Princess Cruises, Ruby Princess, Western Caribbean

This was not only our wedding/honeymoon, but also my first cruise. I had a fantastic time onboard as well as off. The staff was wonderfull, and the food was great. We had a great time at Skywalkers (the night club onboard). We have already booked our next cruise, on the sister ship, the Emerald, for Nov. 2011. Can't wait!

ship clean

cabin kept spotless

excellent itinary

staff very helpfull

entertainment very good

shore excursions well organised (if a little pricey)

Dining variaty very good

Bad

drinks very expencive

no parental control over kids/teenagers

dress code for dining rooms slipping

Excellent and friendly Princess Cruises ship workers. Everyone smiled and helped you out as needed. The ship itself is beautiful...very clean including rooms. Beds were comfy! We were lucky and stopped at every port of call with no delays except on the last night when there was difficulty getting a tender aboard the ship.

The food was average to good. Desserts although they looked great didn't taste like much. Pizza was not good! Drinks were expensive and you paid to even have soda. Cover charges at the nicer restaurants too. Some of the shows were great and the comedians were terrific. A few of them have been featured on Jay Leno! There were a lot of activities and music on the ship but you could get away from it if you wanted quiet. Many areas to sit and read a good book or take a walk. Promenade deck 7 was a lovely place to sit, read or reflect. My husband loved this deck. My son loved the pools, watching movies under the stars on the huge screen t.v. and the nine hole golf course was awesome!

Like another reviewer, I was disappointed at not being able to dock at Grand Cayman (29 November cruise) but although the British Captain was delightful, warm and competent, he never claimed to be God (or Neptune!)On the Ruby Princess the mix of client nationalities (41) blended well with the ethnic mix of crew (40) and I saw no incidents of fractiousness worth mentioning. The single most common complaint (and general disappointment) was docking at Ocha Rios, Jamaica. What an awful first impression at the dockside, not helped by the attacking hoards of local guys, hassling and touting. Nearby shops had been specifically designed to 'capture' visitors and were, in the main, tacky and grossly overpriced.Princess Criuses management would be well advised to consider an alternative point of call?In all other respects, I found the whole 'Ruby' experience almost 100% satisfactory and in particular, the first rate entertainment each evening, which was diverse enough to satisfy most tastes.If the 'Ruby' is indicative of the other Princess ships, then all bodes well for cruise enthusiasts.

The ship was nice and clean. I ordered a interior stateroom and found that it was actually pretty small. The bathroom has a sucking motion like a plane. The stewards on the Aloha deck are extremely nice and it's worth tipping them extra at the end. The only free drinks were juice, ice tea and water. Entertainment was Okay. They didn't have the very recent movies like James Bond or Twilight, but they had Broadway, Iron Man and Indiana Jones. I recommend getting a stateroom as big as the oceanview. At sea at night can get pretty cold if you don't wear something. The pizza is homemade and tastes really good, but is floppy and the toppings can slip on to your shirt. You have to pay for the ice cream tho. Our November 27th trip had to cancel Grand Cayman because of bad weather and I got so mad!!! The best port is Princess Cays. I have been on the bridge and it is very nice and wide. The Officers were there and there is a single joystick that steers. Great vacation, but I was sad to leave the Ruby Princess.

Getting back to the steaks I ordered a rare New York strip got it well sent it back got the next medium sent it back ordered something else. My brother in law ordered medium could have played hockey with it. The only thing that kept us in the main dining room was the waitress and busboy, they tried to keep us happy and slow I have never seen a Princess kitchen so slow, we sat at 6:00 and were lucky to make the 8:30 shows. One should not have to pay extra to get a meal that meets Princess standards. We have been on Princess 7 times, Carnival 6 tines, NCL 3 times, and RC twice and this is in the running for the bottom tier for us.