Ruby Princess Review

This is my review of my 2 B2B cruises on the Ruby.

I needed 2 solo cruises so I would be Elite. The 5 day cruise to Cabo & the 4 day to Santa Barbara s& Enesenda both interested me. Since I have never been on the Ruby I was interested in experiencing a ship new to me. I was surprised that the layout was similar to the Grand Princess. I choose an upgrade to an obstructed Ocean View, Emerald 415 for the 5 day & afterwards to an inside for the 4 day. There was nothing large that really obstructed the view. Everything in the cabin was great. I decided to try 2 single beds. It worked out great as I could plug in my IPad to a socket & use it as a night clock. I had traditional dinning which was great. The problem with a 5:30pm dinning time is that when some shows in the Princess Theatre started at 7 pm you had to rush through your dinner to make it to the show & get a seat. There were a variety of activities to choose from, all excellent.

Since I had been to Cabo many times before I decided to take the San Jose/Los Cabo's tour. We visited a glass blowing factory, stopped for a drink & then off to San Jose. A small town with a Mission & many shops. It was interesting to see. The only downside was a couple that had not returned to the bus on time. The guide went all over town looking for them and after about 15 minutes they appeared. They didn't seem to be very concerned that they held up the bus. If the guide & bus had left without them it would have been around a $50 taxi fare back to the ship & when we arrived we were on one of the last tenders to the ship. They would have had to make there own way back to LA if they missed the ship.

My 4 day included Santa Barbara which I had never cruised to & Enesanda. I booked through Princess the Trolly Tour which took us around town & explained many things. A excellent tour plus time to do things in town if you wanted. A good way to get a layout of the city. I also took a photo/food tour. Princess had a tour listed that I was going to take through Princess & then after doing some research found a company that sounded like the same tour except it was $50 less. Yes it was the same tour through Princess only less $. My only mistake was to not keeping my booking with Princess since they have a 110% guarentee that if you find a tour for less they will give you 110% back as a credit. I was the only one on the tour that did not book through Princess.

Changing staterooms from my Ocean View to Inside was easy I they moved everything for me to my new stateroom. We had 80 people in transit & we met as a group & were escorted off the ship, through customs, and to the boarding area where we were boarded first.

The service throughout the ship was great. The only thing that I experienced was at a busy show or activity you had to get the attention of the wait staff for a drink.

The ships staff all went out of there way to provide service to you.

Our cruise director Matt, the youngest Princess cruise director, 34, was great & a enjoyable person. He added to the cruise experience.

I had the chance to sit next to Linda who showed me her Elite card with 202 cruises with Princess & 1,800 cruise days. She was doing 9 B2B cruises with her husband & was a very eloquent lady.

I'm uploading photos & will post some soon.

Tom😀 :')

Nice review. The Ruby is a wonderful ship. We did the California Coastal in April and it was terrific. Looking forward to your pictures.

Thanks, Tom! I'm sailing on the Ruby in 10 days, so it's great to see a recent review. I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures.

Here's some photos around the ship.

Sale away party winner. How about those socks?

Cruise Director Matt

Princess Theatre

More Ruby photos.

Horizon Court set-up for dinner.

More Ruby photos

More Ruby photos

One of the best Princess shows

Inside Stateroom...A220

Cabo Hightlights

Photos from Obstructed View Stateroom

This is what you see from the window

Love the photos! I can't wait to get on the ship!

Thanks Tom for your review & for more of your great photos! :D

Thanks for the review and great photos!

Great pics!! I do love the Ruby, so it was nice revisiting her thru them.

Thanks for sharing the pictures. We are boarding the Ruby this Saturday for a Pacific Coastal cruise.

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I was on the Ruby a few weeks ago, she's a great ship!

Very nice photos.

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Thanks for taking the time to post your review and your wonderful pictures. I love the Ruby. Did two T/A's on her (2009/2011 both with Captain Tony).....:):):)

Bob

Thanks for the great photos. We are boarding in Vancouver on May 5th with the hope of seeing my wife's grandniece dancing in one of the production shows.

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Thanks for sharing your Ruby experience! Thanks for the photos too!

DH and I also think the Ruby is one of the better ships and we will be on her again in October :)

Thank you for your thoughts and pictures. We are looking forward to being on the Ruby in December. Our first trip on her.

Love the photos! I can't wait to get on the ship!

You and me too! Only eight days left. :D

We'll be on the Ruby in two weeks! Did you go to Crooners at night? Wondering who the entertainer is.

Thank you for the review and pictures! I am seriously pondering the Coastal California cruise on her for Spring Break next year.

How did you find Traditional Dining as a solo cruiser? Was it awkward? I was on My Time on a RCCL cruise last summer and was able to make reservations for the same time every night, and they were able to give me the same table just for me. Not sure if it can work the same way on Princess - and being Gluten-Free I just feel more comfortable having the same servers every night. So pondering Traditional, but not sure if it's awkward being solo.

Thank you for the review and pictures! I am seriously pondering the Coastal California cruise on her for Spring Break next year.

 

How did you find Traditional Dining as a solo cruiser? Was it awkward? I was on My Time on a RCCL cruise last summer and was able to make reservations for the same time every night, and they were able to give me the same table just for me. Not sure if it can work the same way on Princess - and being Gluten-Free I just feel more comfortable having the same servers every night. So pondering Traditional, but not sure if it's awkward being solo.

I found Traditional Dinning as a solo was great. I have traveled solo many times before & have met some great people. Yes....Having the same server/assistant server was great especially on a B2B cruises as they have learned your Preferences plus you see the same people at your table.

One thing I noticed was if there was a menu that they repeated it gave you a chance to try something else when you were torn between 2 main entree items.

Tom😎

I found Traditional Dinning as a solo was great. I have traveled solo many times before & have met some great people. Yes....Having the same server/assistant server was great especially on a B2B cruises as they have learned your Preferences plus you see the same people at your table.

One thing I noticed was if there was a menu that they repeated it gave you a chance to try something else when you were torn between 2 main entree items.

Tom😎

Thank you! :)