Ruby Princess November 11, 2012 Trip Report with Pictures

[BugsyCruiser]

Great review! Looks like you also had uncrowded days at the ports like I did when I sailed on Ruby back in April :)

[Cupcrazy]

Great review! Looks like you also had uncrowded days at the ports like I did when I sailed on Ruby back in April :)

 

I love when there aren't many ships in port with us. The beaches, stores & piers are less busy. We were very lucky on our cruise that in our 4 ports we only saw 3 ships.

 

Princess Cays - Alone

St. Maarten - Carnival Valor & Mein Schiff 1

St. Thomas - Carnival Valor

Grand Turk - Alone

[BugsyCruiser]

I love when there aren't many ships in port with us. The beaches, stores & piers are less busy. We were very lucky on our cruise that in our 4 ports we only saw 3 ships.

 

Princess Cays - Alone

St. Maarten - Carnival Valor & Mein Schiff 1

St. Thomas - Carnival Valor

Grand Turk - Alone

 

Yep... in St. Maarten we only had Celebrity Eclipse with us, in St. Thomas we were the only ship, and in Grand Turk the Noordam was with us but left at 3pm :)

[TracieABD]

Finally got all caught up! Awesome review!!!

[fishywood]

The ususal "thanks for your review" seems inadequate here! You have totally convinced me (and everyone else I hope) that all the scuttlebut about "cuts" in dining and entertainment is mostly just plain false. I have always felt that the entertainment schedule can be a little biased against those of us who prefer to dine late (though much worse on some other cruiselines) but I will be on Grand Princess next week and if its evenings are similar to the Ruby's I know there will be plenty to see and do.

 

A couple of thoughts (which you may have referred to but I missed):

 

Lunch in MDR--I know it will be closed on full port days, but your Patter from Tuesdays sea day does not list it for that day. Do you know if that was the case? I see they did offer it on the day you arrived at Grand Turk at 1:00.

 

Afternoon Tea--I know you had busy afternoons, but hoping you had a chance to get there once (and can confirm it is as delicious as ever)

 

Pianist David Moore--My favorite piano bar entertainer ever since I first saw him on the old Regal Princess in 1998! A bit eccentric but can really set the mood of the room; did you catch him perform any night?

[PathfinderEss]

Thank you for taking the time and posting such a great review. Also for all the wonderful photo's too.

[Cupcrazy]

The ususal "thanks for your review" seems inadequate here! You have totally convinced me (and everyone else I hope) that all the scuttlebut about "cuts" in dining and entertainment is mostly just plain false. I have always felt that the entertainment schedule can be a little biased against those of us who prefer to dine late (though much worse on some other cruiselines) but I will be on Grand Princess next week and if its evenings are similar to the Ruby's I know there will be plenty to see and do.

 

A couple of thoughts (which you may have referred to but I missed):

 

Lunch in MDR--I know it will be closed on full port days, but your Patter from Tuesdays sea day does not list it for that day. Do you know if that was the case? I see they did offer it on the day you arrived at Grand Turk at 1:00.

 

Afternoon Tea--I know you had busy afternoons, but hoping you had a chance to get there once (and can confirm it is as delicious as ever)

 

Pianist David Moore--My favorite piano bar entertainer ever since I first saw him on the old Regal Princess in 1998! A bit eccentric but can really set the mood of the room; did you catch him perform any night?

 

I did miss a few things because of the late dining but i was able to catch other things, so it evens out. I didn't go to MDR for lunch on this cruise. Too busy doing other things so we opted for quicker dining in the buffet or grill. This was the first cruise I didn't go to the MDR at all for breakfast or lunch. I'm assuming it was open on the day we were in Grand Turk because we arrived in the afternoon.

I also didn't go to the afternoon tea. I'm assuming its still as delicious as my last cruise and your upcoming cruise.

I didn't sit to listen to David Moore, but a couple times while he was playing I walked through the Piazza and could here him. He is terrific!

 

Have a great time on the Grand! She was the first Princess ship I sailed and that was before dry dock to remove the shopping cart handle.

