Catching up in the South Seas

Item: Ruby Princess
Rating: 4.3
Author: sloopjohnc

Ruby Princess Cruise Review

sloopjohnc

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 52

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5

14 Night Fiji (Sydney Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 08, 2019

Ship: Ruby Princess

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: B437

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

I really like the ship. It was very interesting to sail in the south seas. Ports were interesting and rather unusual. Was really great sailing with Australians. They are very friendly and enthusiastic shipmates. Great conversations.

Embarkation

2 out of 5

Don’t ask- we missed the boat in Sydney thanks to American Airlines cancelling our flight out of LA & not rescheduling for 12 hours later.... we embarked in Vanuatu 4 days later and had to run gauntlets of vendors to get on the ship.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

4 out of 5

John Darsk was mind-blowingly awesome. Really amazing pianist and showman. Magician was entertaining. Really funny comedian! Side- splitting!! Pretty standard stage shows. They should retire that Steven Swartz Magic to do stage show.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Overall great but somewhat confused on our embarking. Some wait staff seem over-stressed. Service though was truly legendary. Room steward totally attentive. We had a hit squad disinfecting our room 3 times a day, due to wife’s temporary illness. They were cheerful and amazing. Ships doctor was absolutely wonderful. Our line dance & dance teacher was amazingly attentive.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Good cabin. Best bed on any cruise to date. Upgraded TV system very nice & good movie selection.

Ship tip

This ship appears to be in need of a lot of deferred maintenance. We love to take walks on deck 7 but they we’re regularly blocking it off for repairs. Frustrating! However in all fairness there are other places to walk on deck 17 but it’s really for joggers and much more monotonous. Remember a cruise is only as good as you make it. Princess provides the vessel, room, food, places to hang out & relax, pools, hot tubs, saunas, classes and entertainment. there is no shortage of activities to get involved in. They do a fine job overall. I’d highly recommend this itinerary.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Sydney, Australia

5 out of 5

Just go to Sydney, it’s a fantastic city You could walk or take a bus or a train anywhere you want. The ferry system is incredible and so relaxing to sail on. We went to the zoo,Manly beach and the Maritime Museum and would recommend all of them.

Thumbs Up 0

Noumea, New Caledonia

5 out of 5

Clean and well organized. Hop on hop off bus was all you need here. We loved the aquarium, ate at L’Annex in the park and food was delicious. Would love to return here.

Thumbs Up 1

Lautoka, Fiji Islands

4 out of 5

I did an impromptu excursion off the boat. Great fun guide. Drove over to Nadi and saw lots of great stuff.

Thumbs Up 0

Savusavu, Fiji

3 out of 5

Kinda sketchy little port- had to tender in. Good shopping opportunities and deals. I just walked around solo. Wife was in quarantine ship side. Heard there were other nice excursions. Nice people. Definitely some poverty & squalor and what goes with that.

Thumbs Up 0

Suva, Fiji

5 out of 5

Bula!! Genuinely friendliest people anywhere in the village where we went for the Kava ceremony. It was magical. We loved our excursion here. Suva itself was pretty dirty and typical. There are many beautiful people animals and places to go and see if you look around.

Thumbs Up 0

Port Vila, Efate, Vanuatu

3 out of 5

Great island- port is Meh. Where we embarked.

Thumbs Up 0

Dravuni Island, Fiji

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Traveler Photos

Awesome aquarium, beaches, shopping, lunch

Great little tropical paradise Amazing to snorkel in

Kava ceremony- incredible hospitality of the Fijians

Yummy Salty Dog cheeseburger & endless fries

My fav onboard activity- Sitting on the balcony doing nothing

Looking down on the Vanuatu cheap Chinese souvenir market

8 Comments

javawoody 3 years ago

Thanks for the positive review

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Alisa2019 5 years ago

Thanks for info on room location :)

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cruisereckoning 5 years ago

Sounds wonderful.

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sloopjohnc 5 years ago

We were in Baja 437. Perfect location almost exact center of ship.

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AuntPinkie 5 years ago

Thanks for sharing your experience! Sorry the airline messed up your adventure!

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Deleted2 5 years ago

Alisa2019 .. the cabin number is listed at the top of the review. 😉

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Alisa2019 5 years ago

Great to hear your review. I love Princess ships, and have found they always look after all guests really well and the food, services etc on ship are amazing. I’m doing same itinerary on Ruby Soon...... 13/1/20. Can I ask what room you stayed in- type and level etc as keen to know what rooms are like. I’ve sailed on Diamond Princess previously and keen to know more about Ruby Princess. Thanks for your review, and pleased you enjoyed cruise despite issues with airline and your wife being unwell.

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gatorhotline 5 years ago

Glad you enjoyed despite the unexpected delay at the beginning and your wife's temporary quarantine. You have a great attitude. We love Princess also and you had a lovely itinerary. Agree Australians are wonderful travel mates.

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Enjoyable cruise to the South Pacific