http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/ 65-195 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html This was going to be our first cruise and when we were planning our vacation we knew we had the choice of doing it ourselves or taking a cruise. We decided to take a chance on a cruise and were looking forward to our trip. We were under the assumption that it would be all 5 star quality like many hotels we have stayed at. I found the staff onboard to be rude and unhelpful and they were just interested in getting their job done as quickly as possible. Most of the staff onboard seemed liked they didn't enjoy being there. The entertainment was just horrible and their shows are not Broadway shows. We struggled to find entertainment to fill our evenings. I gave good points to our cabin and the ship itself. It really is kept clean and is a long the five star line that we were expecting. The ports were okay and we did enjoy some of the excursions. I think from now on we will stay away from cruises and go with actual five star hotels. ]]> Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:20:04 -0500 65-178 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html Having sailed with Princess before we had similar expectations for our cruise on the Ruby Princess. Some of these expectations were met and others were not. First I have to say that the service provided by everyone was exceptional. They did whatever they could to make sure you had a good cruise. The problem we had with this cruise was the food. The cuts of meat were not always the best and the lettuce could be fresher. Our waiter did try to get better food for us as we requested it but he could only do so much. If you want a good dining experience go to Sabatinis. You have to pay extra but overall the dining experience makes it worthwhile. It seems that Princess is cutting back on the food in the dining rooms that is unfortunate as that is one thing we liked about Princess over other cruise lines. The ship itself was beautiful and a very nice ship to cruise on. The staterooms were comfortable and clean. Overall an okay cruise but I wish the food was better then I would have given it a better score. ]]> Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:41:16 -0500 65-173 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html We recently were on a 12 day cruise on the Ruby Princess with my extended family. We felt the ship was wonderful and we liked the ambiance onboard. We were a little worried with 3080 passengers onboard that it would feel crowded but this wasn't the case. The itinerary was wonderful and we enjoyed all the ports and they did a good job of giving us all the information we needed the day before. We had only an outside cabin which means it has a window. There was lots of room for all our things and our stewart did a wonderful job of cleaning everyday. Wish I could take him home to clean my house. The dining room staff were always humourous and very courteous. With the quality of the food we didn't think we needed to try a speciality restaurant. There was always more than enough food onboard and we really enjoyed all the different kinds of foods onboard. Though we all did put on a few pounds. The entertainment on Princess is great and their shows rival shows I have seen in Theatres. Always lots of things to do and I would recommend trying movies under the stars. In conclusion me and my extended family all had a wonderful time on the Ruby Princess and if you have a chance to cruise her take it. ]]> Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:12:06 -0500 65-171 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html A little background about us we are in our 50's and have cruises a lot with Celebrity and Holland America. This was going to be our first cruise with Princess on the Ruby Princess. We both have a fairly laid back attitude so we weren't worried about trying Princess. The embarkation was smooth and we were in our suite in no time. The cabin was beautiful and we were glad we treated ourselves to a suite. The room was spacious and we could easily pack all our things away. The Ruby Princess is really a lovely ship and our favourite place was the Piazza. You could pick up a coffee here or a snack or just have a drink. We found we spent a lot of time there. The main theatre does fill early for shows so be sure to arrive early to get a good seat. The shows were all professionally done and we really enjoyed them. Movies under the Stars is a new experience that we enjoyed and we watched a few movies at night. The open dining was really convenient though we didn't get the same waiter each night which we enjoy with set dining. The food was excellent and there was enough choices for us sometimes too much. If you like Casino's the Princess's casinos are very tight so don't expect to win much. In conclusion we enjoyed ourselves on the Ruby Princess we liked the ship, the food, the staff and will cruise with Princess again. ]]> Tue, 18 May 2010 23:42:40 -0500 65-170 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html Well my wife and I are recovering from our cruise on