Star Princess Ship Review: First Sailing, First Impressions

We cruised onboard Star Princess during her first revenue cruise from Port Everglades, Florida, earlier in November, just after her naming ceremony with Matthew and Camila McConaughey. Not only was this our first time cruising during a ship's inaugural season but it was our first time cruising with Princess Cruises, so the entire experience felt extra fresh and special.

Trip Overview

Our itinerary was a 5-night Caribbean "sampler" with ports of call in the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos. We were fortunate to be onboard as attendees of our company's annual training event, 2025 Thrive Conference. Much of our time onboard was spent in conference sessions but we still had plenty of time to explore and experience the ship.

First Impressions

We happened to board early, before 11:00 a.m., and that meant we had time to explore before many guests arrived. There were places onboard that smelled new and everywhere we went was clean, bright, and thoughtfully put together.

My first thoughts while walking around were something like...

Wow, there are a lot of pools.
Wow, there are a lot of comfy places and spaces to sit and gather.
Wow, the buffet area is large.
Wow, I love this cabin.
Wow, there are a lot of elevators.
Wow, I think I might be lost.
Wow, I love this Medallion thing.
Wow, I don't think I saw everything.
I'm so excited to be here.

Because this was our first time cruising with Princess, I don't have as much personal experience to compare with Star Princess but will say that I had a wonderful cruise and hope to sail this ship again in the future.

Cruise Highlights (for me)

Medallion - I LOVED my Medallion and the convenience this technology provides. This small, wearable coin-sized device was the thing I didn't know I needed on a cruise and now can't imagine sailing without. From keyless entry to helping me find my friends on board (complete with suggested route), it was a new level of service that we loved and appreciated. Learn more about Princess MedallionClass here.

Spellbound - This was probably the most interesting thing I've ever done while cruising. I'm still thinking about it days later. I had no idea what to expect and it was truly awesome. Part speakeasy, part magic, part extraordinary... Spellbound was an experience booked through the Princess app ($45/each plus gratuity) and was created in partnership with Hollywood's Magic Castle. The sign near Spellbound reads "With storytelling woven throughout, this venue honors the legendary illusionist Richard Valentine Pitchford - better known as "The Great Cardini" within a speakeasy bar that celebrates magic and mixology.

Our reservation included time in the speakeasy bar with traveling Magic Castle magician, and two special cocktails, along with a show featuring one of the Magic Castle magician/mentalists, Mark Gibson. My husband was selected to be part of Mark's show at one point and we're both still talking about it, trying to figure out how he did it. I loved Spellbound and would do it again in a heartbeat. Read more about Spellbound here and here.

Entertainment - I have been on numerous cruises and there are times when I will skip the evening entertainment in favor of quiet time with a book on the balcony. I'm usually too "peopled" out or just want some quiet time. Not on this ship. There were pockets of incredible entertainment at all times of day and all around the ship. Musicians, dancers, performers, aerialists and acrobats... oh, and magicians! This ship was just a ton of fun. We were also treated to several "preview" performances by the ship's on-stage talent before the conference's general sessions and was so impressed by each performer.

Main Dining Room - we had exceptional service in the Main Dining Room (Aurora, Deck 6) during this cruise. Our servers were warm, friendly, professional, and extra attentive to my needs as a gluten-free traveler. I was given gluten-free options that included my own bread basket, beef wellington (!!!), crab cakes, pastries and more desserts than I could handle. Dinner pacing was good, the food quality was exceptional, and our dining room staff made each dinner experience really great.

When It's A New Ship

Because this was the first revenue sailing for Star Princess (and there were 1,000+ travel advisors onboard for our conference), I didn't expect things to be perfect and they weren't. For example, there were a few incorrect charges on my Folio because of glitches with the system and my beverage package. What impressed me, though, was how easy it was to get this addressed and resolved. I was able to use the in-app chat feature to speak with someone in Guest Services that could remove the incorrect charges while we were chatting rather than standing in line for Guest Services.

Truly, I was so happy with how the onboard crew handled situations when things were less than perfect and could clearly tell how hard everyone was working together to figure it out. It's not an easy job to start up a new ship and it's extra challenging when you have a large group onboard. It's a true testament to the ship, the ship's officers, the onboard culture and her entire crew.

Stay Tuned For More

I'm excited to share more about our experience onboard Star Princess and will do so in future posts, including a full ship tour, review of our balcony cabin on Star Princess, and more. Until then, I'm happy to say our first time cruising with Princess Cruises was great and I would sail on this ship again.

-Nicole