[centralcalicruzer]

Is Leigh the red head singer? If so she's very good and I must say very good looking. I was actually talking to her for a couple minutes one day in Horizon Court. I think we were both grabbing some food or something. You should be very proud.

 

Nathaniel

 

Yes, that's my step daughter! I agree that she's very talented and beautiful, but of course we are biased, lol! She's very outgoing, so I'm sure if you did see her she was more than happy to chat. We were fortunate to get to cruise with her on the Emerald earlier this year and were really hoping to make it to the Ruby but just haven't been able to. Her mother and stepfather are cruising with her right now though, the last two cruises.

Thank you again for posting such a great and detailed review - I'm a very detail oriented person and tend to write long reviews as well, so I really enjoyed it.

[Grammyluvs]

Without a doubt one of the best reviews I have read. I loved all the pictures. Enjoyed the pictures of your group;enjoyed seeing the ship, etc. We sailed on her in the Med. in 2010. She is beautiful! You have to be a fun, caring person to go to this much trouble for a bunch of strangers. We sail for 27 days next spring on her sister ship Emerald. I make pictures of everything. It is better to make too many than be sad you missed something.

I am like an earlier poster. Now that it is over, I am sad. Looked so forward to reading it everyday. Take care and have a great next cruise. Happy Hannukah!

[BballinQT24]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post your review. The pictures really add to it. Also, thanks for posting the part about the "dolphin mouth" at the front of the ship. I never knew you could actually walk up in there. I will definitely have to check that out next time!

 

In regards to the pre-cruise hotel pictures-I love seeing those and hearing about the full experience/trip! They can help with the planning when leaving out of the same port, especially because there are so many options for hotels and places to eat near the cruise ports, it's hard to narrow down, so these reviews help.

[bagelmom6]

Thank you for the wonderful review. This is quite possibly the best review I've read. I felt like I was cruising right along with you. I loved all of the pictures. I'm so sad the review is over. I'm sailing on the Ruby in April with my mom and my daughter and reading your review has made me even more excited about the trip than I already was.

[Cupcrazy]

Thanks guys! I really enjoyed sharing my experiences with everyone.

 

BballinQT24 - For me, the trip experience starts once I leave the house. So naturally that should be added into the review. Reading other people's reviews helped me out too. The Dolphin nose is pretty cool. I didn't know about it on my last Princess cruise and only found out about it after. Enjoy the great views from there.

 

bagelmom6 & Grammyluvs - I am kind of going through withdrawals now that the review is over. I looked forward to everyday logging onto CC and writing more.

[hokiecruisers]

I noticed in the Patter that there is a Bible Study every morning. Has anyone attended and if so, can you tell me who led it and what was studied? Thanks!

[Cupcrazy]

I noticed in the Patter that there is a Bible Study every morning. Has anyone attended and if so, can you tell me who led it and what was studied? Thanks!

 

Being Jewish I didn't attend. However; I know the Shabbat services on Friday evenings aren't officiated. So, I'm assuming passengers would lead the bible study themselves as a self guided service. All Princess does is provide a venue.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Being Jewish I didn't attend. However; I know the Shabbat services on Friday evenings aren't officiated. So, I'm assuming passengers would lead the bible study themselves as a self guided service. All Princess does is provide a venue.

 

Hope you are enjoying Hanukkah. We did get to observe the holidays on the Island Princess in 2005, and many brought their family menorahs to one of the lounges where a rabbi led the kids in lighting the candles. We brought only our foam sticky menorah on the cruise so we kept that attached to the TV and "lit" the candles.

[Cupcrazy]

Hope you are enjoying Hanukkah. We did get to observe the holidays on the Island Princess in 2005' date=' and many brought their family menorahs to one of the lounges where a rabbi led the kids in lighting the candles. We brought only our foam sticky menorah on the cruise so we kept that attached to the TV and "lit" the candles.[/quote']

 

Happy Chanukah!. Did they allow the lighting of real candles? Was the Rabbi on the ship as a guest or brought on by the ship because of the holiday?

