Since the Star changes home ports and itineraries periodically, I will begin by mentioning that we sailed out of New Orleans for seven days and visited Costa Maya, Belize, Roatan, and Cozumel. We sailed with our good friends down the street, as we often do, when we can make our schedules match up. They have sailed Norwegian before, so we rode their coat tails through the embarkation process, as this was our first encounter with Norwegian. We arrived at the terminal early, since it was Super Bowl Sunday in NOLA and we had no idea what traffic complications that might present. The impact was negligible and added no more than 10 minutes to the last mile between the Superdome and the port. The security and embarkation process were painless, and before long they called for group "One" and we boarded. For those unfamiliar with Norwegian, they issue priority LETTERS (A,B,C, etc) to those who have booked high end suites and those in the higher tiers of their loyalty program (Latitudes). Those of lesser status and/or accommodations are issued NUMBERS (1,2,3, etc), so, the call the letters before they start in on the numbers. No doubt the time passed quickly in part because we were with friends and were happy with the thought of leaving the shore, the worries of work, and the cold weather behind in favor of the warm, blue waters of the Caribbean. At any rate we were on board and checking out the buffet lunch offerings by 11:15 AM. I should mention, as we boarded the ship, we were alerted to the option of checking our carry on luggage in a secure room near the lobby. That was an attractive option, since the staterooms are typically not available until one or one thirty in the afternoon. Checking you carry ons was a complementary service (get used to that term -- complementary. It is used to differentiate between things that are free and things that are not.)

Now, about the cruise and the ship. Let me begin by saying the service workers were excellent. Their attitude was excellent, and that alone can make or break the cruise experience. I had a couple of significant issues with the cruise line and hotel management, but the great attitude of the cabin stewards, wait staff, shop clerks and others made it easy to shrug off problems.

This was our 15th cruise, so as seasoned cruisers, we are well aware that there is no such thing as the perfect cruise. Every ship has something not to like, so you either spend a lot of energy gritting your teeth and griping, or you go with the flow and make the best of things. Read more