Star to Bermuda review - 9/2/12 - lots of pics and food!

[kylenyc]

Thanks for the review and pictures, and congrats on the anniversary. Can't wait to be on the slightly bruised Star this Saturday.

 

Do you still have your Freestyle Daily for Day 1 and could tell me if there is a "Solo Mix and Mingle" event, when and where? A few solo travelers are trying to find a venue to meet and plan dinner on embarkation day.

 

The first thing I will mention is that the lunch menu in the main dining room was the same every day. This was a change from our previous cruise on Carnival, where the lunch menu in the main dining room changed daily, just like the dinner menu.

Some Carnival ships are being "upgraded" and replacing breakfast and lunch with a "Comedy Brunch" buffet. I'm on Carnival in Nov. The idea is unappealing to me but trying to keep and open mind. :confused:

 

***SPOILER ALERT***

Before we ordered they brought out a very small dish that they said was "compliments of the chef" - I believe it was some sort of salmon pate. It was quite good, and DH being a big salmon fan really liked it:

Spoiler alert... They always say that so it's really just standard fare at Le Bistro. I wish they would stop saying it. It makes them sound foolish as if the chef was going out of their way to make something extra special.;) It's still yummy though. Wish they would add some crab or lobster pate to mix it up.

[sbt518]

 

There were tons of tastings! I know I saw wine, beer, scotch, and I'm pretty sure margarita... there may have been others too, I can check the Freestyle Dailies when I get a chance later.

 

Good to know. We'll be on the lookout for them. Thanks!

[HouNew2Cruise]

I was guessing your anniversary got you the VIP. Didn't you have them decorate your room for the anniversary?

 

Didn't know about the travel writing, so maybe it was that.

 

Still loving the review. The pictures really make it standout.

[bsblindab]

did they have the chocolate buffet? We went to one on the Gem..and while it was good..I heard the Star is a bit confining as it is for the buffet area..so wanted to make sure we make dinner reservations that night. do you have any Dallies at all?

[broadwaystar32]

Thanks for the review and pictures, and congrats on the anniversary. Can't wait to be on the slightly bruised Star this Saturday.

 

Do you still have your Freestyle Daily for Day 1 and could tell me if there is a "Solo Mix and Mingle" event, when and where? A few solo travelers are trying to find a venue to meet and plan dinner on embarkation day.

 

 

Some Carnival ships are being "upgraded" and replacing breakfast and lunch with a "Comedy Brunch" buffet. I'm on Carnival in Nov. The idea is unappealing to me but trying to keep and open mind. :confused:

 

***SPOILER ALERT***

 

Spoiler alert... They always say that so it's really just standard fare at Le Bistro. I wish they would stop saying it. It makes them sound foolish as if the chef was going out of their way to make something extra special.;) It's still yummy though. Wish they would add some crab or lobster pate to mix it up.

 

Thanks! According to my Daily, on Day 1 there was a "Sailing Solo Get Together" at 6pm in Gatsby's.

 

I have to say that the comedy brunch doesn't sound all that great to me either, so I'll be curious to hear how it is.

 

I figured that the "compliments of the chef" was par for the course. Not only was everyone else there brought the same thing, but once you pay to get in everything is "complimentary" so I don't know what the point of that was!

[broadwaystar32]

I was guessing your anniversary got you the VIP. Didn't you have them decorate your room for the anniversary?

 

Didn't know about the travel writing, so maybe it was that.

 

Still loving the review. The pictures really make it standout.

 

I was wondering if it could be the anniversary as well. I guess I'll never officially have an answer, but I'm not complaining! ;)

 

did they have the chocolate buffet? We went to one on the Gem..and while it was good..I heard the Star is a bit confining as it is for the buffet area..so wanted to make sure we make dinner reservations that night. do you have any Dallies at all?

 

Yes, they had the chocolate buffet. It was Day 6. It was cool to see at first but I was not overwhelmed with the quality of the desserts. The buffet area is basically divided into two separate sections, so they had the chocolate on one side and the regular food on the other side.

 

An off-topic question for anyone that might know: do any cruise ships still do "midnight buffets" that are actually at midnight? I would've loved that!

