After sailing on Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, it's clear some passengers had the wrong approach.
I spent over a week on Star of the Seas, which is the next Icon Class ship and newest cruise ship in the fleet.
While everyone has their own cruising style, I think there are definite mistakes to avoid. These are things that could improve your cruise, make your life easier, or simply avoid being "that guy" on the ship.
I came up with 7 things I think everyone should do if they sail on Star of the Seas so they can have a great first time aboard.
Make reservations before the cruise
Arguably the best thing about Star of the Seas are the amazing shows, so missing out on them because you don't have a reservation would be a mistake.
Royal Caribbean opens reservations before the cruise begins on its Cruise Planner website and app.
There isn't yet an exact cadence to how many days before the cruise opens reservations are bookable. It seems when a new ship launches, everything takes a bit longer to get going on the backend.
The official policy seems to be 30 days ahead of your cruise, but it may be closer to your actual sail date.
Nonetheless, you should check often to see when it becomes available and then book reservations for all the primary shows: Back to the Future: The Musical; Torque; Sol.
If by some chance you miss out on pre-cruise reservations, there are two backup options.
First, as soon as you get on the ship, head to Spotlight Karaoke on the Royal Promenade where the box office will be located. There, you can get extra reservations the ship holds back from online bookings.
If all else fails and you have no reservations, there's still one more recourse: the standby line.
In my experience, if you get in the standby line at least 30 minutes before the show starts, there's a good chance you'll make it into the show.
Guests with a reservation are admitted first, but a lot of people don't show up because they're busy with the fun elsewhere onboard.
If you can line up early, you ought to still be able to make it into the show.
Get to Dueling Pianos early
Another thing you don't want to miss is Dueling Pianos.
Only available on the Icon Class ships, this is the hot ticket nightly entertainment on Star of the Seas.
Basically, there are two pianists who play crowd requests and there's a lot of audience interaction. It's not a piano recital. Rather, it's a riff on each other to see who can out-do the other and how to make each song really fun.
The only problem is a lot of people onboard love Dueling Pianos, and the bar fills up quickly.
With other bars that have live entertainment, you can usually roll in and grab a spot. But not Dueling Pianos.
If you want to see Dueling Pianos (and you should), I'd recommend getting a table at least 30-45 minutes before show time.
While it's a fairly large venue, it fills up very quickly. As people discover it, it seems like every night all the tables are occupied well before the show starts.
Don't let the crowds deter you, because it's worth seeing!
Go to Surfside, even if they have no kids
I get it: Surfside neighborhood is meant for families with young children, so if you don't have kids, why would you go there?
The reason is the food.
While you're right the aquatic activities may not be worth a visit, there are three different restaurants here and I think adults would enjoy it too.
Pier 7 is a very affordable specialty restaurant serving some seriously underrated food.
I booked a pre-cruise reservation for brunch for $9, and it was the perfect upgraded meal. The brunch and dinner menu differ somewhat, but I like the food served at both.
Surfside Eatery is the buffet and while it's mostly kid-friendly food, I'm not above stopping in for nuggets, burger, or shrimp cocktail.
The selection of food is surprisingly not as juvenile as you might think, and it's way less crowded than the Windjammer most times.
Lastly, Surfside Bites is worth it when you're nearby for the pizza toastie!
Gotten off the ship early at CocoCay
One day not to sleep in is the day Star of the Seas visits Perfect Day at CocoCay.
There's a huge difference in crowds in the morning hours versus lunch and later. Getting off the ship before 10am is the smart play to ensure you get a good spot and take advantage of a quieter ambiance.
Whether you're going to Oasis Lagoon, Coco Beach Club, or Hideaway Beach, maximizing your day here is all about getting off the ship early.
Not only can you get a chairs and an umbrella in a convenient area, but it's also going to be less oppressively hot in the morning.
If you paid extra for the Beach Club or adults-only area, then getting there early is extra important to squeeze more value out of your day.
Personally, I like to get to the island around 9am, enjoy the morning, have lunch, and then head back in the early afternoon.
This strategy takes advantage of the cooler morning temps, avoids the hottest part of the day, and allows you to head straight to the pool deck and enjoy a less crowded pool and Thrill Waterpark slides.
Elevator etiquette
I try not to preach in these posts because not everyone needs to do things exact as I do, but I feel there are a lot of people who need to know about proper elevator etiquette.
It's simple: when you're waiting for an elevator and the doors open, stand aside to let anyone who's in the elevator out first. Then, you can shove yourself inside.
With Star of the Seas, there's less shoving into elevators since they have destination elevators.
Nonetheless, let folks out first. Otherwise it just jams everything up and it takes longer because someone has to move back out to let the people depart the elevator.
Take advantage of all the fun new drinks onboard
Did you know a number of bars around Star have their own drink menu that you can't find on other ships?
Royal Caribbean is really proud of the fact they developed a lot of special menus for various bars, so if you have a beverage package, I'd recommend seeking these out to try them all!
These bars all have menus that differ from the standard fleetwide menu:
- Dueling Pianos
- Pub
- Schooner Bar
- Dueling Pianos
- Lou's Jazz N' Blues
- 1400
- Lime & Coconut
- Boleros
- Rye & Bean
My favorite drinks to try on Star of the Seas that are unique to the ship include:
- Jazzy Saz (Lou's Jazz)
- 1400 (1400 Bar)
- Frozen Irish Coffee (Rye & Bean)
- Snap, Crackle, Pop (Dueling Pianos)
- Toasted Marshmallow Old Fashioned (Schooner Bar)
There are plenty more, but consider these your starting points.
If you prefer mocktails, the new fleetwide menu has so many new mocktails to try!
Pre-book to save money
Maybe it's just me, but if I spot someone buying the Deluxe Beverage Package onboard the ship, it makes me cringe because of how much money they could have saved buying it before the cruise.
On embarkation day, I like to head up to a bar and hang out to enjoy a "I'm on a cruise" drink. Inevitably, someone comes up to the bartender to ask about buying a drink package.
Royal Caribbean was charging $124 per person, per day for the Deluxe Beverage Package on Star of the Seas, but anyone could have saved around 40% off the drink package by simply booking it beforehand.
This is true also of dining packages, internet packages, and shore excursions.
These savings can be truly substantial, so if there's a small chance you might want one of these popular add-ons, I'd recommend buying before the cruise and not paying top dollar once onboard.
