I am relitively new to cruising, but this is my 6th with Princess, 2 with competitors & a senior citizen.The plane there, was like every other time we go through an eastern city... disaster!. Leaving EIA 2hours late due to one of the flight crew sleeping through their alarm clock...late for a 6:55am flight. The line for the deicing machine was longer than some takeoffs. NO wonder we missed our connecting in Newark. Newark there is a place everyone I spoke too, would rather be somewhere else. The Info Kiosks do not have listings for better priced motor hotels like the "Hampton Inn Ft. Lauderdale Airport North Cruise Port. The search for a pay phone was aided by the same person that installed the signs to direct hungry travellers to where food in located...those signs are still being printed. Airports (some) have not clued in to the fact that people in general do not like paying high prices for airplane food. They do it because they are forced too. By airports that will not put up good signs to FOOD, long lines to get food or no place to sit& eat while carring their luggage because the checkin clerks would not let them check in until 90 min before flight time. Whats wrong doesn,t Newark have enough Baggage carts to mark for a future flight. One fact that seems to escape all the higher ups is when you feed people or at least give them access to food,they are far less likely to get frustrated, nervous,or upset.

Tshe arrival at the Ruby Princess the next day, by the hotel shuttle, was precise, quick, & efficient. Check in was ok, as we had thought ahead & planned our arrival approx. 30 min after they had started to accept boarding. With time to see &get aquainted with the Ruby, we walked, toured, & explored before departure.

The trip was relaxing , tours both on board & off great, the food to Princess's usual high standard. The amenities (golf & tabletennis) were plentiful. The Lotus Spa, one of our favorites, surpassed our expectations even when we were 40min late for an appointment due to a shore tour. With all that said, I must admit, something was missing. There were times we had waiters(Horizon Court) crawling all over us (very few) & other times there & on deck a wairter could not be found by firing a cannon. Read more