Luxury Cruise Holidays | Caribbean Sea Cruises | Princess Cruises

Ship Reviews

It has been some time since Ive done a review, but I thought with Star Princess being new to Alaska, I would have something to offer here. Let’s talk about the ship first. Star Princess is big. 4300 capacity, and our sailing, the first Alaska voyage of the season, left Seattle a bit over 100% capacity. There were few children, as you might expect in May. I can see this ship going out with 4800 aboard in peak season. That would be just way too many people for me. Star Princess is less like a ship than a big hotel. There are cabins everywhere. If you have a forward cabin, when you come down the elevator or stairs you will have a walk past the Cabana Mini Suites before you get to the Piazza and the buffet, which is on Deck 9. That corridor becomes crowded. The only deck that doesn't have cabins is Deck 7. Everywhere else you are going past peoples cabins to get from here to there. All the public spaces are oriented inwards, except the pool decks on 17 and 18. You don't really see the ocean on Star Princess. The spa area is in the center of the ship, with cabins on either side facing the ocean. The gym has been moved midships, and overlooks the pool area and not the ocean. The specialty restaurants don't really have views. The massive life boats hang down so low that views are obstructed everywhere you go. There is no promenade. There's a little balcony-like space you can access but other than that, for outdoor public areas you have to go up to 17 or 18 in most cases, unless you have a cabana suite or purchased Sanctuary. Much of your view is obstructed by blue tinted glass. There is a lot of blue glass! Double height. On deck 18 there are two narrow places where the glass is single height, and people crowd that area for photos of the glaciers and fjords. We had a balcony, which is almost a must if you don't have a sanctuary suite. The public areas of the ship are broken up and don't flow. You encounter these bulkheads seemingly at random where you then have to turn left or right. It makes it seem like you are in a hotel convention center or something, where there are just lots of corridors with beige bulkhead panels guiding you to some destination further down. The interior decor is very pretty, but there's not much nautical about it. It is very serene and spa-like, with driftwood-gray and beige everywhere, with pops of blue and gold. Like an upscale hotel. Some of the artwork is good. I thought they did a great job with art on Discovery Princess, but lately the art seems more corporate. That same upscale hotel feeling. But here's the thing. Someone asked our party of six (all Platinum and Elite) if they liked Star or would they prefer a smaller ship. Four out of the six said they liked Star. So what I like and don't like seems to be in a minority and Princess evidently knows that. OK, now for the rest of the review. I could write for days but I won’t. Embarkation - the new assigned time thing seemed messy at first, but once we got into the building in Seattle things flowed pretty smooth. If they can keep people from jumping the lines outside it may end up working for them. Itinerary - Not my favorite Alaska itinerary. Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier was three hours - 6AM - 9AM. Not ideal. We didn't get that close to Dawes Glacier and then we were back out - all before breakfast. Seattle round trips require a stop in Canada. Although I think Victoria is a lovely city, getting there at 7PM on the last night for a few hours just to meet the requirement is a waste of time. So basically you are ending your cruise with two sea days. Otherwise, we had a great time in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway, as usual. Food - Food is subjective, but, in general, the food we had was better than average. Some notes: Americana Cafe - really just an extension of the buffet. Nothing special here. The Eatery - this was the main buffet. Kind of a disappointment in regards to selection. The same stuff day in and day out. We did not eat dinner here. Sabatinis Italian - this place is okay. I would not pay the $60 to eat here but we had Princess Premier so it was included. The