Norwegian Star Cruise Reviews - Reviews

hello again

at first: world class itineraries. very remote locations, we europeans would not see in 14 days....

besides the perfect crew, the captain,, mathias anderson, was the best lecture you can imagine...

his knowledge about scandinaviens and vikings is exceptional.

This was so enjoyable for a lot of reasons.

first the weather was perfect.

second we didn't even know we were on a ship as the waters were so calm

third As always the people were great, helpful and friendly on the tours and ship

Our Baltic cruise was perfect!  The weather was unusually warm and sunny the entire 9 days. Our 2 days is St. Petersburg were our favorites because we got to spend the most time there, although a 3rd day would have been even better.  We didn't have enough time to truly explore Helsinki or Stockholm but thoroughly enjoyed our time there.  The food on the ship was, of course, outstanding with plenty of variety.  We love being able to eat any time we want without having to dress up. The staff were all extremely friendly and helpful, the stateroom small but ample and cleaned every day. (I wish I could bring Lobo home with me!)  I definitely recommend this tour.  We took local transportation most of the places without any difficulty with the exception of St. Petersburg, where we used a local travel agency instead of the more expensive cruise lines' tour.  We thoroughly enjoy interacting with the locals, who usually speak excellent English and are very helpful.  I was in a wheelchair and was able to travel with ease.

This cruise provided the right amount of time and excursions to see this amazing part of the world.     Aside from a temp shift at the last minutes, it was all I expected.    The crew on the NCL Star were fabulous, the entertainment was good ( could us a bit of updating) and the food options were plentiful.  I love my mini suite and balcony...which enabled me to get up early each morning to see the sun rise and watch as we pulled into each Port.  I will say one very important thing...do NOT skimp on excursions.   Many on the cruise did a HOP on/off and were not able to get tickets into some of the main attractions (VASA, St Petersburg Palaces and the Hermitage)  in the port cities and were very disappointed. 2 groups were late coming back to the ship from alternate tours or on their own in St Petersburg, but thankfully it was day 1, but if it was Day 2, the ship would have left them.      Thank you Elise Mahaney for all your help in planning this fabulous trip!

We booked an ocean view room, which for this cruise was adequate.  We normally do a balcony room, but there was little to see outside of the ports, so it was not necessary.  The dining experience in the Aqua Dining Room was very good.  The chef and maitre d discovered my fondness for Indian food, and we were invited every night to the "extended" dining room which featured Indian families who also enjoyed "off menu" items.  Food was delicious and plentiful.

I did not like the Norwegian Star's general buffet set up - it was like the old fashioned cafeteria style rather than having separate stations for salads, meats, vegetables like every other ship we've been on.  The water and ice dispensers were electronic (no touch) and were inconsistent in delivery.

The shows were probably the best we've experienced lately.  The ship's entertainment crew (about 16 singers/dancers plus band) were excellent and the shows were very well done and choreographed with excellence.  The Russian acrobats Dimitri and Maria were also excellent.  

Since this was a cruise in Scandinavia, I would would have loved to see an ABBA show - I'm surprised they did not feature on since this is where the group comes from!

Our room was directly under part of the kitchen and working areas of the Aqua lounge - very noisy late at night for several nights until we realized where the noise was coming from; we went to Guest Services about the matter, and we had no further issues.

We did not experience the gym, spa area or pools, so I have no review other than it seemed everyone enjoyed themselves.

The music featured in the main lounge (a trio from Manila) was very low-key and low-energy for such a bustling part of the ship.  On the other hand, the piano man who played the Spinnaker lounge was much to loud and "busy" for such a small venue which also shared space with the sushi restaurant.

We loved the Irish pub - great menu and good food, although service was sketchy from time to time.

Overall - we loved this cruise, would recommend it to friends.  One of the best features was the 2-day stay in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Great itinerary that could be a little better. You need 2 days in Germany. Too rushed to go to Berlin (or in our case Hamburg) in one day.

The waterslides are poorly designed-you get stuck on the way down (not steep enough).

Food was a little salty at Versailles.

Other than that we had great time!

Definitely recommend cruise. Overpriced in Internet and corkage fees. Ther should be no fees if wine is consumed in cabin as in other cruise lines.

Would be nice to have a meet the captain evening with champagne  as with other cruise lines.

No communication about disembarkation process except newsletter which didn't contain all necessary info for our cabins.

Very nice cruise.   Ship was not too crowded, clean and comfortable.   Food was okay, main dining was not as good as other cruise ships but was not terrible either.

Entertainment was lacking a bit, thought there would be better variety of shows.

I would certainly recommend this cruise. It was very nice. We especially enjoyed the shows with the Russian dancers and singers, the acrobats, and the musician Andy Bunger.

There were many fun activities and also places to just sit comfortably and listen to live music.

Everything was neat and clean. The food was very good and there was a wide variety to choose from. 

Our grandchildren enjoyed the activities on the ship very much especially the basketball, ping pong, swimming, and the arcade.

They had wished for a miniature golf course as well.

Did not get to go to Stockholm  only 1 pool port times to short felt rushed 

Did not like beverage packages had to buy bottle water may eating was crouded

No place to sit elevators slow

We had a lovely cruise, though the weather prevented docking in Stockholm.  We received an extra day in Copenhagen at the end of the cruise.  My only complaint is the lack of a cozy cocktail area.  The big lounge was just that, big, with very loud entertainmet.  The 5 o'clok Somewhere bar was a stark aisle pass through.  Because of the cool, rainy weather, the outdoor bars were not appealing.  That left Gatsby's, a martini bar with maybe15-20 tables.  We spent our time here and it was very nice, but it was the only option for us.  Food was very good and the service was wonderful.  Very kind, thoughful servers.  We did not do a specialty restaurant and ate most of our meals in the lovely Versailles Room.  Entertainment in the theater was nothing special.  The ship is a bit smaller than vessels on our last cruises, so public spaces are limited.  Our mid ship balcony room on the 10th deck was very nice.  A very good value for the money.

