Worst vacation ever

Item: Norwegian Star
Rating: 3.8
Author: lekwiatkowski

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

lekwiatkowski

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 28

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5

Verified Review

14 Night Antarctica & South America (Buenos Aires Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 04, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Star

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 5633

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 9 months ago

Review summary

Very disappointed! To the point of exploring looking into a class action suit. I’ve never been so upset to have something I’ve look forward to and paid dearly for. Pulled out from underneath us. I’m not sure how you rated my response as a 3.8 stars out of 5? I m thinking more of 2 stars

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Did not make embarkation. Flight was delayed and missed connecting flight had to catch up next day and first port of call

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Ok.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Did very little activities

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Magician was great rest of entertainment was just ok at best.

Children's Programs

No children

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Service was amazing

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

For a 20 year old ship it’s in great condition

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

For an inside room it was pretty good

Ship tip

Watch added cost and them not fulfilling their intinarary

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Buenos Aires, Argentina

3 out of 5

Did city excursion on last day. Wasn’t to impressed. Taken to restaurant that was so crowded ( from other tours being there at same time) that you couldn’t hardly look at what was being offered

Thumbs Up 0

Montevideo, Uruguay

3 out of 5

Wasn’t to impressed with this port port was quite a way from any sights

Thumbs Up 0

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

3 out of 5

No excursion,but did walk about nothing great

Thumbs Up 0

Punta Arenas, Chile

4 out of 5

Wasn’t. To bad of a port to visit. Shopping and some sights close by.

Thumbs Up 0

Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina

4 out of 5

We booked an excursion. And much to my disappointment the excursion took almost all the time we were at this port. Bad planning on Norwegian and myself

Thumbs Up 0

Cruise Paradise Harbor, Antarctica

1 out of 5

My dream was crushed by not cruising to Paradise Harbor

Thumbs Up 0

Elephant Island, South Shetland Islands

4 out of 5

Awesome wildlife and scenery

Thumbs Up 0

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

5 out of 5

Took local excursion, which was great! Nice town! everything within walking distance around the town

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

4 out of 5

It went smoothly

13 Comments

drboiler 8 months ago

I have no information about why they changed the itinerary...but i assure you it was not something that anybody at NCL wanted to happen. NCL wants happy customers. The Captain being tight lipped says alot without him saying anything. On a seperate issue less than 30 days from this snafu, the NCL Dawn in Africa had some passengers with a stomach flu and some were quarantined. The country of Muaritius out of an abundance of caution halted the debarking for 2 days while they tested some of the sick passengers and got the results. worst case was this would be Cholera which is very deadly and highly transmitable. NCL was cleared to debark and embark the new passengers and provided vouchers for airfare and hotel extra costs including some Future Cruise Credits. This was not hidden and in the end i hope that all were happy with NCL doing everything in its power to make up the financial losses to those affected. Join me in 2025 and lets go back to Antartica on the Star and cruise Paradise Bay!

Thumbs Up 0

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HelMid2024 8 months ago

I was on the same sailing and know for a fact that the change was not in any way weather related, as you know we had ideal perfect weather the entire time. I am the person who made the TikTok and appeared on Good Morning America and am part of a group of hundreds of passengers all connected and still fighting for compensation for our crushed dreams

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drboiler 9 months ago

I was on the January 7th to 21st 2024to Antartica Cruise on the Star. The ship for its size and age was in great condition and the entertainment was 4.5 out of 5. Paradise Bay was the coolest place on the Earth I ever visited and thats not related to the temperature. I understand your frustration that there was a change made for some reason. My rule #1 is never ever over pay...I know your gonna not like what I am about to tell you but you need to know. I booked on Nov. 22, 2023 for $960 inside cabin (1 person) (single) (no extra charge) we call that single supplement 0%. It was a black friday special to fill the ship. I heard about the lady who paid $14,000 for the same 14 day adventure. I did not get to dream for a year in advance and there was No Guarantee that a cabin would be available, but there were. If things go wrong at that price I won't be too upset, and based upon my averages over 30 cruises I see 50% have some change due to Passenger, Mechanical, Weather or Social Issues Now like Wars. I hope you will join me in 2025 cause I will be going back that is how much I enjoyed seeing and feeling Antartica. I hope you realize that you did go below the 60th parallel and that is Antartica Territory. We missed Punta Arenas, Chile due to windy weather as it was a Tender Port. We did make the Tender port of Faulkland Islands.

Thumbs Up 2

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javawoody 9 months ago

Class action lawsuits?

Thumbs Up 0

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byhisgrace 9 months ago

Yikes 😳 sorry

Thumbs Up 0

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Gwbigdog 9 months ago

Oops sorry 😞 thanks

Thumbs Up 0

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Skooby 9 months ago

@courtnyb.... thanks for the news update. I still wonder why they cancelled that port. It could have been a legitimate reason. If not, it sounds like they owe the passengers something.

Thumbs Up 0

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cortneyb 9 months ago

missing that port was not weather related. this story made news. ncl sold it as an Antarctica cruise, on embarkation day the passengers were told they weren't going. ncl made this decision a few days prior, so the line KNEW, but never told the guests. this cruise was a once in a lifetime type cruise and passengers paid big $$$$. check out the news story about it. ncl did big time wrong

Thumbs Up 1

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Dumfy75 9 months ago

If your class action suit is due to a change in itinerary I think you’ll find they have that covered in your cruise contract, so I know you’re disappointed and I can understand why, but I honestly wouldn’t waste the energy.

Thumbs Up 2

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AaronP81 9 months ago

How would you file a class action over flight issues?. You know that stuff can happen with flying. That has nothing to do with them. Sounds like your issue is with the airline. That set your disgruntled mood the rest of trip.

Thumbs Up 1

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MargieRita 9 months ago

Rating was generated off stars you gave for each category. If you wanted a two star rating, should have rated lower. Sorry your cruise wasn’t up to your satisfaction. One suggestion, if I may, research previous cruiser’s reviews of ports and excursions before choosing your next cruise and activities. May give insight on what to expect.

Thumbs Up 1

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HeavySeas 9 months ago

Thanks for sharing

Thumbs Up 0

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Skooby 9 months ago

Thanks for your review. How come the paradise island stop was cancelled? Weather related? Also, you probably know by now it's better to arrive on your cruise a day before to alleviate missed flights.

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Other reviews of this sailing

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Very enjoyable and relaxing but disappointed on itinerary change due to weather.