Has NCL Dulled their Star?

 Norwegian Star at Vancouver.

Spinnakers is in the large glassed area above the bridge.

Photo © Aaron Saunders

Norwegian Cruise Line has quietly made some changes to its popular Norwegian Star.  At first glance, the refits seem like a popular choice for passengers seeking a wider variety of suite staterooms:  new suite categories have been added to the ship, all of which boast floor-to-ceiling windows.  The largest can sleep up to six guests and includes a whirlpool tub and butler and concierge service for the ultimate in relaxation.

Normally, refits of this scale involve adding or extending a deck of the ship, or lengthening it as NCL did twelve years ago with the Norwegian Wind and Norwegian Dream.  But no decks have been added to the Norwegian Star - nor have any been lengthened.

Instead, NCL took the public room with the best view - and wiped it out.

The Spinnaker Lounge, which formerly occupied a commanding location situated above the navigation bridge, has been removed and replaced with staterooms.  Gone also are the library, chapel and card room, as well as the various meeting rooms.  The meeting rooms have been scaled down dramatically in size, and are now crammed into the space which used to house the onboard cinema theater. 
It now resides at the stern of Deck 7, in the space formerly occupied by the onboard gift shops.  The shops, in turn, have moved forward on Deck 7 and replaced the Carousel Night Club, Pearl Martini Bar, and the photo galleries.. 

La Trattoria has also disappeared from the latest deck plans, replaced by an enlarged Market Cafe, the ships' casual buffet area.

The change that is making the most waves though is the removal of Spinnakers.  Passengers coming off the ships first Alaska run have been particularly miffed, as the public room made for excellent viewing during inclement weather.  Returning passengers, who have sailed on the ship before, will be understandably upset to discover the ship is not at all as it is represented in the latest NCL brochure.  Cruisers seeking an indoor shelter during inclement Alaska weather will also discover there are less places available for them to find a quiet spot to watch the world - or the Inside Passage - float by.

The change was undoubtedly made for financial reasons: more high-priced staterooms means more cash on hand, and we applaud NCL for continually injecting cash into its fleet.

It's just a shame they had to do it at the expense of an excellent lounge and the overall public space onboard.

To view the new deckplans for the Norwegian Star, visit the ship's deckplan page.

Note: clicking on the PDF deckplans for departures after 05/07/2011, showing the new cabin categorization, interestingly reverts back to the old public room scheme.  This is incorrect - NCL's on-line deck plans should be used as the ultimate guide.  Guests booking a departure after 05/07/2011 should use the PDF download to determine the new category of their cabin, but not the layout of the public rooms.