ncl-nstargp031598

Name: Gord Pope
Email: gordpope@istar.ca
Age: 53
Occupation: Manager, Network Services
NumberOfCruises: 5
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-NorwegianStar
SailingDate: March 15, 1998
Itinerary: Houston/Calica/Cozumel/Roatan/Houston
FoodDiningRoom: 85
CruiseDirector: 75
CabinComfort: 70
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 65
FoodLidoDeck: 74
DiningRoomService: 79
CabinQuietness: 65
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue: 79
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 85
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 90
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 95
EntertShowLounge: 100
OverallPortsofCall: 70
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 70
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram: 85
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard:
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 85
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 30 Mar 1998
Time: 23:27:06
Remote Name: 204.191.154.99
Remote User:

Comments

CRUISE REVIEW

NORWIEGIAN STAR MARCH 15-22, 1998

AGENT: TREASURE TOURS, SURREY B. C., CANADA

COST: $2944CDN FOR 2 PEOPLE INCLUDING PORT TAXES, VANCOUVER-HOUSTON AIR, AIRPORT TAX, CANCELLATION
INSURANCE, 1 NIGHT ACCOMODATION IN HOUSTON

CABIN: OUTSIDE STANDARD, CARRIBEAN DECK (#3075)

US: GORD AND CAROL POPE, EARLY 50’S, 5TH CRUISE, 2ND NCL GORDPOPE@ISTAR.CA

TRIP SUMMARY:

The Good: Entertainment first class, food good and lots, bar waiters attentive and not pushy, drinks good, fitness center
good, lecture good, Weather good, Busboy great, overall fun GREAT.

The Bad Missing Roatan (we’ll see if compensation comes through), Dinner waiter competent but not as 'interactive' as
others, Stardust lounge not great for visibility but OK if you arrive early and go for front row seats, Beds didn’t make into
double, 2nd & 3rd room key didn’t work

The Ugly Lack of candor re reason for missing Roatan, toilets stopped working a couple of times, water backup in
bathroom, Top of the Star cigar lounge STINKS (real ugly),

TRIP DIARY AND DETAILS:

March 14:

Arrival at Vancouver airport at 2:30. Check in at Delta was smooth except that the computers were down for awhile. US
customs was much smoother than before with no lineups. Flight was uneventful and cramped with a mystery meat
sandwich for a snack. We killed an hour in Salt Lake City airport (they do have a duty free shop) and caught the next
flight to Houston. Another mystery meat sandwich for a snack. An NCL lady met us at Houston airport and told us to
claim our bags and schlep them over to the bus. She also told us that there were NO LOCKERS IN HOUSTON AIRPORT TO
LEAVE YOUR LUGGAGE ON THE WAY BACK. At the bus there was one poor lady to load all of the bags. We grabbed a seat
and headed to the Crown Plaza hotel. About a 30min trip. TIP: When we got there, Carol joined the registration line and I
retrieved the bags. This let us get registered and to our room without waiting in a long registration line. However, I must
say that the hotel staff were very efficient and the line did move quite quickly. The bar had closed by the time we sorted
out our room but I was able to talk the bartender into selling me a beer for the room. Time about 1:30 am. Clocks ahead
2 hours.

March 15, Sunday

Cloudy but warm. Had breakfast in hotel for about $20US. Pricey and super slow service! NCL had arranged for coffee
and muffins a little later in the lounge. Didn’t know this. There is a mall behind the hotel that opens at 11am. A great
sports store and a Learning store. Good place to kill a few hours. Hotel came and got our bags from our rooms and took
them to the lobby. Bus arrived at 1:23. Only 3 buses and we needed 5. Probably because it was Canadian spring break
and this was an extra large contingent. All the people eventually got on board but there seemed no one to transport the
luggage to the buses. Eventually the hotel staff marshaled enough people and we got loaded and on our way after about
30 min. 35 min drive to the port. Port is out in the boonies and has zero scenic value. A nervous NCL type, probably a
local person, got onboard the bus at the port and told us of the drill once inside the port building. Then he handed out
another piece of paper to fill in if you are not a US citizen, which 90% of the 5 busloads were not. TIP: Fill out the form in
the line up in the building rather than on the bus. This will get you through the check in process faster because inside
there was 10 stations for US citizens to check in at and 3 for non-US. By the time the last bus unloaded, the lineup
stretched out of the door. Our 5 buses had swamped them. By being early off of the bus we got through checkin quickly
and on board with a drink before most people had even entered the building! NOTE: We first tried the LATIDUDES line as
we were a member however, while they were very quick to get to us, they told us that we still had to go through the
non-US citizens line. I conclude that LATITUDES offers no advantage here regarding their advertised special check in
service unless you are a US citizen. Once onboard we found our room (3075) and checked it out. We found that the beds
did NOT make into a double bed. Bummer. Turns out that double beds are not common on this ship. We went to the
registration desk and sorted out our shipboard credit. There, we found out that we were NOT going to Roatan! They gave
us a letter but no indication beyond that as to why not. I quote from the letter:

