Princess Cruises recaptured the attention of premium cruise clients with its stunning Sun Princess last year, and its just-launched Star Princess sister ship continues to refine the original design.
“I think it’s a beautiful platform; I think it works great for Princess,” said Gus Antorcha, president of Princess. “This [ship] allows agents to really sell into the premium space.”
A Deluxe Balcony stateroom onboard Star Princess
Credit: 2025 Jason Leppert
A True Premium Product
Common to Star and Sun are the very amenities that make the ship class a true premium product. By retooling balcony staterooms (to lose the walk-in closets found on previous ships), the mid-level accommodations now have space for significantly improved bathrooms and showers. Other improved features include USB-A and USB-C charging outlets at both nightstands flanking a plush Princess Luxury Bed (a hallmark of the line), as well as a full-size sofa in the room.
Also raising the bar for the brand is its stellar lineup of entertainment — from The Piazza’s engaging live aerialists and vibrant LED panels to Spellbound by the Magic Castle, open to all guests onboard. Activations extend to The Dome, including candlelight concerts and a sand artist projecting incredible granular drawings overhead in a unique display that’s not to be missed.
The Princess Arena is the ship’s main in-the-round theater, hosting elevated productions. On the ship’s maiden voyage, guests were treated to performances of “Meridian” and “Illuminate: A Spectacle of Joy.” I commend Princess for taking chances on a narrative production show — not typically attempted outside of Disney Cruise Line — with “Meridian” serving as a pirate-tinged “Romeo and Juliet”-style musical. Also fun are the acrobatics and pantomime of “Illuminate,” especially with accompanying Daft Punk tunes during a comedic laser sequence.
In The Dome, sand art is displayed overhead.
Credit: 2025 Jason LeppertMagic Castle at Sea
The real gem on Star is the slightly revised Spellbound venue, updated from its already-outstanding iteration on Sun, and now featuring even more sleight-of-hand magic than before.
By dropping a superfluous dinner component to permit more passengers to enter the venue nightly, the extra cost for the experience — which includes two value-added cocktails — is quite nominal for its astonishing magic. Intimate shows of various scale are held in its dedicated 40-seat theater, at the bar and behind a bonus curtained corner in the lounge.
The main event for our group was a marvelous mentalist in the Peacock Theater, who guessed the minutest of audience details, down to accurately re-creating a drawing of a house one guest had secretly sketched. And the Inner Circle lounge staged close-up magic that involved my own Ocean Medallion (Princess’ digital identity discs) finding its way to the core of multiple nested containers.
Spellbound, a venue onboard Princess, features sleight-of-hand magic, music and more.
Credit: 2025 Jason LeppertBeyond the illusions themselves, Spellbound is a mesmerizing multi-room space filled to the brim with thematic props and decorations. The ghostly bar and lounge is also home to Iris, a disembodied drunken specter who plays requests at the piano and vocalizes through a classic phonograph.
The space’s cocktails are similarly delightful, such as “The Spirited Piano,” featuring Absolut Vanilla vodka, Fruit Loops-infused milk, lemon and egg white.
In short, Magic Castle’s incomparable onboard space is reason alone for clients to book a sailing on Star Princess, though it’s just the start.
Refinements Since Sun
Following some growing pains with the first ship in the series — such as the removal of Sun’s never-opened Park 19 attractions — Star features a simplified but satisfactory activity zone with a sports court, a jogging track and a splash pad. Similarly, dining venues on the Sphere class — named for its bulbous atrium and The Dome, a partial observation lounge that serves as an enclosed pool deck — have been reshuffled across both vessels to improved effect.
Standout Dining Options
The primary triple-decker dining room is now split into two main restaurants, topped by The Sanctuary Restaurant for guests staying in Star’s upscale ship-within-a-ship Sanctuary Collection accommodations. This now appropriately displaces the casual Americana Diner to the The Eatery buffet, while specialty restaurants The Butcher’s Block by Dario and The Catch by Rudi each now have their own dedicated — and much deserving — pockets of the ship.
The first venue, from master butcher Dario Cecchini, serves a veritable parade of the tastiest morsels of meat to gourmand carnivores, while the latter showcases famed cruise chef Rudi Sodamin’s seafood skills.
For more fine fare from Sodamin, Love by Britto is another boutique dining room positioned high above the stern for delicate, romantic meals created in partnership with artist Romero Britto for an imaginative prix-fixe experience (though I preferred The Catch for its bolder flavor profiles).
Princess loyalists need not worry, however, because the line’s signature Crown Grill steakhouse and Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria are still along for the ride, as are the always-exceptional Alfredo’s Pizzeria and O’Malley’s Irish Pub.
Not to be forgotten are bonus Umai Teppanyaki and Makoto Ocean for outstanding sushi that is some of the best I’ve ever tasted at sea.
Boutique dining option Love by Britto crafts meals in partnership with artist Romero Britto.
Credit: 2025 Jason LeppertCherries on Top
For those clients seeking even more pampering, the Sanctuary Collection of staterooms and suites provides its guests with exclusive access not only to the Sanctuary Restaurant, but also the Sanctuary Club. Having sampled the private pool deck on Star, I can attest to its sublime nature as a quiet retreat, away from the hustle and bustle of the main pools, rounded out by its own self-service spread of light bites.
And once again, the Lotus Spa’s thermal suite is an additional paid perk for aching bodies looking to rejuvenate via its soothing therapy pool, steam and salt rooms, dry sauna, heated tile loungers and experience showers in between massages and other treatments.
Heading West
Best of all for those living in the western U.S. is the ship’s target destination of Alaska, after repositioning along the coast of California in May 2026.
Currently, Star is the last ship slated for the Sphere series with no further ships on order, though Antorcha has not ruled out the possibility of a future addition.
“I will certainly make the case that I’d love more of this class of vessel,” he said.
