Your opinion: Which is the best free restaurant on Ruby Princess for night one?

[kurtwvs]

Your opinion: Which is the best free restaurant on Ruby Princess for night one at sea after departure? My wife Liney and I have not tried this ship before, but we plan to be on it and out to sea on December 18th from Galveston Texas. 

[mom says]

Wrong forum. Ask your question on the Princess forum.  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/119-princess-cruises/

[crystalspin]

2 minutes ago, kurtwvs said:

Your opinion: Which is the best free restaurant on Ruby Princess 

Welcome to posting on Cruise Critic! You are more likely to find someone with an opinion on your question, on the Princess forum:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/119-princess-cruises/

 

Many members do not read the general boards and only go to the specific cruiseline boards to chat it up!

[Host Kat]

On 12/9/2022 at 12:46 PM, kurtwvs said:

Your opinion: Which is the best free restaurant on Ruby Princess for night one at sea after departure? My wife Liney and I have not tried this ship before, but we plan to be on it and out to sea on December 18th from Galveston Texas. 

 

Howdy @kurtwvs from a fellow Texan!

 

To help you out I have moved your thread to the Princess Cruises forum where it will be on topic. The majority of your fellow Cruise Critic members that have sailed Ruby Princess frequent this forum and provide feedback here. Browse through the thread titles on this forum looking for threads of interest. You will probably find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that may be of interest to you.

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat 

 

[Shelly97060]

The three main ( free) dining rooms will all have the exact same menu. If you are interested dining with table service any of the three of them will be good. Da Vinci and Michelangelo are both midship, Bottecelli is aft. 

 

 

[NownZen]

The Princess buffet is always good. Lots of choice and eat at your own pace.

[VibeGuy]

ABSOLUTELY NOT BOTTICELLI. 

 

Oh, that was my outside typing voice, the one other people can hear?  Apologies. 
 

I’ll be the first to admit I generally dislike the dining rooms on 6 Aft, but I really strongly dislike Botticelli on Ruby.   When the ships were designed, they intended these particular rooms to be used for Traditional Dining.  Two seatings, everyone knows their table number, no waiting in line. 
 

The demise of Traditional Dining means these aft dining rooms now need people to queue to be seated.   And there’s no flat space to queue them.  They end up backing up the stairs.   And the elevators empty into this mess.   It’s even worse on the first night because of the usual settling-in chaos and guests who worry they may starve to death if they don’t start eating before 6:30 pm. 
 

Save yourself some aggravation and choose DaVinci or Michelangelo midships. 

Edited December 15, 2022 by VibeGuy

[cr8tiv1]

The Ruby has a few for $$$ restaurants to avoid if you want "free".  With that said, there are so many other options:

 

Salty Dog Grill (Lido) has great hot french fries and a decent hamburger.

Slices (Lido) has good pizza

International Cafe Piazza deck 5 has a nice selection of morning pastries and lunch small plates.

All MDR (main dining rooms) are included in your fare.

I am not a buffet person, but you can always find "something" to eat. There are no more midnight buffets.

Coffee and cones (Lido) have soft serve ice cream

 

You can also order room service (limited menu) and have a "picnic" in your room

 

By the way, with the medallion/app, you can order from room service and they will find you on the ship.

Edited December 15, 2022 by cr8tiv1

[Mary Ann 2]

Have you made dining reservations on your Medallion app? Not required, but if you don't have reservations, you might have to wait longer on most nights.  Generally the first night is not as crowded though so you might be fine.  We have been on the Ruby multiple times and will sail again on her soon.  As everyone has mentioned the three dining rooms and the buffet are the only restaurants that are free.  There is pizza and burgers up near the pool. I agree with VibeGuy to avoid the deck 6 aft restaurant which had a huge line on our May cruise on a different ship, but same layout.  Not a restaurant, but we love the salads and sandwiches at the International Cafe.

 

I know you didn't ask about others, but worth mentioning.  There are two specialty restaurants that cost extra; $25 for Sabatini's which is Italian and $29 for the Crown Grill which is the steak house.

 

It's worth going to your Cruise Personalizer and looking at the dining options on the Ruby:

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/ru-ruby-princess/

[cr8tiv1]

Another thread stated that Sabatini's is now $35/pp and Crown Grill is $39/pp.  That seems like a little steep for my blood.  The food is good.  The service is outstanding.  

[Chad_O]

My embarkation day tradition is a slice of pizza and a cold drink poolside as I reflect on my good fortune to be on board again! 

[Steelers36]

13 minutes ago, Chad_O said:

My embarkation day tradition is a slice of pizza and a cold drink poolside as I reflect on my good fortune to be on board again! 

The OP was writing about dinner.  Sounds like your lunch after boarding.

[Cruise Raider]

I would go to the Michelangelo or the DaVinci if you'd like a nice meal that is already included in the fare.  I am not fond of the Botticelli, even though their menu is the same as those dining rooms mentioned above.  

 

[Chad_O]

On 12/18/2022 at 8:12 PM, Steelers36 said:

The OP was writing about dinner.  Sounds like your lunch after boarding.

No I was actually happy to do that for dinner. Burger for lunch!😉 I live in Michigan and cruise during the winter months. I LOVE sailing out of FLL and I savor every minute of being on deck on the Ocean. To your point the MDR's are always a solid choice.