Highs and lows of honeymoon NCL cruise

[mitch84]

We got married in March this year, and whilst we had a weekend to Paris after the wedding, we had booked a weeks cruise with Norwegian (NCL) for Oct, flying into Venice, 1 night in Venice staying near St Marks Square, and 7 nights aboard the Norwegian Star. Our planned ports were Kotor, Corfu town, Argostoli (Kefalonia), Fira (Santorini) and Dubrovnik.

I will say that DH doesn’t holiday, he has 2 businesses (1 being animal based) and prefers never to leave them, so despite us being married, we have never been away together for more than 3 days on a long weekend.

Highs

Flights from Liverpool. We flew EasyJet Liverpool to Marco Polo and I loved Liverpool airport, so compact and user friendly. We were trying to watch the Rugby World Cup semi- final but the flight for once left on time when we didn’t want it to be, but we managed the first half on my phone before take off, then the captain announced the final score and we caught up when in Venice.
We also got a water bus to St Marc’s square, we just missed one, but were first on a second one so we got to sit at the back and see so much of Venice, we even pootled literally through the island of Murano.

Our hotel in Venice was right near St Marc’s square. It wasn’t cheap as nothing is in Venice, and was basic, but it was clean, very Italian and the staff were very friendly and helpful. Good breakfast too.

Embarking was easy, we got the water bus to the cruise terminal. We left straight after check out at 11am as DH wasn’t feeling amazing. We got there just after 12, and were sat in O’Sheeans pub ordering lunch by 12.30, cider in hand.

Our cabin was an inside cabin on deck 10 so really easy to walk up or down to the restaurants and bars. We were given a bottle of bubbles because I have cruised with NCL before, and they gave us a voucher for a celebration cake as it was our honeymoon, but we didn’t get it as we saw it was massive and I don’t eat cake. Kind of them though. Our cabin was good sized, with a comfy bed and big bathroom so we were happy. Only thing missing for me was towel animals, and DH missed tea making facilities as there were none.

The complimentary food was absolutely excellent. The pub O’Sheehans was really good for a quick lunch or breakfast, there was a complimentary noodle bar which was nice too, but the highlight were the main dining rooms. There were two, one massive one Versailles and a smaller one Aqua with the same menu. Bread, starter and main was more than enough every night and I didn’t manage a dessert all week as usual, and DH only managed two.

The staff were just fabulous. Most waiters and cabin stewards were from the Philippines and they just had a smile on their face the whole time. They worked so hard but were just so polite and friendly. Some bar staff were from the Caribbean, Brazil or Africa and they were great too, if a lot flirtier!

The main theatre entertainment was very very good. We saw a magic show, some circus arialists, a Vegas show and a Paris moulin rouge type show, you would have paid to watch any of them. The theatre was stunning too, really really nice.

Our first port was Kotor in Montenegro. It was small, but it was like a film set in a big derelict castle and it was very very pretty and well worth a mooch round for a couple of hours. We had to tender here and they did tender tickets which had to be collected early so no lie ins for me, but it was well organised once on the boats.

Our second stop was Corfu town which we docked at then walked in. We had both been to Corfu town before and we really enjoyed walking through the maze of the old streets and having lunch, everything was so cheap and we bought loads of souvenirs.

Our third stop was Kefalonia which we also docked at directly. We booked a wine tour with Julia from Kefalonia wine tours and we had a fabulous morning with a couple from Belfast. We went to Julia’s olive groves and vineyards, then to her house to taste her wine and oil with bread, tomatoes, feta and herbs. She also gave us some home made Grappa but that was a bit strong for us. Lastly she took us to the main winery on the island where we tasted all 9 wines then got a bit more of our favourite. All for €65 a head, what a highlight.

Disembarkation on our way home was easy too, bag was taken off us the night before, and we went for breakfast in the main dining room with our hand baggage and waited for our colour to be called. We had booked their transport so it was straight on a bus to the airport. They did get us there very early though, an hour before bag drop opened, but I think they just wanted us off the ship!

Flights home with Jet 2 were also efficient and no complaints.

Obviously we had booked our cruise in advance, and I used some wedding money to part fund it. It cost about £1k each including the drinks package, bottled water, $50usd obc, an hours WiFi and coffee. The last 2 were slightly rip offs as the WiFi had a connection charge, and the coffee didn’t include the coffee shop, so no real benefit. Beyond that though, we spend almost nothing. We took out €500 spends and came back with change. So nice to not come back with a big dent in the bank account.


Mediums

We purchased the 3 meal dining package for the speciality restaurants. This cost us £184 for both of us.
We did Cagneys first, an old American style steak house, which is very very nice, and excellent value on the meal package as our bill for 2 starters, 2 mains and 3 sides (wine was included and we skipped dessert) was $161. I would have struggled a bit paying OOP but it was our fave on the package.
Next up was Teppenyaki, the clue being in the name. This is $39 OOP but we used our dining package. This is excellent fun, the food is lovely, but I had done this on the NCL Getaway, and it doesn’t differ much. It is worth doing it for the experience, but it took 45 mins to get a drink and some edamame beans, whilst a photographer tried to sell us photos. The fillet steak is lovely though.
Lastly we did Le Bistro. We jokingly call this the least French restaurant we have ever been to, the food was nice, but teeny portions and very slow service. Use up a dining credit by all means but don’t pay OOP as it would have been about $150 for nice starters, the tiniest bit of meat with no sides, and some cheese. It was tasty though.

The ship was lovely, it was spotless and in great nick, but just lacked a bit of entertainment for me. It had the same number of restaurants as the bigger ships, and bars everywhere, but it really lacked some films shown maybe. I looked on our sea days and despite the odd quiz, nearly everything was fee paying, but I didn’t fancy them anyway really. It was very much an eating and drinking ship, which was fine for our honeymoon, but it wouldn’t be a ship I would do again solo, as I think I would struggle for things to do. There were plenty of musicians dotted around the bars though which were nice.

