Dave Giovacchini sailed Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas on its pre-inaugural sailing from Port Canaveral — the first sailing from that port on the ship. Firsthand review covering the neighborhoods, the adults pool, the jazz bar, specialty dining, suites, and whether the premium price is worth it.
I Was on Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas Before Anyone Else — Here's What It's Actually Like
I was aboard Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas for its very first sailing out of Port Canaveral — before the general public ever set foot on it. Not a media preview in a conference room. An actual sailing, three nights, with a ship full of travel industry insiders: cruise line managers, travel agents, cruise company owners, YouTubers, and influencers. The energy was unlike anything I've experienced on a ship.
I've sailed on over 50 cruises. I've been on MSC Seascape's inaugural Texas sailing, Carnival Firenze, Carnival Radiance. I attended Star of the Seas' pre-inaugural as an industry observer. I got access to every suite category on the ship while photographers were still setting up their shots.
Here's what Star of the Seas is actually like — the size, the neighborhoods, the food, the adults pool, and whether it's worth the premium price.
Port Canaveral: The Right Port for This Ship
Star of the Seas sails from Port Canaveral, just outside Orlando. If you're flying in, Orlando International is your airport — about 45 minutes to the port. If you're driving, it's one of the most accessible major cruise ports on the East Coast with easy highway access and a well-organized terminal for a ship this size.
For a ship carrying over 7,000 passengers, embarkation was remarkably smooth. Royal Caribbean has clearly invested in the terminal infrastructure to match the scale of what they're putting on the water.
The First Thing You See: The Pearl
Walk aboard Star of the Seas and the first thing that hits you is the Royal Promenade — specifically the Pearl, Royal Caribbean's dramatic centerpiece installation that anchors the middle of the ship.
The overall impression is a high-end shopping mall, and I mean that as a compliment. Multiple levels of open space, bars lining the promenade on both sides, restaurants visible from the walkways above. It's immediately social. The layout practically invites you to wander, grab a drink, and see what's around the next corner.
What I loved about it specifically: the bar-hopping potential. Every bar in the promenade area is accessible within a two-minute walk of every other one. For a ship this size, the social core feels surprisingly intimate and connected.
The Size Question — And Why People Have It Wrong
Star of the Seas is one of the largest cruise ships ever built. Most people hear that and immediately picture massive crowds, long lines, and a sense of being lost in a floating city.
The reality is the opposite of what you'd expect.
Royal Caribbean designed Star of the Seas around a neighborhood concept — distinct areas of the ship that each have their own atmosphere, their own dining, their own entertainment. You don't experience the whole ship at once. You move from neighborhood to neighborhood, and each one feels its own size.
Three nights on this ship wasn't enough to see everything. I mean that literally — I'd estimate you need two separate seven-night sailings to fully experience what Star of the Seas has to offer. That's not a complaint. That's a feature.
The Adults Pool: Book It Now
The adults-only pool on the rear of the ship is the single experience I keep coming back to when I think about Star of the Seas.
Picture a Vegas rooftop pool — DJ, energy, drinks flowing — except instead of a city skyline behind you, you have open ocean. The wake of the ship stretching out behind you. The horizon in every direction.
It was crowded when I was there, and it deserved to be. This is the kind of pool setup that makes you want to plant yourself for the entire day and not move. If you're on Star of the Seas and you skip this, you made a mistake.
The main pool area is a completely different energy — massive, family-focused, a boardwalk section with activities and a water area designed specifically for kids. The waterslides are genuinely impressive. This isn't a cruise ship waterslide as an afterthought. These are rides.
The Food: Better Than Any Buffet Has a Right to Be
The buffet on Star of the Seas stopped me in my tracks. I've eaten at a lot of cruise buffets. This one had steak. Lobster. Vegan and vegetarian options that actually looked like someone put thought into them. The variety and quality at the buffet level was genuinely surprising — the kind of thing that makes you reconsider how you've been spending your meal credits on other ships.
The specialty dining is in another category entirely. I got to sample across multiple restaurants during the pre-inaugural and every one of them delivered. The Hooked seafood restaurant was a highlight — I had the chance to speak with Royal Caribbean leadership there, and the excitement in that room about what they've built was real and infectious.
But the moment I keep coming back to is the jazz bar. The atmosphere, the music, the craft cocktails — I had an old fashioned there that was genuinely one of the best I've had anywhere. The house cocktail at the time was something ginger-based — ginger snaps — and they were exceptional. If you sail Star of the Seas, find the jazz bar on day one and come back every night.
There's also a Starbucks on board. Small thing, but for coffee drinkers it matters more than you'd think on a long sailing.
The Suites: What I Saw That Nobody Else Did
During the pre-inaugural I had access to every suite category on the ship while they were still being photographed and prepared. Sky Suites, Owner's Suites, Ultimate Family Townhouses — the full range.
The suite program on Star of the Seas is not a minor upgrade from a standard balcony. It's a categorically different vacation. The space, the private sun deck access, the dedicated concierge service, the reserved dining — if you're considering whether a suite is worth it on this ship specifically, the answer is yes more than on almost any other ship I've seen.
The Honest Cost Picture
Star of the Seas commands a premium price — and it earns it. But premium is relative, and the all-in math matters.
A 7-night Caribbean sailing on Star of the Seas will run you more than a comparable week on Carnival or Norwegian. When you add a drink package, Wi-Fi, and gratuities, you're typically looking at $2,500–$3,500+ per person all-in depending on cabin category and sailing date.
The question isn't whether it's expensive. It's whether the experience justifies the gap. Having sailed on MSC Seascape, Carnival ships, and now Star of the Seas — I think it does, at least once. This ship does things no other ship does, at a scale no other ship matches, while somehow feeling less crowded than ships half its size.
Run your specific sailing numbers at travelmutiny.com before you book — plug in your dates and cabin type and you'll see the real all-in cost including all the add-ons, so you can make the comparison honestly.
Star of the Seas vs. Icon of the Seas
The question everyone asks: if you've been on Icon, do you need Star?
My read: they're sister ships with meaningful differences in specific venues and neighborhoods. If Icon was your first Royal Caribbean mega-ship experience and you loved it, Star offers enough new experiences to justify a return. If you haven't been on either — start with Star. It's the newer ship and reflects everything Royal Caribbean learned from Icon's launch.
Who Is Star of the Seas For?
Book it if:
- You want the best Royal Caribbean has ever built
- Families with kids — the waterslides, the boardwalk, the kids areas are exceptional
- Anyone who wants a Vegas pool experience at sea
- Cruisers who've done the standard ships and are ready for something genuinely different
- First-timers with budget who want to do it right once
Know before you go:
- Seven nights is the minimum. Three nights showed me enough to know I hadn't seen enough
- The size works in your favor — lean into the neighborhood concept
- Book specialty dining before you board — it will sell out
- Find the jazz bar on day one
Star of the Seas is the best ship I've sailed on. Full stop.
Dave Giovacchini is the founder of Travel Mutiny and sailed Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas during its pre-inaugural sailing from Port Canaveral — the first sailing from that port on the ship. He has also sailed MSC Seascape's inaugural Galveston season, Carnival Firenze, and Carnival Radiance. Travel Mutiny is a free tool that shows you the real all-in cost of any cruise before you book.