Star Princess Impresses From Bow to Stern

I recently had the opportunity to take a three-night cruise to The Bahamas on Princess Cruises’ newest ship, Star Princess.

Princess Cruises invited me and my family to sail on the inaugural cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I walked away impressed by the ship, changes Princess made since the first ship in the class, and by the crew.

While I was on the ship, I wrote about my first impressions of Star Princess that you can read here.

Let’s take a look at the different areas of the ship and the cruise that impressed me.

Changes Princess Made

The cruise line made several changes on Star Princess from the first ship in the fleet, Sun Princess. The addition of a sports court on the top deck was much needed and is a great space for kids to play. It’s a great size and has everything from basketball to pickleball to cornhole.

One of the biggest complaints I had on Sun Princess was the lack of self-service drink stations in the Eatery (buffet). I really liked the stations they added between the Eatery and Americana Diner on Star Princess. There is tons of space and was never crowded at all. It’s perfect when you just want a quick drink of water.

Another great change Princess made was adding a non-smoking casino that is away from the main casino. Many times cruise lines add a non-smoking section that’s part of the main casino but smoke just flows right into the non-smoking side.

The non-smoking casino is on the other side of the Piazza and takes the place of where a shop is on Sun Princess.

Firefly Park

Since my wife and five year old son came with me on the cruise, we were excited about getting first hand experience of what Princess offers for kids.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect going in. While families do travel on Princess, they carry far less than the mainstream cruise lines. My son has cruised on five different cruise lines, and this was his first on Princess Cruises.

Firefly Park is the kids club for children his age on Star Princess. Since we embarked on the ship a day before the cruise for the christening ceremony, I was able to walk around the club, since no kids were in it, and see everything that the club offers.

The first thing I noticed was the size of the club, it was much bigger than the club on one of the largest cruise lines that we sailed on last year.

Besides little crafts they made (including a cruise ship), they gave him this swishy ball when we picked him up one night that he still plays even though we’re home.

To say that he loved the Firefly Park would be an understatement. He normally walks really slow anywhere he goes. The last night when we were heading to drop him off, we couldn’t keep up with him he was walking so fast.

It was by far his favorite place on the ship and I believe it’s an area most kids will enjoy.

The workers in Firefly Park were nothing short of amazing, they remembered by son’s name every time they saw him. They also said he was “really good at Mario Kart”, that’s my boy!

Another nice surprise was the kids area on Princess Cays, the cruise line’s private island that we stopped at during the cruise. It had a place for kids to play and even a small swimming pool for them.

Spellbound

Spellbound is by far my favorite space on board Star Princess. Spellbound comes from a partnership with the Magic Castle and Princess and is only found on one other cruise ship (Sun Princess).

Princess made a few changes to this space, but I’ll just talk about one of them. Afterall, somethings are best enjoyed when you experience them firsthand. They added a table with four chairs for close-up magic right when you walk in. This was much needed as the bar could get crowded, especially with a magician performing there.

Magician and mentalist Mark Gibson was on our sailing and he put on a 15 minute show in the intimate theater in Spellbound. I’ve seen him perform before and he’s one of the best I’ve seen.

During the sailing, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with the president of Magic Castle, Erika Larsen. In our short conversation, I was able to see her love and passion for magic and it’s one of the reasons why this space is so unique. This is not just a magic venue, it was created by the most exclusive magic club in the world.

If you love sleight of hand, card tricks, or just having your mind blown, Spellbound is a place that you will enjoy.

Crew

I can’t say enough good things about the crew on Star Princess. I wasn’t on the ship more than 15 minutes before one of them remembered me from a previous cruise. 

From our room steward to those who worked in specialty restaurants, they really know how to make sure you have a great cruise.

I’d also like to give a special shoutout to Farral who works at Crooners, he’s one of the best on board Star Princess.

Food

Food can be extremely subjective, we all have different tastes and preferences. Two of my favorites on Star Princess was dining at Crown Grill, the steakhouse on board, and Alfredo’s Pizzeria. They both have my favorite steak and pizza at sea.

However, I would be remiss if I did not mention Butcher’s Block by Dario. The meat there is so good and you will want to come hungry when you dine there.

Even though cruise lines, including Princess, are moving to more paid specialty dining, I thought there was still a good amount of complimentary food (included in your cruise fare) all around the ship.

My son loved going to the International Cafe each night to get a snack before bed. It’s open 24/7 and it’s nice having a spot always open where you get get a bite if you are hungry.

Also, Lido Slice on the pool deck is great for pizza, tacos, burgers and salads when you just want something casual.

One feature I wish the Princess app had was dining times. We could not find anywhere in the app that told you what was open. Thankfully, Princess left us a paper copy of Princess Patter (daily schedule) in our cabin each day. So if you’re reading this Princess, please add that to the app (it was in the old app).

Dome

This is another one of the unique features on Star Princess that you won’t find on any other class of ships in the world.

During the day, it’s a quieter spot to relax in a climate controlled environment.  At night, entertainment takes place here including the Candlelight Concert which was loved by all.

Tip: There isn’t a ton of seating here so you will want to arrive early.

The Dome is going to be extremely popular when the ship sails to Alaska next summer. You will be able to watch the glaciers without being outside in the cold.

Final Thoughts

I would sail on Star Princess again without even a second thought. Princess made some good changes that made this class of ships even better. I’ve always really liked this class, just thought they need a few tweaks, which Princess has done.

I love how the buffet is off of the Piazza instead of being right off the pool deck. The Sphere allows you to look out at the water when you are in the Piazza.

There was a great variety of entertainment on the ship that ranged from production shows in the theater to comedian Ken Boyd, who was really funny.

The Ocean Medallion sets Princess apart from every other cruise line. From being able to track where your family is on the ship at all times to your cabin door automatically unlocking as you walk up to it, I’d prefer it any day over a traditional key card.

With all of that being said, I will have more on Star Princess in the near future so stay tuned.