A small circular platform floating just above Starship Mario has many berries, and three Boards that will advise the player on how to control Yoshi. The egg that contains him is located on the "nose" of the ship, having been obtained after rescuing Yoshi in the Yoshi Star Galaxy. Much like in Delfino Plaza from Super Mario Sunshine, Mario can ride Yoshi here. Some other characters in the game appear after certain Power Stars are collected or a specific goal is met. While on the ship, Mario is able to explore and interact with various non-playable characters, including Lubba and the Co-Star Luma. In the World 2 background, planets that resemble Saturn can be seen.
Starship Mario is able to access different worlds by traveling through portals between them. A flock of seagulls can be seen on and around Starship Mario in the first two worlds, as well as the final world.
Other than its smaller size, another difference from the Observatory is that it also has changing backgrounds, the appearance of which depends on the world that it is currently in. Although notably smaller than the previous games' hub areas, it serves as the hub of the game, replacing the Comet Observatory from the first game.
Starship Mario is a Mario-head-shaped planet and spacecraft in Super Mario Galaxy 2 that is used to travel across the universe. “Nice spaceship, yeah? More like a faceship! Har har!” - Lubba, Super Mario Galaxy 2 Lubba Yoshi Baby Luma 6 Yellow Lumas, 2 Blue Lumas, and 1 Red Luma Co-Star Luma Toads Captain Toad Star Bunnies penguins Whittles Rosalina (if the player achieved 242 Stars)