Okay, in fairness, all ships are designed largely by the cruise line's marketing department, but we felt it shined through a bit more on the Royal than we expected. As noted by others, the Royal lacks a true Promenade deck, so you cannot walk around the entire ship, something we enjoy doing occasionally, especially after dinner. Princess marketing seems to believe that walkers would be just as happy using the track on the Sports deck, but it is much harder to access, more exposed to the elements, and much shorter (seven laps to the mile), and you will be competing with the joggers. Not fun. Granted the weather was mostly cool on this cruise, but we ventured there only once in 12 days. Princess marketing miscalculated here, we think.

We also missed having a Skywalker's lounge at the stern of this ship, and not because we party at night, but because it's always been a quiet refuge from the crowds during the day. The Royal has no such out-of-the-flow spot where a person can sit and read for a couple of hours. Or if it does, we never found it (unless you pay for the Sanctuary). Again, marketing triumphs over comfort and convenience in a fairly naked way.

The sight-lines in the Princess Theater were not a good as I recall on other Princess ships. It is definitely possible to get a bad seat in this theater, so be sure to arrive early for the shows. The lounge was even more problematical. Always crowded for performances, many of the seats were jammed so close together that only a contortionist would have any chance of getting into them. What were they thinking? Small things, but they do add up. Read more