New To Cruising. Going to Hawaii on the RUBY, Dolphin Deck

Hey everyone!

I am getting married in a few days and after that, we are going on a honeymoon cruise to Hawaii.

We will be leaving from LA on April 5th on a 15 night cruise.

We have never been on a cruise before but we are very excited.

We will be in a mini suite on the Dolphin Deck. D526 I think.

Anyways, I've done tons of research and I think I have a good start.

I've taken care of everything on the website, we are both ready to go and they have all the info they need.

I've pre-paid gratuity, I've bought internet minutes (damn expensive for a geek like me! I bought 1400 mins)

I've reserved shore excursions in two places (helicopter ride and snorkeling on Maui)

We have chosen anytime dining.

So, with all that said. What tips/tricks or things I should know?

Must visit places, things to bring, places not to miss when docked, etc.

I'm bringing a ton of cameras, GoPros, etc. I even have a special timelapse camera to mount outside the balcony to take a 15 day timelapse of the entire cruise.

Thanks for any help! Have a great day!!

One of my favorites was a DIY Arizona Memorial.

We rode the bus to the Memorial ($4.00 ? round trip each). Had prepurchased the tickets online (free if you walk up, but no guarantee there will be any tickets when you get there), cost $1.50 each. Did all the required tourist stuff and rode the bus back. It was a blast.

If you do a search you can find the directions for finding the bus (it is a 2 block walk).

Favorite Princess excursion was the tube ride (can't remember which island) - love me some tube rides:D:D

Ruby was our first. She is a great ship. Just relax and enjoy your trip. Take way too many pictures and stay up way too late.

We love the mini-suites on Dolphin deck!

Look forward to having a GREAT cruise to Hawaii on one of our favorite ships! :D

LuLu

Be ready for the first two and last two days to be chilly.

You may or may not have rough seas. It's a trans-Pacific, and the Pacific can be rough... if you're prone to motion sickness, get some medicine.

In Hilo see the volcano...

In Kauai, do the Zodiac excursion through the ship.

Also, remember that there will be an older clientele as it's a long cruise.

It's a fabulous cruise! I've done this cruise 4 times already and going back in October. Enjoy!

If you want advice on what to do onshore, it would be helpful to give us a clue what you're interested in (besides snorkeling): a person into WWII history would plan a very different Oahu itinerary from someone who just wants to lie on the beach. There's a ports of call board on CC: check it out.

Also be aware that there are a lot of sea days on this cruise and only four port days in Hawaii, and, as has been pointed out, there will quite possibly be chilly weather near the mainland, not exactly sun-on-your-balcony and lie-around-the-pool temperatures, so be prepared for all that. And if you plan to rent cars on the Islands, the process can be frustrating; allow plenty of time.

I will say that if you have a longish time in Ensenada and like zip-lining, there's a little-known killer one outside town.

Hello Bugnuker,

Please join our Roll Call and we leave LA on April 4th, don't miss the ship!

On our roll call we activities going and some shore excursions. Several people on roll call have done this cruise many times so ask for assistance on the roll call, everyone would be willing to help. As for your cabin, you will love it!

Personally, Helicopter tour in Kauai would be my first choice.

First formal night is a champagne waterfall and introduction to Capt & Officers.

Don't miss Crown Grill or Sabatini's, we have a group or groups going.

Look forward to seeing you post on our roll call!

Congrats again on your wedding!

Seadeck2

Congratulations on your wedding and your cruise to Hawaii.

For sail away do go up on deck where there is music, people are looking over the railing as you pull away. The atmosphere is exciting.

If you want a private sail away, use your balcony while you have a drink you brought back to your cabin from a bar. You will love your balcony

Do watch a movie outside at MUTS.

If there is a Thermal Suite on your ship and you decide to try it, go during the time when most everyone else is at dinner or a show. You could be the only ones there! It has happened to us many times on other ships.

We usually go and do the opposite of everyone else........you will feel like you have a private ship all to your self.

Get up early as you pull into ports and watch from your balcony. It is a magical time of day.

Just relax and enjoy everything. You can do what you want .....when you want.....go where you want......It will be an amazing trip.

try some of the Hawaiian activities that Princess has on board such as lei making classes, Hula and ukulele classes. Go to some of the lectures about Hawaiian culture but skip the shopping guide lectures. Do a helicopter ride in Kauai. In Oahu climb Diamond head. Big island go to volcano's national park and try some Kona coffee too. This cruise is all about Hawaii, enjoy and congrats on your marriage.

