Just off the STAR. Questoins?

[ELA]

Star Review - Western Caribbean, 3/13-3/20/16

We are a family of 4 with two 12 year old girls. We stayed in a mini-suite with the girls staying across our room in an inside cabin (booked as parent/child & parent/child as you need at least one adult in a cabin).

This is our 4th NCL cruise – we’ve been on Jewel and Dawn (and others but before kids). We are from New England so we needed that Vitamin D!

 

TAMPA

We stayed at Chase Suites and it was a great deal as it included 3 shuttle rides (from the airport, to the port and from the port to airport). Clean, free breakfast. We got in late so it was really just about sleeping and moving on….

EMBARKATION &DISEMBARKATION

No issues here. We did ‘self-walk off” and carried all of our luggage and it was MUCH better than Boston last year (where getting off the ship was excruciating).

 

OVERALL

The ship had an identical layout to Dawn and very similar to Jewel. I saw a bit of wear and tear mostly in elevators, but generally Star is in pretty good shape. We are not huge drinkers so I can’t comment on bars/service etc. It was the second week of the spring break season and there were some college student groups but it wasn’t too bad. My husband did wish he had earplugs a few times though.

Cabin – I keep forgetting to make sure not to book the cabin right under the cafeteria as it blocks the sun. I made the mistake for the 2nd time! The weather was amazing – perfect, not too humid. We had some rain on the last sea day in the afternoon.

 

For the mini-suite we had excursion credit and Dining plan. For the inside just excursion credit which is why we booked through the ship as we had 2 cabins. I compared the prices and it was comperible with ships prices (with credit of course) so we just went with it.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

We had a pleasure of meeting some great fellow CC members at a meet and greet hosted by a wonderful couple who has seen it all cruise-wise. They were in an owner suite which allowed us to say good bye to Tampa in style - I had some amazing conversations that first afternoon!

Shows – we saw the Russian acrobats (breathtaking as always), the comedian Bud Anderson (awesome! and the last show, Paradise (sp?) – Dancers and sings. It was my least favorite I must say out of all singing casts I’ve seen on ships so far… It was saved by a few acts by the acrobats and Ivan, the ‘strong man”.

 

My husband got a nasty cold half way through the ship and we skipped the hypnotist (never a fan of that one) and then there was a PG-13 show with some adult content. While my kids can probably handle it (considering what’s in the media these days), we’ve decided not to risk it and we passed. I was a bit disappointed that NCL would do something like that for its main show. While not school vacation week, there were kids on board….

I enjoyed all the groups and pianists who played around the ship

.

FOOD

Food was good. We did Tapanyaki, Le Bistro and Moderno. We did Aqua twice and Versaille once. Breakfast and lunch was in a buffet. I went to O’Sheehan with my daughter where she had a burger and I had ‘fish and chips’. Both were good. We got the artichoke dip but it was inedible IMHO – very runny. I am not a picky eater and was always able to find something to eat. I really don’t eat meat which limited my choices but managed to make it and never went hungry  I made it up with deserts, many of which were delicious! I had lobster in Le Bistro and my daughter had filet mignon – both were amazing. DH and DD2 loved Moderno. Their salad bar is awesome by the way (I remember from last cruise). That meal will last you for 2 days!!

 

 

 

PORTS & EXCURSIONS

ROATAN – Maya Key

Apparently usually STAR doesn’t do tenders at this port but as luck would have it we did. Very small boats. Not a long ride, maybe 15-20 min but very choppy. We booked Maya Key excursion through the ship. It was fine but I would probably do something else next time. Don’t get me wrong, I am not regretting the excursion however it’s one of those ‘ have’ been there, done’ it ‘things for me. Girls did snorkeling but got cuts on corals, nothing serious but that was it. The snorkeling equipment was $25/each plus $20 refundable deposit. We saw the monkeys and other animals and walked around. There was a tour to play with baby monkeys which included going into the cage, hold their bowl of food and the monkeys would crawl all over you while a tour guide snapped pictures. Girls loved it (I passed).

 

The water/beach area is what bugged me a bit. I didn’t go in. It was murky and there were no waves, so I just stayed on the dock and onshore. The snorkeling was further down, off the dock and the water was nice and clear there.

