This was our 19th Princess cruise over the past 14 years. I believe that Princess has reinvented itself with the Royal Princess and has finally come back to what they were many years ago. Honestly, we were getting concerned and thought the best days of cruising were behind us with all the cutbacks. In fact, we took a two year break from Princess to try Celebrity (bad idea!!), and thought we'd give the Royal a try. Well, we're back and this cruise renewed our confidence in Princess. We now look forward to many more.

In spite of some of the complaints heard by some passengers regarding the lack of midship stairs, yes annoying and inconvenient at times. But, there were plenty of elevators and wait times were in minutes...not at all a problem. What's the rush while on vacation? The improvements in the Horizon Court area were remarkable. The food selection was amazing and tables were ALWAYS available with prompt service by the crew offering hot and cold drinks and anything else you could need. Yes, the balconies are smaller, but big enough to sit outside with a book and a cup of coffee which served our purpose. A concern we had was the lack of a Promenade deck, but it still exists in sections with lovely seating arrangements. It should probably be renamed, lol. Overall, I would consider this a very adult oriented ship which pleases us just fine even though they have nice childrens programs. Our biggest disappointment is in the itinerary which is SO boring by now. They need to shake up the eastern itinerary a bit. Please don't hesitate to book a cruise on this wonderful ship for an upscale cruise experience on a mainstream line.