We sailed the Star on December 7th, 2003. This was our second cruise. Formerly we sailed on Royal Caribbean which was a wonderful experience. Though very different in nature, overall, I would say this cruise was at least equally nice. We loved the Freestyle dining and although initially I didn't like the idea of having to pay at some of the restaurants (weren't we paying enough already?) we soon discovered that it really wasn't an issue because the non-pay restaurants were just as good and never once did we have any trouble getting seated. I liked the idea that they would seat you by yourselves if you wanted but also gave you the option to sit with another couple if you wished. We always chose that option finding it fun to meet other people.
The ship is gorgeous and other than the rocky experience we had coming back from Fanning Island and a little difficulty finding our way around the ship at first, we had no complaints. The entertainment was superb and our cruise director, Patti we found very personable and helpful (talented too!). For the record, I know some people find it obnoxious that the ship photographers are always in your face, but you have to remember recording those events is their job whether or not you buy their photographs. As professional photographers ourselves, we just decided to be friendly with them and spent alot of our time chatting with them and talking "shop." We even attended their little mini-class on "Photography 101" for those interested in getting better shots and think they did an excellent job with their presentation. And for what it's worth, do believe them when they tell you the airport officials are dead wrong when they tell you the xray machines won't hurt your film. They certainly can (especially after multiple xrays) and this crew had actually done an experiment to prove it!
One very important thing to me I would like to express; that is the issue of going to Fanning Island. It seems to me that this is a very black and white issue - people either love going there or they hate it (mostly because it takes so much time out of their cruising schedule leaving too little time to spend on the other Hawaiian islands) While I can totally understand this opinion, personally, we found it an absolute delight - for the following reasons. Fanning Island, is like a Gilligan's Island out in the middle of nowhere, where if it weren't for the cruise you would never even hear of, let alone have the opportunity to see. Here out in the middle of nowhere are people who have almost nothing in terms of material comforts, yet are happy with what they've got. Yes, they sell their crafts (mostly bead jewelry for a pittance), but never once did they act pushy or "commercialized" The children absolutely beamed when you took their picture and my husband, feeling like a GI with a pocketful of Hershey bars, brought even more smiles to their face when he handed them a quarter after taking their picture. We got some great "National Geographic" like images of those women and little kids. If you take the cruise that is going there, I would definitely recommend choosing the option that takes you to the private side of the island, because the NCL beach there is absolutely stunning (one of the prettiest beaches we saw on our whole trip) and not nearly as crowded as on the other side. You can still take the tender back to the other side at any time you want for the NCL food fest and make sure you get good pictures of the natives dancing in their black hula skirts. My opinion regarding the complaint about going is this - You know well before you book this cruise that going to Fanning Island is going to take three days of you time so if you don't like it, don't book it. I am so glad we did because I think it's not only a little different diversion from the hurry and scurry of all the commercialized islands, but it's just a really good experience to be able to see first hand how the other half lives. I understand now there's a brand new American owned ship that won't be going there. But if do like the idea of going to Fanning (and I CERTAINLY HOPE NCL DOESN"T TOTALLY DISBAND THIS CRUISE ITINERARY) then do what we did - just add another couple days to your vacation and see whatever else you want to see on your own.