Norwegian Star: innovative vessel custom-designed for "Freestyle Cruising" - Ship of the Month - Norwegian Cruise Line

Cruise Travel, July-August, 2002 by Laurence Miller

In this era of fewer and larger cruise lines, the "Freestyle Cruising" concept from Norwegian Cruise Line offers passengers an additional choice among the cruise experiences available. The 91,000-gross-register-ton Norwegian Star, which entered service last November, is the first NCL vessel built from the keel up to accommodate this cruising lifestyle.

Freestyle Cruising was conceived by Star Cruises, NCL's Malaysian-based parent company, for Far Eastern passengers and was inaugurated in 1998 with the advent of Star's SuperStar Leo. According to the line, Asian passengers would never have accepted some of the traditional restrictions of American cruising, such as fixed dining hours and dress codes. At the same time, they did seek a relaxed but upscale ambiance. The Norwegian Star now offers this concept to passengers desiring an American variant of "Freestyle" while experiencing Hawaii by sea. The ship sets sail each Sunday from the Aloha Tower pier in Honolulu (though passengers have the option of boarding Fridays in Maui) on weeklong roundtrips.

As a first-time freestyler, this writer can say that Freestyle Cruising--fully and successfully implemented--transforms the cruise experience and will appeal to many ocean travelers. Freestyle enables you to dine when, where, with whom, and on what you like, depending on your mood; relieves you of having to hurry through cocktails to meet a fixed dining time; allows you to vary your evening schedule to accommodate port calls, sailing times, and other factors: lets you leave suits and dressy dresses at home; and frees you to enjoy surroundings that feature an absence of crowded peak times in bars and other favorite gathering spots. While the specialty restaurants encourage advance reservations, passengers can frequently make dinner arrangements directly with the restaurants' maitre d's after 5:30 p.m. without advance planning.

Passengers are also spared the stress of deciding how much is the right amount for gratuities at cruise end, as $10 per-day/per-passenger is automatically added to the bill. You can adjust or redirect this, but few do.

The downside of Freestyle include meeting fewer people early in the cruise, thanks to the absence of fixed dining companions. However, one can be seated with others on request, and enjoy a variety of fellow diners when the mood strikes. Another minus is the nominal charge of $10-12 per person for a few of the alternative restaurants. At a cost above this, upscale SoHo offers its live lobsters at $25 each and a-la-carte pricing. But the alternative restaurants Endless Summer and La Trattoria are without charge, and the main restaurants are extremely good. More about the dining scene onboard later.

While the Freestyle concept sets the Norwegian Star apart, the delivery of the basics--food, service, and entertainment--far exceeded our expectations. As Cruise Business Review noted, this is not your father's NCL. We found, on average, that the quality of cuisine and service equaled or exceeded other cruise brands in the middle of the market. There is also a higher staff-to-passenger ratio compared with NCL's non-Freestyle format. Entertainment has always been an NCL strong suit, so we were not surprised by the quality of the Jean Ann Ryan reviews or that we found ourselves spending much more time than usual at shows.

Backed by strong investment on the part of parent company Star Cruises, hotel director Klaus Lugmaier was given two months with full service staff onboard in the shipyard for training during the vessel's fitting-out stage of construction. Even the hairdressers were there--before their area was completed.

But it's the dining arrangements that truly set the Norwegian Star apart. The line counts 2,401 seats in 10 dining outlets. These are served by six galleys in addition to various pantries around the ship. There are two conventional main dining rooms that feature open seatings and dining hours from 5:30 p.m. to midnight (last orders taken at 10). Overlooking the stern is the Versailles Restaurant, featuring crystal chandeliers, red carpet and upholstery, and gold-colored ceiling panels. This is probably the most elegant and popular dining room onboard. The slightly larger Aqua Restaurant is more contemporary and American in tone with decor that you might expect to find on a modern American cruise ship--if there were any. The menus for both dining rooms feature cuisine that is surprisingly excellent, with especially good "CookingLight" choices (these make a good foil for some of the richer fare in the specialty restaurants).

There seemed at times some reluctance on' the part of passengers to go off-the-beaten-path from the two main dining rooms and casual cafeteria restaurant, open at dinner. In view of the variety and excellence available elsewhere, that seemed unfortunate.

Le Bistro is familiar to many past NCL passengers and offers the same excellent French fare. Familiarity with the restaurant probably was responsible for making it perhaps the most popular alternative restaurant onboard. The extra charge is $12.50 per person, and service was slow the evening we dined there, though the hotel manager indicated his intention to add staff in keeping with the venue's popularity. The cream of wild mushroom soup alone, served in a hollowed loaf of bread, is well worth the cover charge.