Having been on both Royal Princess and Regal Princess in the past year, we expected a better experience. The Royal had the very best food and entertainment that we have ever had on-board. The Regal was a close second. We were on the Ruby a few years ago before it was "overhauled" as they claimed. It wasn't much better than before. Even the Crown Princess was better, It was a short five day trip from LA to Cabo and back. But that was no excuse for the food choices (or lack of food choices) and the lack of entertainment in the Piazza. During the day, for the most part, the ONLY entertainment there was prerecorded music. Around dinner time, they occasionally had a Mariachi group who were very good. Once or twice we heard a pianist play for a brief time. No contests, no arts and crafts, no dance contests, no singers.... mostly listening to the crickets chirping! The Princess Theater had an excellent comedian (Jamal) and a great singer on the last night named "Teacup" but we had seen all of the stage shows in the past year or so on other cruises. In the Explorers Lounge, a duo called Walker Black were really great. On Formal Night, we dressed up a bit and went to the dining room. The menu choices were so poor that we went to the buffet which was only adequate. The only good Dining Room meal was the last evening with Surf and Turf. A small steak and two good size prawns. No Lobster on the menu. The buffet usually had something decent to eat but we couldn't take much more of the food there. Was it the short trip that made this disappointing, or was it the way the Ruby is run? We will not be on-board her again. Read Less

Second time on Ruby and just as great as the first time. Everything was excellent. Embarkation/ Debarktion was great and we were on and off the ship and through the terminal both times in 30 min or less. The crew was great, the food in MDR was great, buffet was good but it is a buffet so don’t expect 5 star food. Room steward was wonderful and very on top of things. We love MUTS and we watched Bohemian Rhapsody on this cruise which was great on that screen and with the sound. We took my wife’s parent on this trip and it was there first cruise and all they could do was rave about the ship and the quality. As soon as we got back they started talking about booking more cruises immediately. We had a wonderful time! We love Princess and definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a premium cruise without the premium prices. Read Less

Just returned from the 5 day cruise to Cabo. The cruise was a series of hits and misses... Embarkation went quite smoothly as it took less than 20 minutes from the parking lot to being on the ship enjoying the Lido deck. The inside cabin, Aloha 728 was a standard cabin with beds pulled together to make one queen size bed. There was a mini fridge (stocked with a couple of bottles of water for purchase), a large television(one of the largest we have ever seen in a cabin). The television had about 6 news and sports stations(MSNBC, Fox, BBC, ESPN International, ESPN2, and CNBC). One of the HITS was the massive amount of on demand (complimentary) movies, tv series, and other films. We watched Can You Ever Forgive Me, Crazy Rich Asians, Mr. Rogers documentary, and Three Identical Strangers. The offerings were a welcome change from the high cost of renting similar movies on RCL. The bathroom was standard mini bathroom with shower and shower curtain. Fortunately, all the water remained in the shower, which is not the case with some lines. There were very, very few outlets. For those of you who have not been on Princess recently, the entry card needs to be tapped on the display (where the yet to be used Medalian sign) to enter. The food was really hit or miss. On the first night, we ate in the anytime dining room (Michelangelo on deck 5). My wife had a tasteless asian noodle dish, while I had an average salmon entree.The second night we ate in the Crown Grill, where my wife had a terrific filet mignon and I had a New York Strip steak that may have been used for shoe leather.Skip the fires unless you like the texture of potato chips. Other sides were fine as were the deserts. On the third night we both hit home runs with my turkey breast entree and my wife's skewers of fish.The fourth night was not too memorable as we both had some pork dish. The last night was a hit for my wife with the surf and turf and a miss for me with a dried out chicken breast. We ate breakfast in the buffet and nothing really stood out, though I would recommend the made to order omelette. The food was quite redundant for breakfast. We both enjoyed the paninis from the International Cafe. I also thought the hamburger on the Lido deck was fine. The entertainment was also hit and miss. We saw the "magic" production show, and like almost everyone we spoke with, found it to be too abstract and a little boring. We really enjoyed the duo of Black and Walker who on separate nights did covers of Eagles and Fleetwood Mac music. There was an energetic comedian (AJ) and superb singer on the last evening in the main showroom(Teacake, yes that was her name). Staff was efficient as always. Our room steward was very thorough. Our only complaint was with a food server in the buffet he was coughing all over the place. For one of the few times in my life (we have been on over 10 cruises), I complained to the manager. Nevertheless, all other staff were very competent. We took only one excursion and that was on the Cabo Rey for whale watching. They were wonderful. We were fortunate to have about a dozen whale sightings and even one breaching. They served drinks and chips/salsa as well. The whole excursion lasted about two hours. I took advantage of the treadmills in the fitness center on three of our five days. Though busier than I have seen on other cruises, there was never a wait (though about 10% seemed to be out of order). I did check out the "track". I have never seen one that is 1/16 of a mile, hardly worth the time or energy. Waling around the 7th/8th decks seemed more practical. The highlight of the cruise was the other passengers. We had a wonderful time meeting and talking with our fellow passengers. We also had an informal meet and greet of cruise critic posters as well as a fun slot pull(we actually broke even). Leaving the ship as interesting. Our group was called 45 minutes ahead of schedule. However, there was quite a wait to get through customs. There was no trouble retrieving our luggage. Overall, a good cruise, but to many misses to make it exceptional or outstanding. Read Less

