Thankfully the NCL Star didn't break down until we reached the Falkland Islands(cruise day 11), but who wants to plan their 1 cruise to South America on a ship that is mechanically this unreliable? One year ago when I saw this cruise choice my only hesitation was the ship, not the cruise line, as my family had cruised on the Star previously in 2014. Knowing that the ship died in the Tasman Sea in 2015, and that there have been further problems since, I was trying to be optimistic knowing the ship had been refurbished in 2018. I mistakenly presumed this update included the engine compartment. While our 7 hour engine delay caused us to now miss Puerto Madryn, we knew from our own research around Thanksgiving that there had been a significant engine explosion on the ship while in Europe around November 1st, and that the ship was limping along ever since. I then discovered that our trip insurance didn't cover engine explosions as a reason to cancel the trip I had been so diligently planning for 1 year. Reading the reviews on Cruise Critic helped fill in the information gaps NCL failed to provide. NCL's response to those unfortunate passengers confirmed their pattern of inadequacy to us, their customers. What has happened to the NCL that made us want to return to the point where we are presently Latitude Gold status?

I have spent over 200 days on cruise ships, from Princess to Royal Caribbean, Disney to NCL, so we obviously love what they offer. That said, I am not condemning the Star itself here. No, the ship has been nicely redone as a result of its update in 2018. Specifically, we like the updated lobby, pool area and dining rooms, and the fact that they kept the large bathrooms in our ocean view cabins. One of the best redo's I've seen. Clearly, the Star has plenty to offer. I actually like the ship itself now, unlike in 2014, which just confirms that even my opinion can be changed. Also, the staff and crew worked very hard and were eager to help. But lurking in the back of the mind are the reliability questions- are we going to make the destinations? Is it going to break down in the middle of the Atlantic? Are we going to miss my prized stop because of the ship? Are we going to miss our non refundable flights home because of a problem? All of these are legitimate concerns one shouldn't have especially before our cruise even begins. While we always know there are other factors that can affect the schedule, we don't want the major issue up front to be the reliability of the ship, and worse, another corporate failure confirming that NCL isn't putting the passenger first when such an event happens, which is exactly what we have witnessed with this recent history.

Let me be very clear- this is not an instance where we missed a port because of high winds, lightning, bad weather or local strikes, as these obviously are things beyond NCL's control. No, these delays and missed ports occurred because of ongoing mechanical problems with their ship, and these were and are completely within the control of NCL management. Read more