Super ship, great trip. Warnemunde was truly delightful. St Petersburg was fabulous and the tour I booked with you was excellent. The guide was very knowledgeable and had a very dry wit.  The only reason I'm not giving 5 stars is that the air conditioning on the ship was uncomfortably cool, especially in the evenings: many guests were regularly wearing fleeces!

The staff at Norwegian Cruise Line was excellent in their service. They were very professional, friendly, courteous and helpful. The ports of calls and shore excursions were amazing. I learned a lot about countries that so far I had only dreamed of to visit.

I am a loyal NCL customer and this was my eighth cruise (and honeymoon) with them. The ports of call and excursions were great but pricey (as is well documented). The Norwegian Star ship is outdated compared to the rest of the fleet. The buffet offers little variety and the food was fair at best. The Internet connection was awful while also being expensive. The fitness center is poor (too small) if you are looking for resistance training. Loved the trip overall. Just disappointed with the accommodations for the first time.

The ship seemed crowded, a little dated and tired.  The room was nice, great bed and shower, plenty of room to move around.  There weren't a lot of places to sit outside, it was ok for the Baltic but I'm not sure I would book this ship if it were in the Med or Caribbean ..  The food was plentiful, but the buffet seemed low quality.  We ate in three specialty restaurants, the best being Cagneys.  It was on par with a chain steakhouse. They did a few barbecues by the pool that were fun.  The quality of the food overall was a disappointment.  The service was spotty, a few individuals stood out for great service and a few stood out for their bad attitude.  Embarkation was a bit of a disaster, we waited in line 2 hours, they only had one security line open.  It was painful.  The ports were fantastic, no issues getting on or off ship other than Russia. They make you wait until the ship tours have off loaded before your allowed to leave, this means waiting in a very long line getting through passport control.  I highly recommend this itinerary, the ports were all fantastic, Russia was a high light. The ship was fine, it felt more like staying in a budget hotel than I was expecting.  

excellent service from the cruise agent Karen Frye

embarkation was a nightmare, we were not notified ,/contacted of the VERY late arrival  of the ship in Copenhagen due to engine trouble. more than 6 hrs late.......although we were bused into Copenhagen center, we had to unexpectedly pay for our own lunch  (and that was supposed to be day one, with buffet lunch included  ) and felt the ship should have had a formula of some compensation....a glass of wine at  a dinner, or   a cabin on board credit....something.. nevertheless , we chose Norwegian as the ports of call were appealing and we were not dissapointed at all.

 our cabin steward , cabin #6565 was excellent. friendly, kept our cabin in tip top cleanliness.

food was good...a little too much pork (we don't  eat it)

will definately use Karen Frye again  for all out future cruises and travel on Norweigen again

Our cabn was clean.  Our room steward was friendly.  The specialty restaurants were good (not excellent).  That's all I can say good about the Star.  Old, tired ship.  Restaurant food was only adequate.  Market Buffet was not even adequate.  They couldn't even get the coffee right.  The ship broke down in Stockholm:  Nine hour delay.  Arrived back into Copenhagen 9 hours late.  Many passengers missed flights.  The ports were great, but find another ship/line to use to get there.  Would not recommend. 

Everything and everyone of the crew was fine ,until the last day. Due to a mechanical problem with the ship, the return to CPH was delayed over 8 hours. The captain failed to make sufficient announcements to keep passengers up-dated and informed. This resulted in panic by some passengers trying to secure flight bookings for a later time than scheduled. A "rolling" delay ensued creating more of a hectic situation. As a result the disembarkation process was a disaster. Arguments ensued, passengers became belligerent and unruly, with no control by the crew. What most passengers will remember is the last day,which does not bode well for NCL. Shame on the Captain and the lack of procedures for a situation that should have been foreseen.

Having taken five cruises in eighteen months, I have come to enjoy cruising.

This particular Norwegian trip was very unsatisfying,. The venue of ports where we went was of tremendous interest. However, the ship experience was very underwhelming.

The Norwegian Star is old and tired. The entertainment was the weakest of any cruise I have been on. The activities were less than others. individually, the work staff was friendly and very attentive. Upper management was lazy and disinterested. There was an mechanical engine problem on the ship causing an eight hour departure delay. While these things can happen, management played no role what so ever in addressing the reasonable concerns of the nervous guests. Instead, very busy selling Bingo tickets and liquor  packages, but completely disinterested in addressing the serious delay issues at hand. The disembarking process was so poorly managed it appeared fights were about to break. The passengers were reduced to only pushing and shoving. I will continue to cruise, but It will require a lot of convincing to get me on another Norwegian boat. I suspect. this response will be of little interest to Norwegian. They showed no interest this week when over 1,000 passengers were left to guess their fate. In fact already I have booked a Celebrity Cruise.

When I cruise, I like to eat and enjoy the ship's entertainment. The buffets has a very limited selections, and most of the other restaurants has a cover charges. The ship only has show at 7;30 pm and 9:30 pm.at one stage. 

If you want to take a guided tour of the ship, it cost $89 per person. It's only a tour of the ship, not an excursion. All the other excursions offer for each port range between $50 to $500 per person.WOW, it's expensive.