Recap of Star Aug 19-26

[SuiteCruiser]

We just returned from the Star sailing August 19-26, another great, relaxing trip. *Myself and my DH (both 40's), we left the kids at home with the grandparents. *We were in an SG suite, the new suites that are where Spinnakers used to be, ours had a balcony. *The suite was great, the decor probably our favorite of all cruises. *I loved the floor to ceiling windows and we had loads of room for the two of us. *

 

We were kept in snacks and cookies by our butler and our steward did a great job. We didn't ever ask for anything from our butler, or the concierge, *so we were easy guests for them. We only saw Monica, the concierge, once and that was in the priority lounge before boarding. *We were used to Florentina, from the Gem, who was very visible and called to check in, but it wasn't a problem as we didn't need her for anything, just a difference in how they work.

 

We never managed to make it to breakfast all week! We're not big breakfast eaters anyway, but Cagney's was only open until 9:30, which seemed very early to us. On the Gem it was open until 10:00, which was a little more civilized :)

 

We ate in Cagney's for lunch 4 times and the food was great, as usual. It would be nice if they had a special every day, just to break up the monotony of the same menu day after day, but we still enjoyed it.

 

For dinner, we chose to eat in specialties all week. *Since there was only the two of us, it wasn't a huge cost. One of our dinners was complimentary *because of my Platinum status, we also had a free bottle of wine the first night as I brought in the Facebook coupon. *La Cucina was really great, and at $10 a head, was a steal of a deal. Teppanyaki was fun, as usual, Moderno was good, but I think you need a huge appetite to go there.*

 

We signed up for the Chef's table, which was great, but WAY too much food. I could only eat a few bites of each course in order to be able to try the next offering. *The wine pairings were really great, as were our table mates. *We met a few couples that we continued drinks with after the meal was over. We were invited to one couple's Owner's Suite for drinks and that was really fun.*

 

We've cruised a lot, and find that our style of cruising has changed drastically over the years. We used to go to all of the shows, participate in many activities and be on the go the whole time. The shows and activities have lost their draw, simply because it's a lot of been there, seen that. We saw lots of others really enjoying the shows and activities, so I think they are still good. *We did music trivia and a couple of days of progressive trivia, but had a conflict one night for the Chef's Table, so no chance to win it :( My husband did go to the last show "Elements" and said it was great!

 

First day in Bermuda we went over to Hamilton on the ferry, *after buying the 3 day pass. It was so incredibly humid that it was difficult to do anything much. Hotter than I've ever been, I'm sure. We just wandered a bit and then hit a pub for a cold beer and some AC. Back to the ship and had the best thunder storm ever, it seemed to linger above the ship for an hour! Day two we bussed to Elbow Beach and played in the surf. It was just gorgeous! Day 3 we wandered around the dockyard and went to the pottery shop and the glassworks. We enjoyed watching the glassmaker making neat little dishes.

 

We were guests of Casinos at Sea and spent a fair bit of time in the casino, donating. Our "free" cruise, wasn't anywhere near free, but still fun. *I met a great group at three card poker and then another couple at Let It Ride, which makes donating much more fun. *The casino staff are fantastic. Special favorites Tamara (supervisor) and Nolito (dealer). Always a smile and I tend to play for the dealer each hand, and was thanked each and every time, which was very nice.

 

We had a few little hiccups, but nothing really worth worrying about. On the last night, we walked into Le Bistro. We'd eaten there earlier in the week, but it's my favorite, so we went back. It was a bit of a train wreck. *We were ignored for almost twenty minutes after we'd put down our menus, *one course never arrived, my filet was overcooked, they had lost my wine bottle that we had the tag for, and when they finally found it, it was warm (white wine), so it had been sitting on a counter up in Cagney's. It was just one of those times where nothing went right. *The Executive Chef popped by after we'd ordered to chat and introduce himself. We'd spent 3 hours in close quarters with him two nights before, and he had no recollection at all, which we also found odd, but as I said, the whole mess was no big deal, just not the normal great service. If someone had that as their first Le Bistro experience I could see it stopping them from returning. Thankfully we know different.

