Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Star of the Seas

What stood out to us most was how the ship never felt crowded. Star of the Seas is a massive ship—with 2,805 staterooms, the ship holds nearly 10,000 people (counting crew and guests together) when at full capacity. Yet, we never experienced long lines, and most things on the ship (e.g., guest services, mini golf, quick-service restaurants) had no wait at all outside of peak times. It was easy to find secluded spots on the ship. Our favorite was the top deck at sunset, since most people leave in time for the early dinner seating. The Aquadome (observation deck) area at the front of the ship is also lovely in the evening—nearly empty, but with beautiful lighting, inviting seating areas, and creative cocktails.

One of the bars in the AquaDome

Staterooms

There is not necessarily a “best stateroom” on any one cruise ship; it’s all about personal preference (which is part of why it’s nice to have a travel advisor walk you through the selection process). Since we know that we don’t get seasick, we weren’t concerned about location within the ship, so we decided to go with a guarantee (randomly assigned) category. We were planning on an interior stateroom anyhow—we love the quiet and complete darkness, and get our best sleep on cruise ships—so obstructed versus non-obstructed view was a non-issue. We ended up getting a larger stateroom (spacious interior) at what was probably the most affordable price of any paying customer on the cruise! Our room was all the way forward and felt the swaying of the ship more than in past cruises when our room has been located farther back, but overall it’s minor unless you are prone to motion sickness. (We actually find it relaxing to be rocked to sleep by the movement of the ship!)

Spacious interior stateroom

Star of the Seas does have some unique room types for five or more passengers traveling together (such as family suites and townhouse staterooms), but it’s not like a hotel where you’ll save money by putting more people in the same room. The per person price for these special room types is always higher than the per person price for a regular double or quad stateroom, so it’s best to ask your advisor about connecting or adjacent rooms for your family unless you specifically are willing to pay a premium to experience one of the special rooms.

This ship also has “infinite balcony” rooms—the concept is that your whole room becomes the patio/porch, letting you have more space in your stateroom since you don’t have that sliding glass door closing off the balcony. The downside is that it can take quite awhile for the air conditioning to catch up once you close the window, leading some guests not to want to make use of the infinite balcony’s defining feature—but again, this room type can be a wonderful option as long as you know what you’re getting into.

Food & drinks

Although the cruise line has been emphasizing specialty restaurants in recent years, we don’t really see a need to partake in them. The food in the Main Dining Room is so good! You get several different options for dinner each evening, often with fun theme nights, and the food is always excellent. The quick-service restaurants are also great—we especially enjoyed AquaDome Market, a food hall where you can get empanadas, Thai, falafel, barbecue, or crepes. And don’t miss going to the Windjammer (the main buffet) for lunch on boarding day—it’s a seafood smorgasbord with lobster, crab legs, ceviche, calamari, and more.

Scallops and calamari at the Windjammer buffet lunch on embarkation day

Although we did a set seating for dinner on this cruise, we have done My Time dining in the past, meaning you can eat whenever you want and don’t have to go at the same time every day of your cruise. This worked well for us and we never had to wait, but I don’t think it would be a good idea for larger groups that want to dine together. One interesting feature Royal Caribbean offers is My Family Time dining, in which kids can eat together with their parents but the kids’ club staff will come and pick them up after 45 minutes so the kids can have some fun and games while the parents enjoy the rest of their dinner.

We ate in the Main Dining Room for all of our dinners except one.

As far as drinks go, we don’t usually get the beverage package on Royal Caribbean. We just pay as we go for beer, wine, and cocktails. (They have some really special ones on this ship—try the toasted marshmallow old fashioned in the Schooner Bar, or creative cocktails incorporating coffee and tea, such as an espresso martini and a chai old fashioned, at Rye & Bean in the AquaDome.) We also enjoyed the Desserted milkshake shop and didn’t mind paying extra for the extravagant toppings and mix-ins. (The options also include boozy shakes.)

