We did the Hawaii cruise last year on the Star and enjoyed the ship. However, we had an inside cabin.
The Star is a big ship and knowing the color coding of the carpet and signs will save you a lot of extra walking. The carpet in each stairwell (fore, midship, aft) has a different color (red, blue or green). I think there were other color schemes for port vs starboard too.
Book specialty restaurants in the first couple days before everyone figures out the routine. Reservation lines got longer later in the cruise.
We had four different photo stations on formal night so get there early if you want to do all four background/poses. We skipped out after two so we could eat before it got crowded.
Have a great time in Alaska. We are also getting our first balcony room for our Alaska cruise on the Diamond Princess in May.
