Foodie Report for the Norwegian Star

You may recall an earlier post in which I claimed I’m not a foodie. In preparation for this post, I took a quiz to see just how un-foodie I was. You can take the same quiz here: http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Food/2012/0727/Are-you-a-real-foodie-Take-our-quiz. Imagine my surprise when I scored 80%! A score of 70% or higher qualified me as a definite foodie. Who knew? Frankly, I rocked all the French cooking questions because although I may not consider myself a foodie, I am definitely a francophile. Now that I can legitimately claim the title of foodie, I am presumptuous enough to give you a foodie report for the Norwegian Star.

With a capacity of 2348 passengers, the Star serves a lot of meals which obviously requires a huge amount of food. At embarkation we observed some of the provisions that would be loaded onto the ship to feed us for 14 days at sea.

Provisions to be transported onboard

The Star features 14 dining options, composed of two complimentary main dining rooms, the Versailles and the Aqua; the Market Cafe, which is a buffet; several other bars and cafes that serve food; and 8 specialty restaurants that charge an extra fee.

For breakfast, we opted for a made-to-order omelet and fresh fruit each morning in the Market Cafe after a workout in the fitness center or a walk on the promenade. I usually had egg whites only with every veggie. Yum! I loved sitting outside to enjoy the balmy temperatures in the morning.

Breakfast by the pool on the Norwegian Star

For lunch, we enjoyed whatever they prepared on the pool deck or went back to the Market Cafe for a big salad and some protein.I enjoyed watching the chefs prepare dishes in mass quantities before our eyes. Since I’m gluten-free, I didn’t eat the pasta…

Seafood Pasta on the Norwegian Star

The first two evenings we ventured to the Versailles Main Dining Room which seats 491 guests. Frankly, we weren’t overly impressed with our service and although the dining room itself is gorgeous, it was noisy and distracting. The third evening we decided to try the other main dining room, the Aqua, which seats 334 guests in a bit more casual venue. We were so impressed that we had dinner there every night thereafter.

Lori and Jim at the Versailles

The main dining rooms feature the same menu with items that remain the same each night and “Tonight’s Signature Specialties” that change every evening.  There was plenty of variety and we had no trouble choosing a pleasing entrée along with starters and sumptuous desserts. Each entrée is paired with sides that complement the main dish but you can order additional items if you prefer. I usually opted for seafood while Jim chose beef or pork. I especially liked the portion control of the dishes that encourages some self-restraint. The service, presentation, and taste were especially good considering how many people they feed each evening.

We enjoyed our servers at the Aqua so much the first evening that we requested seating in their area every evening afterwards. Jessie is from the Philippines and Indra is from Indonesia.  They worked hard, and they were friendly, professional, and knowledgeable.

Our server, Jessie, on the Norwegian Star

Our server, Indra, Norwegian Star

I love taking photos of food so I’m happy to share some of our meals with you. I wish I’d thought to photograph the menu each night so I could identify each dish as well. The names of the dishes are as appealing as the food, in my opinion.

They say the average cruiser gains a pound a day. I say you can actually choose to live a healthier lifestyle on a cruise ship.  If you get some exercise each day and make sensible food choices among the plentiful offerings, you can come home without “extra baggage.”

Taken from events of November, 2014