Hello All,
I'm a newbie to cruising. My first trip was a "Cruise to No Where" out of San Francisco on the NCL Spirit. I had such a great time that I booked for the 8 night Mexican Riviera cruise on the NCL Star in Dec. Basically this will be my first "real" cruise. I'm getting nervous reading all the negative things this cruise. Are there people out there who had a positive experiences? If so please let me know.

Also a couple of questions:

I read about the tour guide in Acapulco - Pink Ladies. How much should I pay for a 6 to 8 hour tour?

I know it is suggested to make reservations for dinner at the restaurants, but should I also do this for lunch?

Thank you in advance to everyone!

Hello likenthecruise, and welcome to cruise-chat; I've never been quite able to understand why NCL seems to elicit either rave reviews or is completely trashed. I have never been on NCL but none of the cruises I have been on are that completely black or wite.

But to answer your question; a fellow I work with, who I introduced to cruising a few years ago, just did your cruise in March and had nothing bad to say at all. He loved the ship, the food and the service. He was a little disappointed with a couple of the ports but that had nothing to do with NCL. He admitted his expectations were unreasonably high since it was his first experience in Mexico. He is ready to do another NCL cruise, probably the Caribbean. That is the best indication of a satisfied customer.

I've never heard of the Pink Ladies, so I can't help there.

I also don't know how NCL's dining reservation system works; but I wouldn't think reservations for lunch would ever be necessary.

So relax, enjoy your cruise. Don't let the naysayers bother you. I have it on good authority that you will have a wonderful time.

Hi f-mattox

Thank you for your response!

Hello
I sailed on the "STAR" last October down to the Mexican Riviera and had a blast! This was my second cruise with NCL, after cruising on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. After booking my first with NCL, I too thought maybe I had made a mistake,after reading so many negatives. I thought it was going to be a cruise from hell. But it actually was a very nice cruise. Service was great and food was good,So I had no problem booking another cruise with them. The STAR is a beautiful ship. I still prefer the tradional dinning but FreeStyle works better when your cruise is so port intent, as the 8 days Mex.Riviera cruise is. If you want to make dinner reservations at one of the speciality Restaurants do so 24 hrs in advance (in the a.m.). My only advice is to "not let the negative posts ruin your cruise, go with an open mind & a good attitude and you will have a great time. We booked most of our shore excursions ourselves when we got off the ship, for half the price that NCL was charging. But if you were thinking about doing the canopy tour,in Puerto Vallarta, I would book it on the ship, because we were unable to locate the ticket booth once we got off the ship. We were a group of 13 and everyone had a great time. Enjoy your cruise!
Roberta

This is for Cruzfever. Thank you for writting something good about NCL. I have read so many negatives about NCl. I have never cruise before on NCL so I don't know what is being said is true or how much is true. It is finally nice just to hear something nice about NCL so again thank you.

Hi Cruzfever,
Thank you for making me feel better! Also thank you for the advice on the Canopy Tour! Now I'm really getting excited!!

Aileen

I concur with F-Mattox.

The Star is a beautiful ship. Some Mexician Riveria ports aren't as nice as others is a common complaint I read from many. What's strange is that the poor port choice changes per reviewer.

The most common poor port is about Acapulco. Yet many other will rave about it, liking it the best. Aren't you confused?

I believe cruise lines choose ports for an itinerary that provide passengers, that's you and me, a wide variety of ports. Some have been developed with tourist attractions and shops, some are still relatively undeveloped, and some will have great beaches. The ports are chosen to attract the most passengers to take a cruise on their ships. What one passenger will love, another will dislike.

If you think one port on your itinerary is a poor choice, I suggest trying the most popular excursion at that port, there must be a reason so many have chosen it, or just stay aboard the ship that day, enjoying the nearly empty ship.

Hi Aileen (likenthecruise), and welcome to cruise-chat! I love your screen name, by the way.

Reservations are not needed for lunch in the main dining rooms. Yet, I do recall that they opened one of the specialty restaurants for a sushi lunch a couple of times on our cruise last year -- but I don't recall if reservations were necessary. (There was a charge, however, for this special lunch).

I encourage you to take lunch at least once in the main (no charge) dining room -- it's so nice to have a sit-down meal in such beautiful surroundings. Same goes for breakfast.

As for the ports, I have heard rave reviews of the Canopy Tour Cruzfever mentioned -- book this soon if you're interested.

Hi Ron and LisaP

Thank you for all your advice. I've contacted a Canopy tour and I'm checking to see if I have enough time.

Another question to the experienced cruisers...
Will I get a cell signal while on the boat during the Mexican Riviera? I'm hoping not... so my boss can't call me

Sure was glad to hear some positive things about this cruise...my husband and I are going in Nov for our 35th wedding anniversary. It's our first cruise and I was getting a bit nervous!

Hello Unks and welcome to cruise-chat;
Warmest congratulations on your 35th anniversary--that's wonderful. And also on your first cruise; what a great way to spend a special anniversary. Nothing to be nervous about. Relax and have great time. Some folks have nothing nice to say about anything; but anytime you see a completely negative review, treat it with some skepticism. Few things are all black or all white.

likenthecruise, I suppose it depends on your cellular carrier, but we have Cingular and had no service anywhere in the Mexican Riviera--and that's a good thing!

This is for likingthecruise. As you may have read before several times a cruise is only what you make of it. Make sure to have and open mind and have an attitude of going on your cruise to have the time of your life. With this in mind, then you will have no other choice but to have a great time. Enjoy your cruise.

Hi Tim,
Thank you!! From what I've been reading, basically, don't sweat the small stuff. It's a vacation so I should relax.... and that's what I'm planning to do... eat, gain weight and have fun!!
Aileen

In acapulco is the port close to all the clubs or should we book the club tour?