NCL Star - Nov. seems to have BAD Reviews

[wisteria1019]

Dawn

 

I just checked out the rates for the night before OUR cruise and there sure are some good deals on the old girl. Better than I am seeing for the Crowne Plaza. I'm gonna have to talk to my wife about this, maybe we'll find a way to go in a day early. The restaurant I mentioned is Winston's, very good.

 

I also see that in addition to the "haunted" show they have added even more slick entertainment including a Star Trek show?!? Oh well, they have to make things work financially. The new burlesque show sounds fun.

 

We were able to book the Crowne Plaza for $77 through Priceline for the one night prior to our January sailing. Enjoy the Queen for me if you decide to head down a day early....

[Jana]

Canadian Twosome, the zoo is fabulous, one of the nicest in the States. There was a lot of fear during the fire last spring, and many of the animals were moved out and protected. But, everything is fine and it's still gorgeous.

 

There's a wonderful restaurant right near the zoo that your DD will probably adore. I'm sure Hobbsey knows it as well. It's called the Tam O'Shanter and is one of the oldest restaurants in L.A. It looks like a little Hobbit house! It's owned by the Lawry family (you know, that seasoning salt with the curly L, they have it in Canada too). The specialty is prime rib but they serve all sorts of things in a fun olde worlde atmosphere. It's a lovely place.

 

When she first moved to Los Angeles in 2003 and had a hard time making contacts in her field (architecture), my DD worked as a server there. She enjoyed it so much that she sometimes goes back on weekends at this time of year to help with the seasonal crowd. Her best friends in L.A. aren't the designers and architects she works with but instead the waitstaff from "the Tam," many of whom have been employed there for years.

 

Here's a link: http://www.lawrysonline.com/tamoshanter_gen_info.asp

 

Jana

[BarBug]

I cruised the Star in November, had a fine time and will be happy to do it again if I can get a good price. It is what you make it...you want to gripe, then you'll find things to gripe about. But, if you want a good time, then be friendly and open minded. It's a beautiful ship and at the end of the cruise, I marked the staff and service all as excellent.

 

I didn't mark the food as excellent, but the meal I enjoyed most was at Endless Summer, where the appetizers are the size of meals and the margaritas are plenty good enough! We also ate at the Sushi Bar, where the service was very good and the Miso Soup was definatly yummy! (I don't personally eat raw fish, but I went along with the others in my group and still had plenty to eat:cool:.)

[CanadianTwosome]

Jana, thank you for the recommendation. I looooove prime rib!! mmmmm I don't know if we'll check it out this time, though. I also looooove PF Chang's Kung Pao Scallops, so every time I'm in a location that has one, I try to take advantage of it! I can, after all, eat prime rib at home... :)

 

BarBug, thank you for your comments about the sushi bar. I don't particularly like sushi myself, so it's nice to know they have other items available. Do they by any chance have dumplings or other dim sum type fare?

[Philip217]

Reviews and ratings for most mass market cruise ships in November and December tend to be much lower than in most of the other months.The American Thanksgiving, Hannukah, and Christmas Cruises are usually the most problematic of the year.

 

These cruises are first of all the most expensive - and the most crowded of the year.

 

They have the highest number of large families and children onboard,causing additional problems for many cruisers.

 

Tips for crew are historically lowest at this time of year. The crew knows and expects this, so they are not the happiest campers.

 

The crew would much prefer to be with their families during this holiday period. So with reduced tips plus missing their families, they are not at their best.

 

They have the highest number of first-timers onboard, whose expectations may sometimes not be the most realistic. The number of complaints received on a Thanksgiving, Hannukah, or Christmas Cruise is nearly double any other time of the year.

 

Air fares are the highest at these times, with the most crowded airplanes, the greatest number of flight delays and cancelled flights, and the highest number of lost bags. Not a great way to start your cruise.

 

Weather problems seem to be greatest in November and December. Cruises are not nearly as enjoyable when you have hurricanes, rough seas, rain, and cloudy weather.

