Norwegian Star Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,583 reviews

Norwegian Star - Alaska

Review for Alaska Cruise on Norwegian Star
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Gadget
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Jun 2004
Cabin: Balcony

The Cruise Critic Critic (Norwegian Star, Seattle to Alaska, June 20-27, 2004) By Gadget

I just knew that this was going to be a terrible cruise as soon as I arrived at the pier. After all, there were other passengers already there and they were ahead of ME!!! Surely NCL was aware that I was going to be on this cruise. I can't believe that I had to wait to board the ship, I had arrived and I should be escorted aboard immediately! After I had registered and set up my onboard account, I had to wait nearly fifteen minutes until the ship was ready to board, outrageous!!! Finally, I was onboard the ship. Sure, there were crewmembers willing to lead me to my cabin, but I could tell that they weren't absolutely overjoyed to be serving ME, can you imagine? I still can't understand why MY luggage wasn't waiting for me when I arrived at my room; after all, nearly half an hour had passed since I checked them in on the docks. I was so upset at this point that I decided that perhaps some refreshments might ease the pain, so I decided to go to the pool deck and check out the poolside grill. It was awful! Can you believe that NCL didn't have the world's finest chefs there to prepare MY hamburger and potato salad; I could barely choke them down! To make matters worse, I had to walk over to the bar by MYSELF and order a drink! Wasn't this supposed to be MY vacation? I don't know why NCL hadn't hired MY favorite performers to sing MY favorite songs for the sail away party, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get over that!! Instead of sailing away, I was seriously considering jumping ship. I decided that I would just return to my cabin and try to get over all of this indignity. It wasn't easy though, because my cabin wasn't as spacious and palatial as I expected it to be. I didn't think that I would even be able enjoy the balcony either; there was nothing to see but water and trees and mountains. You'd think that NCL could provide more wildlife to see along the way. I decided to explore the ship even though I was positive that the dEcor would be merely adequate and that they probably wouldn't have anything fun onboard to do. As I suspected, the ship doesn't even compare to the Taj Mahal or Buckingham Palace. And who wants to go to a stage production, swim in one of the pools, soak in a hot tub, see a movie, gamble in the casino, and eat at one of the restaurants or dance in one of the discos anyway? Can you believe that NCL calls this entertainment? Might as well just turn in, one more dreadful day out of the way. The problem is: how could I possibly sleep with all the interruptions? People were constantly walking up and down the hallway and I swear that on more than one occasion I actually felt the ship move! It was dreadful; thankfully I was able to slip off into a fitful sleep. FOG! Will it never end? I wake up to fog; surely NCL could have plotted a course that would avoid the fog. I was beginning to think that they didn't want ME to enjoy MY cruise. I think they were just trying to tease me all day by sailing in and out of the fog, I never really saw clear skies at all on the first sea day. Well that's the last straw, I can't take it any longer, I don't care what happens on the rest of this cruise, I just know that I'm not going to enjoy it. I know one thing for sure; I'll never book another cruise with NCL again!!! That will show them. Won't they be sorry!!!...

...I'm sorry I had to put you through that, but I was trying to make a point. First of all, none of the cruise lines have any control over the weather and the consequences of the weather, (hot busses, hot trains, fog, rain, etc.) second, there are approximately 2500 other passengers aboard the ship and they have just as much right to enjoy themselves as you (and the crew is practically doing back flips to ensure that everyone does) and finally a bad day on vacation is better than a good day at work. I actually enjoyed the cruise very much and would definitely book another one with NCL in a heartbeat. The Norwegian Star is a beautiful ship (too bad the new paintjob is rubbing off the hull already). The crew is top notch (you try working 10-12 hours a day, seven days a week for 10 months straight and see if you can be happy all the time) and they are doing an excellent job. Embarkation was quick, it really did only take us 15-20 minutes from the time we checked our luggage till we were aboard the ship. The sail away barbecue was delicious (steak, ribs, chicken and corn on the cob). Sometimes I wonder where all the people who complain about the food onboard are eating when they are at home, they must eat every meal at gourmet restaurants. The entertainment was excellent; I really enjoyed "The Music of The Night" production show, the magician and the Chinese acrobats. One of the biggest complaints that I hear is that people have to wait in line for everything. You have to consider that as big as the ship may be, there are some areas that have limited space or limited access, if you want to do something popular or fun on the ship; especially when you want to go ashore, chances are that someone else might also (maybe as many as 2500 others). Here's a tip: If you always expect that there will be a long line for everything that you want to do, you won't be upset when there is and you will be pleasantly surprised when there isn't a line or when the line isn't that long. Besides, you're on vacation, what's the hurry, kick back and enjoy yourself. I thought it was funny to hear people complain that it was too hot in Alaska while we were there. First of all, you can't control the weather, and secondly I would rather have it be a little hot than pouring rain or blowing winds. The weather was a blessing while we were there and we should appreciate it. For those of you that say that you will never book another cruise on a particular cruise line, those cruise lines thank you and the passengers aboard those ships thank you. Remember that a vacation can be only as good or as bad as you make it.

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