 

And I still have the Dailies, I'm pretty sure I have all of them.

[broadwaystar32]

Wednesday, Sept. 5th - Day 4 "Bermuda"

 

I love waking up and being in Bermuda! We awoke early and grabbed some food at the buffet for breakfast. The view of the island from on deck:

 

 

We got off the ship quickly at easily around 9:00. We had our Shipwreck Snorkel excursion booked for 9:45, so we waited around for that. I took some pictures of the Star while we waited!

 

 

Before we left for the excursion, they told us that we couldn't actually snorkel at the shipwreck due to the weather conditions, because apparently the waves were much higher in that area. We would still be brought to snorkel, just out near a reef, and we would pass over the shipwreck in a glass bottom boat. They gave us the option to leave and get a refund if we didn't want to do this, but I don't think anyone chose not to.

 

The guides gave us a little bit of info about the island as we drove out to the shipwreck site. Passed some lovely scenery as well.

 

 

The portion of the shipwreck that was above the water was cool to look at. However, when you passed over it with the glass bottom boat you couldn't really see much "shipwreck" - so much reef and stuff and grown over it that it basically looked like any other part of the ocean. There were tons of fish swimming around though.

 

 

 

The snorkeling was decent. I love the feeling of being in the water and being able to look down and still breathe, haha. But there weren't many fish where they took us. To the extent where we got excited if we even saw one fish. I was disappointed, especially since we'd seen tons of fish around the shipwreck. It was still a nice morning though.

 

Included with the excursion was one complimentary rum swizzle on the way back. However, due to the change in plans, they made it an open bar and you could have as many as you liked. They weren't very strong so some people were definitely taking advantage of that! The excursion guides were really doing their best to be as accommodating as possible given the situation, even though nothing that happened was their fault and only a result of the storm.

 

Once we returned to the Dockyard we caught a ferry over to Hamilton.

 

[broadwaystar32]

The first thing that we did in Hamilton was grab lunch. We found a cute little place by the water called Bistro at the Beach, I believe.

 

 

I'm sure you've heard that prices in Bermuda are expensive, and they definitely are. But as far as Bermuda goes this place was pretty reasonable. We both got sandwiches which were about $12 each. DH ordered a curry chicken wrap. It was a bit messy but very good:

 

 

I had a tomato, mozzarella, and basil sandwich. I happen to love this combo and don't often find a bad version of it, and this was no exception - delicious!

 

 

We then decided to walk to Fort Hamilton - note that this isn't the cool fort that's near St. George, it's actually just the remains of one. It's basically almost like a park now - you can come in and walk around, but there's not much information or anything like that about the fort. It was still fun to explore and take some pictures of though:

 

 

 

[BabsterA]

What camera are you using and how do you post your pics? You are doing a great job - I feel like I'm traveling with you!

[antsnanny]

We were never told how we got VIP. It was our first NCL cruise and we were in an inside cabin. My best guess is that it's my part-time job - I write travel articles for an online website, and I contacted NCL and told them ahead of time. They didn't say anything when I emailed, just a typical "if you have any questions about anything let us know," but my suspicion is that that's why we got it. The only other thing it could possibly be is that they just randomly give it out and we got really lucky.

 

Check with your travel agent, sometimes NCL allows them to VIP their clients. I think it would be smart of them to VIP a travel writer so thats possible too. Enjoying your review, were sailing on her this Sunday..

[kylenyc]

Thanks! According to my Daily, on Day 1 there was a "Sailing Solo Get Together" at 6pm in Gatsby's.

Thanks a bunch Becky! Great pics and tip on the restaurant too. Love caprese salads and wish they had curry wraps in my neighborhood. Bermuda restaurant association should give you VIP status too after this review. :)

[dr.d]

Great review! Thank you. We'll be sailing on the Star in Feb. 2013. Can't wait!

[broadwaystar32]

What camera are you using and how do you post your pics? You are doing a great job - I feel like I'm traveling with you!

 

Thank you! I have a basic point and shoot, a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH25. Definitely on the cheaper end as far as cameras go, but I've found it gives me pretty good pictures! I use photobucket to post pictures. I upload them there and then copy and paste the IMG code.

