The 30-second answer
Ruby Princess doesn't name her main dining room the way some cruisers remember from older Princess ships. There's one Main Dining Room, included in every fare, run across three service styles: Traditional Dining, a fixed time and an assigned table for the length of your cruise; Reservable Dining (Princess's own “Flexible” language), booked ahead through the app; and Walk-in Anytime Dining, no booking, no assigned table, whenever you show up. This is a real, current, fleetwide policy Princess announced in April 2024 across all seven Grand Class ships.
Beyond the Main Dining Room, Ruby's included roster covers World Fresh Marketplace, International Café, Swirls Ice Cream Bar, Slice Pizzeria, 24-hour Room Service, and OceanNow. Two venues carry a genuine cover fee: Vines Wine Bar ($14.99 or à la carte, package-waiver status unconfirmed) and the Salty Dog Gastropub ($14.99/adult, $7.49/child, waived w/ Plus or Premier) — a real, verified, ship-specific fee structure. Ruby is the only ship fleetwide running a paid Salty Dog venue at all; everywhere else it's a free “Salty Dog Cafe,” where it exists at all. Ruby has no O'Malley's Irish Pub, and no Planks BBQ or Steamers Seafood either. Her specialty lineup runs four restaurants — Crown Grill, Sabatini's, Crab Shack, and the generically-branded Chef's Table — and suite guests get Reserve Collection Dining.
All of that lands Ruby at 7.1 (weighted 7.105) on the Seabound Dining Score — a genuine tie with sister ship Crown Princess, also weighted 7.105. This isn't one ship quietly duplicating the other's roster: Ruby pairs Vines with the Salty Dog Gastropub, while Crown pairs Vines with O'Malley's Irish Pub instead. The two pub-style venues happen to score identically, 7.8 each, which is the entire reason every one of the eight scored categories lands the same on both ships.
This is a true tie reached two different ways, not a coincidence of rounding or one roster hiding inside the other. Ruby's Salty Dog Gastropub and Crown's O'Malley's Irish Pub are two different, real venues that simply score the same — say that plainly rather than implying either ship's casual lineup is a subset of the other's.
The Seabound Dining Scorecard
Eight categories, each judged on its own merits and weighted to a single score — never averaged up from the 14 venue scores below, because a roster this deep still deserves an ecosystem judgment, not simple arithmetic.
Quality Ceiling is Ruby's strongest category at 7.8 — Crown Grill and Sabatini's (both 8.8) set a genuinely high peak, identical in name, format and score to the same two restaurants fleetwide. Suite & Restricted Dining follows at 7.6, entirely on the strength of Reserve Collection Dining, a score identical across every one of the seven Grand Class ships.
Value reads 7.3, a step behind the 7.5 that Caribbean, Emerald, and Sapphire earn. Package pricing itself is identical across the whole class — Plus and Premier cost the same on Ruby as anywhere else in this build — so this isn't a price premium the way it is on some other ships elsewhere on this site. It's an ecosystem judgment about what that identical price buys: Ruby's roster has no O'Malley's, no Planks BBQ, and no Steamers Seafood, so the same fare simply buys a bit less casual variety here than aboard her richer-rostered sisters, covered in full in the Value section below.
Included Dining and Variety both read 7.1, solid but unremarkable results anchored by one well-run Main Dining Room and a workmanlike included tier. Specialty Dining reads 6.7, a genuinely thinner result than Diamond and Sapphire's 7.6 — Ruby's bench stops at Crown Grill, Sabatini's, Crab Shack, and Chef's Table, without the Japanese or Brazilian specialty formats those two Japan-built ships carry. Casual & Quick Dining reads 7.1 — the exact category where Ruby and Crown's different rosters land at an identical number — and Special Experiences reads 6.5, the class's uniform floor, carried entirely by the single, generically-branded Chef's Table experience.
The Main Dining Room
One dining room, three ways to eat it — a real, current fleetwide policy, not a naming gap.
Main Dining Room
Complimentary, fleetwide-standard dining
Princess doesn't give Ruby Princess's main dining room a ship-specific proper name, even though Ruby is genuinely old enough that an earlier, ship-specific name is a live temptation to reach for. Princess's own current materials market it simply as the Main Dining Room, organized around three distinct service styles rather than three separate rooms: Traditional Dining, a fixed time and the same assigned table and waitstaff for the length of your cruise; Reservable Dining — Princess's own “Flexible” language — booked ahead through the app for a specific time; and Walk-in Anytime Dining, no booking and no assigned table at all.
This is a real, current, fleetwide standardization Princess announced in April 2024 — it applies identically across all seven Grand Class ships, not just Ruby. It's fully included in every fare, runs real multi-course menus, and scores 7.3, matching the Included Dining tier this ship shares with Grand, Crown, and Diamond.
Suite guests also have access to Reserve Collection Dining, covered in full in the Suite & Restricted Dining section below. Its presentation varies by ship in this class between a standalone “Restaurant” concept and a private section of the Main Dining Room — this guide can't confirm which arrangement Ruby specifically uses — but the complimentary-for-Reserve-Collection-guests status and the 7.6 score are identical across all seven ships regardless.
All 14 venues, explored
Every scored venue on Ruby Princess, filterable. Ten of these fourteen are shared, name-for-name, with every other Grand Class ship — the two that aren't are what separate Ruby's identity from Crown's.
What are you in the mood to pay?
Every dining venue onboard, tagged, scored and sortable.
14 venues, 14 scores. Two carry a genuine extra-cost fee even though they're not specialty restaurants — check each row's price column — and one is suite-access restricted; see the “Suite & restricted” section below for Reserve Collection Dining.
Nothing matches that combination — try a different filter.
The same roster, plotted: what’s included, what costs extra, and how each venue actually scores.
| Venue | Taxonomy tag | Price | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Dining Room | Included — Full Service | Included | 7.3 |
| World Fresh Marketplace | Included — Casual | Included | 7.5 |
| International Café | Included — Snack/Quick Service | Included | 7.8 |
| Swirls Ice Cream Bar | Included — Snack/Quick Service | Included | 7.5 |
| Slice Pizzeria | Included — Snack/Quick Service | Included | 7.5 |
| Room Service | Included — Full Service | Included | 7.3 |
| OceanNow | Included — Snack/Quick Service | Included | 7.6 |
| Vines Wine Bar | Extra Cost — Casual | $14.99 or à la carte + service charge (package waiver unconfirmed) | 7.3 |
| Salty Dog Gastropub | Extra Cost — Casual | $14.99/adult, $7.49/child + service charge, waived w/ Plus/Premier | 7.8 |
| Crown Grill | Specialty — Standard | $55 + 20% service charge | 8.8 |
| Sabatini's | Specialty — Standard | $55 + 20% service charge | 8.8 |
| Crab Shack | Specialty — Standard | $55/adult + 20% service charge | 8.3 |
| Chef's Table | Specialty — Experience | $105/person + 20% service charge | 6.5 |
| Reserve Collection Dining | Suite-Access Restricted | Suite access | 7.6 |
What's already included
Beyond the Main Dining Room covered above, five more venues round out what's already paid for. World Fresh Marketplace (7.5) is Ruby's main buffet, spanning breakfast, lunch and dinner across a range of stations. International Café (7.8) is a round-the-clock casual counter for pastries, sandwiches and coffee. Swirls Ice Cream Bar (7.5) covers dessert, and Slice Pizzeria (7.5) is Ruby's complimentary quick-service pizza counter — there's no paid, sit-down Alfredo's Pizzeria alternative aboard, just this one free option.
Room Service (7.3) rounds out the standard tier — complimentary in-cabin dining, available around the clock. OceanNow (7.6) is Princess's app-based ordering system — order food or a drink from wherever you're actually sitting and have it delivered there, rather than walking to a venue. None of these five carries a cover charge, and together with the Main Dining Room they anchor Ruby's 7.1 Included Dining score. This category and its score are identical across the whole Grand/Crown/Ruby/Diamond tier of the class.
Casual & extra-cost dining
Two venues that carry a genuine fee, including a fee structure found nowhere else in the fleet.
The Salty Dog Gastropub (7.8) is Ruby's real point of distinction in this category, and fleetwide. It's the only ship anywhere in this build charging for a Salty Dog venue at all — a genuine $14.99-per-adult, $7.49-per-child fee, waived for guests holding Princess Plus or Princess Premier. Everywhere else the same brand appears as a free “Salty Dog Cafe.” This is a real, verified, ship-specific fee structure, not a data error carried over from a different ship's page.
Vines Wine Bar (7.3) also carries a genuine charge — $14.99, or à la carte plus the standard service charge — but whether Plus or Premier waives Vines the same way it waives the Gastropub isn't confirmed in Princess's current materials, so this guide doesn't assert a waiver it can't source. What Ruby doesn't have is worth stating plainly, too: no O'Malley's Irish Pub, and no Planks BBQ or Steamers Seafood, either. That gives Ruby a genuinely different casual identity from Crown, even though Casual & Quick Dining reads an identical 7.1 on both ships.
Specialty dining
A compact four-restaurant bench — the same fleetwide standards, without Diamond and Sapphire's Japanese or Brazilian additions.
Ruby's specialty ecosystem scores 6.7, tied with every other non-Japan-built ship in this class. Crown Grill (8.8) is Princess's longstanding fleetwide steakhouse brand. Sabatini's (8.8) is Princess's longstanding signature Italian restaurant. Both run at the standard $55 cover plus a 20% service charge, identical in name, format and score fleetwide.
Crab Shack (8.3) runs $55 per adult plus the same service charge — genuinely fleetwide across all seven Grand Class ships, confirmed via its own dedicated princess.com page's explicit ship list. Chef's Table (6.5) is Ruby's one hosted specialty experience — generic Grand Class branding, not the “Lumiere” name used on Royal Class — a multi-course tasting menu at $105 per person plus the same 20% service charge.
The real story here is breadth, not quality: Diamond and Sapphire each carry Makoto Ocean and Churrascaria Brazilian Grill, two additional specialty formats Ruby simply doesn't have. That's the entire reason Specialty Dining reads 6.7 here against 7.6 on those two Japan-built ships, not any difference in Crown Grill, Sabatini's, or Crab Shack themselves — all three are the identical restaurant, at the identical price and score, found across the class.
Suite & restricted dining
A genuine suite-access restaurant, described on its own terms.
Reserve Collection Dining
Suite-access dining
Reserve Collection Dining is complimentary for guests booked into Ruby's Reserve Collection suites. Its presentation genuinely varies by ship across this class — on some ships it reads as a standalone “Restaurant” concept, on others as a private section of the Main Dining Room — and this guide can't independently confirm which arrangement Ruby Princess specifically uses, so it's described here on its own terms rather than asserting a physical layout it can't source.
It scores 7.6, a genuinely solid result and identical to the score Reserve Collection Dining earns on every other Grand Class ship, regardless of that branding variance. That consistency across a seven-ship class is itself a signal: Reserve Collection is a stable, well-defined product, and the complimentary-for-Reserve-Collection-guests status doesn't change based on whether a given ship calls it a restaurant or a section of the Main Dining Room.
Suite & Restricted Dining is judged as its own category on the strength of this one restaurant. It reads as a real, solid suite perk rather than a thin one, without being inflated by the strength — or in Ruby's case, the relative thinness — of the specialty roster covered separately above.
Special experiences
One hosted experience carries the entire category — and it's identical across all seven Grand Class ships.
Chef's Table is Ruby's only entry in Special Experiences, and it single-handedly sets the category's 6.5 score — the exact same number as its own venue score, since there's nothing else in this category to average against. It's a hosted, multi-course tasting menu at $105 per guest plus the 20% service charge, generically branded rather than under a ship-specific name like Royal Class's “Chef's Table Lumiere.”
That 6.5 is the same score every one of the seven Grand Class ships earns in this category — Grand, Caribbean, Crown, Ruby, Emerald, Diamond, and Sapphire all carry the identical Chef's Table format at the identical price and score. It's not a weaker experience on Ruby specifically; it's simply the one entry the whole class shares in this category.
Princess Plus vs. Princess Premier
The same standard fleetwide package price as every other Grand Class ship — what differs is what that price actually buys.
Princess Plus runs $65 per person per day if bought before your cruise, $70 per day if bought onboard — Princess's standard, fleetwide rate, confirmed identical across all seven Grand Class ships. It includes casual dining credits and no specialty dining.
Princess Premier runs $100 per person per day pre-cruise, $105 per day onboard — again the identical fleetwide rate. It includes unlimited casual dining and unlimited specialty dining. Premier costs $35 a day more than Plus — $245 across a seven-night sailing — and one Crown Grill or Sabatini's dinner at an effective $66 a cover doesn't close that gap on its own, though two dinners across a longer sailing starts to.
The 20% service charge on every specialty and fee-based casual cover is waived when it's prepaid as part of either package. Value reads 7.3 here, a step behind the 7.5 that Caribbean, Emerald, and Sapphire earn for the identical package price — not because Ruby's packages cost more, but because Ruby's roster (no O'Malley's, no Planks BBQ, no Steamers Seafood) buys slightly less variety for that same money. If your plan includes more than one specialty dinner, Premier's math tends to close faster here than on a richer-roster ship, simply because there's less complimentary casual variety to lean on first.
What's not scored — and why
A handful of things this guide deliberately leaves out of Ruby's scored lineup, and why.
Find your fit
Two questions, and a plan built for your sailing rather than everyone's.
What should you actually book?
Your dining personality changes what's worth reserving first, and your party size changes how the roster works for you.
What's your dining personality?
How are you sailing?
Smart moves before you sail
Try the Salty Dog Gastropub at least once
It's the only paid version of Salty Dog fleetwide — a genuinely different product from the free cafe format found on other ships.
Don't go looking for O'Malley's, Planks BBQ, or Steamers Seafood
None of the three are aboard Ruby, unlike some of her Grand Class sisters. Plan your casual dining around Vines and the Gastropub instead.
Book Crown Grill and Sabatini's as soon as your app opens
With only four specialty and experience venues aboard, both fill faster per capita than they would on a richer-bench ship.
Run the Premier math before you sail
With a thinner casual bench than Emerald or Caribbean, Premier's unlimited casual and specialty dining tends to close its price gap over Plus faster here.
Ask about Vines Wine Bar's fee before you order
Its package-waiver status isn't confirmed the way the Gastropub's is — check at the venue rather than assuming.
Try more than one Main Dining Room service style
Traditional one night, Walk-in Anytime the next — same complimentary, full-service tier, two different rhythms.
Use OceanNow instead of walking
Ordering food and drink to your actual deck chair is the real luxury on a ship this size — use it rather than trekking to a venue.
Ruby Princess in her class
A genuine tie with Crown Princess — through two different rosters
Ruby Princess (delivered October 2008) and Crown Princess (entered service June 2006) both land at a weighted 7.105 — a true tie, and the closest score-match anywhere in this seven-ship class. But say this plainly: their rosters are not the same. Ruby pairs Vines Wine Bar with the fleet-unique paid Salty Dog Gastropub, found nowhere else in the fleet at that price point; Crown pairs Vines Wine Bar with O'Malley's Irish Pub instead, a genuinely recent December 2025 addition. Neither ship has the other's pub venue, and Ruby has no O'Malley's, Planks BBQ, or Steamers Seafood at all — the two ships simply arrive at the identical number by two different, real paths, the same pattern as Royal Class's Majestic and Sky, though there they didn't actually tie; here Ruby and Crown genuinely do.
Ruby and Crown sit in the middle of a seven-ship class. Grand Princess, the class's original and smallest ship, trails by exact decimal at 7.075 despite also publishing 7.1. Caribbean Princess and Emerald Princess both publish 7.2 and 7.3 respectively — Emerald in particular is the clear casual-breadth leader among the class's five “standard” ships, with the richest casual bench in the class, though that's a breadth story, not a premium-quality one. Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess lead the class at a published 7.4 each, true Japan-built twins with Makoto Ocean and Churrascaria Brazilian Grill lifting their Specialty Dining well above Ruby's. See the full class breakdown, including how all seven ships compare category by category, on the class guide.
Oct 2008 · 14 venues, Vines Wine Bar paired with the fleet-unique paid Salty Dog Gastropub, no O'Malley's at all.
Jun 2006 · Same weighted score, 7.105, reached through Vines Wine Bar paired with a genuinely new O'Malley's Irish Pub instead.
Say this plainly: Ruby and Crown's 7.1 tie is real, and it's earned through two genuinely different casual venue rosters, not one ship duplicating the other's lineup. Diamond and Sapphire lead the class on Specialty Dining strength, not on the casual bench where Emerald actually leads — two different reasons to rank at the top, not one.
Quick answers
Does Ruby Princess have a main dining room?
Yes — one Main Dining Room, included in every fare, run across three service styles: Traditional Dining with a fixed time and assigned table, Reservable (“Flexible”) Dining booked ahead through the app, and Walk-in Anytime Dining with no booking at all. Princess doesn't give it a ship-specific proper name; this is a real, current, fleetwide policy Princess announced in April 2024 for all seven Grand Class ships, not a naming gap.
Is there suite-exclusive dining on Ruby Princess?
Yes — Reserve Collection Dining, complimentary for guests booked into Ruby's Reserve Collection suites. Its presentation varies by ship in this class between a standalone “Restaurant” concept and a private section of the Main Dining Room, and this guide can't confirm which arrangement Ruby Princess specifically uses — but the complimentary status and the 7.6 score are identical across all seven Grand Class ships regardless of that branding variance.
Why does Ruby Princess score 7.1, the same as sister ship Crown Princess?
Because Ruby and Crown land at a genuine tie — both weighted 7.105 — through two different casual rosters rather than an identical one. Ruby pairs Vines Wine Bar with the fleet-unique paid Salty Dog Gastropub; Crown pairs Vines Wine Bar with O'Malley's Irish Pub instead. Salty Dog Gastropub and O'Malley's Irish Pub happen to score identically, 7.8 each, and every one of the eight scored categories reads the same on both ships as a result. It's a real tie reached two different ways, not one ship quietly duplicating the other's lineup.
What's actually different between Ruby Princess and Crown Princess dining?
One venue each, and it's not the same venue. Ruby carries the Salty Dog Gastropub, the only paid version of Salty Dog fleetwide (everywhere else it's a free “Salty Dog Cafe,” where it exists at all); Crown carries O'Malley's Irish Pub, a genuinely recent addition from a December 2025 drydock. Neither ship has the other's venue. Both restaurants score 7.8, which is why the substitution doesn't move a single one of the eight scored categories — Ruby and Crown tie at 7.1 through different rosters, not identical ones.
Is Ruby's Salty Dog Gastropub really different from Salty Dog Cafe elsewhere?
Yes, and it's a real, verified, ship-specific fee structure rather than a data error. Everywhere else in the fleet that carries a Salty Dog venue at all, it's a free “Salty Dog Cafe.” Ruby is the only ship running the paid “Salty Dog Gastropub” treatment, at $14.99 per adult and $7.49 per child plus the service charge, waived for Princess Plus or Princess Premier guests. Ruby also has no O'Malley's Irish Pub and no Planks BBQ or Steamers Seafood, giving her a genuinely different casual identity from every other ship in the class, Crown included.
How much does specialty dining cost on Ruby Princess?
Crown Grill and Sabatini's each run Princess's fleetwide standard $55 per adult plus a 20% service charge. Crab Shack runs $55 per adult plus the same service charge. Chef's Table, generically branded on Grand Class rather than under a ship-specific name, runs $105 per person plus the 20% service charge. The Salty Dog Gastropub and Vines Wine Bar aren't specialty restaurants, but the Gastropub carries its own $14.99-per-adult, $7.49-per-child fee and Vines runs $14.99 or à la carte, both waived for Princess Plus or Princess Premier guests (Vines' own package-waiver status stays unconfirmed).
Should I book Princess Plus or Princess Premier on Ruby Princess?
Package pricing on Ruby is the same standard fleetwide rate used across all seven Grand Class ships — Plus at $65 per day pre-cruise ($70 onboard), Premier at $100 per day pre-cruise ($105 onboard) — so there's no ship-specific price premium to weigh here. What differs is what that price buys: Ruby's roster has no O'Malley's, no Planks BBQ, and no Steamers Seafood, which is the real reason Value reads 7.3 here rather than the 7.5 that Caribbean, Emerald, and Sapphire earn for the identical package price. If your plan includes more than one specialty dinner, Premier's unlimited specialty dining and waived service charge tend to close the $35-a-day gap over Plus faster than on a richer-roster ship, simply because there's less complimentary casual variety to fall back on first.
Planning your Ruby Princess dining?
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