 

Food at the buffet was very good. Bring your own water, as the water included is not in bottles so we didn’t drink it. Girls loved the pool which was very clean.

Again – no major issues, but it’s not a Carribean beach that I’d envisioned. On a scale of 1-10 it was a strong B. Would recommend it for first timers, with kids, etc. But if you’re looking for waves and nice sand, you may consider some other place.

 

BELIZE

Well. What can I say about it? Nothing. We had no excursions planned and were not too thrilled about the 40 min tender ride after the choppy waters the day before. But then we’ve decided that we’d go to see the port area…. But it wasn’t meant to be. There were 3 (THREE) medical emergencies that morning and 3 different parties and to be taken to the hospital (apparently 1 was flown back to the US and two were left at Belize hospital). That put the tendering process on hold for a couple of hours. We’ve decided to just let it go.

Another note – the ship time was moved back and forth for the first 3-4 days. It was driving us crazy  So we didn’t know about the 2 hr change before getting to Belize and didn’t book an excursion because it required that we be at Belize City port at 8:15am (that means with tendering we’d have to be off the ship by 7am… so we decided to pass). Well. The next day, guess what? Everyone is up at 7am because it’s 9am at home. Ugh.

As we left Belize, from our balcony we could see a tender going really fast. Our ship was moving very slow (but moving nevertheless). From our cabin we could see people getting off the tender – all 70-100 of them! I forgot to ask around what happened, but it must be related to the tender situation.

So beware of Belize when booking trips on your own! Harvest Key is ready in November. Can’t wait.

 

COSTA MAYA

We booked Chochoben ruins through the ship again and it was a very nice excursion. We got water when getting on the bus and then on the way back to the ship, so you don’t have to bring it. If you have a choice of time, do it earlier as it does get hot and humid, even in March! Nice place to shop for souvenirs

 

COZUME

Again we did Dophinaris through the ship. It was nice. ONE THING – bring you towels! It didn’t say it on the excursion tickets. We brought just one in case and it was fine but otherwise you have to pay. Girls did snorkeling… And if you do want do any of these activates, you need to sign up as they take you there in 30 min intervals. They have free Wi-Fi too.

Pictures were 3 for $80. We passed…

We did some shipping at Cozumel and that was it.

 

 

Any qeustions, don't hesitate to ask and I will try to answer! :-)

 

Ela

Edited March 21, 2016 by ELA

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[Moobaby214]

Thanks for reporting in, sounds great!

[Lialovestotravel]

Thanks for the info! We go on the star in twenty days! Couple of questions...

 

The time change, and now with daylight savings added to complicate things..are they an hour earlier than est? I don't want to kill everyone trying to get them up super early...

 

Did your daughters participate in the kids programs? We have 13 and 10 year old girls and I'm hesitant to send the 13 year old to the teen area...

 

It sounds like you've done these ports before..we have planned a ship excursion to lamanai in Belize, a day tour with monkeys and sloths and zip lining and maybe beach in Roatan, beach day at tropicante in Costa maya and dolphin swims and snorkeling at chacanaab. Any hints or suggestions?

 

Thank you!

[ELA]

Thanks for the info! We go on the star in twenty days! Couple of questions...

 

The time change, and now with daylight savings added to complicate things..are they an hour earlier than est? I don't want to kill everyone trying to get them up super early...

 

Did your daughters participate in the kids programs? We have 13 and 10 year old girls and I'm hesitant to send the 13 year old to the teen area...

 

It sounds like you've done these ports before..we have planned a ship excursion to lamanai in Belize, a day tour with monkeys and sloths and zip lining and maybe beach in Roatan, beach day at tropicante in Costa maya and dolphin swims and snorkeling at chacanaab. Any hints or suggestions?

 

Thank you!

 

The time change is actually to your advantage - you wake up at 'old 11am' but it's only 9am on the ship. So we could have done the early excursions. The only one to worry about is the tender in Belize as it takes a while so get your tender ticket early unless you are going through the ship, in which case you don't need it.

