First time cruiser

While the ship is older and doesn't have the same amenities as the newer ships, the Star is still fun to sail on. The crew made my first ever cruise amazing and with me having a tree nut allergy they did everything they could to ensure I was able to enjoy my meals each day. Some areas do show the ships age now than others, but the itinerary certainly helped with me not noticing these items too much. My favorite place to visit was the Proof Whiskey Bar on Deck 7. They have a great selection of whiskeys, especially the ones that are included with More at Sea. My dinners at Cagney's, Teppanyaki, and Ginza were some great highlights of the trip. However, Cagney's was sublime. The filet mignon was cooked to perfection. My stateroom was an interior on Deck 5 and was perfect for traveling solo. I had enough storage for the 11 day voyage and never felt too cramped.

10 DAY CRUISE WITH 3 DAY REYJKAVIK PRECRUISE

We are a family of 4 adults.  3 of us live in the Tampa area and the 4th lives in Texas.  Texas had no nonstop flight options so had to make a connection.  Tampa also has no nonstop options, but we drove to Orlando to take a nonstop to Reyjkavik on Icelandair.  I am not sure whether it was Icelandair or the Orlando Airport that was responsible for the non-existent wheelchair assistance requested at the time of the reservation.  But the wheelchair assistance was ready and waiting upon arrival in Keflavik.  We were lucky that the connecting flights were pretty much on time, so all 4 of us met at the baggage claim and our trip was off to a good start.We were spending 3 days in Reyjkavik prior to the cruise.  I arranged a private transfer from the airport to our hotel.  He was waiting for us, and it took about 45 minutes to travel with no traffic.  I had booked the Hilton Reyjkavik Nordica with connecting rooms.  One room was ready when we arrived, so we dropped our luggage and had lunch at the hotel's restaurant, Vox.   We had prebooked the Sky Lagoon, and they recommended eating prior to visiting the lagoon.  By the end of lunch the second room was ready, so we got settled in until about 2:30 to get a taxi and head to Sky Lagoon.  Taxis were usually outside the hotel and the front desk could always call for one. About the hotel:  NCL used to use the hotel for their pre and post cruise hotel stays but this time they were offering the new Courtyard by the airport.  It made no sense for us to stay at Courtyard since it would require a 45 minute or more ride into and then out of town so we booked the hotel independently.  The Hilton is also a stop on the hop on/hop off tour, so staying there was really convenient. It was about a 15 minute ride to the Lagoon.  The Blue Lagoon is the well-known hot spring, but Sky Lagoon is newer, closer to the city, and does not get shut down due to volcanic activity.  Our Texas family member had visited Iceland previously and visited Blue Lagoon, so we had an experienced comparison of the two.  Sky Lagoon came in first!  The reasons:  not as large so not as crowded, a more natural setting, crystal clear water compared to the blue water - and this seemed to eliminate the residue, especially in your hair.  The Blue Lagoon provided a facial treatment;  Sky Lagoon provided a body scrub for everything BUT your face. Entrance to Sky Lagoon gives you the opportunity to do their 7 step treatment, but you can opt out of any of the steps.  After showering naked and then getting into your swimsuit you enter the Lagoon, and the water was wonderful! There was a waterfall, also warm, and an infinity pool edge where you could just chill and view the ocean.  Step 2 was the cold water plunge - and it was cold and I did yell at each step into the pool and the complete dunk.  Step 3 was the steam room.  The room was open to the ocean, and it was so peaceful sitting there.  Step 4 was the cold mist - not quite as bad as the cold plunge.  Step 5 was the body scrub;  you received a dish with the scrub and put it all over you - except your face - and helped each other cover your back.  Step 6 was the steam room, and when you were dripping you headed to the showers to rinse off.  Step 7 was a drink of their crowberry juice elixir.  Then it was back into the lagoon and a stop at the swim up bar.  You can stay as long as you want, but our stay was about 2 hours.  We took a taxi back - and taxis were readily available.   Our next 2 days were spent seeing the sites using the 48 hour hop on/hop off ticket.  And in 2 days we saw everything I had wanted to see.  Day 1 we visited the Sun Voyager sculpture, saw the Volcano show at Harpa, The Whales, Flyover Iceland, had hotdogs at the little stand with outdoor seating - apparently quite famous, visited the Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral - taking the elevator to the top for a fantastic view, walked down to Rainbow Street, and took a taxi back to the hotel.  The hop on/hop off bus stops operating about 4:30, so you need to plan your day so you can take the bus back to the hotel stop before they stop service, or enjoy as much as you can and take a taxi back. Day 2 was The Lava Show, followed by the Perlan.  Here we saw the volcano show, which  was awesome!  Then you went through the ice cave, and finally up to the observation deck.  Next we navigated to The Magic Ice Bar.  This was the third ice bar we have visited during our vacations and we enjoyed it.  However, they do not offer any real souvenirs other than pictures.  Before heading back to the hotel we stopped for pizza at a little restaurant.   The next morning was Cruise Day!  The hotel arranged for a suitable taxi, and from the time we were picked up, arrived at the terminal and checked in, was less than an hour.  It was also less than an hour when we boarded the ship.  The only hiccup this day was that the cabins were not ready until after 3PM.  But all our luggage was delivered so we could immediately unpack and get settled in. The STAR looked good.  I know she is an older ship but everything looked fine.  