the Ruby princess. We really did enjoy ourselves and were kept busy with a lot of activities. Our flight down on American went smoothly and we took the cruise line transfers to the ship. Boarding was quick and we were soon in our balcony cabin. We really made good use of the balcony and often spent a lot of times at sea reading out there. We went with personal choice dining onboard and it was a good choice for us as we like flexibility with our schedule. We never had to wait too long to be seated though we didn't go during the prime dining times. The food everywhere was plentiful and good quality. I liked the fast food near the pool and the snacks in the Piazza. The dinners were really good as well and we tried many different foods that we never have eaten. I tried the frogs legs though they do have your regular choices as well. The ports were fun and Princess took good care of us on the excursions. I really liked the Ruby Princess and I look forward to cruising on her again. ]]> Fri, 14 May 2010 18:07:42 -0500 65-153 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html First of all we booked through Princess Air and they put us on a redeye flight instead of putting us out the day before and giving us a hotel. We weren't happy about the redeye but we went with it. We arrived early in the morning but Princess staff was waiting for us. It is at that point that we could relax and they wisked us off to the pier. Checkin was quick and easy and faster than some hotels I have been at. We went for first dining instead of having to wait with personal choice dining. We were lucky and got a table for two which is a nice way to dine. Not that we don't like being social but it made it more relaxing for us. We met enough nice people during the days on the cruise. The food was good though some of the buffets could have used more choices. The ports were the main reason we choose this itinerary and they were all great. Princess did a great job with our shore excursions and we really made the most out of each port. I would sail on the Ruby Princess again given the chance and the right itinerary. ]]> Mon, 03 May 2010 18:29:02 -0500 65-117 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html This was my 6th cruise but it would be the first for my family and we were all looking forward to our cruise on the Ruby Princess. I am bringing my 2 kids ages 10 & 14 with me and this will be their first cruise. Overall I have to say that I really love the ship. I have travelled with all the other cruise lines and I find that Princess is just a bit above them. This goes in the way of food, entertainment and the cabins. Overall a very nice cruise and a beautiful ship. As I brought my kids with me I realized some of the downsides of the Ruby Princess. First of all we splurged and got a balcony cabin. Any of these rooms are tight but with 4 people they are even tighter. The balcony cabin gave us the extra room we needed. I looked at some of the insides and couldn't imagine 4 people in there. Though they have programs onboard for the kids they don't have alot of activities that were interesting for them. I sailed with my Husband before with Royal Caribbean and we found that it might have more activities onboard that would make it fun for our kids. That will be our next cruise. If you don't have kids I would say go with the Ruby Princess otherwise go to a more kid friendly line with lots of activities onboard. ]]> Thu, 15 Apr 2010 23:34:40 -0500 65-14 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html This was our first cruise and we were not disappointed. The ship was lovely, food was good and the cabin was excellent. The staff was mostly friendly and prompt but we did find after the first day, the staff in the buffet area was not as attentive as the first day. We booked a couple of excursions, one to a plantation in Jamaica and that day it rained and was cool. We tried to cancel but couldn\'t but went anyways. We were both glad we did. The tour was great, the people were friendly but the luncheon was spartan. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and say they assumed more of us would cancel so there was very little food (1/4 of a sandwich for some). Next we travelled to the Caymans where we enjoyed a lovely day at 7 mile beach, again another excursion we booked. The beach and water were heavenly and we really relaxed. One man put a damper on our day in that he sat in the middle of the group and smoked a cigar. Here we were in the middle of nature at its finest smelling a stinking cigar. No fault of the cruise line or the tour booking, just an inconsiderate person. We did not book a tour for Mexico and just walked around. At Princess Cay we decided to stay on board and it was a fantastic decision. We enjoyed the pool out the back of the ship with no one around, enjoyed a tasty lunch and relaxed in the sun. What a wonderful day. Tips: Always bring ear plugs when you travel, don\'t forget something for motion sickness and don\'t forget to order coffee to be delivered to your room each morning before you dress. ]]> Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:15:03 -0600 65-13 