The Royal Princess is a beautiful new ship. This was our 19th cruise, 3rd Princess, so I think I was expecting a little more. We went on Oasis Of The Seas when it was new, and it was "WOW" from the moment we arrived on the ship, so many new ideas and things to see. The Royal Princess did not WOW me, but it is very nice. The staff were very attentive, and all of the entertainment was excellent. We had no problems with elevators, or stairs because we stayed at the front of the ship. We stayed in a balcony room with the couch. The bed and linens were the most comfortable of any ship we have been on. The balcony is smaller than on other ships, but it is no big deal. It still has the two chairs and table just like every other ship. We liked that they used the space for a larger shower and bathroom. We went to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday staying at the Marriott Courtyard on the beach which we really like. We waited to go to the ship at 1:00 on Sunday and we almost walked on. It was very easy getting on and off the ship. We met people who had come on earlier in the day, and they stood in long lines, so I would definitely recommend waiting to get on if you can. They had many different entertainment venues, something for everyone. We went to many, and loved them all. The casino is a bit crowded in the evenings, especially if you play slots like I do. Many nights just had to play what was available, because all of them were busy. Don't worry about smoke though.I am very sensitive, and I never smelled smoke in this casino. We spent many fun hours in there. It's nice that they have three showtimes in the theater. We went at 10:30 every night and had great seats. There was one WOW factor on this ship, the Spa. It is incredible. Absolutely beautiful and very large! The treatments I had in there were excellent, and they don't try to push a lot of products on you which I appreciated. I have one complaint and it's not even one I have read on any of the other reviews. The deck chairs! They are very stiff and uncomfortable, probably from being new. The four of us made cushions out of towels to be able to sit on them. Also before, Princess had cushions on the balcony chairs, and now they are just the stiff same chairs they have on Carnival. (Or looked to be the same when Carnival ship was in port the same time as us.)...But that is a small issue. Room service was excellent, and always came at the exact time we had selected each morning. There are so many good movies in your room you can't possibly watch them all, but we enjoyed the ones we saw. So, I would ignore the negative reviews and go enjoy this ship, its employees, and all of the new people you will meet. We Texan's met two couples from Pennsylvania and shared several dinners, and time with them.

All in all we had a great voyage on a beautiful new ship!