We just returned from the repositioning cruise taking the Royal Princess from NY to Fort Lauderdale. We had gorgeous warm weather, calm seas, and decent ports of call (St. Thomas, Antigua, Aruba). The food was delicious with very generous portions. The shows were for the most part, very professional and entertaining. The Halloween party was a hoot, the costumes were amazing as many passengers dressed up for the occasion.

What we did not like was the layout of the ship. The lack of a promenade on the promenade deck was a major flaw to us as we always look forward to walking laps around the ship. There was access to about 100 feet of decking on either side of the ship. The low life boats obstructed the views for the lounge windows on deck 7. There were fewer pools on the ship, with extra cabins taking the place of the pools resulting in more passengers and less public spaces. The theater has low ceilings, just two aisles, and none that crossed side to side. To get to seats at the far sides, one would need to cross in front of the stage as there are no side doors on the lower level. Plus there are no mid ship stairs above deck 7, resulting in overcrowded elevators. The one positive improvement that we enjoyed on the Royal was the beautiful Piazza, which was larger than other Princess ships, a plus for those of us who enjoy dancing.

There are too many other ships to chose from......... we will not book this ship in the future.