NCL Star

[TxnAquarian]

The good:

 

-The layout is great, you won't ever feel crowded. There are a lot of quiet areas to relax.

-Cagney's is fantastic. All the food we had there ranked up there with the best restaurants here in San Francisco.

-The crew, for the most part, were friendly, helpful and remembered our names.

-If you like sushi, the sushi bar is excellent. They won't let you leave hungry and the quality is excellent.

-The hot wings in Blue Lagoon are terrific.

-Puerto Vallarta is a fabulous stop. We could have spent 2 days there. It is a great mix of old and new, the beaches are spectacular and the food options are endless.

 

The bad:

 

-Parts of the ship are dirty. The carpets are stained and worn (including in our suite), walls are scuffed and the Market Cafe is to be avoided at all costs - I can't even describe how foul it is.

-Mazatlan is a disappointment. It is rundown and there is not much of anything to do there. NCL would be much better off replacing it with Manzanillo or Ixtapa.

 

 

I really enjoyed the trip, overall. I would take NCL next year, but they don't have the itinerary I'm wanting to do.

 

 

 

Michael

[newmexicoNita]

Just so no one is under any illusions, casinos on cruise ships are always very tight. They are not under the same level of jurisdictional oversight as most land based casinos, and certainly nothing like Nevada. Thus they can set the percentage of paybacks way lower than would be legal elsewhere. Cruise ship slots generally have payback percentages of between 75% and 90%, trending towards the lower end. Nevada casinos by law cannot go below 85% and are generally much higher than that. For gaming novices, that is over 1,000,000 credits played so your results will vary dramatically in the short time even the most ambitious players play :) You can still have a good time and win, but over time, your dollars will not stretch as far. There is little difference between the payback percentages on the various cruise lines; they are all pretty similar.

 

thanks Russ, you probably did need to clear that up for others, but being a gambler from way back (heck until a few years ago I wanted my ashes spread all over the slots at the Flamingo in Vegas) I realize this. I guess my point was, of all the cruises we have been on in the past 5 years (lots) the Stra was the tightest...Yes, they are not meant to be like NV or other states here.

 

NIta

[newmexicoNita]

The good:

 

-The layout is great, you won't ever feel crowded. There are a lot of quiet areas to relax.

-Cagney's is fantastic. All the food we had there ranked up there with the best restaurants here in San Francisco.

-The crew, for the most part, were friendly, helpful and remembered our names.

-If you like sushi, the sushi bar is excellent. They won't let you leave hungry and the quality is excellent.

-The hot wings in Blue Lagoon are terrific.

-Puerto Vallarta is a fabulous stop. We could have spent 2 days there. It is a great mix of old and new, the beaches are spectacular and the food options are endless.

 

The bad:

 

-Parts of the ship are dirty. The carpets are stained and worn (including in our suite), walls are scuffed and the Market Cafe is to be avoided at all costs - I can't even describe how foul it is.

-Mazatlan is a disappointment. It is rundown and there is not much of anything to do there. NCL would be much better off replacing it with Manzanillo or Ixtapa.

 

 

I really enjoyed the trip, overall. I would take NCL next year, but they don't have the itinerary I'm wanting to do.

 

 

 

Michael

Michael, I am not sure what part of Mazantlan you were in, but our last venture (jan) we found it to be very different than you did. The area around the pier, yep, awful, but further away it is very nice. Of course it is larger and more touristy than Ixtapa and Manzanillo. We love Ixtapa, my favorite port on the Mex Riv side...We really like Mazantan as well. We do not like PV at all and Alcapulco, (thank God they don't do it anymore) was really bad...I guess we all see ports differently.

 

Nita

[ParGuy]

Hello all - Vette, we are interested in the hideaway excursion - we have three teenagers and are wondering if there are lower rates for them - especially since they would not partake in the drinks. Also, can you take this cheaper by finding an excursion off the ship?

 

Also, to the discussions about casino payout. Being from Nevada, I believe by state law the pay out has to be 93% - however, the biggest drain on payouts are the mega jackpots....all the winnings go to one person. The other big change in gaming is the players card - gone are the days when everything was free because you knew the pit boss. Gaming is a business and a lot of the perks are gone.....when was the last time you got a great hotel room in Vegas for $29.

