First Alaskan cruise - sailing Ruby Princess

We currently have a booking on hold for a 7 Day Alaskan Inside Passage cruise on the Ruby Princess in early July 2019. My husband and I are in our late 40's and will have our sons with us who will be close to turning 10 and 13 years old by then. Our current booking is for a mini-suite Cabin E730. After reading some of the board posts I started thinking about motion sickness, the engine noise and Club Fusion being right below. Would we be better off changing to another mini-suite that isn't so far aft, like D632, even though the balcony isn't covered? Looking at the itinerary I think we would prefer to remain on the port side.

We have limited cruising experience. We have taken 2 Carnival Western Caribbean cruises in the past. The first time was an inside stateroom for a 4-day cruise in 2003 (Celebration) and the second time with kids in an Ocean Suite for a 5-day cruise in 2014 (Triumph - originally booked for 2013 but got cancelled due to repairs). We chose Princess over HAL because they seemed to be a better fit for us. We definitely wanted to see Glacier Bay. Also, our 25-year wedding anniversary is next year, so we hope to have at least one special dinner on the cruise to celebrate.

Would really appreciate any input! We are open to moving our cruise date to mid- or late June if weather might be better then.

I would recommend searching out "budgetgueen" on cc. She has been several times and does great reviews. We sent her a few emails and she gave us some suggestions. Also her reviews are very good and informative.

We currently have a booking on hold for a 7 Day Alaskan Inside Passage cruise on the Ruby Princess in early July 2019. My husband and I are in our late 40's and will have our sons with us who will be close to turning 10 and 13 years old by then. Our current booking is for a mini-suite Cabin E730. After reading some of the board posts I started thinking about motion sickness, the engine noise and Club Fusion being right below. Would we be better off changing to another mini-suite that isn't so far aft, like D632, even though the balcony isn't covered? Looking at the itinerary I think we would prefer to remain on the port side.

 

We have limited cruising experience. We have taken 2 Carnival Western Caribbean cruises in the past. The first time was an inside stateroom for a 4-day cruise in 2003 (Celebration) and the second time with kids in an Ocean Suite for a 5-day cruise in 2014 (Triumph - originally booked for 2013 but got cancelled due to repairs). We chose Princess over HAL because they seemed to be a better fit for us. We definitely wanted to see Glacier Bay. Also, our 25-year wedding anniversary is next year, so we hope to have at least one special dinner on the cruise to celebrate.

 

Would really appreciate any input! We are open to moving our cruise date to mid- or late June if weather might be better then.

That's a tough call as E730 is one of the best mini's on the ship. This room has a extra large covered balcony and there will be next to no foot traffic in the hallway outside your cabin door. All four of you can comfortably use the balcony even if it is raining.

If you can manage to snag E731 instead, you might be better off as E730 is basically right above the stage in the lounge below. You may notice some bass or drumming up until 11 PM or maybe midnight, but then it will shut down for the evening.

If it were me, I would hang onto that cabin if I wasn't able to switch to the end one on the other side. If it was just the two of you, I would say you'd be ok with any of those Emerald deck cabins but with 4 passengers, I would highly recommend one of those two balcony cabins at the very end (E730 or E731).

We've stayed in E731 twice before and once in E727. In E727, there was quite a bit of vibration and enough to just pop you out of bed when they used the thrusters, but didn't really notice it being a terribly rough ride. We usually do stay either midship or all the way aft. The times we stayed in E731, we really didn't notice much of either ... rough or a lot of vibration.

If it were me, I would hang onto that cabin, put in for a meta upgrade (maybe .. and a big maybe ... they offer you a suite or an upsell to a suite). I would take a bit of sea sick prevention and ear plugs (even though maybe niether will be needed) and enjoy that nice large covered balcony. That's exactly where I'd want to be to view the glacier or even whale watching. You really won't be able to do that as comfortably from a veranda on the dolphin deck if it is pouring down rain.

We've been on many Alaska cruises and have stayed in cabin E730 on the Ruby. Keep it, it 's nice cabin. You won't hear much of anything from below. Club Fusion is pretty dead most of the time on the Alaska cruises. In July the seas will be pretty calm the only time your going to get into any kind of rough seas is going to be during the first full seas day. In 13 or 14 cruises to Alaska we've only encountered rough seas twice and it was early in the season. Enjoy your cruise to Alaska.

I, and most people, say it does not really matter which side of the ship you are on for an Alaskan cruise. Sounds like you have a good cabin.

We love that cabin and always try to book it. Never really had a problem with noise from the club fusion. As far as motion sickness, i am the queen of it, and it does not really bother me back there. I do take my meclizine though.

Keep the cabin!!

We have had that cabin on the Ruby and the Emerald (sister ship) and loved it. The location is quiet and the balcony is expansive. In fact we will be on a June cruise on the Ruby in E730 with our two kids, their spouses and one grandchild in E728 and E726. We're looking forward to opening the balcony doors between all the cabins.