Oh, if your brave enter the Newlywed game on the ship. Watch for it in the Princess patter(the daily newspaper you get)

One of my favorites was a DIY Arizona Memorial.

We rode the bus to the Memorial ($4.00 ? round trip each). Had prepurchased the tickets online (free if you walk up, but no guarantee there will be any tickets when you get there), cost $1.50 each. Did all the required tourist stuff and rode the bus back. It was a blast.

If you do a search you can find the directions for finding the bus (it is a 2 block walk).

 

Favorite Princess excursion was the tube ride (can't remember which island) - love me some tube rides:D:D

Thanks for the reply! What island is this on?

We might do that, but I've seen a ton of military memorials. I live in San Pedro (yep, right next to the dock) and I go see the USS IOWA and in San Diego they have an Air craft carrier I've checked out a few times.

I love tubing as well, but the wife - not so much.

I'm hoping to check out akaka falls and black sand beach on HILO.

I've read the volcano is not doing much, no active lava flows, and you can't even see the glow until dusk, and by then I need to be back at the ship.

Ruby was our first. She is a great ship. Just relax and enjoy your trip. Take way too many pictures and stay up way too late.

Excellent advice. :D:D;);) Thanks!

Be ready for the first two and last two days to be chilly.

 

You may or may not have rough seas. It's a trans-Pacific, and the Pacific can be rough... if you're prone to motion sickness, get some medicine.

 

In Hilo see the volcano...

 

In Kauai, do the Zodiac excursion through the ship.

 

Also, remember that there will be an older clientele as it's a long cruise.

 

It's a fabulous cruise! I've done this cruise 4 times already and going back in October. Enjoy!

How chilly? I'm live in San Pedro, right next to the dock. I am used to the weather here. I'm hoping the seas wont be too bad, but the ship is big, and we are right in the middle so we should be pretty good I think. I'll still bring some pills.

The volcano.. so I've ready it's not doing much right now. No lava flows to be seen, and none flowing into the ocean. Only thing is the glow from the creator and that can only be seen as dusk.

What about black sand beach? or akaka falls?

What is the zodiac excursion?

We're not that young, but not that old either ;) 33 years old. Old enough to be respectful, young enough to still make bad choices. heheh

Thanks for the advice and your post!!

If you want advice on what to do onshore, it would be helpful to give us a clue what you're interested in (besides snorkeling): a person into WWII history would plan a very different Oahu itinerary from someone who just wants to lie on the beach. There's a ports of call board on CC: check it out.

 

Also be aware that there are a lot of sea days on this cruise and only four port days in Hawaii, and, as has been pointed out, there will quite possibly be chilly weather near the mainland, not exactly sun-on-your-balcony and lie-around-the-pool temperatures, so be prepared for all that. And if you plan to rent cars on the Islands, the process can be frustrating; allow plenty of time.

 

I will say that if you have a longish time in Ensenada and like zip-lining, there's a little-known killer one outside town.

Not much into the military stuff. I've seen a lot already (but not these exact ones) but I'm not a huge military buff.

I like to take pictures. I would like to visit rain forest type places, and get some amazing shots. I would like to see and capture things that are not on the main path. I love nature. I would love to do some short hikes (the wife can't hike more than a mile due to feet problems and I don't want to make her get blisters to ruin the trip. Taking it easy :) )

As far as renting cars - I thought about it. Only Island I thought about was HILO. But I think we can take a taxi for about 20 bucks more than rental car fees to the two places I want to go and be ok. What do you think?

Hello Bugnuker,

Please join our Roll Call and we leave LA on April 4th, don't miss the ship!

On our roll call we activities going and some shore excursions. Several people on roll call have done this cruise many times so ask for assistance on the roll call, everyone would be willing to help. As for your cabin, you will love it!

Personally, Helicopter tour in Kauai would be my first choice.

First formal night is a champagne waterfall and introduction to Capt & Officers.

Don't miss Crown Grill or Sabatini's, we have a group or groups going.

Look forward to seeing you post on our roll call!

Congrats again on your wedding!

Seadeck2

Not sure what the roll call is? I wont miss the ship. Trust me ;) I've been looking forward to this for so long. And I live in San Pedro. I can see the ships from my house. I'm doing that 299.99 helicopter ride on that island. I am excited for it. That is the one, right?

Congratulations on your wedding and your cruise to Hawaii.

 

For sail away do go up on deck where there is music, people are looking over the railing as you pull away. The atmosphere is exciting.

 

If you want a private sail away, use your balcony while you have a drink you brought back to your cabin from a bar. You will love your balcony

 

Do watch a movie outside at MUTS.