Crown Grill - the steakhouse. As usual, this place was good. The restaurant though was devoid of personality. The exact same driftwood/beige/blue designs as everywhere else. Service was good. The steaks were reasonably good quality. Umami Teppanyaki - this place was fun. However, in trying to be fun and an “experience” it was very loud. And the singing (Sweet Caroline? Really?) was too much. Food was good, though. Generous portions and good quality. Umami Hot Pot - in the same location so it is loud. Not the best atmosphere for sharing hot pot where you can't hear your table mates over the racket. But the food was good. Butcher’s Block - too much meat! I know, that’s the whole theme of the restaurant. But really, break it up with some vegetables! It was a fun place. The staff was enthusiastic and the food was decent, if just too much. We did not eat in the Main Dining Rooms. Cabins - Being the newest ship in the Princess fleet, the rooms were in terrific shape. Our deluxe balcony was very comfortable. The Princess bed is the best of the majors (again, somewhat subjective) and the bathroom was a step above most mass market cruise ships. Random Thoughts: Our balcony looked down on the Cabana area, which is exclusive to the Cabana mini suites. I had a choice to book one of those but didn't take it. I should have. The area looked really nice and it had its own hot tub that was barely used. The whole Sanctuary thing appears to be worth it on this class of ship. The outdoor areas looked really nice, as did the exclusive restaurant. This might be the way to go on these ships. We had tried to bid up to Sanctuary class but our bid was not accepted. We are 1 for 5 on minimum bids - so, not very good. There were a lot of outdoor areas that just weren't used on our Alaska cruise. The weather was a bit cool to be sitting out for breakfast - so all of the al fresco dining areas by the buffets weren't used, and tables inside were very hard to get. Likewise decks 17 and above. It was just too cold, or foggy, or windy, or whatever. Holland America ships are better designed for Alaska. There were two casino areas. One for smoking and one for non-smoking. Both were busy. The games were new and people seemed to be enjoying themselves. Princess seems to have found a niche with the gambling crowd - that's why my husband's family prefers the line - and perks are transparent and (I think) relatively easy to earn compared with the other lines. Oceans Now has been totally dumbed down. It doesn't work in most areas, which totally defeats the purpose, imho. The app sucks on land but it gets better when you board. They need to fix the app and the whole log in process. No excuse for this level of incompetence at this stage. Excursions were good! Shout out to Miles and Jenkins, who led the Island hike that started out with a ride on a Zodiac from Knutson’s Bay near Ketchikan. That was a really fun morning! Not too strenuous but you do get about an hour hike in. Good fun. The pups and smores in Skagway was good as well. We go on a lot of Alaska cruises, and have been on a lot of excursions over the years. So these two kinda stood out as being above average. In summary, a good cruise but not the best. The new ship is lovely, but more like a trendy hotel in a resort city than a ship at sea. The staff was excellent, as always, and Princess has a lot of Alaska related programming to offer.

So many passengers seem to report their dissatisfactions with a cruise but I will take the opposite. This was a great cruise from Port Everglades to Seattle for Nancy and I. The food was good and of course, plenty of it. We liked eating in the dining room in the evening and Eatery for breakfast and lunch. The ship being new, does have some errors like the Arena only holds 990 passengers and there were 4000 on our voyage. Princess should broadcast the entertainment in the cabins on tv to alleviate some of the overcrowding. I like to play craps in the casino but the minimum bet is $25...too rich for me. Cabins are nicely appointed and functional...lots of hangars. It takes some getting used to navigating your way around the ship but several days after you board, it will come to you. The entertainment was excellent and the crew.

