Review/Report - Norwegian Star Oct 8- Oct 15

[fastpitchdad]

on a sidenote I lived in Redmond/Ames Lake for several years before moving here to CO in 2014. Sammamish grew so much while I was there I can only imagine how it is now!

 

It has accelerated to the point of absurdity. I don't know if you remember the Jarvis Horse Farm on Issaquah Pine Lake road near Pine Lake Middle School but they sold it last year. The developer cut down all the trees and are in the process of putting in 115 homes at $1M+ each. Once we can get all of the kids out of the house we are going to sell and move (or maybe we will just sell and move which will also get the kids out of the house :) ).

[TexasCigarGuy]

Great report.

 

We were on the other end of that pea soup fog...sitting and waiting for over 6 hours due to the late arrival, while y'all finally got off the ship and they turned it over. Our noon boarding turned out to be 6:30pm.

 

I will say that the thick fog the night before made for a wonderful evening in Venice. Most of the tourists were gone by nightfall and the empty and foggy streets and plazas of Venice made for an eerie yet fantastic sight and experience.

[fastpitchdad]

Great report.

 

We were on the other end of that pea soup fog...sitting and waiting for over 6 hours due to the late arrival, while y'all finally got off the ship and they turned it over. Our noon boarding turned out to be 6:30pm.

 

I will say that the thick fog the night before made for a wonderful evening in Venice. Most of the tourists were gone by nightfall and the empty and foggy streets and plazas of Venice made for an eerie yet fantastic sight and experience.

 

Thanks for replying...I was wondering about that. Did you know ahead of time of have to sit at the port for 7 hours? What time did you sail away and were you late getting to Dubrovnik? Did they try to make up for it somehow?

[shadowmeboy]

Great review! Thank you for sharing.

 

Go Hawks!

[fastpitchdad]

Great review! Thank you for sharing.

 

Go Hawks!

 

(y)(y)(y)(y)

 

 

 

Editors note: I drafted the pages in this review in outlook and for some reason when I would cut and past some of the spaces were removed between words. I tried to correct these but obviously missed quite a few (and editing is locked a few minutes after posting).

[Linda the Book Lover]

I loved your review. We sailed on the Star to Mexico and the DH and I loved the size of the ship.

[TexasCigarGuy]

Thanks for replying...I was wondering about that. Did you know ahead of time of have to sit at the port for 7 hours? What time did you sail away and were you late getting to Dubrovnik? Did they try to make up for it somehow?

 

We got a text from NCL the night before advising of a possible delay due to fog, but it was so thick out that we had already long surmised that was going to be the case.

 

Departure morning after the fog lifted we actually watched you and the Star sail right past our balcony at the Hotel Danieli!

 

We had already arrived at the port around 1pm when they sent another text saying that boarding wouldn't start until 5pm. Didn't get onboard until 6:30.

 

Our Oct 15 itinerary was different than yours. Our first port was Kotor and we were indeed late arriving. Instead of an 8am arrival, we docked at 2pm. But the Captain announces that we would stay much later than originally scheduled, same amount of time ashore, no excursions were cancelled, and that he would put the pedal to the metal and make up the lost time overnight, so that by the next day we were back on schedule.

 

Other than the boring wait to board, we had a great sailing and the weather was great the rest of the trip.

Edited October 27, 2017 by TexasCigarGuy

[croozer2B]

Fascinating trip report! I love your straightforward writing style! Thanks for the great detail and fantastic pictures. You make a persuasive case for both our next cruise and our next TV series to binge. My husband and I are new to cruising as well, live north of Bellingham, and are traveling to Italy in the spring. Perhaps we will cross paths with you on a future cruise! Or maybe at a coffee shop near Seattle.......

[fastpitchdad]

Fascinating trip report! I love your straightforward writing style! Thanks for the great detail and fantastic pictures. You make a persuasive case for both our next cruise and our next TV series to binge. My husband and I are new to cruising as well, live north of Bellingham, and are traveling to Italy in the spring. Perhaps we will cross paths with you on a future cruise! Or maybe at a coffee shop near Seattle.......

 

Thanks Polly!

 

My wife actually goes to Birch Bay (which must be near to where you are) fairly often to binge quilt :) .

