What makes Star Princess different from the Princess ships that came before her? In short, she is a clean-sheet design: the second ship of Princess Cruises’ Sphere class, the largest ships the line has ever built and its first dual-fuel LNG vessels. Rather than stretching an existing platform, Princess started over and reimagined how a big ship should feel — warmer, brighter, more social, and built around views. For an Alaska cruise, that matters more than almost anywhere else, because so much of the wonder here unfolds from the ship herself. This guide walks through what the Sphere class actually is, the signature spaces that set Star Princess apart, and exactly where to stand aboard for glaciers, whales, and the best seats at showtime.
Everything in this article and far more, deck by deck, in The Ultimate Guide to Sailing on Star Princess.
Get the book →What is the Sphere class, and why it was a fresh start
Star Princess is the newest ship in the Princess fleet and the second Sphere-class ship, a sister to Sun Princess. She measures around 177,000 gross tons across 21 decks, carries roughly 4,300 guests at lower berths in about 2,157 staterooms, and she is the first Sphere-class ship to sail Alaska. Those numbers make her Princess’s biggest ship, but size alone is not the story. The Sphere class is the first genuinely new Princess platform in years, and it was designed around two ideas that older ships could only approximate: bringing daylight and the outside world deep into the ship, and running cleaner.
The dual-fuel part is easy to overlook from a deck chair, but it is central to the class. Star Princess can run on liquefied natural gas, a cleaner-burning marine fuel than traditional heavy oil. In practical terms for a guest, it means a modern ship built to a newer standard sailing through some of the most pristine scenery on the planet — the timeless wilderness of the Inside Passage paired with the most current ship in the fleet. Combine that with MedallionClass, Princess’s wearable-based service system, and you get an experience that feels contemporary without asking you to fuss with technology.
If you have sailed an older Princess ship, the biggest change you will feel is light and openness. Where earlier ships tucked the pool decks and atrium into the middle of the vessel, the Sphere class pushes glass outward and upward. The result is a ship that never lets you forget you are surrounded by mountains and water. On a warm-weather sailing that is pleasant. On an Alaska sailing, it is the whole point.
The Dome: a glass roof made for Alaska
The single most talked-about space on Star Princess is The Dome, a geodesic glass-enclosed structure set high atop the ship. By day it is an indoor-outdoor pool retreat; by night it transforms into a theater staging Cirque Éloize acrobatic shows. A glass roof over a pool sounds like a nice touch anywhere, but in Alaska it is close to essential, and it is worth understanding why.
The Alaska summer is short, intense, and changeable. You get mild days and long northern daylight, but also cooler mornings and evenings, frequent rain in the rainforest ports, and genuine cold near the glaciers. On many ships that weather sends everyone indoors to windowless lounges, and the pools sit empty and cold. The Dome solves that. It gives you a warm, bright, glass-roofed vantage where you can swim, sit with a drink, and watch the scenery slide past no matter what the sky is doing. When rain sweeps across Endicott Arm or a cold wind comes off a glacier face, The Dome is where you can enjoy the view in comfort rather than retreating below.
It also earns its keep after dark. Turning a pool space into an acrobatics theater is the kind of trick only a purpose-built room can pull off, and the shows are a genuine reason to be aboard in the evening rather than an afterthought. If you only learn one thing about this ship before you sail, make it this: The Dome is the space that makes a big modern ship feel right for a cold-weather wilderness cruise.
The Piazza and the Sphere: the heart of the ship
Every Princess ship has a Piazza, the social atrium at its center, but the Sphere class reimagines it as a three-deck hub and builds something genuinely new into it: the Sphere itself. This is an outward, glass-walled structure suspended off the side of the ship, and it flips the traditional atrium on its head. Instead of looking inward at a central column, guests in the Sphere look outward through glass at the sea and the passing coastline. It gives you expansive views from a warm, comfortable interior space — again, exactly what an Alaska sailing wants.
The three-deck Piazza is also home to a movable LED screen used for live entertainment, so the atrium doubles as a performance venue through the day and evening. Because the space is open across three decks, you can watch a set from several levels, grab a coffee from the 24-hour International Café, and drift between the shops, bars, and casual dining that ring the atrium. It is the ship’s living room, and it is where you will naturally end up between activities.
What sets this apart from older Princess ships is the sheer amount of daylight and outward view designed into what used to be an internal space. The Sphere and the glass-forward Piazza mean you can be at the center of the ship’s social life and still be watching for whales. On an itinerary where the scenery is the main event, that connection between the warm public spaces and the world outside is the design decision that defines the class.
The Sanctuary Collection and the warm public spaces
Star Princess carries a premium suite-and-retreat concept called the Sanctuary Collection. It is an adults-only retreat and a step up in accommodation that combines a private sun deck, a dedicated lounge, and exclusive dining. If you want a quieter corner of a big ship and are willing to pay for it, this is the top of the range, and it pairs a calm space with the kind of forward, high vantage points that happen to be excellent for scenery.
