Changes to the Ruby Princess post-drydock - with photos

[ar1950]

Thanks for the review, pictures and observations. Much the same as ours' when we saw the Ruby revamp in January.

 

In January we did a 15 days on the Ruby to Hawaii. A few post-dry dock observations (we were on the Ruby in August to Alaska so a few things jumped out). Not all renovation based, just some things that we noticed.

 

1. New mattress in our cabin, much nicer than the old ones.

2. The refrigerator in the cabin appeared to be new.

3. New toilet seat in the cabin bathroom (only noticed because someone complained about theirs being scratched in a review before we did the Alaska cruise) and I noticed ours was, too. BTW, not something that I would normally even pay attention to.

4. New carpet in most public areas. According to the guide on the Ultimate Ship Tour most of the front elevator lobbies were an exception. That was because the carpets in those locations had been replaced before dry dock.

5. Horizon Court chair seats had been reupholstered in a brown vinyl (another complaint in an earlier review was how bad they were before dry dock and they really were badly worn. We noticed on the Alaska cruise).

6. MUTS screen must have been missed in the services done. A lot of miss colored pixels. It was worse than it was in August (according to another recent review that may have been fixed by now).

7. The Elite, Suite, Platinum happy hour had any of the 8 drinks available for the special $5.00 price every night.

8. Food overall seemed much better than the last two cruises we did on the Ruby. New chef?

9. The new Curtis Stone restaurant did not seem to be very well attended. Very few people on the evenings that I walked by.

10. Staff in general were happy and helpful.

11. Internet very inconsistent. Not unusual, but, it seemed worse than we have experienced before.

12. Agree with the odd configuration of the Salty Dog and what it did to the Wheelhouse Bar (although, fwiw, Dave of Elua said that they enjoyed eating there a couple of times).

 

BTW, great cruises (both Alaska and Hawaii) overall. And the Ruby is a really nice ship. If all goes well we will be back on her in the fall.

Edited April 2, 2016 by ar1950

[peety3]

First time on the Ruby, and you're able to say that the beds were done during the drydock - how are you certain?

[Kenswing]

That's a shame what they did to the Wheelhouse bar. You'd think they could come up with something more closely keeping to the original theme of the bar.

[Jasperdo]

 

Share is too bright from the photos I have seen. I prefer the tables to be lit well which usually means directly from above and not the whole room bathed in white hospital light. I am up for the menu though and that beef cheek pie has my name on it. I hope there are white tablecloths and table pads when people are eating to absorb some of the racket of people putting their glasses and flatware down on a hard wooden table. Carnival has their new American Table concept in the MDR which is shorthand for "we're tired of washing the tablecloths".

 

Glad you had a good cruise but you really owe it to yourself and the Missus to have a slap up feed in the Crown Grill. You only live once. Should we ever cruise together you will be our guests in the CG! That's a promise.

 

Cheers,

 

Norris

That was my main gripe about SHARE. The room looked awful bright. Hopefully they dim it down a bit when they're open for dinner. And thank you for the kind offer of a free meal at the Crown Grill. Now when is your next Princess cruise? :D

[Jasperdo]

Thanks for your review with photos. My wife and I want to try the Salty Dog at the end of this month on the Crown Princess. We figure if we don't like it the first time then we will skip it in the future. I'm happy to see the layout of the Wheel House Bar with your great pictures. Thanks for taking time to do this.

Hopefully you'll like the Salty Dog. I've heard that the specialty hamburger is quite good there.

[Jasperdo]

However, I was told by someone who knows is there will be a change to the Wheelhouse.

They will used\ the Starboard section for the salty Dog and leave the other two sections

to the dancers. That is a good compromise.

That was the first thing I thought when I saw the layout of the Salty Dog. It would make much more sense to put the restaurant tables in the alcove on the starboard side, and leave the center and port sides, which are closest to the dance floor, as the Wheelhouse Bar. Hopefully this will be done soon.

[Jasperdo]

Thanks for your review, I enjoyed reading it and found it particularly interesting as we will be sailing on our first Princess cruise about the Ruby in a few weeks. :)

Glad you enjoyed it. The Ruby is a beautiful ship. I'm sure you'll have a great time on her.

[Jasperdo]

Thanks for the review, pictures and observations. Much the same as ours' when we saw the Ruby revamp in January.

 

In January we did a 15 days on the Ruby to Hawaii. A few post-dry dock observations (we were on the Ruby in August to Alaska so a few things jumped out). Not all renovation based, just some things that we noticed.

 

1. New mattress in our cabin, much nicer than the old ones.

2. The refrigerator in the cabin appeared to be new.

3. New toilet seat in the cabin bathroom (only noticed because someone complained about theirs being scratched in a review before we did the Alaska cruise) and I noticed ours was, too. BTW, not something that I would normally even pay attention to.

4. New carpet in most public areas. According to the guide on the Ultimate Ship Tour most of the front elevator lobbies were an exception. That was because the carpets in those locations had been replaced before dry dock.

