Cruise on Norwegian Star 17th to 24th September 2017 (Venice: Kotor in Motenegro: Corfu: Santorini: Mykonos: Dubrovnik: Venice - Travelling with Two friends on their first cruise
Norwegian Star Cruise Review to Europe - Eastern Mediterranean
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 53
7 Night Greek Isles (Venice Roundtrip)
Sail date: September 17, 2017
Ship: Norwegian Star
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 8506
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
Wonderful cruise with friends with Kotor and Mykonos being highlights. We had a special offer with drinks package included otherwise drinks are expensive (e.g. $10.75 plus 18% for cocktails). The separate drinks package is now $108 per person per day with all cabin occupants having to payEmbarkation
The taxi from our hotel in nearby Favaro took us within the secure area (on production of our e-tickets) so the drop off of our suitcases was a very short distance away. Full marks to Lorena at Venezia Service Night and Day - www.venicecarboatservice.it - €40 for four in a taxi from Favaro to the Cruise Terminal on a Sunday.
We arrived about an hour and a half before the stated opening of check in but only waited about 10 minutes before we could go to the desks. There were lots of desks at the Venice cruise terminal so waiting was kept to a minimum. We were allowed onto the ship much earlier than we had experienced on other cruises but once on board we were told we could not go to our cabin immediately as they were still not ready. We preferred this option to waiting onshore until our cabin was ready which happened with other cruises as we were able to explore the ship , find our feet and have some lunch.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We took breakfast and lunch in the self service restaurant on Deck 12. There was plenty of choice of tasty food and it was always easy to find a seat for the four of us. The self service coffee was adequate and included in the cruise price. Other bars served speciality coffees (cappuccino, latte etc) but were chargeable and carried the $18 service charge making them about $3.50 each. The Ultimate Beverage Package does not include specialist coffees. Desserts in the self service restaurant consisted of a selection of cakes but main meals included Asian food such as sushi and curries.
Breakfast offered fresh fruit, cereals, porridge and a variety of hot food making up what you could call a full English breakfast and more. Omelettes were cooked to order with a choice of fillings you selected.
In the middle of the two sides of the self service restaurant was a bar serving cocktails and a choice of wines and beer at lunchtimes and evenings.
There were two restaurants for freestyle dining i.e. no fixed times and no reservations allowed. Despite this we never had to wait for a table and when we saw others who could not be seated immediately, they were given a voucher for a glass of champagne for one of the bars whilst waiting.
We only tried the Aqua restaurant once and although it served the same menu as the Versailles restaurant, we didn't like the ambiance as much. For those who prefer, it does allow men to wear shorts for evening dining whereas the Versailles does not. Even in the Versailles restaurant, the only requirement is smart casual i.e. long trousers and a shirt. No jacket or tie is required. Women may wear smart jeans as long as there are no holes in them.
The Versailles restaurant is a luxuriously decorated large room with a self playing but discrete piano. Service was attentive with pleasant waiters and waitresses. Drinks, once ordered were brought to the table with little delay. The choices were starter, main course and dessert (curiously named "appetizer" and "Entrée" for the first two. There was a wide choice of food including vegetarian options. The food presentation was excellent and we were not rushed away from our table when we had finished.
We didn't try the specialised payable restaurants so cannot comment on them.
Onboard Activities
The pool on deck 12 was not big but was of a sufficient size for a cooling dip. There were also two water slides for children and adults alike which were great fun. Near the pool was a bar with efficient service meaning no long waits to be served. It was also possible to get a salad or burger or hot dog at meal times.
As we have found on any cruise, you need to be there early to get a sun bed by the pool but away from the pool it was possible to find some later on. However they were towards the bow and when sailing, it was quite breezy.
The gym was well equipped although not very well frequented. This means it was easy to find a free rowing machine, stepping machine, treadmill or exercise bike. Except for the rowing machine, the exercise equipment had screens to watch TV or follow pre-recorded routes linked to the speed you were exercising at. A full set of gym equipment for muscle workouts was available.
