Norwegian Star Review
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You get what you pay for. Having said that I think that this cruise was fine for the price. I booked my cruise one month in advance solely because the rooms were discounted and had two additional perks, 3 & 4 sailed for free and the ultimate beverage package was included. We had some great surprises and some disappointments, but all in all we had a good time.
embarkation & disembarkation - embarkation was SLOW. We arrived around noon and the line zig zagged back and forth at least 6 times. We waited a very long time, but once we got to the front we were helped by a very nice lady. Disembarkation wasn't as bad. We opted to carry off our own luggage which still took about 30 minutes. We picked the freestyle disembarkation because I thought it would be quickest.
Itinerary - the ship seems to be having some problems. we weren't able to leave on time because they were working on the ship. That caused our itinerary to be moved around. I had made most of my shore excursion reservations with outside company's so I had to try and change everything once we boarded the ship. not too big of a deal but slightly annoying. Also because we stayed in port all night we had to pay taxes on all of our drinks and the casinos didn't open. We still were able to make all of our ports of call, but because the ship was still having some problems we ended up back in port early. So again on our last night we had to pay taxes on our drinks and the casino closed early. Also I'm not exactly sure what was wrong with the boat, but we definitely ran into some rough seas and being in such a hurry to get back to port early may have effected how smoothly our ship sailed. I noticed a few sick people in the bathrooms and my group definitely had a hard time trying to sleep on our second to last night because of all the movement.
Cabin Review
Inside
We usually get an inside cabin because we spend such little time in it. I thought the cabin was very clean and comfortable. There was plenty of storage and hooks to keep my room neat and organized. The bathroom was clean and I even felt like it was larger than some bathrooms I've had on other cruises.
Port Reviews
Belize City
Best day ever!!!! Charlie was great about communicating with me before the trip and greeted me at the port by name and with high fives for my group! Our three guides were amazing! Couldn't have been any better.
Costa Maya
This place is amazing! Still very new and under construction but we enjoyed our day here. The water slides were fun and the zip lines were great. Awesome for families.
Cozumel
Rented a jeep through dollar rent a car and ventured out on our own. Punta Sur Eco park was beautiful and a great way to spend the day! Highly recommended!
Tampa
We stayed at the Embassy Suites the night before our cruise for their park and shuttle option. Before we got there on Saturday we called to reserve a 10:30 shuttle and was told no problem. Upon check in we were told shuttle service didn't even start until 11 and now they were booked until 11:50. Unacceptable seeing as my cruise check in time was 11am. The manager told me to take a taxi. I told him I wasn't going to pay for a taxi and that I paid him a higher room rate to provide a shuttle service for me. A nice employee, Antonio was able to get me on the 11am shuttle but unfortunately it didn't event arrive until 11:30 making me late. The managers at the hotel didn't seem to know what was going on. I was never given my shuttle voucher so after finally boarding the shuttle I had to go back in to get my vouchers which held up the entire van. As I was waiting 30 minutes for my shuttle to arrive I watched the hotels airport shuttle can continuously circle the parking lot. Annoying since when I asked that morning if he could take me I was told the port was too far. Embassy Suites could have kept me an on time happy customer if they would have let that shuttle take me to the port instead of driving in circles wasting gas. If you need to stay somewhere with a park and ride option find someplace else.