 

My husband doesn't cruise as much as I do, and we're driving home as I type this, so asked for input. One suggestion he has is that the wait staff in the specialties should be far more aware of their menus. We had to point out our order to the waiter. *If the menu has the items listed in French and then in English in small print underneath, we would expect we could order "Escargot" instead of "snails". A couple behind us had a few questions about what was in a dish and the waiter didn't know, he had to go back and ask. It would just be a little better if they were better versed on the menu, especially when there are less than 20 items on it. *It's supposed to be a fine dining experience, and it's almost as if they are playing at it. They're almost there, but not quite.

 

All in all, we really had a great time, very relaxing. *About an 8.5 out of 10, which is pretty darned good.

[Susie51]

Thank you for your review. I'm sorry to see that Spinnaker is gone. I enjoy that lounge.

[jdvmd]

Thanks for your review and observations.

We had nearly the same experience on the Dawn on our second time dining there during the week. I felt so sorry for the two couples that were celebrating special anniversaries behind us and their treatment really left a bad taste in my mouth.

[vivavegas]

Welcome Back! Glad you had a good cruise! Thanks for sharing your experiences!

[AttilaTheFun]

Thank for your review!

[Msvegas23]

Thank you for your review. I'm sorry to see that Spinnaker is gone. I enjoy that lounge.

 

Spinnaker is not gone. It is now located on deck 7 Aft. :) Still a fun place to be!

[Hikini]

Fun to read your review about our favorite ship. We miss her!

[campscout]

Thanks for the review. Will be on her in April for my DW 40th Bday.

[krnplcd]

great review :D Fun meeting you on the cruise ! (I was at the craps table/chef's table with you! I'll eventually write my own review but post wedding stuff is keeping me more busy than I thought!

[SuiteCruiser]

great review :D Fun meeting you on the cruise ! (I was at the craps table/chef's table with you! I'll eventually write my own review but post wedding stuff is keeping me more busy than I thought!

 

Really enjoyed meeting you guys and hanging out in the OS afterwards too. Say hi to your lovely bride and hopefully our paths will cross again, either in DC or on the water :)

[pineapple_mommy]

We just returned from the Star sailing August 19-26, another great, relaxing trip. *Myself and my DH (both 40's), we left the kids at home with the grandparents. *We were in an SG suite, the new suites that are where Spinnakers used to be, ours had a balcony. *The suite was great, the decor probably our favorite of all cruises. *I loved the floor to ceiling windows and we had loads of room for the two of us. *

 

We were kept in snacks and cookies by our butler and our steward did a great job. We didn't ever ask for anything from our butler, or the concierge, *so we were easy guests for them. We only saw Monica, the concierge, once and that was in the priority lounge before boarding. *We were used to Florentina, from the Gem, who was very visible and called to check in, but it wasn't a problem as we didn't need her for anything, just a difference in how they work.

 

We never managed to make it to breakfast all week! We're not big breakfast eaters anyway, but Cagney's was only open until 9:30, which seemed very early to us. On the Gem it was open until 10:00, which was a little more civilized :)

 

We ate in Cagney's for lunch 4 times and the food was great, as usual. It would be nice if they had a special every day, just to break up the monotony of the same menu day after day, but we still enjoyed it.

 

For dinner, we chose to eat in specialties all week. *Since there was only the two of us, it wasn't a huge cost. One of our dinners was complimentary *because of my Platinum status, we also had a free bottle of wine the first night as I brought in the Facebook coupon. *La Cucina was really great, and at $10 a head, was a steal of a deal. Teppanyaki was fun, as usual, Moderno was good, but I think you need a huge appetite to go there.*

 

We signed up for the Chef's table, which was great, but WAY too much food. I could only eat a few bites of each course in order to be able to try the next offering. *The wine pairings were really great, as were our table mates. *We met a few couples that we continued drinks with after the meal was over. We were invited to one couple's Owner's Suite for drinks and that was really fun.*

 

We've cruised a lot, and find that our style of cruising has changed drastically over the years. We used to go to all of the shows, participate in many activities and be on the go the whole time. The shows and activities have lost their draw, simply because it's a lot of been there, seen that. We saw lots of others really enjoying the shows and activities, so I think they are still good. *We did music trivia and a couple of days of progressive trivia, but had a conflict one night for the Chef's Table, so no chance to win it :( My husband did go to the last show "Elements" and said it was great!