 

Sounds like you loaded your port days pretty well! It was our first time doing those ports, but we took it easy :-)

 

My girls are 12 going on '16' as some say... LOL. too old for kids club but not even close or interested in any of the teen activities (even if they were available to them but htey were too young). They ended up hanging out on the kids' slides in the kids pool area - loved it at night. And they are old enough that we don't have to watch them every minute of the day so we could go and have a snack or check something else out. we cruised twice during school vacation and once during the summer and both cruises had 3 days which means more onboard activities for kids. Most of the activities were sales/spa related. There were a few things, but not as many as in the past.

 

You will have fun - can't go wrong with those excursions either. I wished we did one real beach day but we needed to do ruins and promised dolphins to the girls a few years back, but now that we have those off our list, I hope we can do otehr things next time.

 

I hope that it helps.

[Lialovestotravel]

Thanks! It sounds like our excursions won't kill us then, we are doing the ship excursion in Belize in part because on the tendering. I guess we will just see how the teen stuff goes. We are spending a couple of days at Clearwater beach before the cruise too, not a bad option if you are going out of Tampa in the future. Thx!!

[marathonrunner123]

Is there a climbing wall on the Star?

[ELA]

Is there a climbing wall on the Star?

 

 

No climbing wall... Table tennis and shuffle board...

[cruisecritic2004]

How early should we get the Belize tender ticket if we are not on a ship excursion?

[Slowingdog]

Our family has booked 3 midships mini suites on the star. Can you tell me what you mean about not booking rooms under the cafeteria due to sun? What cabins in this class would you suggest?

 

Thanks!

[Keith1010]

Very nice report.

 

Keith

[Clarea]

Thanks for the report.

[ELA]

Our family has booked 3 midships mini suites on the star. Can you tell me what you mean about not booking rooms under the cafeteria due to sun? What cabins in this class would you suggest?

 

Thanks!

 

We had 11052 and the buffet is extended out over the 11th deck side midship so you get less sun so you won't tan... next to us was a family suite - same. And the 3rd cabin over didn't have the extended buffet "cover". You get sun, don't get me wrong but not as much. It's still beautiful but I will look for a different cabin.

[ELA]

How early should we get the Belize tender ticket if we are not on a ship excursion?

 

As early as you can depending on your time of course. With 45 min ride plus the line to tender I would give myself 1.5hr to get there at least.

[flgirl1087]

New to NCL. When and how do you get the tender ticket for Belize?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[mrsfuzzmo]

I've seen reports of "White Hot Party" type of thing in the evenings. Want to make sure we have appropriate "themed" clothes along. Are you aware of any themed nights where we would need any special attire?

 

Thanks!

[ELA]

New to NCL. When and how do you get the tender ticket for Belize?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

 

That morning that you are there I think but there will be announcements. The earlier you get a ticket the lower the. Number and you will get called sooner.

[ELA]

I've seen reports of "White Hot Party" type of thing in the evenings. Want to make sure we have appropriate "themed" clothes along. Are you aware of any themed nights where we would need any special attire?

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

There was one i think the last or second to last night. I stopped by on my way to the cabin and there were some folks attending on the pool deck

[marathonrunner123]

Was there an ATM on board? Or did you use any ATMs on the islands?

[samsam22]

For the cruiser with questions about teenagers, my daughter is just over 13 and thoroughly enjoyed the teen area this past week. They go on scavenger hunts and have parties. She loved it. They end up grouping naturally by age when they play team games from what I saw wandering about the ship.

[dinkydee718]

Thanks for the info! We go on the star in twenty days! Couple of questions...

 

The time change, and now with daylight savings added to complicate things..are they an hour earlier than est? I don't want to kill everyone trying to get them up super early...

 

Did your daughters participate in the kids programs? We have 13 and 10 year old girls and I'm hesitant to send the 13 year old to the teen area...

 

It sounds like you've done these ports before..we have planned a ship excursion to lamanai in Belize, a day tour with monkeys and sloths and zip lining and maybe beach in Roatan, beach day at tropicante in Costa maya and dolphin swims and snorkeling at chacanaab. Any hints or suggestions?

 

Thank you!

We'll be on the same cruise. I have two daughters, 11 & 13 and we r doing the sloth & monkey hangout too. Maybe we can get our girls together before the excursion?