I Question if We'll Ever Cruise with NCL Again
Norwegian Star Cruise Review to Transatlantic
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 54
15 Night Transatlantic Westbound (Rome To Miami)
Sail date: November 05, 2017
Ship: Norwegian Star
Cabin type: Inside
Cabin number: 4583
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
This was my third Transatlantic cruise - and it would've been great like the other two - if we, along with hundreds of other passengers didn't get sick due to Norwegian's neglect and lack of planning regarding the embarkation process. That destroyed the last week of the cruise for us.Embarkation
Horrible. After getting off the train from Rome, a bus took us to a holding pen when it started to rain - cold November rain. There was no cover and we stood in the rain, thunder and lightning for an hour before the buses - which were only 100 yards away - started taking us to where we checked in. Hundreds of people - mostly seniors - were drenched, wet and cold. We had umbrellas - but the rain was so bad, even driving sideways with the wind, we were still soaked to the skin. Even clothes inside our bags were wet. After a couple days people started getting sick. There was coughing and sneezing going on everywhere. Lines of people coming out of the infirmary office whenever it was open. After 9 days my husband and I got sick and spent the last week mostly in our tiny cabin - coughing and sick with fever. We didn't see shows, go to restaurants - nothing - because we were too sick. I insisted my husband see a doctor and shouldn't have to pay the $149 for a doctor visit because if it wasn't for NCL's embarkation process we wouldn't be sick. NCL's attitude was callous and uncaring. "We can't control the weather," they said. True - but they could've got the buses rolling (less than 100 feet away) so we didn't have to stand there so long. They could have provided a place to stand with a tarp overhead. My husband was so weak the day we left I had to order wheelchairs to get him through the airports. This is a healthy retiree who substitute teaches 4-5 days a week and walks 2-3 miles a day on the treadmill at the gym. (Husband went to see the doctor after 12 hours home and is still coughing, taking antibiotics for Bronchitis.)
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Typical fare. We ate a lot of buffet food that gets "recycled" from one dish into another. Some of it very tasty, some of it hard to look at. Almost no variety at breakfast time. The Versailles dining room has that old, tired-out European look. The Aqua is bright, modern and elegant - I liked it better than the Versailles. The food at both is convalescent center bland. Even the curries were bland. Though it's a nicer dining experience in the restaurants, the food in the Market Cafe has a little more soul and creativity. We had dinner at Cagney's steak house one evening. My lamb chops were good - but I almost needed glasses to see them they were so tiny. We aren't big drinkers so we didn't order the $80 per day drink package. But we ordered a bon voyage cocktail of coffee and Baileys - because it was a cold evening. $13 and served in a paper cup. $7 for a Bud Light and not even poured into the glass for him at the bar.
Onboard Activities
A lot of stupid, little crafting classes like "Knitters and Stitchers" or "Origami." Very overcrowded room for 7:00 am stretching class. Most gyms at sea have stunning ocean views - this one did not. Many, many classes are for the purpose of selling something like - How to Buy Art, How to Look Younger (for the spa) or - Ancient Chinese Medicine - for the acupuncturist.
Entertainment
Many of the same shows we saw 2.5-years ago on another NCL cruise like "Burt Bacharach" and "Band on the Run." Dan Bennett - the juggling comedian was new, fresh and very funny. We missed some of the shows because we were sick due to NCL's neglect and holed up in our tiny cabin. The Cruise Director Tom Hopkins, ebullient energy and sense of humor saved a lot of very amateurish shows - like the dance competition, karaoke competition, talent show, etc.
Children's Programs
We did not have children with us.
Service and Staff
Guest services staff was often inflexible and insensitive when answering questions and concerns. Their answers were designed by lawyers to keep them out of a lawsuit - which still might happen. Everything was about how they could squeeze a few more dollars out of each person, no matter what. Our cabin steward kept our teensy stateroom clean - but her English was so poor (she was Chinese) it was mostly impossible to communicate. Usually its pretty easy finding a household cabin person to ask a question - not so on this cruise.
Ship Quality
This is an old ship - built in 1992. Some areas really need refurbishing - like the crappy, outdated tile in the Market Cafe. I liked that the ship has a library - and nice outdoor walkways on both decks 7 and 13.
Cabin / Stateroom
Tiniest cabin we've ever stayed in. My husband had to crawl across the bed to get in and out. We had a vinyl kitchen chair and a stool. Not a nice chair to sit and read. The bathroom was large for a cabin. There was enough storage room for our clothes (we flew carry-on, so probably had less than most people).
