My wife and I took the Norwegian Star on its March 7, 2008 cruise from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera. My wife had taken this same cruise in December 2006 with three friends and had a wonderful time. She talked so highly of it upon her return that we booked it for ourselves! Overall, we had a wonderful, relaxing time. We took this trip to get away and relax after several very busy months in both of our professional lives. We plan to take this cruise again, although we are disappointed that it will not be going all the way to Acapulco next season.

THE SHIP AND CREW: The ship is very nicely appointed and well laid-out. The public rooms were done in a variety of styles, which made the ship more interesting to us. We found the ship easy to get around once we got use to the general layout. Most of the public rooms are on Decks 6 & 7, with another set on Deck 12. We loved the large, open Atrium. Found ourselves riding the glass elevators just to admire the view!

The crew was outstanding in their commitment to providing first-class service. This started with Captain Lars, who is very outgoing and visible. We saw him on deck (enjoying a hot dog off the Grill at lunch), in La Trattoria and Ginza, and generally around the ship. His daily announcement rambled at times, but they were fun and showed his desire to keep his passengers informed. We were particularly impressed with his announcements on our second sea day. Apparently, there was some commotion the night before from some passengers partying a little too much on spring break. Captain Lars' announcement was perfect for the occasion. While he confirmed that he and the crew wanted everyone to enjoy their cruise, he was going to ensure that the "spring-breakers" did not disrupt the vacations of other passengers. We heard no further announcements or problems on this topic. Read more