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Grand or Ruby which to choose ?

kruzin'

By kruzin',
in Princess Cruises

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Princess Patches

Princess Patches

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It wasn't just the Princess Theater that was more crowded (I don't go to the production shows that much), but every venue seemed to have 20% more people in it. I had never felt crowded on a Princess ship until I sailed the Crown. The Ruby, Emerald, and Crown are at the bottom of my list when choosing a ship due to my experience on the Crown. I have sailed the Golden three times and the Star twice (sister ships to the Grand) and never felt crowded in any way. There was always plenty of room in the venues.

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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It wasn't just the Princess Theater that was more crowded (I don't go to the production shows that much), but every venue seemed to have 20% more people in it. I had never felt crowded on a Princess ship until I sailed the Crown. The Ruby, Emerald, and Crown are at the bottom of my list when choosing a ship due to my experience on the Crown. I have sailed the Golden three times and the Star twice (sister ships to the Grand) and never felt crowded in any way. There was always plenty of room in the venues.

 

My experience exactly! It was so frustrating.

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gertz

gertz

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It wasn't just the Princess Theater that was more crowded (I don't go to the production shows that much), but every venue seemed to have 20% more people in it. I had never felt crowded on a Princess ship until I sailed the Crown. The Ruby, Emerald, and Crown are at the bottom of my list when choosing a ship due to my experience on the Crown. I have sailed the Golden three times and the Star twice (sister ships to the Grand) and never felt crowded in any way. There was always plenty of room in the venues.

 

I couldn't agree more. We just don't like big crowds and we avoid them like the plague. Plus I will beat this horse every time it comes up.

Also we were in Santa Barbara last month, Sapphire and not crowded a bit, 1st time. An absolutely lovely city and a history to match.

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Princess Patches

Princess Patches

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I couldn't agree more. We just don't like big crowds and we avoid them like the plague. Plus I will beat this horse every time it comes up.

 

Also we were in Santa Barbara last month, Sapphire and not crowded a bit, 1st time. An absolutely lovely city and a history to match.

 

 

So glad you enjoyed my hometown! It is a privilege to live here. I am sailing on the Sapphire Pacific Coastal cruise in October and am so looking forward to sailing into my hometown. I have never done that before. I am going to play the tourist and actually take a city tour too.

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1 HappyCruiser

1 HappyCruiser

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The problem is that I have early sitting and by the time I get done with dinner, it is too late to get a seat in the show (by that time people are sitting on the stairs (fire hazard?!). I then try the Explorer's Lounge and people are standing outside of the theatre trying to get a seat there. I am not going to goof off for 2 hours for the late show so I just end up skipping it. Never had a problem on ships with out the extra deck.

 

I can't say much about the crowds in the Explorer lounge because they're always crowded - on every ship. We also eat early but at anytime dining, table for 2 so there's no chit chat to slow things down. That's the problem with large tables most of the time. People have the need to talk & discuss the days events which we can do without.

I've been doing the same routine of eating early & getting to the show lounge for a long time now and it works great for us. I hold a seat for the wife & she goes to look at photo's or browses in the shops.

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gertz

gertz

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So glad you enjoyed my hometown! It is a privilege to live here. I am sailing on the Sapphire Pacific Coastal cruise in October and am so looking forward to sailing into my hometown. I have never done that before. I am going to play the tourist and actually take a city tour too.

 

Interesting we are booked on the Sapphire Oct 6th 2012. :D

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Carolyn R

Carolyn R

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I love that Captain Yeomans on the Ruby runs such a happy ship. He is a charming captain who is very visible everywhere. I like the location of Sabatini's and the presence of Adagios on the Ruby. I was never troubled by crowding, although I seldom attend shows in the Princess Theater.

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Princess Patches

Princess Patches

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Interesting we are booked on the Sapphire Oct 6th 2012. :D

 

 

The coveted Emerald Deck mini suites are already waitlist only on your cruise (well over a year prior to sailing). The new Sapphire Pacific Coastal cruise is turning out to be very popular indeed! Next fall they are adding Catalina Island and an overnight in San Francisco. Can it get any better?

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srpilo

srpilo

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It is called personal preference and why they have different style ships in the fleet. Not everyone likes the same thing.

 

Yep...

 

 

I've been on all three little sisters (Grand ,Golden and Star) and ALL Three OF THEM before and after their upgrades, and I'll still prefer the Big Sisters.

 

 

In my right mind

Srpilo

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avalong

avalong

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I recollect not being able to find a deck chair anywhere in the sun on the Crown on a sea day in the Caribbean. Not my idea of fun.... I'm not saying I would never sail on any of the big girls again, but I'd definitely try to avoid them if possible.

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gertz

gertz

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The coveted Emerald Deck mini suites are already waitlist only on your cruise (well over a year prior to sailing). The new Sapphire Pacific Coastal cruise is turning out to be very popular indeed! Next fall they are adding Catalina Island and an overnight in San Francisco. Can it get any better?

 

Looks like we have a roll call here. Yes we really enjoy the itinerary. And on the Sapphire in May this year we had the coveted E728 balcony 18 by 10 ft average. This year we are an AD Guarantee. We will wait it out.

Also air for us becomes an issue and to the west coast we save a lot compared to FLL which we will be going out of Jan 12.

And back to the subject. I have never had trouble finding a place to set on the Sapphire. And I agree with srpilo it is personal preference and I certainly didn't mean to get personal with my probably inappropriate ust of the term out of mind. Sorry.

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pablo222

pablo222

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It is possible by the time the OP sails, the Grand will have that production show. It usually premieres on one ship but the rest eventually get it.

 

I would be surprised, as 'dream' requires special production hardware

that's unique to Ruby.

 

On the other hand, it doesn't have live music, so there is probably

an incentive to move it, and shows like that to all ships.

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