[tlftlf]

PlayTheAces,

 

Thanks for being my diamond in the rough and thanks everyone else for your positive notes. I'm sure my husband and I will have a good time no matter what.

 

My only worry is my flight which leaves at 1:15. I wish I had gotten a later flight so that we can leave leisurely but I'm sure it will work out alright.

[blindrid]

I was on the Star last December and it was fine. All ships have a little different personality but overall I had no complaints. We did the Crowne Plaza also the night before and it also worked OK, not necessarily the greatest but was more than acceptable - it's close enough you can almost walk there. We spent the afternoon on the pier drinking marg's at a mexican restaraunt within walking distance as well.

[newmexicoNita]

Reviews and ratings for most mass market cruise ships in November and December tend to be much lower than in most of the other months.The American Thanksgiving, Hannukah, and Christmas Cruises are usually the most problematic of the year.

 

These cruises are first of all the most expensive - and the most crowded of the year.

 

They have the highest number of large families and children onboard,causing additional problems for many cruisers.

 

Tips for crew are historically lowest at this time of year. The crew knows and expects this, so they are not the happiest campers.

 

The crew would much prefer to be with their families during this holiday period. So with reduced tips plus missing their families, they are not at their best.

 

They have the highest number of first-timers onboard, whose expectations may sometimes not be the most realistic. The number of complaints received on a Thanksgiving, Hannukah, or Christmas Cruise is nearly double any other time of the year.

 

Air fares are the highest at these times, with the most crowded airplanes, the greatest number of flight delays and cancelled flights, and the highest number of lost bags. Not a great way to start your cruise.

 

Weather problems seem to be greatest in November and December. Cruises are not nearly as enjoyable when you have hurricanes, rough seas, rain, and cloudy weather.

Excellant points. The hurricane part is probably not much of an issue, but the rest is. One of the roughest if not the roughest we have been on was last year, a 10 day sailing thru the So Caribbean and the Canal, in late Nov/early Dec. We enjoyed our cruise experience but there were lots of grumblers and mostly due to the weather. They seemed to blame HAL for it.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

Reviews and ratings for most mass market cruise ships in November and December tend to be much lower than in most of the other months.The American Thanksgiving, Hannukah, and Christmas Cruises are usually the most problematic of the year.

 

These cruises are first of all the most expensive - and the most crowded of the year.

 

They have the highest number of large families and children onboard,causing additional problems for many cruisers.

 

Tips for crew are historically lowest at this time of year. The crew knows and expects this, so they are not the happiest campers.

 

The crew would much prefer to be with their families during this holiday period. So with reduced tips plus missing their families, they are not at their best.

 

They have the highest number of first-timers onboard, whose expectations may sometimes not be the most realistic. The number of complaints received on a Thanksgiving, Hannukah, or Christmas Cruise is nearly double any other time of the year.

 

Air fares are the highest at these times, with the most crowded airplanes, the greatest number of flight delays and cancelled flights, and the highest number of lost bags. Not a great way to start your cruise.

 

Weather problems seem to be greatest in November and December. Cruises are not nearly as enjoyable when you have hurricanes, rough seas, rain, and cloudy weather.

Excellant points. The hurricane part is probably not much of an issue, but the rest is. One of the roughest if not the roughest we have been on was last year, a 10 day sailing thru the So Caribbean and the Canal, in late Nov/early Dec. We enjoyed our cruise experience but there were lots of grumblers and mostly due to the weather. They seemed to blame HAL for it.

 

Nita

[bulgargirl]

I was on the Star last year and absolutely loved it!!!

[hazeleyez3]

For those that have already cruised, here are my main two questions:

 

1. When the steward made-up your room did they change the sheets or just make the bed? Might be an odd question, but our last one never changed the sheets even after we requested it.

 

2. Was there really a place that had late night snacks? When I was on the POH the place that was supposidly open 24/7 closed around 10pm

 

To those that haven't cruise:

 

I need to preface this by saying it is probably a very odd post.

