Norwegian? no Star. You will get ripped off with them

Norwegian Star Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 54

Overall rating:

1 out of 5
Norwegian Star

7 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 03, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Star

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 4009

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

I spoke with the passengers on the same cruise, and we all agreed this cruise is all about making as much money out of us as possible, disregard of our comfort, need, or concern. Beside the nice waiters and the stewards, I can't find anything nice about the service of this cruise line. They charged both me and my husband almost $600 EACH for the ultimate beverage when we made it clear with them that I do not drink and only wanted to buy the package for my husband, the lady at the front desk said yes, she understood, then on the last day our bill was charged for BOTH of us, saying because we are in the same stateroom they charged us both, so the drink alone was almost $1200. Had we known, we would bought the drink as we go, but their lack of English speaking skill, or maybe purposely misled us, to charged us extra. The ladies (in uniform) at the reception were very arrogant and very unfriendly. The food was just ok, no filet mignon nor lobster (unless you eat at the specialty dining and have to pay extra for it). This cruise is different in every way as compare to Carnival or Royal Carrebian, I cruised with them two times each, but this is the last ever with Norwegian, regardless of any sale they have, because they will end up charging you for other things that will be way more than other cruise lines would offer. 

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5
prime rib was chewy. expected lobster night or filet mignon served but wasn't (unless use specialty dining)

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5
The quest was fun like always. The napkin folding was boring, they didn't give us our own napkin to fold like on other cruise lines, not as interactive

Entertainment

3 out of 5
4/7 of the entertainment nights were spectacular. Dimitri and Maria were great.

Children's Programs

NA

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
I only care for Cristian and Willie on deck 4, and the waiters on deck 12 and a few at the Aqua dining room, they were very nice and work very hard.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
Spa was always full. ship was clean though, thanks to all the crew who always work so hard to keep it nice and clean

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Love Willie who cleaned our room, he is real nice

Ship tip

Do NOT book shore excursions with Norwegian, price is twice as much as if you go to tripadvisor, and look inder things to do, the excursions and tours are much more reasonable.

Ports of call

Tampa, Florida

5 out of 5

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras Did not visit port

rained the day the ship docked

Belize City, Belize

5 out of 5
Book shore excursion in tripadvisor, price on board is twice as much

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

5 out of 5
get a taxi to get to the beach

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5
get taxi to get to the beach
Was this review helpful? 54

17 Comments

AJR214    8 years ago

Leaving 1/31/16 on 4th NCL (Dawn, Pearl, Getaway, now Star). We've been on RC and Carn 1x each. Doing hw and pricing deals is beneficial for you. On this cruise we have Ult bev and 4-night spec dining included - had to pay 15% grats up front BUT i knew about it from hw. Why ppl think cruises are all inclusive is beyond me. Disney is $129pp to walk in, you pay for the rest. No difference cruising.

tamiiii    8 years ago

how are the enclosed cove balconies? is the opening large?

jeffdavies151515    8 years ago

that's funny I had bad experiences royal and carnival. I will only go on ncl. get a package that includes drinks next time

chadley77    8 years ago

It is that way on other cruise lines about having the same drink packages. We are going on the Norwegian Star in April and in their promotion we chose the Ultimate dining package and are purchasing the soda package because neither of us really drink.

bermudababe    8 years ago

we got it free too, but now I'm going to call and double check

terry115    8 years ago

njcruis80239007    8 years ago

If you book with promotions it can be free. It was last summer for us and will be this upcoming summer in the "Baltics" along with the Ultimate dining package.

Judikr    8 years ago

Tell your complaints to your travel agent and they may be able to help you get a refund or if you did not go through a travel agent write the company itself. We had problems a few years ago with Holland America and our agent was so helpful. I hope this helps. Good luck. We stick with HAL, haven't heard much good about Norwegian!

schona    8 years ago

I read so many that say that they weren't informed or they didnt know something, or feel there were hidden costs. these are things that are all over there web sight or from doing a little research. there are never hidden fews. if you are not sure of something or you dont understand the person your talking to it makes sense to ask to talk to someone else. if you have never cruised before its a great idea you do lots of web searching and find forums to ask questions. if you do this up front then you are aware of everything and it will make for a smooth cruise 😊

bermudababe    8 years ago

it is always the policy that both people in the cabin must have the same drink package. they do this so that you won't drink the beverages he orders. It has always been their policy. sorry though:(

noname111    8 years ago

Thank you for posting your review. 

I caution everyone to read the fine print for anything associated with a cruise and be sure to understand that different cruise lines have different agreements for drink and other types of packages.  One line will charge everyone in the same cabin whereas another will not. Cruise lines are out to turn a profit, not to hand out freebies.  The major lines are all publicly-held companies with stockholders who expect to benefit from their ownership. The key is that you do the homework to understand what you are signing up for because if you do not, you only have yourself to blame.

TitusWoman    8 years ago

Yes it is in english

terry115    8 years ago

Is your account in ENGLISH if not it will not help

TitusWoman    8 years ago

homework! exactly! at least check your account charges everyday!

terry115    8 years ago

Barry9    8 years ago

doesn't anyone do there homework before they book this stuff?

terry115    8 years ago

The unlimited alcohol package is written in English that anyone in cabin over 21 will be charged. This is a businesses they are out to make money to keep ship moving.

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