I booked our honeymoon a year in advance and we decided to splurge on a suite for our honeymoon. I have spent hours reading reviews and suggestions on Cruise critic so I will try to give back by covering the different aspects of a Ruby Princess Cruise, both good and bad. Because we had a suite the embarkation process was great. We got on board around 3:30. We had reservations for Crown Grill (free because we were in a suite) so we didn’t want to eat too much. Cabin-Our cabin D737 was great. So nice to have a large cabin on a cruise. We were completely aft which I worried about having to walk too far, but it wasn’t bad and the view was amazing. I have to say for 2 people my husband and I agreed the suite wasn’t necessary. However , we did love the perks from the suite. The nightly canopees were too fancy for us, so we didn’t order anymore. Liked the daily fruit. We told our steward exactly what we wanted in the fruit delivery. Also asked for ice and bottled water every evening. Food- this was the biggest disappointment. My husband and are are not fancy eaters. That’s one reason I chose Princess. My last princess cruise I found the food constantly good and not too fancy. This time the food was mediocre to tasteless. The buffet had a large variety but the food was wasn’t good. I did love the breakfast buffett. I had French toast, bacon, fruit, oatmeal everyday. We did order room service breakfast a few days and I still went up to the buffet for more. For lunch we ate in the Club Class dining room. That was very nice for lunch. I had a hamburger from Salty Dog Grill by the pool (different from the Salty Dog Grill Cafe that you pay for) it was okay. Crown Grill for dinner was worth it. Service and food were excellent. We ate in the dining room for dinner 2x . Again the food and service was good. Horizon Buffett has a lot of variety, but the food wasn’t good. Entertainment- the magician was excellent. The big production the second to the last night was great. My husband and I didn’t find the comedian funny at all, we left early. My husband enjoyed the lounge singers each night. We did the deluxe ship tour $ 150 per person. We loved it. Very interesting and a great swag bag. Skagway zip lining at Grizzly Fallswas fantastic. Glacier Bay was disappointing . Not Princess’s fault. I visited it years ago, there were not really any impressive views. I kept telling my husband just wait. Then the announcement came on that we were leaving. I couldn’t believe that was all. Overall, we won’t be sailing Princess anytime soon. We plan on trying another company. Keep in mind, these are just our opinions. I’m sure people loved the food and entertainment. I’ll answer any questions you may have about the Ruby or having a suite . Read Less

We chose this cruise from vacations to go for a last minute trip. The price was really great and the destination was northeast and Canada. Embarking was super but the room was disappointing. Not for location, but for cleanliness. The rug in the room was old, stained and dirty. We did not bring slippers because we called princess earlier and the rep said all we had to do was ask. Well that proved to be futile, I emailed Princess during the trip to complain and we finally got them day 3. Meanwhile, I had lined the floor with pool towels. Day 4 we asked for our room cleaned. The steward (who we pre tipped in cash although we did opt to pay gratuities) made up our bed in the same sheets, they were wrinkled with hair in them. The bathroom had hair, the sink wasn't cleaned and the rug had not been vacuumed. I know because we removed the pool towels prior and some cookie crumbs were on the rug. They were still there. The soap on the sink was mashed into the pre formed counter top. There were tea ring stains on the desk. etc. The ship ran out of smoked salmon day 5. Even though they were in nova scotia! The hash browns are GREASY!! There was no lactose free food in the buffet, everything except cold cuts had milk, cream, cheese and butter. No dairy free desserts except jello. Later on, while we were in the disco, an employee entered our room without permission with our privacy notice on the door to bring us chocolate strawberries that neither of us could eat. All of our personal items were out in the room, our handbags, our jewelry, my computer was up and running, they entered and violated our privacy. Princess has changed from our 2 previous cruises with them. Floor supervisor was nasty. When customer service called to ask why we were not happy. She said she was sorry we did not appreciate the gift of strawberries. They still don't get that it wasn't the strawberries we were mad at, it was the violation of privacy, oh and yes, the dirty room. Read Less

The food quality and selection is not what I have been used to on Princess cruise. Was served French fries with a filet mignon. Being on a Mediterranean cruise would have expected a better selection of seafood and fish. King prawns were the size of baby shrimps. Although the MichelAngelo waiting staff was really courteous and helpful. Pedro the head waiter was good to find us nice and enjoyable people to sit with. Front desk service is useless they give you the run around! We were booked on a shore excursion on our day of disembarking but the bus couldn’t carry luggage. It would have been great to visit Mykonos but the rough sea prevent it us to port.... the captain decided for the safety of the passenger to continue our route. I’m glad that he made that call for our safety. Princess didn’t live up to their slogan.... Come Back New! I found that Princess cruise line has been going down in quality over the last 5 years. It not what it used to be. Read Less

