Norwegian Star Cruise Reviews - Reviews

So many wonderful things to see and do on this itinerary!  Our stateroom stewardess was wonderful.  The food and service in the dinning rooms was not as good as previous cruises.  The two shore excursions we booked through the cruise line were very good.  We found a lot of value for the price!

Regular dining menu brand new - big improvment in food variety and taste.

Buffet food was also good with variety and good taste.

Great entertainment - better than any cruise line I had experience. I had 8 cruises with Princess, 1 cruise with RCI, 1 one Carnaval, This was my 2nd NCL cruise.

Room was spotless with supply of ice and nice surprises of great towel art.

Everything exceed my expectation!

Great ports!  Ship is older, but well-maintained and clean.  Crew was friendly and helpful.  Shows were good with a wide variety of entertainment.  Dining rooms did a super job of seating and serving 15 of us every night, typically without a reservation at around 2030.  Did eat one night in La Cuchina (Italian) as a group, very good.  Entertainment in the bar areas was excellent, fun and easy listening. 

Difficult to find and get to the new cruise terminal in Copenhagen... taxi driver was lost within the port area, but we eventually followed another taxi and found the new entrance to the terminal. 

Check in and load aboard went very smoothly with little time waiting in line. 

Luggage was in the room after we had lunch at the buffet... very efficient! 

Underway was on time and provided some great views departing Copenhagen. 

Bought train tickets in Wannermunde for a ride to Rostock.  Returned and wandered around the port city of Wannermunde, had dinner on a canal and enjoyed the evening. 

Tallin was very easy to walk to the old city from the pier and spend time wandering around and shopping in the old city shops. 

Shore excursions in St. Petersburg required if you are US citizen or you can get your own visa with a letter of sponorship, but costly and takes time to process.  Norwegian sponsored shore excursions were well worth doing. 

Helsinki was easy to buy buy hop-on-hop-off bus passes at the pier and a boat tour at the center market of the city/port. 

Stockholm was overwhelmed with cruise ships the day we visited, 7 in port.  The Vasa museum tour was a must as a shore excursion since as an individual the line to buy a ticket was a kilometer long!  Even in the group the Vasa was still worth seeing for the one hour alloted... more time would have been better. Also, visited an ice bar for the experience and enjoyed vodka in an ice glass dressed in cold-weather gear in the bar. Having signed up for the shore excursion probably allowed us to bypass some lines and maximize our time in port in Stockholm. 

All the ports were very beautiful, with incredible scenery on arrivals and departures.  Sunrises were very early and sunsets were very late allowing for great views. 

Very good bargains onboard the ship... save your money in Russia, spend it on the ship at the Russian Bazzar on the last at-sea day.  You'll get better quality and a better price for the same merchandise the tour stops were offering. 

All in all, the cruise met expectations and the Baltic capitals are definitely worth visiting. 

Enjoyed the cruise, very busy with only 2 days at sea. St Petersburgh was awesome as was Stolkholm, could have skipped the Helsinki stop though. The Norwegian Star wasa okay, not great, nor real bad, but is in need of more public seating space in the common areas of the ship. The ship was not at capacity yet it seemed crowded, can't imagine what it would be like if it was full.

This was my first cruise so I have nothiing to compare to, except the tales of how wonderful cruising is from my cruise loving friends. Maybe it just takes time to get your sea legs, but I did not care for the first 2 days at sea. My wife loved sitting around relaxing, it drove me a little crazy. The food was not as wonderful as I expected. It was good, but my favorite mid-priced restaurants serve better. We did go to one specialty restuarant and it was better than the "free" restaurants, but not so much better that it was worth the cover charge. But at times the choices at the "free" restaurants were less than enticing. I wonder if that was a strategic decision to nudge people into the specialty restaurants. If you are a foodie, consider spending the extra money up front to get the ultimate dining experience package.

Speaking of packages, the nickel & dime approach is not cruiser-friendly. The unlimited soda package is not worth it. Even my teenage son was sick of soda after a few days of unlimited Pepsi and was drinking the "free" juice. I switched to water (not the Water Package, just tap water at the restaurants - the water package would have been a better option for me - HA! the water "package" talk about nickel & dime).

The pool area is great for kids. They tend to overrun the pool so its not as good for adults. If you want to do laps, you can join the health club and use their lap pool (spa package or something like that). I just wanted to go for a relaxing dip now and then without being surrounded by kids screaming and splashing. On the other hand, my son had great fun in the pool. Actually, other than on the port excursions, I rarely saw my son. He is 15 and hung out with freinds the entire time. That was great! (Note to husbands: Do not joke about looking at security footage to see if your child fell off the boat. The consequenses are not as immediate as joking about bombs in an airport, but almost as dire. My wife came out of relaxation mode in a hearbeat and did not go back until we found our son).