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html I paid extra for a Mini-Suite only to find my balcony was completely overlooked from above by three decks of balconies - for the price I paid I expected privacy. Some days we found that food and other rubbish had been thrown onto our balcony. The buffets were overcrowded with not enough seating available and below standard food - totally unacceptable. Everything apart from the basics was charged as an extra and it was expensive. An example was a half day tour costing $60 each - multiply that by 40 people on each tour bus makes mega profits for Princess Cruises. Good Points : The poorly paid very overworked staff were in general very good, our waiter at dinner and our cabin steward were excellent. Entertainment was to a high standard with the exception of the last evening when the comedian (and I use that term very loosely) put on a show which was not fit for adults and totally unacceptable seeing there were children present. Will I be sailing with Princess Cruises again - NO not ever again. ]]> Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:13:53 -0500 65-12 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html I have sailed with Princess many times before and my expectations were high for the Ruby Princess as it was a new ship. I do agree that the ship is beautiful and we were not disappointed in this respect. I found some of the staff seemed overworked and it took them a long time to get me my drink orders. We had a suite onboard the ship which we really did enjoy. My main complaint was the food. You used to be able to get warm meals all the time but now lunch is sandwiches. Sandwiches I don\'t care to eat cold lunches thank-you. When they did have food some of it was horrible. I think they need some new chefs. They obivously are cutting back on food and quality but they cut too much. Luckily they had the pizza still so I ended up eating alot of that. Overall the ship is nice but don\'t expect much in the way of food. ]]> Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:12:29 -0500 65-11 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html My review will be according to areas: Embarkation - Remember in Fort Launderdale you have numerous ships departing on the same day, meaning lots of people. With this in mind we had a speedy, well organized embarkation. From the cab to our room in approximately 25 minutes. Good job Princess. Cabins - We stayed in an oceanview at the front of the ship. Extremely small room. The bed was next to the wall, meaning one person had to crawl into the bed. Never used the oceanview window, interior room would have been ok. Shower was a laugh. Closet space was great and the TV was nice. Our cabin steward was above satisfactory. Extremly attentive. Dining - We used anytime dining and met different people every night. The food was adequate, good but not great. We tried the Crown Grill, to us not worth the extra money. Service went from great to ok depending on your waiter. We rarely used the buffets. We loved the Pub lunch in the Wheelhouse lounge, only open for lunch on sea days. Fish and chips excellent. The grill food was above average. My favorite was the hot dogs, I love the simple things in life. Sanctuary - We used this area, extra charge, and loved it. The private area with your lounge chairs assigned to you and only you. Use of MP3 players at no charge. The best part of the cruise, we cut our port days short in order to return to the sanctuary. The chairs were more comfortable than our bed in our cabin. Casino - I love to gamble and this area has problems. The dealers are young and inexperienced, many complaints about these guys. Slots are difficult. The first night was nonsmoking in the casino, good job Princess. Go a step further and make it every night. Entertainment - Ok not spectacular. Disembarkation - Princess great job getting off the ship. Problems with transportation returning to the airport. Due to the large number of cruise ships in port we had approiximatly 15,000 people looking for a ride to the airport. Be prepared to wait. Overall Rating - 3.5 stars out of 5 - Sanctuary 5 STARS Plus ]]> Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:11:16 -0600 65-9 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html I do 6 cruises a year I have been doing this with my 9 and 13 year olds. I am 36 and this is our favorite cruise this is my 16th cruise ]]> Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:08:40 -0600 65-10 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html I will make this a quick review as I just got back from my sailing on the Ruby Princess. I have sailed a lot and this was not my first cruise. I have sailed extensively with Holland America and Princess prior. The ship is beautiful and I really liked my balcony cabin. Everything was clean and new and I liked the decor inside. My complaint comes with the food. If you want real eggs at the buffet forget it it is all a powdery mixture. Lunch was the same with food that bordered on unedtiable. Dinner was a hit or miss though our waiter was top notch and did a good job. The specialty