Good value, right length, many sea days. We had a wonderful time. Minor complaints are that a coffee card is fixed price, and no longer able to be carried forward to Future cruises. It does not make sense to spend $31 dollars for a coffee card on a five day cruise when you cannot carry it forward. They either need to allow you to carry it forward, or sell it at discount for a short cruise. The TV seems locked into "video tape" mode in our cabin, and there was no way to change it. This should be remedied. Despite these shortcomings, we still had a wonderful time. Excellent service from everyone on board. Great embarkation, great debarkation, wonderful service in the dining room and from our cabin steward. Cruise director Natalie was always upbeat and made the voyage a real pleasure. Food was excellent, we will travel with Princess again. Read Less

I needed some cruise credits in my quest for Elite status, so I booked this 5 day trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico out of San Pedro, California and traveled solo. I'm 56 and married now for the past three years, so I don't usually get to go by myself anymore. Embarkation was flawless. I was very surprised not to have to wait in a "holding tub room" and within 10 minutes I was on the ship. Our rooms were not ready yet until 1pm, so I headed up to the buffet on deck 15. I thought the food quality was very good compared to the many other Princess Ships I have booked in the past. See, I know you guys can do it if you have the right management in place. The crew attitude and vibe of the ship is very nice. I decided to dine every night in one of the alternative restaurants. For $29, you can hardly beat the service and cordiality and relationship you build with the folks in the Crown Grille and at Share. If anything, it's just a bit too over the top. No fewer than six people asked me how my black and blue onion soup was. Did notice that some days it was just good and other days amazing. Consistency issue? The meat quality is more variable than I would like, but still pretty good, I'd give it a B+. Booked the Sanctuary the entire time. This was good at times, not so good at others. Basically the staff don't pay much attention to the passengers and it's not clear if you need to wait to be seated on your chair/bed or if you can just walk in. One day I got a glass of lemon water (as opposed to water with a little lemon) and an order for lunch taken, the next day was completely ignored. It was also quite cold up there the first and last days of the cruise - which of course they can't help. There's a policy in place I was previously unaware of as regards your room cabin - they won't clean it unless you are out of the cabin. I tend to work in the cabin in the mornings of bad weather days, and you should be aware of this if you are a business person. It would have been nice to know this when checking in to the room or at least see this policy in the stateroom handbook. The cabin attendant was a bit insistent on this. I went to the Purser's desk and they printed out a copy of this policy for reference as I wanted to hear it directly from the cruise line. I am glad some other cruise lines aren't picky about this - it would be tough if you had a senior or mobility impaired person who couldn't always make it out of the cabin in the morning. What gets refurbished and/or not is a bit mysterious to me. I'm guessing they have priorities. As far as I can tell, the bed was new (one of the new Princess beds). I had a "premium balcony" cabin that had a *huge* balcony. (Every day the steward would stack the deck chair on top of the foot rest. Bit of a mystery, so it won't blow away?) The room contains only the bed, a desk, a chair and a small table. Previous balcony cabins also had a sofa - not sure where that's gotten off to particularly in a "premium cabin." Ship has quite a few rusty spots and - this makes me laugh - the Promenade deck does not go all the way around the ship. I'd really like an enclosed deck for walking around the ship. Seems like it's easy to get lost - the Feng Shui not so good, kind of clunky on this ship. The Internet was hit-or-miss. I signed up for the daily package of unlimited Internet which is a new-ish thing. Sometimes it works great, sometimes not at all. I think it's a bit under-powered for the true Medallion Net experience (which has not been implemented yet) - heads have probably rolled and I am betting they are looking for a solution. Also, don't expect to use Sling TV outside the USA - it's blocked. Was successful streaming some Netflix shows. Tried to order room service on their website - nothing ever was delivered. Someone called to confirm all of my specialty restaurant appointments at 8:00 a.m. That seemed unnecessary and was not pleased about that. Tried to take a hot bath in the middle of the day a couple of times - no hot water. Did come on later. Probably cabin specific. Also my AC was not very good - but a quick call to engineering fixed that. Really these are small points, most of which could be fixed by better hotel and restaurant management. I had a good time on this cruise and would do this itinerary again. When you do California in February - bring your fleeces, it's a bit chilly and/or rainy. Read Less

