For first-time cruisers, our overall experience with Ruby Princess is AHHHH-mazing. We know that there probably more superior, more fun, more beautiful cruise ships out there, but for us, the enjoyment we've had on this cruise is more than enough. Because of this cruise, we decided to go on more cruises -- yes, we will try different ones to have something to compare Ruby Princess to; but for now, we are content and have enjoyed every corners of this cruise ship.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
(5 Stars) San Pedro Port: Porters are all over the place to assist with your luggage. Plenty of seats in the seating area. Did not wait more than 15 minutes after being seated to board on the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
(Overall 5 Stars) Horizon Court (buffet): Tremendous amount of variety. Lunches and Dinners at the buffet were phenomenal that you do not need to eat at the MDR every night. Breakfast buffet is as expected - almost the same everyday but that didn't stop us from eating there everyday.
International Cafe: Free food for 24 hours? How can I not give this 5 stars? The curry shrimps that they served is AHHHH-mazing! My husband and I made our money's worth and probably have eaten 3 pounds of shrimps per day.
Michael Angelo Dining Room: We opt-in on the "Anytime Dining" instead of the Traditional Dining. We ate here twice for our formal nights. The Grilled Medallions of Beef Tenderloins were delicious - the meat were cooked to my liking. Everyone on the cruise who ate during the formal nights were very courteous and observed the dress codes-
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
(4 Stars) I think this is where Ruby Princess gets only 4 stars on my book. We love the MUTS (Movies Under The Stars) especially during warm nights - with popcorn and pizza on hands while drinking hot chocolate (w/ a nominal fee from International Cafe). The Zumba and dance classes were nice to do as well in the morning after being bloated from all the food eaten from the buffet the night before. The pools, although there were a lot of them, I couldn't find myself to go swimming because of the cold temperature of the water. My husband enjoyed it though, he even said that the pool in the Sanctuary is heated and I should have tried it.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
(5 Stars): The bands, the pianists, the stage shows, the live music and the dancers were all amazing. There were enough entertainments through out the cruise ship that we had to choose which of them we'll be joining / attending. Our fave show were the production shows by the cruise staff and the Whitney Houston tribute.
Children's Programs
We did not go with kids.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
(4 Stars): While most of the cruise staff are all smiles, we cannot deny the fact that one or two staffs will have frown faces. Maybe they are not having a good day or not feeling well, whatever the reason is, we understand that this happens EVERYWHERE and we did not let this have an impact on our days. We are to enjoy our cruise!
We've met staff from all over the world and they are happy to share where they come from, their culture and knowledge. I find their staff to be very helpful and respectful even when we know that we are a group of minorities (We cruised with my parents-in-law).
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
(5 Stars): Beautiful ship. No issues.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
(5 Stars): Our room steward during our cruise was exceptional. He made sure that our room is spotless clean. One day, our toilet bathroom decided not to flush (embarrassing) and reported this to him and he immediately called a plumber, by the time we came back from our lunch to grab stuff in our room, our toilet bathroom is all fixed and all cleaned up. He also made sure that our rooms are cleaned every morning after we wake up and again before we sleep (since we like to take naps during mid afternoon hahaha)
Ship tip
For a first time cruiser, I say, don't be afraid to ask questions or help from the staff; they are there to help you. Also, I think, the most important thing to remember is that you are there to enjoy every moment of it - DO NOT sweat the small stuff. Don't be a NEGA-tron and find all the wrong things. One word: ENJOY!
Thanks Doug_Russell. We will look into Celebrity and see if there are itineraries that interests us. We’d love to try other cruise lines but afraid that some might not be to our liking. We are in our early 30s and laid back so the Ruby Princess worked so well for us.
Good to know. We are going on Ruby next July to Alaska. Have always sailed on Celebrity, but tried the Grand Princess in 2016 to Alaska because the itinerary was better & had excellent service! If you are looking for another cruise line, give Celebrity a try. It's a little bit upscale if that's what you like.
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