restaurants are worth the charge. The Crown Grill and Sabatini\'s both had good food but you had to pay extra for it. Didn\'t I pay for the food when I purchased the cruise apparently I didn\'t purchase the good food. Overall the ship is beautiful and the cabins wonderfull. The service is good and the food horrible. Would sail again but would be prepared to lose weight. ]]> Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:10:06 -0600 65-8 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html I just returned from a week aboard the Ruby Princess. It was a terrible experience. The service in the public areas was horrendous. The balcony cabin we had was fine and the cabin steward service was adequate. I have to say that the design of this ship leaves a lot to be desired. The elevators are inadequate in number for the number of users. The public areas are too small and it is very confusing to find your way around the ship. All in all, I was very disappointed in this ship and cruise line as far as the level of service is concerned. The waits for service in the dining rooms can be excruciatingly long and the bar service is almost nonexistent. Not a good experience overall. ]]> Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:07:45 -0600 65-7 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html All I can say is that we just came back from our cruise on the Ruby Princess and we were really impressed. Everything was wonderful, the Ruby Princess was beautiful, ports of call impressive and the service outstanding. I heard some bad reviews on the food but I have to disagree. With all the choices onboard it was hard for me not to find something that I really enjoyed. My family really liked the Crown Grille and Sabatini\'s. The waiters onboard were so friendly and helpful and our cabin stewart worked so hard for us all the time. I felt sorry for him because he always seemed to be working. We liked the fitness area and we spend a good hour there every day. The shows were entertaining and we always found activities to keep us occupied. The Ruby princess looked beautiful on the inside and the crew was always busy making sure she was clean. Overal we loved the Ruby Princess and would definitely sail on her again. ]]> Wed, 21 Jan 2009 22:06:21 -0600 65-6 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html I am not a frequent cruiser and have only sailed a few times. Once with Princess back in the 90\'s and the other with Celebrity a few years ago. However, I have to say that this was the most impressive ship that I have been on. Both me and my family all really enjoyed this cruise. We had a minisuite which we found perfect for what we were looking for. There was enough space for all of us in there. My major complaint with the ship was the food. I didn\'t like the buffets and found them to be rather cheap. I had to go to the dining rooms for breakfast and lunch to get a better meal. As for the dinner we really loved some and didn\'t care for others. Food was average at best. Me and my eldest son liked working out in the gym. We found it wasn\'t too busy the times that we went and we were able to get as much time as we wanted on each of the machines. The ports were good and service overall was good. We would definitely sail again on the Ruby Princess but would be nice if they improved in the above mentioned areas. ]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:05:11 -0600 65-5 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html We flew in from Canada and everything went well no delays or missed connections. We stayed at the Hilton when we arrived and really loved it. You can go for a nice walk around the Marina from there. The next day we took a cab to the ship which wasn't far away. The food onboard was good from the Lido deck to the Dinner. I really enjoyed it. We meet quite a few people onboard and made some good friends. The shows onboard were hit or miss. Some were real good and others boring. Overall loved the look and feel of the ship. My daughter really loved the activities offered onboard and made a really good friend onboard. She is still talking about how much fun she had. My favourite port was in Jamaica we really enjoyed that. Overall a great cruise on the Ruby Princess and we are looking forward to going back again. ]]> Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:03:40 -0600 65-3 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html Our family sailed on the Ruby Princess over Christmas and loved it. Our journey started out of Vancouver which was quite challenging due to the weather. It started with a stressful ride to the airport and then waiting to get deiced in the plane for 2 hours. They ran out of solution half way through but did let us go. Apparently the last plane allowed to leave. It was crazy at the airport. Then in Dallas we off course were very late and afraid that we missed our plane. We ran and ran through the airport and when we finally got to the gate we found out our plane from LA was delayed for 4 hours due to mechanical problems. Well we made it to Florida at 3 am very very tired, but we made it. We did phone Princess