Star June 3-10: Our first time on NCL!

[LDR]

My family and I just returned yesterday from our very first NCL cruise. We have cruised on Carnival, Royal and Celebrity previously. I wanted to write a review while the details were still fresh in my mind. So here we go:

 

The Cruisers: Me, my husband and two children, 19 and almost 21:)

 

Pre-cruise: The kids and I had never been to NYC, so we took advantage of this and flew in on Friday morning. We stayed in Times Square and walked all over the place. On Saturday we met friends in the morning for more sightseeing and friends in the afternoon for a day sail around the island. We had a great time! I cannot wait to go back here again.

 

Embarkation: The hotel was a 10 minute ride from the Manhattan Cruise Pier. Bags were whisked away immediately and we proceeded inside to check in. This went very smoothly.

I loved how they take your embarkation photo BEFORE you even get called to board. No backups getting on this way. The only bummer was we did have to wait to board. No priority status on NCL yet, but it wasn't too bad and the next thing we knew we were walking in to the Grand Atrium and up to the pool deck for lunch.

 

Our Cabins: My husband and I had a balcony cabin, port side on deck 10. The kids were across the hall in an inside. The storage space was great, and I especially loved how the bathroom was set up. The rectangular shower seemed roomier and more efficient. I also loved the little coffee pot in my room and used it several times. Our stewardess was great, she brought extra coffee cream and kept us well supplied with ice and towels. The towel animals were really neat too, I had never seen some of the ones she did before.

 

The Crew: Some of the friendliest people I've ever encountered on a cruise ship! One of

our roll call members arranged a Cruise Critic Gathering for us at the Bier Garden after sailaway and there were a lot of crew there! The Cruise Director and the Hotel Director were some of the ones I recall stopping by. We received invitations to tour the Bridge on the last sea day. That's something you don't always get to do!

 

I will post more later, I have to actually cook dinner tonight. No going down to the dining room!

[Hopes4]

I'm glad you enjoyed your 1st NCL cruise. Thank you for taking the time to post a review, I look forward to reading more later.

[teeny25]

Can't wait to read the rest! We are going to sail NCL for the first time too on the Star in Novemeber. We have been on Carnival and Princess before, so I am interested in what you thought!

 

We went to NYC for the first time last summer and loved it as well-glad you got a great start to your vacay.

 

Sorry you have to go back to cooking dinner:(..you get so used to being spoiled on cruises!!

[LDR]

Food and Beverages: We ate mainly in Versailles for dinner and most breakfasts. No one had anything they didn't like. Personally, some of my favorites were the broccoli soup and the Eggs Benedict. We did La Cucina one evening, for $10 per person. It was very good too! Perfectly cooked pasta and the minestrone was excellent. My daughter and I ate at Cagney's one evening while the guys watched basketball. The lobster bisque and the filet were outstanding! The guys really liked the Blue Lagoon, they were all about the wings. The buffet was pretty much like any other buffet, but one thing I didn't especially like was that it was all just one line, no separate salad station, pizza station etc. Not a deal breaker though!

 

We did think the service was just a bit slow. For example, it took a really long time to get a refill on your water glass and sometimes a course was a long time coming out and getting served to the table. Now, this did not in any way make our cruise bad. I think that this is an industry wide issue due to cut backs. The servers have too many tables to handle and not enough assistants to refill glasses, etc. We certainly did appreciate their efforts for our week on board.

 

Beverage service was great in the bars/lounges and poolside. If you go to the Red Lion say hello to Jeric and Big Al. They took great care of us all week, since we were in there a lot for the basketball games and the Belmont. There is a popcorn machine in there and you can get a hot dog. The Bier Garden was really cool too. Milo and Salvador did a great job.

 

Entertainment: We didn't go to any shows, so I can't comment. We did go to the party in the Spinnaker most evenings. There was a dance party the first night, which was very fun. There was a Country Hoe-Down theme one evening and I was not looking forward to it, since I'm not really a fan of country/western, but it turned out to be a hilarious evening!

Kyle, the CD, came out and encouraged some couples to come out for a country line dance. My daughter dragged my husband out there, but, Kyle twisted it up and made the guys all go get another lady to dance with. I tried to hide from my husband-really. But off I went, and it was so funny as all the men had to keep moving up between women as the music got faster. The best part of the evening was the men doing the musical hats game. There are no words to describe how funny it was!

