The Ruby Princess was built in 2008 by Fincantieri in Trieste, Italy, as a sister ship to Crown Princess and Emerald Princess. She was turned over to Carnival Corporation and Princess Cruises in late October 2008.She was formally named at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on 6 November 2008 by Trista and Ryan Sutter.
The ship became infamous in 2020, as the source of over 10% of Australia’s early COVID-19 cases. By 24 April at least 22 deaths in Australia and the United States were linked to the ship. A cluster of cases in New Zealand was also linked to the ship.