Norwegian Star Cruise Reviews - Reviews

All things considered, we really enjoyed ourselves--how can you not spend a week on a ship in sunny and 80 degree weather and not have fun?  But having said that, there were a few issues---regarding itinerary, we chose this simply because it fit our time  and port of departure parameters. Other than that, we were okay with the ports of call. Cozumel we've been to before and at least it's a city with  interesting things to see and safe enough to walk between port and town. Plus, there are several beach clubs along the way where you can stop for a cold drink. As for the other 3 ports, you may as well decide on what excursion you're doing 'cause there ain't nothin' to do in the ports...Costa Maya is essentially a fake town. It is simply a cruise ship port. The people made a shopping district with pools and bars right off the port so you can walk off the ship and relax, but no beach here, just pools. Your alternative is the to take a $2 taxi to the Malecon area with all the beach clubs and sit on the beach. For $25US we drank beer and ate tacos on a relatively nice beach---but watch out for the people trying to sell you stuff. All.Day.Long. Roatan --well, the cruise ship screwed up our excursion reservation so we rented a car and drove around. Nothing to see or do unless you want to sit at a beach or scuba dive. Again, new port and can't walk to any town--take a taxi, rent a car...it wasn't really worth it. And Belize City--well, when to city police told us we shouldn't walk any where and we should take a taxi, we decided to turn around and catch the ferry to Caye Caulker ($25USpp) where we ended up at a great bar (Lazy Lizard) and restaurant (Fantasy Dining).  As for the ship--nicest people serving all the time. They seem short-handed since we frequently had to wait to be served, but ya got nowhere to go, so....it was good.  Enjoyed all the dining rooms, great menus, great food. The thing that really ticked us off was the change to the itinerary. We were supposed to leave at 4pm Sunday. Previous reviews dating back to October and before had this same situation: we were told they had to work on the propulsion system and we would have to stay in port while they worked on it. We didn't leave til 6 or 7 am on Monday. Those extra 14+ hours in port we were charged tax on all our drinks and the casino was closed. Great. We had a 16 hour view of a fuel depot. That was nice. Not. Then, on the way back, the same "propulsion" situation required us to get back early---we arrived back in port over 8 hours ahead of time---and then couldn't leave the ship, they closed the casino, there was no more entertainment ...and we were charged tax again on our drinks. The $50 or whatever ain't gonna kill us, but seeing as this has been happening for months, I fail to see why Norwegian hasn't just taken the ship out of service for a week and fixed the dang problem. Instead our 8 day, 7 night cruise , we lost a day in port in Tampa. With no compensation from NCL.  Stinks. Had fun, but plan for excursions and be prepared for sitting in port.

Overall had a good cruise.  Things that some reviewers complained about were non-existent.  I have been on over 40 cruises.  My saying is, there are no "bad" cruises, some are just better than others!"

Service: No problem. All went out of their way to be of service.

Food:  I've had better, but nothing really to complain about. A tough piece of meat or no lobster, hey, get over it.  Nothing is perfect.  It seems the more a person can't  really afford a cruise, the more they will find to bitch about!

Entertainment:  Ranked right up there with the best I have ever seen. The house band was great, the 16 dancers and singers, fantastic.  The comedian Bud Anderson, so original, so funny, so talented.  No wonder he has done 570+ shows on cruise lines.

Cabin: No problem and good service.

Yes, you wil notice cutbacks here and there. Like I miss the daily one page newspaper with happenings around the world.  Or only one daily Sea Program to share with all in your cabin. But these are things t help hold down the overall cabin rate you wil pay.  Drinks, yes high priced by my standards so what do I do?  Drink as little as possible on board, then have a "bang up'" time in port!

Could have used a bit more Trivia, one of the more popular past times on a cruise.  Seemed NCL was pushing to many "health seminars" all day.

Any cruise is a good cruise if you do your homework and pick out a cruise suited for you and at the right price.  I was very happy with my T.A. and "Entertainment". 

Our boat left port late due to maintenance. I purchased unlimitrd drink packages but was charged for drinks and had to spend hours standing in lines trying to get someone to straighten this out finally on the last day of the cruise they noticed they neglected to add it to my card but still refused to refud the charges if that wasnt enough our cards kept shutting off so we would go to pay for food or drinks only to be embarrassed which resulted in more waitin in lines to have them reprinted. Then on the last day our boat had to return to port a day early for more maintenance, but we couldn't disembark till the next day so we were held hostage paying 7% tax on everything because we were in U.S waters and the casino ead closed.

the cruise was okay, the food was not cruise like quality and the off shore excursions were expensive and the begging of those who conducted the tours was unacceptable in my opinion. the Staff was great and the service was stellar. The ship is tired and old and the entertainment frankly a two star.

THIS IS A OLDER SHIP IN NEED OF UP DATES

THE FOOD WAS NOTHING SPECIAL (ONLY IN THE SPECIAL DINING AREAS IT WAS GOOD)

THEIR WAS 500 KIDS ONBORD 

TAKE A WATCH 

SHOWS NOT GREAT BUT THEY TRYED(TO LOUD)

BUT WE DID MAKE THE BEST OF IT AND DID HAVE FUN.

