Great experience and would rate the overall experience as a 5 star. We will definitely cruise Princess again! Our next trip will probably be the east coast or an Alaska cruise.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We boarded the ship about 3 hours before embarktation. This worked great for us, new to cruising, we were able to settle in and grab a bite to eat and explore the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Overall the experience was excellent. Maybe my expectations were a bit high after hearing about the services and quality of food from almost all experienced cruisers but I cant give the food a 5 star rating. Buffet food is casino rate at best and seating can be a headache at times. When you find a table, you generally have to find a crew member to clean the table or, do it yourself. We opted to pay a little extra and eat at theach Salty Dog and Crown Grill. Both were excellent for food and service!
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
There is always something going on to keep you busy. I feel like we didn't have time to catch it all but we enjoyed everything we did. You almost have to find do some time to just grab a drink, relax and enjoy the view. We found our favorite place for relaxation at the rear of the ship on deck 15. There is a bar, small crowd, pool & spa and the view is spectacular.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The theater shows were good and the starlight movies were the best!
Children's Programs
No children with us
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
For the most part, staff was excellent. We unfortunately encountered 2 bad seeds in the apple. One was a bartender and the other was in the DaVinci dining room. Neither were pleasant but everyone can have a bad day now and then.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The Ruby is an awesome ship but being our 1st cruise, I don't have anything to compare it to. I thought it was very clean and well taken care of. Keep in mind, my comment about the buffet though. Too many people eating and not enough staff to keep up .
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our cabin was probably considered the low budget rate but I'll tell you what, it was bigger than I expected and very nice! The restroom was good size and comfortable for being 6'. The room was spotless and staff does a really good job! We may try a balcony on a future trip just for the experience, but I have no problem in a room like this again. We had family on the same deck (11) towards the front of the ship and found their room to ride a little rougher in higher seas.
Ship tip
I had NO desire to go on this cruise but my wife and family talked me into it. I figured I would just go along with the program and enjoy myself. In the end, I loved it and can't wait to go again. To me, 7 days was not enough! I feel like there was so much more on the cruise that we may have missed. With all of the activity on the ship, I found our at sea days to be just as fun as the port days.
Simply awesome! Our first visit to San Francisco and will go there again. We pre-paid for our trip to Alcatraz and walked over from the ship. We also took the hip hop bus tour. Go to the office in fisherman's warf to catch the bus. They will negotiate the price! We paid $36 per person. Seems like a lot but we'll worth the city tour.
We have friends that live in Monterey. They picked us up and took us down Hwy 1 to Pebble Beach for lunch. Caramel is a good visit as well as Cannery Row. Beyond that, the ship does not dock, they anchor and transport you to shore by the life saving boats. That was pretty cool.
Visited the aircraft carrier and went to shoreline village for lunch. San Diego isn't too far from home so we've been there done that before. We got back to the ship early and enjoyed on board activities some more.
Ensanada...well it's Mexico. Expect to see dirty little kids being encouraged by their mother too ask you for money. If you have never been, go ashore and expect be hounded to spend money, continuously! Make some fun of it and visit Papa's & Beer or Hussongs for some drunken entertainment. We bought some blankets and called it a day. Be carefully and keep a head count of your group. It's not that bad but you never know what's going to happen in Mexico.
We opted to go with a group disembarkation. We had family members to assist and this seemed to work out good. They collect luggage the night before so MAKE SURE you have clothes for the following day. They provide you a blue Princess bag that worked great for dirty clothes. We hit the buffet and waited for our turn to leave the ship. If we were alone, we would have chosen walk off with luggage. That gets you out early but you still have to wait in the customs line. That takes 20-30 minutes
Like your avatar of the Midway flight deck. Princess has treated us VERY good. Glad you have the same opinion. Either option you are thinking about is good. Various Alaska choices, and Caribbean choices. Good luck!
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