Bucket List trip ruined by change in itinerary

Item: Norwegian Star
Rating: 3.4
Author: DisappointedNCL

Norwegian Star Cruise Review to Other (Asia/Africa/Middle East)

DisappointedNCL

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 4

Overall rating:

3.4 out of 5

Sail date: February 04, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Star

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 11118

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 9 months ago

Review summary

The change in itinerary changed the atmosphere of the cruise. What could have been an outstanding cruise is now overshadowed by the loss of the day in Antarctica. Obviously still disappointed with the way NCL handled this. Not likely to cruise NCL again.

Embarkation

2 out of 5

1.5 to 2 hours of standing in make shift terminal.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Warm Caesar salads, hocky puck English muffins and baked potatoes that your couldn't cut.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Mostly all sales for jewelry, bingo, etc. Did enjoy the talks by Christiana on Antartica. They were the saving grace of this cruise.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

The large productions were few and far between.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Staff other than management were great

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

Rust leaching noted in numerous places.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Ship tip

I am a gold member. I have always enjoyed Norwegian cruises but after this one, I do not trust the company to actually go where they say they will go. We did not receive any information on why the itinerary change went from two days in Antartica to 12 hours, 6 of which we could actually see land. This was a once in a lifetime trip that was not cheap. We had already been to Puerto Madryn, Montevideo, Ushuaia, and Punta Arenas on a previous cruise. Our goal was the two days in Antartica. We have not received anything in response to our complaint lodged and that was two weeks ago. Not likely to go on any NCL cruise in the future.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Buenos Aires, Argentina

4 out of 5

Montevideo, Uruguay

4 out of 5

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

2 out of 5

Punta Arenas, Chile

3 out of 5

Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina

3 out of 5

NCL tours made it impossible to see Ushuaia by placing them later in the day. Most tours got back after the time stated by the ship.

Thumbs Up 0

Elephant Island, South Shetland Islands

5 out of 5

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

4 out of 5

Reasonably smooth but we had a tour booked.

Traveler Photos

12 Comments

Whizzard 9 months ago

The itinerary change was an administrative decision made before the NCL Star set sail. They decided to not inform passengers until AFTER the NCL Star set sail. There was never an official explanation. There are some rumors and some ideas as to why. The weather was idyllic and was not a factor. One idea is as a money saving effort. By cutting down on the distance covered they could travel at slower speeds. The ship never exceeded 20.8 knots. Slower speeds yield fuel savings and I understand fuel is 25% of the cruise’s operating costs. The scuttlebut is the idea that a large contingent of Argentine nationals were deprived of visiting the Faulkland Islands the cruise prior and became belligerent to the point where the captain and crew felt threatened. It’s important to understand that Argentinians have no way to visit the “Malvinas” as they like to call the Faulklands, except on a cruise ship where the ship collect all the passports and passengers get off at Stanley under the authority of the cruise line with a ship card for ID. The rumor is about 150 of them refused to leave the ship and were allowed to remain onboard for OUR cruise. This would explain the extension of our Stanley port of call to almost 13 hours. As a bonus, NCL operated the ship much slower than if we had pursued the original itinerary and got to save fuel.

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DessertSteaks 9 months ago

I was notified by NCL of itinerary change on this cruise via email weeks in advance and had a print out in my cabin since checkin. Not sure why so many people were shocked mid cruise.

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bubbles60 9 months ago

We have had itinerary changes on European and carribbean cruises. The changes have had to do, weather, local unrest, local regulations not allowing ships and pier not completed. Sometimes, we knew in advance sometimes the day before. Sometimes, we were compensated some times we were not. Sorry you were not pleased. Looks like an interesting itinerary. i hope you did have fun despite the changes.

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karlgrgurich 9 months ago

Well. Hope your next cruise is better

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byhisgrace 9 months ago

Very sorry that you were disappointed with the cruise. I agree NCL could have done better by the passengers.

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cruising2004 9 months ago

Sorry you were disappointed with your cruise.

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javawoody 9 months ago

Sorry your bucket list cruise was a disaster

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Skooby 9 months ago

It's unfortunate. Thanks for sharing.

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cortneyb 9 months ago

I read and saw the news reports on this story. it was scum of ncl to pull this. however, the rust? it's going to happen with metal, iron, salt air and salt water. you can paint it over and over and it's going to rust up the next day

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Kiwi247 9 months ago

It's heart breaking when a truly once in a life time cruise doesn't deliver. I'm sorry things didn't work out.

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Gwbigdog 9 months ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise

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HeavySeas 9 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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