Enchanted Princess

Enchanted Princess is the fifth of the six Royal class ships, built by Fincantieri at Monfalcone and handed over on 30 September 2020, the yard's hundredth passenger vessel. She should have opened a European season that June. Instead she was delivered into a shut down industry and lay idle for some thirteen months, finally carrying passengers on 10 November 2021 from Port Everglades. The design decision that separates her from her sisters is small in square metres and large in intent: a windowless twenty seat room off The Catch by Rudi, lined floor to ceiling with LED walls, built for 360: An Extraordinary Experience, which began aboard her in November 2022. Committing prime interior volume to twenty covers a night says a good deal about where Princess thought its margins lay. Through summer 2026 she works the Mediterranean, mainly from Rome Civitavecchia, with Athens and Trieste also in use, before repositioning to Fort Lauderdale in December for a Caribbean and Bahamas winter.

What she does well is circulation and daytime variety. The three deck Piazza is the best room on the ship, with Crooners and Good Spirits at Sea off it and the International Cafe running around the clock; the free pizza at Slice is genuinely good. Sabatini's, Crown Grill and The Catch by Rudi are competent rather than daring, the World Fresh Marketplace buffet is broad, and the Princess Theater is a proper two level house. The Medallion wearable does what it promises for door opening and drinks delivery, and the glass floored SeaWalk remains a novelty.

The criticism is consistent rather than damning. Cruise Critic's editors give her four out of five, matched by a member average of four. The recurring notes are awkward routing that forces detours between decks, thin bar staffing and long waits, noise bleeding out of the Piazza at peak hours, shower curtains where glass would be expected at this price, and specialty covers clustered around fifty five dollars with further upcharges inside the menus. Reviewers also describe portion and pour reductions.

She suits the contemporary premium buyer who wants more polish than Royal Caribbean without Celebrity's price, and who books for the itinerary first. That is largely an older North American crowd, comfortable with formal nights and production shows. Travellers wanting thrill decks, a serious adult only retreat or fully flexible dining will find her conventional.

Cabins deserve the most thought. Royal class balconies are shallow, and the extended balconies on Dolphin deck are plainly overlooked from above. Much of Emerald deck 8 is obstructed by lifeboats. The forward facing cabins high up have doors that stay shut at sea. Anything directly under the pool decks will hear loungers dragged at dawn, and Emerald cabins sitting above show and dining space take noise until late. Our per cabin quiet and convenience scores are not yet published for this ship.

Read the deck plan before you choose, not after.