Norwegian Star Review
Awesome crew, delicious food, great all around vibe
Rating by category
Additional details
This itinerary was chosen for the visual memories it offers and ease of exploring the ports on our own. The NCL Star crew are amazing. We were in the first 50 people to arrive for embarkation but the check in lady wasn't able to find our info and spent 35 minutes walking around looking only to find it directly behind. This then put us in Group 4 for boarding even though we showed our platinum ship cards. This was a little frustrating. Once on board, we went directly to the restaurant reservation desk and got our day and times for our specialty restaurants. We proceeded to the Versailles dining room and had a delicious relaxing lunch. Our room were ready shortly afterwards Two of us had pre-purchased a spa pass for the week and enjoyed soothing thermal pool, hot stone heated loungers, hot tubs, sauna and showered in the spa before dinner. Aimee Brooks: thank you for addressing any concerns and taking great care of us.
We had dinner at Versailles, Ginza (twice), Teppanyaki, Aqua, Cagney's and all were delicious with great recommendations from the servers. Special mention of Mennah Yasa who consistently provided 5 Star service. Wish him a Happy Birthday. We avoided the busy Garden Cafe in the mornings and at lunch on most days and ate in the Versailles Dining room or O'Sheehans. Entertainment provided by the trio in the Atrium in the evening was enjoyable and we danced the evenings in the Bliss lounge. We found the 5 o'clock somewhere bar very congested and poorly designed for the evening Karaoke which was extremely popular. Spice H20 would be a better choice for accommodating the number of people attending Karaoke. We choose to explore Dubrovnik, Kotor, Spilt, Katacolon, Piraeus by ourselves using taxis or local transit. We never felt unsafe or rushed. In Dubrovnik, we had an amazing sunset dinner at Hotel More overlooking the bay and only minutes from the cruiseport. Although our cruise was at capacity, we never felt crammed and only once had to wait 15 minutes for a table. Disembarkation was organized and ran smoothly. Great cruise experience.
Cabin Review
Mid-Ship Inside
Our cabin was a 9th floor mid ship inside and had two single beds plus a pullman. Our room steward told us that there was a bed that pulled up from one of the twin beds making it wall to wall beds. This was a great option for the three or us. There was plenty of storage and our empty suitcases tucked neatly under our bed.
Port Reviews
Venice
Excellent port to sail from with lots of tourist attractions and water taxis to take to the quaint outer islands. Crazy busy with people, lot of shops, restaurants, hotels and photo opportunities.
Dubrovnik
Prearranged a taxi to bring us to the Cable Car. We explored Old Town with a stop at the Buza Bar ($24 or 3 pop) and then taxied to the Cave Bar at Hotel More for drinks before an incredible dinner overlooking the bay before returning to the ship.
Kotor
Picturesque Old Town with cobblestone laneways, numerous patios for dining, interesting stores. Very friendly people and the sailaway out of Kotor is unforgettable. This was a place that you say "I would really like to visit there again". Such a special place
Athens (Piraeus)
Took the X80 Express Bus from the port to the Plaka area. $4.50 return. The bus took about 30 minutes through the city busy with scooters and traffic. Once in the Plaka area, there are pedestrian only streets with shops and numerous restaurants to enjoy lunch. The buses ran quite frequently with stops at Acropolis.
Katakolon (Olympia)
Having been to Olympia, we chose to wander through the seaside streets, enjoying some greek music, gentle breeze, Saganaki and greek salad.
Split
Visited Old Town in Split and took a taxi to the Radisson Blu which offered a spa pass with use of their spa pools, hot tubs, and outdoor pool. There is also beach access with chairs for sunning. We ate lunch at the hotel which was reasonably priced and took a waiting taxi back to the ship.