Our review is a little delayed as we spent two weeks on the ground in Italy after our week on the Norwegian Star cruising from Venice to Mykonos and back. As first time cruisers, there was much that was new to us, but we did catch on and are planning another cruise down the road.

Overall, it was a great time. It was good to get a balcony and be able to enjoy the sea whenever we wanted. Being cooped up inside would have been awful no matter how hard you leaned into the Unlimited Drink Package. The general food options—Market Café, Versailles, Aqua and O’Sheehans were all fine, although I could see how on a longer cruise they might get pretty monotonous.

Complaints? We had a few. Our fellow passengers were not always courteous and while we appreciated the laid back NCL style, you could feel the breakdown of norms as the cruise wore on. More grabbiness at the buffet. Elevator rudeness. Chair and hot tub hogging. Not tending you kids. For all that, we never saw anyone falling down drunk or any tempers flare. Read more