2/15/19 - 3/1/19 NCL Star Panama Canal Voyage Top screw ups 1. Free internet, ha ha, ha, 250 minute perk what doesn’t work properly or frequently; isn’t free or useful. Waits at Internet cafe could be as much as 60 minutes. 2. Cable/internet stations FOX, MSNBC, BBC, were very frequently not available as is the case right now as I write this, Thursday, 2/28/19 beginning at 6:40 AM and continuing unabated at present. The Sunday, 2/24/19 Oscars was not shown. 3. You will pay $4.64 for a glass of soda if you do not elect a plan. However most of time Diet Sierra Mist was poured by can to glass not by fountain spray but only 50% of time would server give you the balance of the can; note: only Pepsi products are available but Pepsi No Sugar was not. 4. Watch out for catamaran whale watch from Cabo it’s run by children who seem more interested in loud music and serving you prodigious quantities of alcohol; but to be fair soft drinks and water are available and you paid for it all inside the ticket fee. Like a party boat for mid lifers. They considered a whale sighting to be a spout or the whale’s tail as they dive. Never closer than a 1000 meters. One of the kids is the Cetaecian expert he plays loud whale sounds and provides much inaccurate information about humpback whales. 5. Avoid the Garden Cafe at almost all costs; except for periods of time when large numbers of eaters are gone. All enjoyed slopping at the Garden Cafe trough. Soft pretzel nirvana! 6. Avoid all specialty dining except for steak at Cagneys. If steak is your thing; there’s plenty of burned meat odor and taste there for you! 7. Be aware of cultural anomalies among some of your fellow passengers; like their general aversion to order, inability to patiently wait in line for their turn and the need for necessary occasional silence when and where it’s called as a need!!!!! 8. When you arrive at NCL TERMINAL at the Miami cruise port carefully assess what the greeters for NCL are telling you to do as it may be sufficiently botched or confused that you won’t know what you heard. This was something I thought NCL had down but not on 2/15/19 9. NCL will send you color coded luggage tags for embark; but you HAVE TO ASK FOR THEM. Otherwise you’ll need 8 ft of tape and print out cutouts online and then attach them yourself. 10. All Ports of Call are at best marginal and depressed. Let’s face it if they were all St Barth’s it would be a lot more expensive and after all you get to see how the Canal works. 11. Disembarking on 3/1/19 was an exercise in futility; for 3 and 1/2 hours we waited 3 hours of it in line to get out of NCL terminal. No announcements of any kind were ever made and no explanation was ever made to explain the delay; no bathroom facilities were identified; there were a number of fatigued or ill older people who should have been treated better; best bet appeared to be to claim wheelchair access need with the requirement for NCL staff to push the chair; which allowed for express debarkation of the person in the chair and their entourage, which was often as many as 3 additional people blithely passing those waiting for hours in line. - [x] People with apparent disability, which I defined as being in a wheelchair or similar conveyance, were present on the ship in what appeared to be anecdotally but positively high numbers to their and NCL’s credit! What was not clear were the express rides which all wheelchairs seemed to get as described above. It was simply unfair as NCL had asked passengers, able bodied and otherwise, to declare their need for early debarkation to get to airports for early flights. These express rides were much later in the debarkation process. NCL needs to mend fences with CPB In Miami FL to get a better working relationship with them rather than the blame put on CPB for the line and delay by at least one NCL agent. CPB needs to be open to such negotiations and to work equally hard to reach agreement and reduce their mutual disagreement which VICTIMIZED ALL DEBARKING PASSENGERS and nobody else. I’m confident that all NCL and CPB staff were paid for their work. Right now I can’t see myself returning to NCL to cruise again. Read Less

The location was the main reason. The trip was excellent, smooth sailing, very good shore excursions although some a little pricey. Food good in Steak restaurant, Ambiance could be much better in Italian Restaurant. O'Sheean's pub food pretty good but seemed pre-made in some cases. Entertainment was the best we have had on any of our cruises, including the guest performers and the cruise group and band. complimentary restaurants food, staff and setting were great. The Panama Canal day was very memorable and a must for everyone. It was interesting to learn of the real environmental preservation efforts of most of the central America countries. The people we met from these countries were genuinely caring of visitors. Enjoyed the trip to the artist town in Guatemala. The travel was quite lengthy but through different landscapes and economic areas. Suggest Norwegian continues to offer this trip. We will continue to cruise but maybe take a little break after May as we will have taken three cruises in 10 months. Will have Norwegian as first cruise company choice in the future. Read Less

