Norwegian Star Cruise Ship

 “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

Marcel Proust

Heather with ship in the background

Joe with ship in the background.

Mount Rainier 

Our trip to Alaska began on a lengthy flight from Atlanta to Seattle, Washington. It was a beautiful, clear day and the pilot was nice to us and banked around Mount Rainier so we could get the best views. It was an amazing site. Breathtaking. We were to meet up with our cruise ship, the Norwegian Star, at the port of Seattle for our trip up the Inside Passage. It was a nice size cruise ship that is in the Dawn Class. This ship was originally built for Star Cruises to be based out of Singapore and was designed to appeal to Asian and Australian passengers. It was originally named Super Star Libra and was built at a whopping cost of $400 million. The 965 foot long cruise ship and 105.6 feet wide ship is built in the Panamax size which is the size of cruise ship that can go through the Panama Canal. This ship is the largest size that will fit.

Seattle

We had an easy but crowded boarding process when we arrived at the port with all the excited travelings anxious to start their vacations, but we were soon on the ship. The boarding process went smoothly and everyone was friendly which always helps. We were excited to be on the ship looking at views of Mount Rainier, a 13,210 foot mountain, prominently in the background. It was snow covered even in the beginning of September. In no time, our cruise ship left the dock and we were on our way to the Inside Passage traveling north towards Alaska on a trip of a lifetime.

There was plenty to do on the ship with great shows and music throughout the ship. It was fun walking around to the different lounges and listening to many different styles of music and entertainment. The staff was excellent and did everything they could to make us have a nice trip. The shopping area of the ship, stayed busy during the hours it was open. We really liked the ship and thought it was the perfect size being not too large or small. The ship holds 2,348 passengers and has 1,100 crew members that work on the ship. Unlike most of our trips on cruise ships, the pools did not stay full but the pool area had lots of entertainment to enjoy throughout the day. It was great fun learning new line dances near the pool. Cruises are a lot of fun with always something to do.

This fine ship was built by the Meyer Nerft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The construction started in 2000 and was completed by the middle of 2001. They used this ship initially in the Hawaiian Islands before being moved to the Pacific Coast in North America in 2004. The ship initially had no casino when it was first built because Hawaii prohibited casinos by Hawaiian law. They later added a casino when the ship was moved away from Hawaii. 

My Joe with a white screen behind him.

We loved the option to be able to eat when and where we chose with Freestyle dinning that is part of Norwegian’s MO. That makes it convenient that if you are relaxing and do not want to get out of your comfy clothes and get dressed up, you don’t have to as of the many buffets on the upper deck with quality and quick food choices. They are also not as strict as other cruise lines as far as what you can and can not wear in the dining room.

There are ten dining areas on board with some pay restaurants. The specialty restaurants included an Italian restaurant, Cagney’s Steakhouse, and a few more. We did eat at Cagney’s Restaurant where we had a lovely meal one night. The steak was perfectly cooked and the staff at the restaurant were very attentive, fun, and friendly.

The cruise up the Inside Passage was spectacular. As the ship moseyed up the passage the views just got better and better. The mountains were huge, the forests tall and vast, and seeing the wildlife was amazing. The waterfalls cascaded down the mountains with mist spraying in the air. Seeing the icebergs and the glaciers, will be something I will cherish in my memory forever. Alaska is God’s country and we loved it. A great way to view this amazing scenery was by sitting in the steamy hot tub. There weren’t many people in them as the air was cold when you got out so we were able to have a private hot tub whenever we wanted.

Our stateroom

Joe relaxing on our balcony

Towel Snake left in out room by the crew.  Loved it. 

Cold towel  Penquin

Since our cruise, they have refurbished the ship in 2008. At that time the enhanced the staterooms, redid the public spaces, restaurants, bars and lounges. They added a Sky High Bar which replaced the Bier Garten, the Ultra Lounge which replaced the Spinnaker Lounge, and Spice H2O which is a section for adults only with private hot tubs, private pool, full bar. This area has uninterrupted ocean views. At night, this area turns into live entertainment or DJ’s with lively themed nights. I’m sure the ship is even better now.

We have always enjoyed our cruises on Norwegian’s cruise ships and hope to be able to do another cruise in the near future. Till next time. Bye for now.