Dates, price, and ports were desirable. We've traveled with Princess on an Alaskan cruise and I based my good prior experience on booking with Princess again. However, I was disappointed in how old and poorly maintained the Star has become. The overall feel of the ship is "aged". Our stateroom smelled of urine upon arrival and unfortunately that never faded throughout the week! The staff was not as friendly as expected, with the exception of a handful who did go out of their way to make us feel welcomed. The food both in the buffet and the formal dining rooms was only "acceptable". Not once did we receive a "hot" meal, but more like "lukewarm". However, the pizza parlor and grill were exceptionally delicious and fresh (most likely because they make the food as it's ordered). We enjoyed the Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway ports but were disappointed with the Victoria port. We arrived 30 minutes before dark and left approximately 4 hours later...not much you can see or do in that time frame so we felt it was a total waste! On a positive note, the bed and bedding were stupendous - best part of the ship in my opinion. Read Less

We truly enjoyed our cruise. That being said, Island Princess is OLD and tired. We do enjoy the smaller ships, but in the future because how Princess manages these smaller ships and offers lesser quality food, music, activities and we feel lower quality staff, we will not be returning to the Island. My primary observations: No electrical by bed. Had to request extension cord and run across cabin. Trip hazard. Daily activity flyer, print too small. Cruise director & staff superficially friendly. If asked for a more in depth answer, they get surly. Beds are very nice. Towels are the quality of a cheap hotel. Toilet paper and facial tissues are bargain basement quality. Why did the balcony rail and deck need to be stained and sealed during my passage? Received notice after several days into cruise that our balcony would not be accessible during the canal crossing. Why did we pay the premium for a balcony or when booking New Princess Net is pretty good. But, expect to have spotty service during rain and/or fog. In cabin TV. The presentation of the channels and guide is very hard to figure out and know what is on and how to select. Bridge cam is out of focus and has been since we've been monitoring in preparation for our cruise. 3 months. Horizon buffet. Restaurant management not engaging with customers. At every meal on the horizon, 50% of tables had no salt shakers. Weird. Maritime crew not friendly. Large wall posters advertising light snacks at the Patisserie and coffee bar. Yet, no food available at the patisserie coffee bar. Apparently, a coffee bar has been added to the casino where the food has been moved to with no mention to the passengers. Just sweet buns. Front desk/passenger customer service – these ladies are life savers answering questions and solving problems that better management would have prevented from ever happening. Eve & Belen helped me many times and had a delightful attitude. Cruise director & staff – bubbly, but if asked for some help, or to resolve an issue, not so interested. When met outside of an activity, quite distant and unfriendly. Morning coffee and afternoon wine at La Patisserie – Fabian and Ana will always be remembered. Ship's climate control - The ship appears to be 5 separate compartments, connected into 1 master vessel. The temperature and humidity can vary quite noticeably between these sections of the ship. There are no clocks in the rooms. Things Princess does not mention, but passengers should know. The shops, casino, spa, etc. are not Princess operated. They are leased operations. Besides being considerably more expensive than similar State-side businesses, if you have any issues with products needing warranty service, you must go to the vendor, not Princess. $5 for a tube of Pringles? Insulting. Gambling. There is no gaming commission overseeing operations as you find on land casinos. Payouts for slot machines and table games are at the discretion of the casino and yes, not as favorable as popular casinos such as Las Vegas. Some have noticed that the slot payouts are favorable on day 1 or 2 on the cruise to excite the passengers and then lowered for the remainder of the cruise. ADA - The doors to many places on the Island Princess ship, unlike the newer Princess ships I've been on are not only not auto-open, and are very hard to open, even for non-wheelchair use passengers. One of the greatest benefits of Princess vs. other Lines are the self-service laundries. Unfortunately, there is a 3" transition into them so this service is totally inaccessible to a wheelchair. Food - I do not know if it is the age of the ship, the itinerary, the Chef or what, but as compared to the Regal & Emerald, the menu is far less exciting, the meat quality is lesser and the wait time for food delivery diminishes the dining experience. Wine – we expect to pay 2x retail as in most restaurants. 4 times retail is insulting. Princess tries to convince us that they are concerned about the environment by suggesting we should use our bath towels for many days, yet the amount of single use beverage containers and paper products at buffet wash stations is far more wasteful. Does Princess ever mention the $40 million dollar fine for Illegal Ocean dumping and 9 probation violations? Future Cruise Dept. - I do not understand the benefit to the passenger for this onboard department. I was interested in an Alaska cruise for 2021. Princess had not published the itineraries yet or which ships will be in use. The staff person could not or would not put me an email list to let me know when they were known. Her suggestion was to check with a travel agent. Pretty sad. We have found that the daily activities on the Island are sparse during the day as compared to our other Princess cruises. Activities such as trivia and marriage match game are not scheduled until later in the day. The live music in the various lounges and Plaza are noticeably poorer quality than previous cruises on other Princess ships. Shows - The band is pretty good. Princess advertises 'Las Vegas" style shows. Makes me think that they have never seen Vegas or NYC shows. They are nice, but more like high school talent show quality. There is nothing wrong with them, but be more honest as to the offerings. The musicians in different lounges and plaza were not the quality I’ve come to expect from Princess. Our other Princess ships had a dedicated pizza restaurant. Very nicely prepared. Santorini's offers pizza a few times per cruise. No better than the pizza on the pool deck and no servers with a 'tude' to deal with. The Ocean App. Why can't the lunch and dinner menus be post there? Read Less

