We chose this cruise to experience the Panama Canal which was very interesting. 90% of the service staff had a very unwelcome attitude except for a few exceptional people. We have experienced several great Norwegian cruises prior to the Star and were surprised by what felt like untrained staff. We chose the unlimited beverage package as well as 4 Ultimate Dining package. We also decided to upgrade to an Aft Suite with large balcony for the first time. We enjoyed Cagneys restaurant and would highly recommend it! We also tried Cucina Italian and the food was sub par and we were greeted with “This is your 3rd meal of your dining package” instead of Good evening, do you have a reservation...or room number please..We also tried The French Bistro and the Maître de came to our table and asked “ Who is going to be paying for this” even after knowing we had a dining package.. the Coq au vin was so salty we couldn’ eat it but the rack of lamb was exceptionally good!

The Suite...the room layout was great and the view aft as we passed through the canal was excellent! The downside of this location of the Suite was that it was located directly over The Spinnaker lounge! There was no mention on Norwegians website that high levels of sound until after midnight could be an issue and we had 5 meetings with both Jamal, the Hotel manager and Gary, the head of guest services regarding the high level of sound and bass vibrations through our floor that rattled glasses until well past midnight They agreed to stop the band at 10 pm and only have a DJ. Never book 8672 if you ever want sleep! Our concierge Monica was AMAZING!! She deserves high accolades for always making things work! Nothing was a problem! 2 other great people were Robert and Nanna at O’Sheean’s restaurant/bar.. in short... Interesting ports, bad staff attitude, mediocre food...not worth the dining package .. We hope they get things sorted out as we enjoy Norwegian! If this was our first Norwegian cruise, it would be the last! A lot of first time cruisers were of the same opinion.

One last note that our room steward was great! But our first Butler told us “ Read your paperwork “ when we asked him what services we could expect from him on our first day. The Butler service is inconsequential!