Majestic Princess

Danny calls this a very large pool deck for a ship this size. The main pool is long enough for laps, with a small plunge pool, teak bench seating to dip your toes in and a central deck that becomes a fountain and light show each evening. Sun decks stack above, facing the giant Movies Under the Stars screen, a concept Princess created. Hot tubs are spread around, a welcome touch on cooler sailings like Alaska.

The World Fresh Marketplace is a massive buffet with matching lines on both sides, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Expect an egg station in the morning, a carvery later in the day, and grab-and-go stations in the middle for charcuterie, sandwiches and salads. The Bakery doubles as a coffee shop, with pastries in the morning and desserts later, plus sugar-free and gluten-free options. Out back, guests can dine alfresco beside the Wake View Bar.

The Hollywood Pool Club is Majestic's adults-only solarium, with a lap-size pool, a pool bar and a glass roof that keeps it heated in Alaska and cool in the tropics. Projectors turn it into a party spot at night. Just forward, the Hollywood Conservatory takes the place of the Sanctuary found on her sister ships. It wraps around the front of the ship, and on Alaska sailings it has hosted a park ranger station.

Camp Discovery splits kids by age, with programming tied to Discovery and Animal Planet. The Treehouse (ages 3 to 7) has a reading nook, a jungle gym with a slide, crafts and its own outdoor play area. The Lodge (8 to 12) adds skee-ball, air hockey, foosball and video games. Teens 13 to 17 get the Beach House, a grown-up lounge with nooks and games. On Alaska sailings, kids work toward Junior Ranger badges.

The Princess Theater has stadium-style seating and hosts the big production shows, with lots of energy, singing, dancing and classic songs guests can sing along to. Princess has invested heavily in its entertainment, and evenings rotate between productions, vocalists, comedians and impressionists. By day, the stage is used mostly for enrichment, like a series of lectures on Alaska sailings. It works with Princess Live! and the Vista Lounge, so several shows run at once.

Crown Grill is Princess's original specialty restaurant, and Danny calls it an unapologetic steakhouse. Different cuts of steak lead the menu, along with lamb chops, veal and seafood, plus soups, salads and appetizers. An open kitchen fills the room with the smell of the grill, and booths and tables for two, four and six line the room. In front, the Crown Grill lounge has a piano and live music in the evening.

Danny calls the Piazza the beating heart of the ship. Modeled on an Italian town square, it rises three decks, from five to seven, with glass elevators on one side. Acrobats, street performers, demonstrations and tastings fill the center, and a bandstand hosts live music every day. Around it sit the International Café, Vines wine bar, the Bar Piazza and Good Spirits at Sea, which also hosts cocktail-making classes.

The Lotus Spa covers massages, facials, seaweed wraps and med-spa treatments, plus a salon, a barber shop and pedicure chairs. A couples villa adds a soaking tub and a large steam shower. Space once used for karaoke rooms in the China years is now extra treatment rooms. The Enclave thermal suite centers on a hydrotherapy pool with bubble loungers, ringed by heated stone loungers, steam rooms, a sauna and experience showers from Siberian cold to tropical rain.