on the theme.  The theme parties are an absolute blast, and since the boat is chartered, ECP can use whatever venue they choose to hold the party.  One night it was held in the MDR.  First time I’ve ever had a full fledged dance party in the MDR.  The moved all the tables to the edge of the 1st floor and cleared out some space.  It was awesome getting to party in the MDR.  Each theme night had a celebrity host, that was kinda the main MC of the event which added to the fun.  They’d get down on the dance floor and really get the party started.  My wife got to dance with Nana Visitor, Star Trek Deep Space Nine Actor, one evening for a while on the pool deck at one of the parties. 

 

Some themes were a Captain's Gala/Formal Night (Basically nice Star Trek Uniforms).

 

 

Red Shirt Night

G

 

Costume Party (Anything goes basically)

 

A Renaissance Fair night, Tropical theme night, and a PJ Night.  The theme's vary every year, but some are staples, like the Formal Night and the Costume Night.  The costume party was insane and the cosplay was quite strong in this group. 

 

ECP brings their own house band and DJ as well.  Their house band and DJ were awesome, albeit I felt that the DJ tended to skew toward the 2015’s and beyond in music toward the end of the night.  Given the demographic and the relative lack of millennials onboard, sticking to the 80’s and 90’s and typical wedding music would have been a much better bet and I know many cruisers definitely complained about her music selections as the night wore on.  The house band did a great job and played a wide variety of songs.

 

The deck parties unfortunately did not go well due to the weather not cooperating.  This was our first Star Trek cruise, but everyone says the "opening ceremonies” which is held as the ship takes off on the first day on the pool deck when the actors are all introduced for the first time is just insanity and a ton of fun.  Unfortunately, due to the 40 degree weather, 25 mph winds and pouring rain, that was obviously cancelled.  There were two other parties, a tropical themed night on the day coming back on the return at night which was not cancelled but the weather was low 60’s with 20-25mph winds making it feel very cold.

 

As you can see the wind was whipping here.  

 

Then there was another T-shirt party on the second to last sea day during the day again with low 60’s and 20-25mph winds which were very poorly attended due to the cold and wind.  ECP states that after this they are no longer considering any cold weather climates for further charter cruises due to unpredictability of the weather.   

 

There was also a vow renewal done by Todd Stashwick, one of the actors, which was very fun to attend.  

 

ECP only utilized RCI Entertainment on about 8 different occasions.  They had one session of Bingo on the last day.  They utilized a schooner bar Elton John Impersonator who was AWESOME twice!!!  I’d almost book a cruise for him alone.  On the final day they had a different Schooner Bar player.  They also had a singer in the Irish Pub who sang twice during the cruise. There was a latin band that played twice in Gorn's Mojito Bar (Boleros) Otherwise, any and all entertainment was handled by ECP.  The cruise director, JT, is awesome and a full time ECP Employee.  

He is absolutely willing to go the distance to make this cruise enjoyable, as evidenced by the above picture.

 

There was a museum of current props from the most recent season of Star Trek Picard as well, that was set up in the teen club.  It had a large number of props and costumes and was definitely a nice diversion.

 

The entertainment and youth staff are recruited to mainly do crowd control during the charter cruises as the kids club is closed and there are no production shows or RCI entertainment going on.  I talked to the entertainment staff and love the charter cruises as it gives them a breather from the daily grind they also state the boat really comes alive for the charter cruises and it's just a totally different vibe than their regular cruises. 

 

Some other entertainment I did not have time to attend included science seminars, live art drawing, Shakespeare seminars, Makeup seminars, live music, and many more.

 

Overall, I give the entertainment an A+.  They really couldn't pack anymore.  My main complaint is they had some overlapping panels which are a highlight, spreading out the panels more would have been great. 

 

Still to come:

Ports

Cabin

Ship

Service

Overall

Edited March 20, 2023 by rimmit

[HappyTexan44]

On one hand hand, it sounds expensive, but the price is in the same ballpark as the Star Wars Experience at Disney World.   I forget the name.   I'm not talking about the ride, but in the special hotel.   

