Ruby Princess

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.