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Ruby to Alaska Semi-live July 29, 2017

satxdiver

By satxdiver,
in Princess Cruises

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satxdiver

satxdiver

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We boarded the Ruby in Seattle on Saturday, July 29. The ship was sailing full so all availablecabins were occupied. We were able toboard as soon as we arrived at the terminal at about 11:15 AM. We went through the usual checks, obtainedour cruise cards and walked onto the ship. The Da Vinci MDR was serving lunch which meant we did not have to facethe hordes at the HC. However we had towait until noon when the MDR opened having arrived onboard so early. One change was that we had the S’n’S which wehave had before but no sticker was needed on our cruise cards. We went to guest services to get our stickeronly to find out none was needed.

 

It was reported by the CD on his morning show that 2700 werefirst time Princess pax which explains all the blue cards we were seeing. Our DGD is enrolled in the youth program and wewere told that there were over 200 signed up. Since there are so many new cruisers aboardwe had no problem with getting a reservation for later in the week at theCG. This ship has the Gastropub and SHARE which wehave never tried. Maybe next time wewill check them out.

 

We have family along who do not have S’n’S so they wantedto do the happy hours. The first is from4 to 5 PM in the Wheelhouse Bar and the second is from 9:30 to 10:30 PM in theAdagio Bar.

 

The ship skipper is Commodore Romano which is a first forus since all have been captains so far. The CD is Duke Christopher. Our favoriteis the piano player in Crooners, Juan Escobar. The band is Static which are fairly good.

 

 

After a day at sea we arrived this morning In Juneau ontime. It took over an hour to clear thetwo gangplanks so that we could get off the ship. Since we have been here before, there was noreason to stand in the huge lines. Ourfirst stop was the Red Dog Salon where the piano player was really funny. I believe we have seen him before. The Alaskan beer was good and cold.

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satxdiver

satxdiver

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Tuesday

Thus far we have visited Juneau (Monday) and Skagway(Tuesday). We had five ships in port inJuneau and was docked at the Franklin Street Pier. In Skagway we were at the Ore pier and therewere 4 ships in port. This isinteresting since Skagway has a population just over 1000 and there were maybe10,000 pax with people everywhere. Themost popular was the train ride of course. Weather has been great with thenatives proclaiming it has been the best so far. Juneau was clear blue skies and low 70’s. Skagway was some overcast during the day andlow 70’s. I brought a lot of warmclothes that so far have not been needed. A long sleeve pull over has been all I have needed over my tshirt andjeans.

 

We were invited to the most traveled party in Adagio’sWednesday night at 7 PM. A definitefirst for us with just over 200 days on Princess and far less than the usual1000 or so days. We had scheduled adinner in the CG for that night shortly after boarding on Saturday. So I approached the CG on Monday night tochange our reservation to Tuesday night fully expecting to be told noroom. To my surprise I was asked when Iwould like to reserve dinner. Always beforethe CG has been all booked up but not on this cruise. We had dinner tonight in the CG and it wasnot crowded. I guess that with all theblue cards on board, reservations were going begging. Theyhave a special AK menu along with the usual CG menu featuring AK seafood includingoysters on the half shell, halibut and salmon. The salmon was delicious as was the oysters.

 

They have changed the Elite Lounge rules. Only one drink is offered at $6.50 eachnight. These are the special priceddrinks by day. All the rest are regularprice including my favorite chairman.

Seattle Saturday Port Lemonade

Sunday at sea Tito’s Fresh Mint Lemondrop

Juneau Monday Mayan Mule

Skagway Tuesday Floradora (???)

Glacier Bay Wednesday Cherry Blossom Garden

Ketchikan Thursday Captain’s Circle Party

Victoria Friday Boulevardier

 

For the movie buffs at MUTS:

Sunday – Beauty and the Beast

Monday – The Great Wall

Tuesday – Kong Skull Island

Wednesday – The Batman Lego Movie

 

Shows in theater:

Saturday – Magic to Do

Sunday – Sean O’Shea

Monday – North to Alaska with Libby Riddles (first femaleto win the Iditarod)

Tuesday – Colors of the World

Wednesday – Comedy & Music Showtime with Steve Morris

 

 

We were given Canadian Customs forms tonight to fill outand return to our room steward. Theyhave to be completed and returned by three days before landing in Victoriawhich would be tonight. I think theywere a bit late passing them out!

