We sailed Royal Caribbean’s brand-new Star of the Seas for a Showcase Sailing in August and we’re sharing everything we loved, didn’t love, and hated about this ship. From food and drinks to entertainment, design, and hidden cruise tips, this is our full, honest, and unbiased Royal Caribbean Star of the Seas review. If you’d like to watch what we had to say, you can also check out our Royal Caribbean Star of the Seas review on YouTube!
What We Loved
Royal Caribbean teased “show-stopping entertainment & mouthwatering dining” back in May when the first details about Star of the Seas were released. Well, we can say, with confidence, the brand delivered. In a big way. There’s a LOT to love about Star of the Seas. While our full review goes into more detail, here are some of the highlights around food, drinks, entertainment, and design:
- Food – from authentic Indian dishes in the Main Dining Room to El Loco Fresh tacos, AquaDome Market eats, and late-night Sorrento’s pizza
- Drinks – $6 margaritas during Happy Hour, unique bar menus, and plenty of water/juice stations
- Entertainment – jaw-dropping shows like Torque (aqua show with motorcycles!), Sol on ice, and Back to the Future: The Musical
- Design – stunning art, The Pearl, Central Park, The Hideaway infinity pool, and plenty of lounge chairs
What We Didn’t Love
While there’s a lot to love, there were also several things we didn’t love about our time on board Royal Caribbean Star of the Seas. Thankfully, this list is much smaller than our loved section, but buyer beware:
- Smoky hallways near crew areas
- Crowds in adults-only spaces on board and at Perfect Day at CocoCay
- Pricey drink packages ($120/day if purchased onboard!)
- Popular venues like Dueling Pianos were far too small
What We Hated
We always say, there are likely going to be things that don’t go perfectly on any vacation. And this was true on our Royal Caribbean Star of the Seas sailing. Here are a couple of things we really hated about our time on board:
- A smoky, packed casino
- Chaos in the Windjammer Buffet on embarkation day
- Everything booking up too quickly (reserve shows and activities before you sail!)
- Loud stateroom doors and clunky storage baskets
Final Thoughts
Star of the Seas is the newest ship in the Icon-class for Royal Caribbean. She shares many (if not almost all!) of the same features and amenities as Icon of the Seas, her older sister. We loved our time on Star of the Seas, but with only 4 days onboard we barely scratched the surface during this Showcase Sailing. This ship deserves at least a week (or better yet, a back-to-back!). While pricing is high, we’ll be keeping an eye on Royal Caribbean deals because we definitely want to sail again.
For an even deeper look at Star of the Seas, including tips, tricks and more about what we loved, didn’t love, and hated, check out our Royal Caribbean Star of the Seas Review on YouTube!