Messy introduction to Princess, but loved it nonetheless

Item: Ruby Princess
Rating: 4.2
Author: talkorpi

Ruby Princess Cruise Review

talkorpi

Contributor Level: Purser

16 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 24

Overall rating:

4.2 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean With Mexico (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 02, 2023

Ship: Ruby Princess

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: A746

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Missed 2/3 ports but still had a good time. Was a decent introduction to the Princess product. Food, service, and ship were all impressive. Entertainment was less than stellar, but with this being a very unusual situation missing most of the ports of call, that might not be fair to judge. We loved Princess and will definitely be cruising with them in the future.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Literally the fastest embarkation experience ever. Was through the check-in process in fifteen minutes and onboard before noon.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

All the food was excellent. Great variety of choices in the buffet and MDR. Had many excellent meals. Duck a la Orange was the standout in the MDR, along with the seafood in the buffet.

Sabatini's Italian Trattoria

5 out of 5

One of the best meals I have ever eaten. Excellent service. Absolutely perfect food with huge portions. Do not miss the Ossobuco or the Chocolate Rocher dessert. Truly an incredible evening.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Probably the only disappointment. We ended up missing 2/3 of our scheduled ports due to high waves and unfortunately Princess did not do a good job of padding the schedule and adding more entertainment to make up for the extra sea days. Was quite bored on these afternoons.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Evening game shows and trivias were great. Main theater entertainment ranged from average to bad. Overall, slightly above average but they need to step up their comedy game.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Very good service onboard - personalized service and the Medaillon is awesome.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

While this ship is on the older side and a design from the 90’s, you can barely tell. It is VERY well kept and the venues are all in great shape. We loved the wraparound promenade deck and the expansive pool facilities. The Piazza is a great central spot to hangout and the Wheelhouse bar felt very classy.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

We bid for an upgrade and feel like we hit the jackpot. This cabin is the very furthest aft on the deck that doesn’t actually face backwards. It is a balcony that is cut out in the side of the ship and so even though it is a standard balcony by cabin category, the balcony size is like 3x the size of a normal balcony and has a really awesome forward-ish view. This cabin was awesome!!