Ship tip
Be sure to bring your own drugs, vitamins, cough syrup, whatever if you might possibly get sick. We brought vitamins as I usually take at home, cough drops, essential oils, pepto-bismol and sea-bands for possible sea sickness. (They charge $300 for the little patch that goes behind your ear.)
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
We didn't see much of it. Took a train in from Rome. This is where the cruise disembarked from. Spent a horrible, wet, cold hour standing in a holding pen in rain, thunder and lightning with hundreds of other passengers waiting to board. Many, many people got sick as a result - including us.
It was a bucket list thing for me to visit Aix on Provence and I did an excursion, taking a bus there. I'm glad I went. Unfortunately on the bus ride there - the buildings are covered with ugly grafitti. Also, the traffic was bumper to bumper on much of the 21 mile ride there. Would've loved to have seen the lavender fields - but that only happens in July. We had a crisp, overcast November day. Aix was delightful, charming and very upscale. I peeled off away from the tour group to shop and enjoy rather than look at more old mansions. Because we visited on a Tuesday there was a great Farmer's Market - I enjoyed raspberries and nibbled a cookie as I walked around. There also were a lot of stalls with fabric, clothing leather goods, etc. I wanted to see (and possibly buy) some of the French provincial pottery - but only one booth at the market had any of it. I met back up with the group and got back on the bus before we left - which was just right for me.
We've visited Barcelona once before and I was excited to go again. However, protesters in the Catalunya movement were blocking the buses exit from the port - so we didn't get off the bus until 1:00 pm. We only spent a couple hours meandering on Las Ramblas - which was fun. Wish we had the entire day - I feel bad for people who paid for expensive excursions and were blocked.
We visited Funchal once before on a gray, damp day and it wasn't much fun. The day we spent in Funchal this time was perfect, sunny and breezy. We ordered the Hop-on, Hop-off bus through Orbitz - which was less than half the price of the same thing offered through NCL. Wonderful 90-minute drive around the island up to some of the highest elevations and through the cute towns and down to the beaches. Headsets are provided so you can listen to explanations of the island, it's history, etc. Gee, I wonder why NCL charges double for the same thing?
We pulled into Miami about 12-hours early due to a medical emergency of one of the passengers. So, the captain sped across the Caribbean all day Sunday to get him off the ship and to a US hospital rather than pull into port Monday morning. As a result 2,300 passengers were inconvenienced (though we couldn't get off the ship due to immigration). Hey, isn't there a helipad on top of the ship to MediVac people with urgent medical needs? Why yes, there is. Why didn't they use it? I s'pose you have to ask NCL's finance department for that answer.
Disembarkation
They must've gotten a little bogged down in Customs because they were slow to call our group number to leave the ship. Very slow getting through. We retrieved our bags and went through Customs which was easy and fast. We paid $16 each for a bus (through NCL) to take us to the airport - about a 20 minute drive. The driver Jim was excellent, loaded our bags, and gave us a mini-tour on the way. Thanks, Jim!
3 Comments
marnewm2 7 years ago
This past year I spent 4 weeks on the Star twice. I have found the staff to ALWAYS be helpful and very polite. You keep referring to your “tiny “ cabin. Maybe if you cared so much about the size of the cabin- you would have paid a little extra for a larger one. As far as the doctor/hospital charge- if you are on Medicare and have parts A and B- you can submit a claim to Medicare. In the dining rooms- if your food comes to the table cold- you have the choice to eat it or send it back and tell them it was cold. The shows- if you had gone to some of the talks with the production staff- you would have found out that it costs them a lot of money for the costumes and such. So they try to get the most for their money. Usually the life span of some of the shows are 3-5 years. I have seen some of the shows many times, but still enjoy them. Early this year I also had the lamb chops at Cagney’s and could not finish them because of their large size.
Also- the Star was refurbished just a few years ago.
A cruise is what you make it. I was on the Star when it broke down and we couldn’t get to most of the ports. Life happens. You either roll with it or you choose another way to vacation.
I choose to look at things with the glass half full, instead of it being half empty!
willwork4cruz 7 years ago
Sorry to hear of your husband's acute bronchitis; hope he is feeling better. But for the record, it was not caused by being exposed to bad weather, it is caused by a virus. Also you may want to refrain from calling other's crafts/art classes "A lot of stupid, little crafting classes" or people might think you are a judgemental jerk.