This made the third cruise we have had on the Royal. She is a beautiful vessel, but has flaws that won't go away. The most annoying issue is the size of the theatre - way too small on busy nights. Some nights we arrived 45 minutes prior to the show and had terrible seats. Most of the other entertainment venues are overflowing, also.Our cruise ran into usually cold weather, so the outdoor facilities were worthless. You can't watch a movie under the stars in 40 degree weather, no matter how many blankets they give you. This may have contributed to the overflow traffic in the public areas.

As for the rooms, we all agree they are small, but comfortable. Our neighbors were quiet and we enjoyed good rest each night. The room steward was good, although we saw him only occasionally, but that's okay.

The embarkation NY is a nightmare. The lines are slow and the security is a joke. Seeing them hassling senior citizens over metal implants is repulsive and it slows everyone down to a crawl. Disembarking went much smoother and we made it to the airport in plenty of time to meet our 11:00 am flight. Read more