Norwegian Star Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The cruise through the Greek Isles was good. We had the mishap of an emergency that deviated the ship and thus got us late into Santorini. Then the winds in Mykonos were so strong we could not tender into port. The staff was super friendly. 5 o'clock bar was great! O'Sheehan's was a secure bet always. Bier Garten great spot to cool off from the pool. Would sail on NCL again!

A great itinery but best to avoid the school summer holidays, as the ship is full of children and the ports of call are extremely busy, which can spoil it somewhat.

Great poets, great entertainment, but ship was far too crowded and seating at buffet was next to impossible and the lack of professionalism in regard to the wait staff in the main dining room was incredible. We have been on 6 cruises through 2 different cruise lines Inclusive of NCL, and have had beyond wonderful experiences. However, we have no intentions of booking another with NCL.

This was our first cruise. We really enjoyed it! The only negative was the feeling of being nickled and dimed over everything. But we're looking forward to the next cruise!

This was a great way to celebrate our 25th anniversary. The only real complaint that I had was the constant feeling that we were being "up-sold" to spend extra money for things - "Specialty" coffee was another $2-3. "Specialty" restaurants were extra. Most of the fitness center classes were extra. Extra charge to gamble in the casino and charge it to our cabin. Etc. However, all that being said, we're really looking forward to the next cruise!

we sailed with Star, older ship, very clean, comfortable 700 kids on ship, so pool was very busy. the could make more use of the back of the ship some nice furniture as ideal quiet area. no laundry which was a shame and shop very poor for general items, great if you want to buy emeralds and watches but not so if you want a packet of crisps. you cant bring anything food drink back onto ship... but a great holiday non the less wouls defo go ncl again but newer ship.

Family friendly cruise ship with newly added renovations to give it a modern feel. Staff was very friendly and the entertainment onboard was exceptional! Would certainly recommend for Mediterranean cruises due to the smaller size of the ship.

I'm a huge fan of the Norwegian experience. They invented freestyle and I like it a lot. Complete choice of eating times and restaurants and cafes. Ample deck chairs though the pool area is busiest, of course. I'm addicted to the lemonade, iced tea, and ice cream machines (all complimentary). I do miss the rear deck which is especially nice for those in inside cabins as a place to call home. Perfectly smooth cruise with no complaints from me.

This was our first ever cruise and after reading a number of reviews prior to sailing we were a little apprehensive. We needn't have been. We thoroughly enjoyed it. Our room was a good size and the bed very comfortable. We had the 'ultimate beverage package' and 3 night speciality dining package which made a difference I guess. The food was very good and it was great to be able to have virtually any drink you wanted ( some weren't included but we didn't need them). The main entertainment in the theatre exceeded my expectations. I didn't think I would enjoy these types of shows but I thought they were very well done and a good way to relax after a nice meal before heading for the bars. It was great to sail out of Venice and pass the sights. Dubrovnik, Kotor and Split were superb though you didn't get long in Dubrovnik. We didn't bother with the Olympia trip but wished we had as there's nothing to do in Katakolo. Athens turned in to a nightmare. We queued for hours for tickets for the Acropolis, queued again to get through the gate and then were driven along to shouts of 'don't stop, keep moving' until we reached the queue to get out. After another hour we finally were crammed into a bus back. Horrendous! Overall we really loved the cruise. The staff were great throughout. It may not be the newest ship around but it has a great feel. We will definitely be cruising with NCL again.

Great experiences. The stops were beautiful and we really enjoyed the boat. The only thing we didn't really care for was the freestyle dining only because it didn't seem like dinner was such a "big deal". It's nice to have something to look forward to and it didn't feel very special. Plus we didn't get to know our waiter/waitress and that was too bad. I loved that there was a little more mature vibe on this cruise!! Overall I am very happy we chose this cruise!

I have cruised 4 time in my life (not a lot) but all the cruises I have been on are On Norwegian Cruise Line. Unfortunately there were several things that did not go well on this last one.

*Once we got to our stateroom we noticed the AC was not working (we had to call 3 different times to get that fixed).

*The scheduled ports of call were on a highly tight  schedule (once there I felt super rushed).

