Star of the Seas escape room review on new Royal Caribbean cruise ship
We took on an escape room onboard Star of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s new cruise ship, and escaped with 15 minutes to spare.
Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, just embarked on its inaugural voyage. We were lucky enough to be invited on a preview cruise and I experienced an attraction I wasn’t expecting. The ship has two escape rooms onboard , and I was able to do one of them and loved it.
Because the main show on Star of the Seas is “Back to the Future: The Musical” (which is also awesome), they decided to design the two escape rooms loosely themed to “Back to the Future” (though not officially licensed with the franchise). There’s a 1950s one called “Star Escape Diner” and a 1980s one called “Star Escape Records.” We were able to do the 1980s one.
The story behind the room is that the time gremlins have tampered with the music of the 1980s and the music classics have been altered. But they missed one record hidden in the record store. So if we find that one unaltered record, all the music we love will be restored. So we have to go back in time and make things right.
The space is not huge, but there’s enough room for everyone to get around. There is a minimum of four people and maximum of 12. The room is approximately 12 feet wide by 30 feet long, so 12 people would be a bit crowded in there. We had five in our group, and I think six would be the perfect amount. If you’re great at escape rooms, four could probably do it, but with six, you can pair up into three groups and start solving separate puzzles.
We asked if we had a set amount of clues we could get. There isn’t a set amount, but the Puzzle Master actually sits in the room while you’re doing the puzzles and will help if you ask, and even if you don’t, if they see you’re on the wrong path completely.
The décor of the room is well done. It does look like you’re in a record or music store. The props were well designed and durable. Most of the puzzles involve coming up with a number to undo a lock. While we prefer to see variations on the ways to advance the story, instead of them all being locks, there’s a good variation in the ways you have to come up with the numbers to make it interesting. Some of the puzzles are visual, some are audible, and some are a bit of both. They also have some blind box puzzles where you have to figure out what you were feeling inside a box.
With just a few clues when we were on the wrong track, our team of five (including some veteran escape room players and one newbie who had never done one before) “escaped” the room in 45 minutes out of the 60 allowed. The last puzzle was the most fun and the ending was satisfying, but not overly dramatic. Because we had split up to do different puzzles, none of us knew how each puzzle was solved. But the room attendant allowed us some time after to discuss with each other and show how we solved each of the puzzles.
The escape room prices onboard Star of the Seas start at $40 per person, but can vary. While we weren’t able to do the ’50s-themed escape room, I spoke with someone who did both, and she found the ‘50s diner puzzles to be a little more frustrating. The five of us all enjoyed the escape room and would have done the other one too if we had had time. It’s a bit pricey, but if you’re looking for something to do on the ship and you have some family or friends to team up with, we recommend it. It can be a great bonding experience.
Stay tuned to Attractions Magazine for daily coverage of theme park news, trip reports from parks around the world, and exclusive interviews.
More Attractions Magazine stories:
Follow us:
No matter where you want to go, our trusted partner MEI-Travel will handle the planning so you can focus on the memories. They offer free vacation-planning services and have nearly 20 years of experience creating memorable vacations. Visit MEI-Travel for a fee-free, no-obligation quote today.