Our fourth stop was Santorini. We were tendering again, and I had to get up at 7 to get tender tickets (we were docking at 2.30). Only to find out we were anchoring early and I got up and queued for 30 minutes for nothing! Never mind. We were first off as we were ready, and so beat the cable car queues.
I had grand plans of getting a public bus to the winery, but it didn’t come so we opted for a €15 taxi instead. We tasted wines with a lovely view, but the tasting alone was €50 a head, so much more touristy and expensive than Kefalonia. We then went to the bus stop outside the winery to get back to Fira, but 3 buses sailed past, so we walked down the mountain instead back to the bus terminal. I had really wanted to visit Oia, but as we were having zero luck with buses, we jumped in a taxi. I thought Oia was pretty, but DH hated it, to be fair it was incredibly touristy. I’m glad I went though. A very beautiful sunny day turned into a massive storm however when we were in Oia, so we jumped in yet another taxi, and sheltered until the cable cars and tenders were running again.


Lows


DH caught real flu 8 days before we went away, and had been very very poorly, however due to being self employed he had continued on best he could knowing he would have to close for our honeymoon. He was feeling a bit better by the time we flew, but with travelling to Venice etc, really he needed to sleep and relax a lot more this holiday than I would choose to. I normally do most of the free activities, but did find myself relaxing a bit more than normal, probably no bad thing.

Apparently during the night on night 6, there was a fire in the engine at the front of the ship, our cabin was at the front, but reasonably high up, and I did wake up with clanging and banging, but assumed that as we had a sea day before that we had just landed early. The port was Dubrovnik, and I had been very briefly before, but DH never had, and the port times were 7-12.30. We had set our alarm for 6, turned on our bow cam to find ourselves well out to sea and doing only 11 knots, limping along to try to make Venice the next day.
We were safe and sound, and an updated newsletter was distributed, but it had added only a beanbag toss... it was the day the weather was least kind so a film, or something would have been much appreciated. As it was it was 2 sea days on the trot with very little to do (see mediums above). However we did get $100 non refundable obc to spend on board. There wasn’t a premium restaurant available, so I went to the shop and stocked up on my Clinique products for free, so it defo was a sweetener.

A lot of people moan about P&O about being too British. Well I would take that over being too American any day... the passengers had to be 80% American on this particular itinerary, and a percentage of those were just downright rude. I saw snapping fingers in waiters faces, barging older and disabled people out of the way, and one man trying to touch the piano keys of the cocktail pianist whilst he was playing. There was a lot of drunkenness too which I wasn’t really expecting. I love a drink, but some took the drinks package to an absolute maximum!

Losing the rugby World Cup!


Conclusion

DH enjoyed cruising, and I think one day I will persuade him into another holiday.
There is a lot to like about NCL but their bigger ships do suit me better as there is more going on. I like the mini golf, climbing walls, cinema type of ships on the whole as I like being busy.

[mitch84]

[mitch84]

Few of Kotor

[Loopylooloo]

Great photos! So happy that you are happily married too Mitch, its lovely to hear. I love a highs and lows, and this sounds like a great honeymoon overall x

[SquishTheWhale]

We love NCL and I really fancy a Greek cruise! We've done the Escape and the Epic so not sure if I would find the Star too small though. I live in hope a megaship will do Greece but it's probably difficult with the size of the ports.

Glad you mostly had a good time. We always seem to end up missing ports and it really sucks when you're excited about that port. The worst disappointment we had was to miss Princess Cays in the Bahamas. We're never lucky enough to be given $100 compensation though!

[mitch84]

Originally Posted by SquishTheWhale

We love NCL and I really fancy a Greek cruise! We've done the Escape and the Epic so not sure if I would find the Star too small though. I live in hope a megaship will do Greece but it's probably difficult with the size of the ports.

Glad you mostly had a good time. We always seem to end up missing ports and it really sucks when you're excited about that port. The worst disappointment we had was to miss Princess Cays in the Bahamas. We're never lucky enough to be given $100 compensation though!

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It wasn’t as such that it was small, but it was definitely a ship dedicated to eating, drinking and listening to music. Nothing wrong with that at all, but I normally go on my own and I would struggle with that a bit I think.
There was a bit of confusion as they didn’t make clear whether the compo was refundable or non refundable, but it had to be spent on the ship, so a quick stock up of Clinique and perfume it was. Nice sweetener at least

[mitch84]

Originally Posted by Loopylooloo

Great photos! So happy that you are happily married too Mitch, its lovely to hear. I love a highs and lows, and this sounds like a great honeymoon overall x

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It definitely was. Just a shame to come back to the cold and wet

[choccielover]

Looks lovely

We’ve just come back from a Caribbean NCL and agree about the drinking...felt very much like an 18-30’s holiday at times and though there was lots for families/kids to do, the main theme was adults (all shows etc)

[vampiress88]

How was it compared to p&o. I mean in terms of value for money, cabins, dining etc. Other than the British American bit.

[Leanne1977]

Great report! Sounds like you had a lovely time. We are also a fan of the bigger ships, the Getaway being our favourite.

Originally Posted by SquishTheWhale

We love NCL and I really fancy a Greek cruise! We've done the Escape and the Epic so not sure if I would find the Star too small though. I live in hope a megaship will do Greece but it's probably difficult with the size of the ports.

Glad you mostly had a good time. We always seem to end up missing ports and it really sucks when you're excited about that port. The worst disappointment we had was to miss Princess Cays in the Bahamas. We're never lucky enough to be given $100 compensation though!

See more...

The Getaway is doing Greece next year! We go in October 👍🏻