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Star - February 19-26, 2012 Mini-review with Dailies

mousecrazy

By mousecrazy,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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mousecrazy

mousecrazy

Posted
Posted

My family of five (me, dh, dd5, ds10, dd13)cruise in a SJ Family Suite on the February 19 sailing of the NCL Star. This was the kids and my fifth cruise on NCL and fourth on the Star. Our only other ship was the Sun last year in an Fwd Penthouse Suite (just the kids and I).

 

I am a NCL fan. NCL fits my family’s needs and lifestyle. We are a “standard, middle-class, smallish-town” family who doesn’t eat out much, but when we do, we like Applebees. I’m a stay at home mom who cooks most meals from scratch. Okay, I think you get the picture.

 

Our cabin was very spacious and nicely appointed for our family of five. We all appreciated the little bit of extra space, both storage and floor. Our steward, Servin, did a nice job of keeping the cabin clean and stocked despite our mess. Artie was our butler. We enjoyed visiting with him and he was always prompt with our few requests (room service, DVD). He’s very understated, which I liked. My youngest daughter was sick for two days and he stopped by a few times just to check on her. He seemed to truly care (maybe because he has a daughter at home). This was the first time in several cruises without a balcony. I really, really didn’t want to miss the balcony and tried to go into the cruise with a positive attitude. But, I have to admit, I did miss the balcony. I missed waking up and sticking my head out to check the weather and smell the sea air. Our cabin was under the jogging track (12528) and that was a mistake. Even though jogging is discouraged from 8pm to 8am, each morning around 5:30 or 6:00, I was woke by joggers. I went up there one morning and saw a passenger remove the “No Jogging” sign. Jeesh. There was also a lot of hallway noise in that area. I would go more forward next time and Starboard as the port side of the ship on deck 12 is a designated smoking area. I didn’t like walking out onto the deck and being consumed by the smell of smoke. It even made its way into the hall on occasion depending on the way the wind was blowing.

 

We enjoyed almost all our dining experiences on the Star. We didn’t do any upsell restaurants. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the afternoon snacks available at the Market Café and ruined by dinner appetite there several days. The scones with whipped cream and jam were yummy. As were the tuna paninis. And the best chocolate ganache cake I’ve ever had on a NCL ship. I also had an over-cooked steak and under –seasoned food. But, who cares. I didn’t have to cook it and there were many, many other options to take it’s place. The Blue Lagoon’s fish and chips and wings with blue cheese dressing were excellent. And, oh, the crepes served in the evening in the Market Café were delish. As was the mixed berry cobbler with caramel sauce (right next to the crepes). Delish. Yum.

 

The main show room entertainment was exceptional! My first cruise was in 2006 and since then, I’ve noted a definite uptrend in the quality of the entertainment, especially the production shows. “Shout! The Mod Musical” was my favorite. The five girls who sang and danced were truly talented and skilled to entertain. I also enjoyed “Band on the Run” , but not so much “Elements”. “Elements” included a magic act as well as modern dance, which isn’t something I would go to again. The Second City actors were truly funny and both shows (main showroom and Spinnakers later in the week) were fun. I especially appreciated that the second show was family oriented and it was still hilarious (this show is unscripted, so your each show is different). Overall, the entertainment, including the other music around the ship, was top-notch, IMO.

 

I had kids in three of the four Kids Crew programs (not 6-9). My teen wasn’t impressed with the offerings but she had a friend with her, so that’s why she didn’t participate. My other two kids loved going to the club. The family events were fun too. I attended the Family Dodgeball with my DS and it was lots of fun. My only complaint about the family events, is that they are at the WORST times possible (check the dailies and you’ll see). I really wanted to go to the Family Insanity, but missed it because we were just getting back from port. Oh well, just another reason to book another cruise.

 

Overall, the cruise was a great value for our money spent. Each one of us was able to relax and have fun on our own level as well as with each other. IMO, that’s the beauty of cruising on NCL and that’s why we keep coming back!

 

 

SJ Family Suite (cabin 12528)

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Dailies in next post.

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bayview97

bayview97

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Glad you enjoyed your cruise. We were on Star Feb 12-19th and had a great time.

 

You have performed a wonderful public service by posting the dailies. I think dailies are one of the most requested items on these boards. :)

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cbd317

cbd317

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There was also a lot of hallway noise in that area. I would go more forward next time and Starboard as the port side of the ship on deck 12 is a designated smoking area. I didn’t like walking out onto the deck and being consumed by the smell of smoke. It even made its way into the hall on occasion depending on the way the wind was blowing.

 

Thank you for the review of the SJ Suite and dailies. We will be in 12016 this summer and I have a couple questions. I think we are far enough forward to miss the jogging track.

 

1. How bad was the smoke in the hallways and do you think it went around to SB side? I have bad asthma and would not be able to handle smoke in or around my room. Somehow I thought I read somewhere that NCL ships were going to no-smoking in rooms except on your balcony. Did I dream this little tidbit????