Emergency Line and informed us about our late arrival and they said we have to find our own way to the Hotel, but I should give the receipt of the Taxi bill to my travel agent. The cruise was wonderful, a beautiful ship. We had a beautiful balcony cabin onboard and really enjoyed the ship. I really liked the Piazza which I found new on the Ruby Princess. My kids loved the activities and programs that were planned for them and they made a lot of new friends. We all got sick with the Sinus cold and were out of commission for two days, but we did enjoy the break. We especially loved Jamaica. Dunns river falls was amazing but be carefull as my Husband slipped and fell. Overall a great cruise and we definitely would sail again on the Ruby Princess. ]]> Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:49:28 -0600 65-4 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html Well I booked on the first 7 day cruise on the Ruby Princess and I was looking forward for months for this cruise and this is surprising as this is our 11th cruise. We just were happy to try out a brand new ship on its first real cruise. Embarkation was slow but well got through okay and then on the ship. The ship itself was beautiful and we really enjoyed the beauty of the Piazza with its beautiful stained glass chandelier. The Piazza also had a lot of street preformers and bakery, candy stations etc. It really was a great place to be onboard. The Ruby Princess had so many amenties and activities to do onboard that we knew we wouldn't be able to do everything. We enjoyed the food in the English Bar or playing miniature golf and the many performances around the ship. Our room was clean but had that new smell to it which we enjoyed. The lido was a little disorganized and too crowded so was hard to get a table when you wanted. The anytime dining basically means waiting for a table and you are given a pager. I usually had to wait an hour to get a table too long for me. The ports were good as we did our own thing though tendering off a big ship like the Ruby Princess can take a while which we had to do in Grand Cayman. Overall we liked the Ruby Princess and would sail on her again. Though she is not much different than her sister ships just a little newer. We really enjoyed the Ruby Princess and are planning our next trip. ]]> Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:55:56 -0600 65-2 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html I was one of the fortunate few to be able to go on an inaugural voyage of the Ruby Princess. Most of the passengers onboard were travel agents, Princess executives or journalists. The Ruby is a sister ship to the Crown and Emerald Princess with a few twists. You can enjoy a good pub lunch of cottage pie or fish and chips or instead cool down by the pool with the misting stewards. They have new production shows which I really enjoyed watching. As well they have an international cafe in the Piazza full of pastries and salads. The cabin was comfortable but clean. Once again they have a huge number of balcony cabins and everyroom has a safe, hairdryer, minibar and flat screen TV's. Service was good onboard though you could tell that the crew was still trying to get used to the new ship. Things did get disorganized at times but were quickly fixed up. They are now charging for many of the behind the scene tours which used to be included. They do have an ultimate tour which includes a picture with the captain on the bridge. The cost $150 / person however they only sell 12 spots on a cruise. When you consider the ship holds 3000 people the places will go quickly so book early. They have various enrichment programmes onboard everything from art to astronomy they have a lot of different options. Overall I did enjoy our cruise on the Ruby Princess even though it was very short. I am looking forward to sailing on her for a longer voyage. ]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:45:49 -0600 65-1 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/princess/ruby-princess.html was fortunate enough to be able to take the Pre-Inaugural cruise on the Ruby Princess. This was only a two day cruise so it just wasn't long enough. As the Ruby is another Grand class ship the layout is very similar with few differences. They have the "Sanctuary" which is an adults only area with pool, steam and sauna. We tried it out and it was heavenly. I would be going here more on longer cruises. Other difference I noticed was the main lobby area. They have entertainers in this area like a Unicyclist or a juggler and then they sandwiches, sushi and other goodies around the sides. The ceremony was good with roses everywhere ruby red of course. Then they had a wedding with Gavin Mcleod giving away the bride. Trista and Ryan were there for the formal Naming Ceremony. The food onboard was excellent and we really enjoyed it. We watched also a show in the evening which was an Abba tribute band. They did a really good job. Overall though a short cruise it was very good and I hope to sail on the Ruby princess in the near future ]]> Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:17:51 -0600