TLDR: Beautiful ship, interesting layout, friendly crew, overall good food, but missed opportunities. Would definitely consider sailing this ship again, but not our favorite ship/line. Background: This was our first experience with Princess, but we've cruised extensively on Virgin, Royal , and Carnival, both with our children, with friends, and as a couple. We were excited to check out the new Sphere class, and see how Princess measured up with our other experiences. When cruising, we value good food, engaging entertainment, interesting ports, and opportunities to relax. The Start: We arrived in Fort Lauderdale a day early, and stayed at Pier Sixty-Six Resort (highly recommend this resort, as it is beautiful, well-designed, and some of the best staff we've encountered). On Saturday morning, we walked out on our hotel room balcony to see the Star Princess moored directly across the drawbridge from us. She looked beautiful! We took an Uber to the port at 10:30, and arrived at 11:00 (traffic was rough). We joined the line to go through security, which was long but moved at an adequate pace. We walked onboard (Green Lane) just after 11:30. Ship Design: I had researched the deck plans on the internet and YouTube in advance, and was aware of the "unique" design of the ship. It was readily apparent that many of the other passengers onboard had not familiarized themselves with the ship layout. People seemed very confused on how to find anything, and to be fair, it is not organized in the same fashion as 90% of other cruise ships. There are some noticeable flaws in the design of the ship, none of which are major, but together, they give the feeling that the engineers and designers weren't on the same page. The Piazza and the "Sphere" in the center of the ship are beautiful, but venues in that area aren't designed to fully encompass the views the Sphere provides. For example, there are now slot machines on one side of Deck 7, which block the exterior views on that side. The Piazza is smaller than it appears in photos, and the seating on decks 8 and 9 is not useful if you're trying to watch a show that is happening on the Deck 7 level of the Piazza. Makoto Ocean has nice ocean views, but none of the other specialty restaurants have a view of the ocean (besides Love By Britto on Deck 17 at the aft, which is only open at night, and therefore wastes it's wake views due to darkness) To be fair, there are windows in Catch by Rudi, but the lifeboats/equipment obstruct your view. Cabins: The hallways and doors on this ship are the narrowest I have encountered in nearly twenty cruises across four lines. We stayed in a Deluxe Balcony cabin on deck 15, which was well-appointed and had a comfortable bed with lots of outlets. It was the most narrow cabin we've ever stayed in, and the bathroom was laughably small. You could not get out of the shower and reach your towel without having to step out of the bathroom, because there wasn't enough space for the door to open while you reached for a towel. The shower itself measured at 2' wide x 3.5' long, and water pressure was noticeably lacking. I could not wash my hair without tucking in my elbows, as there wasn't room to raise my elbows above my shoulders (I'm 6' tall, 210 lbs, for reference). There is a good amount of storage space in the cabin, including in the bathroom, but you can't stand in front of the wardrobe and open both doors, as the hallway is too narrow. We enjoyed the cabin, and our cabin attendant (Rosemarie) was amazing, but the narrowness of the space and the small bathroom were frustrating. Another strange design is how public your balcony is; due to ship design, there are some balconies that stick out farther than others, and some that are more recessed. As a result, you may find yourself on a balcony where everyone else can see you, or you feel like you are looking into someone else's room when you glance to either side of you. Food: We had the Premiere package, so we booked specialty dining for each evening. I booked our dining when I paid for the cruise in November 2025, and had no issue booking reservations (except for Butchers Block...there was never anything available there, so we didn't eat there). I did talk to many people onboard with the Premiere package who were unable to book reservations at specialty dining, and therefore missed out on that benefit. The first three nights, we ate at Sabbatini's, Crown Grill, and Love by Britto...and they were underwhelming. The food was average at best, service was alright, but we remarked we were feeling let down by the food quality in specialty dining. From night 4 on, however, we ate at Catch, Sabbatini's, Makoto Ocean, Catch and Umai Teppanyaki, and our experiences were wonderful. Not sure why it was so different, but service, food quality, taste, seasoning, enthusiasm, etc was noticeably better the last five nights of the cruise. We used Ocean Now and room service a couple of times, but the menu was lacking in options. The only breakfast room service available (door hanger style) was very poor, with very limited selections. We ate lunch at Alfredo's (very good), the main dining room on embarkation (lackluster), Lido and promenade deck (tacos were great, Lido pizza was serviceable, burgers, hot dogs and salads were good, Promenade pizza was flavorless and doughy), and at the Eatery for breakfast and lunch