This was our 14th cruise and the second one on the STAR. We sailed on her inaugural cruise from Miami to the west coast in 2001.
For this cruise we brought along 18 people about a fourth of them had never cruised before, the rest had a least one cruise. I am a firm believer that CC members are obliged to write of their experiences for the benefit of all, so even if your experience was different than ours, its important to share them for a balanced view.
A lot of comments have been related to the food on board. Some have had less than a good experience, others feel the food is good to great. Our experience was all the above. The problem is - it is inconsistent. For example at Cagney's the steak was excellent, but the salmon was covered in a heavily salted crab concoction that spoiled it. In the MDR's you might get a very good dish, or a just passable one with over-cooking the usual culprit. The solution to this is to order another entree. Or as one person did, not knowing if a dish would be good or great, they would order two entrees in the certainty that one would be better than the other.
Shower tends to run to the hot side on its own, baseboard rug torn opposite the door to bathroom, (2) side chairs for table in cabin are missing the ends of the legs so the chairs wobble from side to side. Balcony floor material is shredding. Bed is a bit soft. Rest of the cabin is fine. Noticed some noise from clean up activities in the Market Cafe / pool deck area which is above the cabin. Not consistent and not every night.