After 10+ cruises, all being on Carnival except this last one on NCL Star. We were concerned about the flu epidemic because my husband has RA. Our fears were put to rest immediately. There were staff members with spray hand sanitizers at every turn. Also automatic hand cleaner dispensers everywhere you looked.
Now for other positive points on NCL Star. Beautiful ship. Good buffet food, More staff than Carnival. They were all so pleasant and full of personality. I was really impressed. Now for the comparison. . Food in dining rooms: Carnival has more choices and in my opinion better food. Only one specialty restaurant which is the steak house and it is more expensive but very good. On NCL Star we also ate in one of the specialty restaurants, the La Cacina, and Italian food place (there are 5 to choose from reasonably priced) There was no Italian red wine available and no one was knowledgeable about the wine list. All the food was in Alfredo sauce and only spaghetti was in red sauce.
Was very disappointed in service and food. Everything from bingo to gift shops were much higher on NCL so we did not buy anything. Entertainment on NCL was not great in my opinion. Carnival is better. Not very good discounts in the spa on NCL either. So hopefully I have given you something to think about when trying to decide on either of these cruise lines.