 

If there is a Thermal Suite on your ship and you decide to try it, go during the time when most everyone else is at dinner or a show. You could be the only ones there! It has happened to us many times on other ships.

 

We usually go and do the opposite of everyone else........you will feel like you have a private ship all to your self.

 

Get up early as you pull into ports and watch from your balcony. It is a magical time of day.

 

Just relax and enjoy everything. You can do what you want .....when you want.....go where you want......It will be an amazing trip.

Thanks!

I think the private sail away will be nice. I hope the balcony is everything I am dreaming of! haha

movie under the stars is on our list.

Does anyone know if the RUBY has a thermal suite? It sounds great!

We're so excited! Thanks for the advice!!

Hi Bugnuker,

Scroll down from where you clicked on "Princess Cruises" to get into this forum.

You will see Roll Calls, click on Princes Cruises, Ruby Princess and then look for sail date of April 4, it is usually in the top 1/4th of the page.

Nice to live so close to the port. If Heli tour in Kauai then you will have an amazing ride and spectacular photos.

Watch a show in Princess Thesatre and or the comedian onboard.

Take time to explore the ship after boarding, then relax on all the sea dsys.

Remember to get food to take back and eat on balcony or save for later (cookies). Order milk and juice from room service and store in fridge, the glasses are covered with wrap.

Seadeck2

Check out the Hop on Hop Off bus in Hilo. It goes to the falls and other places and you catch it right outside the gates at the port-short walk. You can ride all day for one small fee.

Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials! That is fantastic!

Our very first cruise with Princess was on the Golden - 14 day - LA to Hawaii. It was absolutely fantastic! It was so relaxing.

You will have lots of fun on the islands that is for sure! DH & I liked Maui the best just because there was something about the aura of the island. It was so peaceful.

We had only two challenges with this cruise as we went in April as well.

First, as stated before, it is chilly and breezy @ night going and coming back so if you want to watch MUTS, do layer clothing!

Second, you will find that after being on the ship for so long that you don't want to leave. Yep, afraid so. Husband told me he didn't want to leave. :)

We were on the Ruby doing the Eastern Carribean and she is a beautiful ship and the Plaza is a great place to sit and watch people. Oh! The food at the International Café on the plaza level is a must!:D

Hey everyone!

 

I am getting married in a few days and after that, we are going on a honeymoon cruise to Hawaii.

 

We will be leaving from LA on April 5th on a 15 night cruise.

We have never been on a cruise before but we are very excited.

We will be in a mini suite on the Dolphin Deck. D526 I think.

 

Anyways, I've done tons of research and I think I have a good start.

I've taken care of everything on the website, we are both ready to go and they have all the info they need.

 

I've pre-paid gratuity, I've bought internet minutes (damn expensive for a geek like me! I bought 1400 mins)

I've reserved shore excursions in two places (helicopter ride and snorkeling on Maui)

 

We have chosen anytime dining.

 

So, with all that said. What tips/tricks or things I should know?

Must visit places, things to bring, places not to miss when docked, etc.

 

I'm bringing a ton of cameras, GoPros, etc. I even have a special timelapse camera to mount outside the balcony to take a 15 day timelapse of the entire cruise.

 

Thanks for any help! Have a great day!!

We've done this cruise three times -- on the Island Princess in 2005/06, on the Golden Princess in 2010/11 and once again on the Golden Princess in 2012/13. All three cruises were over the holidays and included both Christmas and New Years.

When you first get on board, you'll be able to go to your cabin (on many cruise lines, you can board, but the cabins aren't ready yet). In your cabin will be the first day Patter which lists the activities and other helpful info. Before sailaway, every passenger will be required to go to the muster drill and your muster station will be listed on the back on your cabin (usually a lounge on the 7th deck, the Promenade Deck). You'll carry your life jacket (found in your closet) to the drill and there will be a demonstration of what to do and how to wear the jacket. At some point, every one tries on the jacket, and afterward takes it off, snaps it shut, ties in the straps (you'll see what I mean) and then carry it back to their cabin. Many of us will take the stairs as the elevators will be packed. After that, you're free to do what you want until the disembarkation day.

One food place to try is the International Cafe. Not an enclosed eatery, but a set of display cases with yummy food 24/7. I believe it's in the same locale on all of the ships -- the grand atrium which is the Plaza (5th) deck midships. There is often entertainment for much of the day -- string quartets, specialty acts. The food is included in your fare (if gelato is available -- it's not on all ships -- that has a charge as does the specialty coffees. I love the chocolate chip cookies from there.

