As a first time cruiser, I didn't really know what to expect from NCL's freestylin' Norwegian Star. I had a preconceived notion of what cruising would be like: hours kneeling over the toilet (being prone to motion-sickness) and 7 days of all-you-can-eat madness. So armed with motion-sickness pills and an empty stomach, I embarked from Seattle on a sunny July afternoon.
Since I hail from Seattle, getting to the port was a breeze. The port is located on Alaskan and Bell, which is close to the bus lines. Checking our bags in, signing a clean bill of health waiver and receiving our card keys was easy. When compared to what we go through at airports these days, this was a pleasure. A credit card is needed which NCL attaches to your card key. No cash is accepted on the ship and all charges are made on your card key going forward. This is actually a great modern-day convenience.
When we boarded the ship, we were greeted with hand sanitizer (they spray you before meals and upon entry/re-entry onto the ship) and a glass of champagne. The ship interior was highly decorated, but not in a sophisticated way. If the reader has ever been to a cheesy Las Vegas casino, he/she can imagine what the inside of this cruise ship looks like. The Carousel Lounge looks like the inside of a circus tent, and has merry go round horses for stools at the bar. The Grand Atrium did get an "ooh" from me because it revealed how monstrous the ship was. The reception desk sat on one side and on the other side was a glass elevator. The overall layout of the ship left something to be desired. To make your way from one end of the ship to the other you had to walk through the restaurants. In order to get from our room ( the front of the ship) to the gym ( the back of the gym ), we had to walk through The Market Cafe buffet. Everytime I walked through I was accosted by a hostess armed with a spray bottle of hand sanitizer.