Terrormina

I've seen customized/professional looking magnet decorations that people sell online in their etsy stores. They look pretty sweet!

We were doing the California Coastal, so we did excursions in San Francisco, and Ensenada, and chose to do Monterey on our own. Stayed on the ship in San Diego because I live here and wasn't ready to be home yet!

Excursions are fine but can be pricey for what you get. I like the knowledge of knowing that the ship won't leave without you if you are on a ship bought excursion, but if you watch the time, it isn't an issue if you do your own thing.

I LOVED the international café, which is located in the piazza (first floor of the atrium which is in the center of the ship). They serve fresh pastries (Doughnuts/fruit pastries etc) in the morning, gelato in the afternoons (mostly what I used the coffee card for), and quick foods like salads (such mixed greens/spinach, watermelon/feta, seafood salads), Sliced cheeses with dried fruits (such as figs), fruit bowls, Panini's (Cubanos, tomato/mozzarella, chicken/pineapple, ham/cheese croissants, BBQ beef etc). Seating can be a bit difficult when there is entertainment going on in the piazza - people tend to steal chairs to sit in the middle, or camp out and watch the entire evening... but you can take the food to sit in the vines wine bar across the piazza. I liked the sandwiches - you can get them cold or heated up in the Panini press. Plus they have delicious pastries/small desserts - like fresh fruit tarts, pineapple upside down cake, cheese cakes, hazelnut chocolate pudding, fresh baked cookies.

We just completed a cruise on the Ruby Princess this last Saturday (11/11) and we didn't experience anything to explain the negative reviews... The crew/staff were very friendly and accommodating, the ship was clean, the food served in the specialty and main dining was delicious. The princess links course is a little tore up but is a fun way to pass a little time. The only "negative" thing I would say is that I didn't really enjoy the Horizon Buffet all that much. I only tried eating there twice - once for late breakfast, and the other around lunchtime. I didn't really care for the food I tried (like a waffle I couldn't even cut through) but I can see that for a quick bite, it probably wouldn't be too bad... After my second sad attempt at lunch to give it another try, I decided to stick to the MDR's and International Café. I am counting the days until I can sail on Ruby again!

I love the Ruby! The food in the main dining room is excellent, the specialty dining at Crown Grill and Share is delicious. The Salty Dog is ok but I probably wouldn't eat there again. The crew is gracious and friendly, the ship is clean, beautiful and most importantly, very comfortable. It's large enough to have space to walk and things to do but not too large that it's hard to navigate and noisy. I definitely recommend the cruise tour if you can... You get to see/experience a lot more than just a cruise would provide. But Princess, and the Ruby is a great choice!

Ship - RubyPrincess

Class - Grand

Deck - Baja deck 11

Stateroom # B309

Category

Port/Starboard/Bow/Stern - Starboard

Connects With Cabin # None

Accessible No

Quiet Yes – for the most part. On occasion, a neighbor would slam theirbalcony door or room door which can be pretty loud, but I didn’t really hearanyone else in their rooms or in the hallway. Also, we could barely hear the announcements that were being made in thehallway without opening the door so the speaker isn’t that close to the door.

Balcony Size Not sure of the dimensions but the balconywas more than enough for 2 chairs and a small round table, and perfect for 2 people… maybe even more!

View Nice view of the water, the starboard bridge wing, and of the people onthe balconies below us. Also, forwardenough to get a good view of the pilot boats and tugs as you pull into port.

Privacy Issues Mostly private if there are nobody on theirbalconies on the Caribe or Dolphin decks as they have larger balconies and dueto the tier structure of balconies, they are able to see you if they arestanding by the railings. Not really anissue though – we liked chatting with our neighbors around us.

Wind Not any more than expected.

Soot None

Problems None

Comments I really liked this room – it is forward mid-ship and pretty close (maybe5 rooms down) to the nearest elevator bank so far enough away to be quiet butclose to make getting to the elevator quick. This elevator bank is by Gatsby’s Casino and very convenient/close whengoing to the Princess Theater or meeting in the conference room for theUltimate Ship Tour. The room was veryclean and didn’t have any stale/mildew/strange odors.