 

Check with your travel agent, sometimes NCL allows them to VIP their clients. I think it would be smart of them to VIP a travel writer so thats possible too. Enjoying your review, were sailing on her this Sunday..

 

That's a good idea, I didn't think to check there too. Have a great time next week!

[broadwaystar32]

Thanks a bunch Becky! Great pics and tip on the restaurant too. Love caprese salads and wish they had curry wraps in my neighborhood. Bermuda restaurant association should give you VIP status too after this review. :)

 

No problem! Thank you for following along!

 

Great review! Thank you. We'll be sailing on the Star in Feb. 2013. Can't wait!

 

You'll have a great time :)

[Shelli]

Enjoying your review, were sailing on her this Sunday..

 

Nancy, come join our roll call: Star**9/23/12**Bermuda

[jawas]

Thanks so much for your review Becky! I leave on the Star for Bermuda in a couple weeks. I've been to Bermuda before (love it!!), but this will be my first NCL cruise, and also the first ever cruise for my parents, who are going with us. This is an amazing review of the cruise and the ship, and I can't wait to see the rest!

[broadwaystar32]

We then spent some time walking through Hamilton and visiting some of the shops, but after awhile I just desperately wanted to be back on the ship so I could take a shower. We were already aware there was a possibility that we could lose a day due to Leslie, so I didn't want to go back to the ship after snorkeling, I wanted to spend more time Bermuda (especially since we planned to eat dinner and attend the show on the ship).

 

Hamilton:

 

 

 

We took showers and then napped, which was nice. Then it was up to the buffet to grab a quick snack before heading to the 8 o'clock show. It was Duo Amoury, a couple that did aerobatics. They were so good. This show was just breathtaking. Honestly, I loved everything about it. Their music selection (some of which was French-influenced, since that's where they are from), how their choreographed movement fit with the lyrics, what they were able to do - I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but by the end I was almost in tears because it was just so impressive, and I'm very moved by good music anyway. This was my favorite show of the trip.

 

For dinner we went to Ginza, the specialty Asian restaurant. I had been smelling it all week when we walked by and I was excited to try it!

 

The appetizers actually looked more appealing than the entrees, so we decided to order 3 and share them between us. First up was the crab wontons. These were delicious - there's a lot more crab in there than what it looks like:

 

 

Also got the shrimp salad, which was really not much of a salad at all. It was shrimp in a crispy roll served with a side of salad. It was very good, the crispy portion was amazing and the shrimp juicy - plus the plum sauce that it came with went with it perfectly:

 

 

For our last appetizer we got the potstickers. These were good, but not my favorite. DH ate most of them:

 

 

For my entree I got the Kung Po Chicken. This is my go-to meal when ordering Chinese food. This version was very good, but oh my was it spicy! I enjoy spiciness but this was very powerful! I had it with white rice:

 

[broadwaystar32]

DH had the setchzuan beef. He liked it but didn't love it. We joked that next time we should just order every appetizer on the menu and skip the entrees! he had his with fried rice:

 

 

For dessert we were both pretty full, but couldn't pass up the chance to try a creme brulee sampler. We shared it. There were three flavors - green tea, ginger, and one other that I can't remember. Green tea was very good, ginger was excellent, and the other one was just okay. I wasn't sure how ginger would taste in a creme brulee but I loved it:

 

 

The restaurant area is very pretty. I loved how the tables were set. It's very open but I liked that. My favorite thing was that Gatsby's was directly below the restaurant, and since we had a late dinner a piano player was playing and singing motown tunes, which was great evening entertainment while we ate:

 

 

 

 

Then it was back to the room to see our towel animals for the night!

 

[broadwaystar32]

Thanks so much for your review Becky! I leave on the Star for Bermuda in a couple weeks. I've been to Bermuda before (love it!!), but this will be my first NCL cruise, and also the first ever cruise for my parents, who are going with us. This is an amazing review of the cruise and the ship, and I can't wait to see the rest!

 

Thanks for following along! It was my first NCL cruise as well - I'm sure you and your parents will love it!

