Star Princess is at sea as this publishes, two-thirds of the way through a 22-night repositioning from Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale that ends on October 20. Her Alaska season is over. Her Caribbean season starts on October 31. Almost everything written about this ship is about the hardware, and the hardware is the part of the decision that matters least.
Sources and facts checked: October 2, 2026 (America/New_York). Package prices, venue formats, itineraries and inclusions change. Verify with Princess or an accredited travel advisor before you pay.
The short version of the ship question, so it is out of the way: Star Princess is a refined sister to Sun Princess, not a redesign. The Sphere-class concept carries over intact — the three-deck Piazza, the glass-enclosed Dome, the Princess Arena, the Sanctuary Collection. Princess fixed a few venues after Sun Princess entered service. It did not redraw the ship.
If the layout, the crowd flow or the compact standard cabins were your objection to Sun Princess, they are still your objection to Star Princess. That is the whole verdict, and it takes a paragraph.
What takes longer is the part with dates attached.
1 · The price rises on October 13
Leading with this because it is the only thing here that has a deadline and a dollar figure. Princess is raising Plus and Premier by $5 per person, per day, for sailings departing on or after October 13, 2026.
Star and Sun Princess sit in a premium tier above the rest of the fleet, which is the part most coverage skips:
| Package | Bought pre-cruise | Bought onboard |
|---|---|---|
| Princess Plus Star & Sun | $75 per person, per day | $80 per person, per day |
| Princess Premier Star & Sun | $110 per person, per day | $115 per person, per day |
| Princess Plus rest of the fleet | $70 per person, per day | $75 per person, per day |
| Princess Premier rest of the fleet | $105 per person, per day | $110 per person, per day |
Two things follow from that table. The first is that buying onboard costs $5 a day more than buying before you sail, on top of the increase — so on a seven-night Caribbean sailing for two, the difference between pre-booking Plus and buying it at the bar is about $70 before you have ordered anything.
The second is that the Star and Sun premium is real. Plus on Star is $75 against $70 on an Emerald or a Royal. Over a ten-night voyage for two that is $100 of difference you did not choose by picking a package — you chose it by picking the ship.
The newest ship in the fleet charges a premium for the same package. That is a ship decision, not a package decision.
The Wi-Fi change is the quiet one. From October 13 the standalone four-device plan is discontinued and survives only as a Princess Premier inclusion. A two-device option is being introduced and one-device rates are adjusting. If you are a family or a couple who both work at sea and you were buying four devices standalone, that route closes — price Premier against two separate plans rather than assuming the old arrangement still exists.
2 · Celebration Key on November 1 — and the package that stops at the gangway
Star Princess makes Princess Cruises' first-ever call at Celebration Key on November 1, 2026. Regal Princess follows on November 9, and Caribbean, Enchanted, Sky and Sun Princess join across the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons. If you are booked on that first Caribbean sailing out of Fort Lauderdale on October 31, you are on the inaugural call.
Here is the part worth the price of the article. Celebration Key is Carnival Corporation's development on Grand Bahama — a sister-brand island rather than a Princess one, and it is reportedly being run as a separate revenue zone.
Your Plus or Premier drink package reportedly does not work ashore at Celebration Key. Coverage of the arrangement says beverage packages are not honored on the island and every drink, from bottled water to a cocktail, is charged individually to your onboard account. Guests reportedly receive a complimentary Island Eats credit, which covers food, not drinks. This differs from Princess Cays and Half Moon Cay, where packages are recognized.
This is single-source reporting rather than a Princess statement, so confirm it before you sail — but confirm it rather than assuming. If you bought Plus largely for the drinks and your itinerary includes a full day at Celebration Key, that is one of your seven days where the package earns nothing.
3 · The single stateroom, which almost nobody writes about
Princess lists a dedicated single stateroom category on exactly two ships in the fleet: Star Princess and Sun Princess. Princess describes it as "perfectly sized for solo travelers… all the comforts of an interior stateroom with a layout tailored for one."
