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Name: Britt-Suzanne Baumann
Email: mikeandsuzanne@csi.com
Age: 28
Occupation: Realtor
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-NorwegianStar
SailingDate: March 22, 1998
Itinerary: houston, Calica, cozumel, Roatan
FoodDiningRoom: 75
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 65
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 85
FoodMidnightBuffets: 85
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety: 50
FoodVariety: 50
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 25
GoodForHoneymoon: 85
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 100
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 50
GoodForSeniors: 50
BeautySalonStaff: 85
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 50
BeautySalon: 85
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram: 20
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 75
EmbarkDisembark: 80
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 0
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 50
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 21 Apr 1998
Time: 01:31:05
Remote Name: 199.174.208.188
Remote User:
Comments
This cruise is a total rip off. I do not have a bad attitude and I did not have
unrealistic expectations. The first time I visited cruise review I read a lot of
terrible reviews regarding the Norweigan Star. I contacted my travel agent about them and
she made enquiries as to wether or not I should actually take
this cruise. Aparently NCL assured her that they did have some problems but that they had
been entirely rectified. I now believe I should have cancelled.
To be fair, I have to point out that there was nothing wrong with any members of the crew.
In fact the cruise direction staff were quite good at keeping us
entertained even though the majority of us were bitter about our missed ports and shore
excursions. The first port of Calica was our best experience of
the trip. We took the Xcaret at night excursion and enjoyed it very much. We swam through
the underground river, enjoyed the grounds, and watched the
evening show. The Performers were extremely talented and the show highly entertaining. I
only wished we had more time to explore this beautiful park.
The next morning we were scheduled to travel to Cozumel. We heard the engines labouring
for quite a while before they gave up. Then a ship from
another cruiseline parked behind us blocking our way. Despite the fact the weather was
remarkably fair, announcements were made that the winds were
too high for the ship to move away from the cliff we were docked against. We were also
told we would have to wait until 6:00pm when the ship behind us
would leave. All the excursions in Cozumel were cancelled with the exception (I believe)
of the jeep tour. We were told a Tender would bring us from the
ship to Cozumel. They then packed about 400 of us onto an open air ferry. I believe this
ferry was dangerous. Even the crew made jokes about there not
being enough life jackets, not that it mattered if there were enough because they were
TIED to the ceiling. One thing that must be pointed out is that if it
was not safe for a huge ship to travel eight miles to Cozumel why was it safe to tender us
in an open aired boat. All we heard about was the terrible
weather conditons on Cozumel causing all our excursions to be cancelled. Maybe it is
because we are Canadian but we thought the weather in Cozumel
was delightful. Perhaps those of you in more temperate climes would find bright sunny blue
skies and temperatures above 80 degrees to be inclement.
The Captain of the Norweigan Star certainly was telling us we were having bad weather.
With no shore excursion to enjoy we toured the souvenier shops
in the downtown area. We had until 1:00pm and then were given the chance to be taken to
Dzui-Ha where we payed $40.00 to snorkle for one hour
before being taken back to the tender to return to the ship in Calica. Same ferry, same
holding on for dear life while wondering how best to grab a life
jacket if we capsized. While dressing for dinner the Captain again addressed the ship
telling us that we would be unable to travel to Roatan. Apparently we
were unable to take on enough water in Calica and would soon run out before making it back
to Houston. He then went on to say that Roatan really had
nothing to offer us and we really were not missing anything. Several crew members also
stood around telling people there was nothing to see in Roatan.
We also found out the the ship had not been to Roatan during the last five sailings. That
night we travelled back to Cozumel. The ship was now leaning
severely to one side and remained this way until we returned to Houston. We could not dock
until very late because there was no room for our ship. In the
morning we could buy the same excursions we missed yesterday which by the way we passed on
because they wanted another $40.00 each. We had
already substituted the trip we really wanted for the very inferior Dzui-ha the day
before. We took a taxi to San Francisco Beach and then toured more gift
shops. To tell you the truth we were bored because we had seen Cozumel the day before. I
certainly do not go on holidays to visit gift shops. If I had
known we were going to Cozumel again the next day I would have skipped the tender and
spent the day at Xcaret and been quite happy. The whole
running out of water fiasco makes me very angry. I believe the real reason we did not get
to Roatan was because of the tight itinerary. The ship parked
behind us in Calica did not leave until 7:00pm. We were supposed to leave for Roatan at
4:00pm. The Itinerary was so tight that if we left for Roatan at
7:00pm we would be late arriving...(the ship only docks in Roatan for 7 hours) and
therefore missing more excursions. The ship would then be late
returning to Houston by 8:00 am where it was expected to offload and then onload
passengers and leave by 5:00pm in order to get to Calica in time for
the evening show. Just a few hours had the potential to throw off the entire timetable.
There is also the issue of the severe listing to one side. It is normal
for a ship to rock back and forth but this was like the Titanic. It actually seemed like
there was a hole in the side of the boat. I overheard two crewmembers
saying they should send the passengers home until they get the ship fixed! Many reviews
have mentioned the airconditioning. NCL has certainly tuned up
the airconditioner. Our stateroom was blasted with frosty air day and night without
reprieve. We turned the thermostat to the lowest posistion but still nearly
froze at night. We turned to our steward for help but all he could do was give us an extra
blanket. However this was better than no airconditioning, like the
poor souls who took the Christmas cruise. In return for their mess-up, NCL sent us a
voucher stating that if we take the Texaribbean cruise again we could
have 50% off or if we chose another NCL Caribbean cruise we could have 25% off. Of course
this discount is off the the full brochure rate and cannot be
used with any other discount or offer. I am assuming it also means cruise only without
airfare. During the bus trip to the airport the busdriver had to stop at
a gas station and ask for directions. When he finally got to the airport he had no idea
where to drop us. Everyone thought they were going to be late.
After driving around lost he went back onto the freeway. Responding to everyones screams
he drove the bus in reverse back up the onramp At one point
he took us to arrivals and told us this was the main door and they would direct us inside.
Suddenly a woman jumped on the bus and said they were going
to squeeze a few more people on and then we would be on our way. EEK!! back to the ship I
suppose. After a lot of driving around we finally got to the
proper gates. Our friends who took the other bus reported the same experience. I don't
know where they got these drivers but it was quite obvious their
first trip to the airport ever. I can't even describe how unbelievable it was. Do not make
the same mistake as me. DO NOT TAKE THIS CRUISE!!! I personally
will never use NCL ever again.
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