Cruising like a Star

There are many, many ways to get from LA to Miami.  Initially air, road, train or a combination of these transport options immediately come to mind. 

However, the perfect "Goddess' trip for me nearly always includes a cruise.   It’s such a great way to see the world.  You unpack once and gorgeous destinations are delivered to you.

So imagine my happiness when I came across a 15-night cruise from Los Angeles to Miami by way of the Panama Canal.  The cruise from ecruising.travel had been packaged up so that it also included flights and stays in Los Angeles, Miami and Las Vegas. 

The deal included all airfares and taxes from Sydney to Los Angeles return, internal flights to Las Vegas from Miami.  Everything was arranged seamlessly including the accommodation at hotels that were perfectly placed to enjoy the towns.  We enjoyed three nights in Los Angeles (The Beverly Hilton – home to the Golden Globes), Miami (Hilton Downtown) and Las Vegas (Ceasers Palace) – for me it was the perfect blend of land and sea.

On board:
The Norwegian Star features 14 dining options and nine bars and lounges. All of the restaurants on board were very good and better than a lot of land based options. Although the queues at the buffet were quite long they moved quickly however, we opted to dine in the main restaurant most days – you just couldn’t beat the personal service.

On port days we chose to order room service for our breakfast in the cabin.  We really enjoyed sitting on the balcony in our PJ’s as we arrived into the various ports.  Room service food was really fantastic – fresh, hot or cold as dictated by the dish and it always arrived at the time we requested.  We could get very used to this!

Choices for dinner again included the buffet, the main dining room which offered a different menu each evening – our preferred choice – and the ships French restaurant,  Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant and Cagney’s, an upscale steakhouse.

We really enjoyed the French restaurant, Le Bistro with its light and airy atmosphere.  Its menu offered modern and classic gourmet fare, including fresh lobster. It was delicious and you could have believed you were eating in a little French café in Paris.

There are some lovely bars on board and although this is a big ship with thousands of holidaymakers you never felt it was crowded.  We especially loved sipping on a cocktail while watching the sun go down from the open-air Bier Garten 14 decks above the ocean.

Goddess Tip:

Keep an eye out for the ‘two-for-one’ cocktail evenings.  Offering great value it also gives you the opportunity to try something a little different.

Entertainment:

The ship has a sprawling world class spa, excellent facilities for children, a casino and a small shopping precinct.  There is a show most nights and live music in many of the bars plus a full list of everything on offer for the next day is delivered to your cabin the night before..

Destinations we visited on the cruise:

Ports visited included Los Angeles, Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Huatulco, Puerto Quetzal, Puntarenas, Cartagena, Key West, and Miami.

About Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd:

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq:NCLH) is a diversified cruise operator of leading global cruise lines spanning market segments from contemporary to luxury under the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands.

These brands operate a combined 21 ships with approximately 40,000 lower berths visiting more than 420 destinations worldwide. The Company's brands will introduce six ships through 2019.

Norwegian Cruise Line is the innovator in cruise travel with a history of breaking the boundaries of traditional cruising, most notably with the introduction of Freestyle Cruising, which revolutionized the industry by giving guests more freedom and flexibility on the most contemporary ships at sea.

Oceania Cruises is the market leader in the upper-premium cruise segment featuring the finest cuisine at sea, elegant accommodations, impeccable service and destination-driven itineraries.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises is the market leader in the luxury cruise segment with all-suite accommodations, highly personalized service and the industry's most inclusive luxury experience featuring fine wines and spirits and unlimited shore excursions among its numerous included amenities.

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