Ruby Princess -- Dress Code

My wife and I are going on the Ruby Princess on 2/7/09. This will be our 1st cruise. We have selected Anytime Dining and besides the formal nights, what is the dress code for the dining room? Can my wife wear slacks with sandals? We are staying at the Comfort Suites the day before our cruise. Checkout is at 11:00 a.m. Can we go to the pier right away? Anything else that we should know would be appreciated. Thank you very much.

Welcome to the wonderful world of cruising! :D You have picked a great ship for your first cruise....I was on the Ruby a few weeks ago and she is a beautiful ship. You will have a great time.

Yes you can go right to the pier and they usually start boarding around 11:30 to 12:00. It is nice to get on early and have lots of time to start exploring the ship. Regarding dress code on "resort casual" nights in the dining room the slacks and sandals will be fine for your wife. For you dockers and a polo or sport shirt is fine.

You may want to check out the Princess boards...you will find lots of info on the Ruby and Princess in general.

Have a wonderful cruise.

You'll see women in capris, slacks, skirts, dresses....heels, sandals (not rubber flip-flops!) etc...

Well, actually you will see a few women in rubber flip flops or at least I did in November. I am only posting this as this is what I saw and not to start a debate about the Princess dress code.

Your planned clothing will be just fine. Dressing for dinner on a cruise isnt as difficult as some make it sound. We usually leave for port around 10 a.m. so your leaving at 11a.m. will work just fine. Have your boarding passes and ID handy when you get to the pier so when they ask for it you won't have to go searching for it.

Take a few minutes and study the Ruby's deck plan before you board so you'll feel a bit more comfortable finding your way around when you get on board. You'll still get lost a few times, as everyone does:) but it will make you feel better to have some idea of how to get to places.

Don't be afraid to ask questions of staff and other passengers as most people are very willing to answer them and you may make some great new friends that way.

A cruise is a great place to try a few new things you've never done before so read the Patters every night and have in mind what you'd like to do but if you don't get to it don't worry about it either as there's always the next cruise !;)

The most important things you can take with you are your patience and sense of humor. You will likely run into some rude passengers and at some point find yoruself waiting in a line. Remember that you're on vacation and have all the time in the world so just relax and enjoy. Your patience and sense of humor can make all the difference between making yourself unhappy when something doesn't go quite the way you'd like and having a wonderful cruise.:)

Thank you all very much for the information. Can't wait to go !!!!

Here's the roll call link for your cruise. Pop over and say hello to your fellow cruisers.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=735342

I, too, loved the Ruby when we sailed on her in November.

Have a wonderful cruise!:)