[caribill]

Happy Chanukah!. Did they allow the lighting of real candles? Was the Rabbi on the ship as a guest or brought on by the ship because of the holiday?

 

When we have been on the ship at Hanukkah time, the ship has had an electric menorah with a bulb for each candle and an additional bulb lit each evening. During the time other than the daily "lighting" service, the menorah was kept on the purser's desk.

 

Princess used to have a Rabbi for Hanukkah, but now it is up to a passenger to lead the nightly service.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Happy Chanukah!. Did they allow the lighting of real candles? Was the Rabbi on the ship as a guest or brought on by the ship because of the holiday?

 

It looked like people brought their family menorahs so yes, they were lighting real candles. Hopefully no one tried to do that in their cabin, unless they had electric candles, or like us, foam ones.

 

From what I understand the clergy that are onboard during religious holidays are retired rabbis, priests, etc., and get room and board during the cruise in return for leading services.

[caribill]

From what I understand the clergy that are onboard during religious holidays are retired rabbis' date=' priests, etc., and get room and board during the cruise in return for leading services.[/quote']

 

Princess has cut back on when clergy are onboard at Princess' expense.

 

For example, they used to have a Rabbi for Rosh Hashanah and for Chanukkah, but no longer do for these two holidays. Now it is limited to Yom Kippur and Passover.

[bermudiana]

Thanks for the enjoyable review! We will be on the Ruby in March and will have two connecting balconies on Caribe. We've never been on Caribe deck so it was great to be able to see the layout of the balconies!!

[beachgirl50]

Thank you for taking the time to chronicle your cruise. I really enjoyed the review and all the great photos ---- just perfect! You and your family/friends seem like great travelling companions!

[Cupcrazy]

Thanks for the enjoyable review! We will be on the Ruby in March and will have two connecting balconies on Caribe. We've never been on Caribe deck so it was great to be able to see the layout of the balconies!!

 

I really like the Caribe deck. The extended balconies are great and we always get midship so we're right in the middle of all the action. Close to the elevators and a few decks up or down to all the action.

[banilla]

Thanks again for your review. I Just re-read it for the second time and enjoyed it just as much. I do have a couple of new questions for you:

 

1. You posted a couple of pictures of a ping pong table that seems tucked away somewhere: Do you recall where it might be??

2. Do you recall if there is an extra charge for the ice cream/ gellato and desserts behind the counter in the international cafe and if so how much? Is there also soft server ice cream somewhere that is free of charge?

3. On Princess Cay do you recall if there are loungers in areas that can be moved under shade trees rather then purchasing a clam shell for shade?

4. The moves that play on MUTS, are they also available to watch in the staterooms?

5. How late are the hot tubs open at night?

 

Thanks for any info again... you are a wealth of knowledge!!!

[caribill]

2. Do you recall if there is an extra charge for the ice cream/ gellato and desserts behind the counter in the international cafe and if so how much? Gelato is $1.50 for three scoops. Is there also soft server ice cream somewhere that is free of charge? Ice cream stand on Lido deck has free soft-serve. It is not self-serve.

 

4. The moves that play on MUTS, are they also available to watch in the staterooms? Often the MUTS movie will be on the cabin TV on a different day.

 

I can answer a couple of your questions.

[ntengwall]

I have SO enjoyed your trip review--especially since we'll be on the same cruise in 45 days :)

 

Quick question for you (and you may have answered it in your report but I fear it would take me quite some time to go back and re-read it again to try to find my answer LOL)

 

We have never done a specialty restaurant and want to do Crown Grill this time. We've heard one of the best nights to do it is when they have Caribbean night in the main dining room since the food is just so-so that night. Do you happen to remember which night of the cruise that was? I went back and looked at your Patters thinking they may have mentioned it but I didn't see it.

 

Also, do you have to wait until you get on board to book the Crown Grill or can you do it before the cruise somehow? Thanks for all your help!!!