[boopsahoy]

Ive enjoyed the food at Ginza on Jewel and Gem-their spare ribs are delicious, theyre not bbq'ed they are slow cooked and just fall off the bone. I also found their spicy dishes to be very spicy but I like that! Enjoying your review!:D

[broadwaystar32]

Ive enjoyed the food at Ginza on Jewel and Gem-their spare ribs are delicious, theyre not bbq'ed they are slow cooked and just fall off the bone. I also found their spicy dishes to be very spicy but I like that! Enjoying your review!:D

 

Thanks! The spare ribs sound really good. I like the spiciness too, but I sure did drink a lot of water! ;)

[mitsugirly]

I can't wait to try Ginza. The food looks so awesome and you gave me a few "names" to try out when we are there. We went to the one on the Pearl and LOVED it. I can't wait! Love the pictures.

[broadwaystar32]

Thursday, Sept. 6th - Day 5 "Bermuda"

 

We had room service deliver breakfast to our room in the morning, so we could head out to St. George. The easiest way to get there is by ferry, but the ferries don't run all that often to St. George - there can sometimes be an hour to an hour and half gap between ferries. The first one left at 9:45 so that's the one we got on.

 

We really liked St. George - it's a cute little town with a lot of history. While Hamilton is really like a business city with a few shops and restaurants, St. George is all about the history (and the tourism, I suppose, but it's not overwhelming). Greeting you in the town square was the town crier, ringing his bell:

 

 

There was a walking tour just starting at 10:30, so we decided to join in on that. While the guide was informative, he did ramble on and on, taking a very long time to tell simple stories (that a guide on the ferry ride over here had actually told us already in about 10 minutes as an "intro to St. George" kind of thing). A lot of what he said was interesting, but it wasn't much of a walking tour so much as a "stand around for 15 minutes while I talk and then we'll move a few feet over here" tour. It was incredibly hot that day and I was dying just standing around in the sun. Looking back I probably wouldn't do it again, but I'm glad we got to see a few of the important sights:

 

 

 

 

 

[broadwaystar32]

For lunch we went to a place called Wahoo's, which was very cute and had seating right on the water. We chose to sit back a little further on the deck so we had more shade, but it was still a nice view:

 

 

The back porch:

 

 

Though a fish called Wahoo is the featured item here, I was a little nervous about ordering it and I played it safe with a chicken club sandwich. It was fine, but nothing too great or out of the ordinary. The fries were really excellent though:

 

 

DH went for the Wahoo and got a Wahoo burger. It was ground wahoo, and it was great! I tried a bite and really enjoyed it, making me wish that I had ordered the wahoo nuggets instead:

 

 

After lunch we checked out some of the shops. It was pretty empty, and a lot of shopkeepers were closing up or preparing for the hurricane. There was a nice scrapbooking store that I got a few items at. It just felt so good to be in the air conditioning in these stores. Hot weather usually doesn't bother me that much (I'm a huge Disney World person and I almost never feel overwhelmingly hot there), but for whatever reason this day the heat was killing me. We also stopped in town square and visited the town hall:

 

 

[bsblindab]

Thursday, Sept. 6th - Day 5 "Bermuda"

 

We had room service deliver breakfast to our room in the morning, so we could head out to St. George. The easiest way to get there is by ferry, but the ferries don't run all that often to St. George - there can sometimes be an hour to an hour and half gap between ferries. The first one left at 9:45 so that's the one we got on.

 

We really liked St. George - it's a cute little town with a lot of history. While Hamilton is really like a business city with a few shops and restaurants, St. George is all about the history (and the tourism, I suppose, but it's not overwhelming). Greeting you in the town square was the town crier, ringing his bell:

 

 

There was a walking tour just starting at 10:30, so we decided to join in on that. While the guide was informative, he did ramble on and on, taking a very long time to tell simple stories (that a guide on the ferry ride over here had actually told us already in about 10 minutes as an "intro to St. George" kind of thing). A lot of what he said was interesting, but it wasn't much of a walking tour so much as a "stand around for 15 minutes while I talk and then we'll move a few feet over here" tour. It was incredibly hot that day and I was dying just standing around in the sun. Looking back I probably wouldn't do it again, but I'm glad we got to see a few of the important sights:

 

 

 

 

 

that's good to know ..the walking type of tour..my husband can't do any fast paced walking..so this will fit him pretty good.