The Panama Canal has always been on our Bucket List. While we usually vacation at All Inclusives, we felt a cruise would be the best way to experience the Canal. As first-time cruisers, we began to wonder what we had gotten ourselves into: prairie folk committing to 14 nights on a ship!! We chose Norwegian for the FreeStyle cruising and were not disappointed. We enjoyed the more relaxed dress code and not having to commit to a specific time to eat. We are foodies so were excited when the Versailles restaurant offered a delicious menu which was only surpassed by the genuine friendliness and service provided by the wait staff. It’s a good thing we were there 14 days to be able to sample most of the menu! O’Sheehans was our favourite breakfast spot—open early, relaxing ambience and delicious bacon and eggs. The Theatre is not really our thing but we went to the early show the second night and were absolutely blown away! Better than anything we’ve paid for at home so we attended every show after that! The live band accompanying the events was amazing. The entertainment changed each night: hypnotist, singer, musical shows (on-board animation team was AMAZING!!), comedian etc. We did 5 shore excursions. While the NCL excursions may be pricier than on-shore options, they were some of the best we have experienced. Excellent transfer buses, guides were knowledgeable and passionate about their countries, safety was a big priority (TIP: Costa Rica: top-of-the-line safety on the zip-line and best excursion ever!!). Near the end of our trip, we sailed on the Luxury Yachts in Cabo San Lucas. It was a beautiful way to spend the day—14 people snorkelling and whale watching—a nice break from the bustle of the ship. If we could change anything, we would like to see more chairs available in the shade outside. It was quite hot sailing south, with most of the shade inside the ship! If you are a smoker, there are lots of places to smoke outside, so many that it was difficult to avoid if you are a non-smoker. Read Less

The Panama Canal has been on my bucket list for a while, and I really loved every bit of our cruise on NCL Star. I shared a balcony cabin with my sister, also an experienced cruiser; however, this was our first longer cruise (over 7 days) for both of us. The Star is looking spiffy after her recent drydock… décor looks fresh, color schemes up to date, seating in public spaces is (mostly) comfortable. She’s one of the smaller ships in the NCL fleet, so, we weren’t expecting the bells & whistles of a megaship. We still found plenty to like. Our cabin was about what we expected, size-wise: a bit snug, but room enough for both of us to completely unpack & hang up what needed hanging. The beds were reasonably comfortable. We both liked the USB ports that have been added to the bedside reading lamps. The bathroom is tight quarters, as expected (particularly the toilet cubicle,) but the shower is big enough to turn around in. Dining was very good in every venue we tried. We didn’t eat at the buffet for meals (just an occasional afternoon snack… they always had some nice things set out to make up a tea tray or an ersatz charcuterie plate.) The main dining rooms had a nice variety of entrees on the menu, with enough variation that we didn’t get bored by the end of the second week. The alternate venues wowed us! Of the specialty dining (we tried them all) we particularly liked Le Bistro & Teppanyaki, but it was all quite good. We also loved Ginza, the complimentary Asian restaurant, and would return two more times during the cruise. The activities & entertainment offered were varied, and we enjoyed the live music in the several venues around the ship. I particularly liked the production shows offered in the Stardust Theater – four shows over the course of the cruise – the show band is awesome! They would also perform in the smaller venues on non-show nights, and were terrific there, too. We also had the good fortune of having a guest lecturer on board, who gave several interesting talks in the afternoons on topics related to our Central American itinerary. I indulged in the thermal spa pass, and spent many pleasant hours there. Smaller ship means smaller spa… the steam room & sauna are tiny, but barely used, so it didn’t matter much. There are only seven of the heated tile loungers, but I think I only had to wait once. The crew of the Star is what really elevated the whole experience for us. Every single person we encountered was pleasant, helpful, and ready to treat us like rock stars. It amazes me how everyone you encounter (room steward, bartender, dining room hostess) is greeting you by name after about the third day. NCL is clearly doing something right, because the whole crew seems to be happy & energized to have the best cruise possible. After such a review, I hate to mention downsides… but there’s always a couple… The seating in Stardust Theater is awful, to put it simply. I guess it didn’t get the refurb during drydock. Many of the fold-down seats seem to be sagging. I found the bench seats in the balcony to be much more tolerable. Also, the live music is sometimes much too loud in small venues, particularly Gatsby’s (the midship bar on deck 6.) It was our favorite bar in the evenings, but we’d find ourselves avoiding it if there was an over-miked musician performing when we walked by. Overall, these very small glitches did nothing to diminish our overall enjoyment of the cruise. We loved the Canal experience & we’re glad we got to enjoy it aboard the Star. She’s a fine ship with a fine crew, and I’d sail her again anytime. Read Less