*the entertainment (particularly the music...) I have to say thank God the 4 Stations was the part of this cruise. If not for them I would have pulled my hair out. We had a 70's "dance party" every single time future perfect was in charge of the music. We heard the same songs OVER and OVER again. The DJ...  well he was talented enough to break up the Grease soundtrack (once again) OVER and OVER. This was the first time I spent more time in my state room due to lack of good entertainment. It was beyond boring. I understand the fact that all ages and groups have to be catered to, but it seems like only one crowd was being catered to this time around and I was definitely not part of that crowd.

Aside form that: Santorini was breath taking. I will most likely be returning there soon (maybe a different month because it was really hot/sticky) .

It was our first time cruising with Norwegian "Star" and it will not be our last. We were very impressed with the quality of food. Our cabin "junior suite" 4 people, 2 adults and 2 kids, 12 & 7 was big enough for the 7 days. My in laws were next door and were told our balcony separator could not open which we have done on Carnival and Disney, one small disappointment. The staff was very good on a whole. Most of our wait staff in all of the dining venues were extremely helpful. The waiter we had in Moderno, the Brazilian style steakhouse was not. Cagneys was outstanding for a steakhouse at sea. The one negative about the ship or staff was that they did not do enough around the pool area except on the one sea day. They could have and should have done more. The kids utilized the kids club as much as possible when we were on the ship as they had lots of fun. One negative about the kids club on this cruise is that they close the kids club from 5-7PM nightly except the first night so make sure you plan adult dinners outside of those times. The ports of call, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Katakalon"Olympia", Piraeus "Athens", and Split all had some beauty or history. Athens as a whole was disappointing as to how dirty, and unhappy the people were. The historic sites were great though. Overall we were very happy and will cruise with Norwegian again.

I had an amazing time on this cruise. I would do it again. The cruise staff was friendly and they did their jobs well. The food was delicious in the main dining hall and the extra restaurants. The activities added to our fun time. I would recommend this cruise highly to anyone.

The entertainment should have been better around the pool area, we had only two live shows, all the rest was music playing, and that was bad, Our room was good, some of the meals were cold when we got them. Breakfast was also cold, not warm. The ship was old, not the ship that I wanted. To many kids in the sauna, no body around to control them, they should have been in the kids pool are not in the adult area.

We chose this cruise for the availabilty and itinery. About 5 years ago we did a Mediterranean Princess cruise (small ship) which was a wonderful experience. Excellent food and service and we did get a lot of excellent experience on the tours that we paid for. We were hoping to experience something similar.  I will say that all the employees were very nice and everyone was working hard and the balcony stateroom was roomy. Unfortunately, all the other amenities that we paid so much for were terrible. Some examples: I called pre-cruise to reserve a table at one of the pay extra restaurants (Moderno) and was told to reserve a table for four as you can't get a table for three. I did. I did not realize until the meal that they would charge me for four, along with all of the added additional gratuity, even though there were only three of us. I felt scammed. We paid for four meals and only got three. At the Cagney steakhouse (extra but a la carte), both our medium rare and medium steaks were served well done. Honestly like shoe leather. When the steaks came the second time both were raw throughout and filled with so much gristle that they were inedible. I actually took pictures. The cafeteria was a poor cafeteria and the dining room food was typical of mass produced food and very tasteless. Ginza served us completely cold potstickers twice after they had obviously forgotten about us for a full 30 minutes. We did get the drink packages and had no issues or trouble ever getting drinks and soda. Be aware that you get no water and will still be charged for any water. Also you will need to buy bottled water (once off the ship) for any excursions. We did the ship shore tours and while they were decent, they were short for the price. We were concerned about missing the boat with a teen along but really should have risked it as the excursions were not worth the price even though the guides were nice and seemed knowledgeable. The sound equipment was broken every single tour and we wasted a lot of time exchanging and trying several to find a working set. We had thought our teen would be safe participating in their teen program, however, the teen program was unable to let the adults know when the teen left the program and was possibly roaming the boat. So we worried much of the time whether our teen was even there. Ours was luckily, however, I was not comfortable with the very lax monitoring and there were few organized activities.

A great trip through some of the Mediterranean. Went to some great destinations, and the staff o board were really fun.

My favorite part of being on board the Norweigian star was definitely the cleaning staff.  They're always so happy and chipper and always make sure to greet you with the most upbeat attitude.  I admire that so much.  Although some of the service staff at the front counter would probably need a little more cross training.  I got a few different answers from different staff in regards to my on board account but overall everything was taken care of smoothly.

