In Sept. of 2005 we had cruised out of New York past the Statue of Liberty on the NCL Dawn. We had a mini-suite and had been treated very well by great NCL people like Serhat Kati, the ship's Maitre D' and his lovely wife, Nilufer at the front desk. (They are now both on the Majesty). We had to cruise NCL again and this time chose the Star out of LA. We weren't disappointed. Once again we were treated all during our cruise to wonderful NCL staff from every department. Arek Jakubowski, Maitre D' of the Versaille and the specialty restaurants, could not have been more gracious or accommodating. He is a real professional, seemed to have affection for his staff, some of whom we remembered from the Dawn. Memories from my birthday spent with my wife, Jenifer, at the rear window of the Versaille, orchestrated by Arek, by his hostess Violeta, by Dhuri our waiter and by other staff who brought the cake and sang will long be a favorite and special moment. Food in all areas is well prepared and beautifully presented, even in the Marketcafe Buffet with its gorgeous 12th deck views. (Hint: check all 3 buffet areas before choosing as they each have some different choices - pasta station, pizza station, stirfry station etc. The salad station has 12 options in a colorful array. The Kalamata figs near the cut-up morning fresh fruit station are a stand-out.) The Marketcafe also has a smaller Kids' Cafe table area. The 24 hour Blue Lagoon has fun food and great Mac and Cheese and Fish and Chips. A change of ports by NCL gave us $100 (per cabin) which we decided to spend in the specialty restaurants. They didn't disappoint. The Teppanyaki chefs entertained us for almost 2 hours. They had no problem with my request for no onions and the steak and shrimp were wonderful.

The Soho is elegant, (the lamb was great) and has a Tempura Chocolate cake that should be labeled as sinfully good. Cagney's with its 12th deck view at sunset as we sailed out of port and a Porterhouse that I cut with the back of my knife was also very nice. Reservations are made a day ahead near the front desk and seemed readily available. Front desk staff are great too. The Star is a sister ship to the Dawn. It is very beautiful and has tasteful artwork and details throughout. This time we booked an outside cabin and were assigned to C 6500, just outside the Starlight theater and one of only 4 cabins on deck 6. (Deck 6 holds the restaurants, casinos and theater). It was perfect for us. The beds were comfortable, Jesus and Ngurah kept the room spotless, the closets are plentiful (19 hangers, 6 spacious drawers). A small desk, a refridge, a spacious sink, shower and toilet area. We were near everything on the ship and slipped into the theater easily. Entertainment went on throughout the ship. The Red Lion Pub has a nice feel, selection and bartenders and a fine singer (who had won a talent night on a cruise and now works there). Stan in the Carousel is a professional. A quartet plays in the atrium. And the Starlight Theater has some of the best shows we've seen. We had to see the "Music of the Night Show" with songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber twice. "Band on the Run" was pure energy for an hour with 18 well-costumed, talented athletic performers and a stage that is part of the show too. The Blackstreet Boys show cannot adequately be described and was fun BUT DO Not be Late... The Magician and Chinese Acrobats were fine performers too. The theater is comfortable,well ventilated and cool so you might need a sweater. Shows start on time. Archie the cruise director is a fine host.

The spa section has a Sauna and a Steam room (with a cold plunge pool on the men's side, a lounge on the ladies) that are restorative a free (lap pool is $15 or $78 per cruise). Weight and exercise rooms are well equipped and have a free Ice Cream Stand just outside the door. Disembarkation was easy. We took an after cruise tour thru LA for $39 each for 3 1/2 hours that was fun and dropped us at LAX (a transfer with No tour is $25). When you consider all of the factors that make up a cruise, we always come away a bit astonished at what the staff accomplish. These hard workers are away from their families for 10 months at a time, and still manage to be cheery and professional and to produce a superior product at what we think are astonishingly low prices. We love to cruise and, yes, we were somewhat disappointed at the itinerary change but it didn't affect our cruise overall. We'll just have another excuse to return again. A single perceived slight or less than perfect step seems to give some passengers all the excuse they need to downgrade the whole amazing enterprise. Not us. We enjoyed it all. We've sailed on others lines but find the FreeStyle concept fits us best and seems to allow even those who like to Dress-up to feel comfortable too (There were over 600 returning Latitudes members on this cruise and people from 32 different nationalities). We are wowed by the NCL people, and were delighted once again by those on the Star. I only hope that we met their high expectations. We'll certainly be back on board some NCL ship, hopefully soon. onegraham@mac.com Moab, Utah