I'm not a fan of the ship exterior, but the ship interior is gorgeous. I love how you can see out into the ocean from the Royal Promenade and Central Park. The Pearl is absolutely stunning, and the destination elevators are fabulous. All the different food options are a huge increase from the oasis class. I'm not a fan of the Aqua dome over the Aqua Theater and obviously the amount of unruly kids that this ship attracts. I definitely recommend this ship if you have a family or don't mind kids, but this ship is not for me.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
I got on for the inaugural, and the ship was empty the night prior, so all rooms were ready. Due to being on a B2B, I needed to get off for about an hour and get right back on again, which was also pretty quick.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
I had the unlimited dining package for both cruises. All the food I had was great. The only letdown is that I wish the Izumi sushi window was also included in UDP.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Activities on this ship are all about families with small kids. I hope that a lot of families get to experience this ship, but for those without kids or don't want to be around kids, I would choose a different ship.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Love the Aqua theater on oasis class ships, but the Aqua dome on this class is much smaller, and therefore, I wasn't as impressed with Aqua Action as I was with Intense on Wonder of the Seas. With being on this ship for 2 weeks I was able to see the crew still doing rehearsals for the Aqua show and when you watch the show it's not even it it, so makes me feel as though they are not 100% ready for the full show experience which is a let down for the price you pay to get on this ship.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
I give this 5 stars for all of the service and staff EXCEPT for the lifeguards. They need to reinforce the rules that are set forth. Kids should not be allowed at the Hideaway, and the only way they get told to leave is if other guests make complaints to the lifeguards/bar staff.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Swim and Tonic should ALSO be adult only as it is a swim up pool bar. Unlike the inaugural, the second sailing had so many kids. It blows my mind how the parents of these kids are perfectly content with letting their small children play around on the steps and splash around in the water when adults are trying to drink cocktails and socialize with other adults. What happens if someone trips and falls over a kid playing on the steps going into the swim up pool bar? It's just a lawsuit waiting to happen, and the lifeguards don't do anything about it. I had a Sunset Corner Suite, which allowed me to see the Surfside pool area from part of my balcony. Most of the time, this area was empty due to families still being on the upper pool decks, so I feel as of now that this design isn't as effective with removing the kids from the upper decks as I had thought it would be. The destination elevator lobbies are amazing and way better than your traditional elevators.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Seems like the Sunset Corner Suite shower/tub is smaller than the Junior suite I had on the inaugural. I also feel like storage space in both rooms was lacking a little, but that might have just been because of all the luggage I had for two weeks, lol.
Ship tip
If you don't have kids or not a fan of kids, I would choose a different ship. I understand that this ship was really designed for families, but I also feel as though royal needs to do a better job with enforcing the rules they do have in place when it comes to kids in pool areas. The ship was not even at full capacity, so I can't imagine what it will be like once it is. I will say that everywhere you looked, there were officers with tablets, so I asked one of them what it is that they are doing. They are surveying all areas of the ship to see how many people are at a specific location at a specific time. They also randomly give paper slips with time stamps at the bottom of the slides, so when you get to the top and get on, they know how long it's taking. Once they gather all of this information, they will use it to make the ship more efficient and hopefully make Star of the Seas even better. I do have that cruise booked as well, but I will be canceling if they don't make some needed changes.
I agree on this review, i find this ship to be not for everyone who find it overwhelming because of its size, my preference will always be the Quantum class ships like the Odyssey, Anthem, Spectrum, Ovation and Quantum of the Seas,
Appreciate your detailed feedback. Glad you enjoyed your in spite of the children. It always surprises me when there are so many while school is in session.
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