The food was amazing!  I cannot complain at all.. I seriously ate everything!  One thing I was missing though was some naan bread for Indian night.  But they had a wide variety of other breads to make up for it.  

I would definitely sail with Norwegian again!  

We had a great time on the Norwegian Star on a 7 night cruise from Venice. The cruise was great value for money, especially with the free drinks package. The itinerary was excellent and the entertainment was very good. The food and service were a little hit and miss. The speciality restaurants that we tried (Cagneys and Le Bistro) were outstanding and well worth the extra cost. The MDRs were good for dinner but not quite so good for breakfast and lunch. Our favourite of the free restaurants was O'Sheehans, which we loved, especially the chicken wings! Whilst the menu was limited and remained the same each day, everything was excellent. I celebrated my birthday onboard and had a birthday cupcake delivered free to my room and a larger birthday cake at dinner at the restaurant where the waiters also came to sing happy birthday. Overall a very good experience for a very reasonable price.

Having had major misgivings about NCL Star following numerous technical problems and even complete engine failure on the open seas (that resulted in major itenary changes), I must say that my wife and I found the 7 day Mediterranean Cruise most enjoyable. Although the ship is showing its age a bit and the decor is dated, everything seemed to be well maintained and clean. The staff members were always friendly and helpful. We were also pleasantly surprised by the quality of food offered in the various restaurants. Not fine dining, but definately good quality food. If you can, try getting a stateroom with a balcony. Don't opt for organised tours - they are costly and we found our way around each port easily enough. My one little gripe would be that water and Cappuccinos are not included in the drinks package. Since we had very few alcoholic beverages this seemed a bit mean.

Norwegian Star Auckland to Dubai 37 day Cruise.

  I want to start by saying that I never thought that I would be the person to conclude that this cruise is awful. After all, we booked a suite, and the itinerary sounded so good…

High expectations resulting in very disappointing experiences.

Food is at best OK and if you can believe this no lobster to be had, even if you wanted to pay. Entertainment they bring on the ship has been pretty good otherwise a miss.

With one exception, our cabin steward was exceptional and made what would have been a complete bummer somewhat tolerable during our time onboard. Yes, the Cruise line has choices of where to dock but NCL went above and beyond putting your safety at risk, wasting your time, creating a very bad experience, Get this, they ran out of Pinot Noir wine during the first 19 days. Then they had to break out the good stuff hoping to replenish in Singapore which didn’t happen. So on day 7 of the next cruise they eliminated it altogether. Five days into the cruise the whole ship including the crew were sick with an awful cold. That lasted until Singapore and the next batch of guests coming on board the germ barge. Day seven and the cycle starts all over again, great! Can’t clean old ships they just get crustier!

NCL has become the shadow of Oceania and Regent getting worst day by day. The crew complains about the changes as the guests get less service, amenities, and very bad ports of call. You ARE tendering for 45 minutes and unloading for another half hour or you are out in the middle of a container port escorted by police cars to the gates or walking between containers avoiding being hit by a truck.

Details:

 The ship itinerary changed again leaving us with unused shore excursions. Then we were told our visa was invalid when in fact they didn’t listen to us and supplied the wrong information. Then they threatened to throw off the ship. This was resolved after a face to face with the Australian authorities as I suggested in the first place.

Woken up at 6AM by joggers above us on deck 13. Yes, it was like a herd of elephants trampling over our heads. I have a picture that shows these folks going off the jogging track and running around the front of the ship. Finally, our concierge stood guard making sure the stayed-on track, However, some still ran over the suites after 9AM.

Australia days: We had to tender in Sydney Australia. Can you believe that? And every other port until Darwin which ended up at a crappy terminal and the shore excursions were very limited so you were basically there with nothing to do. They didn’t stop in Brisbane and diverted to Port Klemba.  Carnies was the only place I had a good time and that was completely accidental as the Captain decided to stay longer allowing us to go on the train to Kuranda and hold a Koala bear. The tour all had to stick to the shorter time frame.

Asia days: Singapore was great but we did it on our own and knew what we wanted to do, it was the debarkation day for the first half of the cruise. Port Klang the ship parked at the most remote and desolate pier imaginable, at least that the case then….Penang completely changed since we were last there and was very disappointing. Bali, green water and garbage all over in the water, what happen to this beautiful place? Phuket we didn’t have high hopes as we only wanted to get to a Catholic church and tool around the area. Colombo Sri Lanka is where the ship is parked in the center of the container area so you had to walk through containers trying not to avoid being hit by a track.