5. Horizon Court chair seats had been reupholstered in a brown vinyl (another complaint in an earlier review was how bad they were before dry dock and they really were badly worn. We noticed on the Alaska cruise).

6. MUTS screen must have been missed in the services done. A lot of miss colored pixels. It was worse than it was in August (according to another recent review that may have been fixed by now).

7. The Elite, Suite, Platinum happy hour had any of the 8 drinks available for the special $5.00 price every night.

8. Food overall seemed much better than the last two cruises we did on the Ruby. New chef?

9. The new Curtis Stone restaurant did not seem to be very well attended. Very few people on the evenings that I walked by.

10. Staff in general were happy and helpful.

11. Internet very inconsistent. Not unusual, but, it seemed worse than we have experienced before.

12. Agree with the odd configuration of the Salty Dog and what it did to the Wheelhouse Bar (although, fwiw, Dave of Elua said that they enjoyed eating there a couple of times).

 

BTW, great cruises (both Alaska and Hawaii) overall. And the Ruby is a really nice ship. If all goes well we will be back on her in the fall.

Those are excellent observations. Thank you very much for adding them.

[Jasperdo]

First time on the Ruby, and you're able to say that the beds were done during the drydock - how are you certain?

Because it was mentioned as one of the things being done during the drydock in a Princess press release. I was just re-affirming that in my review.

[Jasperdo]

That's a shame what they did to the Wheelhouse bar. You'd think they could come up with something more closely keeping to the original theme of the bar.

The Salty Dog section is just so bland and dull looking. There's no reason it couldn't have fit in better with the Wheelhouse decor.

[shredie]

That was the first thing I thought when I saw the layout of the Salty Dog. It would make much more sense to put the restaurant tables in the alcove on the starboard side, and leave the center and port sides, which are closest to the dance floor, as the Wheelhouse Bar. Hopefully this will be done soon.

 

I haven't been on the Ruby since the dry dock (just the month before) but I have been on the Crown a couple of times since the Salty Dogifying of Wheelhouse. The whole effect is unfortunate with those ugly fast food tables and high benches and the weird bifurcation of the place (conflicting with the dance floor.) I guess the place is doing okay for itself, though, compared to what has been happening over at SHARE. (I am not supposed to offer any opinions about SHARE since I haven't actually eaten there, so I suppose the usual suspects will be along soon to call me names. :p) I'm thinking much of it has to do with the $19 upcharge for Salty Dog as opposed to the $39 upcharge at SHARE (with the additional $8 charge for each additional item ordered.)

 

As usual, your photos are great!

Edited April 2, 2016 by shredie

[ar1950]

................ I guess the place is doing okay for itself, though, compared to what has been happening over at SHARE. (I am not supposed to offer any opinions about SHARE since I haven't actually eaten there, so I suppose the usual suspects will be along soon to call me names. :p)........................

 

That's right. Don't knock the Endive Foam unless you have tried it......:D

 

Oh, btw, to Jasperdo, it was interesting that there were no Curtis Stone offerings on the "Always available" section of the MDR menu on your cruise. One more difference I guess. We had three of them on our January cruise. I will make a guess that the bad reviews of them perhaps got Princess to remove them so as not to reflect on the quality of the actual offerings in the real CS restaurant. Just a guess on that.:confused:

[IECalCruiser]

Next up is the Curtis Stone menu in the Main Dining Room, and how it affected the Always Available menu. Short answer, not much. There were no Curtis Stone items at all on the Always Available side. Here's a photo that shows what the menu looks like:

 

 

The menu was similar to our cruise on the Star 2 years ago: the Shrimp Cocktail, Caesar Salad, Salmon and Chicken are all still there. The main difference is in the beef dishes. Neither the Beef Medallions or the Tri-Tip were on the menu. They've been replaced with a hamburger.

 

On the right side of the menu, on some nights there was one Curtis Stone dish at the bottom of the page. It was usually either a Pork Belly or Chicken Pot Pie. And it wasn't even there every night. There were a few evenings that there was on Curtis Stone dish on the menu at all. Makes me wonder if Princess is listening to the complaints...

 

More to come...

Actually, both the hamburger and the tri-tip were added to the always available side over three years ago when the medallions were briefly removed and then added back again after passenger outcry.

 

That large blank space after the burger looks like the space where the Curtis Stone always available items used to be. If I remember other posts, the pork belly and the chicken pot pie were two of those items along with a mahi-mahi dish. I always thought that it would be better to have one rotating Curtis Stone dish on the right side rather than making them the always available items. Hopefully the medallions will return shortly.

[TwoBadKnees]

Thanks for all the info.

 

Did they serve French Onion Soup in the MDR?

 

I will miss the Beef Medallions. Hopefully they will return before my next cruise.

[IECalCruiser]

That has got to be one of the most uninspired wine lists I have ever seen in a place that purports to be a gastropub. Shameful. Also, since when I'd Bud an "international" beer?

Except for the Seawitch beers, the other beers and wines are basically what is available on any Princess ship. They certainly could have done better.

[ar1950]

Actually, both the hamburger and the tri-tip were added to the always available side over three years ago when the medallions were briefly removed and then added back again after passenger outcry.