We chose this because we always wanted to see the Panama Canal and the central America ports. Embarking was very quick. We arrived approx 11:45 and were on the ship by 12:15. Headed to O'Sheehan's bar for lunch and beverage. Nice bar and good food. Great staff! Anytime dining allows you to dine here as well as the main dining rooms. Checked out the ship after that. The Start just had a major refurbishment so it looked great! Not to crazy about a few dead end areas when trying to get to a few places but we figured out out after time. Our rooms are ready before we left the port. Main dining areas were very nice. Service was very good and the food was good to very good. Staff was very good to excellent. Fine dining was very good to excellent a well as the service. Bars were great and service was very good even at the pool. They had a buffet at the pool daily. Entertainment was very good. Something for everyone. Our room was well laid out with many USB chargers. Best bathroom layout I've seen on cruise ships. Sliding doors on both shower and toilet area for privacy while the sink area can be used at the same time. Bed was very comfortable and the a.c. was efficient and quiet. Patio was big enough for 4 to sit but not lounge. Good size casino. Why do they still allow smoking in there? It's time to stop that practice. The gamblers will come back to gamble after they step out for a smoke. It's not like they can drive home. Health before profits! That goes for all cruise lines! The staff was excellent overall in all departments. Very happy, talkative, cheerful and helpful. By far NVL's biggest asset! We had a great time and weren't disappointed. I'll definitely cruise with NCL again. Read Less

This is our 1st cruise with Norwegian but we have cruised several times before. This was the longest cruise at 14 days however. We had been informed to Star had recently been renovated. Ship was very clean. Staff was efficient but not very friendly. There were exceptions like Ivan our room steward. There were parts of the ship that should/could have had service but didn't - the front and back of the ship where sunbathers were. Not one waiter ever came by to ask if you wanted anything. Yes there are bars near by but you would have to leave your chair,etc. to go get something. Also no light snacks at any of the bars - spicy corn nuts at Gatsby and Sugar cane only. Eric in the Tiptop bar is very nice. There's only one casual dining room (Agua)where shorts are acceptable, all the rest require reservations,long pants/collared shirts and are either ala cart or specialty priced. We came on the cruise to relax and be casual. But I didn't come on a cruise to eat at a cafeteria which the upstairs buffet reminded me of. It was crowded and noisey. The specialty restaurants were very nice though - Le Bistro was excellent and so was the Moderno - a meat lover's dream. Gapo our waitperson there was wonderful. The salad bar at the Moderno was amazing. I would have been glad just to eat that. I have come to realize that I do not Asian fusion cooking. The Ginza was a complete disappointment. The sushi rice was not correct (too sweet) and the tuna texture appeared to have been frozen. I understand that we are on a ship and frozen fish would/might be required for health safety but then do not serve sushi to consumers that will know the difference. Or when we are in port buy local fresh fish from the area. That would have been exciting to try instead. O'Sheehans was a hit or miss. I ordered buffalo wings 2x's and they came to the table cold and overcooked both times. Have your waitstaff learn how to pour a pint of Guinness beer as well. It is different from regular beer. I should not have to tell them how to do it at a place called O'Sheehans! The Tradewinds shopping area had lovely clothing. Prices were actually quite reasonable in comparison to other cruise lines. Both a few items there. But the toiletry selections is very limited. You should expand it to include more things that people either forgot or ran out of . I bought some lovely earrings and lost a back - couldn't wear them because you didn't sell any replacement backs. No AA or AAA batteries or phone chargers. Another missed opportunity. We met 2 lovely couples from England and Australia on our cruise and being with them made any of our disappointments bearable. However, not sure if we will do Norwegian again. Read Less