 

I'll be the first to say that I am not a NCL loyalist, and I know others on this thread who could probably attest to that; HOWEVER, I will say that NCL International is better than NCL America. I will also say that most of the bad reviews I do read are for things even I feel are small potatoes, and things the (passengers) didn't try to "fix."

 

I know that I have a week off to relax with my husband, and will be going to ports I either haven't been to or haven't been in over 10 yrs. If everything is as bad as some of the reviews say...well than we will entertain ourselves.

 

I haven't read the November reviews, but know what my expectations are. I can say that if you do experience a problem be sure to bring it to their attn right away, and add it on your comment card (do the same for those who "go the extra mile"). If you experience anything that is "unacceptable," document it, and write an intelligent business-like letter to NCL, which is what I did with my honeymoon cruise... and I don't mean the kind that just says, "I hated your cruise, it was awful, etc, and then didn't provide an explanation

 

While I wasn't happy with the POH, it was still Hawaii... and probably the most cost-effective way to see the islands. The only down side with the Crown and the Sea was the freestyle dining - not on service or food, just my preference. I really can't say anything else bad about the two of them.

 

While others may have doubts, I am trying to go into this cruise with an open mind and we'll see what happens. In fact, the only thing I am leary about is the disembarkation, and am contemplating taking another day off and flying back to Baltimore on Monday. Hopefully others can go in it with an open mind - they may find that its the best vacation they ever had, and get hooked on cruising and/or NCL.

[bulgargirl]

For those that have already cruised, here are my main two questions:

 

1. When the steward made-up your room did they change the sheets or just make the bed? Might be an odd question, but our last one never changed the sheets even after we requested it.

 

2. Was there really a place that had late night snacks? When I was on the POH the place that was supposidly open 24/7 closed around 10pm

 

To those that haven't cruise:

 

I need to preface this by saying it is probably a very odd post.

 

I'll be the first to say that I am not a NCL loyalist, and I know others on this thread who could probably attest to that; HOWEVER, I will say that NCL International is better than NCL America. I will also say that most of the bad reviews I do read are for things even I feel are small potatoes, and things the (passengers) didn't try to "fix."

 

I know that I have a week off to relax with my husband, and will be going to ports I either haven't been to or haven't been in over 10 yrs. If everything is as bad as some of the reviews say...well than we will entertain ourselves.

 

I haven't read the November reviews, but know what my expectations are. I can say that if you do experience a problem be sure to bring it to their attn right away, and add it on your comment card (do the same for those who "go the extra mile"). If you experience anything that is "unacceptable," document it, and write an intelligent business-like letter to NCL, which is what I did with my honeymoon cruise... and I don't mean the kind that just says, "I hated your cruise, it was awful, etc, and then didn't provide an explanation

 

While I wasn't happy with the POH, it was still Hawaii... and probably the most cost-effective way to see the islands. The only down side with the Crown and the Sea was the freestyle dining - not on service or food, just my preference. I really can't say anything else bad about the two of them.

 

While others may have doubts, I am trying to go into this cruise with an open mind and we'll see what happens. In fact, the only thing I am leary about is the disembarkation, and am contemplating taking another day off and flying back to Baltimore on Monday. Hopefully others can go in it with an open mind - they may find that its the best vacation they ever had, and get hooked on cruising and/or NCL.

 

My stewards were excellent. I did not want my sheets or towels changed daily (I feel bad enough about the environmental impact of my cruise) BUT they did more than I ever requested, kept the bucket stocked with ice, towel animals, spotless everytime I came in, etc.

 

On the star the blue lagoon was open everytime we went in there late night. I never tried later than probably 2 am, but it was open. And I was a huge fan of room service when I was lazy too. The room service food wasn't great, but it was always available. And they humored me too.

 

I've never been on another cruise line, so I have nothing to compare it to but ferry trips to Ireland and France from England, but I really enjoyed myself!

[soniamarie]

We were on the Thanksgiving week cruise and had a great time-especially our 3 kids. Yes, there were long lines to sign the kids up for the kid's program but we totally expected that....there were so many kids on the ship and that is the reason why. We were on the Star last February and didn't have any lines.