India: what a great decision. We left the ship at Cochin in to take the overland trip to see the Taj Mahal. It was a very well organized and the stay at the Hilton Double Tree exceeded our expectations. The  visits to the Taj, Fort, and shopping were very organized and allowed enough time at each place to more than satisfy your needs. The overland flights are in coach and the seats are incredibly close so if you can try to make arrangements for aisle seats. 

Mumbai was again an awful port location and the shore excursions very disappointing.

Oman & UAE were again a total bust with very bad ports and excursions. The tea in Abu Dhabi was OK but the tour bus waited while a guest was late and we all suffered. Then we races around barely able to take any pictures.

Norwegian Star Auckland to Dubai 37 day Cruise.

  I want to start by saying that I never thought that I would be the person to conclude that this cruise is awful. After all, we booked a suite, and the itinerary sounded so good…

High expectations resulting in very disappointing experiences.

Food is at best OK and if you can believe this no lobster to be had, even if you wanted to pay. Entertainment they bring on the ship has been pretty good otherwise a miss.

With one exception, our cabin steward was exceptional and made what would have been a complete bummer somewhat tolerable during our time onboard. Yes, the Cruise line has choices of where to dock but NCL went above and beyond putting your safety at risk, wasting your time, creating a very bad experience, Get this, they ran out of Pinot Noir wine during the first 19 days. Then they had to break out the good stuff hoping to replenish in Singapore which didn’t happen. So on day 7 of the next cruise they eliminated it altogether. Five days into the cruise the whole ship including the crew were sick with an awful cold. That lasted until Singapore and the next batch of guests coming on board the germ barge. Day seven and the cycle starts all over again, great! Can’t clean old ships they just get crustier!

NCL has become the shadow of Oceania and Regent getting worst day by day. The crew complains about the changes as the guests get less service, amenities, and very bad ports of call. You ARE tendering for 45 minutes and unloading for another half hour or you are out in the middle of a container port escorted by police cars to the gates or walking between containers avoiding being hit by a truck.

Details:

 The ship itinerary changed again leaving us with unused shore excursions. Then we were told our visa was invalid when in fact they didn’t listen to us and supplied the wrong information. Then they threatened to throw off the ship. This was resolved after a face to face with the Australian authorities as I suggested in the first place.

Woken up at 6AM by joggers above us on deck 13. Yes, it was like a herd of elephants trampling over our heads. I have a picture that shows these folks going off the jogging track and running around the front of the ship. Finally, our concierge stood guard making sure the stayed-on track, However, some still ran over the suites after 9AM.

Australia days: We had to tender in Sydney Australia. Can you believe that? And every other port until Darwin which ended up at a crappy terminal and the shore excursions were very limited so you were basically there with nothing to do. They didn’t stop in Brisbane and diverted to Port Klemba.  Carnies was the only place I had a good time and that was completely accidental as the Captain decided to stay longer allowing us to go on the train to Kuranda and hold a Koala bear. The tour all had to stick to the shorter time frame.

Asia days: Singapore was great but we did it on our own and knew what we wanted to do, it was the debarkation day for the first half of the cruise. Port Klang the ship parked at the most remote and desolate pier imaginable, at least that the case then….Penang completely changed since we were last there and was very disappointing. Bali, green water and garbage all over in the water, what happen to this beautiful place? Phuket we didn’t have high hopes as we only wanted to get to a Catholic church and tool around the area. Colombo Sri Lanka is where the ship is parked in the center of the container area so you had to walk through containers trying not to avoid being hit by a track.

India: what a great decision. We left the ship at Cochin in to take the overland trip to see the Taj Mahal. It was a very well organized and the stay at the Hilton Double Tree exceeded our expectations. The  visits to the Taj, Fort, and shopping were very organized and allowed enough time at each place to more than satisfy your needs. The overland flights are in coach and the seats are incredibly close so if you can try to make arrangements for aisle seats. 

Mumbai was again an awful port location and the shore excursions very disappointing.

Oman & UAE were again a total bust with very bad ports and excursions. The tea in Abu Dhabi was OK but the tour bus waited while a guest was late and we all suffered. Then we races around barely able to take any pictures.