Introduction- My wife and I are avid travelers for our ages (26 and 35), including 8 previous cruises between the two of us. Our cruise experiences have ranged from economy (Carnival) to exclusive (Seaborne), and have also included Royal Caribbean, Costa and Celebrity. Our latest trip was an Eastern Caribbean itinerary aboard the Ruby Princess.

Embarkation- Upon arriving at Port Everglades about an hour before scheduled embarkation, there was already a significant queue. Once the process actually began, however, boarding was fairly smooth and efficient. If you can't stomach a bit of a wait, my suggestion is to book a suite or passage on a smaller ship. With a capacity of over 3000, Princess made the experience as painless as possible. As a pleasant surprise, luggage was delivered before the ship departed, a first in our cruising experiences.

Ship features and design- The Ruby Princess has a fairly clever layout that seems to make its size seem less imposing and minimizing the effects of such a high passenger count. Several smaller pools spread across the ship, for example, spread out sunbathers and ensure there are adequate access to both lounge chairs and on-deck amenities. Similarly, bars and lounges are spread throughout the ship and are generally smaller, more intimate affairs. One of the downsides to this design is that the ship is not symmetrical and traveling from bow to stern can require decidedly more navigational ability than on other vessels. Our balcony cabin was similar to what we have experienced on other lines in both size and amenities.The ship rode well in mild seas, although the gentle rolling experienced on many ships was replaced with a seemingly constant, although benign vibration. Be warned, aft cabins vibrate significantly during engine reversals, making for a nasty wake up call during early port visits. Read more