Norwegian Star Entertainment

[AnnieKiriazis]

Hello all,

New to this board and had cruised the Star in December with a HUGE gambling group...over 600 of us. Loved the cruise and it was way more than I expected. I was wondering if anyone had heard of the Odysea Band before? They were on board of our cruise playing in the Spinnaker Lounge everynight. Was wondering if anyone had seen them on other cruises or cruiselines? Or if anyone had seen them before and if they liked them. We thought the band was awesome and did a great job. Any comments?

Look forward to hearing from anyone. Love reading the forums.

A.:)

[Abear2]

Hi Annie... We are thinking about booking the Star leaving from Seattle going to Alaska on May 26th. I have cruised 7 times before, but mostly on Royal Carribean. I was wondering if you could give me any tips on this ship. Any info would be of great help. Thanks Janice:D

[Terre]

Hey, Janice! We are going on this cruise May 26th. Visit our Roll Call at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=406467 Takes a few pages, but we finally got more people to join.

 

Terre

[AnnieKiriazis]

Hi Janice,

 

I was on the Star in December and when you go the same band won't be there. They were only booked until February so unfortunately you won't see them as they were a great band. Also, there was a comedy duo called THE BLACKSTREET BOYS, they are hilarious and if they are on the ship when you go, make sure you see them. They also played in the Liars Club game. Hysterical!

 

Okay now for a little bit of help. The Star is good for food and the ice cream bar is kind of limited to about 3 or 4 flavors on any given day *if you like chocolate, get it while you can*. Take advantage of Cagneys Steakhouse if you can, I know it will cost you a little bit more but the food being prepared to your liking is well worth it especially if you are a picky eater of which we are.

 

Don't use the Internet on the ship. As I recall, 250 minutes usage is around $100 US plus start up fee and 100 minutes was around $55 US and this applies to your own laptop with WIFI service. Take note that the average price I paid for my cell phone call was around $3 US and that was to an 800 number. Use your cellphone when in port instead. If you want to use email or internet, try to use an internet cafe when you dock in ports.

 

Enjoy your trip and take advantage of everything the cruise has to offer. There is no juice offered during the day time, only during breakfast hours, so if you want some juice for later, fill some glasses up at breakfast and keep it in your fridge in your stateroom. The pop is pretty expensive too but you can buy an unlimited pass per person for around $46 US. I think that's kind of steep but at least you know. Also there will be an automatic charge of $10 per person over the age of 12 I believe per day added to your account, which adds another $80 per person for the duration of the cruise. It's only $5 per children over 3 and under 12, or close to that age thereabouts. So if you are all over 12, this would amount to $320 at the end of your cruise. However, know that this money goes to the stewards, waiters, everyone on the cruise as a 'tip'. Once you see how hard most of them work to make your cruise more enjoyable and fantastic, you will no doubt share in my feeling that this extra 'tip' is well worth it for them. They do deserve it. But that's my opinion.

 

You might want to check out the SPA for when you are in port as they usually have specials then. Cheaper for massages then which we took advantage of. : )

 

The pools were okay but then again during May up to Alaska, they might not be a good idea? Hot tubs okay. If you use the spa, there will be a charge unless you are getting a treatment, there are two hot tubs in there and the square one is fabby!

 

Can't really say much else about the ship, except I hope you have a balcony room. Have a great trip and hope this helps. And remember to take advantage of everything the ship has to offer.

 

P.S. If you gamble, sign up for the club and make sure you use your card everytime you gamble. The more you gamble if you like to gamble, the more you will have deducted off your final bill. But remember you need at least 25 dollars in points to get a deduction. Also there was a coupon book at the reception (deck 7) that had some good coupons. 2 for 1 slot tourny entry, deals on massages/spa services, etc. Ask them about it.

[Abear2]

Hey Annie, thanks so much for the advice. I love to gamble ! The final bill from the cruise or your bill at the end of the cruise from charges that you make to your credit card ? What excursions would you suggest I take. I really do hate the cold weather so I am not sure I will enjoy this cruise as much as all the others. I am use to going to the caribbean where it's hot. I chose this one cause I just finished treatments from breast cancer, so I am trying not to go in the sun. I know I will enjoy it, but I just don't like the cold weather. Thanks again for the help. Janice :)

[AnnieKiriazis]

Hey Annie, thanks so much for the advice. I love to gamble ! The final bill from the cruise or your bill at the end of the cruise from charges that you make to your credit card ? What excursions would you suggest I take. I really do hate the cold weather so I am not sure I will enjoy this cruise as much as all the others. I am use to going to the caribbean where it's hot. I chose this one cause I just finished treatments from breast cancer, so I am trying not to go in the sun. I know I will enjoy it, but I just don't like the cold weather. Thanks again for the help. Janice :)

Janice,

 

I wouldn't know what excursions to take for the Alaska contingent as I went to Mexico with the Star. So I can't help you on those ones because I've never been to Alaska...although I live in Canada. lol

 

If you gamble on the cruise, you should sign up for their players club. When you gamble, just put the card in the machine like you would in Vegas and rack up the points. The more you play, the more points you earn, the more dollars will be deducted off your final bill. When you board the ship, they will take a credit card imprint and set up your account for onboard charges. Shore excursions, gambling *you can charge up to $2000 a day to your account in the casino at the cage I think*, purchases at the gift shop or galleria shop, the extra charges for eating at the specialty restaurants, spa treatments, etc all get charged to your card which is actually your key card to get into your room. The ship basically is a cashless society and the only place I used cash was in the casino. And a few times we had the occasional sweet waiter/waitress that helped us out and we gave them a cash tip. If you run into Ruben in the Buffet and Oslyn or Nyoby in the Blue Lagoon, they are ones that really put forth an extra effort for us. Both Ruben and Oslyn got us some ice cream when the ice cream bar was closed...of course, they got a flavor they hardly had too. Chocolate! MMMM GOOD!

 

So when you get your final bill on your last night/early morning of the departure day, you will see a deduction at the end of the bill if you had enough points from playing at the casino. Remember, you need to have at least 25 points which equals $25 off the bill. Some people had credits of over $800 and $1000 deducted off their bills. Of course, remember we were in a group of over 600 gamblers on this sailing. So I'm sure a few of us had some serious deductions. : )