Snorkling in Cabo was a lot of fun, zip lining in Puerto Vallarta was awesome (5 guides for 7 people - I never felt so safe hanging from a wire 200 feet off the ground).  The Hotel/Beach excursion in Mazatlan was ok. Bring enough cash to do the beach activities like wave runners and parasailing. There were others from the cruise that did not buy the package, they just took a taxi to the resort and saved a ton of money. They did that at other ports as well going to resorts that were not on the cruise package tour list. First time cruisers may be a little leery of the safety issues of venturing out on your own. I would be, even though in hindsight I wish I had.

After the days at the ports and back at sea, the weather was cool and cloudy so we got more into the shows. Second City was fantastic. There are some very talented and entertaining crew memebers, those "crew" shows were always fun. Karaoke Idol was amazing - a lot of talented singers on my cruise. We went to that show mainly to get a good seat for Second City. Karaoke Idol was worth it in itself.

As I said at the start, maybe it just takes time to get your sea-legs. Overall it was fun. I like a little more active vacation. My wife likes to decompress. I would do it again for her, but only after heavy lobbying to go somewhere on a beach so I could get in the water everyday and she can lay on the beach.

was not a good experience from start to finish.....food was fair....the cabin steard was the best thing we experienced. False advertising and the nickle and dime you for everything on the ship......

We had great weather and smooth seas to add to a very pleasant time aboard ship on this cruise. We enjoyed the fun activities and games aboard and the entertainment was excellent.

The cruise was nice,lots to do for everyone,the teen center was a life saver! The food was very bland and mediocre. Even the lobster was tasteless &chewy. We enjoyed the staff of the ship they were very accommodating and happy! We did put a deposit on a second cruise to possibly Alaska!

I have cruised three times with Norwegian and I must state that this was by far the best of the three.  The ship was very clean and extremely careful in making all of the passengers safe and to stay healthy.   The overall ships personnel were extremely polite and helpful.   The only real complaint that my husband and I had was that there was no monitoring of the beach towel on the deck chairs.  Please left their towel on these lounges early in the morning and thus remained all day.  From time to time those persons would show up and use the chairs but that made it impossible for anyone else who might like to lay in the sun.  I realize it is extremely hard for the stewart to monitor these chair but there should be a time frame ticket on each of the chairs.

I would sail again with Norwegian and highly recommend them to all who wish to sail.

Food was excellent, as was service.  Panama Canal was the highlight.  Ship clean, and can not think of any deficiencies.  Maybe a little too much emphasis on getting involved with entertainment, bingo, games, etc.  Our third NCL trip in three years and still very happy with them.

The crew was very friendly and helpful, delightful one might say.  My biggest dissappointment was in the food.  I would rate it medicore at best.  The specialty restaurants were good, but the food in the main dining areas was just average.  I certainly have had much better food on other cruise lines.

Having said that I would have rated our experiece, not "fine as expected", but fell short of expectation.  I would not have rated it as poor not recomended, but the food sure could have been better.

Of all the cruises I have taken, this cruise had the worst food.  It was bland and basically the same every day.  Too many old people who could hardly maneuver.  Love the fact that there were very few children.  People who are 50+ pounds should not wear two piece suits or spandex especially in their later years.  Having to seem them when your eating made the food taste worse.

Deck 7 was the place I wanted to sit and relax on.   So did many other people.   Many people put down towels or books on the deck chairs to save them for when they would use them hours later.

The cruise director never made any announcements that chairs could not be saved.   No staff member ever walked around, took note of saved chairs and removed any belongings.  I spoke to several staff members.   They took chairs from the bar lounge inside and carried them out to the deck.  I wrote two letters and put them in the hotel box.   Nothing came of them except I received chocolate covered strawberries delivered to my room.    Those strawberries were an insult.  They did nothing to provide seating on deck 7.   

So although the cruise was nice,  having to stand on deck 7 detracted from the cruise experience.

Boarding&Deboarding were total chaos,long lines of waiting&people losing their tempers.Once on board the cruise was a very pleasant experience.All the cruise staff were attentive,hepful,polite&competent.

We went on this cruise during Christmas week. We spent Christmas Day in Mazatlan, after the little ones got to sit on Santa's lap and receive a present from Santa on the ship. It was as perfect day on the beach. We went to Stone Island, which we highly recommend, played volleyball, swam in the water and ate lunch of freshly caught garlic shrimp at Letty's outdoor restaurant. The teenagers quickly made friends and are still talking with them online. The rest of the kids also made friends. Some of them enjoyed the kids club, and some of them did not often go. They all liked hanging around the ship. The hot tubs were great, but the salt water pool was too cold for most of us. Versailles Restaurant was not well staffed, and the waiter was not very friendly.  We had to request things several times, and finally the girl pouring water brought us what we needed. Their service was also very slow. Two hours for dinner was too long, and some of us left before dessert. Aqua Restaurant was great, andn the waiters were very friendly. Our housekeeper learned our names very quickly, and was especially friendly with the kids. It was a very good experience over all.