Coffee, tea, and juices are available free of charge in all the dining venues, and filtered water stations all over the ship mean you really don’t need bottled water. Refreshments (water, juice, coffee, and hot water for tea—plus a full menu of sweet and savory pastries) are available 24 hours at the Pearl Café, a venue located at the center of the ship with cozy armchairs and floor-to-ceiling windows that offer sweeping ocean views.

El Loco Fresh Mexican is a quick-service eatery that is included in your cruise fare.

Ship activities & amenities

The main shows (a Broadway at Sea production of Back to the Future, an ice skating show called Sol, and a high-dive water acrobatics show in the AquaDome pool theater called Torque) need to be reserved in advance. Reservations typically open in the cruise line’s app 30 days before your sailing date, and they fill up fast. At least for our sailing, they were not optional; there were long lines of people being turned away at the beginning of the shows. The most limited was the AquaDome show, but for this one you can stand in the back and watch if you didn’t get seats. Note that Royal Caribbean does have an onboard VIP amenities program called the Key that gets you access to a dedicated seating section at all of the shows, along with other perks.

Beyond those scheduled shows, this ship had more entertainment than any one person could have time to appreciate. On any given evening, there were multiple different styles of live music (piano, strings, guitar, and a Journey tribute band my traveling companions especially loved) as well as DJs playing various styles of music at venues around the ship. While I do see the appeal of small-ship cruising, the larger ships win when it comes to variety, and the entertainment on this cruise was top tier.

If you’re looking to stay active during your cruise, the ship has a large and well-equipped gym as well as the typical jogging track. I purchased the full-cruise pass for fitness classes and enjoyed offerings such as Pilates and boot camp; there are also options that are included for all guests, such as water aerobics, dance fitness, and morning stretching on the pool deck. The ship has six thrill-inducing waterslides, and for anyone looking for even more adrenaline, there’s the Crown’s Edge, a zipline-style attraction in which you walk on a platform out beyond the edge of the ship and then the platform drops out from under your feet—leaving you to free fall for a few moments until your harness catches you and you ride over the water back inside the ship. There’s also a rock climbing wall and mini golf. (Check the app for opportunities to play glow-in-the-dark mini golf after sunset!)

The fitness studio with classes and stretching/mobility equipment

If you’ve cruised on Oasis-class ships, the ship layout and many of the features will be familiar, including the Central Park neighborhood (spanning one of the ship’s internal courtyards) and several of the specialty restaurants. The Surfside neighborhood has replaced the Boardwalk in the open-ended internal courtyard at the stern of the ship; the family-friendly neighborhood features a carousel, an arcade, and a splash park. At the bow, the adults-only Solarium area that might be familiar from Oasis-class ships has been replaced on this ship with the AquaDome, which has the pool theater, some bars and restaurants, and panoramic windows for viewing what’s ahead (this is a great spot to watch as you’re approaching the next port). The Hideaway adults-only pool area is new on Star and the other Icon-class ships. Royal Caribbean is known for being family-friendly—and in particular for having lots to do for teens as well as younger children—but we also felt there was plenty to do for adults traveling without children.

The waterslides are not for the faint of heart.

Routes

Star of the Seas is currently based in Port Canaveral and Icon of the Seas is based in Miami, with the two ships alternating weeks of Eastern Caribbean and Western Caribbean sailings. In August 2027, Icon is scheduled to relocate to Galveston and offer Western Caribbean sailings from that port, while Star continues her alternating Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings from Port Canaveral.

The newest Icon-class ship, Legend of the Seas, begins offering Mediterranean sailings with an initial embarkation July 4, 2026, from Rome (Civitavecchia). Starting in November 2026, the ship will be based in Fort Lauderdale and will be operating Western and Southern Caribbean routes before returning to the Mediterranean for summer 2027.

Lastly, Royal Caribbean has just announced a fourth Icon-class ship, Hero of the Seas, and has started taking reservations for sailings to the Caribbean in August 2027, operating from Miami in the spot vacated by Icon. If you want to experience an-Icon class ship, the new additions to the fleet mean you can do this in a wider variety of destinations and with more options for the port of origin.

Star tied up next to Independence during the port stop at CocoCay private island

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