This was our third Caribbean cruise, first two were on Princess. Before we even took the NCL cruise, the big difference between it and Princess: NCL wanted their money up front for shore excursions.

Even parking at New Orleans port had to be paid in full before cruise even started. As an option, they asked to pay the daily $12 tip before the cruise; we opted to pay it after.

Entertainment: we've heard about legendary entertainment onboard of NCL ships and were excited to see it. Not on NCL Star. Second City comedy shows were good but the rest of the shows were not. Too much emphasis on volume and not enough on talent. Read more