Norwegian STAR In Two Days

And, while I wait for my ship to sail, I thought I might share some background.  The Norwegian STAR was originally launched in 2001.  Since then, she has undergone several remodel/renovation/updates.  But just this last year she had a pretty major overhaul, which included the addition of a whole section of suites on Deck 12, which necessitated the relocation of the Spinnaker Lounge and the meeting space that was there formerly.  And moving the Spinnaker forced the relocation of the shops.  By all accounts all these changes are hugely successful, and NCL announced just recently that the Star's sister-ship, Norwegian Dawn was getting pretty much the same makeover before this summer.  They also turned the Soho restaurant into an Italian eatery.  That last was a mistake, IMHO.  Soho was one of my faves.

I last sailed on the STAR in November of 2009, before all these changes.  The last time I was onboard was for a ship inspection in mid-2010.  They were in the middle of all this, then.  I don't know if I like them moving the Spinnaker Lounge, as I really like that room, with all the windows.  On the other hand, all those windows are now in my Deck 12 Family Suite, so maybe it's a wash.

Anyway, as well as undergoing all these changes, which I shall be reporting on first-hand all next week, NCL has decided to abandon the West Coast, at least for a while.  When the STAR finishes her program of 7-day Mexican Riviera Cruises this spring, and heads to Alaska, she won't be coming back.  I also think that's a mistake, but with any luck NCL will be back.  But when they do come back, it's not likely to be the STAR.

So, we have a ship I love, that just had an extreme makeover, and is leaving me soon.  When the opportunity came up, with a great deal on a suite, I just had to jump all over it.

Stay tuned, starting Saturday, for my Live From the Norwegian EPIC, 2/11 series.