Having sailed just about every year from 2000, on Princess, Holland America and Royal Carribean, I have to say that by far this was the best ever.

A 10 day cruise gives you just the extra couple of days you need to find a full cruising experience. The Ruby is a beautiful ship and compares well to that of the Emerald. The service from the dining rooms, to room stewards exceeded my expectations (this is the third cruise with Princess), and better than ever. The food was exceptional, and I found that the International Cafe and Cafe Caribe was the additional spots that made the difference in culinary expecatations. We ate at Sabitinis one night and it was good...not as good as I remembered from previous experiences, but still a must-do on the cruise. The ship never seemed crowded except at the 8:30 (first showing) of a show on the cruise..but I found by waiting to the 10:30 show, you had no problem in finding a seat... Not one bad dinner experience in the 10 days..we were anytime dining and never had a problem getting a seat, even without a reservation. The menu had so many choices I cannot imagine anyone having a problem finding something they would like.. The pool was as expected, full on sea days...and finding a chair by the pool a bit of a problem, but so many seats even on different decks, that it really proved not to be a problem at all. The slots in the casino were a little bit tighter than I would have liked, but everyone does want to win!!! LOL The shows were top notch, including a couple of comedians, an illusionist, some musical numbers...and all were absolutely wonderful...I've been known to leave a show when it stinks, and I stayed to the end every time!! There were so many activities during the day (trivia, dance lessons, games, etc) that there was no time left to take the nap I sooo needed!! and every activity was very well run and fun!! Would absolutely recommend the Ruby to anyone...truly a great vacation...