 |
Interesting Princess Cruise! by
A Traveler from Los Angeles Sailing date: Sep 2009Pros: The Excellent Dining Staff! Cons: Majority of the crew members were not friendly. The ship was absolutly beautiful. It was clean and gave a wonderful first impression!
The boarding process was efficient and easy. Our room steward was never around until we questioned the fact that he wasn't there. The food at the buffet was the same everyday. The entertainment was very good. Princess did nickle and dime us on everything. Our tours through Princess were not exactly as stated. I found we could have done a lot of them on our own. Ship QualityVery large ship! A bit confusing! Everything was kept perfectly clean. Dining/FoodIf it was not for the dining staff this would have been terrible. Stateroom QualityLoved our room! Ship Staff QualityThe majority of the staff was not interested in helping or talking with us as the passenger. The dining Maiter D's were always available. Entertainment & ActivitiesThe variety of the productions was very good. We enjoyed going to them on most nights.  4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
  Expect to pay hundreds more once aboard by
Al D from Durham, NC Sailing date: Mar 2009Pros: Shows and service Cons: Hidden fees, Overbooked, Lacking many facilities found on other ships, Worst of all Princess loves to price gouge once you're aboard and can't escape The ship is nice and elegant, but lacking many of the amenities that other cruise lines feature. Also, there is an extra cost associated with everything, from ice cream, to soft drinks, even entering the area at the front of the ship to look out on the water. The ship is completely oversold, meaning that you wait in lines for everything from check-in to eating.
Trying to make reservations for dinner? Reservation lines open at 800am and are full by 810am. Want to watch a movie on the big screen? You'll need to get there half an hour before the movie starts. Want to watch a show? Get there at least an hour before.
Worst of all, at the end of the trip, expect to see a $150 service fee added to your bill, in addition to the 15% automatically charged to every purchase made on the boat. You have about a 12 hour window in which to make a change to this service fee, otherwise you're stuck with it. Ship QualityWhat's there is nice, but missing several amenities. Dining/FoodIf you can manage to make reservations, the food in the dining hall is superb. The buffet food is relatively bland and boring, not at all what I expected. Stateroom QualityTiny room. Tiny bathroom. Princess trying to cram as many people as possible on the boat. Ship Staff QualityStaff were generally very helpful, although occasionally incompetent, especially the front desk staff. Entertainment & ActivitiesWhat's available is fantastic, but many amenities offered on other ships are not offered here. 
Collapse List of Ports
Cozumel, MexicoSkip the overpriced Princess tours and rent a car or scooter. The entire island is accessible by roads, and there are beautiful, deserted public beaches on the opposite side of the island.
George Town, Grand CaymanSkip the overpriced Princess tours and take a cab to the beach. Beach is gorgeous.
Ocho Rios, JamaicaExpect to be harassed to death by locals if you don't book an overpriced tour with Princess.
Don't Miss: Dunn's Falls Princess Cays (Cruise Line Private Island)Everything is overpriced, try $60 to rent a kayak for an hour, or $200 to rent 2 beach chairs and an umbrella for the afternoon. What would you expect? Princess owns the whole island.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
Would not cruise with princess again by
Eric B from Hopatcong, NJ Sailing date: Feb 2009Pros: The food was good and the ship was very nice, the ports were also nice, except for the princess private island, Cons: The private island was terrible, and the staff aboard the ship was less than friendly to me and my fiance', Me and my fiance' were on a celebration cruise for our upcoming wedding, and we had a balcony suite. The ship was a brand new ship and it was a very beautiful ship, the islands that we visited were also very nice even though it rained in Jamaica, the islands were a nice getaway from the staff on the ship. The ships staff was very rude. The waiter's in the dining rooms were very slow and unattentive. We expected to sit and enjoy a nice dinner, but were not expecting to sit there each time for over an hour to hour and a half. The staff members around the ship were also rude if you asked them any questions and were not helpful in anyway. Basically, when we were at sea, we would stay in the room because the pool area's were to small and over-crowded and the staff was horrible. The princess cays private island was also terrible. The staff on the island was also very rude and not helpful in any way. We stayed on the island for about an hour, this was after we tried to make the best of it and go in the water, yet, on every beach on the island, there is jagged rocks and coral everywhere so there is no place to swim. It was also extremely over-crowded and for how small the island was, they did not have enough chairs or room for everyone. Ship QualityThe ship was clean and well kept for the most part, a lot of dirty dishes left sitting for long enough for flies to appear, but besides that, not to bad. Dining/FoodFood was very good, the service was very bad. Stateroom QualityThe room was very nice, it was a balcony suite and it was in a perfect place on the ship to view the water. Ship Staff QualityJust Terrible Entertainment & ActivitiesWe tried to avoid having to deal with the staff
Collapse List of Ports
Cozumel, MexicoThe beaches were very nice and the water activities were great.
