First let me say Thank You to all Cruise Critic members for their useful advice and information. This was our very first cruise and we chose the NCL Star for their freestyle cruising. Booked our cruise to Alaska for August 11-18, 2007 to celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary. We had a wonderful time and are planning our next cruise with NCL. Living in Washington and 1-½ hours from Seattle we decided to reserve a motel room the night before our cruise. I am glad we did because of the lane closures on I-5. The hotel we stayed at offered one night stay, car parking for duration of cruise and transportation to/from the pier. Total cost was around $145.00, not a bad price. For us this was the only way to go. Embarkment: total wait time after arriving at pier was 20 minutes, started boarding at 11:30 and on the ship by noon. Dh was hungry and didn't want to wait for Versailles to open so we ate in the Market Cafe. Not to bad for buffet style. Cabins were ready by 1:30 and luggage arrived shortly after that. Had everything unpacked and put away before muster drill (which is mandatory) at 3:30. At 4pm went to the Spinnaker Lounge for our cruise critic meet & greet. Meet 2 great ladies and their families. Very nice people and will try to keep in touch. The view was fantastic leaving Seattle. Ship: What an awesome ship. She is huge and beautiful. We found her to be very clean and lots of hand sanitizers everywhere. A person can get turned around easily on the Star. After a few days it gets easier and by the end of the cruise I knew where to go and how to get back. I really have to praise NCL on their help. Everyone was friendly, helpful and willing to go that extra mile. Cabin: Our stateroom was on deck 8 port side aft, cabin 8652 ocean view. Just the right size for 2 people. We decided to keep our beds separated to give us more room. Our luggage fit under the bed and had plenty of closet space. Had enough drawers to put things into. Liked having coffee in the room. The hair dryer was powerful enough. Glad I didn't pack mine. Loved the layout of the bathroom. It even had a clothesline in the shower if you needed it. Every evening our beds were turned down and we found either chocolates on our pillows or towel animals on the bed. Very nice touch and couldn't wait to see which was waiting for us at bedtime. Slept very well on the ship and the beds were comfortable. Dining: We ate breakfast and dinner twice in Versailles. Very nice and the staff was always friendly. Ate the rest of breakfasts in the Market Cafe. They had more choices than Versailles. Had dinner in Aqua once. Also very nice. Endless Summer had good food and staff was friendly also. A couple of times we had late lunches and skipped dinner. Most of our lunches were on the pool deck at the grill. Very, very good hamburgers. Ate the fish & chips at the Blue Lagoon twice. Very good. Did not buy the soda card-too expensive so we drank water or ice tea. Never had to wait to be seated in the restaurants. Overall the food was good. Entertainment: There is a lot to see and do on the ship. One should never be board. We listened to Mt. Motown several times. Really enjoyed his music. Played bingo once too expensive for us. Wasn't real thrilled with the casino. They didn't get a lot of our money. Spent a lot time on deck watching the view, being together and people watching. Ports: In all 3 Alaska ports we toured the towns on our own. Wanted to see the history. For us Skagway was the best. Longest time in port for one, and second it was more old town looking with lots of history. Recommend the NPS tour. It is free and our guide Erica was great. Sawyer Glacier was great even if we couldn't get real close. Was able to get a lot of good pictures. As we were leaving we heard what sounded like thunder and was told it was the glacier calving. Wish we could have seen it. Oh well, maybe another time. Other: Wish the Chocolate Buffet were an earlier time. We are not night owls. Suggestion for future cruisers, please check your accounts at least twice before you receive your final bill. I am glad we did because our obc wasn't on our account. At the last minute I decided to bring my final payment from NCL showing that we had one coming. They took a copy and by that afternoon it was on our account. Excellent response to this oversight. Disembarkment: We chose the express disembarkment, which is where you can leave anytime you, want to as long as it is before 9:40am. You take your bags with you. Very fast, smooth and easy. Final thoughts: Being first time cruisers we had a fantastic time and was sorry to see it end. However we signed up for a future cruise with their on board booking special. We want to thank everyone on the Star for a great cruise. We would recommend this cruise line and to ship to anyone. THANK YOU!!