Will Ruby be too big?

[WNCtourist]

Hi folks! We're considering a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise next March or April, and are looking at Ruby Princess as well as Royal's Freedom of the Seas. Both have similar itineraries. Both are larger ships than we've ever sailed (only been on Island Princess to Alaska and Enchantment of the Seas to Bermuda).

 

Been looking at past reviews and it seems there's split opinions on how Ruby handles crowds. How do you feel about the number of pax and public areas, service levels, etc.?

 

Thanks for feedback!

[sunsetbeachgal]

I just did Freedom of the Seas, and although I have not sailed on the Ruby I have sailed on her sister ships the Crown and the Emerald several times. My first question to you is if you are sailing with small children? If that is yes, then I think the Freedom is the better choice, simply because of their wonderful childrens pool area and the Dreamworks experience with character breakfasts, character greetings, etc. The entertainment in general is excellent-best I have seen on a shop.

 

if it is adults only, then I always go back to Princess as they just "fit" me better. I have not experienced much crowding, although getting a lounge chair on either can be a challenge mid day on a Caribbean sailing. I love the International Cafe, the pizzeria better on Princess as well as dining room food. Buffet I might give a slight nod to the Freedom, but we tend to avoid buffets whenever possible!!

 

They are both very large ships, but both are lovely!! Good luck with whatever you decide on!

[camofwilliamsburg]

I would add this: IF you want more sporting activities during the day go with FOS. We did LOS (sister ship) and loved being on the flow rider. We loved the ice skating and have tried to rock climb on earlier RCI cruises. If you want more elegant then go with PCL and enjoy the ship and the entertainment options there. I love PCL since we got our fill of RCI. In our opinion we like PCL for the reasons: nicer ships, friendly, ease of getting around, love the cabin layout, love the duplicate days for entertainment so you can pick other activities and not miss anything. Love MUTS and the dining experience is also superior in our opinion.

 

Good luck with your decision.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It is a very nice ship .....

[San Diego Ellie]

Personally, I prefer Princess, and I have been on Ruby and like the ship. However I just checked the space ratio, and it is much more favorable on Freedom of the Seas than Ruby Princess. Freedom has 44.0 cubic feet per passenger while Ruby has 36.0 cubic feet per passenger.

 

Just want to add, since you have been on Island Princess and Enchantment of the Seas, island Princess has a 46.0 space ratio per passenger and Enchantment of the Seas has a 35.0 space ratio. That will give you a feel for what I am talking about.

[WillyBear]

We did Ruby 7 night Eastern Caribbean last March 11th. It was our first cruise so I can't compare but we had no issues in terms of crowds. It was Spring Break for many Ontario (Canada) schools and some US districts but there didn't seem to be a significant number of kids. I think with the wide range of ages on the ship and the many activities in different locations served to spread folks around. Of course, pool areas are busy on sea days but there are only 2 sea days on that itinerary. We had a couple port days where we were back at the ship early and pretty much had the pool areas to ourselves.

 

We are going back on the Ruby next March 10th, 2013. Same itinerary. We just loved the ship and the overall experience. It is a beautiful ship. We went to shows 30 minutes early and had no problem finding seating. We had Anytime Dining and usually showed up at 6pm and never had to wait longer than a few minutes to be seated.

[katisdale]

I don't think you will find that the Ruby Princess feels full on a warm weather cruise. The passengers seem to self select activities which keep them well spread out on the ship. There are four pools, two which are adult only, lots of lounges and also so little "nooks and crannies" both inside and outside where you can sit and read or whatever. I have been on the Emerald on a Baltic cruise where the cold rainy weather kept almost everyone inside and it did feel crowded, especially when the shops had sales and put tables out in the walkways.

[shepp]

I think Princess really does have the "small ship feel" thing down pretty well. The only times I've felt a ship was overly crowded was during one of the usual bottlenecks: going to the first night's traditional seating; tendering to some ports; the clearance sale of tchotchkes in the dining room.

[ONT-CA]

Ostentatious perhaps but never too big

[lovevacadays]

I haven't sailed on the Royal ship but have sailed on the Crown Princess which is the sister ship to the Ruby. We didn't find it crowded at all. I think Princess designs ships that make crowd dispersement very good. Perhaps in a cold weather cruise the ship may feel crowded but not in a warm weather cruise when people are out and about on the open deck. The only caveat is that the buffet tends to get crowded at certain times of the day.

 

 

Ostentatious perhaps but never too big

 

Really? I never thought of Princess ships as ostentatious. Hmmm.

[sammiedawg]

I'm a Princess fan but the Ruby and her sisters, Caribbean, Emerald, Crown, have lousy space ratios. 500 extra passengers with an added deck of cabins, the public space is unchanged from the Grand, Golden Star class. We did the Caribbean once, didn't care for the crowds at all, we did not have good weather which bunched up the crowds. Have not been on Ruby or the big Royal ships. Space ratio is an objective way to compare ships.

[swerdjr]

You will love the Ruby! We have taken a Western Caribbean cruise and will be sailing her again in November, this time Eastern. It is a beautiful ship and I would not say it is ostentatious. Not sure what the previous poster meant by that. You cannot go wrong. Hope you book and enjoy the cruise!!!