Star Princess Cabins to Avoid: Decks, Privacy and Better Picks
I would start my Star Princess search with a midship balcony on Deck 11 or 12, surrounded vertically by cabins.
The locations I would question first are upper rooms beneath fitness or pool spaces, Deck 10 above busy dining areas, and Deck 9 Cabana Deck Mini-Suites when balcony privacy matters.
First, make sure you are researching the right Star Princess
This guide covers the Sphere-class Star Princess introduced in 2025. It does not cover the former Star Princess, whose older deck-letter cabin recommendations belong to a different ship.
Use the current Star Princess deck plan to identify a room before reading reviews.
Sun Princess is a useful sister-ship comparison, but I would still verify Star’s own room and venue arrangement. A copied cabin-number warning is not evidence about your room.
My first Star Princess exclusions
- Deck 17 beneath Deck 18 fitness rooms: investigate exercise-related impact sound before paying for a high location.
- Deck 16 beneath Deck 17 Lido pools or The Dome: a public-space ceiling requires a closer look.
- Deck 10 over The Eatery and Americana Diner: inspect the relevant midship-to-aft dining footprint.
- Deck 9 cabanas looking directly toward the shared Cabana Deck: skip if you expect secluded outdoor space.
- Deck 6 under Princess Arena or near youth facilities: compare performance and hallway activity with your sleep schedule.
I would treat these as specific location checks, not proof that a whole deck is noisy. The practical improvement is to move outside the relevant venue footprint or choose a cabin with accommodation between you and that venue.
Deck 17: the highest cabin is not my default upgrade
Star Princess has accommodation on Deck 17, while Deck 18 contains the fitness center, fitness studios and Sanctuary area. That means some expensive upper rooms sit immediately below active public facilities.
I would first identify whether a candidate is beneath exercise space, a circulation route or the outdoor retreat. Equipment use and class activity create a different potential sound source from ordinary guests walking through a carpeted corridor.
For a light sleeper, I would move away from direct fitness overlap even if the room category looked appealing. A few extra floors on the elevator are a minor inconvenience compared with choosing a ceiling you already have concerns about.
Sanctuary above a room also deserves inspection. A calm atmosphere for guests does not mean loungers never move or the deck never needs preparation.
My alternative is to look for the required room type lower down and confirm which benefits remain attached to it. I would choose the category for its actual inclusions and the cabin for its physical location.
Deck 16: separate the pool section from the residential section
Star’s main Lido pools occupy the central part of Deck 17, and The Dome is forward. Deck 16 rooms beneath those sections have a very different overhead neighbor from the rooms below Deck 17 accommodation farther aft.
I would investigate poolside furniture and traffic routes rather than assume the pool basin itself identifies every affected room. Moving chairs and early cleaning are plausible sources of disturbance that the deck plan cannot quantify.
Forward Deck 16 also relates to the Sea View Terrace and the lower Dome area. If you want a quiet place to retreat during daytime programming, I would compare that room with a more ordinary midship residential location.
For an easy alternative, look at Deck 12 or 14 and make sure both neighboring decks contain cabins in that same position. Deck 14 follows Deck 12 in the numbering here, so do not hunt for a nonexistent Deck 13.
I would still consider suitable aft portions of Deck 16, particularly when their actual ceiling is another cabin. Rejecting the entire deck would remove useful options for no good reason.
Deck 10: a balcony above dining is a different kind of balcony
Deck 9 places The Eatery, Alfredo’s, International Café and Americana Diner around the central-to-aft public area. Deck 10 rooms above those sections need a dining and promenade check before you choose them for their relatively low position.
I would compare the cabin with the actual seating, service and outside-deck footprint below. An all-day dining area can involve preparation and cleanup outside the times you plan to eat there.
The balcony may also look down toward occupied promenade space or projecting public-deck features. That is not automatically an officially obstructed view, but it changes the feel from an open drop to the ocean.
I would favor Deck 11 if the comparable room has a cabin immediately below. It adds a residential buffer while keeping you reasonably close to the restaurants.
Someone who values short routes to coffee and breakfast may gladly accept Deck 10. I would make that trade only after checking the exact position, rather than assuming all of Deck 10 is surrounded by accommodation.
The method in my cruise floor-plan guide is helpful around the ship’s curved center. Align fixed elevator shafts and the actual hull shape instead of comparing room labels by eye.
Deck 9 Cabana accommodation: shared access does not mean private frontage
Star Princess’ Cabana Deck provides an outdoor neighborhood reserved for the associated accommodations. Some rooms directly face this shared space, so other eligible guests can be much closer than they would be on a typical elevated balcony.
I would skip those directly facing positions if balcony privacy were a priority. A restricted-access deck can still have people relaxing, moving between loungers and using shared facilities within your sightline.
Look at the precise room frontage on the plan and request a photograph showing the outdoor boundary. A close-up of a cabana daybed does not tell you what is beyond it.
