I first sailed Norwegian Star during its maiden season when it sailed the Pacific around the Hawaiian Islands and Fanning Island. Lots of changes were made but I still had fun recalling key events on that first cruise aboard here.
Car service picked me up in Forest Hills, Queens at 11:00 am and I was sitting down for lunch in the Versailles dining room by 12:30 pm. Needless to say it was an uneventful trip into the city and pretty painless check-in process. And this was without having edocs printed. All I had to do was fill out a blank luggage tag for the porter and right past the entrance to the terminal was a desk I was directed to where I showed my passport and an NCL rep filled out a sailing contract with my name, booking # and cabin and off I went. I found the ship to be in spotless condition. I don't think I've seen more immaculate public toilet facilities. A nice touch is that a hand sanitizer dispenser is positioned outside. The other noticeable (positive) feature is how friendly the staff is and that extends all the way up the ladder to the ship's officers and most importantly, the captain. Sean, the hotel director is every bit as friendly and accommodating as I had read on these boards. It seemed that he and his colleagues were frequently found touring the ship to make sure not only everything was functioning properly but also that the passengers were content. The final outstanding feature was the weather which cooperated, I'd say about 80% of the time. We had a cloudy and windy final day in Bermuda and the final sea day had its share of clouds and choppy seas (ever so slight), although the ship performed beautifully and the ship remained stable.
I had booked the cruise as a last minute bargain where the price was way down and no single supplement was charged. So of course I wasn't assigned deluxe accommodations but my inside on deck 9 right before the forward elevators was a pretty good assignment. Unfortunately the cabin had a few flaws. There was quite a bit of vibration, some coming from the bunk bed which was attached to a wall. My cabin steward said he would try to fix the problem but it didn't work 100% of the time. Fortunately, I always bring ear plugs so at least when I slept it didn't annoy me. But still, when you're trying to watch tv or read it can get on your nerves very quickly. Secondly, the a/c just would not shut off no matter how I adjusted the thermostat. Well, better that it wouldn't shut off than not turn on. I managed to get used to it but I think I heard others discuss having the same problem. Fortunately, the public rooms on the ship were not affected. But the cabin layout was fine and the bathroom is a decent size for a cruise ship, especially the stall shower. Water pressure from the tap was strong but not so much in the shower, just adequate.