This was not our first cruise with Princess, nor the first time we have sailed onboard the Ruby Princess, in fact, we are "Platinum" status with Princess. Yet it never seems to surprise us how different each ship (and sailing) is. Specifically, when it comes to service level, it's surprising to see how much of a variation there is between ships, to the point where there appears to be no real visible standard across the fleet. Airport->Ship Transfer (via Princess) - HORRIBLE experience, the staff were disorganized, rude and obnoxious. A bunch of busy body clipboard handling, gossipping grannies that clearly have nothing better to do with their time, nor care about the customer experience. Check-In & Embarkation - relatively smooth process with a friendly check-in agent. On-Board Promotions - Princess knows they have you captive, the onslaught of their propaganda to get you to buy something, pay for extras, pay for events, pay for excursions is truly annoying. We were frequently approached/disturbed while we were enjoying a quiet meal either in the main dining room or buffet dining area. Although our cabin steward was very friendly and helpful, the overall "feel" of the crew seemed to be one of being overworked, as it clearly appeared that the ship was understaffed. Frequently many of the public areas around the ship seemed poorly serviced, and/or maintained. Princess appears to have definitely cut back on many of it's "normal" standards that kept us coming back, either in and around the ship or it's now "mediocre" dietary selections, opting to force passengers to "paid" dining options. The cabin we were offered as a paid "upgrade "option, from a Premium balcony to a Junior suite, was welcome, although having given up the extra large balcony for a sitting area. With the poor weather, it was nice to have a sitting area, the only issue was the couch was a hide a bed, and in poor condition, be very worn and lumpy. Quite uncomfortable actually. Read Less

