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NCL STAR review ~ Sept. 30th - Oct 7th

family cruisers

By family cruisers,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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family cruisers

family cruisers

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We sail to Bermuda each fall from NYC... This was our 5th NCL ship. We were on the Crown twice, the Dawn once, last year was the Gem and this year was the STAR! We have also sailed HAL to BDA.

 

We are in the last year of our 40's !!! OMG :D

 

I guess you know we LOVE Bermuda :)

I've been to many caribbean islands but Bermuda is at the top of the list. Beautiful Beaches, Great ports, never any worries while there, amazing locals ~ super friendly and clean island, very easy to navigate on your own. The transportation system is the best. This year we used both the bus and ferries to get around.

We always go to Horseshoe beach. It is the most beautiful beach with many other smaller beaches attached by a path or at low tide thru the rocks.. They have chair and umbrella rentals, concessions selling food and drinks, changing room w/ showers and bathroom and all in all, it's pretty clean.

 

We also ferried to St.George and did our stroll around the island, Took the bus from dockyards twice to hamilton for my shopping and to visit the Cathedral. My grandmother always used to say " when in a strange or foreign city etc. always say a prayer in a local church".. I always do.

 

For ladies who enjoy nice perfume, LILI BERMUDA has many different island fragrances that are made IN Bermuda. You'll see 2 fragrances Bermuda breeze and another one in blue boxes that are made FOR Bermuda.

I purchased South Water and Coral... I saw them on display in one of the large stores in Hamilton and sampled many of them.

They also have the small vials in a box set for $30.00.

I didn't buy right away and while strolling through the other stores, I forgot to buy it.

Back on the ship in the gift store ~ they have it!!!! They just got their first batch to sell. I lucked out..

You can check out the Lili Bermuda website to see each individual fragrance along w/ their notes..

 

 

Back to the Star..

We had a balcony cabin midship on deck 10. No problems at all. They had 1 reclining chair and one room chair on balcony which was a bit strange, we asked our room steward if we could get a 2nd reclining chair and he had it there in no time.

 

We enjoyed every meal onboard.

This was the very first time I didn't pack any dressier clothes for us. We took one huge suitcase and our own carry on bag. It really worked out well.

 

We enjoyed 2 dinners in Aqua, a few in the buffet, one in La Cucina which I have to say was a bit of a disappointment. The taste of my chicken parm was excellent, BUT the food was room temperature. The restaurant was crowded and I noticed our waiter had too many tables. I blame it to being understaffed. I ate a few bites and left it, I did enjoy the appetizer and tiramisu for dessert. A supervisor did come over and I only mentioned it wasn't hot, didn't want to get our server in trouble. Lord knows they work so hard. Wasn't his fault.

 

The blue lagoon for wings and cheesecake was also great. We did have a burger in there on the next to last day. It was the right off the grill, the ones by the pool sit there. If you want a hot burger, head to blue lagoon.

 

We are really not breakfast eaters except on port days. We enjoyed some fresh omelets before heading off the ship.

 

The chocolate buffet had plenty to offer in the marketplace cafe (buffet).

I took very little and had to have the black forest cake I have every year off this buffet.

 

The Maitre D " Harry" in the buffet is something else, one day my DH went for his afternoon ice cream. He met me back at the table while I was finishing my lunch. Harry (first me him here) came to the table and said " we now have chocolate syrup at the ice cream bar". I had no clue what he was talking about.

When he left, my DH said that he asked for syrup at the ice cream station and the girl said " we're out of it". That was the end of it, he thougth.

Harry must have been standing in ear shot and had it refilled immediatly.

As we were leaving the buffet we grabbed him and said what a nice touch that was by him coming over to the table. Jokingly I mentioned how much we LOVE choc. syrup. He said " whats your cabin # I'll send you some" I gave it to him thinking the whole thing was a joke, NOT...

We came back to the cabin later on and there were two ice cream bowls with chocolate syrup covered in plastic and a spoon for each to take to get our ice cream with our own syrup!

THAT IS GREAT SERVICE!!! Little touches like that make the Star what she is and also what NCL is all about. Guest services!!! Kuddos to Harry and NCL for this one.

 

We did attend several shows and thought they were fantastic.

We enjoyed our sea days reading our books up on deck 13.

The pool area to us is not enjoyable on this ship.