For the first few days it was chaotic when going to the desks for both the Aqua and Versailles restaurants.  The desks were located right in front of the elevator banks!  But that seemed to change after a few days when the desks were moved into the restaurants.  We found the Aqua decor more cozy, and  the Versailles had a more open feel due to the wall of ceiling to floor windows.  The menu was the same for each.  On the nights we ate after the 7pm show we found the service in Versailles to be better, but once we ate around 7PM and saw the show at 9PM it seemed the service was good at both.   Our first day was Grundarfjordur, where we took a ship excursion to see the puffins on Melrakkaey Island.  The island is a protected area, but the puffins themselves are not a protected species.  The island is home to other birds as well.  This time of year there are not that many puffins left - most have already migrated.  But there were still some to see, and we were lucky to have clear, sunny weather. Our second day, Aukeryi, we took a private tour.  Juli was wonderful!  I contacted him through Tours By Locals.  I wanted to visit Godafoss Falls and the Christmas House, and the ship's excursions did not combine these two.  We had not only sunny weather, but warm weather:  73 degrees F.  Juli said they had not had that warm a day in a very long time. Our third day was in Isafjordur and we had a fish and beer tasting tour.  This was rated as a level 1 excursion but either it was not stated or we just missed it, but we were not expecting a walking tour.  It was fine for 3 of us, but our 4th family member had a difficult time.  It was 3 stops:  a restaurant, a fish processing facility, and a brewery.  At the restaurant we were served a fish soup - which was delicious - along with a local bread.  We had several samples of local fish at the processing facility, and a flight of beers at the brewery.  At each stop we were given an informative talk. The next day was a sea day as we moved to Greenland.  Then Prince Christian Sund was our next stop - but its not really a stop.  We entered the fjord about 10AM and left around 4PM, and it was a slow cruise with periodic commentary from the bridge for what we were seeing.  At some points the ship did a slow 360 degrees turn so that everyone had a chance to see and photograph.  The most interesting site was the small village along a cove of about 25 homes where about 120 people live.  They receive a cargo ship every 3 weeks to bring in supplies.  Definitely isolated! We had beautiful weather through the Sund - no fog at all.  But the fog rolled in that night and it caused our stop in Paaimut, which was a tender port, to be cancelled.  As the day progressed the fog finally lifted - and we were able to see the northern lights that night!  We bundled up at around midnight and headed up on deck.  After a cancelled port it was a great consolation!  The NASA commentator onboard was on deck and handed out Aurora Borealis 2025 pins. Our last port of call was Nuuk.  The town center is about 2 miles from the port.  Some brave souls walked, but we paid the $20.00 per person for the round-trip shuttle.  They had a decent gift shop which we visited before taking the shuttle back to the ship.  The statue of Hans Egede sits atop a hill, and it is a hard climb to the top up the front and a bit better going down the back. Any other buildings of interest were not able to be entered. The last 2 days were at sea.  I found the ship chilly.  Many other guests were always dressed in pants, long sleeves, and a vest.  You didn't see too many shorts.  On boarding day there were people in the pool and hottubs, which were heated, and throughout the cruise if the weather was good people enjoyed them.  The outdoor bar and grill by the pools and the Sky Bar at the top did have operating hours. We decided to purchase the ship's transfer to the airport.  They had 3 buses, based on your flight's departure time.  We got to the airport at 9AM.  Our flight did not leave until 4:55 PM, and we could not check in until 1PM.  At 1PM I was able to get the wheelchair assistance, and they took us through to check-in and bag drop, and to the gate.  Upon arrival in Orlando the wheelchair was waiting, and they took us all the way through baggage, Customs, and to our car. I am not a fan of flying, but since its the fastest way to get to Iceland we flew the nonstop options on Icelandair.  Nonstops are not every day, so that determined us staying 3 nights pre cruise instead of the 2 originally planned.  But I am glad we did the 3 days because there was a lot we wanted to do in Reyjkavik and 3 days let us do it all. During one of the talks given by the crew it was mentioned that Greenland is not going to be on NCL's itinerary for the near future, so I am glad we were able to experience it. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and have wonderful memories.  Iceland and Greenland were a definite change from our usual Caribbean, and I would encourage anyone considering it to go for it.  

A Great Cruise

A great itinerary; loved Iceland. The excursions were somewhat limited and expensive. Embarkation was a little disorganized. The service in general on the ship was excellent. The ship was overall very clean, attractive and in great condition. Cabin steward very accommodating and provided really great service. Food was very good in the main dinning rooms as well as the service. The specialty dinning (The Steakhouse and Brazilian) really great (excellent food and outstanding service).The buffets were somewhat disorganized and the service was not very good and the variety of food was good however some of the food was just okay. The Cabin was very nice and comfortable. Did not get involved in many activities. The shows were not very good, especially the comedian. The musical shows were okay. The musicians in the bars and various venues were great. Disembark cation was very well organized and was very accommodating. Overall, the cruise was a great experience and very enjoyable