There are four of them, interior, on Deck 10. Four.
For a solo traveler this is the single most useful fact about Star Princess, and it is the one the brochure comparison never surfaces. It is not a better pool deck or a refined pub — it is the only structural reason to choose this ship over most of the Princess fleet if you are traveling alone. It is also the reason to book early, because four cabins across a season is nothing.
Price it against the alternative honestly. A single stateroom is a cabin built for one, so you are not paying to occupy a double. A promotional sailing with a reduced supplement on a standard interior can still win on total cost, particularly if the single cabins are gone. Expect low to no single supplement on promotional sailings rather than a blanket waiver — and remember that a supplement discount applies to the fare, not to taxes, gratuities, flights or insurance.
4 · Sun versus Star, without the hedging
Most comparisons of these two ships are written in the conditional because the writer has not checked. Princess has documented the differences, so here they are flat.
| Feature | Sun Princess | Star Princess | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sphere-class design | First of the class | Second of the class | The layout and the experience are closely related. Advice written about one mostly transfers. |
| O’Malley’s Irish Pub | Original footprint | Expanded, about 32 more seats — 96 total | A real fix to a predictable pinch point, and nothing more than that. |
| Casino | Standard arrangement | Expanded non-smoking areas | Princess announced this in October 2024 and lists it on the fact sheet. Confirm the layout on your sailing. |
| Spellbound by Magic Castle | Dining-and-magic format | New Cardini theme — $45, two signature cocktails, show | No dinner service before showtime. That is the actual Sun-to-Star change, and it is a downgrade if you booked it as a meal. |
| Single staterooms | Four, interior | Four, interior, Deck 10 | The only two ships in the Princess fleet with a dedicated solo category. |
| Deployment | Mediterranean and Caribbean | Alaska, Pacific Coastal, Panama Canal, now Caribbean | In practice this is the difference that decides it. |
The Spellbound change deserves more attention than it gets. It is usually described as a lower-priced reworking, which sounds like good news. Princess's own August 2025 release is more specific: $45 per guest, two signature cocktails and the show, in a new Cardini-themed space with the Inner Circle, the Cardini Bar, Backstage and the Peacock Theater — and no dinner service before showtime. If you sailed Sun Princess and booked Spellbound as a dinner-and-magic evening, Star Princess does not offer that. The price went down because the meal came out.
5 · What the brochure oversells
The scale is genuine: 177,800 gross tons, 4,300 guests, 2,157 staterooms including 80 suites and 123 mini-suites, across 21 decks with 1,600 crew. Those numbers explain the range of venues. They also explain the queues.
The Piazza is a real architectural achievement and a circulation hub at the same time. When entertainment, dining reservations and bar traffic overlap, the ship produces a single concentrated pulse of people through the space you most wanted to enjoy. Spectacular rooms and busy routes between them are not a contradiction; they are the same design decision seen from two angles.
On cabins: interiors run about 136 to 145 square feet. A very large ship does not mean a large standard cabin, and the gap between the public spaces and the standard interior is wider on Sphere-class than the photography suggests. Study the deck plan and check proximity to the Piazza, the theater, the casino, elevators, the pool deck and late-night venues. A balcony overlooking a scenic public area photographs well and sleeps badly.
6 · The Sanctuary Collection is a product, not a policy
The Sanctuary Collection is a private adults-only enclave with its own restaurant, pool and upgraded amenities, and it delivers what it describes. The qualification is simply that it is an accommodation tier you buy into — Sanctuary balconies, mini-suites and suites, with access to the Sanctuary Restaurant and Sanctuary Club.
Booking a standard balcony does not grant access. If what you want is a child-free voyage, Star Princess is not that ship; she is a multigenerational ship with a paid quiet zone inside her. Both of those can be the right answer — they are just different answers, and the brochure language blurs them.