Entertainment
The theatre was quite big and there were two excellent shows each night. The dancers, singers and performers were all impressive. I'm not sure I agreed with people being able to bring drinks into the theatre although I didn't actually see any spills, it was bound to happen sooner or later.
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Category OA The cabin is well towards the bow and involves a longish walk to the atrium and first of the bars. We liked it as a bit of exercise but our companions found it a long way.
The cabin is well appointed for an Ocean View with two separate desks - a nice touch as we could have one each for our bits and pieces. The one US electrical socket and the one UK socket were on the desk with a large wall mirror. Each desk area had three drawers. As we live in France, I had taken a small extension with three French sockets and plug. I also took a French to UK adaptor in case it was a UK socket so all options were covered. Wardrobe space was sufficient with good hanging space and an easy to set safe with your own code.
The bed was of good size and comfortable with 4 pillows with a wide window behind the bed head. One side of the bed could take a suit case underneath but the other side had a spare put-up bed. There was still space in the cabin to set another suitcase upright without hindering movement in the cabin.
Entering the bathroom offered a basin with shelves and mirror with magnifying insert. The surface into which the basin sat had a rail for holding hand towels. The bath towels were quite big compared to some offered with other ships. Hooks on the back of the bathroom door were useful for hanging towels once used. To the right was a fairly spacious rectangular shaped shower (with room to step back from the water flow) with adjustable head on a vertical rail. To the left was a toilet with a door separating it from the rest of the bathroom area. One criticism here in this cabin however was that the vacuum flush of the toilet was erratic - first it worked OK then it worked, with a delayed action after pressing the button then it wouldn't work at all. When reported, the flush was corrected quickly but it did happen twice more in the week we were onboard suggesting only a temporary fix had been made. This is not a cabin feature which is unimportant on a cruise.
Ship tip
We found the Norwegian organised tours very expensive so did not take one. Usually there are a number of independent options once on shore Tender allocations are by ticket but go early before the advertised time to collect your tender ticket as they start allocating before the noted time
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Ports of call
We arrived in Venice two days before sailing and stayed in a hotel in Favaro. Here the hotel Altieri was a third or less of the price of a similar hotel in central Venice and was 200m from the tram tracks which arrives directly in Piazzale Roma on the Venice island after a 30 minute ride in modern clean carriages. The day passes (€20 for 24 hours, €30 for 48 hours) which can be purchased by cash or credit card from a machine at the Tram stop) are valid for the tram, buses and vaporetti. The trams run from about 6.00 a.m. until 1.00 a.m. so it is still possible to take full advantage of central Venice, and return to the hotel late into the evening.
Kotor old Town is a short walk from the cruise ship which docks in port. There were plenty of taxi drivers touting for business to take people on tours around Kotor. We resisted until asked by one driver to give him one minute to explain what he could offer. We did and we are glad we did. he goes under the name of Tours by Nef (http://tourbynef.com/). He was excellent and gave us an interesting tour to high viewing points over Budva and Kotor with free time in Budva ending with free time in Kotor. It cost us €25 each based on a taxi with four of us which was a bargain. He spoke good English, was amusing and full of interesting stories about his country. Kotor itself was an beautiful old town but I doubt there would have been enough there for a full afternoon without a wider ranging excursion. That said the countryside was beautiful and might be worth a return visit to explore more. Nef said he could help with such a visit
Our first visit to Corfu which is obviously well known to many. We just strolled through the streets with a number of jewellery shops. One of our party was determined to eat a Greek salad overlooking the sea and we found an ideal place by walking along the front passing under the arch at one end of the esplanade.
The castle may have been interesting but we were happy to return to the ship so did not visit.
Our first visit to Corfu which is obviously well known to many. We just strolled through the streets with a number of jewellery shops. One of our party was determined to eat a Greek salad overlooking the sea and we found an ideal place by walking along the front passing under the arch at one end of the esplanade.
The castle may have been interesting but we were happy to return to the ship so did not visit.