Had a great time.  No need to leave the ship to have fun.  The staff was most helpful.  Swim with the dolphins if you can, even if it's your only shore excursion.  Party in Cabo.

all ok except food style, prep, variety,   average to poor... especially the buffet set up...the charge for internet way too much,  drinks expensive also, the tours to see beaches aligators, coffee farms , I think you get the picture...

Being my first cruise, I can not compare it to other cruises or cruise lines.  For me, I had a wonderful experience.  It exceeded all my expectations.  I was a solo traveler, so I really enjoyed the ability to share different dinner tables (free-style dining) each night to meet new people.  I don't think I would of liked the idea of dining with the same people every night.  With 2000 guests on board, I want to meet them all ... ok ... mayve 1950 of them.  I enjoyed the idea of being on the ship for 14 days.  I liked the schedule where we were at sea 1-2 days, docked for a day, sea 1-2 days, etc.  There was always things to do, or not do, on the ship while at sea.  My only comment to newbies is that I had better luck setting up most of my shore excursions on my own once I exited the ship for the day - you could always make a deal with the vendors waiting outside the ship.  For me, the on-board excursions were too expensive and somewhat limiting.  I had a bad expereiece on my first on-board excursion and cancelled most of the rest of them I made on board  (just fyi, you have to cancel within 48 hours of the excursion).  I did take the 8-hour excursion in Costa Rica from the ship that was the zip-line tour.  It was worth every penny.  Since the tour was with the ship, I knew that if we were late coming back, they would wait.  Guess what, two of our busses out of four (70+ people) got back 20 minutes late and I was on one of them.  The ship did wait.  Also, I thought that the safety issues would be better since the tour was through the ship.  Best of all, it rained while we were zipping over the rain forest - go figure.

If you went hungry during the cruise, it was your own fault.  There was always (too much) food available 24-hours a day.  The entertainment was good.  The staff was excellent, as was the cabin.  I booked the cheapest in-board cabin since I wasn't planning on staying in my room much was was upgraded to an outside cabin with a 2'x3' window - luckily it didn't open or my room would of been pretty wet.  The room was just right for a solo traveler.  I wish they did offer single rooms since I had to pay double to have a room by myself - but I knew that booking the trip.

Overall, it was an excellent trip for me.  I live in Connecticut and took Amtrak from CT to LA (3+ days) before arriving in LA a day early for the trip.  It was an adventure of a life-time for me.  The bonus was that I meet some great people during my travels.  It was nice seeing different ports for a day since now I want to travel back to Costa Rica and Columbia for a longer stay and explore the land, culture, and people.  Hopefully that will be my next adventure.  The main reason I picked this trip was for the crossing of the Panama Canal.  This trip had a purpose, and not just stopping at beaches.  Growing up, you read about the digging of the canal and now I can appreciate the size of it as it took about 8-9 hours to go through the entire canal.

In summary:

- excellent trip

- worth the cost (even as a single traveler) - I booked about 2-3 weeks before the trip so it was cheaper

- loved the free-style dining since I could meet different peole all the time - wasn't bound to a single table every night

- great food

- good entertainment

- A few of the on-board excursions are worth it, but you can get a better deal off the ship

- Luckily, we had great weather - only two days of mild seas (12' swells) of 14 days.

For me, I am glad I took a 14 day cruise as my first cruise.

Cheers,  Lou

Nice cruise overall. One must bring their patience however. As the title indicates, this cruise is populated with about 90 percent plus with folks pushing 70 years of age or better. That in itself brings up unique challenges, i.e. stuck behind the wheelchairs, walkers etc. Also, I founds they tend to be on the rude side when it comes to food lines and just getting around the ship in general. Lastly, there should be a rule about wearing Speedos and two piece bathing suits after reaching a certain age (arrrrg!). Enough about the old people that dominates this cruise. The food served is excellent, however it’s a shame that most of the time it arrived COLD. The only exception is the Market Place where it’s more like a chow line. Good stuff, but there you and again dealing with the older crowd and lines. Most of the stops on the cruise are very good; however they tend to be on the short side. From Panama to Miami there are great opportunities for outstanding stops, but Columbia is the only one. Plenty of short stops on the Pacific side. Drinks are reasonable considering you’re on a cruise. Look for the "eye openers" special every morning till 11am for reduced price and the needed morning after. The Sports Bar was a favorite hangout, but they need to upgrade the TV viewing, only one large screen with a couple of small ones. Of course, seating around the large screen is limited, so you’re normally straining to see the very small screen. Either get there early or bring your binoculars.

Sailing through the Panama Canal was a fantastic experience.  The ports were okay, but it was the ocean days and sailing though the canal that made the voyage a great experience.  This was our first time to be in a "mini-suite" which spoiled us for any other cruises we may go on.  The service was great.  Our suite was comfortable and we were well taken care of.  There were many activities on board. I went to a few which were fun/interesting. We went to the evening show every night and each performance was well worth going to. Some of the performances were the same as an Alaska cruise we took several years ago, but entertaining anyway.