We had booked a Premium balcony room on Deck 12 but were completely surprised when we were upgraded to a Q5, Queens Grill Stateroom. The stateroom, though not really a suite, was magnificent. The only item lacking was a floor length mirror. I checked a premium balcony stateroom, and aside from the smaller size, had the same furniture and bedding as ours. We would have been completely happy in any of the outside rooms!
Boarding was quick and hassle free for us, however, the folks with staterooms other than Q or P had a line. We have had that with most cruise lines unless we come exceptionally early or late to board.
The public areas of the ship are wonderful and the outside deck space including the full promenade really added to our quality of sea life. The food was almost 100% great, much better than on other ships and the QE2. We thoroughly enjoyed the Library (largest at sea and even had audio books), the planetarium, the lecturers and the computer classes. The children's area in the aft of Deck 6 was wonderful. I heard more than a few cries when parents tried to take their children out of the area or off the ship. They wanted to stay with the nannies!