My Balanced Ruby Review with Photos

[bhopal21]

Yes and actually for suite guests it is two bottles of Korbel Brut California "Champagne". We have 8 bottles in the fridge right now from past cruises.

 

Mike:)

[OCruisers]

For mini-suites it has been glasses of sparkling wine.

LuLu

~~~

[Cruzin-K]

Sorry to be a "Fun Sponge" ... but it's sparkling wine and taste awful. :rolleyes:

LuLu

~~~

 

Which is why I put champagne in quotes. We really do need a sarcasm font :p Maybe I could have called it sham-pagne instead :D

 

It wasn't THAT bad :)

[bhopal21]

Which is why I put champagne in quotes. We really do need a sarcasm font :p Maybe I could have called it sham-pagne instead :D

 

Likewise, it's the same thing since it does not come from the Champagne region of France.;)

 

Mike:)

[OCruisers]

Which is why I put champagne in quotes. We really do need a sarcasm font :p Maybe I could have called it sham-pagne instead :D

 

:D I did get what you were saying when you put the champagne in quotes ... just wanted to make sure others in mini-suites realized what we were actually getting. Is :rolleyes: the right one to use for sarcastic? :confused:

LuLu

~~~

[Cruisin' Chick]

44 cruises and this is the first time I've been on a ship with a self-serve laundry facility. This is brilliant, and until you cruise on a ship that actually has this, you don't realize how nice it is to be available. I always thought...blah...who needs that? Well, I'm an idiot. All ships should have this. Even if to go get a few wrinkles out of the linen pants, this sure beats giving them over to the laundry people and waiting 1-2 days to get them back. I used these irons twice and never once saw another person in here.

 

 

 

As we've been aiming for cruises longer than 7-days lately, a self-service laundry is a must for us. One of us is allergic to regular detergent so I pack the allergen-free type. So Princess ranks high for us.

 

 

If Lee Childers is still on the Ruby, then you have experienced the least-visible of all the Princess cruise directors. We never saw him interact with passengers on our back-to-back cruises in December. But, as you say, he has a great staff to do the activities that we enjoy.

 

I've heard that he's more interested in leading bible sessions (which we have zero interest in) and that he tends to be late in getting out the Patter each night (which would be another negative for me as I look forward to seeing what we can do and see the next day). I think the only CD we've had that I can compare to for never being around is David Bradshaw who was filling in for David Cole on our second Hawaiian cruise (who has a great following -- and has been given credit for getting Elua hired for the Hawaiian cruises, so for that reason alone, a major thumbs up). The only time I saw DB was on the Wake show if I watched that, and he made a quick appearance at the party in the Piazza on the final night of the cruise, watching from up on deck 6 before disappearing. And we went to many of the shows and knew his staff did the emceeing.

 

As a trivia buff, I so agree that there needs to be a better system for the questions. It really isn't difficult to get a good set of questions -- when I was on a knowledge bowl team in high school --I was the scorekeeper -- we all would come up with questions, and that was before the Internet. The cruise lines can for a set of questions (hey, I'll do it for the right pay) and circulate the packages among the various ships so the odds that you've heard a specific question before is down unless you go on cruises every month or so.

 

It's interesting to see someone new to Princess writing a review that tries to talk about the good and bad. A few of the items I would point out aren't representative of all of the ships -- I guess with a shorter itinerary, there's a lot less going on. We haven't gone from that port, but I know with San Pedro, many of the workers one deals with are Port of Los Angeles employees and not Princess ones, so there's a difference between even the pleasantness (or not) that you encounter. We haven't been on the Ruby, but have not had the situation of having to go through the casino to get to our cabin, even though on one of the Carnival and one of the Princess ships we've been on, if you're on that deck, you have to go through the casino to get to where you really want to go.

 

Our one experience with anytime dining (we booked too late to get our desired late traditional), we didn't like it at all for various reasons, including getting seated with others who had already ordered (which made serving a bit awkward for everyone). We were so glad to get our assigned seating the next cruise.

[bhopal21]

Our patter was never late during the period 2/1-2/10 on the Ruby.:confused:

 

And the reason we went through the casino was because there were three boarding ramps on different decks and you were assigned the one closest to your cabin. That was the first time we had experienced that and although a little strange it made the boarding process much faster than using a single entrance.

 

Mike:)

[LadyDiMD55]

