Ruby Princess Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We selected this cruise because our travel agent had a great deal on a balcony cabin with grats and beverages included, and it was the chance to see some different ports of call. A few months later I found another good deal on the same ship in April, 2017, doing the CA Coast, so I was a bit worried, as we are new to Princess and unsure if we would like one (or both) cruises!
I'm happy to say that we had a very solid experience overall. We used EZ Air and flew in the morning of the cruise as a result, so our embarkation process involved long wait times due to the fact that we were getting to the pier very early. Once on the ship, we headed to a dining room for lunch, and immediately saw that the quality of the food was way better than we experienced on Carnival, so that was a relief. The entire week, we never had a bad meal. Portion sizes were right on, service in the dining rooms was excellent, nothing to complain about there!
The buffet setup wasn't the greatest, always a long line at the main buffet, so when we did use the buffet, we usually went to the less crowded, smaller buffet towards the back of the ship. Still adequate options. The Pizza on Lido deck is AMAZING, this is legit NY pizza, and I should know, my dad was a Pizzeria owner in NYC his entire life! I also want to give kudos to the International Cafe in the Atrium, they had a small selection of very tasty foods there, and the gelato bar was good, and a bargain at 3 scoops for $1.50.
Cabin Review
Balcony
Our balcony cabin was quite nice, the closet space was the best I've seen on any cruise ship, excellent design there. Too bad the shower wasn't a bit bigger, that was the tiniest by far, and I'm not a big person! I banged my head into the shower walls a few times while trying to shave my legs or wash my hair. No bueno, but not a huge deal for a week. What was a bigger deal for me what that when we had rough seas (3 nights), something in the ceiling would make clicking noises, which kept me awake. My cruise-mates did not have this noise issue, so I did bring it up to Customer Service at the end of the cruise, not for me so much as the people cruising in our cabin right now, but customer service dismissed it, saying it was common in all cabins, and offered me ear plugs instead.