Superstar Leo
March 2004
Brisbane to Sydney
by Ian Katz
Just finished a weekend cruise from Brisbane to Sydney (March 2004) on the Superstar Leo and thought your readers may be interested as the ship will be cruising Alaska soon. However, there will probably be major changes for that market.
Advertising
The cruise is advertised as 2 nights and 3 days but is really 2 nights and 1 day! By the time you board it is late afternoon and disembarkation is at 9 am on the "third day."
Boarding in Brisbane
Total chaos! The ship was late getting in due to rough weather. There was minimal explanation, Brisbane has terrible cruise ship facilities, and it took over 2 hours of queues and 2 bus rides. We were okay, but don't know how the elderly or those with young kids survived.
The ship
Essentially a clone of the Norwegian Star, which we have been on before, with minor changes. Very modern, glitzy and well maintained. The inside cabin was more than adequate for the two of us for the weekend; quite spacious, clean and well laid out. Good bathroom and storage. Overall the facilities were good. The pools and spas were good, the casino good, the shops seemed fine.
Entertainment
Went to the show the one night which was fine, nothing special but entertaining.
Food
The big disappointment. Only three free restaurants. The buffet in Raffles was small and average; almost canteen-like food. The Garden Room (300 seats), which we did not try, advertised what appeared to local Chinese restaurant-type food--a lot of deep fried pork products. Windows, the big 600-seater was more modern food and was okay but did not reach great heights with variety or quality. All the other restaurants (which we did not try) charged essentially normal Australian restaurant prices for food--there were Chinese, Japanese, French, and 24-hour general food (the latter was exactly the same, but free on the Norwegian Star). The restaurant staff seemed to struggle with English but did try very hard (one of our party was lactose intolerant and, although we doubted our orders got understood at times, this seemed to work out okay at the end).
In conclusion, a good weekend away but I think there will be major changes (especially with the food) for the Alaskan market.
Photo Courtesy of Holland America Line
Holland America Line - Cruise Reviews