I was also I this cruise, and I definitely agree with you about the trivia! I usually do fairly well, but didn't have a snowball's chance on this ship for the very reason

you stated! I am enjoying reading your review and agree with much of what you have

to say!

[LadyDiMD55]

Speaking of the Cruise Director - Look, I really don't care, but does the CD actually do anything social on Princess? Other than his morning show, I NEVER saw this guy. We went to every one of the game shows and he didn't participate in a single one. No biggie because his Activities Director, a French girl who goes by "Frenchie," was hilarious. I'm just curious. It was just one of those things where on day 4 while watching the morning show, my wife asked me, "have we ever seen this guy around?"

 

Speaking of game shows, Princess does most of the typical shows you find on other lines....Majority Rules, Quest, Liars Club, etc. The only unique show I saw was Yes or No, where the contestant could not answer with yes or no answers. However, there was no Love & Marriage type show.

 

Quest - Worst version of Quest I ever saw.....not even close to how RCI does it. It was done at 2:30 on a sea day and the Quests really weren't that funny. The best was when they had to try and get a red vest from a bartender. I guess it was more PG rated, which was what made it a little boring.

 

Agreed also about the worst Quest game

[LadyDiMD55]

Yes I also encountered the daily toilet issues. You would press the button to

flush, and it would make a strange sound and wouldn't flush for perhaps a

Minute or so. It DID eventually flush however! It occurred at different times of

the day.

[LadyDiMD55]

Yes I also encountered the daily toilet issues. You would press the button to

flush, and it would make a strange sound and wouldn't flush for perhaps a

Minute or so. It DID eventually flush however! It occurred at different times of

the day.

Paul, thank you for an excellent review! I was on the same cruise, and was one of the

800 folks that were staying on for the next leg, a 5 nighter. This was about my 36th cruise,

and my first on Princess. I am primarily a RCI/ Celebrity cruiser, and am Diamond/Elite with

them. I would say that Princess ( in my humble opinion ) is striving to be like Celebity, but is more like RCI. I found the service to be slightly below Celebrity's ( and also experienced service issues in the MDR). I do disagree with you about the food however.

I was VERY disappointed in the food both in the MDR as well as the Horizon Court.

I also didn't care for the set up in Horizon with the food stations being in a gated

area. It was almost like being herded into a cattle chute, and was very

congested. Then you were run over by the scooter/wheelie folks. They did try to offer a

variety of different foods, but lacked taste. Celebrity all the way here!

I did not try the specialty restaurants so I have no opinion on them.

I DID find it unacceptable that although there were hand sanitizers in the buffet line

that there were NONE at the entrances to the MDRs! When table mates inquired about this,

we were told that "their onboard doctor determined that it wasn't necessary as there were bathrooms to wash hands at the MDR. And that if hand sanitizers were provided at the entrance then folks would not wash their hands. Interestingly enough though, the safety video playing on one of the channels in the cabins shows hand sanitizers at the entrance to the MDR. I did enjoy the International Cafe in the Piazza area, and the espressos and gelatos were a hit! I am a frequent solo cruiser ( and was on these 2 legs), and Princess

as well as HAL are more solo accommodating price wise than RCI or Celebrity.

As far as the shorter cruises not being your typical Princess experience, I was told by two

different cruisers that I shouldn't judge Princess by this experience, as it was atypical for Princess, and that the longer cruises were nothing like the 4 or 5 night cruises.

So I guess I may try them again as long as the price and itinerary are right!

[nascargalinfla]

Thank you for your excellent review with photos. You must have taken them very early in the mornings because I didn't see any people! My daughter and I are taking the Ruby four-day cruise this week. How was the temperature in the public rooms? Was the AC cold? Overall for dining do you recommend the buffet over the dining rooms? We are in a mini-suite so I guess our balcony is open. This is my 7th cruise, but the first on Princess.

 

 

Hi Pink,

 

My best friend and I are sailing on the 4 night that leaves tomorrow. 18th cruise, 5th time on a Princess ship and 2nd time on the Ruby, last time was when she was brand new.

We are also in a mini-suite for this sailing, first time for that on any line for either one of us. This is our third cruise for a birthday celebration, first year was 2011 on the Celebrity Solstice, last year on the Disney Wonder and now this. Although our birthdays aren't until next month, the price was too good to pass up.

 

Perhaps we will see you around the ship, we are in D525. I will be found in one of the hot tubs the majority of the time.

[ozjohnau]