7 · Accessibility and multigenerational planning, with the numbers
Princess publishes figures that most coverage of this ship leaves out, and they are the ones that actually help you plan:
- 51 accessible staterooms. Across 2,157 cabins and 4,300 guests, that is the number to plan around — book early and book specifically.
- 100 connecting staterooms. This is the multigenerational number. It is what makes a three-generation booking work without putting a child on a different deck.
- 80 suites and 123 mini-suites, if a larger footprint matters more to you than a balcony.
A large ship can offer accessible cabins and step-free public routes and still mean long distances, crowded elevator lobbies and difficult access to busy events. The size works against you as often as for you. Ask Princess to confirm in writing the exact cabin layout, the bathroom configuration, the route to the venues you actually intend to use, and any tender-port limitations on your specific itinerary — the Caribbean season includes calls where tendering is the norm.
8 · Where she goes next, which is the real decision
Her first year was a genuinely useful test — a Panama Canal transit in April, an inaugural Alaska season from Seattle across the summer, then Pacific Coastal sailings including the call at Canada Place that made her the largest ship ever to visit Vancouver by gross tonnage. Four operating contexts in twelve months is enough to judge the concept. That is what the anniversary is worth: evidence, not an occasion.
What is bookable now:
- Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale, late October 2026 through March 2027. Four- to fourteen-night itineraries from Port Everglades, starting October 31.
- Mexican Riviera from April 19, 2027, seven-day round trips.
- Alaska, May to September 2027 — seven-day Inside Passage round trips from Seattle every Sunday, her second Alaska season and the first Sphere-class ship to run one.
- Port Canaveral from fall 2027 for the Caribbean.
That 2027 schedule is the bookable window and it is where the ship's newness is actually worth something, because she will be the newest hardware Princess can put in front of you in either region.
One line on the Vancouver record, because it keeps being reported as a benefit: being the biggest ship ever to call at a port is a headline, not an upgrade. A bigger ship at an established port means a bigger single pulse of passengers ashore at the same time as you.
9 · What to actually do
- If you are sailing on or after October 13 and want a package, price it now and buy pre-cruise rather than onboard. The gap is $5 per person per day in each direction, and both apply.
- Ask Princess whether your drink package works ashore at Celebration Key if your itinerary calls there. Get the answer in writing, and price Plus differently if the answer is no.
- Solo travelers: check the four Deck 10 single staterooms first, then price a reduced-supplement standard interior against them. Book whichever wins, early.
- Do not book Spellbound expecting dinner. It is a $45 show with two cocktails now.
- Check the deck plan against the Piazza, theater, casino and lifts before you accept a cabin assignment, not after.
- Accessible or multigenerational groups: book against the 51 and the 100, and get the cabin layout and the route confirmed in writing.
- Choose the ship for the 2027 itinerary, not for the anniversary or the tonnage.
10 · A refined sister, or a reason to wait?
Princess has the better argument than the cynical reading allows. A sister ship is not a copy: the line took feedback from Sun Princess and fixed the pub, the casino and the entertainment format within a single build cycle, which is faster than most lines manage. Advice written about one ship genuinely should not transfer wholesale to the other.
The counter-argument is about what those fixes reach. More pub seats and expanded non-smoking areas are single-venue repairs. Nobody who disliked Sphere-class disliked it because O'Malley's was full. They disliked the circulation, the concentration of people in the Piazza, and the gap between a dramatic public realm and a 140-square-foot interior cabin. None of that moved.
The sharpest version is about where the money went. In the same season the ship gets a premium package tier above the rest of the fleet, the drink package reportedly stops working on one of its marquee Caribbean port days, and the entertainment that used to include dinner now does not. Each is defensible alone. Together they describe a newer ship that costs more per day and includes slightly less than the one it refines.
That is not a reason to avoid her. It is a reason to book her for the itinerary, price the package deliberately, and stop paying for the word newest.