[Rsparis]

Pleasure to read!

We have booked this same cruise for Oct. 7, 2018.

[Biris]

Enjoying your review very much. Love your humor and writing style. Thank you for sharing.

[OceanDreaming2]

Great review! Brings back some wonderful memories.

[fastpitchdad]

I loved your review. We sailed on the Star to Mexico and the DH and I loved the size of the ship.

 

 

Pleasure to read!

We have booked this same cruise for Oct. 7, 2018.

 

 

Enjoying your review very much. Love your humor and writing style. Thank you for sharing.

 

 

Great review! Brings back some wonderful memories.

 

Thanks for the encouragement. I am very much looking forward to my next review (which will likely be an Alaska Cruise in May or September 2018)...maybe live this time :D

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Fun review!

 

 

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[courtstenoklf]

Thanks for the great review. We are on similar cruise itinerary next July. We are huge GoT fans too and are really looking forward to Dubrovnik and Split.

[fastpitchdad]

Thanks for the great review. We are on similar cruise itinerary next July. We are huge GoT fans too and are really looking forward to Dubrovnik and Split.

 

Thanks! I definitely recommend the tour we took in Dubrovnik...especially if you get Iva as your guide.

[shadowmeboy]

I am very much looking forward to my next review (which will likely be an Alaska Cruise in May or September 2018)

 

 

Which ship?

 

Also is the star photo section on the computer or is it search for your pictures on the wall?

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[fastpitchdad]

Which ship?

 

Also is the star photo section on the computer or is it search for your pictures on the wall?

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

We were leaning towards the Bliss but based on feedback so far we strongly considering the Pearl.

 

The pictures in the review are links from my Flickr and Google Photos accounts.

[shadowmeboy]

We were leaning towards the Bliss but based on feedback so far we strongly considering the Pearl.

 

 

 

The pictures in the review are links from my Flickr and Google Photos accounts.

 

 

The question on the pictures was about the NCL photos they take onboard. In the photo gallery are the photos on the wall where you grab them or do they have the computer with the folio? I was wondering since you recently sailed and I sail in 23 days.

[fastpitchdad]

The question on the pictures was about the NCL photos they take onboard. In the photo gallery are the photos on the wall where you grab them or do they have the computer with the folio? I was wondering since you recently sailed and I sail in 23 days.

 

They have both...they have a folio you can look through the actual pictures or you can scroll through one of the computer Kiosks. What we did was scroll through the computer during the week and when we were ready to buy looked at the actual pictures.

[stp108]

Thanks for your review. We are doing the itinerary from Venice to Rome in October-November 2018. Your information is very helpful. We did the Getaway in the Baltics this past September and it was fantastic. I highly recommend the tour. We used SPB Tours in St. Petersburg and if you can get Vallery, he is a fantastic guide.

[fastpitchdad]

Thanks for your review. We are doing the itinerary from Venice to Rome in October-November 2018. Your information is very helpful. We did the Getaway in the Baltics this past September and it was fantastic. I highly recommend the tour. We used SPB Tours in St. Petersburg and if you can get Vallery, he is a fantastic guide.

 

Thanks for the reply. We were told October is the perfect time weather-wise to do the Venice cruise and are thinking Aug/Sept would be the perfect time for the Baltics. I will definitely keep your tour guide tip in mind :) .

[Cancruizer]

I'm a bit late on this, but just came upon your review. Very good info provided. Looks like it was a great cruise!

 

We are considering med for Oct 2018, from Venice with perhaps some time in Rome. What was the weather like? Thanks

[fastpitchdad]

I'm a bit late on this, but just came upon your review. Very good info provided. Looks like it was a great cruise!

 

We are considering med for Oct 2018, from Venice with perhaps some time in Rome. What was the weather like? Thanks

 

The weather was perfect for us...high 70s and low 80s in Rome and mid 70s in Venice and most of the ports (upper 70s low 80s in Athens as I recall). We were comfortable in shorts and t-shirts for the entire trip (we were there for two weeks in total). It rained a little during one of the Greek stops but we were not cold and when we were in Rome we were told that early/mid October is the perfect time to visit.