Other theme nights were Salsa and the White Hot Party. They really gussied up the room for that one. Great music. The other thing we did participate in was Quest, the last evening. It was very well attended and as usual fun. We have seen this on RCL and the game was pretty similar.

Pool side games included a hot dog eating contest and a beer pouring contest.

[vivavegas]

Nice review! Thanks for sharing your experiences!:)

[satchiesmom]

Thanks for posting your review. We will be sailing on our first NCL cruise in January 2014, though on the Jewel, not on the Star.

[xenagurl]

I enjoyed your review. Thanks for posting. :)

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for posting your review, glad you had a good time

[chrisc71]

Thanks for the review. Getting excited about my first NCL cruise.

[mking8288]

How's that "new" Spinmaker Lounge" on what used to be the Gift Shop on deck 7 (sailed the Star twice before drydock & makeover) as the old "Lounge" used to upstairs FWD with excellent view ... Some reviews cited it as being too small & thus overcrowded, it was close to a perfect hideaway for quiet reading, relaxation & gathering - if & when they aren't doing Bingo or other activities especially on Sea Days.

 

Food reviews are subjective, but curious as to your overall impression of the buffet & MDR between NCL and RCL (since you've been sailing them quite a bit more.)

 

Five of us are planning our next cruise and more extended family members are thinking of going with us in 2013 (it's not easy for everyone to plan our vacations together while still working - if we could only afford early retirement and manage traveling all over at the same time, LOL)

[LDR]

How's that "new" Spinmaker Lounge" on what used to be the Gift Shop on deck 7 (sailed the Star twice before drydock & makeover) as the old "Lounge" used to upstairs FWD with excellent view ... Some reviews cited it as being too small & thus overcrowded, it was close to a perfect hideaway for quiet reading, relaxation & gathering - if & when they aren't doing Bingo or other activities especially on Sea Days.

 

Food reviews are subjective, but curious as to your overall impression of the buffet & MDR between NCL and RCL (since you've been sailing them quite a bit more.)

 

The Spinnaker was a good space, but it seemed to have way too many chairs crammed in there, made it kind of hard to get in and out if it was crowded. It did on occasion become packed!

 

I would say I like the buffet on RCL better, it has the different stations so you don't have to wait so long. It makes for better traffic flow. As far as the dining room I feel the two are mostly equal, the only difference is the specific seating time and table.

[LDR]

One other thought about entertainment-we really did like the variety of live music. Bands by pool and in the lounges, a great variety for you to choose from.

 

Bermuda: This was our first time to Bermuda. Unfortunately the weather wasn't the greatest, but we made the best of it. On Wednesday we got up early and as soon as we were cleared we headed to Horseshoe Bay before it got too crowded. Beautiful! We did have some sun here, but it was pretty windy. When the crowds started to come in we headed to The Swizzle Inn down the road.(this is not the original one, it is newer) After a great lunch and a famous rum swizzle we headed back to the ship. The manager had to call us a cab because all the ones we tried to flag down were full! That evening we had booked the Harbor Nights excursion to Hamilton, but it was canceled due to the weather. We got cleaned up and went back out to explore the area at King's Wharf. The shopping was okay, we had a drink at the Frog and Onion AND the Bonefish Bar and Grill before heading back to the ship for dinner.

 

Thursday we took the ferry to Hamilton. It is about a 20 minute ride. You will need to purchase your ticket in the round, blue building behind the area where you board. We shopped and explored for a couple of hours then had lunch at Flannagan's Irish Pub before heading back. That evening we went over to the Snorkel Beach Park, which turns into a nightclub at 10pm. The cover charge was $10pp. A round of 4 drinks-one beer and 3 mixed was $30!! My kids loved it, the drinking age is 18 in Bermuda and we did let them have a couple. They know they have to follow our rules about it too, only drink what WE

buy them and we decide the amount they may have. So far we have had no issues with this subject.

