We've sailed on several other cruise lines and decided to try NCL on their cruise to nowhere out of Tampa. The ship itself was beautiful and clean. We opened our cabin to find old soda bottles that had been refilled with water still in our cabin. We never met/saw a steward... not a big deal because we're not high maintenance, but a notable difference from the other cruise lines. The food on the buffet was ok. It was often out of food (ex. ran out of bacon, fruit trays were empty, etc.) and not refilled. We decided to go to the 24 hour Blue Lagoon for breakfast. We were seated and sat for 20 minutes without an acknowledgement that we were there. The passengers next to us had cruised the Dawn previously and said the service the year before was excellent but it was horrible this trip. A woman at a different table said she finally got up and got her own water. We finally walked out. The dining room meals were better; however, it took 2.5 hours to get through dinner. A lot of the staff did not look happy to be there. Our cabin was on the 8th floor aft right over Spinnaker's Lounge. I could enjoy the disco without having to leave my room! :o) Overall NCL made a very poor first impression. With all the competition for cruising, we feel the other lines offer a better value, better experience, and better service. Read Less

My wife and I got home about an hour ago. Had a great time on the Star. First time on NCL for me. She had cruised NCL once before. Very impressed with the ship overall. Loved the embarkation process. They have the boarding kiosks ondeck and had multiple entries onto the ship so there were no long lines. They did similar process for debarkation. We just walked right off!! So easy. We had Balcony cabin 9720. Had everything you needed. Comfortable bed, nice pillows a duvet. I think the closet and drawer space would be a little tight for a 7-night cruise - especially if you were bringing any formal wear. The bathroom setup was the best I had seen on a cruise. The toilet and shower were on opposite sides of the bathroom so if needed, two people could be in there at once. The toilet also has a sliding privacy door. Similar door on the shower which had ample space (I am 6' 4"). I didn't miss the curtain that most other cruise ship showers have. The ones that tend to stick to you like a burrito shell. Wasn't sure about the "freestyle cruising" approach initially, but I liked it. Would like to take a longer cruise to try more restaurants. We went to Cagney's (had made reservations online pre-cruise) and it was a great meal. Terrific smoked salmon appetizer and the oysters rockefeller were very good. And the ribeye very delicious. The onboard reservation process looks easy. They had TV screens scattered about the decks so you could see what restaurants were filling up. They also has same info on the TV in your cabin. Went to Versailles for first day lunch and had a great meal. Pasta Bolognese and Philly Cheese Steak. It was nice to have a dining room open on embarkation. That has not been the case on Carnival. Also ate in Versailles for the second night's dinner and had a good meal. Caesar salad was very nice and crispy - but missing anchovies. Could have asked for them I guess, but since I also had to ask for fresh ground pepper (and that took about 5 minutes), I decided to go without. Had a decent "latin" style sirloin steak. Pretty good seasoning - sort of like a pesto rub. Surprisingly, the worst part of each meal was the potato dishes. French fries at lunch weren't crisp or hot. Potato Gratin at Cagney's were mushy and flavorless. Wedges at Versailles dinner were dry with no seasoning. Second city comedy shows were very funny. Didn't get to see the other regular shows but people were raving about Elements. Pool area has some great seating areas. There is also a quiet area (much like Carnival's Serenity) where they have deck chairs and adults-only hot tub. We did an onboard Pub Crawl event that was alot of fun. We went to 5 bars, had a different drink at each and played some games. The final stop was by the pool deck where they had everyone play a twist on "Simon Says". Last man standing got something - maybe a t-shirt. I wasn't the last person standing. The ship has alot of music venues. There are two piano players, a guitarist and four other live bands that play at various times and bars. There was a trio in the Atrium that were very good. And the live band they had on the final night for the 70's disco theme was amazing. They were playing earlier in the same lounge with only us and about 5 other people - and played some incredible rock and rolll. The lead guitarist was amazing, able to coax alot of feedback from his Fender Stratocaster. Really talented. Some negatives: The main pool area is ill-conceived. The two slides take up alot of deck space and the pool is very small. The slides also aren't meant for adult use. Every adult we saw try to use them couldn't make it all the way down without "scooting". Gave us a few laughs. But for something that takes up that much space, it didn't seem to have enough "fun value". This cruise ship also had a much larger focus on alcohol consumption than any other I have been on. The cruise director said during his talks, "Drink Heavily". Now I realize that the cruise ships make a lot of revenue from the drinks and it is what keeps cruising inexpensive. But with past and recent concerns about passenger safety, it is irresponsible for a ship's officer to be making a statement like that. At the same time in your cabin, they have a video telling you not to sit on a balcony handrail because you might fall off. Also, the cruise director staff member Bloody Mary (yes - that is what her name tag said) who lead the Pub Crawl, was visibly drunk before it even started. She was having a hard time keeping track of where we had to go next. Will I go on another NCL cruise? Yes. Definitely. I had a great time and look forward to trying a long cruise on a different ship. The Star is leaving Tampa in a few weeks, and I think the Dawn is replacing her. So maybe I will look to see what deals come through next year. Read Less