George Town, Grand CaymanThe beaches were gorgeous and the snorkeling was perfect there, even just off the beaches.
Ocho Rios, Jamaicait rained but it was still very nice.
Princess Cays (Cruise Line Private Island)Over-crowded, bad staff, not enough chairs, beaches are covered in rocks.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
Great Cruise! by
Milla S. from Ridgewood, NJ Sailing date: Nov 2008Pros: Ruby Princess Cons: food variety We had a great vacation aboard the Ruby Princess. Were in our mid 30s with two kids ages 4 and 5. Itinerary is good. Jamaica - we had fun climbing Dunn's waterfalls, Mexico - we spent a beautiful day in Chankanaab National Park ($16 per adult, $12 per kid) + taxi. Princess Cays is a beautiful island had a surprisingly good off-shore snorkeling. Unfortunately there was a storm around Cayman Islands, so we skipped that destination.
The most wonderful part is the Ruby Princess herself. The ship is absolutely magnificent. Design is gorgeous - muted tones, expensive fabrics, and ingenious design of piazza. There are 4 outdoor pools and MUTS. You should try a whirlpool on level 17 right off kids club. Its the size of a small pool, not many people know about it.
Bars are great: Wines has good selection of wine and cheese, plus a great sushi bar. International Caf offers ice cream, chocolate fondue, and my children favorite chocolate-tuxedo covered strawberries. Wheelhouse bar offers fish-and-chips lunch on sea days. Crooners have good music, atmosphere and cocktail selection.
There are at least 2 night shows every night at 8:30 and 10:30pm on the ship. Some are better than others. One is absolutely great created especially for Ruby Princess with use of 3-D photography Once upon a Dream - I would highly recommend it.
Childrens Club is above every possible compliment. They are simply GREAT!!!!
Service is above average. Everyone is very attentive and nice. We never had even the smallest problem with any of the crew personnel.
Food is my biggest disappointment of this ship. From day to day there was poor variety and not too tasty dishes. But, as on any other ship you will never go hungry on Ruby Princess. Deserts on the other hand are heavenly, so kudos to the desert chef. Also, my greatest compliments to our waiter Larry from Romania - he made our dinners enjoyable with impeccable service and great attitude.
Overall we had a great time aboard Ruby Princess and I would highly recommend this ship.
Ship QualityThe most beautiful ship I've ever seen. Absolutelly gorgeous. Clean, never crowded even on sea days, lots of pools and activity areas. Dining/FoodI was surprised how average the food was. It was far bellow my expectations. Deserts on the other hand were great. Also if you're a sushi lover Wines bar is the place to eat. Cost is $1 a sushi - beautiful presentation, always fresh, always tasty. Stateroom QualityWe lived on Plaza deck. It turned out to be a great location. Very close to evening show entertainment, casino, great Piazza with bars and piano music. Walk to the room was through a gallery with beautiful paintings. Corridors are wider then on other floors. Nice room: big closet space, really small bathroom. Tiny shower with a shower curtain - for a new ship they should have install shower cabins with doors. Ship Staff QualityEveryone was very helpful Entertainment & ActivitiesGreat entartainment for any ages. Children's ProgramsPelican Club is absolutely the best children program in sea! It is simply great! Chancellors are nice and attentive. Every day is a new adventure: a pirate night, a cowboy night, Mexican fiesta, disco night, etc. And every day my kids brought gifts. Small things like a pirate ring, or a plastic snake, but they were so happy to win these prizes. There is an outdoor area with bikes, pretend play house, tables for playing with play dough, etc. Inside there is a huge screen TV, computers, jungle gym, puzzles, coloring. On Captains Nights they offered kids dinners upstairs, so the adults would have a nice sit down dinner. Once again a great secure place for any child .
Collapse List of Ports
Cozumel, MexicoWe went to Chankanaab National Park. Not a good place for swimming - rough shore, but good place for snorkeling, swim with dolphins, or spend a day on a beautiful beach.
Good souvenir shopping.
Ocho Rios, JamaicaGet a tour - Climb the Dunnes Falls or skip this port - absolutely nothing to do otherwise. People are rude, attitude, drug problem, unsafe.
Princess Cays (Cruise Line Private Island)Nice island. Good snorkeling right off-shore. Lots of fish and corals.
47 out of 50 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
|
|