THIS WOULD BE GREAT FOR OLDER PEOPLE AND I MEAN OLDER.

I took my teenage kids on this cruise.  They are 13, 15, 17 and they all had a wonderful time.  There was truly something for everyone and we have some memories that will last a lifetime.  The food was great, the entertainment was great, the staff was fun and I would definitely recommend this cruise!!

Our trip to the Western Caribbean.  Our family prefers the Southern Caribbean but you never know until you try something.  This is a personal choice.  The staff and ship were good and our family had a relaxing time which was our purpose.

Overall a great cruise, good food, good ports and good entertainment.

The negatives:

The kids were out of control in the pool area, diving from the bandstand into the pool on top of people, kids using "adult only" hot tubs as there own personal swimming pool, babies in hot tubs in diapers (deck patrol doesn't exist on this ship per hotel manager).

Many rude bartenders, I'm guessing because they lost tips due to new "no receipt policy" no place add a tip to your receipt because you don't get one.

No interactive TV in your cabin, no checking your account, no movies, no booking excursions.  They want you to use their phone APP.

I've been on over 30 cruises and the management on this one was well below standard.  I'm going back to Royal Caribbean.

Super great crew...great ports and excursions...do Belize Cave Tubing and sailing/snorkling in Honduras...food is excellent...First cruise on Norwegian but have cruised many other times...biggest difference here is the "freestyle" dinner arrangement...no set times to eat dinner,(i.e. 5:00 PM or 8:00 PM on other ships) have dinner when you want between 5-9...don't have to sit with strangers...just sit with spouse/friend...great improvement here and would never go back to a ship who doesn't employ this method/program

our cruise was good. have been on better. the main pool was amazingas well as the showers in the room, better than other cruise lines. Food was just average not to much choice at the buffet. the speical rest. were good but not worth the prices they charge. service was just fair. there is no incentive for great service since an 18% gratiury is add to each room per person perday and everything else you buy.. they nickle dime you to death.  Shows were pretty good. over all we had a good time.

My Wife and I have been on several cruises. But the one with Norwegian was the worst ever from start to finish.

1. We had priority boarding. They put us in 3 different lines at check in before they finally got us in the right line.

2. We boarded the ship at 11 am. Were told our cabins would not be ready until 1 pm so they set us down to a nice lunch. After lunch we were told our cabins would not be ready until 4. We go to our cabin at 4 and our luggage was not there and did not arrive until almost 6:30

3. We had the ultimate dining package. We gave our reservations to our Butler as soon as we boarded at 11 am. All of our mills were set for 7 pm. We went to our 1st meal and they said I reservation was not until 8. No big deal. Monday I told my wife I think I will check on our other reservations for dinner. They were not showing any reservations made for anytime at any restaurant on the ship for any night. We had to remake every reservation.

4. The cabin was made up one night and we go back to the room and there was no toilet paper in the Head.

5. For 2 night the toilet would not flush and we had no water.

6. We ordered room service for Breakfast. On 2 occasions we found hair in our food.

7. We arrived back into port on Saturday instead of Sunday which cut our cruise time by 1 day but we were not allowed to disembark until Sunday.

8 The Concierge was very Rude and told several people if they did not like the service take it up with corporate.

These are just a few of the items that happened. I can tell you there are at least a dozen more little things that happened. (little things matter).

I know it doesn't matter to you. But we will not cruise with Norwegian again

The ship was very clean all the time.  The quality of the food was top notch but atlas there was no Lobster Night or Escargo.  The food was on the plain side although cooked correctly.  Some of the descriptions on the menu were inaccurate but they would bring you a subsitute. In the dining room there were not enough wine stewarts, most cruise they are bugging you to buy at the bar, well most people had gotten the free ultimate drink package so maybe it was purposeful not to ask what I wanted from the bar , I had to ask for the wine menu and the stewart every night. There was not many people asking to get you drinks anywhere else either. They did have a whole pig on the buffet one night.  The hamburgers on the deck were great!  My husband was disappointed that they put the soft icecream out of order a lot, I think they didn't feel like cleaning it, because it was just "off".  We were in a balcony and did not receive a bathrobe, thought Norweign didn't do that until a guest told us, we had to ask the stewart.  Although the stewart did anything we asked and made wonderful towel animals,  I think he didn't notice things that were missing or amiss, for instance the door on the balcony opened between us and the next cabin and he didn't notice it.  Just little stuff like that.

We booked excursions through Shoeexcrusioners and they were all great. 

We had fun and although you had to hunt down drinks when you got up to the bartender they were tentitive, I only wanted no carb drinks so they helped me make it happen by squeezing a lot of limes for me. One more thing I wish they had was a second pool for adults only, but this ship is old and it was very reasonably priced.  We had fun! 