We did the 14 day Panama Canal cruise from Miami to LA. I packed all the things that are essential for me. A clock radio, magnetic clips to hold the itinerary with excursions, dining reservation and the daily planner on the wall, flavored creamer for my coffee. I took an extension cord for plugging in our devices but didn't need it because the suite had 2 outlets, backpack for excursions, my Yeti cup for putting drinks in (the sun melted the ice right away), & lots of lotions and hats. We left Thurs for Miami & stayed at the airport Ramada. Got on the shuttle to the port at about 11AM Fri and got there about 11:45. Embarkation was easy (I think it would have been even without a suite). We were taken to a room where we checked in and waited for our concierge (Suzanna) to take us for lunch in the Moderno. After that we were able to get into our room, 12530. Yes, the 12th floor forward rooms have no balcony and I thought I would miss that but I never did. I sat by the window all thru the panama canal & didn't miss a thing. I loved sitting by the windows. They bring a narrator on board & he explains everything (it comes thru the TV) and also the bow camera. I do wish though that our windows would have been cleaner. They were alittle spotty to take pictures. Our butler was Rex, he was very sweet. Most days I ate lunch in my room, I think the menu is different for suite guests. Everything, especially the cobb salad, was great. We also had breakfast in the room on excursion days. Brussell was our room stewart. He did a great job. We were on the 12th floor and only walked a few steps out to the pool. Chairs were always filled by at least 10 on sea days which we had 6 of, but we were usually able to find somewhere to sit. The shows were very good (the magician and the contourshonist were the best). The musical shows were great but very loud. For excursions we were always escorted of the boat by Suzanna which was really nice and also for disembarkation. She couldn't take us all the way to the front of the line for disembarkation but it really helped. I would have been angry if I would have had to wait in those long lines. Norwegian had told me I needed to book dinner reservations early before we went on the cruise, but Suzanna was not sure why they told me that because she would have taken care of it & also the excursions. We had been on the star in 2017 before the renovation. It is really beautiful now. They use paper straws now for the drinks, which is really great. All the bars were great. Friday at embarkation the pool deck bars were very slow but they improved a lot. We loved the Bliss lounge and the nighttime games and music, the grand atrium area is nice and has good snacks. We ate at Tempanaki which I think was our favorite. La Bistro twice, they had a T-bone special which we didn't care for but ate there another night and it was good, Moderno we liked a lot (don't eat much salad) Cagneys twice, soso, Ginza (which is free) very good, Aqua once, the tables were very close together & Versaiiles 3 or 4 times, very good. Aqua & Versailles have the same menu. We loved it. I could have stayed longer. Read Less

Main Entertainment was very good to excellent but entertainment in main areas of ship was awful. Food good with very good variety. Service good. Can’t prove it but food on shore excursions gave both of us Montezuma’s Revenge. TV in room had very limited and intermittently unavailable programming. Tiny stateroom with no sitting area or sofa. Onboard activities very limited and too many tried to sell something or had fees. Game show hostesses were annoying with hard to understand Eastern European accents. Tiny pool. Limited common areas for relaxing. “Free” Ultimate Beverage Package a total rip-off. Mandatory $20 per person per day charge for gratuity. Very nice main theater. Smell of cigarette smoke in many public areas. Ship staff overall were very good. Chaotic process for finding ship sponsored (and other) location of transportation for shore excursions. Very elderly passengers. Median age definitely over 70. Probably over 75. Aerialists, Magician, Thomas John, Levena B Fox and production shows were excellent. Hypnotist not very good. Female Comedian very good. Good shore excursions. Many options for bars and restaurants although too many of them are an extra charge. Terrible smoking in casino kept me away. Captain was very informative and kept us on schedule. Limited seating in complimentary restaurants. Always a line and forced to wait. Too few tables for 2. Pressured to sit with others. Disembarkation was chaotic. Very long lines. Read Less

We wanted to go to the Panama Canal and the time of year worked best for both my husband and I. We also thought we'd try a different cruise line (we were very sorry we did). We were on a 14-day NCL Star cruise through the Panama Canal, starting in Miami and ending in Los Angeles. The cruise itself was very good. Enjoyed the canal and the scenery. The ship was good, the room was great, and our cabin stewards were good. First, let me tell you that we have cruised mostly with Holland America. Holland America has some of the best foods we have eaten. Just got off a cruise in September to Alaska, food was fabulous. It's always exciting to see whats on the menu for the night. On the NCL we received the free drink package, 4-specialty dinners, $50 of each room for excursions, 250 minutes internet, and 150 ship to shore minutes (never used). The drink package was NOT FREE. Prior to paying off our cruise amount, we received an unexpected pre-billed amount of approximately $450.00. Call NCL, I found out that this is for the pre-paid amount for the tips for the FREE drink package. So