Verify before you pay
- Confirm the ship, sailing date and itinerary directly with Princess.
- Ask whether your beverage package is honored at every port the itinerary calls at, Celebration Key included.
- Confirm the package price, the onboard price and the Wi-Fi terms for your specific departure date.
- Request the current deck plan and check the cabin's neighbors above, below and alongside.
- Ask whether the single stateroom category has availability before pricing a supplement.
- Confirm the accessible stateroom layout, bathroom configuration and routes in writing.
- Verify the Spellbound format and price, and whether any dining is included.
- Confirm what the Sanctuary Collection includes for your exact cabin category.
Common questions
Is Star Princess substantially different from Sun Princess?
No. She is a refined sister, not a new class. The differences are a handful of venues and the deployment. If the Sphere-class layout, crowd flow or compact standard cabins were your objection to Sun Princess, none of those fundamentals changed.
Does my Princess Plus or Premier drink package work at Celebration Key?
Reportedly not. Coverage of the arrangement says beverage packages are not honored ashore at Celebration Key and drinks are charged individually to your onboard account, with a complimentary Island Eats food credit as the offset. This differs from Princess Cays and Half Moon Cay, where packages are recognized. Confirm it with Princess before you sail, because it changes what a package is worth on a Caribbean itinerary that calls there.
Does Star Princess have solo cabins?
Yes — four interior single staterooms on Deck 10. Princess lists a dedicated single stateroom category on exactly two ships, Star and Sun, so this is the one respect in which Star is genuinely different from most of the fleet for a solo traveler. There are only four, and they sell out.
Is the single stateroom cheaper than paying a supplement?
Usually, which is the point of it — you are buying a cabin built for one rather than paying to occupy a double. Princess promotions can also reduce the supplement on standard cabins, so price both. Expect low to no single supplement on promotional sailings rather than an absolute waiver, and check what the promotion actually discounts.
Is Star Princess adults-only?
No. She is a multigenerational ship. The Sanctuary Collection is a premium accommodation tier with its own restaurant, pool and retreat — a paid product, not a ship-wide policy.
Is the casino smoke-free?
Princess describes expanded non-smoking areas, not a wholly smoke-free casino. Verify the configuration on your sailing.
What is the best reason to choose Star over Sun?
The itinerary, almost always. From late October 2026 Star is a Caribbean ship from Fort Lauderdale, then Mexican Riviera from April 2027 and Alaska from Seattle through summer 2027. Choose her for where she goes, not because she is newer.
Sources
- Princess Cruises — Star Princess fact sheet (official)
- Princess Cruises — Interior staterooms, including the single stateroom category
- Princess Cruises — Star Princess to debut evolved Spellbound by Magic Castle
- Princess Cruises — Expanded non-smoking casino areas on Star Princess
- Princess Cruises — 2027 Alaska season with the return of Star Princess
- Princess Cruises — Caribbean and Panama Canal 2027-28, including Celebration Key
- Cruise Critic — Princess raises Plus and Premier prices
- Cruise Mummy — Princess reveals higher package rates and Wi-Fi changes
- TheTravel — Princess drink packages at Celebration Key
- CruiseMapper — Star Princess current position and itineraries
Photographs. Caribbean shoreline from the air — Jess Loiterton, Pexels · A cruise ship lounge under a glass roof — Kenny Foo, Pexels · Resort and beach in the Bahamas — Mikhail Nilov, Pexels Cropped and resized for the web; not otherwise altered. Neither the photographers nor the licensors endorse this article. The photographs are illustrative and do not depict Star Princess or any Princess Cruises venue.
This article is general information, not medical, accessibility, legal or financial advice. OTGG is an independent travel advisor; this article contains no affiliate links. Cruise line policies, package rates, venue configurations, inclusions and itineraries change without notice. Verify current details with Princess Cruises or an accredited travel advisor before paying, and obtain written confirmation of any accessibility representation.