'Due to technical upgrades and improvements during this week’s voyage, we have modified our original scheduled
routing for this cruise. Our new itinerary will be as follows: Sunday Houston Monday At sea Tuesday Calica Wednesday
Calica/Cozumel Thursday Cozumel Friday At sea Saturday At sea Sunday Houston

As a gesture of goodwill we are extending a 50% discount on future 'Texaribbean' voyage or 25% off a future 7 day
Norwegian Cruise Line Caribbean cruise. These certificates will be forwarded to you or your authorized travel agent
within the next two weeks.'

As of today, March 28, we have not seen the certificates so we don’t know the base price from which a discount would be
taken.

We grabbed a mediocre pizza at the pool and then toured the ship. On our way past the reception desk, we spotted our
sports bag sitting in a pile of others on the floor. Apparently the tag had come off. Luckily Carol spotted it. We took it to
our cabin where we found all of our other bags. Last we had seen them was when the hotel took them from our room.
We then had the usual unpacking and storing fun and then the lifeboat drill. We then found out that one key for the room
didn’t work. Cocktail party with the Tour agent at 5:00 where we attempted to drink away his profits. Also, significant
concern re missing Roatan. No one seemed to have an explanation beyond the weather. Apparently there was a lot of
beefing at the reception desk. 7:30 shore excursion talk, 8:30 dinner 10:00 show, last beer and then bed. Clocks ahead 1
hour.

March 16

We did a stretch class and attended a lecture on the Mayan culture given by a Professor from University of Houston. Most
of the day was deck time and eating between naps and drinks. We then got an announcement that because of the
weather, we would go to Cozumel first and then Calica. The winds were still high and Calica has a very tiny and tricky
harbor. Also, the tide came up in our bathroom! About ˝ in of water bubbled up from the drain in the bathroom. I called
reception and asked if we were sinking. They said that they would send someone up. The water then stopped and
drained away. About ˝ hr later, someone showed up to see if they could fix the drain. Apparently they did. We got a
second key from reception but, guess what, it didn’t work either!

March 17, Tuesday.

More time on the deck and eating and another Mayan lecture. Weather is too windy for us to make Cozumel before 5am.

March 18, Wednesday.

In Cozumel, we rented a car for $70 US. 4 door Tempo. We could have gotten a jeep but it had no trunk. This price
included full insurance$16.95, and 15% tax. The rental places are all together at the end of the dock. We used Avis. I
presume we could have gotten a better deal at one of the smaller outfits. Car came with Ľ tank of gas. Guy said to bring
it back that way. On our way to get some gas, I went the wrong way on a 1 way street. Right in front of a cop. Cop asked
me if I had seen the sign. Clearly, I had not. Not even when I walked back and looked for one. Anyway, he just gave me a
warning.

We toured the ruins at San Gervasio. $2.50 to get in and the guide was $13. She made the visit very worthwhile. It was an
interesting 2 hours if you took the time with a guide. Probably take you 20 min if you just looked and walked back out.
Drove out to the coast and stopped at several little places on the beach. Had a good lunch at one. They used pieces of
logs for menus. Very good food. Don’t look in the kitchens or the bathrooms. We stopped at Chakanab to snorkel, $7
each. Lockers for $1 in changing room. Quite busy, more fish to see than last time. Returned car by 6 as per agreement.
Changed on the boat and went back into town. $4 cab fare in, fixed rate. Had dinner at Carlos and Charlie’s. Place really
bounced! Food was OK but Margaritas weren’t as good as on board.

Note: our table mates took two different shore excursions on Cozumel. One couple took the Safari jeep tour and one took
the Island adventure party cruise. Both enjoyed them and thought they were good value. $71 and $36 respectively.

March 19, Thursday.

