Awesome But Not Perfect

Smooth and quick.

Comment on Freestyle Dining: While the flexibility of dining anytime, anywhere you like is appealing in some ways, we really miss the relationship you build by having the same servers each night. It improves the service and the fun! We had reservations each night and hoped for the same table/servers, but were seated at a different table with different staff each time. We were told we had to take "next available". Main dining room - Versailles - Food was tasty and well-plated. Service was slow, long wait between courses. Servers were not friendly and engaging - all business. Except for one friendly server from another table who noticed our son eyeing his sister's shrimp dish and insisted on bringing him a specially-made dish of shrimp and mushrooms. That's the service we expected here, but got only once! Main dining room - Aqua - Our mistake was not choosing this dining room sooner in the cruise. The one time we went we had an excellent, friendly, fun, outgoing server and the same good food served in the Versailles room. All the specialty restaurants we went to were excellent - Cagney and Le Bistro were top for food. Moderno Brazilian Steakhouse was good. Meat service was excellent, but we had to ask twice to have our anniversary champagne brought to our table, and they brought the side dishes after we had already filled up on many rounds of meat. Market Cafe Buffet - Typical cruise buffet with lots and lots of choices and different themes each day. Lots of seating indoors. Missing the small details like extra toppings for the soft-serve ice cream. Disappointed that there was no "Grand Buffet" event with the ice sculptures, chocolate fountain, fruit carved into animals, etc. I thought that was a standard on cruises. Bars - Drinks were good. Be aware you can't get every drink or wine at every bar - they seem to have their specialties. Overall, bartenders and beverage servers seemed overworked and understaffed. They tried to be as efficient and friendly as possible. Most times it was faster to get up and go to bar to get our own drinks.

Morning cardio-dance class on Sea Days was fun, but enthusiasm of the staff leader was variable (kinda thought whoever drew the short straw had to go and teach it!). Sexy legs (men) contest was funny and entertaining! Bingo was fun and entertaining because of the staff interaction and jokes. My son wanted to hit some golf balls and also show me how to swing a golf club. Disappointed that there was only one woman's club and two left handers available, plus only six balls. Really??!! This equipment is NOT expensive and should not be hard to keep available for a better experience. Pool area looked fun for kids, but wasn't our thing. Wish there was room for a "quiet pool" area that wan't in the spa (fee required).

There was lots of typical "cruise" entertainment which I would rate as "okay", but the Star Showband was the entertainment highlight, without at doubt! A small jazz band comprised of six outstanding musicians was the best entertainment of the cruise! We enjoyed them at every venue they played - almost every night (when they weren't playing at one of the theater productions).

First the good: Our room steward was excellent - our room was always made up promptly and thoroughly, and he fulfilled any special requests quickly. However, our daughter's friend was supposed to have a birthday package (ordered by another friend prior to departure) delivered as a surprise at the beginning of the cruise, and they had to ask for it several times, and finally their room was decorated one day before the end of the cruise. There were definitely a few shining stars throughout the cruise, but overall I have to say that this staff and crew did not seem happy. For the most part, they provided the service expected but did not go above and beyond to provide extra service or engage the passengers in an outgoing manner, as we have experienced in the past. Guest Services staff never seemed to know the information to answer our (simple) questions.

The Star is an older ship, and from what I hear, it is due for an update. Considering that, it was clean and attractive overall. With a few exceptions, the carpet, walls, furniture, and fixtures all looked nice and not worn. Theater seats were very uncomfortable, they are definitely worn out and need to be replaced. There was lots of seating around the pool for eating and playing table games. I liked that several levels of lounge chairs rose above and away from the pool, so there was lots of lounge area for those who wanted to lounge in the sun but didn't want to be right by the pool, but could still be within the pool area. We loved the tables up top by the Bier Garten bar, outdoors, far enough away from the pool noise, and were extra lucky if our favorite bar server Marisol showed up! We would have like more/larger outdoor bar areas away from the pool.

Cabin was very clean and well-serviced by our steward. It was pretty roomy and there was adequate storage for clothes (but bring extra coat hangers). It is an older ship, so there was limited electrical/charging plugs available (bring charging units). There were adequate mirrors, and the blow dryer was actually quite good! Bed was very comfortable with just the right about of blankets. Sheets white and crisp, towels white and fluffy (I'm picky about this). We always love a balcony cabin, and highly recommend it if it's in or near your budget!

Smooth and easy.