I was quite reluctant about sailing with Princess for the first time and the Royal in particular having read the reviews.

One thing most of us are in agreement with is how beautiful the ship is, particularly the atrium. We were in cabin L105 at the very front of the ship, above the bridge on Lido deck. This was a mini-suite which is classified as having an obstructed view which is due to the fact that the balcony is metal and not transparent. However, in my opinion it is one of the best cabins on the ship. Our balcony was huge!! About 144sq ft and we felt no movement or any extreme wind. We were also warned that access to the balcony would be restricted but at no times was the door locked. We had a fabulous view and in fact have booked another mini-suite for a cruise on the Regal in November. We have chosen to go down one deck to Marina in M107 due to the fact that the balcony wraps around the side of the ship and extends across the whole length of the bridge directly below. We could have a party for 30 there with room to spare.

As we're were at the front of the ship we had no problems with the lifts but I can imagine they were a problem for mid ship cabins. The lifts weren't synchronised so sometimes you stopped at every floor which was quite frustrating. Read more