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satxdiver

satxdiver

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That's an amazing number of blue cards!!

Maybe you'll get an invite to the lunch.:D

 

We received the invite but it was to a cocktail party in Adagio's on Wednesday night at 7 PM. This is definitely a first for us.

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AF-1

AF-1

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Based on your weather is it even worth to pack winter jackets? We will be on the ship on 8/12

I would pack a jacket. Either rain jacket or fall jacket. Something to go over a sweatshirt

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satxdiver

satxdiver

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Wednesday

Today we were at Glacier Bay. The temperature started at 50 degrees andincreased to 60 by the time we arrived at the first glacier. Some pax were on the sundeck with shorts andtshirts and children were in the pools swimming! The sun was out with no clouds and the windwas not present in most cases. So muchfor binging all that warm clothing. Wehave been very lucky on the weather so far on this cruise and hopefully it willhold for the call at Ketchikan.

 

Happy hour has been 4 – 5 PM in the Wheelhouse Bar and 9:30to 10:30 in Adagio bar. The WheelhouseBar has become more popular but certainly not crowded by any means while thelate night BOGO$1 has been very ignored.

 

They have Alaskan beers to include Amber, Summer andWhite which has been somewhat popular.

 

The Elite lounge in the Skywalkers has been extremelyuncrowded with maybe 20 present at any time. We turned in our laundry yesterday and received it back this evening forone day turnaround. There are advantagesto a low number of elite aboard.

 

 

We went to the 40 most traveled cocktail party and hadour picture taken with the commodore and were given pictures before the partywas over. Maybe in 10 or so more years we may make thisan everyday experience! The drinks werecold and the appetizers really great.

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satxdiver

satxdiver

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Based on your weather is it even worth to pack winter jackets? We will be on the ship on 8/12

 

Given our weather the answer is no. However the weather has been excellent which may not be true next week. The locals have all said that the weather has been great and abnormal. Given what I had learned about the week prior, they are indeed right. So you take your chances and hopefully you will have excellent weather as well.

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satxdiver

satxdiver

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Thursday – Ketchikan

Tonight was the Circle Party and this is what wasannounced:

Elite – 53 (now we know why we were invited to the mosttraveled!)

Platinum – 80

Gold – 350

Ruby – 90

1st most traveled – 572 days

2cd most traveled – 402 days

3rd most traveled – 349 days

 

The Ruby Princess has 3080 bottom berths with over 200 kids aboard. Therefore we probably have around 3500 aboard this sailing. That means 573 have been on Princess before and a bit over 2700 have blue cards. They changed Crooners into a conversation pit where the pianist cannot be heard unless you are within 20 feet. Lunch and Breakfast in the MDR (DaVinci) has been very heavy. The pools on the lido deck have been full of kids due to the warm weather. We are here with our DGD so forced to come during school break.

 

We arrived in Ketchikan on time at 7 AM. Our son and his friend had reserved a salmon fishing trip with Princess. However when he arrived at the fishing boat, they were denied boarding since the captain claimed over booking. The Princess representative on the pier, Isabelle, who turned out to be the Princess Excursions Manager, summarily told them that Princess could do nothing about it and that Princess would refund their $219 payment/pax which they did. Luckily there was a private tour operator present that tried to get them on a fishing tour and lacking that put them on a seaplane tour that they enjoyed. So much for Princess Excursions. Go with the private operators in AK.

 

The ship was supposed to leave at 1 PM but the gangplanks were still down so we left not too long after that time. Tonight was the balloon drop with was verywell observed. This was formal nightagain and we had TD in the Botticelli MDR and again I observed no one wearing atux or even a suit. However I saw a twotux wearing males later on the ship. Ialso saw maybe 20 or so in suits but the rest were in less formal clothes(males in collar shirt and pants). Wehave breakfast and lunch (when available) in the MDR and have noted maleswearing baseball caps on every meal in the Da Vinci MDR.

