Sailing out of NYC was a breeze for us, as we only live 45 minutes away. We were dropped off around 12:00 and they took our bags at the curb. Walked into the terminal and were directed towards the VIP line, due to the 2 kids in strollers (this seems to happen a lot and I am planning on keeping my kids in strollers until they do not fit anymore!) We got our cards and were on the boat within 15 minutes. The greeters tried to steer us towards the buffet (probably due to the two toddlers), but we declined. Having read a lot about the Star before the cruise, we knew to head to the Versailles Dining Room for lunch. After lunch we decided to head to the room to see if it was ready and how exactly we were going to fit the four of us in there for a week.

Stateroom -- We booked an Oceanview Guarantee, hoping to get an upgrade to a balcony. The price difference was just too high to justify booking a balcony in the first place. Well we did not get a balcony, but we did get an "upgraded room". The upgraded room was an O1 -- Family Oceanview 5 Floor Forward. I never would have booked that room, due to the location. The plus to the room was the very large picture window, which the kids loved. They spent many hours sitting together, looking out that window. The overall room size was small, but the bathroom was much better than any we have had before. I loved the separate shower with a sliding door, instead of the shower curtain. The toilet also had a sliding door to separate it. We had them bring a crib (pack n play) to the room and that made it even tighter. I am not sure where the kids would have slept if we did not have that though. My 2 y.o. daughter slept in the crib and my 3 y.o. son slept in the bed with us. There was a bed that came down from the wall, but I was nervous he would fall out of that and there was another bed under our bed. I have no idea where that would have pulled out to. My only true complaint about the room was the location. This is a bad location for anyone who gets seasick. My poor 2 y.o. daughter was miserable anytime we were in the room. I was not very happy either, but can deal with it.

Planet Kids -- Loved it! I was very nervous that the kids would put up a fight about going to the kids' club at night. After the first night, my son was asking to go back, even during the day. They are still taking the 2 year olds and just give you a pager if they are not potty trained, so you can go change them if necessary. The staff was great and they had a different themed party each night. The last night was a pajama party, which I thought was perfect. You did not have to worry about fitting another outfit in the carryon bag the next morning, just their pajamas. The kids' pool was cute. There were three slides, which my son liked. The water in the pools there was very shallow; I think it was 1½ feet. There are a few seesaws in the area as well. Read more