My wife and I have sailed on Princess, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Costa, and other lines over the years and Princess had become our favorite. Their “Crown” class of ships (Crown, Grand, Ruby, Emerald, etc.) had been outstanding inside and out, and we always looked forward to our cruises on them. So with great excitement we booked a trip on the new Royal expecting a similar or better experience. Unfortunately the Royal has serious design issues; hard to believe that Princess would mess with a proven formula.

Let me start by mentioning what others have said. The Royal is beautiful and classy on the inside. The Piazza is bigger and nicer, the International Café is larger, Alfredo’s Pizzeria is delightful, etc. Unfortunately the outside of the ship and the cabins did not receive the same level of attention as they are a downgrade from the Crown class of vessels. While we no doubt enjoy the inside areas, we cruise mostly for the sea ambiance and to escape colder weather. If all we wanted was a beautiful Piazza we would stay in the Houston Galleria.

We booked a Deluxe Balcony cabin and to our surprise the balconies on the Royal were drastically cut in size. With balconies all the rage, the Royal went in the opposite direction, reducing their size to a mere 3 feet 7 inches. This is the case in essentially all Balcony, Deluxe Balcony, and Mini Suite staterooms. Our balcony was barely usable – a person could not face the ocean unless the chair was on the most upright position and even then it was practically unusable. Just like other passengers we resorted to turning the chairs sideways such that they faced each other and away from the sea. The shallower balconies are also windier and less protected. The table is much smaller making breakfast on the balcony practically impossible. Gone are the foot stools and the ability to turn the chairs into recliners. The Crowns have far superior space on all their balcony levels - hard to understand why Princess would shrink their size on their new flagship, ostensibly the prototype of the future (Regal is essentially identical). The cabins on the Royal suffered the same downsizing. Our so called Deluxe Cabin was pricier but smaller than the old standard balcony cabins and the mini suites suffered the same fate, their balconies are also 3’ 7”. In St. Maarten we docked next to a new Royal Caribbean ship (the Allure of the Seas) – what a contrast with their balconies and furniture. Read more