Best Cruise/Service

Norwegian Star Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

LucasZ

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 0

Helpful Votes: 46

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 27, 2011

Ship: Norwegian Star

Cabin type: Suite

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 12 years ago

Review summary

The Norwegian Star was a very nice ship and the crew were all phenomenal. This is the best service I could have ever imagined and made up for any issues with NCL in the past. The mini-suite stateroom with balcony is well worth the money (size, view, etc.). The main dining rooms are OK, but the wait time is very long. Food in general was very greasy and salty however. The specialty restaurants and dining opportunities (one-time jazz brunch and Indian lunch) were exceptionally good, both food and service. A little overpriced in comparison, however, definitely a must on this cruise. The "Second City" show was the best aboard, other productions were very good as well. Overall, the activities seemed limited or timed poorly (too much overlap when there were a couple things you wanted to do.) Ports of call were average, but definitely a good choice for a Caribbean cruise. All in all, I would quickly choose to go back on this ship if for no other reason than the crew! It was that great.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

I rated this good, however, there are two sides here - the quality of food overall was poor/average - too greasy and salty. Additionally, the wait time for main dining was extraordinarily long. On the positive, there were many choices for specialty dining, which was well worth it. They even had one-time dining events that were a lot of fun - Jazz Brunch (first sea day) and Indian Lunch (last sea day). I would highly recommend these, even with the price being a little too high in my opinion. I would do them again too.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Best show - "Second City." Otherwise, there seemed to be fewer activities than I would have expected and when there were some great ones to do, they all overlapped.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

I can say with all certainty that the crew on this ship were amazing. They easily remembered your name and a few would chat with you if you wanted them to and showed genuine care. Additionally, the management side (Hotel Director, Executive Chef and team) went above and beyond to ensure if there was an issue, they fixed it for you. The crew alone made this voyage phenomenal and I would gladly go on another just to have this service again.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Ship was decorated very nice and for the most part, very clean. Recently refurbished, it still seemed a little dated, but certainly one of the better ships.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Although decor was a little dated (most cruise lines have this problem), the mini-suite with balcony was definitely a great choice. Plenty of space and very comfortable, great views, etc. Additionally, the room had a full (small size) shower/tub which was nice.

Pros: Service/Crew, Stateroom, Cost, Departure Day, Speciality Restaurants

Cons: Cost of speciality restaurants, lack of activities, noise from neighbooring staterooms

Recommends Norwegian Star? Yes!

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