Boat docked at Calica. Nothing at all at the port. We boarded a bus to Xcaraet, part of tour costing $49US each. Entrance
fee to Xcaret is $39 which was included. There were cabs there so you could probably have saved some $’s by taking a
cab and paying your own entrance fee. It was about a 5 min ride. You could swim with the dolphins but it cost $80 and
you got about 1 hr program that involved 20 min with the dolphins. We walked most of Xcaret in the morning and took
the underground river snorkel at about 11am. It was packed! I think we hit the cruise ship groups. It looked much quieter
earlier in the morning. They moved your belongings in a locked bag to where you came out and there you could pick
them up. It was an interesting trip but not real great. You don’t see many fish. Crowding was a problem. Those without
flippers could not keep up and tended to impede the herd. We left our more valuable items like cameras in lockers in the
main building. $1 for a token, 1 token for each locker opening. We snorkeled in the inlet but it was too churned up to see
much. We returned to the ship for more drinking. Reports from others on board who went to Playa del Carma said it was
very charming and were really glad they had gone. Calica is just a dock There is nothing there other than some T shirt
and jewelry vendors with inflated prices. Xcaret is worth seeing. You can easily spend a day here and they have done a
good job setting it up and keeping it clean.

NOTE: We heard that the excursion to Chichen Itza was very good. There is a 3 hr bus ride each way and it was hot at
the site but the ruins are spectacular. $89. Apparently the guide on the bus made it very interesting.

March 20, Friday

Attended another Mayan lecture. When we got back to our room, we found out that the toilets weren’t flushing. When I
got through on the phone, they said they’d have it fixed in 5 min. Took somewhat longer. Apparently the problem was
fairly widespread. We booked a car for our time in Houston $37 for a compact with unlimited mileage. And no drop off fee
at the airport. Also, after asking the cruise director, Shore excursion director, Reception desk, I finally got a straight
answer as to why we missed Roatan. The Captain was walking the upper deck where we were sunbathing. Other
Passengers were chatting with him as he moved along. I said to him that I had heard he was the smartest man on the
ship. He laughed and said that would be nice. So I asked if perhaps he could answer a question that no one else had
been able to. He said he’d try. So I asked him why we had missed Roatan. He paused for a minute and then gave an
answer that actually sounded plausible. Apparently one set of reduction gears was being upgraded or repaired. As I
understand it, these are the gears between the engine and the Propeller. So essentially, we had been running with one
propeller short. This meant that we could not keep up the speed required to get us all the way to Roatan and back in
time. Now this was a logical and plausible explanation. I may be disappointed but I can accept the reason. Not sure why
the apparent conspiracy of silence. Today, we are cruising slowly back to Houston in very pleasant weather on calm
seas.

A NOTE: The Top of The Star Lounge is a bar up top and forward on the ship. Perhaps one of the nicest places to cruise
if you are indoors. Unfortunately, they have one side of it reserved for cigar smoking. Hence, the entire place, both sides,
absolutely reek!. Even walking by the door of the non-smoking side is enough to make you gag. What a waste of a good
lounge!

March 21, Saturday

More deck and reading and eating. The Liars Club show was excellent! Weather good, seas calm. A typical relaxing day at
sea.

March 22, Sunday

Ship docked at 7:30 am. We (all non-US citizens) were due to meet with immigration in the Star Theater at 7:00 but
everything was running 30 min. Late. At 7:30, the place was packed. First you formed a line and retrieved your pass port.
Then a SINGLE US immigration officer arrived and you lined up to get cleared by him. There was easily 250 people to get
through. He was atypically a cheerful sort and made the best of it. TIP: Our cruise newsletter made a big deal about
everybody having to be in the theater at 7:00. As it turned out, the least stressful way to go about this is to arrive very
late when there is no lineup. This way you can eat a decent breakfast. They will announce a last call for this so you
probably wont miss anything. Also, because it was Canadian Spring Break, we could have had an unusual amount of
Canadians on board that they just weren’t prepared for.

We did the car rental paperwork on board and got our keys. This was smooth and easy. We did this between 8:00 and
8:30. While waiting to disembark, we watched the luggage being off loaded. Don’t do this if you worry about your
belongings. Anyway, what we noticed was that ALL luggage, regardless of color of baggage tag, was off loaded before any
passengers. The first passengers were off at 9:40. They called them by baggage tag color. You get these colored tags,
by the way, by dropping by the reception desk and helping yourself. There is a sign that relates colors to various flight
times. Since we had a car waiting, we took the red tags which let us get off first. However, nobody checks this and you
could get off in the first batch if you wanted. Bags were sorted by color in the disembarkation building. It was easy to find
ours and the check out was trivial. We found our car and visited the Space Center then drove to the airport where we
dropped the car and caught our flight. Even after 2 more plane changes we arrived in Vancouver and so did all of our
luggage!

NOTE: Previous problems with the ship concerned the air conditioning. We had no such problems. However, sitting on the
back deck (non-passenger area) is a big diesel generator. They ran this several times and the fumes could be a
nuisance. Presumably this is part of the cure for the shipboard problems. We did not notice that the ship listed.

We are available to answer e-mail questions and yes, we would like to try this cruise again next year.

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