2. Was it noisy throughout the deck or just by your room closer to the stairs, pool, etc?

 

I especially like all the photos! Did you use the murphy bed and if so where would you put the table and chairs?

 

It sounds like you had a wonderful time. I'm getting very excited for my trip!

Thanks again for taking the time to post your review for all of us.:)

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mousecrazy

mousecrazy

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Thank you for the review of the SJ Suite and dailies. We will be in 12016 this summer and I have a couple questions. I think we are far enough forward to miss the jogging track.

 

1. How bad was the smoke in the hallways and do you think it went around to SB side? I have bad asthma and would not be able to handle smoke in or around my room. Somehow I thought I read somewhere that NCL ships were going to no-smoking in rooms except on your balcony. Did I dream this little tidbit????

2. Was it noisy throughout the deck or just by your room closer to the stairs, pool, etc?

 

I especially like all the photos! Did you use the murphy bed and if so where would you put the table and chairs?

 

It sounds like you had a wonderful time. I'm getting very excited for my trip!

Thanks again for taking the time to post your review for all of us.:)

 

I don't think you'll have a problem with smoke on the starboard side. I usually walked down that side of the pool and didn't smell a thing (except the BBQ on some days). I don't know about the non-smoking change, sorry.

 

I think we experienced noise because we were close to the door to the deck. A lot of people would use the fwd stairs/elevator and made random noises as they passed our door. So, being in front of the elevators/stairs would, most likely, eliminate most hallway noise.

 

Yes, we used the Murphy bed. It was quite comfortable. The table and chairs were moved to the open area in front of the king bed (which was also very comfortable). The only bed that we thought was sub-par was the sofa bed. It was very, very squeaky with a thin, uncomfortable mattress. So squeaky that any movement created enough noise to wake everyone else in the cabin. We chose to make the sofa up (without pulling it out) for our fifth sleeper and that worked well and was comfortable.

 

HTH. Let me know if you have any other questions or would like to see more pictures. I took 800+ photos. :)

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mousecrazy

mousecrazy

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What is the bedding situation for 5

 

Murphy bed is a single I am assuming. Is the sofa bed a single?

 

We have 5 in the SJ for July

 

I especially like your posted pics with the curtains closed.

 

Actually, the murphy is a double, as is the sofa bed. As I said before, the sofa bed (pulled out) was very noisy, so one of us slept on it as a sofa. Both were comfortable. I thought the murphy was especially comfortable. So two of us were on the king bed (which can be separated into two separate beds), two on the murphy and one on the sofa.

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cbd317

cbd317

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Posted
Bathroom area, please. We'll be in a Fam Ste this coming April

 

Yes! Bathroom! (I guess it would be piggy to ask for all 800 huh?:D:D)

 

And thank you for the prompt response to my questions!

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KevinsCruising

KevinsCruising

Posted
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Thanks for posting ! We are sailing the Star out of NYC on April 29th. NCL is also our favorite line and also fits our life style. This will be our first time on the Star so if you can post any pictures of the ship itself would be fantastic ! ( Public rooms , etc) What & Where is the Garden Cafe ? You made it sound like a place I cannot miss. Also agree with you with the Blue Lagoon. Loved it on other ships especially the Fish and Chips and Wings !

 

How do you like the new location of the Spinaker Lounge? That is one decision that I am not sure I agree with NCL on.

 

Thanks again,

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KevinsCruising

KevinsCruising

Posted
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Thanks for posting ! We are sailing the Star out of NYC on April 29th. NCL is also our favorite line and also fits our life style. This will be our first time on the Star so if you can post any pictures of the ship itself would be fantastic ! ( Public rooms , etc) What & Where is the Garden Cafe ? You made it sound like a place I cannot miss. Also agree with you with the Blue Lagoon. Loved it on other ships especially the Fish and Chips and Wings !

 

How do you like the new location of the Spinaker Lounge? That is one decision that I am not sure I agree with NCL on.

 

Thanks again,

 

DUH ....... silly me. The Garden Cafe is the indoor buffet. LOL..

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www3traveler Holiday Sharing Rare

www3traveler

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I love your pictures. In another posting there is a link to both pictures and video of a news story one the Tampa television stations did on the Star. It was very interesting.The Captain interviewed for the story was Captain Kenneth Harstorm. Your dailies are showing that Captain Kostos is on now. What did you think of the staff? Was there anyone that stood out? My friend Don Alexander is on board as one of the entertainers. Did you get to listen to his music?

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KevinsCruising

KevinsCruising

Posted
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I love your pictures. In another posting there is a link to both pictures and video of a news story one the Tampa television stations did on the Star. It was very interesting.The Captain interviewed for the story was Captain Kenneth Harstorm. Your dailies are showing that Captain Kostos is on now. What did you think of the staff? Was there anyone that stood out? My friend Don Alexander is on board as one of the entertainers. Did you get to listen to his music?

 

 

Do you have the link to that posting ??

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