 

First day in Bermuda we went over to Hamilton on the ferry, *after buying the 3 day pass. It was so incredibly humid that it was difficult to do anything much. Hotter than I've ever been, I'm sure. We just wandered a bit and then hit a pub for a cold beer and some AC. Back to the ship and had the best thunder storm ever, it seemed to linger above the ship for an hour! Day two we bussed to Elbow Beach and played in the surf. It was just gorgeous! Day 3 we wandered around the dockyard and went to the pottery shop and the glassworks. We enjoyed watching the glassmaker making neat little dishes.

 

We were guests of Casinos at Sea and spent a fair bit of time in the casino, donating. Our "free" cruise, wasn't anywhere near free, but still fun. *I met a great group at three card poker and then another couple at Let It Ride, which makes donating much more fun. *The casino staff are fantastic. Special favorites Tamara (supervisor) and Nolito (dealer). Always a smile and I tend to play for the dealer each hand, and was thanked each and every time, which was very nice.

 

We had a few little hiccups, but nothing really worth worrying about. On the last night, we walked into Le Bistro. We'd eaten there earlier in the week, but it's my favorite, so we went back. It was a bit of a train wreck. *We were ignored for almost twenty minutes after we'd put down our menus, *one course never arrived, my filet was overcooked, they had lost my wine bottle that we had the tag for, and when they finally found it, it was warm (white wine), so it had been sitting on a counter up in Cagney's. It was just one of those times where nothing went right. *The Executive Chef popped by after we'd ordered to chat and introduce himself. We'd spent 3 hours in close quarters with him two nights before, and he had no recollection at all, which we also found odd, but as I said, the whole mess was no big deal, just not the normal great service. If someone had that as their first Le Bistro experience I could see it stopping them from returning. Thankfully we know different.

 

My husband doesn't cruise as much as I do, and we're driving home as I type this, so asked for input. One suggestion he has is that the wait staff in the specialties should be far more aware of their menus. We had to point out our order to the waiter. *If the menu has the items listed in French and then in English in small print underneath, we would expect we could order "Escargot" instead of "snails". A couple behind us had a few questions about what was in a dish and the waiter didn't know, he had to go back and ask. It would just be a little better if they were better versed on the menu, especially when there are less than 20 items on it. *It's supposed to be a fine dining experience, and it's almost as if they are playing at it. They're almost there, but not quite.

 

All in all, we really had a great time, very relaxing. *About an 8.5 out of 10, which is pretty darned good.

 

We are on the Star in October and really want to try the Chef's Table- what night was the Chef's Table and how/when did you sign up? Thanks for the great review.

[SuiteCruiser]

We are on the Star in October and really want to try the Chef's Table- what night was the Chef's Table and how/when did you sign up? Thanks for the great review.

 

It was on the Thursday night, so the second night in Bermuda. We signed up for it as soon as we checked in. We were in a suite, so asked the concierge in the lounge before we boarded.

 

The reason they said they do it on a port night was because the space they use and had closed off, is a part of the dining room, and they can put four or five more tables in if the room isn't closed off. On sea days, they said they needed that extra space for the dining room.

 

Thanks for the nice replies everyone :)

[pineapple_mommy]

It was on the Thursday night, so the second night in Bermuda. We signed up for it as soon as we checked in. We were in a suite, so asked the concierge in the lounge before we boarded.

 

The reason they said they do it on a port night was because the space they use and had closed off, is a part of the dining room, and they can put four or five more tables in if the room isn't closed off. On sea days, they said they needed that extra space for the dining room.

 

Thanks for the nice replies everyone :)

 

Thank you for the reply, we have done the Chef's dinner on Princess and loved it. Very excited that NCL has started one too. We are also in a suite, so crossing our fingers we can get a spot.

[NYGirl1002]

Thanks for the interesting review. Glad you had a good time.

[kunapets]

Can you tell me more about Elbow Beach? You took the bus (#7 I guess). Were there chairs/umbrelas to rent? What about Restrooms? Food and Drink??

 

Thanks Ken S

[SuiteCruiser]

Can you tell me more about Elbow Beach? You took the bus (#7 I guess). Were there chairs/umbrelas to rent? What about Restrooms? Food and Drink??

 

Thanks Ken S

 

It's not a busy, full service beach like Horseshoe Bay, we just brought our towels from the ship and lay out on the beach. There was a hot dog stand just up the stairs from the beach and a port-a-potty but really no other services. The public beach is in between two resorts, we didn't check to see if we could buy lunch there, but did see some signs that they were for guest use only. I did hear of a family renting a room at one of the resorts for the day, which gave them full access.

 

Hope this helps!