I just cruised on Royal Caribbean’s newest and biggest ship, but I booked the cheapest and tiniest cabin onboard.
Star of the Seas is the latest ship in Royal Caribbean’s fleet, and I couldn’t wait to get onboard myself to experience the best that the cruise line has to offer. With sky-high prices, however, I chose to book the most basic cabin available.
I sailed in an interior cabin for my 4-night cruise to The Bahamas. This meant my cabin had no windows or natural light, and it was exceptionally compact.
Nonetheless, I was willing to sail in the cheapest room if it meant I could sail on a ship as exciting as Star of the Seas. And while my cabin wasn’t perfect, it offered everything I needed for my time onboard.
Let’s take a look inside my interior cabin on Star of the Seas.
My interior cabin cost $2,210 for two adults, or $552 per night on my 4-night cruise
Star of the Seas is shiny and new, and prices certainly reflect that.
For my 4-night cruise, I reserved an interior guarantee cabin for $2,210 total. The guarantee rate meant I could not choose my cabin location within the ship, and it would be assigned to me at a later date.
Related: 4 signs an inside cruise cabin is what you need
The price included my cruise fare, taxes, port fees, and gratuities for two adults.
At $552 per night (or $276 per person, per night), it was far from the cheapest cruise offered by Royal Caribbean. Yet despite the high price, I was excited to sail on the newest and biggest cruise ship in the world.
A 4-night cruise is not a typical length for sailings on Star of the Seas. Although the ship offered a few short sailings immediately following her launch, she currently sails 7-night cruises.
So, if you’re booking a 7-night cruise on the vessel, you should expect to spend around $4,000 or more for an interior cabin.
At 156 square feet, the cabin was small, but it still had modern features
I booked the smallest, most basic cabin on Star of the Seas, so I wasn’t expecting anything close to luxurious. At just over 150 square feet, my cabin was anything but spacious, but it still provided all the essentials.
The cabin featured a bed, a vanity, a small armchair, a wardrobe, and a private bathroom.
The majority of the room was taken up by the bed. In general, interior cabins are meant for sleeping, showering, and changing. With so much to do elsewhere onboard, most guests staying in these basic rooms will spend little time in their cabin.
There were nightstands on each side of the bed, but a USB charging port was only available on one side.
Related: 30 cruise cabin hacks that cruisers love
The cabin’s TV was on the wall near the foot of the bed, along with four small shelves. These shelves are tiny, but they’re ideal for storing items like sunscreen, sunglasses, and other pocket-sized items.
A USB charging port is also located on one of the shelves.
In the “living room” of the cabin, you’ll find a desk/vanity, armchair, and the wardrobe. The desk had several outlets and USB options for charging electronics.
Overall, the cabin was nothing fancy, but it included everything I needed for my time onboard Star of the Seas. The modern color scheme and decor exuded a calm, relaxing atmosphere, which made the cabin an ideal place to rest on an otherwise busy cruise ship.
I didn’t love the storage options, but it wasn’t a dealbreaker
If my cabin had a fault, it was in its storage options.
I’ve stayed in over a dozen interior cabins, and storage options vary significantly from ship to ship. As a general rule of thumb, cabins on older ships have fewer storage options than those on newer ships.
This was not the case on Star of the Seas, though. I was disappointed in the amount of storage in my interior cabin, and I found it challenging to properly unpack my belongings.
Related: Royal Caribbean cruise ship cabin and suite guide
Typically, cruise cabin wardrobes feature both shelves and space for hanging clothes. My cabin on Star only had hanging space, but I would have found shelving more useful.
In addition, the closet featured pull-out baskets instead of drawers.
I actually grew to like this feature, as it allowed me to completely pull out the basket when necessary. Even so, I think that traditional drawers are more practical.
My vanity, too, lacked storage. Most new ships provide significant storage space in the vanity. On Utopia of the Seas, for example, the vanities feature five drawers in addition to a mini fridge. My cabin on Star of the Seas had just two narrow drawers with an awkward, diagonal configuration.
Compared to a ship like Odyssey of the Seas, which has cabins with an overabundance of storage options, I felt like my Star of the Seas cabin fell flat in this regard.
Related: Odyssey of the Seas interior cabin tour
Ultimately, the storage wasn’t a dealbreaker, and it wouldn’t keep me from sailing on the ship again. Next time, though, I’d pack items like magnetic hooks and an over-the-door shoe organizer to keep my belongings better organized.
I appreciated the bathroom’s layout and spacious shower
One area where my Star of the Seas interior cabin shined was in the bathroom.
I was impressed with the layout of the bathroom, which featured a larger-than-average shower. The shower had a small seat, and it was rectangular in shape, providing extra room in comparison to showers on older ships.
Storage was impressive as well, with shelves behind the toilet, inside the vanity, and above the vanity near the mirror.
It’s clear Royal Caribbean put a lot of thought into the bathroom design for Icon Class ships, and they’re a major upgrade from those found on other vessels.
On a future cruise, I would choose a different cabin location
I booked a guarantee rate for this cruise, so I couldn’t choose my exact stateroom location. Although this saved me money, I ended up regretting my decision during the cruise.
I was assigned cabin 14345, and there were two issues with its location.
First, it was at the very aft of the ship. On a cruise ship as big as Star of the Seas, distances from place to place can be substantial. After a while, walking all the way down the hallway felt cumbersome. I much prefer staying in a midship cabin for quicker access to all of the amenities around the ship.
Related: Royal Caribbean cabins to avoid
Second, my cabin was located directly below the bar at The Hideaway, the adults-only pool neighborhood on Star of the Seas.
Throughout the evening and into the night, live music blasted right above my cabin, and I had trouble sleeping with heavy bass vibrating through the ceiling.
Booking a guarantee cabin is always a risk, as you’re essentially given whichever cabins are left over from the booking process.
Until this point, I’ve had good luck with guarantee rooms, but in this case, I wish I had spent a little more money to pick a better location.
With so much to do onboard, I barely spent any time in my cabin
Despite a few faults with my interior cabin on Star of the Seas, I would book it again. It wasn’t the most spacious interior cabin I’ve stayed in on a Royal Caribbean ship, but it was cozy enough for my time onboard.
Royal Caribbean’s Icon Class ships have a hefty price tag, and realistically, I’ll always try to save money by cruising in the cheapest room possible. At the end of the day, I’d rather sail in an inside cabin on an Icon Class ship than in a balcony cabin on an older and smaller ship.
Related: Icon of the Seas vs. Star of the Seas: Which ship should you choose?
It’s hard to put into words just how much you can see, do, eat, and experience on Star of the Seas. Throughout my four days onboard, I spent little time in my cabin aside from sleeping.
Instead of lounging around my tiny stateroom, I spent my time attending shows, riding the waterslides, and hopping from pool to pool during sunset. One day during my cruise, in fact, I left my cabin for breakfast and didn’t return until it was time to get ready for dinner!
In the end, there’s nothing wrong with booking the smallest, cheapest room on a cruise ship as long as you have the right expectations.