 

[hollins2007]

Thanks for this!  We just booked the ST cruise for next year.  Our first one (not our first cruise though).  This makes me more excited - especially as a couple of friends from our church are going too!

[irishgal432]

Great Review!

[barbeyg]

Thanks for this review, @rimmit!  I’m so glad your wife is well enough to travel and enjoy that.  I’ve thought of you guys often, after reading about what happened.  Hope you both had a great time! 

[WorkingForOBC]

Your review is entertaining and informational! Thank you so much for sharing. I don't know that a Star Trek cruise is in our future, but it's really interesting to read about, and learn more about charter cruises.

[JamesEM]

Thanks for the review and photos.

[Kathscof]

15 hours ago, HappyTexan44 said:

On one hand hand, it sounds expensive, but the price is in the same ballpark as the Star Wars Experience at Disney World.   I forget the name.   I'm not talking about the ride, but in the special hotel.   

 

Galactic Starcruiser perhaps? 🙂 

[HappyTexan44]

23 minutes ago, Kathscof said:

Galactic Starcruiser perhaps? 🙂 

Yes, that is it!    
Vague memories are that it cost around 4K and lasted 48 hours.  But since it was completely not an option, I could be very off on the prices, and maybe they've come down.  Even if I had money to spare, I wouldn't do that, but this cruise would be totally awesome. 

[rimmit]

17 hours ago, HappyTexan44 said:

On one hand hand, it sounds expensive, but the price is in the same ballpark as the Star Wars Experience at Disney World.   I forget the name.   I'm not talking about the ride, but in the special hotel.   

 

The Galactic Starcruiser is 2 nights for not even 48 hours for 5,000 for two people or 1250/person per night.  It is totally different in that it is a LARP experience (Live Action Role Playing). You see characters but no actors, not that you’d ever get Harrison Ford or Mark Hamill on a Star Wars cruise, but maybe some b-listers.  It’s all in universe though so you get pretend you are in a Star  Wars Adventure.

Star Trek: The Cruise is a themed charter cruise.   So it’s not like you get to pretend you are aboard the Enterprise, but the fun is in the entertainment and the actors.  The price is $4960 for two people in an inside cabin for 7 nights.  So that comes to $354/person per night.  Much cheaper than $1250/person per night for the Galactic Starcruiser.

 

I have wanted to do the Starcruiser for the last year but it’s just hard to justify that 1250/night cost per person for something that isn’t even out of the country.  

The ST Cruise was amazing though and well worth the premium price tag.  Having the actors roaming around is great and the energy is much higher than a typical cruise.  Having everyone on board with a similar interest really amplified the energy and overall vibe of the ship.

[HappyTexan44]

I'd probably literally faint if I saw one of half those actors at an elevator.   I am the last person to get star-struck, but Star Trek is an exception.  

Was the guy that played Captain Pike in the recent series there?    He totally stole the "Best Star Trek Captain" Throne.   

 

[molly361]

Nice review  I believe I have been booted off a chartered Star Trek cruise or 2 back in the day @Ourusualbeach😇

[Ourusualbeach]

26 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Nice review  I believe I have been booted off a chartered Star Trek cruise or 2 back in the day @Ourusualbeach😇

Probably made some money on those as well.🤣

[rimmit]

18 hours ago, hollins2007 said:

Thanks for this!  We just booked the ST cruise for next year.  Our first one (not our first cruise though).  This makes me more excited - especially as a couple of friends from our church are going too!

You won’t regret it!!  It’s so much fun!  Originally I thought it’d be a one and done thing for us because it is pricey for a 7 day mainstream cruise, but if we can get child care we’ll go again for sure!!  It’s so much better than a regular cruise!

 

17 hours ago, barbeyg said:

Thanks for this review, @rimmit!  I’m so glad your wife is well enough to travel and enjoy that.  I’ve thought of you guys often, after reading about what happened.  Hope you both had a great time! 

