Mixed feelings Ruby 11/3-11/8

[capriccio]

Not defending Princess but the boarding problem could have been caused by an an unannounced inspection that day. We've hit them before & it created havoc for the whole crew.

 

We were 'in transit' (b2b) passengers on this cruise. The boarding problem was due to a lack of immigration officials -- they had only two to clear almost 3,000 passengers! New passengers couldn't board until all in transit passengers were processed off the ship and then allowed back on. The 100 - 150 in transit passengers didn't even get back on board until 12:15 - 12:30. There may have been inspections too since it was Ruby's first arrival in FLL for the season but I didn't hear that.

 

For comparison, when we disembarked yesterday they had 5 immigration officials and it was progressing smoothly running about 10 - 15 minutes late calling the groups at 9 am.

[Grannycb]

The lady directing people into lines for check in was the one I took exception to. She pointed us to the long regular line. We told her and showed her we had priority boarding. She told us priority boarding was only for Aloha and Baja decks. We showed her that we were on Aloha. She then said, "Well, you need to have your health sheet checked." It had already been marked by another worker. We gave up reasoning with her and walked into the correct line. Obviously, she needed a little more training.

[Reader0108598]

The lady directing people into lines for check in was the one I took exception to. She pointed us to the long regular line. We told her and showed her we had priority boarding. She told us priority boarding was only for Aloha and Baja decks. We showed her that we were on Aloha. She then said, "Well, you need to have your health sheet checked." It had already been marked by another worker. We gave up reasoning with her and walked into the correct line. Obviously, she needed a little more training.

 

Same thing happened to us we were told that there was no priority line:rolleyes: Yeah okay then why did the other line move so much faster than ours?

 

Reader

Edited November 9, 2014 by Reader0108598

[LMaxwell]

Shore side staff in Florida are miserable. They never know what is going on and it always seems like barely contained chaos. Mind boggling that they can't get a proper manager to train these people and maybe get a few more resources to boot. Then again, if you lived here you'd understand why that may be so difficult!

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

We were 'in transit' (b2b) passengers on this cruise. The boarding problem was due to a lack of immigration officials -- they had only two to clear almost 3,000 passengers! New passengers couldn't board until all in transit passengers were processed off the ship and then allowed back on. The 100 - 150 in transit passengers didn't even get back on board until 12:15 - 12:30. There may have been inspections too since it was Ruby's first arrival in FLL for the season but I didn't hear that.

 

For comparison, when we disembarked yesterday they had 5 immigration officials and it was progressing smoothly running about 10 - 15 minutes late calling the groups at 9 am.

 

Some days it goes smooth for immigration if they have sufficient help. It could be the number of ships in port that have to be checked. :confused:

I didn't know for sure if they had an inspection or not. I was just saying that they might have. I know one time we boarded & they had a galley surprise inspection & it practically shut down the buffet for 1 1/2 hours. There's nothing much Princess can do about it except try to appease a bunch of unhappy people.

[Shogun]

Hi All

How was the health of passengers onboard when we got of loads of folks coughing

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[Reader0108598]

Hi All

How was the health of passengers onboard when we got of loads of folks coughing

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

 

Hi Shogun

 

I did not notice any sickness.

 

Reader

[TravelingEA]

We will be boarding the Ruby on Saturday Nov 15, so will see if we have the same types of experiences you did.

[Shogun]

Hi reader

 

Thanks for reply with 160 staying onboard was wondering if coughing bug would stay onboard as well,

 

We found service to be a lot better than a few months ago,

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[Reader0108598]

We will be boarding the Ruby on Saturday Nov 15, so will see if we have the same types of experiences you did.

 

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise!!:D

 

Reader

[Reader0108598]

Hi reader

 

Thanks for reply with 160 staying onboard was wondering if coughing bug would stay onboard as well,

 

We found service to be a lot better than a few months ago,

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

 

Your welcome Shogun

Glad your cruise was a good one:)

 

Reader

[Grannycb]

Hi reader

 

Thanks for reply with 160 staying onboard was wondering if coughing bug would stay onboard as well,

 

We found service to be a lot better than a few months ago,

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

 

Coughing bug was there and came home with DH. It started today, one day after getting off the ship.

