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Ship Reviews

Food in Main Dinning rooms is very good, Pizza also good, Room service outstanding very quick with good menu 24 hours. If you have mobility issue cabin is fantastic, Huge Bedroom, Bathroom, and the fantastic balcony with AFT View can fit 10 people , Very Large and private. Entertainment is a mix as most ships and lines are from good to mediocre. Some fantastic venues like the Dome and movies under the stars. Plenty of Bars and speciality dining as well as complementary dining that is very good.. Two casinos one smaller not allowing smokers and the Karger one that allows smoking. This is a brand new ship less than 8 months old . Service is outstanding , Sports court and jogging area is very nice even has a kids small splash pad very cute. Grand Turk has a great very nice ,clean and safe shopping area at the port, And Amber Cove is also very nice , friendly, Safe and clean near the port with beautiful country side. Music on board did not fit the age bracket's in my opinion. Needed more smooth jazz and Mo-town and crooner and less rock and broadway musical stuff.

This was way better than I expected with the Star being a new ship. I will try to make this brief, but I appreciated all the reviews and hope that my review will help enhance your vacation. Embarkation was Fort Lauderdale which went very well for 4,000 plus on board. We booked a Cabana mini suite (you can look at the room on YouTube which I did. The cabana suites have two private cabana sun decks with a hot tub. One on each side of the ship for these suites. The cabin had plenty of storage. Bed and linens were great. I won't go into room details as you can see those on YouTube. Cabin service was perfect. The food in all the venues....so many!!....was over the top amazing!!! All the restaurants including the buffets were excellent. Best food on any cruise that we have taken. The shows were terrific....the technology on this ship!!! The elevator system alone is great. I can't think of ONE thing to criticize on this ship. Best cruise even though our destinations were underwhelming...Princess Cay, Grand Turk, Amber Cove. We had a great time at the destinations, but picked this cruise for the new ship experience.

Star Princess is a beautiful ship and overall I really enjoyed my cruise though with a few caveats. Princess allowed anytime boarding at Fort Lauderdale from 11-2 and arriving at 11.30 meant I was in a long queue outside just to go through security so would recommend arriving later for shorter queues. However, check in was efficient after the security screening and I was lucky in that my medallion allowed me in my cabin immediately so I could drop off my hand luggage. I was in an accessible cabin which was very spacious, had a very good shower, pleasant décor and comfortable beds. The downside of the cabin only became apparent later when I had nights of strange rolling mechanical noises which customer service assured me were caused by the sea because I was on such a low deck, but I was never really convinced. In general the soundproofing on the ship seemed on the poor side, so bring ear plugs if you are a light sleeper. As many people have mentioned, elevators are summoned by pressing your chosen floor before boarding the elevator, so make sure to notice which elevator you are assigned to. It is a good, efficient system although waits were occasionally long due to the sheer volume of people. Getting to know your way around this large ship can be quite a challenge and the general flow could be better but I soon got used to making my way to favourite areas, including Princess Live for twice daily trivia, the Piazza and Arena for shows, the Eatery for buffet breakfasts and most lunches and the MDR of Aurora/Celestial for dinners. The speciality restaurants were fully booked well before sailing but I was happy with the standard of meals at the included restaurants. At first I was concerned because even the MDR time slots were full before sailing but in practice if we showed up at 5.30 at Celestial we were taken down to Aurora to fill the tables of those who had not used their pre-booked times. This may be too early for many people but it did enable us to go to the arena for 7 p.m. to get seats for the 7.30 show. As others have said, the arena is small for a ship this size and seats fill early. At least we are allowed in really early and can wait in comfort! The shows were generally good, especially the guest performers. I enjoyed other entertainment in the Piazza and the Dome, where Candlelight Concerts are held. The performers move around so if you don't catch them in one venue you may see them in another. I swam in the infinity pool at the back, the one in the Dome and the one on the main pool deck. They were never crowded although the weather was quite mixed, so more sun would probably have meant more people. Princess Signature Burger at the fast food place by the pool was yummy. Our ports were Roatan, Belize and Cozumel. In Roatan we did an independent tour to West Bay with stops at a chocolate factory and rum outlet. It was a mixed success due to heavy rain showers. In Belize I did a very good Princess snorkelling excursion to Shark Ray Alley, Coral Gardens and on to Caye Caulker. I have stayed in Belize a couple of times and recommend doing a snorkelling tour or go inland to see Mayan ruins or explore caves rather than just focusing on Belize City which has little to see. In Cozumel I took another Princess tour to Akumal to swim with turtles and to a cenote where we swam in freshwater in caves with stalactites. This was a really special experience. It involved going to the mainland but everything was handled very efficiently. Apart from a couple of less than ideal interactions with customer service, I was very satisfied with the crew in both friendliness and efficiency. Overall this was quite different from my previous Princess cruise (on Island Princess) and in truth I think I am better suited to smaller ships, but I was nevertheless happy with my Star experience.