Beyond the Sanctuary Collection, the ship is full of warm interior vantages, which is precisely what a cold-weather cruise needs. Alongside The Dome and the Sphere you will find Movies Under the Stars, the giant poolside LED screen; the Lotus Spa; multiple pools including the warm, glass-covered Dome pool; and the two main show venues, the Princess Theater and Princess Live. The through-line is that Princess designed this ship so you never have to choose between staying warm and staying connected to the view. On an itinerary that alternates port days with scenic-cruising days, the ship’s warm spaces and its enrichment program come into their own on the days at sea.
That balance is worth keeping in mind when you plan your days. Much of the best glacier and wildlife watching happens from the ship, so the value of these interior spaces is not just comfort — it is that they let you keep watching for hours without getting cold, which is how you actually catch the calving glacier or the breaching whale rather than ducking inside and missing it.
MedallionClass: the Princess difference
The technology that ties the Sphere class together is MedallionClass. Every guest wears an Ocean Medallion, a quarter-sized wearable that unlocks your stateroom hands-free, speeds up boarding, helps you locate your travel companions around the ship, and handles touchless payments. It is the quiet backbone of the experience: no fumbling for a card, no queuing to get into your room with cold hands full of camera gear.
The Medallion does more than open doors. Through OceanNow you can order food and drinks to wherever you happen to be aboard — including a lounger in The Dome or a spot on a forward deck while a glacier comes into view. Dine My Way lets you reserve flexible dining times or keep a traditional set seating, whichever you prefer, and JourneyView helps you plan your days. To make it all work smoothly, set it up before you sail: download the Princess app, complete the OceanReady check-in, add a payment method, and order your Medallion so it is waiting for you at the pier.
Because so much of your day in Alaska is spent moving between viewing spots, the ability to order a hot drink to your location instead of leaving your vantage is more useful here than on a typical warm-weather cruise. It is a small thing that quietly changes how you spend a scenic-cruising morning. For a full first-timer walkthrough of the wearable and the app, see our MedallionClass first-timer guide.
Best spots aboard for glaciers and wildlife
The question every Alaska cruiser asks is where to stand when the scenery arrives. On Star Princess you have more genuinely good options than on most ships, and the right one depends on the weather and what you are watching for.
For tidewater glaciers
On a scenic-cruising day the ship noses toward a great tidewater glacier — Dawes Glacier in Endicott Arm, or Tracy Arm or Glacier Bay, depending on your sailing — and often turns slowly so both sides of the ship get the view. The forward outdoor decks give you the most dramatic head-on approach, but they are also the coldest and windiest spots, so dress for it. When the weather closes in, The Dome is the best warm vantage on the ship: glass roof overhead, pool at your back, glacier ahead. A midship balcony is the comfortable middle ground, giving you a private, sheltered view without leaving your room. Because the ship rotates, you do not need to obsess over which side of the ship your cabin is on for glacier day, but a balcony still earns its keep here more than on almost any other itinerary.
For whales and coastal wildlife
Whales, sea otters, eagles, and bears along the shoreline tend to appear with little warning as the ship threads the Inside Passage, so the best strategy is a warm spot with a wide, continuous view where you can watch for a long stretch. The Sphere and the glass-forward Piazza are ideal for this: you stay warm, you have an outward view, and you can keep watching without the cold driving you inside after ten minutes. Bring binoculars and keep a camera close. On milder days, a walk along the open promenade and forward decks gives you the fullest field of view. The key insight is that wildlife rewards patience, and Star Princess is unusually well set up to let you be patient in comfort.
Quick reference: where to watch what
| What you’re watching | Best spot | When weather is poor |
|---|---|---|
| Tidewater glacier approach | Forward outdoor decks | The Dome (glass roof) |
| Whales and shoreline wildlife | Open promenade / forward decks | The Sphere / glass Piazza |
| Long scenic-cruising stretches | Your own midship balcony | The Dome or the Sphere |
| Evening shows | The Dome or Princess Theater | Indoors either way |
Where to watch the shows
Star Princess splits its entertainment across a few distinct venues, and knowing the difference helps you plan an evening. The Dome hosts the Cirque Éloize acrobatic shows under its glass, and it is the ship’s signature evening experience — arrive early, because the transformation from daytime pool to nighttime theater draws a crowd. The Princess Theater is the main house for larger production shows, while Princess Live is a more intimate venue for talks, music, and smaller sets. The three-deck Piazza, with its movable LED screen, runs live entertainment through the day and into the evening, so you can catch music and performances without committing to a full show.
A practical rhythm for a scenic day is to spend the daylight hours watching for glaciers and wildlife from The Dome, the Sphere, or your balcony, then move to the Princess Theater or back to The Dome for the evening show once the light finally fades — which, given the long northern daylight, can be very late. Confirm the current show schedule and reserve where needed in the Princess app, since venues and timings vary by sailing.
