Where to sit on the Star?

[munchkin002]

Good Morning!

 

Cruised the Pearl this past November, Loved it! Never had an issue finding a place to hang out during day. We had a family suite with balcony, so we could always sit and watch the sea go by anytime we wanted. We also loved sitting at the Great Outdoors. Eat, relax in the sun or the shade, watch the sea or the people!

I am currently booked on the Star for Nov. 2012. We again booked a family suite, but on the Star, this room does not have a balcony, (can't spend the additional money just for the balcony!) and does not have the Great Outdoors.:( I am wondering where on the ship can I sit and enjoy just sitting outside, other than in a lounge chair by the pool?

 

Thanks for your input!:)

[cliffd64]

One of the nice spots to hang out, is in the Bier Garten on deck 14 overlooking the pool area. Nice tables in either sun or shade... Never too crowded, and they even have a little burger and hot dog buffet up there from time to time. During the day when at sea you get the benefit of live music from below, and easy access to the outdoor bbq's when they have them.

[valleyvillage]

Walk from your family suite (they are wonderful!) over to the stairs and one short flight up you have a wonderful place to hang out. There is even a hot tub!

 

Deck Seven has a great view of the wake. And just outside of the Red Lion Pub there are loungers with a nice view.

 

Have a great cruise!

[True Brit]

Can anyone answer the same question for the Dawn?

[cndycruiser]

The "Promenade" Deck, for lack of a better word is a wonderful place. Lounge chairs surround the nearly the whole ship there. I believe it is deck 7. Just got off the Star a couple of weeks ago!

[cliffd64]

Dawn and Star are nearly identical, so this list of suggestions fits to both ships...

[che5904]

I would also recommend the promenade deck if you are looking for something quiet and out of the way, possibly with some shade. Not many people seemed to use the loungers there on our sail. If you are looking for a sunny deck, then I would suggest the bow, deck 13, but that can get quite windy. The deck plans also have a sun deck marked at the stern on deck 13, sorry we must have somehow missed that area (not sure how we did that). You might want to check it out.

[Stickman81]

From the Bier Garten, looking forward, there is a set of stairs on the left side. These go up one more level to a small divided deck. There is a left and a right side to the deck if you will. There were about six louge chairs up there.

[Starry Eyes]

From the Bier Garten, looking forward, there is a set of stairs on the left side. These go up one more level to a small divided deck. There is a left and a right side to the deck if you will. There were about six louge chairs up there.

 

Is that a "freestyle" or "St Tropez" deck?

[che5904]

Is that a "freestyle" or "St Tropez" deck?

 

Star/Dawn don't have freestyle decks.

[munchkin002]

Thank You all so much for your suggestions, was getting a little worried!

[munchkin002]

The "Promenade" Deck, for lack of a better word is a wonderful place. Lounge chairs surround the nearly the whole ship there. I believe it is deck 7. Just got off the Star a couple of weeks ago!

 

 

How did you enjoy your week on the star, any good,:) bad:eek:, to report?

 

Thanks

[cndycruiser]

How did you enjoy your week on the star, any good,:) bad:eek:, to report?

 

Thanks

 

This was our 18th cruise and our 5th on NCL. Our second Freestyle one. In general we enjoyed the Star. We had a balcony near the front of the ship on 10th deck and loved it!! We normally do an inside, so it was a big treat. The bathroom was nice and the room size was good for two people.

 

In general the ship is in decent shape, and it is true that the carpet is worn in some spots. Several places on staircase were worn right thru to the backing of the carpet. Didn't ruin our cruise. I was NOT impressed with the condition of the Women's bathrooms. Decor was really blah and in need of repairs and maintenance as far as stalls doors, etc. and just not up to par with most cruise ship public bathrooms. No biggie, just an observation.

 

The entertainment was top notch. We saw the two production shows and ALL the bands were excellent! The pool band, the Spinnaker band and Sean the Traveling Troubidor. There was only one bad singer who sang in the atrium area. TOO loud and screechy! haha! But to each their own!

 

The food on the buffet was quite good for buffet food, with great salads and variety. The desserts on the buffet were pretty pathetic, but the cookies were great. The burgers out on the pool deck were barely warm either.

 

Dining room food was hit and miss. Sometimes good, sometimes not. The only decent steak we had was the Latin Steak. Others were tough and just not that good. The lobster was so-so. Nothing to get excited over. Some things just not hot enough. On our first night (Aqua dining room) our soup was actually barely luke warm. We mentioned it and received hotter soup. The spring roll also was only barely warm. Did not ask that to be replaced. The desserts were much better in the dining rooms. We had 10 to 25 minute waits for the dining rooms, but they handed out free drink coupons, so that was nice.

 

We enjoyed the tiered deck area around the pool.

 

As mentioned before, Deck 7 was wonderful because you could walk around the entire ship and it was really wide and nice with loungers on it in many places.

 

Our biggest issue was only being able to use $50 of our $200 onboard credit to offset the daily service charges. We were given choc. covered strawberries and a bottle of wine as a compensation. We were still not happy, but ended up using the $150 remaining balance on purchasing a future cruise credit.