Star Princess – Dec 27, 2025-Jan 10, 2026 14 day Western and Eastern Caribbean Two days prior to our cruise we drove to Ft. Lauderdale to meet our family at the Hyatt Place on 10th Avenue. The location is close to the port and is walking distance to various restaurants and Publix. The room was large and comfortable and the breakfast area was nice. On our free day our family consisting of us (Grandma and Grandpa), 3 adult children and their significant others and 4 grandkids ages 14-22, enjoyed time at the pool, shopping and dinner at Duffy’s Sports Bar. Saturday morning, we drove to the port at 9:30 to be certain to get a spot in the Heron garage. We got in line for those with accessibility issues and were on board by 10:30. We found a few tables near Lido Slice and awaited the arrival of the rest of our family of 12. By 11:30 all were on board and enjoying Lido Greens, Lido Tacos, Lido Bar and Lido Slice. Everyone liked the food, especially the Greek Salad option. After completing our mandatory safety video and trip to our muster station we spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and relaxing on our balcony. We were in a handicapped accessible Vista suite at the aft. The suite was just amazing! Curtains offered privacy to the sleeping area. We had a stool that we put in the bathroom near the shower to assist in dressing. The handicap shower worked well and had a sink nearby. The toilet was in a separate room with its own sink. This was great because the first week of the cruise we were sharing with our 14 year old granddaughter who slept on the sofa that converted to a very comfy bed. We loved the balcony that was very large and had a couch, foot stool, 2 chairs and a small table. We spent hours and hours enjoying this, often with a good book. I could not possibly say enough about our room steward Randell and his assistant Jess. Our room was cleaned so promptly when we left and it was spotless. We put out a laundry bag most evenings and got it back the next evening. Randell noticed I always took the shirts off of the wire hangers so by night #3 he delivered them on the better hangers in the room. Our ice was always full and anything we requested we received immediately. Always a friendly hello as we came and went and an offer to open the door if I was carrying something. Truly amazing service. The weather was perfect the entire cruise. While the pools were still too cold for my liking, I enjoyed the hot tubs often, especially the one in the Sanctuary Club. Each day we spent time playing games either in the Sanctuary lounge, the promenade or Crown Grill if the kids wanted to join us. A number of puzzles and games were made available at the Crown which was nice. Our first cruise week we focused on the family. We spent time together eating, getting photos taken, using the hot tubs and going to music trivia, etc. The kids and grandkids got off at each port and did Princess sponsored shore excursions. They liked the chair lift/beach option at Roatan and loved the Jeep and Snorkel tour in Cozumel. My DH and I used the time they were off to relax in the Sanctuary Club. We did have a problem with a group photo session where one of our party was cut out of the picture. Olena in the photo department went the extra mile to assist. First, she offered to personally take more photos that night which we took advantage of. However, it was formal night and we still wanted the original photos we had taken in our matching t-shirts. She was able to get permission to send us the originals that had all of our party in it. This was really appreciated. I have to mention the huge improvement of the Smart Elevators. We would press the handicapped button followed by the floor we wanted to go to. Each time it would direct us to an elevator that actually had room for us! So much better than the elevators on other Princess ships. Each morning of the first week we headed down to the Americana Diner for breakfast. The buffet there has less choices than the Eatery but we found it more than adequate with omelets, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, breakfast meats, pastries, fruits, cereals and more. We were always able to find several tables near each other and one by one our family found their way there (except those that like to sleep through breakfast). At lunch everyone went their own way. We usually ended up at the Americana Diner again for soup and salad or a sandwich. In advance I had booked a table for 12 for 3 of the 7 nights. We had a nice table near the back with Jorge and Marvin as our waiters. They did everything they could to make it a great experience for each of us. My picky grandkids tried new foods and liked them! The food was wonderful and we really enjoyed this time together. The other evenings we split into smaller groups with some going to specialty dining, some to the main dining room and some trying O’Malleys and Alfredos. The responses to all of these were quite positive. One evening we had a “Grandparents-Grandkids Dinner” with no parents allowed. My DH and I really enjoyed this special time with our 4 grandchildren. Evening entertainment was to each his own. My family did not like Meridian at the Princess Arena saying the entertainers were talented but the show itself was confusing. After that they stuck to comedians, illusionists, game shows and more. A few nights they tracked us down at the Cascade Bar where the bartender made us all Baily Raspberry Martinini’s at our special request as this is not on the menu. Our family surprised us with 2 special gifts; a Princess backpack with our names embroidered on it which fit nicely on the back of my husband’s scooter, and a gift card to use at Spellbound. Spellbound was so fun! The drinks were interested and both the magicians were very entertaining. We would recommend this experience. Alas, the first week ended and we had to stay goodbye to our fantastic family. My DH and I were staying aboard for another 7 days while everyone else had to get back to jobs and school. One group in our party did a Princess post-cruise city tour to help pass the time until their late afternoon flight. They said it was very organized and they would do this again if they had the time. Our 2nd week was enjoyable and relaxing. We loved the quiet and service at the Sanctuary Club and spent many hours there. We enjoyed both the lunch buffet and the menu offerings at the Club. We had breakfast at the Sanctuary Restaurant and especially enjoyed the brunch menu on sea days. For dinner we did The Catch by Rudi and Love by Britto. Both were outstanding! The other nights we usually would just eat the snacks at the Elite lounge in Cascade Bar. We liked listening to music by Asian Soul, Monster Jam and Rob Marx most evenings. We also enjoyed a quiet cocktail at the Wakeview Terrace sitting in the comfortable chairs in front of the infinity pool. Sadly 2 nights before the cruise ended I got Norovirus. This was my first time after over 35 cruises. My DH called the medical group and got meds that helped. I spent the rest of the time sleeping and recovering. A hazmat team came and sanitized the room twice. Thankfully my husband was able to sleep in the pull out bed and spend time out on the balcony. He did not get sick. I was well enough by disembarkation day and we were escorted out away from the other passengers. Despite this ending, this was a trip of a lifetime and I believe we will all remember this happy time together on the Star Princess for years to come.