We did the Western Caribbean out of Galveston on December 18 on the Ruby Princess, and after something in excess of two-and-one-half decades cruising, mostly on Princess but other lines as well, this was, by far, the least inspiring and most disappointing cruise we have ever done.

As always on a Princess cruise, the front-line folks - our Cabin Steward, Waiters and Assistant Waiters, the servers and sous-chefs in the Horizon Buffet, Customer Service reps, the poor lads and lasses tasked with cleaning the public loos, the deck hands getting us secured in port, Security, and so forth - were simply amazing. There just weren't anywhere near enough of them...

Our cabin was cleaned only peripherally, with clear indications that there hasn't been a complete or deep clean done in some time...this is the first time I've seen grime accumulated in corners. And in the public areas...overflowing rubbish bins, empty towel dispensers, and I kept track of a piece of paper towel on the floor near the elevators midships...it sat there for three days before being picked up. Our Cabin Steward told us that he had gone from having twelve staterooms, with an assistant, to eighteen staterooms, no assistant, and with the added responsibility of the public areas on his deck, plus delivering and fetching luggage. Read more