I can't understand why you have a kiddie pool area deck 12 aft and then for their ONLY pool, fill it with those tube slides for kids. It's so big and obtrusive. Can't enjoy it. We didn't anyway. The whole layout of that to me is a waste.

 

What else??? Hmmmmmm

Not sure right now..

 

any questions I'd be happy to answer for you.

 

For those getting ready to set sail on the STAR ~ I wish you all a fabulous vacation!!

 

Carrie

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NYGirl1002

NYGirl1002

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Thanks for your review. The one thing I notice about all the reviews is that they say that staff on each of NCL's ships is amazing. I look forward to my cruise in November.

 

I like your grandmother's advice. I am finally doing Bermuda next year and I am going to try the perfume place.

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family cruisers

family cruisers

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The staff on the Star and the Gem last year have been fantastic!!

I also will say that we appreciate the hard work done by each and everyone of them. I know I couldn't do what they do day in and day out.

 

You will LOVE Bermuda. No place quite like it. Enjoy!

Thanks for your review. The one thing I notice about all the reviews is that they say that staff on each of NCL's ships is amazing. I look forward to my cruise in November.

 

I like your grandmother's advice. I am finally doing Bermuda next year and I am going to try the perfume place.

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family cruisers

family cruisers

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Harry was a young, handsome Indian guy. His real name was VERY long. I asked him to write it for me as I plan on writing NCL in miami to pass along the story. He gave me his card which has a very long first and last name!

 

Enjoy your cruise. You're leaving out of NOLA I'm assuming?

Very nice review. Gotta love all of the "Harry's" on NCL. That's what keeps us coming back! :D:D

 

Two months and counting.

 

Pat

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family cruisers

family cruisers

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My hubby just said to me this morning " wasn't it nice we could go and grab whatever we wanted to eat, whenever we wanted it". LOL Now it's back to being good and back to reality for sure!

Thanks for the review and glad to hear you had a good time. The Star's crew is stellar indeed and love Bermuda. Now I have a craving for burgers, wings, and slice of black forest cake. :eek:
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camz

camz

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Hi Carrie! We were aboard the Star with you. WOW what an amazing cruise! The crew were excellent and very friendly. :) IMO Bermuda is incredible and the most beautiful place on earth. I scored a bottle of Bermuda Breeze and it is a nice scent. Previously, I purchased the Bermuda Blue. We love the fact that the scents are made on the island and purchasing them helps the locals. That is why we also love the Bermuda Rum Cakes. Sorry you were unable to make the meet and greet. Thanks for your review. I can't believe we are back a week now. :(

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family cruisers

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We always enjoy Bermuda, definetly our favorite place and it's why we keep going back.

Just an FYI... The two fragrance you got are made FOR Bermuda, no in Bermuda.

I purchased the Lili Bermuda in pink boxes.. They are made IN Bermuda.. Check them out on your next visit or online.

Lilibermuda.com

 

Glad you had a great time!!

Hi Carrie! We were aboard the Star with you. WOW what an amazing cruise! The crew were excellent and very friendly. :) IMO Bermuda is incredible and the most beautiful place on earth. I scored a bottle of Bermuda Breeze and it is a nice scent. Previously, I purchased the Bermuda Blue. We love the fact that the scents are made on the island and purchasing them helps the locals. That is why we also love the Bermuda Rum Cakes. Sorry you were unable to make the meet and greet. Thanks for your review. I can't believe we are back a week now. :(
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camz

camz

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We always enjoy Bermuda, definetly our favorite place and it's why we keep going back.

Just an FYI... The two fragrance you got are made FOR Bermuda, no in Bermuda.

I purchased the Lili Bermuda in pink boxes.. They are made IN Bermuda.. Check them out on your next visit or online.

Lilibermuda.com

 

Glad you had a great time!!

 

Thanks for the info. Although I love my perfume, I really thought I was helping the locals. :eek: At least I got it right with the rum cakes. Well, I guess I have to go back. After 4 times cruising to Bermuda, I always find a reason to go back! :D

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family cruisers

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No problem.... I'm with ya on the rum cakes... YUMMY!!!

 

We can never think of a reason not to go back lol..

Thanks for the info. Although I love my perfume, I really thought I was helping the locals. :eek: At least I got it right with the rum cakes. Well, I guess I have to go back. After 4 times cruising to Bermuda, I always find a reason to go back! :D
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