the FREE drinks package was not so free after all. You might think that you're going to drink $450 on your cruise, I think you might be surprised. We were mostly sitting on Deck 6, never once in 14-days did someone come by to ask if we wanted a drink. We would have to take the elevator up to either the casino on Deck 7 or Deck 12 to get a drink. Of course you free package includes only one drink at a time so if you plan to drink, plan to take many trips to and from the bar. The food was the WORST food I ever had on a cruise ship, and I've taken 12 cruises. The main buffet for breakfast in the yogurt bar area was a daily a mass of frozen fruit (berries). They had two egg stations (omelets, poached), took forever sometimes. The food was bland, never any seasoning. On day two I asked if they had any salsa, I was directed to two bottles of tabasco sauce. If you wanted to use the tabasco sauce, you would have to hunt for the bottle on the table(s) (again only two bottles) and asked to use it. Salsa? The food persons would shake their heads "no". The piles of bacon were good. Scrambled eggs, no salt or pepper. WORST FOOD EVER. The main dining room, Versailles and Aqua (another non-reservation restaurant) had the same menu (and is the same menu for both restaurants) for 14-days with the exception of a change in a salad or soup. The main entrees were exactly the same for 14-days in both restaurants. EXACTLY THE SAME. The food was tasteless and bland. For example, they had Chicken Fried Chicken. The meal consisted of a small scoop of mash potatoes (no seasoning), cold slaw (never saw it ever), and small portion of sweet corn (no seasoning), one filet of chicken with no bones (ordered it twice and my husband once), which I am positive had been frozen prior and was of the same height and same roundness, so I'm sure it was packaged. And no, it was not a pounded down piece of breast. Think frozen veal cutlet. And then also received a leg/thigh combo that was oven baked. Honestly I think they were trying to hide the frozen chicken fillet. Leg/thigh combo was breaded and no salt, pepper, or other seasoning. They had a shrimp burger which i did hear people comment on as good. They had a hamburger, the burger was an inch think and had a roll of some kind, which was fresh baked. No seasoning, tasteless. Also on the menu was a Philadelphia cheese steakwhich because my husband is from Philli he wouldn't even order (it looked all bun and tons of bell peppers). Chicken salad sandwich consisted of two ice cream scoops of chicken salad on one piece of bread (hard to eat as a sandwich). Salads consisted of mostly bell peppers and some salad. Sometimes the lettuce was crisp others soggy. In the evenings the specialty restaurants were better. Italian was decent (bland), steak house, steak was good but it was good because it came with a couple different sauces. The steak itself was not cooked with salt or pepper. We ate at the speciality Chinese restaurant. Food was awful after waiting two nights for over an hour to get in. One of the better places was O'Sheehans which was kinda like a pub...but if you ordered Nachos, you had to request 3X's the amount of cheese and sour cream or you ended up with a bowl full of chips. No salsa again. The whole entire time getting a table seemed to be a problem. They ran your card, had to mess with their computer, had to write the table number on a piece of paper, person had to find another person to take you to your table, which also wouldn't be the person waiting on your table. I really loved at the specialty restaurants when you were finished with your meal, they would give you a comment card and request that you filled it out right then and there. Even our local Shari's doesn't do that. Comment cards were always on the tables. Certainly cheapens' your experience. One comment was WORST FOOD EVER! Also, when you used the specialty restaurants, even though they were free to us as part of the package, we still were charged a 20% gratuity for the cost (each menu had a cost per item). When we received our bills it was zero dollars with a note at the bottom that they would charge you 20% gratuity with was on our mail ship bill. Television had that same 4 movies the entire 14 days. Thank goodness for the news channels, which intermittently went off/on. We reported the green screen to the front desk, they sent someone to check out our TV and told us it was the reception. No kidding Sherlock!! With the newer tv's, you can't even get a DVD from the internet cafe. You got what they had and that was it. I did use my 250 internet /wifi minutes and then had to buy some more. It worked great. If you wanted to use your NCL app on your iPhone, you had to log into wifi (hence you use those 250 minutes really fast). Never used the ship to shore telephone calls. Did the excursions, they were good. Room service was excellent as also. We were charged almost $14.50 per person per day for service charge for our room ($29.00 total) which we gladly paid. If you ordered food room service, food was free but you were charged $7.95 for delivery. Room service was better than looking at the tasteless food so I ordered lunch several times. Salad was always crisp. Fruit came fresh. Bottom line, I would NOT RECOMMEND ever going on a Norwegian Cruise Line cruise ever. We went on two cruises last year, food was unbelievable. Both were on Holland America. The closed lobster I saw on NCL was in some corn chowder soup. HAL always has lobster night. NCL FOOD WAS HORRIBLE. LET ME REPEAT MYSELF, HORRIBLE. WARNING, DO NOT GO ON NCL. I was actually relieved to get on an airplane and get some decent food. Thank you Alaska Airlines for making my last day on my 3-week vacation from LAX to PDX an enjoyable and pleasant one, and thank you for the wonderful food. Read Less