If this is now Princess new standard for service and food then we will not be sailing with them again The dinning room (anytime dinning) staff were untrained and far to few in numbers to give good service if you asked for a fresh HOT pot of tea often you were told there is still tea in the pot its OK drink it ,The choice of meals was very poor and repeated ever few days. We have traveled on Princess many times before and never had this bad of service and meal choice The music was played so loud through out the venues that it was uncomfortable even with my hearing aids OUT The ship was in good condition and the staff in the cafe especially April were the best trained on the ship there you could get HOT coffee and tea as well as snacks . the disembarkation was very smooth I booked the Flight ,hotel and transfers through Princess this all went very smoothly so I can recommend this I have another cruise booked in October 2020 with Princess but if this is there new standard I will give serious consideration to cancelling this and book with another line Read Less

Chosen for the fact that it departed and returned to Vancouver. Other than that very disappointed with size of cabin ( swing a cat ). Washroom no bigger than a postage stamp. Shower was so small to wash your legs and feet, head would stick through shower curtain. It was claustrophobic. To towel off was impossible either hands, elbows or shoulders would strike the sides. No cold water came through the faucet just hot or warm. This was mentioned but told this is how it is. The room was so small my wife and I bumped into one another quite often. Other than the actual musical shows ( there were 4 ). The rest of the entertainment was average at best. The food was away below par. Especially at the buffet. Only breakfast was edible. Capri dining room perhaps a step up but but not great. Casino was smoky and machines very tight. I think 1 jackpot of 5000 was won during the whole cruise. It would appear that princess cruises are in tough for money and are cutting back on good service, good food and first class entertainment. They are very heavy on shopping stores and in selling low end junk. Not as advertised and our travel company should have known about these shortcoming. It was a waste of money. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the length and where it left from. Overall, it was disappointing. My wife is used to being wow'd by the bartenders and they were very matter of fact and unwilling to try to make any drink that was not on the menu. The dining room menu was also subpar with Tilapia and spaghetti and meatballs in the main dining room. Best part of the trip was the entertainment. The cabin steward was very stealthy as we can't even tell you their name. Getting on and off the ship was the best ever experienced. Despite a lot of effort to fight rust, there was a lot of rust on this ship. We would not consider another Princess cruise. It was definitely below expectations in many areas. My wife ordered hot tea in our room and the status made it to "being prepared". She never received the tea and when we attempted to contact room service, no one could tell us anything. Read Less

We expected a lot more based on the past experiences related to us by friends and family. The room service menu left a lot to be desired even when they delivered what we ordered, which was about 10% of the time. You can't get toast with breakfast even if you ask for it! Our room was a tired shade of beige, with both lampshades conspicuously held together by sticky tape. I can only assume the shower space was designed by someone who'd never taken one, topped off by a curtain that was about an inch short of serving its purpose, leaving us with a soaked bath mat each time. Lunching in the "anytime" dining room was a queue-early or queue-long experience, with only one of three dining rooms opened to cater to the masses. Having made it in once (after prior aborted attempts) we realised it wasn't worth the wait after all and never went back. Afternoon tea was an exercise in attracting the attention of waiters just emerging from the galley, as we watched the septuagenarians and older finger the sandwiches they wanted on the trays already circulating the room, only to be served ones they hadn't touched by the waiters who let this happen while we watched; you can only hope their hands were clean! The dinner menu changed daily and was a mediocre offering, with the best saved for the last night, presumably to leave us on a high note. Sadly, the five nights prior had already left an indelible mark. I feel sorry for the wait staff who had to continually serve up such middling fare so incommensurate with their excellent service. I can't speak for the drinks in general, but the mark-ups on sauvignon blanc were close to 5 times retail ($46 for a $10 bottle of wine) - far better to bring your own on-board in quantity and pay the $15 per bottle corkage. I don't mind paying for good wine but that is just inexcusable gouging. Hobart was nice, but we arrived on a day when many attractions were closed. Note to self - must do more research as cruise-line obviously doesn't. Will definitely go back there under own steam to explore further. We've cruised on Celebrity Solstice before and almost certainly will again. Cruising on Ruby Princess was a first and a last for us. Read Less

We had good experiences with Princes before, not this time. What can I say, fire alarm in the cabin going off every time we took a shower, the phone ringing 20 times afterwards telling us, then people at our door. We finally got moved after 5 days of this, but it took the fun out of our cruise already. The food was mediocre at best, but it seems all cruise lines are just not getting it food wise anymore. We really didn't't get very good info on some of our excursions and one got part of it cancelled, the best part and only a 50% refund The shows were really good, the best part of the cruise Dancing was non existent. One needs to really check out what you are buying excursion wise before you pay, some are really worthless, Hop on Hop off in Cartengena - don't do it, another took us up a dirty, smelly river for an hour. Read Less