Drews_Cruise

We were so dissapointed in the condition of the Ruby rust bucket last year when we compared it to the ship it once was. It was really showing its wear, so I hope they did enough to make people feel like its an up to date ship again. It was hit and miss though as our friends next door had beautiful new carpet and ours was old, faded and worn. It may have been a premium balcony due to the size but it was not "premium " due to the old decor. Its not the all and all to have a new ship every time but you certainly don't want to be on a ship that is tired and old looking. At least its not our preference. It would be interesting to hear fro so previous sailors as to what they think now.

Again, I welcome anything new to Princess. it was getting a bit stale and the new Sun Princess is very exciting.

Finally something different from Princess. I welcome new ideas for cruise entertainment on this line. I can't wait to see this small theatre experience.

Looking forward to hearing how this cruise goes, We've dumped Princess until such time we hear something positive out of them. Enjoy your cruise!

Our group is up to 14 people now so I'm not sure we can even book a table that large for every night. I will certainly try though....lol

I was not able to book anything either but figured it was too early. How long before sail date can you start booking dinner reservations on HAL?

We don't eat at the buffet ever. Way too many people coughing, breathing and handling utensils for us so I hope there are other options on the Koningsdam next year. We are hoping for the MDR for sure.

I will print a screen shot for sure. This additional charge of "just the difference" was the policy of our last cruise on Princess, and it worked well and worked often (for us). We loved having a few extra special drinks without having to buy the whole package. I hope HAL adopts it across the board as its a program that makes sense for everyone.

Great reporting, We are a group of 10 who are doing this same cruise next year around the same time. Looking forward to hearing everything you experience. Thanks for sharing.

I'm going to follow this question because I'm looking for the same answer. We have a group of 10 but it seems you can only book a table for 8. Were not sure if we are at a specific time or if we need to adjust it once on board. We're used to Princess, and HAL doesnt seem to have the same clarity with regards to dining as we are used to.

We only did one HAL cruise about 5 years ago and we continue to get free balcony cabin offers all the time. Princess has always been our “go to” but we’re done with them after a terrible experience. We couldn’t find any sailings we liked for free, but got a substantial price reduction with a casino credit for our return to HAL.

I know what you mean, We were beside the Majestic Princess in Ensenada in April, and people getting off the Majestic were saying how bad the Ruby looked as we sailed in. The flooring around the pool was so cracked and peeling that people were tripping on it, the pipes on the balcony were rusted and broken (leaking crap out of them). The door rattled all night, and the entire ship needs a lot of work as we saw it. I'm glad some people are enjoying their time on her though because there is lots more to cruising than just the condition of the ship. As for us, never again. Their credit for the days in isolation will go unused. I sent the letter to Princess explaining the many issues we had and they offered us $100.00 on board credit to get us to "Come back" but there isn't a chance. Not in the next few years anyway. We're moving to Celebrity or HAL. We were such champions for Princess but never will we get treated like that again. We do hope everyone enjoys their time on her if you're not too fussy and willing to take the risk.

Nice to follow along, thanks for sharing everyone. I'm hopeful your experience is superior to ours on the Ruby Rust-bucket back in April. By the way those elevators are a covid hotspot so I'd mask up if I were you. Same with getting on and off the ship. lol Enjoy everyone.

I agree, but we were able to use the app for the menu. How did you get your order placed? nobody answered the phones for us.

great blog, Exactly as we experienced it.