Easy embarkation would have been flawless if the terminal staff was educated on latitudes.Room availability and luggage delivery was startling quick. Excellent food options with the exception of La Cucina. That was terrible. The menu options were bizarre and the flavor was exceptionally bland. Le Bistro and Cagney’s were fantastic, as usual. They were clear that the charge would be made for anything beyond what is stated on the platinum dining voucher, and they did add it to the bill! Moderno was ok, a little too small, tables were very close. Aqua and Versailles were prompt and efficient. Ginza offered small portions with a long wait. No specialty dining options on sea day afternoons for lunch. Garden Cafe lists “late night snacks”, but they end at 11. Not my definition of “late night”. Breakfast Room service order was early, but not accurate. O’sheehans was exceptional, for all 3 meals, as well as actual “late night” snacks. Ports: Cartagena, opted for the Chivaparty bus tour. Excellent, only complaint is the locals being belligerent when declining to purchase their treasures. Panama Canal, viewed from all areas of the ship was interesting. Costa Rica, beautiful place, many things to do! Nicaragua, waste of a day. Accepted a “tour” from the bike cab, required donations to dancing children in costumes in the street. Upon completion, the guide was unhappy with the pre-negotiated price, as well as the tip! Guatemala, a day at a beach resort. Long ride, but the resort was delightful. Acapulco, boat tour to see cliff divers, they boarded the ship to take tips, open bar and lunch.Wonderful! Cabo San Lucas, luxury sail , included lunch and open bar. Numerous whale sightings. Very short day, would have preferred a longer stop. Entertainment on the ship was poor. Only saw Roberto the CD for 1 minute each day, at the end of the stardust theater shows. Comedian Julie was the high lite of the trip.She was hilarious. The juggling comedian was ok. The magician put everyone to sleep. The hypnotist had 1 mediocre show then cancelled the next day. The singers/ dancers would have been great if they were performing other shows. Paradis was offensive, beginning to end. Watching a skit about ménage a trios is just too much for me, and I am very open minded. Band on the Run is always great. They had a female headline singer, Levon a, she was quite talented. The band, game of tones performed daily, sometimes twice, and they were amazing with a Vast array of songs. Jason was playing a few times, sounded ok, but I did not hear an entire set. Another group, (unclear of the name )played horrendous and loud Latin music that was hard to escape. The usual game shows that were present were boring. The newlywed game is usually a scream. This one was pathetic and awkward. The legs contest by the pool was rushed. The quest was never offered. The biggest disappointment was the lack of variety of music played by the DJ. It was either Latin or extraordinarily outdated, one hit wonders from the 80’s. Same playlist, in order, at every party and parties rarely lasted beyond 12am ?!?! Spice H2O was underutilized, only 1 event held there. Glow/white party had 2 good songs, then the same playlist. Never had a party at night around the pool despite perfect weather every day/evening. Attended 3 kids club craft events ( very few kids on this sailing), the team was outstanding. Photography team was very subdued, as a result I did not have anything of quality to purchase. The captain was really informative, he spoke twice daily and delivered valuable information. He was seen around the ship more often and was much more personable than the CD! An older, small-ish ship but it was maintained as well as possible. Always neat and tidy. Air conditioning was sufficient in Bliss and the Stardust, but it was warm everywhere else. Tons of bar service available., especially at the pool. Never had an issue finding 2 lounge chairs together by the pool, either in the sun or in the shade. Room steward was ok, he did not restock many items in the cabin. He didn’t stop and chat. Towel animals were basic, nothing imaginative. Never smelled smoke, either in the casino or around the pool. Disembarkation was an absolute disaster. I had a tour scheduled, ticket stated “meeting at stardust at 830”. No other guests there. I assumed the tour attendees would disembark together. Nope, had to get in the line , despite being platinum, to disembark. Finally got to the bus, no direction as to which bus for each tour around 915, the bus waited another hour for more guests to arrive! This was a fun trip, but there is definitely room for the NCL Star to make improvements. Read Less