In August I cruised to Alaska on the Ruby Princess with family and really liked the layout of the ship and all of the folks that work so hard each day to make the experience great. I saw a great deal on a cruise to the Caribbean and talked 3 of my friends into going for their first cruise experience and this was my first cruise in a room with a balcony.

The ship is getting ready to have a major overhaul in March however you would not know it based upon the shape of its interior. The staff and crew do a fantastic job of keeping all areas clean and repairing any damaged areas.

I stayed in a Premium balcony room, C327, which is located mid ship on the 10th floor and is surrounded by other cabins. I originally purchased the standard balcony room but was upgraded at no charge from a BE to a B1 cabin. Very quiet but more movement then the interior cabin I had in August, despite the water being calmer during this journey. The gentle shifting was not uncomfortable and added to the adventure. Out steward, Benjaman was fantastic, and tidied up the room every time we left. In addition, I suffer from acid reflex and have to have my head elevated to prevent problems. At home I use a pillow to elevate the mattress but here I placed a coat to accomplish this task. After my first night my coat was removed and the steward placed two folded towels that did the job without my asking. In my friends room they both use a CPAP unit and the cruise provided them with bottled, distilled water for the units and extension cords to access plugins not convenient to the machines. Very helpful on both of our accounts. Read more