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Ruby Princess sails despite rough economic waters
 "Mamma Mia" was one of the films featured on Movies Under the Stars, the Ruby Princess' 300-square-foot outdoor movie theater. (By Jackie Hutcherson/P-D) ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
ABOARD THE RUBY PRINCESS, SOMEWHERE IN THE CARIBBEAN -- While the economy's got that sinking feeling, maybe taking a trip on something that still floats isn't such a bad idea. Going on a cruise has always been viewed as kind of an all-inclusive on water. Meals, your room and entertainment are included in the price. And Jan Swartz, senior vice president of customer service and sales for Princess Cruises, said the cost for a 12-day European cruise next summer was 40 percent less than a similar land-based vacation. The Ruby Princess, the newest ship in the Princess Cruises fleet, is sailing the Caribbean through April, then it journeys to the Mediterranean. My husband and I took a cruise on the Ruby's second trip around the Western Caribbean in November.  Take in a sweat lodgeThis gets my vote for best shore excursion experience. I picked the Temazcal Mayan Sweatlodge Experience ($119) because it wasn't the typical tour of a city or ruins. After a bumpy ride — better known as a "Mexican massage" — through the jungle to the site, our guide Moses Szapsik took our group of five through some Mayan history and then through the cleansing process. We all crawled into the dark temazcal or sweat lodge and spent 90 minutes chanting, yelling and looking into our past and future through a humid 140-degree haze. See a video of the sweat lodge here. |
IF YOU GO
Here are the starting room prices for Ruby Princess Western Caribbean cruises for the Jan. 31 and Feb. 7 sailings: • Inside stateroom (no window): From $599 per person, double occupancy • Outside stateroom: From $629 per person, double occupancy • Balcony accommodations: From $899 per person, double occupancy • Mini-suite: From $1,145 per person, double occupancy • Suite: From $2,249 per person, double occupancy www.princess.com
HOW IT ALL ADDS UP ON THE RUBY PRINCESS
• 1,300 crew members • 3,080 passengers • 12 crew photographers • 2 videographers • 4,500 to 7,000 photos professionally taken on formal night; 15 to 25 percent are sold • 20 days of fuel stored in the ship’s tanks • 2 doctors on board • 4 nurses on board • 20,000 towels washed each day • 200 tons of water from the Caribbean is distilled, mineralized and used aboard the ship every day • 13 dancers • 3-level dressing room backstage at the Princess Theatre • 50 plasma screens in Club Fusion • 17 ships in the Princess Cruise line, with Ruby Princess making its debut last November • 22 treadmills with TVs in the fitness center • 15 decks above the water line with names like Dolphin, Star, Sky and Promenade 
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