Superb weather-lovely ports of call-vessel and standard of service average to poor.

Norwegian Star Cruise Review to Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

Sheepshank

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 46

Overall rating:

3.1 out of 5

7 Night Greek Isles (Venice Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 06, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Star

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9608

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

My, and the other members of our party, impression was, either this ship was understaffed or it was a training vessel for new crews. It certainly did not measure up to standard of service enjoyed on several previous NCL ships both smaller and much larger than the Star.

Embarkation

1 out of 5

Mobility issues not properly addressed, long wait in a chaotic queue and only provided after fellow travellers sought out NCL staff.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Only one of the two main restaurants, the Versailles ,was worthy of more than two stars. Of the Speciality venues, Cagneys was five stars for food and service. La Cucina rather less three + for food, less for service. Le Bistro,previously our favourite on other NCL vessels, was very disappointing in terms of service, average on food.

Versailles Main Dining Room

4 out of 5

Certainly the better of the two main dining rooms in all aspects.

Cagney's Steakhouse

5 out of 5

Best of the lot, food and service.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

Nothing appealed.

Children's Programs

We were adults.

Service and Staff

2 out of 5

With the exception of, perhaps four or five with whom we had most contact, the standard was well below that which we have enjoyed in a past cruises, at times the impression we formulated was of indifference bordering on arrogance.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cleanliness was of the highest order and those members of staff are to be congratulated, however, our party were not as impressed with the layout.Few of the bar areas or lounges provided the opportunity to have conversations without having to shout. Music levels seemed to be based on volume rather than quality. Of course, we in our later years of life are, perhaps, less tolerant of incessant noise.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Reasonably comfortable though quite small, the balcony was in use a lot fortunately the weather was excellent, otherwise we would have felt cramped. Our Steward was very attentive perhaps due to the initial financial inducement on day one. Hence the cleanliness was always maintained.

Ship tip

Be prepared for Noise/ music/tannoy almost everywhere especially in Five O’clock Somewhere bar and Gatsbys.!!

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Venice, Italy

4 out of 5

Beware the crowded water taxis.

Thumbs Up 0

Kotor, Montenegro Did not visit port

Mobile issues kept me from transiting on the tenders.. my choice.

Thumbs Up 0

Corfu, Greece Did not visit port

As above.

Thumbs Up 0

Argostoli, Kefalonia, Greece

4 out of 5

Enhanced due to friends being resident on the Island.

Thumbs Up 0

Santorini, Greece Did not visit port

Had been there before, was happy to enjoy the sunshine and avoid the crowds.

Thumbs Up 0

Dubrovnik, Croatia Did not visit port

Preferred to relax on a much quieter vessel.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

Routine, by this time I had resigned myself to depending on my fellow travellers rather than expect assistance from what appeared to be an indifferent crew.

Traveler Photos

2 Comments

GerryBCruisin 3 years ago

Thanks for taking the time to share your review of the Norwegian Star and wonderful picture. Sorry you had issues on your cruise.

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lol1964 5 years ago

It’s funny because we did the same cruise three weeks earlier and we thought everything was fantastic the speciality restaurants were some of the best we’ve ever had on any cruise line just goes to show you how things can change from one week to another and a people not should necessarily generally ignore most of what we all have to say I just go with your gut

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Other reviews of this sailing

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