Norwegian Star Review

I wish upon the NCL Star

Review for Alaska Cruise on Norwegian Star
User Avatar
perazzi
First Time Cruiser • Age 50s

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Jul 2010
Cabin: Mid-Ship Balcony
Traveled with children

This was our second cruise to Alaska. Both have been with NCl. The first was on the NCL Pearl the recent was on the Star. We found the service to be great on the Star with all personnel being very friendly and service oriented. Our Stewards Donna and Alfredo were great. They were efficient and quite pleasant. My wife and I traveled with our two daughters ages 9 and 13. Due to a late booking we had to split up and had separate balcony cabins. The cabins were 10 doors from each other on deck 10 AFT. My wife was with our older daughter and I was with our 9 year old. We dined at the buffet regularly for breakfast or brunch and ate at one of the specialty restaurants in the evening for dinner. We very much enjoyed all of the dinners with La Cacuina being our favorite. We also tried Cagneys, Tapenaki, Ginza, and Blue Lagoon. We never waited for a table for the buffet and found the dining room to be clean and the food was good. We did think that the menu at the buffet was the same each day. This may be a problem for some but with the variety that was offered it was not an issue for us. The cabins were efficient and served our purpose but then again we spent most of our time on the balcony looking for whales and letting the beautiful scenery go buy. It may have been better to have a bigger cabin or bathroom but I doubt I would rate the cruise better if the cabin was larger. We took 3 excursions. The Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier tour, The Deadliest Catch tour in Ketchikan, and the garden and Glass blowing experience in Skagway. All were good. The glacier tour was about a hour too long as one can only take so many pictures of ice. But don't get me wrong I wouldn't of wanted to miss the experience because it was beautiful.The family loved the glass blowing. It was educational and interactive. I didn't care much for the lunch but the ladies loved the tea party and quiche. The Deadliest Catch was the real surprise for us. It was Awesome and even though the other excursions were good these guys were spectacular. They were honest and authentic. I highly recommend this excursion. The Star was clean and was big enough that it never seemed crowded although it was sold out. The weather was fantastic. It never rained and was in the mid to high 60's each day. We were amazed at the lack of people in the Star Bar on deck 13. In fact we had this bar all to ourselves several evenings of the cruise. The bartenders said that for some reason it does not get visited as the other lounges. Definitely a place to check out. I found the new Spinaker lounge to be an inadequate replacement for the old forward looking Spinaker of the Pearl or other NCL ships. While I understand the economics of the decision I don't think the product that is put forth is of the same quality. The Star is now lacking public viewing areas that protect cruisers from wind or the elements. The new Spinaker is like a deep dark cave.It is in desperate need of windows. Although we had our own balcony I felt sorry for those that did not. As surely they would benefit for more public viewing areas that were protected. The new cabins on deck 12 are very nice and will suit many. Just not my family as we won't cruise without a balcony to see, feel, smell and sometimes touch environments like Alaska. It struck us strange as to the color choices of these new cabins. The hallway carpet was a light tan and was already stained and tattered and it was only its second week. We heard from the crew that NCL planned to convert some of the other ships to this new format. I hope they don't. The embark was slowed when the NCL computer system went down. The NCL embark crew did a good job trying to counteract this but the lines were long and the ship did leave about 30 minutes late. The disembark was a breeze as we walked off with our bags without delay. We went to several of the shows including the Charles Peachock (sp), Oh What a Night- Frankie Vali Tribute, The International Crew Show, Band on the Run, and Cirque de Pacific. All were good but the Frankie Vali tribute was outstanding. The kids club for both age groups did not appeal to either one of our kids but it did look like kids in the younger ages were enjoying themselves. The teens however seemed bored; however, this may be more a reflection of the age group rather than the facility.

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Balcony

Cabin BA
previous reviewnext review

Find a Norwegian Star Cruise from $639

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.