On the 17th of July 2011 we sailed out of Tampa on Carnival with the 7 day exotic Western Caribbean cruise ahead of us. Having sailed this exact cruise last year we thought it would be even better, as we knew what all was entailed this time. We have 2 girls ages 11 and 15 and they are experienced cruisers. This was the 6th time for them both. The Ship: The Legend is holding up well but the room stewards service, the food and the entertainment is falling off dramatically. The steward seemed to care for the girls room slightly better than ours. The "make up" came later each day, the toiletries were not refilled, we once we even had to wait, out of our room, for him to finish.. late in PM. The beach towels were not replaced as we had left some at the pool and the insinuation was, we packed them away, and no more for you! All the tips going right on your sail and sign card (or sea-pass) has the stewards assured, regardless of service, they are tipped well. $70 per cruiser. The food was not as tasty and some corners are being cut. The 24 hr pizza cheese is like latex and milk.. Definitely different. The portions are smaller, and in the Truffles Dining Room the fried zucchini is on every plate to "lift up" the smaller portions.. The dining staff, we found a little better, and seemed to tolerate your presence better, but still a few are not too friendly. The Entertainment was by far my biggest let down.. The bingo was a nightmare she called numbers that were not drawn and when someone won... they did not check out. The Bingo Lady said to a gentlemen seated in the Follies.. Come see for yourself what was pulled.. And then , like, too bad folks, it is game over.. Having already taken $25 a head for 30 minutes. The "come up and see if you can sing" has replaced most all the shows.. It is like Rep night in Spain for Brits.. You are now being entertained by the guests. A much cheaper route for Carnival I imagine and one I hope is quickly discontinued. Karaoke ad' nauseum .. And even when we thought a nice goodbye show was in store... 10 guests were singing.. if you can call it that. Not everyone likes "American Idol" folks, especially on a $1000 per head cruise in the middle of primetime summer dates. Cozumel is nice and orderly, Grand Cayman has all the money and does not need yours, Beize, you better have a tour booked and ½ price on-line away form Carnival, and Roatan is where Cranival is still choking out the locals... so go inland and spend some money. It is the best port. My biggest beef was the port times.. Say "in Roatan until 3pm" on the itinerary ..well that means back at the ship at 2 pm as we are sailing at 3 pm. Unlike last year, when the times we accurate and longer in port. The quicker we get you back, the more overpriced drinks we can sell you. You are preparing to leave the island at 1pm? Give me a break guys.. Loading at 2 and sailing at 3pm?? Do the long lines for the last tender or at the pier give Carnival a clue that it is too early to leave an island you have sailed for days to get too?? Overall, I would say the cruise line is still somewhat value for money but I noticed enough this time to give them a break (for the next few summers at least) and ask a lot more questions of Carnival before booking next time with them. The ship was sailing full and the prices much higher than in 2010 so I at a loss to explain the corners being cut.. profits I guess. Another ship to build. The credit card application and free $50 is a scam, never got the $50 bucks off this cruise as promised.. Read Less

BE AWARE! We were lied to! We were told that we had a 7 day cruise with 4 ports. We did 2 ports and got 40.00 back for the other 2 ports we didn't do!Valor and Liberty same itinerary they got re routed! Thankfully we went with a group of 20 ages 1-60 and made the best of it! When we were told that about cozumel ok fine but when we were told the night before we need to arrive in Roatan that we are staying at sea we were all pissed. they just finishing selling me excursion tickets at 5pm for roatan just to cancel roatan a t 6. When we left belize we were doing circle after circle after circle in the ocean and at 10 knots while the valor had passed us at sea as they left belize! So they can make it to there next port of call. We were so upset because no one had answers as to why we were staying at sea. We all paid 900.00 and at least 50% of the passengers rallied in the middle of the ship about what we can do to come as a whole and get our money back! Nothing was out of control as a matter of fact a few young men started the rally with an older woman and was explaining to all 500 plus people if we can act as adults and not get out of control. We all did that. We were all standing while they were talking about how are some possible ways we can fight carnival (the corporate part) not the physical ship! We understand that it's not the crew or captain's fault but a 14 billion dollar company can't accommodate us or give us any compensation! this cruise was horrible and it should have been advertised as a circle belizean sea cruise with grand cayman bonus! It was not right that we only got 20.00 each port back. That was a huge insult. and to top it off security was all over the place acting like we were hostages!!!! Following the people who had a petition going around and the people who spoke got videotaped and later that night got a threatening letter from the Captain!Cruise from HELL!!!!Be Aware if you think you are going on a 7 day caribbean Cruise you are not you are going on a circular booze cruise to belize with a bonus stop in grand cayman!!!!!!!!! Read Less