a few times. The Eatery/buffet has decent variety, but there aren't enough seats indoors and the options get very repetitive (especially at breakfast). We found our best choice was to walk through the Eatery, get food and then go back to the Americana Diner to find a seat and get our drinks. Better service back there as well. The buffet closes at strange times to prepare for the next meal, so it felt like you were constantly on the hunt for a "snack" when you got back onboard after a port day. There's no popcorn, gummy bears, pretzels, charcuterie or other snack type items we've come to love on other lines. No offense, but my idea of an afternoon snack is not a croissant or pound cake from the International Cafe. That's called "breakfast." Drinks: We are wine and cocktail drinkers, but not heavy drinkers at all. We enjoyed the cocktails from a variety of bars, but honestly, they all seemed very weak (especially when compared to drinks we had on land at restaurants/cafes in St Thomas, Sint Maarten and Grand Turk). Wines were good and we really enjoyed the Pinot Noir and Moscato offerings. Service: Our cabin steward was wonderful, and Joseph by the pool deck and Cascade bar in the Dome area was also great. Servers and wait staff in the restaurants did a good job as well, and everyone was friendly and welcoming. Special shout out to the Good Spirits team, and the Spellbound staff for really making those venues special with their service. We had no issues or complaints about any interaction with any staff member. Missed Opportunities: Here's where my personal opinion may not match yours, dear reader. This ship COULD BE really great, but there are things that hold it back. There are cool features, but the design/implementation is lacking, and it prevents the Star Princess from creating a truly exceptional experience. Here are some examples: a) The Dome area is beautiful and unique, but it's not being used well. People leave their stuff on the daybeds all day, and no one removes anything, and then staff closes the Dome each afternoon for "private events." The evening entertainment there is 30 minute Candlelight concerts, which are beautiful, but you have to come 45 minutes early to snag a seat, and there's no bar service to your seats. The Dome should be adults only (not 16+), and the "no reserving chairs" policy should be enforced. It needs to be bigger (common theme) and have a better identify of what it is. Think Mykonos beach club with acoustic guitar throughout the day, bar service to your day bed, light tapas, etc...which then flows into a club environment at night. Instead, it's chopped into a variety of uses, and doesn't excel at any of them. b) The same goes for the Wake View Terrace...beautiful infinity pool/hot tubs at the back of the ship that are constantly overrun by kids. Make that an adults only area, put in some more day beds, and watch people really utilize that (even if it is a pain to get to it, because you have to either walk through the Sanctuary restaurant or go up to Deck 9 on the Promenade (which isn't really a promenade) and then down the stairs to deck 8). c) Noise bleed from venues around the ship is a constant issue, as it's annoying to be having a nice lunch/dinner/cocktail around the Piazza while there's a line dance/Zumba/whatever happening and you hear the noise from that blasting into all the adjacent venues. d) The music and movies at the pool are at volume 100 all the time, so it's deafening and really detracts from the "layout and enjoy a drink by the pool" vibe it could have. e) There's limited seating in the Eatery, so there's a constant battle for a table, but there are a bunch of tables outside that go unused in the sun/wind/rain. Why not enclose some of those outdoor areas and incorporate sea view dining into the Eatery? Maybe add some outdoor seating to Makoto Ocean and/or Alfredo's off the Piazza as well. Entertainment/Activities: It appears from the Patter/app there are tons of things to do onboard, but it's a bit misleading. One day, I counted 71 hosted activities on the app. Of those, 41 were shopping/sales/upsell activities. Our experience was the stage shows were well done, but there were only 2 shows in 8 nights, with comedians, and solo musical acts the other nights. The Arena, Princess Live, O'Malleys and Piazza venues are all too small for the size of the ship. Shows never went beyond 45 minutes, and people would head there 30 minutes early to ensure they had a seat, so it was frustrating to spend 75 minutes sitting for a 45 minute show. The cruise director (Dan Looney) and events staff were outstanding. We enjoyed playing pickleball, Piazza dance parties, Spellbound and Good Spirits, the gym, the stage production shows, and listening to music at O'Malley's and Crooners. All of the performers were very talented. Would we cruise Star Princess again? Yes, we would, on the right itinerary and with the right people. I don't think it would be my preferred ship for family trips with teenagers or kids, and if you're looking for a "party the night away/go clubbing/grab food at 2am" type of cruise, it's certainly not for you. But if you are going with your spouse, looking for some good food and pleasant service in between ports, it would be a good fit. We enjoyed our Princess cruise experience, and overall, would rate our Star Princess experience as a 7.5/10.