It was NCL's first sailing by Star out of Tampa. Embarkment was well organized until you got up to an agent. After waiting in line for about 20 minutes, it took over 45 minutes to get checked in. Agent maintained it was a new system for them and that was the reason for the delay. He changed something and then said the only two names on the reservation were my wife's. He needed someone to correct it and I think there was only one or two people trying to help the 20+ agents with any problems they had. We along with others later when leaving the ship for ports found out that both of our cards had my picture on it. Others we knew had the same problem. I think that will be corrected but some passengers we talked to said it took them up to 3 hours or more before they cleared the lines and check-in with the agents. Now for some good news.

This was the cleanest ship we have ever been on. Hallways to the cabins had nice colorful carpeting and the rooms themselves were also attractive. Food was about the same as other lines, except they had several pay restaurants which were rumored to be well worth the price. We didn't actually use any of them ourselves. Ports were better than expected although, we either stayed relatively close to the shore or took a taxi to see the country side and attractions.

The entertainment was really as good as any we've seen on our previous cruises. The cast of dancers and singers had some excellent shows. The game shows in the Spinnaker Lounge were a really a lot of fun. Dancing with the Stars was hilarious and made you laugh till you cried with the Star's version. Read more