 

Thought of the day - "no one wins in Vegas - the casinos always win - except for that one precise moment, when you bet big - let it ride"

 

Par Guy

[dianef]

Does everyone get a coupon book in their cabin,or is that something you have to receive from your travel agent beforehand?

[terrymtex01]

The good:

 

-The layout is great, you won't ever feel crowded. There are a lot of quiet areas to relax.

-Cagney's is fantastic. All the food we had there ranked up there with the best restaurants here in San Francisco.

-The crew, for the most part, were friendly, helpful and remembered our names.

-If you like sushi, the sushi bar is excellent. They won't let you leave hungry and the quality is excellent.

-The hot wings in Blue Lagoon are terrific.

-Puerto Vallarta is a fabulous stop. We could have spent 2 days there. It is a great mix of old and new, the beaches are spectacular and the food options are endless.

 

The bad:

 

-Parts of the ship are dirty. The carpets are stained and worn (including in our suite), walls are scuffed and the Market Cafe is to be avoided at all costs - I can't even describe how foul it is.

-Mazatlan is a disappointment. It is rundown and there is not much of anything to do there. NCL would be much better off replacing it with Manzanillo or Ixtapa.

 

 

I really enjoyed the trip, overall. I would take NCL next year, but they don't have the itinerary I'm wanting to do.

 

 

 

Michael

 

As big of a fan of the Star as we are, we would have to agree that she could use a bit of touching up. We never found her to be dirty, but a little worn, yes.

 

I will also agree with you on Mazatlan. Rarely do I disagree with Nita, but I do on this one. I wish they would bring back Ixtapa as it was literally probably my favorite shopping port of all of Mexico, East or West coast and P.V. is probably one of my most favorite places in Mexico. I do agree with Nita on Acapulco. If we ever stop there again on a cruise I have no intention of leaving the ship.

 

Hello all - Vette, we are interested in the hideaway excursion - we have three teenagers and are wondering if there are lower rates for them - especially since they would not partake in the drinks. Also, can you take this cheaper by finding an excursion off the ship?

 

Also, to the discussions about casino payout. Being from Nevada, I believe by state law the pay out has to be 93% - however, the biggest drain on payouts are the mega jackpots....all the winnings go to one person. The other big change in gaming is the players card - gone are the days when everything was free because you knew the pit boss. Gaming is a business and a lot of the perks are gone.....when was the last time you got a great hotel room in Vegas for $29.

 

Thought of the day - "no one wins in Vegas - the casinos always win - except for that one precise moment, when you bet big - let it ride"

 

Par Guy

 

I'm not Vette, but I did find on the net where you can book this privately. Here is the link I found:

 

http://www.vallarta-adventures.com/las-caletas/index.html

 

I am not recommending you book with anyone other than NCL, just offering the link.

[daldog]

As big of a fan of the Star as we are, we would have to agree that she could use a bit of touching up. We never found her to be dirty, but a little worn, yes.

 

 

The good:

 

-The layout is great, you won't ever feel crowded. There are a lot of quiet areas to relax.

-The crew, for the most part, were friendly, helpful and remembered our names.

 

The bad:

-Parts of the ship are dirty. The carpets are stained and worn (including in our suite), walls are scuffed and the Market Cafe is to be avoided at all costs - I can't even describe how foul it is.

 

 

It is interesting how people see things so differently, isn't it?

 

We got off two days ago, and did not find her dirty either - I thought the Star was actually very pretty, except for the Market Cafe ... I'd say that area is unattractive, very cafeteria like, but not dirty. Yes, she is a little worn in spots.

 

I liked all the little differently decorated areas, and the fact that it's easy to find a quiet spot inside if you want. But I think the layout leaves something to be desired because of the "you can't there from here" effect - lots of blocked off doorways because of the specialty restaurants. You get used to it after a couple of days. We had a bad time finding pool chairs compared to the other ships I have been on (granted only two) ..... but seemed to be lots of chair hogs, and we usually had to go way forward and untie and unstack our own chairs. I think that all the space aft given up to the kids area is kind of a bummer.