[singelsethc]

we actually didn't enjoy our first Princess cruise either, weirdly. We came into Ruby's maiden season their first year out, and there were hiccups. Second time great, everything was on track and best service we'd had on a cruise line. Princess has a lot to offer..and my suggestion would be give it another try. If, after a couple gelatos and pleasant evenings at MUTS, and the champagne reception doesn't make you feel absolutely pampered, then maybe try Royal Caribbean or something again.

[Reader0108598]

Coughing bug was there and came home with DH. It started today, one day after getting off the ship.

 

 

Ohh ....Sorry to hear that GrannyCb

 

I was very concerned about this issue as I have some medical issues. So far so good.

 

Hope tour DH is well in no time.

Reader

[ready2cruzagain]

End of November? That is Thanksgiving. Unless your cruise is only sold as a three week cruise, (which I don't think it is), you will have plenty of kids during one of your three weeks.

I do anticipate that the week we are on the CB there will be more children but the weekend after Thanksgiving, which is the end of November and will then be on the Ruby, there are usually few kids. Last year there were ony 60. The kids go back to school after Thanksgiving.

[Grannycb]

Ohh ....Sorry to hear that GrannyCb

 

I was very concerned about this issue as I have some medical issues. So far so good.

 

Hope tour DH is well in no time.

Reader

 

Thank you. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you. It hit fast. DH was fine all morning, felt tired in the afternoon so took a nap, woke up congested and with that cough.

[MrsFops&FopsC5]

Curious, did you see the crew trying to disinfect the public areas? I hope everyone that just got off the ship and those currently on the ship are feeling ok and enjoying/enjoyed their cruise...

[JimmyVWine]

I do anticipate that the week we are on the CB there will be more children but the weekend after Thanksgiving, which is the end of November and will then be on the Ruby, there are usually few kids. Last year there were ony 60. The kids go back to school after Thanksgiving.

 

I see. I think it is a matter of semantics. I am looking at the 11/22-11/29 cruise as being the "end of November", which should have plenty of kids. The 11/29-12/6 cruise, (which I assume is the one where you will be on Ruby) would have fewer kids, but I call that the "beginning of |December". But is certainly does start at the end of November, so it is merely a cross in terminology. ;)

[clmom]

It's still nice to have someone report their problems encountered on any of the ships especially ones I've already sailed on before. For the most part I believe people want to know the things that didn't go so good even though there are some who will criticize anything posted.

I truly believe the majority of people who post their negative experiences do so to provide important feedback to hopefully improve the Princess (or pick your cruise line) product. If Princess personnel reading these forums (and you know they do) keep seeing negative comments regarding food quality, sub par entertainment, general staff indifference, etc., it becomes pretty clear that these areas might warrant some closer scrutiny. And if Princess can read the Princess forums, they also can access the other cruise line forums to see what comments are being made (the food is better, the rooms are bigger, the entertainment is top notch, etc) about their competition.

I hope the good, bad and indifferent comments all result in a better experience for all of us!

[ready2cruzagain]

I see. I think it is a matter of semantics. I am looking at the 11/22-11/29 cruise as being the "end of November", which should have plenty of kids. The 11/29-12/6 cruise, (which I assume is the one where you will be on Ruby) would have fewer kids, but I call that the "beginning of |December". But is certainly does start at the end of November, so it is merely a cross in terminology. ;)

Yes, I do agree with that one. I guess it all depends on which way you look at it.

[jena77]

My husband and I got off the ship coughing and sneezing Had to go to Urgent Care

Sunday with fever. We have cruised more than 30 times and have never gotten this sick.

Anyone else catch anything on board?

[ready2cruzagain]

My husband and I got off the ship coughing and sneezing Had to go to Urgent Care

Sunday with fever. We have cruised more than 30 times and have never gotten this sick.

Anyone else catch anything on board?

I have seen several comments on other threads about people having this same problem. Hoping that everyone that got sick calls Princess and lets them know. Hope they get it straightened out before we get on. Hope everyone gets to feeling better.

[shootingstar07]

Going to make this a quick review :)

 

Embarcation a disorganized mess!

 

Food not so good:(

 

Kids on board.. well if you like kids dumping cups of fruit juice in the hot tubs and without parental supervision this was the cruise for you!

 

Cabin steward (Gervacio )Baja deck forward. Wonderful! Knew how to keep this low key couple happy without intruding.

 

It was a funny kind of cruise staff present but not really there... Hmm

 

OBTW: Princess met plenty a first time cruiser you upgraded...just wanted to say thanks:) Yeah we get it we are not valued!