The Hawaiian cruises on Princess feature a great cultural program. There's a musical duo named Elua who helped start it with cruise director David Cole. So if they're on your ship, you're in for a treat. They perform every day either in the grand atrium or on the pool deck. Beautiful Hawaiian music. Dave also teaches ukelele classes while Leialoha teaches the hula classes. On the last day of the cruise, there's a passenger show featuring those who took uke and hula (two cruises I did the hula classes). There's at least one other duo who also does the same on another ship.

If you're interested in learning to make leis, keep an eye out in the Patters...tickets (no charge) will be made available at the Hawaiian desk for the various classes and they go fast. Orchid lei making one week, ribbon lei making the other on sea days. But you'll need a ticket to take part.

Regarding the ports, one of them, Lahaina, Maui, is a tender port. The ship will anchor off in the harbor and passengers will board small ships to get to shore. Those with excursions booked through Princess, those in suites, and those with elite loyalty status will get priority for the first tenders. Otherwise you can go to the designated place (a main dining room not used for breakfast) and get a numbered ticket. Be with all the people in your party as they won't give you extra tickets. Eventually (maybe a hour and a half after anchoring) you can just go straight to the gangway without a ticket and board a tender. When you want to return to the ship, just get into the tender line -- no one gets priority.

Always be back on board by the time listed in the Patter for that port. That's usually a half hour before scheduled sailaway. If you're not back by the time the anchor is pulled up, you'll miss the ship (and there's a hefty fine for missing the sailing for the Hawaiian ports because of a law called the Passenger Vessels Services Act). The one exception would be if you're on a Princess-booked excursion and there's a probably like a flat tire or whatever. If the ship could wait, you'll be fine.

As we've gone in December, we've had different weather conditions and different sea conditions each time. Usually cool, usually some rough seas. If someone came to me for recommendations for a first cruise, I would tell them to hold off on a Hawaiian cruise because there tends to be rough seas. But other than that, I would definitely recommend this cruise as it's fun (there's so many activities on the sea days -- I was never bored) and you get Hawaii to boot.

I usually suggest trying out a few motion sickness remedies ahead of time to see if you get side effects and then take along a few with you. What works for one person might not for you.

For the best times to go online (and use less minutes), try late at night or very early in the morning. Else, it gets slow. Think dial up speed.

Before each cruise, I'll google each port and also get out the guide books. Even though we've repeated the cruises, sometimes there's something new to do or something we've missed before. I'm not an adventurous type so no ziplines or that kind of thing for me. As our daughter was 13 and 15 on the last two, I had her help me research -- I had some brochures that I got from tourism websites. I also look up to see what excursions Princess offers. Usually we'll go on our own, but their listings will give me ideas of some places to go. If we book an excursion, we prefer to use the ones the ship offers and really haven't seen too much of a difference between booking them this way and booking through the company directly (but maybe it's the ones we've selected).

We have never booked a rental car while on a cruise -- that's my hubby's choice. We did get a rental car for Kauai for our honeymoon and drove all over the island the few days we were there so we didn't need to do that.

I think the reason people are mentioning the Arizona Memorial is that it's something that is just amazing. To be standing on the wreckage of that ship, look down at the oil slick and realize all the lives who were lost that day in 1941... If I ever get back to NYC (only been there in 1982), I would feel the need to see Ground Zero for the same reason.

The roll call referred to one post is on this site. Some cruise critic members get together "online" to discuss ideas of what to do in port (some will get decide to book a private excursion together), plan a get together on board, maybe do some other activities such as slot pull in the casino or a party to view cabins in various categories. Maybe someone will post a link to the one for your cruise.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and your first cruise.This cruise is one of my favorites. My husband and I are going in November for the 3 time. We've also gone snorkeling in Maui and you will love it. Lots of good advice here already. Anytime dining is great, we always pick this option. But if you'd like to set have a certain time for dinner you can call in the morning to the dining reservation line and make a reservation that night for dinner. You can request a table for 2 or a bigger table if you want to meet new people. Sitting with other people gives you a chance to learn more about cruising since I would imagine at least one of the couples you will be sitting with will have cruised before. You will find that most experienced cruisers love to share their tips with new cruisers. Make sure to read the Princess Patter that will be delivered to your stateroom every night. It is a mini newspaper that will give you the events planned for the next day, information about the ports you'll be visiting, bar times, restaurant times, and lots of other useful stuff. Hope that you have a great time!! Post when you get back and let us all know how you liked your first cruise.

I almost forgot, we love your little town of San Pedro!!!