The ship was beautiful, meticulous throughout. Our room steward kept our room neat and clean daily. The room was nice, tons of storage and the balcony withbeautiful views. Disappointed that on sea days the activities were lame,very little to do especially on the last sea day back to LA where the weather was too cool for most to sit on deck. The live music on deck was sparse, they played for about 45 minutes on sea days, also very disappointing. Other cruise lines we have cruised with had very robust activities and live music all day on sea days. Food was average, thought the best tasting food was the pizza and hamburger spots on deck. The waiters in the buffet dining room were very attentive and did a nice job. Waiters in the dining rooms were good, not great, but good. Because this cruiseline requires prepaid gratuities, we felt that the crew, other than a handful of exceptions, did not go above and beyond to help make for an exceptional experience Paid for two specialty dining experiences; one in Crown Grill - food was excellent although waiter was arrogant. Curtis Stone's restaurant Share was a huge disappoint- food was weird, did not taste good and our waitress was like a stepford wife, so robotic... with each of the 6 courses she would describe the food as if reading a script then disappear. Not a fun, or tasty experience. Other reviews are great, so maybe it was just a bad night for them. Shops offer good variety. Itinerary was good, just wish there was either a 4th stop on day 6 or, more activities on the last 2 days at sea. Embarkation was well oiled and we boarded within 10 minutes of arriving to the pier. Booked our own excursions separately from the cruise ship which were beyond awesome. Average age seemed to be > 50, mostly couples, some kids but not too many. Read Less

It was a good itinerary and list of ports for a quick cruise. Weather was great. It was convenient to get to and from the LA cruise port. The ship was well maintained and clean. The embarkation process was as good as it gets; no wait, no lines, and efficient. The meet and greet at the airport was handled well. Disembarkation was equally efficient. The food at the Horizon Court had great variety and quality. The horizon court was very clean. We love the ocean and the fresh air while getting to visit ports we want to visit. However, overall Princess Cruises has continued to decline. We have been on 20 cruises with Princess and have watched service and entertainment continue to decline over the years. Understanding that the cruise line is trying to hold fares down, Princess has clearly lowered their standards for service and entertainment to meet their cost goals. We have seen little declines in each cruise we take. We travel on other cruise lines, and cutting back is not unique to Princess, it is just we have been on Princess ships for more cruises and more often, so it is very noticeable With the invent of drink packages, bar service has declined to the extent you can't get the value out of the packages. You won't find enough waiters to get a drink and get the value out of the package. Plan on trying to find an open bar to do self service waiting. (The bar service in the open decks was practically non-existent.) It is really not worth taking buying a drink package. The entertainment has also declined over the years to a new low. The quality of the entertainment was poor compared to the past and the number of activities and shows on board has been significantly reduced The production shows have moved to bare bones props and themes. production shows are put on on a bare bones budget apparently. The number and variety of bands/musical groups has really been cut back. They have cut back on the number and variety of entertainers apparently to cut cost. The number of shows has been significantly cut back. Even with the reduced activities on board, the cruise staff came late and ended activities early. One activity they didn't bother showing up for and made no announcement that the activity was cancelled. Cruise staff really didn't seem enthusiastic about leading activities. The cruise director was telling old cruising jokes that have been circulated for 15 years; nothing original. The dining room experience has significantly changed. Anytime seating guests are brought in and seated in the middle of traditional seating in the same dining room right between traditional seating guests. It was disruptive to the waiters and to the traditional seating guests that were in the middle of their meal. The quality of the food in the dining room has declined to the point that the Horizon Court has better quality and better variety than the dining room. We have traditionally enjoyed the formality of the dining room and the quality of the service, but the standards have slipped for service and stated dress codes for the dining room are not enforced (any dress is acceptable even on formal night including shorts). The waiters in the dining room are stretched over many tables spreading them really thin. Read Less

This cruise was just at the right time, went to a few ports that we have not visited yet and was priced right. This was our first cruise on Princess and we were anxious to see how it compared. First impression was that it was a beautiful ship, fairly easy to figure out where to go and how to get there and had a good mix of cruisers...young, middle aged and seniors. Our first day we decided to go to the presentation they had for first time Princess Cruisers. We filled out our attendance card and found the Explorer's Lounge where the presentation was to be held. We put our card in the box and found some seats and were impressed with the Cruise Director and her staff. Towards the end of the presentation they had a few drawings for prizes and we won an upgrade to Elite Class for the entire cruise! So we got to dine in the Club Class area, got our laundry done for free, free liquor set up in our room, etc. What a wonderful surprise! And from what we experienced, definitely worth the upgrade ... the food is so good in the dining room - we didn't bother eating anywhere else. All in all it was a great cruise, wonderful service and we would definitely go on Princess again. Read Less