Thanks for thoughts!  It’s so great to see her walking again and getting back to a normal life.  At the rate she’s going she may be able to walk through an airport in a couple months!!  If you asked me 5 months ago if that was ever gonna happen I woulda thought hell would freeze over before she’d be able to walk that far!

 

14 hours ago, WorkingForOBC said:

Your review is entertaining and informational! Thank you so much for sharing. I don't know that a Star Trek cruise is in our future, but it's really interesting to read about, and learn more about charter cruises.

 

A Star Trek cruise definitely isn’t for everyone that’s for sure as it’s an incredibly niche population, but if you are part of that niche it couldn’t be more fun!

Edited March 21, 2023 by rimmit

[clochette]

what a great review, my husband would absolutely loved it.  Did everyone dress up on the different nights or was it OK to stay in street clothes?

[hollins2007]

4 hours ago, rimmit said:

You won’t regret it!!  It’s so much fun!  Originally I thought it’d be a one and done thing for us because it is pricey for a 7 day mainstream cruise, but if we can get child care we’ll go again for sure!!  It’s so much better than a regular cruise!

 

Yeah, my husband and I like to at least have a window so we know what time of day it is (we splurged for a balcony for our anniversary cruise on Mariner in a few short months).  But seeing the prices, we just booked an interior.  (I know if we do it again, there is a bit of a discount as a returning guest).   But I'd rather save money for excursions and other add-ons.  Curious, do they provide autographs/photo ops, like a regular convention?  If so, when do they list those prices and what days/times that's available?

Edited March 21, 2023 by hollins2007

[rimmit]

6 hours ago, HappyTexan44 said:

I'd probably literally faint if I saw one of half those actors at an elevator.   I am the last person to get star-struck, but Star Trek is an exception.  

Was the guy that played Captain Pike in the recent series there?    He totally stole the "Best Star Trek Captain" Throne.   

 

Anson Mount was on ST: TC IV.  As was Ethan Peck, the guy that plays Spock The only Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Actor this last time was Jess Bush w(Nurse chapel).  She definitely was out and about the ship a bunch.

 

2 hours ago, clochette said:

what a great review, my husband would absolutely loved it.  Did everyone dress up on the different nights or was it OK to stay in street clothes?

 

It’s basically like Vegas.  Wear whatever you want when you want.  No one cares. No debates on MDR dress code here.

 

Based on the theme. I’d say anywhere from 70 percent to 30 percent participation on the night.  The highest was the Captain’s Gala (Starfleet uniforms/formal wear) and the Costume Party.  The lowest was the Bajoran Gratitude Festival (most people unsure what to dress up as, but many went tropical) and the Knights of the Holodeck (Ren Faire stuff).  You wont feel out of place no matter what you wear.

 

1 hour ago, hollins2007 said:

Curious, do they provide autographs/photo ops, like a regular convention?  If so, when do they list those prices and what days/times that's available?

Just like a regular convention there are paid photo ops and autographs.   They release these many many months in advance with a price list.  There is notable discount for pre buying these photo ops and autographs.  Like 20-30 dollars based on the celebrity.  The times that the actors sign are not released until you get on the ship, and they do photo ops starting Day 1.  So if you have a specific outfit for a pic, you need to be ready on Day 1 and bring it onboard manually in case a photo op lands before you get your luggage back.

 

While they say you shouldn’t take selfies with the celebrities many did and most don’t mind.  Just try to be respectful so it doesn’t turn into a selfie-a-thon.

[VirginiaIsForCruisers]

Great review! This was my fifth Star Trek cruise and I had a blast, even though the weather put a damper on some of the events, especially the sail away. I'm happy next year will depart from Florida again.

[HappyTexan44]

Since it is probably mostly Trekkies that are watching this thread.   Anyone have an idea for a female Vulcan name for a goat?   We have baby goats and one has face markings that look like heavily slanted eyebrows, so at the moment she is called "Vulcan."