Thanks for the great review , i was on the ruby princess in June last year. in Europe. and i am off to the Ruby Princess "Caribbean Adventurer" Dec 6 - 20.

Edited March 6, 2014 by ozjohnau

[smtcan]

Hi MoyCoy. :). Unfortunately, I'd have to give ther service a slightly lower rank than Celebrity. With my MDR debacle and inattentive service in Crown Grill, it's tough to say its equal or better. That said, of course I am comparing one 4 day cruise to my overall opinion on several Celebrity cruises. So take that for what it's worth.

 

No, they did not offer champagne and mimosas like on X. I also think Celebrity's MDR food is a little better. But again, I only ate in there 2 nights and sat down already frustrated both times.

 

I don't recall much in the way of classes other than the steel drum lessons and some line dancing classes, and there were no lectures scheduled. It was definitely majority group activities, more like RCI than Celebrity. I'm told the longer cruises are different though.

 

 

 

We are frequent Celebrity cruisers but have taken several Princess cruises, most recently B2B 5 day cruises on Ruby. I would agree with your opinion on service and activities, although as you say it may not be a fair comparison on a short cruise. The ship did feel very crowded and we had issues with anytime dining. Drink prices were more reasonable than Celebrity and we did get good use from the coffee card in the International Cafe. The Ultimate Balcony Dinner was one of our best ever cruise experiences.

 

Sheila

[CruisinCadie]

Yesterday I spoke with a young woman (mid-late 20's) who said she and some friends were on a recent short cruise on the Ruby. She reported that everything, including the casino and all bars and lounges, shut down by 10:30 at night. They couldn't even get the casino manager to turn on a few slot machines for them. Has anyone else encountered this problem? We sail on Monday and we enjoy music and dancing after dinner.

 

Kathy

[iloverags2]

Thank you for taking the time to post your review. Brings back wonderful memories of our Ruby sailing last Spring. :)

[Mikeandme]

The Wheelhouse was also one of my favorite venues. I love the English pub theme and due to the size of the room, it blows away the English pubs on RCI. The usual entertainer was a solo guitarist, but he was joined by a pianist at times. On the last sea day, they did an Irish lunch in Wheelhouse with specials on Boddingtons and Guinness beer.

 

 

Did they have ballroom dancing at night? On my previous sailings, there was a quartet in the Wheelhouse Bar that played dance music.

[Aquahound]

Did they have ballroom dancing at night? On my previous sailings, there was a quartet in the Wheelhouse Bar that played dance music.

 

I don't recall any sort of ballroom dancing. Most of the entertainment in the Wheelhouse was a solo guitarist, but he did have a piano player with him at times.

 

Yesterday I spoke with a young woman (mid-late 20's) who said she and some friends were on a recent short cruise on the Ruby. She reported that everything, including the casino and all bars and lounges, shut down by 10:30 at night. They couldn't even get the casino manager to turn on a few slot machines for them. Has anyone else encountered this problem? We sail on Monday and we enjoy music and dancing after dinner.

 

That absolutely was not true on my sailing. Crooners and Wheelhouse stayed open late, and the Skywalkers Lounge stayed open very late because it was the dance club. I don't know what time the casino shut down, but I can assure you it was not 10:30 or earlier.

[serene56]

Yesterday I spoke with a young woman (mid-late 20's) who said she and some friends were on a recent short cruise on the Ruby. She reported that everything, including the casino and all bars and lounges, shut down by 10:30 at night. They couldn't even get the casino manager to turn on a few slot machines for them. Has anyone else encountered this problem? We sail on Monday and we enjoy music and dancing after dinner.

 

Kathy

I dont beleive this at all. Before we sailed princess we read a lot of reviews which stated there was nothing to do at night- EVERYthing closed down early. and we tookour chance and nothing could be further from the truth.

 

I think the first night they might not open til 10pm (or international waters)

and the last night they will close when they come into the channel. But on our cruises the casino will stay open til the wee hours.

 

its a huge money maker cant imagne them closing so early on the evening

[bhopal21]

 

That absolutely was not true on my sailing. Crooners and Wheelhouse stayed open late, and the Skywalkers Lounge stayed open very late because it was the dance club. I don't know what time the casino shut down, but I can assure you it was not 10:30 or earlier.

 

I agree with the above. Crooners was open late and Skywalkers opens at 10 so they could hardly be closed that early.:confused:

 

You got some misinformation.

 

Mike:)

[timetravler]

:D I did get what you were saying when you put the champagne in quotes ... just wanted to make sure others in mini-suites realized what we were actually getting. Is :rolleyes: the right one to use for sarcastic? :confused:

LuLu