 

I too was on same cruise. Some of your opinions I can agree with.

First things first... Embarkation was a disaster. And my luggage beat me to my cabin door. A first for me too!!

I was ready to write to Princess when I got the inside story from the customer services director. There were only 2 customs agents to disembark apprx 3000 pax. The bulk of the agents were sent to pier 2 to handle the Regal.

We sailed late because some pax didn't properly complete their personalizer and instead of denying them boarding, the director worked to get them processed and cleared to visit Jamaica. Extra dockage fee for Princess!!

 

I was satisfied with the food offerings in MDR. no complaints from any of my group.

 

Strangely, I have to agree with your comment about the staff. Fortunately there were a few that went out of their way and made the trip special. My DH made a comment to me when disembarking that most of our waiters etc didn't do anything special and they didn't deserve an extra tip.

 

I knew there were a lot of kids on board, but did not encounter any of the issues you mentioned.

 

As to an upgrade, I wanted to kick myself for not booking an inside guarantee. I booked an IB cabin. This was the one cruise I might have had a chance at a balcony cabin since the ship did not sail full. Oh well. Next time, maybe. I do get the why that Princess will give a nice upgrade to a first time cruiser.

 

Thanks for your mini review. It is always good to have the good, the bad and the ugly!!

Kathleen

[akeasley]

Interesting review. I was on the same cruise and agree that the line was really long for embarkation. A Princess rep did come out to our part of the line and say that it was due to a B2B passenger not getting off the ship so that it could be cleared. Fortunately, soon after, the line started moving and we were able to go to the much shorter Platinum/Elite/Suite line.

 

My thoughts on the buffet. Food was pretty good. DH and I noticed that when the Horizon Court and Café Caribe were both open, Café Caribe was usually shorter and we would go there. We didn't visit the MDR so can't comment but both thought our meal at the Crown Grill was excellent.

 

Kids were not an issue for us. I only saw 5-6 and they were mostly toddlers who were in strollers or carried by their parents. I don't want a ton of kids on the ship when I'm there so picking late October/early November is my preferred schedule.

 

I didn't notice a lot of coughing or sickness on the ship. I did like that in the buffet, there was a staff member there to make sure that people used the hand sanitizer.

 

This was my first time in an inside room and I loved it! Will be booking insides in the future as they are great money savers and I hardly used my balconies. Our room was L240 and the Lido deck is my favorite because it is so close to the fresh air and food.

 

Overall, I thought it was a great cruise and after two cruises on the Ruby, she is my second favorite ship!

Edited November 10, 2014 by akeasley

[mikel24m]

We were on this cruise as well here are my thoughts

 

That little old lady at the port started everyones vacation off not so well !! She was mean and yelling at everyone.We were at the port early and had to wait and that was ok with us but the number system Carnival uses would have eliminated the chaos and pushing and shoving

 

We went right to our cabin on the Aloha deck and were greeted by our cabin steward Frankey. His service was perfect all cruise!! Five minutes after we arrived to our cabin our luggage was sitting outside

 

We only went to the MDR the first night and that night the service was awesome as well ,the food and food selection didn't impress us so we did the buffet for the rest of the cruise.The buffet wasn't that great either. Not bad but not great.The lines at the buffet were crazy just very long and by the time you got through you weren't even hungry anymore. We liked drink service in the buffet and the servers were all friendly

 

The casino was pretty good I won a $1600 handpay jackpot on wheel of fortune $1 machine ,but the staff never offered us a comp or introduced themselves to us,usually on Carnival we get little goodies throughout the cruise and some comped drinks .By the last day we had 10000 points between the two of us and a letter to each of us offering us $150 each in cash from the casino if we book again within 30 days

 

The TV lineup was horrible !!! When you watch the tonight show every night and cant watch any regular TV for the week it makes it tough it was rerun movies and the food channel and espn. (I know we are on vacation not to watch TV ) :)

 

My personal favorite part of the cruise was the International Café and my coffee card.I am an early riser and my morning coffee at the bar was wonderful and taking a tea to my wife along with a donut to wake her up in the morning was nice for her

 

We have never tried afternoon tea and it was awesome ,now a must do for us every cruise for now on

 

Getting off the ship was a breeze ,it took maybe 40 minutes total from the time we got to the meeting place (dining room) through customs and into our taxi

 

We will for sure cruise with Princess again