Dining across the ship
The Sphere class carries a large and varied dining lineup, and in Alaska the seafood angle is a real draw. There are three main dining rooms — traditional set dining or flexible Dine My Way through your Medallion — plus the Horizons buffet for casual meals. The specialty and casual venues range widely: Love by Britto, an artistic prix-fixe with wake views; The Butcher’s Block by Dario, a Tuscan butcher-style steakhouse; Makoto Ocean for Edomae sushi; Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria; the Crown Grill steakhouse; and The Catch by Rudi, a seafood restaurant that is superb for Alaskan catches in season.
For lighter and more casual options there are Alfredo’s and Gigi’s pizzerias, O’Malley’s Irish pub, and the 24-hour International Café for coffee and snacks at any hour — handy when the daylight keeps you up late. Fresh Alaskan seafood features on menus in season, so The Catch by Rudi is an easy recommendation while you are sailing these waters. As always, reserve specialty dining early through the app, since the best times fill up.
How Sphere class changes an Alaska cruise
Put all of this together and you can see why the Sphere class suits Alaska so well. Older ships ask you to trade comfort for views: to see the scenery you go outside and get cold, and to get warm you go inside and lose the view. Star Princess is built to erase that trade-off. The Dome, the Sphere, the glass-forward Piazza, and the pervasive daylight mean you can watch a glacier or a pod of whales for hours while staying warm and comfortable. That is a different kind of Alaska cruise, and it is the clearest reason to choose the newest ship over an older one for this itinerary.
Princess also brings deep Alaska credentials to the table. The line has carried more travelers to Alaska than any other, with its own wilderness lodges and glass-domed rail cars, and you can pair a cruise with a Princess cruisetour by rail and lodge into the interior toward Denali. So the modern ship is backed by a company that knows these waters. For the full picture of the ship, read our Star Princess cruise guide, and for a plain-language rundown of daily life aboard see what to expect on Star Princess.
Her marquee season is the Inside Passage, round-trip from Seattle, calling at ports like Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, and Icy Strait Point with a day of scenic glacier cruising and a finale in Victoria. To go deeper on the route, see our guide to the Star Princess Alaska Inside Passage season and how to sail round-trip from Seattle. Always confirm your exact itinerary, featured glacier, and ports in the Princess app, since they vary by sailing.
Get the complete Star Princess playbook
If you want every space, cabin choice, and viewing spot mapped out before you sail, “The Ultimate Guide to Sailing on Star Princess” walks you through the whole ship with clear action steps in every chapter. It is part of the Ultimate Ship Guides series by Leo Sotropa, written to turn a big, new ship into an easy one to sail.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Sphere class?
The Sphere class is Princess Cruises’ newest ship design — the line’s largest ships and its first dual-fuel LNG vessels. Star Princess is the second Sphere-class ship, a sister to Sun Princess, and the first of the class to sail Alaska. It is a clean-sheet design built around daylight, outward views, and cleaner-burning fuel rather than a stretch of an older platform.
What is The Dome and why does it matter in Alaska?
The Dome is a geodesic glass-enclosed structure atop the ship — an indoor-outdoor pool retreat by day and a theater for Cirque Éloize acrobatic shows by night. In Alaska it is especially valuable because it gives you a warm, glass-roofed place to enjoy the pools and the scenery whatever the weather, which the short, changeable Alaska summer serves up plenty of.
What is the Sphere in the Piazza?
The Sphere is an outward, glass-walled structure suspended off the side of the ship within the reimagined three-deck Piazza atrium. Instead of looking inward, guests look out through glass at the sea and coastline, giving expansive views from a warm interior. The Piazza also has a movable LED screen for live entertainment.
Where are the best spots to watch glaciers and wildlife?
For a head-on glacier approach, the forward outdoor decks are best, with The Dome as the warm alternative when the weather turns. For whales and shoreline wildlife, a warm wide-view spot like the Sphere or the glass Piazza lets you watch patiently, and the open promenade works on milder days. A midship balcony is the comfortable all-round choice for long scenic stretches.
How big is Star Princess?
She is around 177,000 gross tons across 21 decks, carrying roughly 4,300 guests at lower berths in about 2,157 staterooms. That makes her one of Princess Cruises’ largest ships, but the design emphasizes light, warm public spaces, and views rather than size for its own sake.
What is the Sanctuary Collection?
The Sanctuary Collection is an adults-only retreat and premium suite-and-retreat concept with a private sun deck, a dedicated lounge, and exclusive dining. It is the top of the range aboard and a good fit if you want a quieter corner of a big ship, with high vantage points that happen to be excellent for scenery.
Do I need a passport for this cruise?
Yes. The Inside Passage season sails round-trip from Seattle, a US port, and calls at Victoria in Canada, so a passport is required — follow the ship’s immigration guidance. Onboard payments run on your Ocean Medallion in US dollars; you will use US dollars in Seattle and the Alaskan ports and Canadian dollars in Victoria, though cards are widely accepted. Confirm the latest details in the Princess app.
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