I did notice that people had to wait a long time for dinner. We made sure to get reservations for each night (especially Thanksgiving night). I think that the Freestyle experience to those that have only cruised the traditional way can be a little complicated. I heard a lot of complaints and maybe those people would be happier having traditional dining times. I actually like the flexibility of Freestyle over traditional but that is just my opinion. We had a great vacation. The Cruise Director didn't annoy me at all, in fact I liked his personality. I am suprised that people complained about the turkey on Thanksgiving...I thought it was so yummy.

A cruise is what you make it...I believe that attitude is such a huge factor in making a vacation enjoyable. I guess I tend to look at the overall picture and I don't sweat the small stuff.

[Sheebah]

We just disembarked on 12/2. We had a GREAT cruise, but this was our first on NCL, and we probably won't make the line our first choice againunless the itinerary calls for it.

 

We were in an AC suite - 9500 (amazing cabin on the front of the ship) which we LOVED. I think we received better treatment during disembarkation (which I've heard was horrendous), so I cannot comment on that.

 

There were a lot of positives:

 

The itinerary is perfect...loved it.

The ship was flawlessly on time to every port. Very impressive. I have had lots of problems with this on past cruises.

No Shore Excursions were cancelled, which is nice.

Tender operations were flawless (we tendered everywhere except Acapulco...yes, even Vallarta).

 

Here were our negatives:

 

The room steward did not smile or speak to us the entire week, and we are the equivalent in friendliness and approachability to minnie and mickey mouse. NEVER seen anything like it. It actually effected our cruise.

 

The wait staff in the dining rooms were sub par at times...not all the time...but at least 50% of the time we were not offerred drinks with meals until we asked, and were not offered coffee with dessert. When we got the coffee, it came after the dessert....strange.

 

The sheets in our AC suite always appeared soiled. Sort of brownish and old in color. They were clean, but they really needed to be replaced.

 

I personally don't care for people wearing jeans and baggy old sweatshirts in the dining rooms for dinner. There were also a few unruly kids running around the dining rooms.

 

Versailles- the main dining room crams tables so close together that the wait staff even struggle to get around....it is also very noisy. We stayed away from Versailles for dinner, but really enjoyed it for lunch.

 

Hope this helps....go on the cruise, and enjoy yourself. The itinerary is only going to be around this season, then its gone. I am glad we did it.

[sparkeysparkles]

We just got back on Sunday (12 of us sailed on the Star - 6 adults and 6 kids.) We all had a blast. We ate at Agua 2 nights, Endless Summer 1 night, Cagneys 1 night (excellent), La Trattoria 1 night and we ate at the Blue Lagoon a bunch of times (great fish and chips). The customs line was enormous, with everyone complaining, but it was a small inconvenience after a wonderful cruise. I would highly recommend Cagney's. It was $50.00 for my husband, myself and my 2 kids (1 was free and 1 was 1/2 price), a very fair deal. We also ate at Versailles for breakfast 1 day...if you want a quick breakfast...don't go there. We spent almost 2 hours in all there, and a couple told me 2 days later that they waited 48 minutes and were never served. NCL will be my 1st choice for my next cruise.

[CanadianTwosome]

Excellant points. The hurricane part is probably not much of an issue, but the rest is. One of the roughest if not the roughest we have been on was last year, a 10 day sailing thru the So Caribbean and the Canal, in late Nov/early Dec. We enjoyed our cruise experience but there were lots of grumblers and mostly due to the weather. They seemed to blame HAL for it.

 

Nita

 

I think we may have been cruising at the same time. I think our dates were December 2-9, on the Dream out of Houston to Progreso, Playa/Cozumel, and Belize, and our weather was terrible (except Belize - if anyone ever gets the opportunity to go there, do it!). I heard it was bad everywhere - some other friends were vacationing in Florida and said it was pretty yucky there as well. There was a LOT of grumbling, but for us, it was still Waaaaaaay better than what was happening at home in Saskatchewan!! ha ha ha

[PianoGary]

We just returned last Sunday, December 2nd.

