Deesquared

They don't do VOTO if they don't have enough sea days during the trip. They need to have one day for song selection/practice with the band/backstage walkthrough, and another day for the actual show. 

They had it on my family's first cruise, a 7-day Mexican Riviera trip, but not on our second cruise, a 7-day California Coastal, that had more port days. Both were on the Ruby, and I've done it on the Emerald as well.

I've stayed in the Aft Riviera rooms 3 times on the Ruby/Emerald, and there was no noise at all from Cafe Caribe. It is very close to the aft pool and deck, and easy to pop into Cafe Caribe for tea/coffee and a snack to eat out on the deck. I love this location!

Ensenada and Santa Barbara. 

But I've only been on West Coast/Alaska cruises.

Another option would be to do a Northbound trip from Vancouver on one cruise line, then do the Southbound on a different cruise line. Then you have the option to stay for a bit in Anchorage and explore in between cruises. 

5 hours ago, ifihadamilliondollars said:

Honestly? I didn't care for him. He seemed to be something of a "bullshitter" (harsh, I know but you asked!) And I felt like his main goal was to sell his books. He spent a long time on a story about his first winter alone in a cabin. He showed some slides, talked about his book, made some suggestions for what to do in Alaska.

Thank you so much for your honest opinion! I have heard that many people are not big fans of Michael. This actually gives me great hope on my chances for working as an on-board naturalist. I don't have the 'hands-on' Alaska experience, but I've been an Interpreter/Naturalist for many years on the BC Coast, and I love working in front of a crowd. I don't have any books to sell either, so that's a plus! 🙂

Thanks again!

Thanks for your great detailed review, and all the photos. Our family has sailed on the Ruby twice, and we love her.

Thank you also for your thoughts on the on-board Naturalist. I have heard interesting views on Michael, and his style. I am also a Naturalist, and am hoping to work on-board the Princess ships at some point. Would you mind telling me more about his presentation, and what he talked about? Thank you!

Wonderful pics of all those humpback whales, by the way!

On 6/23/2019 at 8:17 PM, Travelnplane said:

We have been on the very same cruise and can only stress your statements. Wonderful food and an excellent crew. 

 

Went on Star Princess the following Sunday and just returned today. Weatherwise not much better as we missed Tracy Arm Fjord due to fog and Victoria due to high wind. Naturalist also was a disaster. 

 

Compared to Ruby, the Star crew not came anywhere near the Ruby crew. 

 

Cheers,

 

Dennis 

 

Can I ask why the Naturalist was a disaster? It's my future dream job, and I'm trying to get as much info about it as possible! I've heard that some cruisers don't like the delivery style of one of the Naturalists who is often on the Princess Alaska runs.

Just curious, why would you want to move to a cabin that is just 4 doors down?

19 hours ago, KG2019 said:

So is there any chance of them getting lost or misplaced if they aren't on the display board?  This sounds like a great idea, I was thinking I would wait until the last day and purchase the ones I wanted.  Is the envelope left in one spot so you can add additional photos?

This was suggested to me by one of the employees on my first cruise. She put my last name and cabin # on the envelope, and kept it behind the desk for me. I guess there is always a possibility that it could be misplaced, but the desk area is not very large. Some employees are more helpful than others. I would chat with a few of them, and find one that seems eager to help.

Here's my Princess Secret:

If you are going to purchase photos, start collecting them from the beginning of the trip. They put the photos on display in groups: Embarkation, 1st Formal - Botticelli's, Sailaway, etc...

Find your photos, and ask the photo people to put them in an envelope for you behind the desk. Just keep collecting them and putting them away until the day before disembarkation. Then you can peruse them at your leisure, while everyone else is frantically scanning the thousands of pictures, trying to find all of theirs.

On our last cruise, I had been collecting them, but I didn't ask for an envelope. I just put them all together on one of the display boards. I was so frustrated when I came by to collect them and the staff had redistributed them to all the different displays!!! I don't know what they were thinking...

2 hours ago, Ombud said:

I'm waiting for that but just see sip & sale offer. Do you have a link? Thx

This 3-for-Free is just for the UK.

I would be interested to know if there will be a 3-for-Free coming up for Canada/US soon!

I'm curious what you find off-putting about his delivery?

Being an on-board Naturalist is my dream job, and I am getting closer to that becoming a reality as my kids get older. I am currently doing research on the position, and would love to hear what would be appealing or off-putting to passengers. 

I don't have the hands-on Alaskan experience that Michael does, but I have worked for many years as a Naturalist and Park Interpreter, and have tons of training and certification in working with the public in Nature Education and Conservation.

Maybe one day it will be me on board the beautiful Ruby Princess! 😃

I thought that was a strange request. Thanks for the heads up!

Which cruise lines have these surveys? That would really bother me if staff were reminding me to rate them a 10 throughout the cruise. I go on vacations to relax!

Are there chairs on the balcony? Could you bring one inside, or sit outside?

Princess has an 18-20 group that will organize get-togethers if there are enough guests in that age range. I don't have any personal experience with it, but there is a thread about it here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2534994-1820-youth-program/

I've only been on two Princess ships (Ruby and Emerald), and there was no arcade on them. They have a Teen Club that's filled with all different kinds of gaming consoles, but you must be registered for the Teen Club to go inside there. No adults!

We asked the steward about this on our last cruise (Emerald), and he said it was for emergencies. If a guest was hearing impaired, the light would flash to let them know that there was some kind of announcement/communication going on.

1 hour ago, jagoffee said:

I cannot really help you with your particular question, but perhaps you can help me.

Were you required to have two different booking numbers when booking two cabins?  I am finding it a pain.  I am paying for both cabins and the EZair and excursion bookings were a little bit of a hassle.

We have adjoining cabins, so the key situation should not be much of a problem for us.

 

Thank you.

I have booked two rooms (one for us, one for kids) on the Ruby. They are two different booking numbers, but the Princess Cruise Consultant linked the two bookings together. That way I could log in to each booking on the Princess website to add soda packages, print boarding passes, etc. When you log into the linked booking, you will need to enter the name and birthdate of the person in that cabin, not your name and birthdate. 

We got this package on our cruise with our teens last year. It was perfect. My hubby and I really like pop with dinner...well, I like pop all day long. 🙂

We also liked the mocktails. Our kids really like the Sunshine Daquiris. It's just fruity and sweet. My husband liked the Nohito. We also liked getting hot chocolates from the International Cafe. I don't think there is hot chocolate powder available at the buffet, so if you want a hot chocolate you have to buy it at the I.C.

No pop machines though. Only pop from the guns at the bars.

The Emerald has a few of these weird 3-day LA-Vancouver, no port cruises.

The prices are great! I had a look at the LA-Vancouver 3-day on March 26, and it's around $150pp for an inside. Most insides are sold, but there are tons and tons of balconies available.

Sounds like a nice relaxing trip. I love sea days!

Does that higher rate come with different perks? It looks like sometimes the rate may go up, but the dollar amount of the perks such as OBC or free grats cancels out the increase.

Looks like there is another Emerald 'Ghost Ship' cruise in March too!

I got a flyer in the mail today, and one of the advertised specials was a 3-day LA to Vancouver on March 26. Only $149 US per person!

Had a look on the website, and many of the insides are sold (all aft insides are sold out), but there are TONS of balconies available.  SO many. I'm going to keep my eye on this one!

We are on the Ruby from March 17-24, and if it was a super good deal, we could spend one night in San Pedro, then cruise back home to BC! 😮 

Thanks for the review and photos!

Is the Ruby using Medallion technology yet?

Thank you both for the help!