This is our 11th cruise, the third one with Princess. We travelled with two other couples, (one in their 50's, the other in our same age range 41-52). Ruby Princess is the best Princess ship we have sailed on, beautifully decorated, with a more classical look than Sapphire, and with many improvements on the Grand class.

We flew from Toronto to Ft Lauderdale two days ahead of the sailing, rented a car and enjoyed shopping at Sawgrass Mills Mall and spent a day at Key Largo. We stayed at University Inn, which was of great value; it's about 12 miles north of the terminal.

Embarkation on Feb 21, 2009 was smooth and very efficient. We were there before noon. They lined us up according to the decks and it took no time at all, after staying briefly in the waiting area. Of course, it depends on whether you arrived with other passengers from buses and bigger groups at the same time, for that would slow you down. We were in our cabin by 12:30 pm. Our luggage arrived after we had lunch on the Lido deck (after 2 pm). We had enough time to unpack and tour around, well before the Emergency Drill. There was ample room for storing our bags and clothing in the closet area; there were more than enough hangers for the two of us. Service was as good as we have experienced in previous journeys. The only thing is the cabin stewards did not fold the traditional "towel animals" this time. Read more