Only 90 kids on our sailing, but the crew reported that there were 800 on the Thanksgiving week sailing. This could be contributing to some of these posts.

This was our 22nd cruise, and the shower in the bathroom was the most spacious we've had (water pressure great, too!)

Shore excursions were fantastic, and all staff were friendly, engaged and very helpful.

Disembarkation was the worst we've ever experienced.

All in all, a real improvement over our last NCLA experience. We'd do it again.....

[hazeleyez3]

the shower in the bathroom was the most spacious we've had (water pressure great, too!)

 

What category cabin were you in?

[4 cruisers]

We were on the Thanksgiving sailing too ("Hi Sonia Marie!"). We had THE best vacation ever. Our 16 year old son told us it was the best cruise and time he ever had...of course there WERE 800 under 21's! I thought the teens and kids were super well behaved...except the last night when there was a missing 15 year old girl who was found by about 3:30 am. As a parent, it really did affect our evening worrying (though we didn't actually know her). Glad is turned out well!

 

We dressed on the dressy side, but how others dressed didn't affect us! I am of the old school that if you dress up, you will be treated accordingly. We thought the service was very friendly (sometimes a bit slow in dining rooms, but we were there to relax and didn't have any little ones to hurry for).

 

I'd love to do this cruise again next year! We love every cruise line we've sailed on for different reasons and would sail ANY of them again if the price, itinerary, and schedule was right! No flying makes this an extra nice trip for us!

 

If you have to fly home, I would opt for flying out quite late, or better yet, the next day and take your time getting off in San Pedro! Stay in your room or somewhere on the ship and relax until 11 or so to avoid the crush.

[PianoGary]

What category cabin were you in?

Believe it or not - Cat. "D" ---- stateroom 5552 ---- great price, no noise, and (as I mentioned) the shower was huge, and there was a sliding door to the shower, as well as a sliding door to the toilet (for privacy). It looks like all the outside cabins on deck 5 are similar in their lay-out? It was the first time that we have been 'so far down'. We usually like decks 7 and higher, but I'm starting to change my mind!

[pzerba]

down'. We usually like decks 7 and higher, but I'm starting to change my mind!

 

We were on the same cruise as you

 

You probably would've changed it back if you had our cabin - 4510. Really, really loud - from just the water and also the equipment for docking or running the tenders, we were up at 7am whether we wanted to be or not on all port days.

 

Also very loud on the last sea day, due to the ocean ringing through our porthole, much like a washing machine. Pretty to watch, but no so nice to sleep to...

 

First timer on NCL (10th overall) All in all a pretty good cruise, but like you will only be back if the price/itinerary are best. Princess/RCCL are just better fits for us.

[hazeleyez3]

Believe it or not - Cat. "D" ---- stateroom 5552 ---- great price, no noise, and (as I mentioned) the shower was huge, and there was a sliding door to the shower, as well as a sliding door to the toilet (for privacy). It looks like all the outside cabins on deck 5 are similar in their lay-out? It was the first time that we have been 'so far down'. We usually like decks 7 and higher, but I'm starting to change my mind!

 

Thank you for the info. We are doing an OV as well (we usually do balconies, and have never done an OV on NCL). Its nice to hear that the showers are large.

[PianoGary]

We were on the same cruise as you

 

You probably would've changed it back if you had our cabin - 4510. Really, really loud - from just the water and also the equipment for docking or running the tenders, we were up at 7am whether we wanted to be or not on all port days.

 

Also very loud on the last sea day, due to the ocean ringing through our porthole, much like a washing machine. Pretty to watch, but no so nice to sleep to...

 

First timer on NCL (10th overall) All in all a pretty good cruise, but like you will only be back if the price/itinerary are best. Princess/RCCL are just better fits for us.

 

Looks like we went down as far as we should have - to deck 5. Sorry that deck 4 was so noisy. And I agree - it's back to Princess for us - unless NCL comes out with a crazy price.