 

The other thing I saw differently: the crew - while there were a couple of stand-outs, overall we found them to be kind of apathetic and not big on wearing smiles. We even had one experience I would call bad (rude) and also a few times with beverage staff where the language barrier was so huge, we gave up trying to get them to understand.

 

There's always pros and cons anywhere, but we also overall had a good trip and liked the Star.

[newmexicoNita]

Does everyone get a coupon book in their cabin,or is that something you have to receive from your travel agent beforehand?

normally they come from your TA and are not always easy to get. Once we actually got them in our cabin..As for getting them from your TA, NCL offers them to the TAs but they often go fast...I tried to order some the day they came available from our company and was too late..

 

Nita

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

It is interesting how people see things so differently, isn't it?

 

We got off two days ago, and did not find her dirty either - I thought the Star was actually very pretty, except for the Market Cafe ... I'd say that area is unattractive, very cafeteria like, but not dirty. Yes, she is a little worn in spots.

 

How was the weather and how were the seas? We will be on the Star for Thanksgiving.

Thanks,

[GophersMN]

Hi,

Just got off the Star Nov 1. We had a AC stateroom. Great room, lots of room and loved the full bath. We were forward, looking right out the front on deck 10, just under the bridge. The best thing about having a suite was the ability to eat breakfast and lunch at Cagney's. NEVER busy so you got the best possible service, plus by the second day, everyone knew you....

 

ENJOY.....

[daldog]

How was the weather and how were the seas? We will be on the Star for Thanksgiving.

Thanks

 

 

I thought the weather was fabulous - but I have spent most of my adult life in Arizona and Florida and would rather roast than be cold. Lots of sunshine. Very nice day in LA when we left, low to mid 80s - and as soon as we turned the corner outside of the breakwater I think it dropped like 15 degrees and we went right into pea soup thick fog - kind of cool. But very windy and chilly. Same kind of temperature drop on the way back on the last morning ... before noon in about a half hours time it went from 79 to 69 degrees - because that's what the water temperatures do. It was still nice on deck, warm enough and sunny. The Mexican ports were all hot, pretty much sunny.

 

And seas like a bathtub, IMO (but I grew up sailing.) On the ships program they show on the TV, they ranged from calm to moderate.

[emtowle]

 

 

I'm not Vette, but I did find on the net where you can book this privately. Here is the link I found:

 

http://www.vallarta-adventures.com/las-caletas/index.html

 

I am not recommending you book with anyone other than NCL, just offering the link.

 

Just an FYI:

 

I did my research and came across vallarta-adventures and tried to book it as they had slightly lower rates and a child's rate. They said that NCL had booked their entire 'availability' and that I needed to book directly through NCL.

[newmexicoNita]

Just an FYI:

 

I did my research and came across vallarta-adventures and tried to book it as they had slightly lower rates and a child's rate. They said that NCL had booked their entire 'availability' and that I needed to book directly through NCL.

yep, if that is the tour company NCL is using you would not be able to book privately. Are you sure NCL doesn't offer a childs fare? Normally they do on their excursions but I don't know that all do. I would suggest you either book with NCL, if this a tour you are really wanting to take or check the net to find another, similar.

 

Nita

[terrymtex01]

Just an FYI:

 

I did my research and came across vallarta-adventures and tried to book it as they had slightly lower rates and a child's rate. They said that NCL had booked their entire 'availability' and that I needed to book directly through NCL.

 

When I posted that I had this long paragraph already typed up saying that when we were there the only people we ever saw there were people who were on the NCL excursion. I ended up not posting that because I thought that it could have been that way only on the day we were there. I'm not surprised you were told that. Listen.. I promise you.. It is worth the little bit of extra money you will pay. This is a great excursion. And I think (notice I said think) they do have an adult rate and an childrens rate. Call NCL's excursion desk and ask.