This can be an excellent setup for a traveler who wants a small social area immediately outside. I would choose it for that convenience, particularly if I expect to spend much of the trip using the shared deck.
My more private alternative is a conventional side balcony on Deck 11 or 12. If you prefer another Cabana arrangement, verify its own shape, overhead exposure and access rights rather than assuming every Cabana category includes the same shared facilities.
Verify Sanctuary benefits separately from the room layout
Star Princess markets Sanctuary Collection accommodation alongside other balconies, mini-suites and cabanas. I would not translate those names into privileges without checking the actual booked category.
Confirm retreat access, dining arrangements and any applicable age restrictions on the Star Princess accommodation page. A family should know who can use the included spaces before deciding whether the premium is worthwhile.
I would also compare the location of the room with the facilities I will actually visit. A cabin can include an attractive restaurant while still requiring a substantial journey to the upper retreat or forward entertainment.
For me, a premium category is worth buying when both the room and the inclusions suit the trip. I would not surrender a well-positioned standard balcony simply because an upgrade sounds more exclusive.
Decks 5 and 6: daylight, youth areas and the Arena
Star’s lower oceanview accommodation can be appealing if you want daylight without a balcony fare. Its public-space relationships deserve more care than the blanket advice to book as low as possible.
Princess Arena spans the forward entertainment section on Decks 7 and 8, with Deck 6 cabins below. I would avoid direct overlap if I wanted to sleep during performances or rehearsals.
Deck 6 also contains Firefly Park, Guest Services and spa spaces. A room near the youth-program approach can be useful for parents and less appealing for someone who wants a hallway used mainly by cabin neighbors.
The better lower-deck option is a numbered room whose immediate neighbors and overhead space fit your routine. If none of the available oceanviews passes that check, I would compare an interior on a residential deck.
For Deck 5, inspect Deck 6 above and the embarkation facilities below before deciding. I would not invent machinery or loading-space warnings from blank areas on the public plan.
Balcony angles, motion and the aft-view temptation
Star’s central bulge produces angled and projecting balcony shapes. A room with more outdoor space may have more sideways exposure to neighboring balconies, so I would inspect the view both outward and along the ship.
I would choose a regular side balcony if I mainly wanted a private place for breakfast. A larger angled balcony may be worth it if the panorama matters more than minimizing sightlines between neighbors.
Far-forward and high accommodation are not my first choices for someone prone to motion sickness. I would start nearer the middle and lower within the residential balcony decks.
Aft suites buy a wake-facing setting but also a longer route to forward venues. Intermittent machinery vibration during maneuvering is possible; I would not turn that into a claim that every aft room vibrates constantly.
My seasickness guide can help with the broader decision. A calm itinerary and a sensible cabin still cannot guarantee that the sea will stay flat.
Hallway details I would check after choosing a deck
First, look for a connecting symbol and decide whether you need it. If I do not, I usually choose an otherwise comparable non-connecting room, but I would not assume all connecting rooms transmit neighbor noise.
Next, locate launderette entrances and elevator lobbies. I like an elevator a short turn away, particularly on a large ship, while I would avoid a door directly facing the gathering area when an equal alternative exists.
A launderette on your deck is useful; its doorway directly across from yours may mean more passing traffic. I would move several doors along rather than reject the convenience of that deck altogether.
For mobility needs, use the official Star Princess accessible-route map and confirm the exact room’s features with Princess. A suitable bathroom and manageable elevator route matter more than speculative hallway sound.
The five-minute Star Princess booking check
- Confirm the 2025 Sphere-class ship and the plan for your sailing.
- Check Deck 18 above a Deck 17 room and Deck 17 above Deck 16.
- For Deck 10, map the room against Deck 9 dining and outside seating.
- For Cabana accommodation, identify shared-deck frontage and actual access benefits.
- Inspect balcony angles, connecting doors, laundry entrances and elevator routes.
- Compare a conventional midship Deck 11 or 12 balcony before accepting an upgrade.
I would use the same checks before accepting a guarantee fare. If several eligible locations would disappoint you, the cabin-booking red flags are a good reminder to pay for control over the number.
Questions I would settle before paying
Can I use old Star Princess cabin reviews?
Only after verifying which ship the reviewer sailed. Cabin advice using the former ship’s layout cannot identify a good room on the new Sphere-class vessel.
Does higher mean quieter on Star Princess?
No, because the upper accommodation has pools, fitness or outdoor retreat spaces above some sections. I would favor the actual residential buffer instead of the highest deck number.
What would I book for my first Star Princess sailing?
I would choose a non-connecting midship balcony on Deck 11 or 12 with cabins immediately above and below, a straightforward balcony shape and an elevator nearby around a corner. I would pay to choose that room before buying an uncertain guarantee or an upgrade with a less suitable location.