 

That large blank space after the burger looks like the space where the Curtis Stone always available items used to be. If I remember other posts, the pork belly and the chicken pot pie were two of those items along with a mahi-mahi dish. I always thought that it would be better to have one rotating Curtis Stone dish on the right side rather than making them the always available items. Hopefully the medallions will return shortly.

 

FWIW, on our Ruby cruise in January the three Curtis Stone "always available" options were: 1. Roasted Beets and Quinoa Salad with Grilled Chicken Breast, 2. Mac and Cheese, and, 3. Grilled Flank Steak. Would be happy to post the descriptions of each if anyone cares. On our cruise the "normal" "always available" options were: 1. Shrimp Cocktail, 2. Classic Caesar Salad, and 3. Grilled Salmon with Herb & Lemon Compound Butter.

 

Apparently, things are changing....:rolleyes:

Edited April 2, 2016 by ar1950

[ar1950]

Thanks for all the info.

 

Did they serve French Onion Soup in the MDR?

I will miss the Beef Medallions. Hopefully they will return before my next cruise.

 

They did on both of our last two cruises on the Ruby. Check out the daily dinner menus for when it will be served.

Edited April 2, 2016 by ar1950

[IECalCruiser]

We haven't been on the Ruby or the Emerald since their December drydocks but we will try to book a short cruise on the Ruby out of San Pedro to try out the Salty Dog and SHARE to judge for ourselves. A major disappointment I have is the limit on the amount of food you can order in these venues for a $19 or $39 upcharge. That is not the case in the Sterling Steakhouse, Bayou Cafe and Steakhouse, Crown Grill or Sabatini's.

Edited April 2, 2016 by IECalCruiser

[shredie]

 

That large blank space after the burger looks like the space where the Curtis Stone always available items used to be. If I remember other posts, the pork belly and the chicken pot pie were two of those items along with a mahi-mahi dish. I always thought that it would be better to have one rotating Curtis Stone dish on the right side rather than making them the always available items. Hopefully the medallions will return shortly.

 

Interesting. On my recent Diamond cruise (which was out of New Zealand) the Always available entrees were salmon and tri-tip. The Curtis Stone stuff was chicken pot pie, pork belly and something else I forgot. Looks like they are trying various combinations of things to see what works. We did have the medallions turn up once on the regular side of the menu on that cruise.

 

Yes, we had French Onion soup one night in the MDR.

Edited April 2, 2016 by shredie

[ducklite]

I'm guessing what is readily available at a price that meets the budget through various suppliers around the world is reflected in the menu on each cruise and is the root cause of the changes.

[MTdreaming]

Thanks for the review.. we are doing this next week! What did you specifically do in La Paz and Loretto? We are having a hard time finding information on those two ports. We like history, walking tours, gardens and a bit of beach time (not a ton however).

[Shoalwater]

Who killed the Wheelhouse Bar? Why did they do this? It was a great place to hangout after the show and dance to mostly good music. Why, it was comfortable, a drink lasted the night, pleasant to meet new people, talk, dance.....:eek: Huh! those people are enjoying themselves but not spending enough money. We've got to do something about that. How about we ruin the atmosphere, drive those laggards out by leaving only limited seating so they'll fast abandon the place. Then we can say it isn't being used sufficiently for dancing so we'll redesign it so it caters to more of our passengers needs. We are just off a Viking Ocean cruise, and I am afraid we will probably be switching lines as soon as they roll out their full complement of ships. I am disgusted at the evolution of Princess, and will vote with my cruise fare.

[plunker]

Does the Ruby have the interactive tv's like the Regal? Love all the movie options on the regal.

[Jasperdo]

I haven't been on the Ruby since the dry dock (just the month before) but I have been on the Crown a couple of times since the Salty Dogifying of Wheelhouse. The whole effect is unfortunate with those ugly fast food tables and high benches and the weird bifurcation of the place (conflicting with the dance floor.) I guess the place is doing okay for itself, though, compared to what has been happening over at SHARE. (I am not supposed to offer any opinions about SHARE since I haven't actually eaten there, so I suppose the usual suspects will be along soon to call me names. :p) I'm thinking much of it has to do with the $19 upcharge for Salty Dog as opposed to the $39 upcharge at SHARE (with the additional $8 charge for each additional item ordered.)

Judging by the 3 times I took a look in at the Salty Dog, it's not doing that good, either. Granted, it was a quick look in on 3 different nights. But it was practically deserted every time I checked.

[Jasperdo]

Oh, btw, to Jasperdo, it was interesting that there were no Curtis Stone offerings on the "Always available" section of the MDR menu on your cruise. One more difference I guess. We had three of them on our January cruise. I will make a guess that the bad reviews of them perhaps got Princess to remove them so as not to reflect on the quality of the actual offerings in the real CS restaurant. Just a guess on that.:confused:

Thanks for the information about the menus on your January cruise. I thought I had seen a photo of a Ruby menu since the drydock that had 3 Curtis Stone items on the Always Available side. On my sailing there were none.