Originally circumnavigating the Hawaiian Islands since its introduction, Norwegian Star was moved to the Pacific Coast of North America in 2004.

[6] Norwegian Star is a Panamax ship and was designed at the maximum size that could be accommodated by the locks of the Panama Canal at the time.

[11] Norwegian Star was chartered to serve as a floating hotel for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, however the deal was cancelled because of financial costs and lack of demand.

The majority of the renovations consisted of the relocation of the gift shops and lounge, as well as the addition of 58 new suites and staterooms; a similar project was carried out on Norwegian Dawn a year later.

[22] Norwegian Star was repositioned in October 2011 to Tampa, Florida and the western Caribbean Sea instead of returning to the Mexican Riviera.

[26] Starting 2013, Norwegian Star alternates between northern Europe and the Baltic Sea in the summer, and the Mexican Riviera and Panama Canal cruises in winter.

[27] In March 2015, the ship was brought to Vigor Industrial's dry dock in Portland, Oregon for maintenance, including repairs to the Azipod units.

[28][29] During the refit, maintenance was performed on its bow thrusters and stabilizers, as well as the Azipod units, ballast and bilge piping were replaced, a low-resistance silicone paint aimed at increasing fuel efficiency was applied to the hull, and the release mechanisms for the lifeboat tenders were upgraded.

[citation needed] Damage to the forward thrust bearing in Norwegian Star's Azipod system in April 2004 caused the suspension of trips to Fanning Island, Kiribati.

[31] A revised itinerary with stops in Kailua and Lahaina was substituted until the end of April, and the repositioning cruise to Vancouver was cancelled to allow Norwegian Star to go into drydock early.

[31] Additional problems with the Azipods forced NCL take the Norwegian Star out-of-service for two weeks in April 2015, and cancel its repositioning cruise through the Panama Canal.

[32] In December 2016, problems with one of the Azipods delayed the Norwegian Star's departure from Singapore and forced the curtailing of additional itineraries.

[35] While docking at the terminal in New York on 8 July, Norwegian Star generated a larger-than-normal wake from its thrusters to keep the ship positioned correctly in strong currents.

[36] The waves rocked the cruise missile submarine USS Growler, an exhibit at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, damaging the gangway and causing it to fall into the water.

[37] The winds caused Norwegian Star to break its mooring and hit the stern of Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas.