Ruby Princess: Sanitation Record & Health Report

Let's be real: the Ruby Princess has a reputation, and it precedes her like a fog horn in a harbor. This is, after all, the ship that made international headlines for all the wrong reasons back in 2020 — a pandemic-era disembarkation debacle that became a cautionary tale taught in public health courses. But ships, like people, can turn things around, and Ruby Princess has been doing her best impression of a redemption arc ever since. Her latest CDC inspection in November 2025 clocked in at a 96 — a full point above the fleet average — which, given her history, feels less like a flex and more like a very pointed "we have learned our lesson."

The food safety situation is genuinely impressive, though. A perfect 100 and the coveted Spotless Galley designation means the galley passed with absolutely zero violations — not a single temperature log out of range, not a cutting board with an identity crisis, nothing. For a ship that's been under the microscope for years, running a flawless kitchen inspection is the kind of move that makes you want to slow clap. Princess Cruises clearly decided that if Ruby was going to rebuild trust, she was going to do it one spotless steam table at a time.

Who it's for: Cruisers who care about food safety above almost everything else — a perfect score is hard to argue with — and anyone who appreciates that a ship with a complicated past has clearly put in the work. Princess loyalists who already know the product will feel right at home. Who should skip it: Travelers who just cannot let 2020 go (fair, honestly), or anyone who needs a ship with zero baggage — emotionally speaking. The Ruby Princess is a good ship doing good numbers, but she'll always carry that footnote, and some passengers would rather not sail with the reminder.