Back from Alaska - NCL Star 7/9 - 7/16

[kmgl]

We just returned from our trip, and I wanted to give you a brief review of a few things.

 

Shore Excursions -

 

There were 6 of us and I booked our excursions through NCL because I did not want the added hassle and anxiety of trying to get everyone where they needed to be etc. Anyway, it turned out great.

 

In Juneau we did the Whale Watching & Wildlife Quest. The Company was Allen Marine. I know everyone talks about Capt. Larry's wonderful tours and I'm sure they are, but we could not have asked for a better tour with Allen Marine. We saw many Orcas, a few Humpbacks, and a few Sea Lions. Some of the Orcas were far, but some came right beside the boat. It was awesome! Also, two of the Humpbacks jumped fully out of the water and put on a show for us. Of course, I realize a lot of this was just luck on our part, but the crew did a terrific job of getting in the right places, and were very patient in waiting. The tour actually went quite a bit longer than advertised. Wow!

 

In Skagway, we did the White Pass Railway. The scenery was beautiful and the narration about the history etc. was also good.

 

Ketchikan - We did the Canopy Adventure and Wildlife Expedition. This was

great fun! The company is called Alaska Canopy Adventures. There were 7 zip lines (I think the longest was about 750'), and 3 suspension bridges. For those who have been asking on other threads about safety, be assured that it is very safe. They have a double attachment on each platform where they unhook one of your clips and clip it into the next zipline, before unclipping the other one. In other words you are always attached. So much fun!!!!

 

I will write more later. Must wash clothes!

[kmgl]

The service on the Star was terrific. We were served very promptly and our glasses were never empty. One time our waiter accidentally got things out of order and placed the wrong plate of food in front of one of our group, and one other time one of the waiter's assistants did the same. Otherwise everything was perfect with no mistakes. Our room stewards also were great and took good care of us, providing extra pillows when asked etc.

 

I had read so many negative things about the food on these message boards that I was suprised that the food was very good with plenty of variety. We really enjoyed the food everywhere we ate which included Aqua, Versailles, La Tratorria, Endless Summer, Blue Lagoon and Buffet. Our only real complaint was about the coffee and iced tea at the buffet. My husband said "the coffee was deadly" and we talked to many other people who felt the same (most learned to only partially fill the cup with coffee and then add extra water). We would have also enjoyed more beef main dishes (it was mostly chicken and fish). Otherwise everything was great.

 

Let me know if you have questions.

[mbisson]

One time our waiter accidentally got things out of order and placed the wrong plate of food in front of one of our group, and one other time one of the waiter's assistants did the same. .

 

Some would get upset by that!

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. We're on the Sun to Alaska in a few weeks and to me Alaska cruises and freestyle are a great combination.

 

-Monte

[Retired not Expired]

Thanks for posting. We'll be on her in three and a half weeks and know we'll have a great time. But then again, we always have a great time.

 

I know what you mean about the buffet coffee. We find that's true at most ship's buffets.

[soccermommy]

Kmgl, was the coffee just really strong, badly brewed, bitter? Was this only in the buffet? Inquiring minds really need to know!

[Ella618]

Thanks for taking the time to write the review! We leave on the Star 8/6 and are quite eager.

 

Did your room have a coffee maker or just a hot water heater? We're trying to decide whether we (as coffee addicts) should bring a French press for our room.

 

Thanks again!

[kmgl]

The problem with the coffee in the buffet was primarily just the strength. It was drinkable after diluting with extra water. You can also get free coffee at Blue Lagoon. It was not quite as bad as the buffet. We did not try the coffee at the main dining rooms so cannot comment.

 

You can buy coffee at the Java, so I'm sure it is probably good coffee, although we did not try it since we didn't want to pay extra.

 

There is a coffee pot in the room if you want to try making some yourself.

[Starward_Girl]

You can grab a hot chocolate packet from the buffet and make hot chocolate in your room.:)

 

My 10 year old son said to tell you all that the coffee in the Versailles dining room was great. Yes, he is 10 and drank coffee. The waiter asked him if he would like coffee and to the waiter's surprise, my son said yes. I figured it was vacation and we were all trying new foods. My son also tried snails. I think he liked the coffee better.:cool:.

[mbisson]

Lucky for you they didn't offer him a drink at the welcome aboard party ;)

 

-Monte

[kmgl]

Continue Review

 

Entertainment - As far as the big production shows, I believe three were musicals. They were fine with excellent performers (the dancers were especially good), but we are not that into musicals. In addition, there was Cirque Pacific. It was excellent, primarily because of the Chinese Acrobats. They did some really amazing things! The other production was called Action Comedy. We had no idea what this was, but it turned out to be a juggler/comedian. He was an excellent juggler & very entertaining.

 

In the Spinnaker Lounge, we watched Sam Griesbaum two different times. He was a great comedian. From the roars of laughter from the crowd, I believe plenty of other people would agree with me.

 

One day, they had Bluegrass performers. They were excellent, but the show only lasted 45 minutes.

 

There were lots of other shows such as a 50s/60s party, Guest Talent Show etc., but we were too tired to do everything. It seems that during the day, there was not that much we were interested in, but at night, there were more things to do than we had the time or energy for.

 

In the bars/lounges, there are some very talented performers. Jana Seale plays guitar and sings at Gatsby's and Star Bar at various times. You do not have to buy drinks; you can just sit and listen (they may ask you once but then they leave you alone). She was excellent. Also -- Melodic Quartet in the Grand Atrium and Freedom at poolside. There are others, but we did not get to hear all of them.

 

Weather - The weather was beautiful. We wore light jackets outside, but did not have to have anything too heavy, even at Glacier Bay. Of course, this can change from trip to trip. Ketchikan gets about 200 inches of rain per year, but we lucked out and saw only a sprinkle while ziplining. In was extremely cold and windy at the pier in Victoria, but once you got away from the water, it was not so bad.

 

Wildlife - We saw orcas and eagles from the ship several times while playing cards in the card room (the card room, reading room etc. are wonderful places to just sit and look out the large windows). We also saw orcas, humpbacks and seal lions on our shore excursion (see previous post). From the ship we also saw 2 or 3 bears on shore (in the Glacier Bay area) while sitting in the Spinnaker Lounge (this is a great place to sit by the windows also when nothing else is going on there). However, we did need binoculars to see the bears. You could barely make them out with the naked eye. We saw lots of eagles at Ketchikan, and my daughter and part of the group saw a bear - I did not because I had already zipped to the other side and my view was blocked. We saw mountain goats on the train ride (again you needed binoculars).

 

Other Activities - We spent a lot of spare time playing cards and other board games. I also noticed a lot of people reading. My daughter went to several dance classes and learned some beginning Tango and Swing Dance.

My son enjoyed the gym and jogging track. He said they had a good variety of equipment.

 

They also had art auctions, bingo, various fitness classes, and lots of stuff related to jewely. At every port, we were given a sheet with all of the jewelry store information. We were not interested in jewelry, but apparently we were in the minority. This seemed to be the thing to do.

 

That's all I can think of right now.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.