 

One item notable has been the weather in the three portsand Glacier Bay. It has been warm and inGlacier Bay pax were seen on the Sun Deck with shorts and tshirt and kids werein the lido pools. Today in Ketchikan Iwore shorts and tshirt and was perfectly comfortable wandering around the citystreets. We were last in Glacier Bay ona HAL ship over 10 years ago and think that the ice has receded significantly butneed to get home to view old pictures.

 

Update on shows and lectures:

Movies:

Thursday – The Zookeeper’s Wife

Friday – no movie (in port Victoria)

 

Shows in Theater:

Wednesday – Steve Moris Comedy & Music

Thursday – Once upon a Dream

Friday – Voice of the Ocean

 

 

It was announced that only ATD will be available for dinner on Friday night. The MDR’s are open from 4:30 PM – 8:30 PM in the Da Vinci and Botticelli MDR and 4:30 – 7:00 in the Michelangelo MDR. Our waiters tonight warned us of the open seating Friday night. Skywalker’s was very well attended tonight with many actually dancing.

 

The marriage show was tonight and we actually had a young couple married two years as the newlywed couple who were under 30 years old and on their first wedding! Our oldest couple has been married 51 years. It was very entertaining but the CD left a lot to be desired. I have seen better with less talent.

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satxdiver

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Friday

We arrived in Victoria on time and shared a pier with theEurodam. Princess had given us Canadianforms ahead of time to fill out which then were given to the Canadianauthorities. Evidentially several paxper usual did not comply so they were paging them repeatedly on the publicaddress. They must have finally compliedas they finally let us leave the ship for the short stay in Victoria. We have been there many times both on a shipand on a ferry from Port Angeles, WA and always enjoy the city. At the last boarding time, there was the familiarwill so and so of room xxx please call passenger services. They called three times and after the thirdtime we left the pier. I assume someonewas left in Victoria. Perhaps because ofthe many families on the ship, the clubs were very busy including Skywalker’swhich I left at 1:30 AM with the music great and the crowd showing no signs ofgoing to bed.

 

The two pools on the lido deck were again very busymostly with kids but some adults. Sincewe were in the Pacific, the weather was a bit more brisk but the pools werewarm (I was told by our DGD). Mostadults were sunning themselves on the lido and sun decks.

 

Interesting story I had gone to the IC to get my nightly rationof cookies only to be told they had none. So I went to my cabin without my cookies. After arriving in my room at 2:00 AM Ichecked the room service menu and there it was – chocolate chip cookies – yah. A phone call to room service and within maybe10 minutes there was a knock on my door and the arrival of my cookies. We were on the aft Dolphin deck so not farfrom the kitchen. What excellentservice! The IC was very busy at 2 AMwith a lot of pax and a roving group of 5 or so teens.

 

We found out today that the salmon fishing boat captainhad done the same thing of denying pax with Princess vouchers from boardingthat our DS and his friend had experienced yesterday in Ketchikan. Excursions did send a bottle of wine to theirrooms.

 

Saturday

This morning was time to debark and the trip wasover. We had filled out the usualcustoms form, had passports in hand and ready to leave the ship. Near the predicted time we were called toleave the ship, found our luggage fairly quickly and proceeded to USimmigration. To our surprise we walkedup to the immigration officer standing by the exit where she looked at ourpassports and handed them back and said have a good day! I asked what to do with the customs form andwas told they did not want it. We simplywalked out the door into the main departure area and the taxi line. It probably took 5 minutes with no waiting.

 

 

The taxi line was the next surprise. A sign at the entrance to the Taxi lineoffered $40 for up to 4 to go to SeaTac. The ship was charging $24/each to take their transportation to theairport and our DS who was going to use Uber told us that they wanted way more$$$. We went to a hotel since we are not leavinguntil later in the week.

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satxdiver

satxdiver

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I was on the Ruby the same dates as you! Wonder if we happened to pass each other at times!

 

Quite likely depending on where you spent your time on the ship. It was a cruise to remember with all the kids and newbies aboard. Whew!

 

We took our DGD who is still in school so we had to do it during the summer break. First time and maybe the last time!

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SpaceGirl

SpaceGirl

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Quite likely depending on where you spent your time on the ship. It was a cruise to remember with all the kids and newbies aboard. Whew!

