This was the only cruise out of LA going to Mexico. We have traveled with Princess before and always been very happy. This ship is beautiful and our mini suite was lovely. The food was delicious and our waiter, Michael, in the Botticelli Dining Room was superb. However, we had signed up for Any Time Dining which turned out to be a disaster. There is only one dining room available before 7:30 then there are two and if you want to eat earlier you need to call at 8 am and sit on hold for 10 minutes and then you may or may not get a reservation. The first night we waited in line for 20 minutes only to be told there was no seating available. Not a good way to start the cruise. After several days of frustration we were fortunate enough to be able to get assigned seating at the 5:30 dining which was earlier than we preferred, but at least we knew we had a place to sit.

The Ruby is a larger ship than we prefer and there were so many passengers that it made the ship feel very crowded. You could not walk through the aisles for the crowds. The theater was too small for the amount of people and the seats were cramped and uncomfortable. The two main pools were full to capacity all the time and there were no lounges or chairs available. We finally found a smaller pool that was not quite as crowded. The common areas do not seem large enough to accommodate everyone.

The crew did everything possible to make you comfortable, but the configuration of the ship for the amount of passengers is not a good fit.