We had a wonderful family cruise experienced on the Ruby Princess. The embarkation was very easy. If you don't want to wait to drop off luggage, take carry-on suitcases so you could walk right in. We had a porter get our parent's larger luggage, just tip them instead of waiting in line. Their luggage was waiting for them when they got to their cabins so it was very easy.They had different check-in times according to cabins. We waited in line for only about 15 minutes and from there we got our key cards, went through security and on to our cabins.

Then we had a snack at the buffet in Horizon cafe on the 15th floor. Their breakfast buffets are really good with a wide variety of foods. Their lunch buffet, on the other hand, was not so great. We had tea time everyday at the Davinci dining room and the sandwiches and scones were excellent, very addicting. We had the 8pm traditional dining at the Boticelli dining room. At first, I wanted the 5:30pm, but was glad to have the 8pm because there is so much to eat between breakfast and dinner. Gretel, our waitress, and Adan, our assistance waiter catered to our every need. They were so friendly and outstanding! The food was very high quality, especially the soups and main courses. Nothing was over cooked, under cooked, nor salty; just very flavorful. How do they have such high quality food with 3500 passengers? Excellent wide variety of foods each night.

We bought the soft drink package and a coffee card, good for 15 specialty coffee drinks. Each time you get one, they punch your card until you get to 15. Don't get the soft drink package if you don't drink sodas too often. We could have done without them. Read more