The Ruby Princess is a beautiful ship with understated elegance. It definitely does not have the wow factor as the larger RCI ships. Our overall impression was that this was an older crowd than other cruises I have taken. It worked out fine for us as we are 63 and 52 years young.

Embarkation - We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Ft. Lauderdale and Cruise Port on Friday night and paid $130 on priceline. This worked out nicely for us. We grabbed a taxi from the airport and were able to check in at 3:00 pm. We were within walking distance to a seafood restaurant for dinner. The next morning we took the complimentary 10:00 am shuttle to the cruise port. We arrived at 10:30 am and were in group #1 to board the ship. The called our number at 11:45 and checkin was a breeze and straight on the ship and our room was ready. I started dialing the dine line to try to sign up for the chef's table. At first the calls did not go thru to a live person but after several attempts on the alternative dining option I was able to reach someone and she was able to take my request. I asked what the chances were and she said I was the first to be put on the list. I had a confirmed first seating on my paperwork before boarding but my ship card listed us as having anytime dining which I did not want. I had to see the maitre'd who was available at 3:00 pm. I waited about 45 minutes and was able to get our seating changed back to 1st seating right before the muster drill started. A lady I talked to while waiting said she had gotten through to request the chef's table at 1:00 pm to be told they were not taking any more requests. I later learned there had been over 300 requests.

Day 1 - At sea - We saw the welcome aboard show and enjoyed it and also tried our hand at the slots in the casino - sorry to say did not win much. Read more