Ruby Princess Review
Rating by category
Additional details
The ship is quite nice. Very similar to the other Princess ships with some changes, i.e., Crooners Bar is on the port side of the ship instead of the starboard as on most of their fleet. Also Sabatini's is no longer on this ship and now the Crown Grill is in the location of where Sabatini's used to be. They have added another "extra charge" restaurant called Share which I did not try.
I found the food to be not as good as I have found on other Princess ships. The quality seemed below average, at least to me. The service was up to par for Princess. I found the onboard staff to be friendly and efficient. I do not participate in most of the onboard activities as I prefer to find a cozy corner to catch up on my reading. Several of the ideal spaces for reading (starboard side outside of the Explorers Lounge) were already taken when I arrived so I did have the option of sitting on my balcony to read and enjoy the fabulous ocean views. If you have never experienced having your own private balcony I would stronglu suggest it. I recognize that not everyone has the budget to do this but, if you can, it is well worth it!
We experienced a bit of rough seas the first night, first sea day and into the second evening. I have been on over 60 cruises so I have been in rough seas before but the noise from the stabalilizers on this ship was beyond anything I have experienced. It sounded as though someone was dragging a deck chair across my ceiling every 30 seconds. I could not sleep the first night and went to Passenger Services at midnight to let them know. This terrible noise continued all through the next day. I had friends staying 5 cabins aft of me and they had some noise but not to the level that I was experiencing. (We both had mini suites - mine was D323 and my friends were in D403) I did speak to other guests and someone told me that the stabillizers on the Ruby and Emerald are the same and that Princess has had issues in the past with thr stabillizers on these two ships. If you are prone to noise I would avoid my cabin as well as the ones directly above and below as it seems that was where the noise was the worst.
Cabin Review
Mini-Suite with Balcony
The mini suites are great.....lots of room and a large sofa to take a "nap"!
Port Reviews
Honolulu
The Hawaiian Islands are always enjoyable. The weather is ideal and the people very friendly. Because the ship does not sail until 11:00 PM it gives one an opportunity to dine out while in Oahu. I went to at a restaurant near Diamond Head called Michel's. It is in the Colony Surf Hotel (which has now been converted from a hotel to condos). It is a lovely restaurant right on the beach, a great place to watch the sunset. It is a bit "pricey" but the food and service are well worth it.