What an amazing experience we had! Embarkation – We drove to San Pedro from Phoenix. Started out around 0330, a couple of gas and restroom stops along the way. We did not have a hard time finding parking at all. We parked right across the terminal building. We got there around 0930, sat inside the terminal and waited until about 1030, when they started processing passengers. The staff were very helpful and after about 30 minutes, we were onboard this magnificent vessel! The cabins weren’t ready yet, so we went to the International Café to eat, and soon after went to the Lido deck to check out the buffet. We also went to look for our Muster Station. At 1300, an announcement was made that the cabins were ready. We headed to our cabin, put up my door decorations, then after about 10 minutes, our luggage arrived. Cabin: The room was bigger than I thought it would be. Our Oceanview was unobstructed, so we were able to look out our big window and that was so awesome! The bed was comfy, and our Steward Johnny M. was absolutely amazing! He accommodated my requests throughout our stay and always greeted us with a smile. We requested for 2 robes and got them, too. I would definitely recommend bringing an air freshener, though, because there’s no vent in the bathroom. Food: I really don’t understand all the negative reviews about the food here! They were all excellent. We dined at the Horizon court, Salty Dog grill, Slices, Michaelangelo, and Da Vinci. We opted for Anytime Dining, but never waited more than 5-10 minutes for a table. True, sometimes we shared a table with others cause the wait line for tables for 2 were about a 20 minute wait and we were in a hurry to watch a show. Well one night, we enjoyed the company of our tablemates that we didn’t even make it to our show. It was so fun to get to meet others. Their selections were excellent, and I often found myself ordering two appetizers and two dinner plates, which hubby and I shared. The desserts were also great, not too sweet. Our servers were amazing as well – Noni G., Ferdie A., Samuel E., Roy, and a slew of other great staff. The receptionists always smiled upon greeting all the guests. Horizon court – you usually have to walk through to find an open table, but so many others were willing to share their table with us, and we did the same when we had extra seats. I had asked for a special fish sauce and staff got it for me two times from their own staff kitchen. We did not do any Specialty Dining, nor order any specialty or alcoholic drinks. The only thing we spent money for was Gelato, and that was $1.50 for three scoops (oh, and a souvenir magnet). Now where can you go and find gelato for that price? Also, the coffee and specialty coffee they had like fraps, mocha, etc, the prices were not that expensive. In fact, we were pleasantly surprised at how low they were priced. They looked really yummy. We didn’t order them, though, because I’ve always been fine with just water and the occasional iced tea (which was good, too). On our last day, we ordered lemonade and regret not doing that earlier during our cruise because the lemonade was very good! Shows: We watched almost all of their shows, except for the country shows. We attended both auditions for The Voice of the Ocean, and that was a lot of fun! Yes, get there about 20 minutes early to get good seats, just like you would at any other show. The Cruise Director and her staff really put on good shows. Activities: We didn’t travel with children, but we signed up for Discovery @ Sea Planetarium, and that was a good experience. Sign up early so you don’t run out of the limited space. The times to sign up will be on the Patter. We also attended a Stargazing session, and it was amazing! We went to the very top of the ship and got a lecture about the solar system. Movies Under The Stars: This was my absolute favorite! All the movies shown were fairly new. Heck, I even went even though I’ve seen the movie! Staff was going around offering pizza. There were flannel blankets to keep you warm. Excursions: At Cabo, we booked the pirate ship snorkel excursion. That was great, too. Their excursions are very well organized. We got tickets to all 3 excursions on our first night. It told us where to meet, what time, and any special instructions like clothes to wear or bring. At Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta, we did the city highlights tour. I thought it was a great way to see Mexico. Lots of art. I would say that the only bad thing was the street vendors trying to sell you their goods, but that is expected of all tourist spots. Disembarkation: We set out our luggage on the last night. We got a newsletter that told us where to go at a particular time. That went smoothly as well! I can hardly wait for our next cruise on the Ruby! I am a fan, and I know you will be, too. Read Less