 

No matter how it works out, I hope you do get to experience this one. Like I say, of all of the excursions we have been on, this one is one of our most favorite.

[vette]

I agree with Terry, even if you have to pay a few $'s extra for NCL tour prices, Las Caletas is worth it. I am not sure about children's rate for this tour, however.

 

It is just a wonderful way to spend a beautiful day in Mexico!

 

Vette

[nanafor6]

December 13, 2008 is our date for the Star and we can hardly wait. Guess I am like everyone else, I would like to know the good shore excursions, there doesn't seem to be very many discussed on the board. Is there not very many good ones? We would also like to know the best non charging restaurants to eat in. We cruised on the Pride of Hawaii and were very pleased with the food in all the non charging restaurants, even the buffet. Would love to hear from anyone with any information.

 

newmexicoNita, what part of NM are you from? We are from the south central part.

 

Nanafor6

[dplb3]

We just got back on Saturday, and we had a great time!

 

We are first time cruisers, but now we are HOOKED!

 

Restaurants: We ate at Cagneys, Ginza and Trattoria (converted at night from the port half of the Market Cafe) as our "cover charge" meals, and loved every one of them. Well worth the nominal cover charge, in our opinion. The food was noticeably better than the other places; however, don't overlook the Versailles which has by far the best venue even though it has no cover charge. We ate three dinners there, and I would recommend eating every dinner there rather than at the Market Cafe (but check the menus laid out each afternoon in the forward, starboard entry to the Market Cafe and check out the limited menu selections for Versailles each night). Market Cafe was very basic cafeteria food, and not really too tasty. Better off eating an omelet in The Grill (poolside), or the chef will cook eggs to order (I switched to having overeasy eggs every morning at The Grill. The Grill also serves somewhat marginal burgers/dogs for lunch, so I then prefer to move into the Market Cafe for sliced pizza.

 

Drinks: Avoid buying the foo-foo drinks the first afternoon onboard. They were $9 apiece for the first round, then $7 the second round, then $3.5 the third round; you get the idea. Best drink deal was a bucket of beer for $19; keeps 'em cool in a bucket of ice, and you can take the spares to your stateroom frig for the next day (and later in the week, they gave away Tshirts with your bucket). The Bier Garten (overlooking the pool) was the best place for drinks watching the beautiful sunset. The nightlife (bar-wise) was sorely deficient for us anyway. After dinner, things were always dead (Carousel, Ginza, Gatsby Champagne Bar, Red Lion Pub). The Spinnaker on deck 12 had the best potential for drinking after dinner, but they unwisely filled the prime time slot (8-10pm) with Karoake (and we had the misfortune to cruise with lesser talent participants); the Spinnaker never got going until well after 1030pm, when we were usually starting to wind down from being in the sun all day. Also, they will sell you a bottle of wine, and actually hold the rest of the bottle for another occasion (they give you a receipt, not for your actual bottle though, but its equivalent), which is a nice feature, except for the fact that you are better off buying wine by the glass. We did not do any of the wine, tequila, beer etc tastings, but heard they were ok.

 

Facilities: Saltwater pool; fun to be in when the boat is gently rocking and its like being in a wave pool. Good drink service around the pool. Four hot tubs around the pool, and a nice one on the bow. The ship was in very nice shape, and not rundown or dirty as some of the apparently more fastidious have maintained. Great library and theater for a fairly good selection of movies (deck 12).

 

The Shows: This was the best part!! The Andrew Lloyd Webber music show was excellent; Broadway quality (certainly not "lame" as one prior reviewer erroneously, imho, concluded). Also good was the 2nd City Improv group. Murray the Magician was ok; funny, not high quality (except for Chloe, his babelicious assistant). The juggler guy (can't remember name) was also very entertaining. We missed the crew revue, and the Cirque Pacific, but the kids were entertained. The Starlight Theater (decks 6 and 7, entrances on both levels) is a very very nice venue.