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Rooms were not that clean. Food options were not that good, not much variety. 

Entertainment pool side not that amusing. Entertaining staff need more experience. 

The DJ was always playing the same music. He would play more what ppl don't listen to much. The music ppl wanted would only get played once. 

Toilets got backed up on Saturday Through out the ship. 

If u are young or feel young don't take a cruise from Tampa. Lots of old boring ppl. 

We chose this ship for our 10 yr anniversary and it sucked!!

Loved the ease of cruising from Tampa (live there). The NCL staff were all wonderful and made our week fun and relaxing. The food was excellent and we never got around to the specialty restaurants. The ship was fully booked but it never felt crowded. We usually prefer a balcony, but at the price we paid, the interior room was fine. It was quiet, near the exit at our ports of call and compact, but functional. Passengers were a great range of ages, from infant to seniors. Evening shows were great and there were always onboard activities. Gym, although not as spectacular as some, was fine. Ship was smooth, hardly knew we were moving. Did not get to the spa. We would go again in a hot minute if the same deal came up again!

Food was average.  I don'/t prefer Free Style Cruising. Embarkation day was a joke and a zoo. Service in dining rooms was average. Serve staff just didn't want to service coffee. What's up with that.  Cabin was great, a bit small but great. Balcony was great but small. I don't understand why mini bar is not included in Bar Beverage package.  All in all had a great time.

I thought that I signed up for the tipping package but was charged 18% on every purchase I made.Not Good!!!.Food was average and no where near Royal Caribbean's.Some places were sadly understaffed.We had several problems with the plumbing which had us arriving in Tampa Sat.nite instead of Sunday morning.When we got to Cozumel ,there was five other ships there.Way overcrowded.The food and wait staff at O'Sheehan was really bad.Only went there once.The Brazilian steak house was very good as was the entertainment.On Sunday Nov.22 there was only one person manning the customer service desk and had a long wait for service.

1.  Cabin steward (Randy) was great !

2.  Overall food was good (not great).

3.  Ship was clean.

4.  Crew was friendly.

5.  Entertainment overall was average.  Comedian Bud Anderson was very good.

6.  I don't drink, but I heard several people complain about the bar service, saying the drink package has contributed to poor service and rude waiters.

7.  The Teppanyaki dinner was not enjoyable. The noise from the crowd outside the Teppanyaki room was very loud and we couldn't hear the chef and waiter talking.

8.  The mandatory 18% gratuity on the specialty dinner is maddening!!  Probably will not do a specialty dinner again. Then the suggest additional tips for the waiter and chef.  

9.  The mandatory $13.50 per day per passenger "gratuity" is ridiculous. We think we are rewarding good cabin service, but the steward said he sees very little of it, so we have to tip the steward directly to make sure he is properly rewarded.

10.  The ports of call and our shore excursions were great.  We did SCUBA diving at all four ports and had a great time. At Cozumel there was an unacceptable wait with the diving company, but the boat crew and dive was fabulous.

11. Talking to other passengers about other cruise lines: One couple who had been on Holland America, Royal Caribbean, and Princess cruises recently said Norwegian was the worst of the 4.

12.  We have only sailed Caribbean before (our 5th cruise), but will look at other cruise lines for our next cruise.  

we enjoyed all the ports.  getting on the ship was a nightmare.  we were accosted by the luggage guys outside who told us that we could not carry on large suitcases and demanding a tip.  then we were sent to a line that took over an hour to check in.  on the ship there were problems with the toilets, Friday, they didn't flush and our friends next door were flooded.  there was a constant smell of urine coming from the toilet.  most of the seats in the theatre were so off we were sliding off of them.  we were recommended to a jeweler in Cozumel named MILANO for a deal on a charm, when we got there they said they were out of it and they offered a discount on other items.  WE HATE FREESTYLE DINING.

It was an outstanding  cruise from the time we checked in, straight  to our cabin which was a very nice room. Then off to enjoy the good food, shows were good and music entertainment was outstanding.  Went to three speciality  dinners and had a remarkable  experience. 

Enjoyed Norwegian  so much that we bought 8 future cruise vochuers and got $1000. on board credit. I think my wife enjoyed her birthday cruise!

From start to finish, the cruise, the crew, the activities, the ports of call were all excellent. However, there were a few flaws, but nothing that took away from the overall cruise. First,the cabin bathrooms are too small. You have to maneuver to get to the toilet. I am not sure how some of the overweight passengers were able to accomplish this. Second, the dress code for the main dining room (versaille) were not enforced. There were passengers who opted to show up for dinner in the main dining room in shorts, flip-flops, tank tops, and wife beaters. Even though these passengers were violating the dress code, they were still admitted. Third, there was some confusion in ship debarkation at one port where we had to tender because some tenders went to the pier while others went from the ship directly to the excursion sites. there was poor communication and some passengers ended up on the wrong tender  

and then special arrangements had to be made to get them to the correct location. Aside from these 3 minor glitches, the cruise was excellent.