Norwegian Star Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,583 reviews

Fantastic Ports, Older Crowd

Review for the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on Norwegian Star
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anmyers72
2-5 Cruises • Age 30s

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Sail Date: Sep 2017
Cabin: Family Suite

This was my 2nd cruise, both with NCL. Traveled with my gf and two friends with all 4 of us staying in 1 cabin. We are all in our late 20s and early 30s and are all energetic outgoing people always looking to meet new people and experience new things. When we first booked this cruise we were told the itinerary included Santorini Greece, but a few months before the cruise we learned that we would no longer be stopping there. We were pretty disappointed, but after talking with the locals in Athens we came to the conclusion that Greek Islands are definitely places where you will want to spend more than a day-trip on a cruise. We originally booked a mini-suite cabin for the 4 of us, but luckily we bid on a family suite and were awarded the Family Suite Cabin about 30 days before our sail date. The upgrade to a suite comes with a bunch of perks I was not aware of during bidding including priority embarkation on the first day as well as priority disembarkation at each port and the last day. The best perk of being in a suite though has to be the ability to eat breakfast and lunch each day in Moderno and Cagney's. No wading through the masses at the buffet, or searching all over for a group of chairs. Each meal was hassle free and with waiters and a menu, had the option of ordering your meal each day how you please. Being on deck 12 was also great as we were only a few steps away from the pool, and thus the pool bar, and the restaurants right above. Being able to pop back into the room quickly for bathroom breaks and to grab missing supplies was very nice.

The Ship:

The Star is a slightly older ship, and this is very obvious when looking at some of the decor around the pool decks and the sound system often crackles, but the upgrades to the cabins and many of the restaurants and technology are noticeable and welcome. I prefer the size of this boat with about 2,500 cruisers none of the public spaces seemed overly crowded. The cruise date and itinerary probably contributed to the fact that the average age of cruisers on this trip was probably 55+. I love how the pool deck loungers were terraced from the 12th floor up to the 14th all with views down to the pool but don't expect attentive waiter service around the decks.

Cabin Review

Family Suite

Cabin SJ

Our cabin was the best part of the cruise. The family suite is HUGE!! The 3 beds (king, sofabed, murphy bed) were a life saver for 4 adults staying in one room. We had our butler keep them made up throughout the day, for napping purposes and still had plenty of room for the 4 of us to move around comfortably. The 4 closets were also a huge help, although the one with the safe in it was a huge waste of space as there was no rod to hang clothes up just 4.5 ft of space for 4 beach towels. The floor to ceiling windows made the sail away from Venice and sail in to Kotor that much better. 12526 is about 10 steps from the doors to the pool which is great for popping in from the deck to grab things from the room or use our private bathroom. It also made the fact that there is no balcony not really an issue.

Port Reviews

Dubrovnik

We did a GOT tour through Dubrovnik Day Tours and this turned out to be my favorite day of the cruise. The guide was very knowledgeable about both the history of the city and Game of Thrones itself as he is a recurring extra. After our short tour, the sunshine came out and we had a delicious meal looking out over the bay at a restaurant inside the Old Town walls.

Kotor

We hiked to the Fortress. I would recommend doing this immediately in the morning before the sun gets too far over the hill and heats everything up and before the crowds of slow-moving tours start their ascent. Be advised it costs 3 euros to hike the steps. It took us about 30 minutes to get up and we were moving at a fairly slow, but consistent pace. There is not much else in the town of Kotor for us, so we just enjoyed a beer and some wine in one of the restaurants inside the town walls.

Katakolon (Olympia)

We chose not to see Olympia as we were told it was underwhelming. We found a cab right outside on the pier that took the 4 of us to Kourouta Beach for 80 euros total round trip. The beach is about 20 km up the coast but definitely worth it for the better quality sand and tons of beach chairs and cabanas available for free. They also serve food and drinks on the beach and are pretty decent prices (~15 euros for sandwich and drink). Besides the beach bar though there is no shopping or any other form of entertainment. Perfect for a hot day though

Athens (Piraeus)

Do not book excursions in Greece through "Warm Penguin" or "Lotus Tree"!! They never showed up on the day even after multiple calls. We took a tour from one of the cab drivers there, George, and it turned out great. 200 euros for the entire day, for the 4 of us, and he showed us where to buy discounted Acropolis and Temple of Zeus passes and gave us great local insight into the area and where to watch out for pick pockets and what to look for when walking around the local sites. He took us to watch the changing of the guards and even was waiting for us with bottled water he bought with his own money after we returned from one of our archaeological sites. Everything was catered to what we wanted to see and when we wanted to arrive and leave.

Venice

AMAZING!!! We stayed for 2 days before our cruise in an Airbnb. Walking around the city is wonderfully freeing. Use a map only for general guidance as walking the small side streets and stopping at random outdoor restaurants and shops along the way is one of the things that make Venice great.

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