After reading some of the less complimentary accounts of cruises on the Norwegian Star, I thought that I'd throw my experiences/impressions into the mix in hopes of reassuring some future cruisers that they don't need to be worried about their upcoming adventures on the Star. This review of the Star is written from the perspectives of a first time NCL cruiser (previous six cruises have been with Celebrity, Carnival, and Premier's Big Red Boat), and with additional input from my sister who was a first time ever cruiser. Living in Southern California and wanting to keep things simple, the decision to do a seven day Mexican Riviera cruise was easy. For us, an ideal cruise would involve sailing from and returning to a port that's close to home and avoiding airports. The cruise lines that met the criteria were Carnival, Crystal, Norwegian, Princess, and Royal Caribbean. The following factors led to our ultimate selection of Norwegian. Free Style dining with a relaxed dress code, lower cost than all except for Carnival, my sister would be pleased with any cruise experience since this was her first cruise, last year my husband and I had visited the same ports with Carnival, and at the time of booking, Norwegian was offering cabin upgrades and on-board credit. At no time did we regret our selection. Embarkation was fast, waiting less than 15 minutes until they called our assigned number for boarding. We didn't hear until we were well into our cruise that the ship had around 1,600 of the possible 2,240 passengers. A less than full ship may explain why seating in the Aqua and the Versailles was always immediate, there were lots of time options for specialty restaurants, seating in the theater was abundant, deck chairs seemed available, and though we selected the 10:00 a.m. debarkation, we were off the ship and through customs by 9:40 a.m. The only waiting we ever did on the Star was for some popular machines in the casino, and in the omelet line at the buffet and that was resolved when we discovered that we could order omelets at the Blue Lagoon. Whatever the reason for the fast and friendly service throughout the cruise, we were very pleased. There were activities offered on the Star that I hadn't found on previous cruises. The Murder Mystery Dinner made for a fun evening and was an opportunity to meet other passengers. If you like to meet people and get to know them better over the course of a week, then Free Style dining is probably not a good choice. The Mystery dinner was the longest time that we spent with other people during the cruise, yet at the end of the meal, we still only knew our dinner companions by their character names. Even so, for us, it was a cruise favorite. To participate, sign-up was required and was limited to 100 participants, so if you're interested, check the "Freestyle Daily" early for when and where to get your name on the list. (Our sign-up was at 9:00 a.m. on the first full day of the cruise and could have easily been overlooked.) Other activities that seemed unique to this cruise were the backstage tour conducted by four members of Jean Ann Ryan Productions, the Cruise Director Paul Baya's presentation regarding life on the Star, an afternoon Q&A with one of the guest performers, Magician Murray Sawchuck, and evening snacks served in the casino. On the evening of November 4, 2008, the Spinnaker Lounge was converted into Presidential Election Broadcast Central where you could support your candidate with drinks and photos, and lots of whoops and hollers. Missing from this cruise, but what seems to be a recent trend, was the Midnight Grand Buffet. I read in a Cruise Critic posting that there is a move in that direction by the cruise lines because of the time and effort involved in putting together a beautiful array of food that many passengers are too tired to photograph and enjoy. Our Transatlantic cruise on Celebrity Constellation in April presented a truly grand late night buffet but by the time we sailed on Celebrity Millennium in September, no midnight buffet. The Star did provide a lovely, delicious chocolate buffet but be ready for good eats and not good photo opportunities. The nightly visits to the Stardust Theater to see Jean Ann Ryan Productions or the guest performers, magician Murray Sawchuck or juggler Romano Frediano, were always a treat. The talent of the performers compared well to that of the performers enjoyed during other cruises, as did the vocalists found in the Atrium and at the various lounges. Combine the entertainment with a casino that stayed open as long as there was action, with late night snacks at the Blue Lagoon, and night life was good on the Star. A few other notes on items that concerned us before the cruise...Internet service on the ship was fast enough, as long as we weren't trying to send photos. The food was fine, especially the chilled soups, served each day in both of the "no charge" main dining rooms (Aqua and Versailles). Motion of the ship was minimal and all of the pills and patches we were careful to pack were never used. Cigarette smoke couldn't be avoided in the casino but otherwise the smoke wasn't as bad as we had feared. Though the cabin seemed smaller and tighter than those on other ships, the space and storage were sufficient. Towel animals did appear some nights, a cruising treat that I was afraid my sister would miss after my Celebrity animal drought. Television choices were, indeed, limited, especially after the first day, but there were always CNN and at least three movie choices at any time. Finally, even though we were worried about the incentive for the staff to perform well with the mandatory service fee applied by NCL, all of the crew provided excellent service and we felt had earned any additional gratuities. So in summary, pack your bags (you might want to include your own favorite shampoo and conditioner) and enjoy all that the Star has to offer, especially the eclectic and colorful art and design throughout the ship. We think that you'll have a fine time and consider it money well spent.