 

Friday it was rainy, so we slept in a bit, got up and decided to check out Snorkel Beach during the day. It isn't the best beach in Bermuda, but it wasn't too bad, small, but convenient. You could rent kayaks and snorkel here. The sun tried to come out! We went back to ship about 3pm, all aboard was at 4:30pm. Celebrity Summit had been in port with us, so she sailed off first, then we followed.

[LDR]

Sea Days: The first day out, Monday, was rainy until early afternoon. Tuesday and Saturday were very nice. Here is where I have my biggest complaint and serious dislike. Not only were there chair hogs, but there really weren't enough chairs to go around. People were laying out their towels on the deck. There was plenty of room for more chairs too, so I don't know if they just don't have them or didn't have them out. We did get chairs easy Monday afternoon at the front of the ship. Tuesday we had 3 chairs for the 4 of us, which we made work. (the folks next to us had 4 chairs for 6 !) We also had what we called Chair Vultures. They circled and if were getting up to leave you could barely get your stuff together:) The last sea day

all the chairs were taken or saved by 8am. We were doing a bridge tour at 9am, so we knew that it would be hard to get chairs when we came out after our tour. We lucked out with a table in the sun up in the Bier Garden. You do the best you can and you make it work. Everyone was perfectly happy and we did manage to get lounge chairs about 3pm.

 

Disembarkation: Smooth. You get a choice of easy walk-off with your own luggage or you can choose a tag color according to the time that works best with your transportation plans. We were off around 9:30am. However, we had to cross the really busy 12th avenue for the taxi stand. Dragging our bags along with everyone else. We ended up walking 3 blocks up and one block over to my daughter's friend's apartment who is in NYC for an internship. I considered walking that distance with bags a good workout for the day:)

 

Overall: We didn't hate it. It was a cruise, which we love! Would we do another NCL?

Yes, if the price and itinerary were good. Maybe a bigger NCL ship. The biggest thing we missed was the assigned table and dining time, but that's just us. I know others really like the freestyle concept. We enjoyed NYC and the week trying something different on a new cruise line.

 

Questions? Feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer.

[DeeT]

Hi, thanks so much for taking the time to write. Glad you had a nice time. I'm hoping the chair situation improves by the time we sail in July! that's just ridiculous! Do you think I can call NCL and tell them to get more darn chairs!!!!

[crisp1]

Great review. Do you think you'll cruise to Bermuda again- or have you seen (and paid ;)) enough

[LDR]

Bermuda was beautiful, but we may have to save up for a little while before we go back-LOL!

I want to go back so we can go to St. George.

[Unknotted]

I gotta tell you...your attitude is awesome! I get frustrated by reviews where people focus on the bad things, as if there was nothing good about their cruise. Few cruises are absolutely perfect, but when you make the most of it and have a good attitude any cruise can be a fun one.

 

Thanks for the positive approach to your cruise and your review.

[jdvmd]

Sounds like you had a great experience!

[SailBabySail]

First OP, I am so happy that you had a good time. After our last cruise NCL sent us a survey. I did politely mention something that I felt needed their attention. I received a reply within 48 hours and they said they appreciated my bringing the matter to their attention and would address it immediately. I think if NCL were made aware of the lack of chairs/loungers they would take care of it. OP, you have a great attitude which is what everyone should have when taking a cruise.

[goose30]

LDR you say that you did not take in any of the shows. Unfortunately you missed some f the best entertainment on the seven seas.

 

You will have to go again.

[LDR]

I did get the online survey and I did mention the lack of chairs:)

 

Thanks for all you kind words too. Being positive makes things a lot better than being negative and spreading around a foul mood! Vacation should be a joy:)

[Lau92080]

You mentioned something about a bridge tour, is that something we can sign up for or only offered as part of a meet and greet???

I would love to take my daughter!

[Cruise_More_Often]

Great review! You mentioned right off the bat two things you liked a lot -- the nice, big shower and the cabin coffee pot. I had to laugh, because we are long-time NCL cruisers who just got off the Radiance of the Seas. We hated the teensy-weensie round shower with the shower curtain that never stays in place except when sticking to your body and no cabin coffee maker!

[NewMrsD]

I'm curious what your room number was? I am on deck 10, port side as well. This is only my second cruise and my first balcony...I'm interested in finding out what everything really looks like. Your positive review of the bathroom has me hopeful!!