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Just off the star on today. We had a great trip. I never saw lines at the bars. Maybe a few people deep by the pool once or twice but the rest of the time it was walk up. The staff were amazing and everything exceeded my expectations.

After completing the cruise I wanted to amend my previous post...I saw a lot more people dressed up as the week progressed. I even saw a few in formal wear. The aft dining room doesn't allow shorts. I saw men in jackets but collared shirts and slacks was most common in the dining rooms. At Cagneys there was gentleman in shorts but generally people were dressed nicely.

My son said there was an air hockey table, 2 Foosball tables, and a Wii along with seating....he said it was a hangout place.

I tried to get this for you but they had taken the schedule down when I went up there. I can tell you the teen area was nice. My kids 11 and 12 got to go the first sea day with splash academy and they were so jealous of entourage. I'm not sure a schedule matters because the teens seemed to just hang out most of the time. They certainly looked like they were having fun. The teens program didn't seem to have much structure-but in a good way. LOTS of late night activites. My kids said no more cruises until.they both turn 13.

We just disembarked this morning after doing that same itinerary. I feel like your trip will be more enjoyable if you do something at at least a few ports. Each port has some shops and a place to eat or get a drink-but they aren't destinations in themselves. We had never cruised before but after reading a lot here on cruise critic I felt confident enough to plan 3 excursions on my own (we did one through the ship). For instance we really enjoyed the beach at Chankanaab in Cozumel..but you have to take a taxi-you couldn't walk. Planing it yourself is much cheaper than an excursion through the ship. Whatever you chose to do I hope you have a great trip!

We were on board as well and had a wonderful time. Food, service, weather were all fantastic. I was an little panicked when our itinerary changed but we managed to change our reservations before leaving port with no difficulty. I'd happily sail the Star again!

Updating-night 2. I saw a few 60+ in full length formals and one man in a tux. Not a lot of men in jackets but some. Still plenty in shorts and everything in between. So anything your son feels comfortable in will most.likely be OK. I think the consensus (not my opinion) is that a collared shirt and slacks and closed toed shoes are the most you will need.

We left around 5:00 but had to back into East Bay channel and wait for two other ships to come into port. I was awake and watching...it really freaked me out to see the ship going backwards. I thought for a minute we were returning to port.

Well after reading countless debates over what footwear is allowed in the main dining room there seemed to be a consensus that male toes were to be covered and thin drugstore type thongs/flip flops were not allowed. This fellow was breaking all the "rules".

On the ship now. We are still in port. The captain says the problem will be fixed by 2:00 am and we will leave at 4:45 am. Our itinerary has been changed. I'm not an expert...so I don't know if this fix is permanent or temporary. Even though missing the sail away was disappointing everything else has gone very well today.

I just dined in the more formal dining room on the Star tonight. I saw everything. No that's not true. I didn't see a blazer at all but I saw logo t-shirts, jeans with holes and tattered hems, men in shorts, and even the male flip flop. There were plenty of diners in nice shirts and slacks as well-however it is the first night and I understand they relax the standards on the first evening (although all the luggage seemed to have been delivered by that point). So to answer your question...your son doesn't need a blazer. A collared shirt and slacks will be very appropriate for any venue.

My son is 12 and he lives in track pants and athletic shorts. For the cruise in 4 days (wow!) I'm bringing a few pair of khaki shorts and a few collared shirts. He probably won't join us in the MDR and definitely not at the nicer restaurants but I wanted him to have a dressier option. I just hit Kohls for shorts ( he has outgrown what fit this last summer) and I got them for 4.80 a pair. They had plenty of clearance slacks as well all for about 10-12.00 a pair. I have never heard of Vineyard Vines...but that's just as well. It might breach my 10$ per item max clothing rule.

I'm just curious....I see a lot of people saying the water on board is "better" and cleaner than bottled water from the store or tap water. We have a water service because I don't like drinking fluoride and chlorine. Once you get used to this type of water, tap water tastes like pool water. So does ship water taste strongly of chlorine like tap water or is it more like a bottle of Dasani etc? Either way I am schlepping on enough bottled water for excursions.

TreeStar...the expense is a big deal. I feel like when I plan a vacation I go out of my way to guarantee everyone has a good time. I have backup plans for my backup plans...I'm a big planner. But cruising...I feel like it is out of my control. I can't get angry and take my business elsewhere. I can't checkout and go to another hotel if I don't like the room.

Norovirus is a serious concern. From what I understand the ship encourages the use of hand sanitizer and they clean a lot. I think you can take reasonable steps to protect yourself from this.

Cheer Mom that's a great idea. I can't imagine getting to go without kids. I get away with friends but my husband and I don't get to vacation alone. We don't have anyone to watch the kids. I'm counting the years until they turn 18...then I have my eye on a river cruise!

Ok. I'm being honest for the sake of the survey. Hopefully I'll be wrong about all of these things and I hope no one jumps all over me for having these thoughts. I never wanted to cruise but I finally gave in because my husband wanted to go on a cruise...

I'm afraid I won't have fun but I will be stuck vs on land I can go anywhere on my schedule and do whatever I want.

I'm afraid of sharing such a small room with my kids (we usually stay in condos when we vacation).

I'm afraid there will be too many ships/people in the ports and we won't get an authentic experience like when we travel alone (just us on a train or car).

I'm afraid the kids will be bored and in turn I won't get to relax.

I'm afraid the food will be bad.

I am afraid I will forget to bring something important.

I just wanted to add that I just booked this for December using the live chat option. It was very easy and the representative told me that if the ship doesn't dock then we can get 90% of our cost refunded. She did mention needing a "letter from the cruise line" as proof. We are on NCL, and I said we were on a cruise ship, but the representative never asked which cruise line we were on.

I appreciate the thread. And on that list are several things I take anytime I travel anywhere I go. I always have my tervis and stevia haha. I'd love to see any other ideas.

I live in the south and during the summer I live in swimsuits and cover-ups. I recommend you buy pretty sun dresses vs the zip up frumpy swimsuit cover-ups that I see for sale. Any dress will work...long or short...just look for casual fabrics, things that won't wrinkle or look bad if they do wrinkle etc. Then wear the dress over your swimsuit. No need to change unless you are uncomfortable. Of it is hot your suit will dry quickly. A cute dress works for lunch or shopping directly over your swimsuit. Easy!