~~~

This made me giggle. But legally the USA can call sparkling wine champagne. Back during probation the French wanted the whole world to call only champagne from that part of France champagne and everyone signed a treaty of sorts to support that. That is all EXCEPT the USA. The USA wasn't even asked because alcohol was illegal. Thus the USA can legally call sparkling wine champagne. Most wineries abide by the wishes of France though anyways. In the Napa Valley where I live several wineries make really good sparkling wine such as Schramsburg and Mumm. OK, now I'm thristy:D.

[Mikeandme]

I don't recall any sort of ballroom dancing. Most of the entertainment in the Wheelhouse was a solo guitarist, but he did have a piano player with him at times.

 

 

 

That absolutely was not true on my sailing. Crooners and Wheelhouse stayed open late, and the Skywalkers Lounge stayed open very late because it was the dance club. I don't know what time the casino shut down, but I can assure you it was not 10:30 or earlier.

Is there dancing anywhere besides Skywalkers, such as Explorer's Lounge or Club Fusion? There used to be dancing in Wheelhouse Bar, and there is a dance floor. Is nobody using it?

[Colo Cruiser]

Yesterday I spoke with a young woman (mid-late 20's) who said she and some friends were on a recent short cruise on the Ruby. She reported that everything, including the casino and all bars and lounges, shut down by 10:30 at night. They couldn't even get the casino manager to turn on a few slot machines for them. Has anyone else encountered this problem? We sail on Monday and we enjoy music and dancing after dinner.

 

Kathy

 

I don't believe it either.

[Aquahound]

Is there dancing anywhere besides Skywalkers, such as Explorer's Lounge or Club Fusion? There used to be dancing in Wheelhouse Bar, and there is a dance floor. Is nobody using it?

 

An awesome band called Liquid Blue played in the Explorers Lounge, but they didn't always play late. I think there was 1 night they played until midnight.

 

I could be wrong about Wheelhouse because I wasn't there too often. I very well could have missed things.

[W5KAP]

Sorry to be a "Fun Sponge" ... but it's sparkling wine and taste awful. :rolleyes:

LuLu

~~~

 

We have ten Princess cruises under our belts and I must agree. To call that stuff champagne is a slap in the face to France!! What slop it is!! Ans while we love Princess the best of all, their "Champagne" is now not part of our cruise fun.

In the big scheme, pretty minor!!

 

Cheers, Kenn