 

Ports of call: We did no shore excursions, contenting ourselves to hang at the beach. Cabo: We took a water taxi to the area where "The Office" bar/restaurant is located next to several other eating/drinking establishments (sorta the hotel zone). Good food, but outrageously priced (we paid over $300 US for 8 of us; 3 adults with two drinks each and five kids). Plus we were "swarmed" (is the best word to describe) by vendors when we arrived; much moreso than anywhere else. We swam at the beach, but the later ports were much more enjoyable. Mazatlan: Nice, authentic! Take a cab to El Mercado (the market) to see genuine food,veggie market, interspersed with some craft shops; all negotiable. The cathedral one block away is also a must see. We then walked to the "cliff divers" (not worth the stop), and cabbed to the Golden Zone (hotel zone) to the Hotel Playa Mazatlan (which is in the middle of the Zone). We ate a very nice lunch there ($85 for the 8 of us, compared with The OFfice), and they graciously allowed our group to occupy a very spacious Palapa with nice chairs where we "hung" while the kids played/swam on the very nice beach. Great shopping all around the hotel. Puerto Vallarta: Don't take a taxi; go outside the gate to the main north-south drag and get on a bus; 50 cents per person, and go to either downtown, or Old Town just beyond. Great shops, nice to walk along the Marcale (boardwalk). We then bussed back to the Sheraton to try to repeat our experience at Hotel Mazatlan, but they charged us $15 per person to use their faciities after our $80 lunch. Not a very nice beach (the rivers along downtown wash away the beach, at least in October), but still better than NCL's shore excursion (ship guests did exactly what we did, except they paid $75 per person for lunch/pool/beach/drinks. Their excursion ended at 215pm, so I'm not sure they made up for the price difference with drinks. Let's put it this way: We paid about the same $150 for our group of 8 (including drinks) as did another couple (2 persons) from our ship.

 

Express Disembarkation: This is a joke. You don't arrange it at all. YOu just show up on the 6th (or 7th floor) with your bags at around 730am, and you walk right off. You have to complete your customs declaration form, but they didn't even ask for our passports. We were, literally, off the boat by 805am, which was great since we did Disneyland the rest of that very long day!!

 

Overall: We had a great, relaxing time. The crew was, by and far, very friendly and willing to go out of their way to make our trip enjoyable. I would definitely recommend the freestyle method too (no assigned tables or schedules). I thought NCL could have been a little more upfront about the $10 per person per day surcharge they tag on (for us that added about $900 extra, which was actually more than our bar bill). My only regret was NOT bringing bottles of wine on board ($15 corkage fee, even for big bottles) and NOT doing the "bar set up" thingy (not sure how it works, but I think you pay a premium, e.g. $65 for a big bottle of liquor, and then get free(?) setups, but it's still cheaper than buying by the drink. Problem is that, I was told anyway, you have to arrange it before the cruise (?). I will definitely use NCL again, and will definitely sail aboard the Star. By the way, we were in three inside staterooms (no window, even) on the 4th floor (the belly of the beast), and our rooms were great! Also easy to get off at the ports since we always got off on deck 4.

[newmexicoNita]

December 13, 2008 is our date for the Star and we can hardly wait. Guess I am like everyone else, I would like to know the good shore excursions, there doesn't seem to be very many discussed on the board. Is there not very many good ones? We would also like to know the best non charging restaurants to eat in. We cruised on the Pride of Hawaii and were very pleased with the food in all the non charging restaurants, even the buffet. Would love to hear from anyone with any information.

 

newmexicoNita, what part of NM are you from? We are from the south central part.

 

Nanafor6

Hi, you will love the Star, she is a nice ship, nice sized and has a friendly crew. As for shore excursions, well I am not a fan of Mexican Riv so someone else will need to help you. I do know if the Whales have returned and they may have, Cabo for whale watching is awesome. We did it in Jan on Princess, one of the most fun tours we have taken..

 

We actually live in AR now, but spent 7 years in Belen, just south of Albuquerque. We left earlier this year with mixed feelings

 

 

As for express debarkation I agree with dplb, don't bother. When ships (all lines) first introduced it about 3 or 4 years ago, it was great, then everyone decided to use it. Well not everyone, but too many. All it does is hold everyone up.

 

 

Nita