Star Voyager Cruise Review 2026: 4.4/5 from 2,430 Guests We Booked

Our rating: 4.4 out of 5. That number is not a guess. It is the average of nine category scores from 2,430 guests we booked on Star Voyager in 2025 and 2026, all collected through our post-cruise feedback email. The ship scores highest on cabin comfort (95%) and lowest on booking and check-in (80%), and that gap tells you exactly what to expect: a comfortable, good-value ship where the queue at the terminal is the least enjoyable part of the trip.

Short verdict: Star Voyager is the best-value short cruise from Singapore for couples, families and first-timers who want a comfortable cabin, a relaxed pace and Malaysian ports that other ships skip. Choose Genting Dream instead if you want a bigger ship, more dining choice and certified halal dining.

Updated 20 September 2026 by the Singapore Star Cruise cruise desk. Survey data is our own. Ship facts, venue names and onboard charges come from StarCruises' official Star Voyager cruise guide and ship brochure (ex-Singapore editions) and the Singapore schedule V8.1, 1 September 2026.

Star Voyager ratings: what 2,430 of our guests said

How we collected this. Every guest who books a cruise through Singapore Star Cruise gets a feedback email a few days after they disembark. They rate the nine categories above and add comments in their own words. The 2,430 responses here are from Star Voyager sailings in 2025 and 2026, mostly 2 and 3-night cruises from Singapore, and include families, couples, solo travellers and group bookings. We publish the scores as they came in, including the ones that make the ship look ordinary. The overall 4.4 is the average of the nine categories, rounded to one decimal.

The three things guests loved, and the three that annoyed them

What worked

• The cabins. At 95%, this is the highest score in our whole survey, on any ship. The US$50 million refit before the 2025 relaunch shows: firm beds, quiet air-conditioning, decent storage and clean bathrooms. Balcony guests repeatedly mention morning coffee outside as the best part of the trip.
• The crew. On a 1,944-guest ship the same staff see you twice a day, and it shows in the 90% service score. Guests who travelled with elderly parents or toddlers mention staff helping without being asked.
• The price for what you get. Three included restaurants, the pools, slides, Adventure Park and nightly shows are all in the fare. For a two-night weekend, guests told us the total came in under a comparable hotel-and-flight break.

What frustrated guests

• Check-in day (80%). Nearly every complaint is about the terminal, not the ship: guests arriving before their assigned time and then waiting, or missing the mandatory online check-in that closes 48 hours before departure. Our boarding tips below fix most of this.
• The buffet at peak times (dining 85%). The Lido is busy at 12:30pm and 6:30pm. Guests who ate half an hour either side, or used the sit-down restaurants, rated dining much higher.
• Quiet evenings (entertainment 85%). Star Voyager is a relaxed ship. Guests who wanted nightclub energy said so. Guests who wanted a drink, a show and an early night rated the same evenings 5 out of 5.

The ship: what Star Voyager actually is

Star Voyager is not a new ship, and knowing its history explains both its strengths and its limits. It was built by Fincantieri in Italy and entered service in 1997 as Princess Cruises' Dawn Princess, then sailed for P&O Cruises Australia as Pacific Explorer until 2025. Resorts World Cruises then bought it, renamed it (it was briefly announced as "Star Scorpio"), spent a reported US$50 million on a refit that rebuilt the atrium, added the Palace suites and upgraded the balcony cabins, and relaunched it from Singapore on 26 March 2025.

That means solid, well-proven hardware with a modern interior, rather than a brand-new mega-ship. If you want a ship built in the last five years, Disney Adventure or Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas are the Singapore alternatives. See our comparison of every ship in Singapore cruise lines.

Cabin review: why comfort scored 95%

Cabin comfort is the ship's strongest score, and the feedback is consistent across grades: guests in interior cabins rated their rooms almost as highly as balcony guests. Here is how the grades compare in practice.

Our booking advice: on a two-night cruise, an interior cabin is genuinely fine and the saving is better spent on a shore excursion or a specialty dinner. On three nights or more, pay for the balcony. Families of five should ask us for the interior cabins that take five guests, since they are rare on Singapore ships and they sell out first. Cabin-by-cabin detail is in our Star Voyager deck plan guide.

The Palace: suite guests get a VIP terminal lounge, priority check-in with butler assistance, a 24-hour butler, free standard Wi-Fi, the exclusive 24-hour Palace Restaurant, happy-hour drinks, priority show seating and 10% off spa and retail. Palace guests in our survey rated booking and check-in far above the ship average, because the VIP lounge removes the one part everyone complains about. Full details on our Palace suites page.

Dining review: three restaurants are included

Dining scored 85%. Guests rate the food itself higher than the crowding, so plan your timings and this becomes a strength rather than a compromise.

An important correction: Star Voyager offers halal options at The Lido on request, according to StarCruises' own brochure. It is not a certified halal ship. Guests who need certified halal dining should read our halal cruise guide, which covers Genting Dream's certified galley. Vegetarian and Jain meals can be arranged if you tell us at the time of booking. Venue names also changed after the 2025 launch: the restaurants listed above are the ones in the current cruise guide.