Along with Kotor, this proved to be highlight of the cruise port visits. It was our first time although many readers of this will be experienced travellers to this beautiful island. A free shuttle service took us from the cruise port to a big car/coach park. A walk of about 400 to 500 metres took us along the front from the car/bus park to the main commercial front of Mykonos. Despite the fact that there were many tourists in town, the place did not seem overly crowded. Besides the famous line of windmills which are around the corner from the front between the car park and the town, there were lots of narrow and not so narrow streets to explore. There were shops of every kind and the streets were spotlessly clean. We ate a freshly prepared lunch in a narrow street paying €30 per couple for a mezze salad with drinks. This selection of finger foods was served by two very personable ladies at an outside table (cats adorned the seats inside giving a very relaxed and lazy atmosphere - just what we wanted)
We wandered again through the narrow streets calling in a couple of shops to buy souvenirs and finding out that offering to pay cash lowered the price slightly!
The ship offered a paid for shuttle transfer by bus from the cruise port to the old town at a cost of $15.00 return so $60.00 for the four of us. We paid this but immediately regretted it when we left the ship as there were a line of taxis offering a ride to the old town for €13. Sharing a taxi each way with two friends would half the cost and avoid having to wait for a coach to fill.
We had visited Dubrovnik before but it was more crowded than ever. The organised cruise tours identified by a guide raising an umbrella formed crowds down the main street making progress difficult. We moved down a side street to a parallel and found it busy but less crowded. It must be interesting to walk the city walls but some areas of the walls are very steep, it costs €20 and there were queues to get onto the walls. It must be popular however as this year (2017) they have raised the cost by 50% compared to 2016.
The harbour area is very pretty with bars and boat tours on offer. We would have liked to have to have taken a boat tour but we just didn't have the time to do so before we were due back on board.
Our previous visit to Dubrovnik made us realise how crowded the line for the return coaches were before the last shuttle back to the ship. We decided to leave the old town 1½ hours before the sailing time. This time, the queues were even longer. The queues being so long meant that people from both Norwegian and Costa Cruises went to the back of the queue and joined the same line adding to the chaos. Although we didn't expect the ship to sail on time leaving so many passengers behind , to avoid standing for a long time in the queue, we took the decision to take a taxi back even though we had paid for a return shuttle Despite a short wait for a taxi as we felt others were concerned and had also decide to return by taxi. We managed to find one for €15 for the four of us. This was another reason for to take a taxi both ways even if there are just two of you as we felt more in control.
To put things into perspective, the traffic meant that the trip from the cruise port to the old town took half an hour we were told that three shuttle buses were in operation for Norwegian. I would estimate that it would have taken at least ten full coaches to transport the queue in front of us as we saw it. This does not take into account the people whom continued to arrive and join the back of the queue.
In the end, the ship sailed on time with, presumably all passengers on board but it must have been a close run thing!
Disembarkation
We had previously (i.e. one or two days before disembarking) been asked to collect luggage labels where the colour allowed passengers to choose their time of disembarkation. Naturally the early disembarkation colours were reserved for Norwegian passengers who had flights and/or hotels booked as a package with the cruise. We chose a later disembarkation time as we could not get into our hotel until 2.00 p.m. so there was no rush. This allowed us to take a leisurely breakfast whilst waiting for our time after leaving our cabins by the latest time allowed of 8.00 a.m.
Although our luggage labels determined the time of disembarkation, these were only attached to our main cases which were left outside and not our hand luggage. This meant there was no control possible by the crew if passengers left the ship before their allotted time. That said, there was a request not to leave early than the time allocated as there was no guarantee that the suitcases would be ready in the collection hall.
Once off the ship, the suitcases were in a large crowded hall sorted by luggage label colour. Because of the huge number of suitcases, we would recommend some sort of identifying feature on the cases to make finding them easier. We had straps with our names on and it helped a lot.
The area beyond passport control was a mass of people but we think this was due to the heavy rain falling which encouraged people to stay in the building rather than ease the pressure on space by going outside. There were a number of taxi drivers touting for business and we chose one having first agreed the fare to Favaro.
As we left the cruise terminal grounds we realised that our cruise was well and truly over. At least we had a final chance to visit Venice before due to our overnight stay before flying home the next day