 

We took our DGD who is still in school so we had to do it during the summer break. First time and maybe the last time!

 

My travel companion spent a lot of time on the top decks, taking pictures. You probably at least saw him. I didn't hang out anywhere in particular until the last two days, we spent a lot of time at Crooners. He was teaching me how to do artwork, and we were playing games. I was also on the top deck quite a bit after Glacier Bay. I was up there that entire morning, in fact.

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lx200gps

lx200gps

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Thursday – Ketchikan

Tonight was the Circle Party and this is what wasannounced:

Elite – 53 (now we know why we were invited to the mosttraveled!)

Platinum – 80

Gold – 350

Ruby – 90

1st most traveled – 572 days

2cd most traveled – 402 days

3rd most traveled – 349 days

 

The Ruby Princess has 3080 bottom berths with over 200 kids aboard. Therefore we probably have around 3500 aboard this sailing. That means 573 have been on Princess before and a bit over 2700 have blue cards. They changed Crooners into a conversation pit where the pianist cannot be heard unless you are within 20 feet. Lunch and Breakfast in the MDR (DaVinci) has been very heavy. The pools on the lido deck have been full of kids due to the warm weather. We are here with our DGD so forced to come during school break.

 

We arrived in Ketchikan on time at 7 AM. Our son and his friend had reserved a salmon fishing trip with Princess. However when he arrived at the fishing boat, they were denied boarding since the captain claimed over booking. The Princess representative on the pier, Isabelle, who turned out to be the Princess Excursions Manager, summarily told them that Princess could do nothing about it and that Princess would refund their $219 payment/pax which they did. Luckily there was a private tour operator present that tried to get them on a fishing tour and lacking that put them on a seaplane tour that they enjoyed. So much for Princess Excursions. Go with the private operators in AK.

 

The ship was supposed to leave at 1 PM but the gangplanks were still down so we left not too long after that time. Tonight was the balloon drop with was verywell observed. This was formal nightagain and we had TD in the Botticelli MDR and again I observed no one wearing atux or even a suit. However I saw a twotux wearing males later on the ship. Ialso saw maybe 20 or so in suits but the rest were in less formal clothes(males in collar shirt and pants). Wehave breakfast and lunch (when available) in the MDR and have noted maleswearing baseball caps on every meal in the Da Vinci MDR.

 

One item notable has been the weather in the three portsand Glacier Bay. It has been warm and inGlacier Bay pax were seen on the Sun Deck with shorts and tshirt and kids werein the lido pools. Today in Ketchikan Iwore shorts and tshirt and was perfectly comfortable wandering around the citystreets. We were last in Glacier Bay ona HAL ship over 10 years ago and think that the ice has receded significantly butneed to get home to view old pictures.

 

Update on shows and lectures:

Movies:

Thursday – The Zookeeper’s Wife

Friday – no movie (in port Victoria)

 

Shows in Theater:

Wednesday – Steve Moris Comedy & Music

Thursday – Once upon a Dream

Friday – Voice of the Ocean

 

 

It was announced that only ATD will be available for dinner on Friday night. The MDR’s are open from 4:30 PM – 8:30 PM in the Da Vinci and Botticelli MDR and 4:30 – 7:00 in the Michelangelo MDR. Our waiters tonight warned us of the open seating Friday night. Skywalker’s was very well attended tonight with many actually dancing.

 

The marriage show was tonight and we actually had a young couple married two years as the newlywed couple who were under 30 years old and on their first wedding! Our oldest couple has been married 51 years. It was very entertaining but the CD left a lot to be desired. I have seen better with less talent.

 

Very timely review for us as we will be getting on the Ruby yet again in a few weeks for our first ever Alaska trip. I'm a bit concerned by your comment above. What means "...They changed Crooners into conversation pit..."? One of our evening rituals is to hit Crooners before dinner and throw a few martinis down our necks before heading to the MDR or CG. Has something physically been changed, or is this just an allusion to the crowds in Crooners on that particular cruise? We've never experienced any real "crowds" in any of the Crooners on any ship we've been on.

 

Thanks very much for the review.

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