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Ruby Princess Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

KenCrabbs

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 32

Overall rating:

2.8 out of 5

Verified Review

10 Night Panama Canal With Costa Rica & Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 29, 2024

Ship: Ruby Princess

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: E507

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 3 months ago

Review summary

This was our 44th cruise, but our first with Princess. Friends and relatives had raved about it over time, so we were looking forward to a premium experience. We really wanted to like Princess, but within a few days, we realized we'd made a big mistake in booking this cruise. The food selection was limited and bland. There was no enforced hand washing (we did it voluntarily), so we weren't surprised when we came down with the flu on the fourth day. We spent most of the remainder of the cuise in our cabin. The room service menu was extremely limited, so we ventured out for bad meals in the buffet - diligently washing our hands and staying away from others. We were so sick of that food that late in the cruise, we went to the main dining room to ask for take out from the regular menu. They were able to arrange to have the meals sent back to our cabin with room service. It was one of my favorite dishes - Beef Wellington served with spinach and a twice-baked potato. However, I only finished the spinach. The Wellington was tough and bland and the potato was very dry. We loved the ability to track our travel mates with the medallion and the app. However, aside from that, the app wasn't very good. We couldn't find important information like the service hours of various things throughout the ship. I don't know how the Ruby Princess compares to other ships in the fleet; however, based on our experience, it feels like Carnival Corporation has essentially abandoned what was once a premium cruiseline and are milking it dry.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

The food was generally bland and the variety was subpar. The buffets reminded me of the midnight buffets we used to have where the cheap cruiselines used it to get rid of its leftovers. There was no hand washing enforcement anywhere! In addition, the headline desset in the main dining room was served from an open bowl in the middle of the dining room. Does Princess not understand basic food safety? Beverages in the buffet were horrible. No fruit punch, flavored water, and very limited juices at breakfast. Water/Ice dispensers seem to be a maintenance problem on this ship. Lemonade and iced tea put out in pitchers. Iced tea is opaque sludge.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

This is not a ship built for thrills. However, we enjoyed the enrichment programs. The port expert was excellent. Unfortunately we missed much of this because we came down with the flu after three days (see comments above about hand washing).

Entertainment

3 out of 5

The first production show felt like watching Lawrence Welk. However, we really enjoyed the "sand art" performance. Missed the remaining shows.

Service and Staff

2 out of 5

The first couple of dinners in the main dinning room were chaotic. Things seemed to be better by the third night, but not great. Don't know after that as we got the flu. We tried using the Medallion to order coffee to come to use in a lounge that didn't offer coffee. The app told us that it was on the way, but after a long wait, we finally gave up and left. Didn't bother to try again.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

The ship had a refit a few months ago. It was clear that some areas had gotten more love than others. There were some very nice rooms. The outside promenade really felt like the full age of the ship. The overall layout was reasonable with the exception of the Botticelli dining room which required going up one deck to get past the main kitchen before going back down to the dining room.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

The size was good. Overall, it felt a bit dated. NO OUTLET OR USB NEAR THE BEDS! Come on, it's 2024. The closet was adjacent to the bath room and seperated from the main cabin by a wall. It had a lot of hanging space. However, it had a bright light that automatically came on when someone walked in/by (which was every time anyone went to the bathroom). This was very unfortunate in the middle of the night. Could be very easily fixed by adding a curtain in the doorway between the closet/bedroom and the rest of the cabin. The was the first time I was in a cabin with a shower curtain in years. Wasn't a problem, but felt a bit like motel 6.