Activities and entertainment: 85%, and honestly why

What is on board: the Aqua Park and water slides (Deck 15 aft), the Adventure Park with a rock wall, zip line and walk the plank (Deck 14), the main pool and hot tubs, lawn bowls, shuffleboard, The Vibe Check for teens, the Little Dreamers Club for younger children (Deck 12 aft), nightly shows at the Zodiac Theatre (Deck 7), live music at the Velvet Lounge, the Genting Club casino, and the Symphony spa, salon, studio and gym on Deck 12 aft.

Guests rated the shows well and the atmosphere calm. Two complaints came up often enough to repeat here: deck activities such as the rock wall and zip line close in strong wind, so do them on the first clear morning rather than saving them for later, and teenagers run out of things to do faster than younger kids. Families with teens told us a 2-night sailing suits them better than a 4-night one. Everything venue by venue is in our Star Voyager activities and entertainment guide.

The casino scored 90%, one of the higher figures. It opens only when the ship is in international waters, so it stays shut in port, and it is adults only.

What you actually pay on board

Value for money scored 90%, and it stays that way only if you budget for the extras. These are the current published charges in SGD.

Gratuities are waived for children under two, and Palace guests get standard Wi-Fi free. A couple in a balcony cabin on a two-night cruise should budget roughly SGD 132 in gratuities plus whatever they drink. That is the number most first-time cruisers forget. Our StarDream Wi-Fi guide explains which package is worth buying.

Where Star Voyager sails now

The current Singapore season runs 25 September 2026 to 1 January 2027 from HarbourFront, with a handful of Marina Bay departures. Star Voyager also sails from Port Klang and Melaka, and it spends part of the year in Hong Kong, so always check which season your dates fall into.

• 2 nights: weekend high seas (Friday), Kuala Lumpur via Port Klang, Melaka, or Pulau Pangkor.
• 3 nights: Penang combined with Kuala Lumpur, Melaka or Pangkor.
• 4 nights: Langkawi, Pangkor and Kuala Lumpur, departing 26 December 2026.
• 1 night one-way: Singapore to Port Klang or Melaka, and the reverse.
• From Port Klang in December: Phuket and Krabi sailings.

Pangkor, Langkawi and Melaka barely appear on any other Singapore schedule, which is the single best reason to pick this ship over a bigger one. Dates and fares are on our Star Voyager cruise page and in the itinerary and price guide.

Who should book Star Voyager, and who should not

Book it if you are:

• A first-time cruiser. Two nights, a mid-size ship and short queues make a gentle introduction.
• A couple wanting a weekend away. Friday evening out, Sunday lunchtime back.
• A family with children under 12. Water park, kids' club and interior cabins that take four or five.
• Travelling with elderly parents. Less walking than on a mega-ship, and service scores are high.
• Chasing an unusual port. Pangkor, Langkawi, Melaka and the one-way sailings.

Choose another ship if you want: a brand-new vessel, certified halal dining, Broadway-scale production shows, a big teen scene, or a genuine party atmosphere. In those cases read Star Voyager vs Genting Dream before you decide.

Booking and boarding tips (this is the 80% score we want to fix)

• Do the online check-in early. It is mandatory and it closes 48 hours before departure. Guests who leave it late get the worst boarding slots.
• Arrive at your assigned time, not earlier. Turning up two hours early means waiting in the terminal, where you also cannot bring food.
• Passport valid six months from the sailing date for every guest, and Indian passport holders need a Singapore visa. Malaysia is visa-free for Indian passport holders for 30-day stays until 31 December 2026.
• Submit the SG Arrival Card within three days before the ship returns to Singapore. This applies to residents too.
• Pack closed-toe shoes if you want the rock wall or zip line, and something smart for Red Carpet night.
• Leave the e-vaporisers, irons and extension cords at home. They are confiscated, and vapes are a criminal matter in Singapore.
• Book school-holiday sailings early. See our school holiday cruise calendar.

Guest videos worth watching before you book

Final verdict: 4.4 out of 5

Star Voyager does not try to be the biggest or the newest ship sailing from Singapore, and our guests do not rate it as if it were. They rate the bed, the crew, the price and the fact that a weekend at sea is easy to organise. On those points it scores 88% across 2,430 responses, which is a strong, honest 4.4 out of 5.

Book it for a weekend break, a first cruise, a family holiday with young children, or a port that nothing else reaches. Budget for gratuities and Wi-Fi, do the online check-in early, and eat outside peak hours. Do that and you will be in the group that rated this ship 5 out of 5.

About this review

Singapore Star Cruise is an independent cruise travel company with a booking team in Singapore and consultants in New Delhi. We book StarCruises, Dream Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Disney Cruise Line sailings from Singapore every week. This review uses our own post-cruise survey of 2,430 guests who sailed on Star Voyager in 2025 and 2026, plus StarCruises' published documents. We update it when the ship's schedule, venues or charges change. We earn a commission on some bookings; it does not change the scores above, which are guest-reported.

Sources: Singapore Star Cruise guest survey 2025–2026 (n = 2,430); StarCruises Star Voyager cruise guide and ship brochure (ex-Singapore); StarCruises Singapore schedule V8.1 (1 September 2026); Cruise Passenger on the US$50 million refurbishment and March 2025 debut; Seatrade Cruise on the ship's renaming; CruiseMapper on the 2026–27 Southeast Asia programme; ICA on the SG Arrival Card.