Ruby Princess Review 8/12-8/19 : Ship was OK, Alaska was wonderful

[dvond]

We have been on almost 30 cruises but this was our 1st on Princess as well as Alaska. We flew in from NJ on the day before.

 

Embarktation

 

This was pretty easy other than no porters being available outside and we had to wheel in all the luggage. Once in the terminal the process to get on the boat was 45 mins. We were on by noon

 

Kids Camp

 

Our 14 year old went and made friends but that was because the other kids we fun, had nothing to do with the ship or counselor

 

Food

 

This is very user specific but we had some great meals (King Crab, Scallops and a few apps), most meals were at least pretty good. Buffet was a crap shoot at lunch with long lines and running out of stuff a few times like crab. International Cafe was a nice option for a snack or small sandwich. Having dinner at 5:30 is way too early as well

 

Cabin

 

Huge closet and room was good for 2 , we had a balcony which was used alot during Glacier Bayday.

 

Service

 

Our waiter was fine, seemed annoyed on requests for multiple dinners or apps which made it uncomfortable but we still ordered what we wanted. Room steward did his job well, did not see him much but did not need to. Bartenders and staff were Ok as well.

 

Entertainment

 

Duke the CD was great and had a fun personality but on a cruise with sea days and bad weather, there was little to do other than a ton of trivia and speeches or seminars that had a selling undertone which got old by the end of the week. Song and Dance shows were awful. Comedian was fantastic but they put him and Love and Marriage in small room and so many people had to sit on the floor. Voice of the Ocean the last day was best "show" of the week.

 

Dress Code

 

This is a hot topic but for this cruise on non formal days a shirt and jeans with sneaker were widely worn everywhere in dining room. For formal days many had button down shirt and slack at most.

 

Ports

 

Juneau-We took Best of Juneau Whale Watching for 2 hours and they provided shuttle to and from Mendenhall, We saw a ton of whales for 1st boat out. Captain and staff did a great job A very good fun day.

 

Skagway-We went with Chilkoot tours for bus up to Yukon and Train back to Skagway. The bus was great, lots of stops and the driver was great. We also met the snow puppies We had bears come right up to our bus as well, this part was fantastic. The train ride was a let down after this, it was pretty views and interesting sights but the drivers and announcers brought little to the experience and then begged for tips walking through the cars. We would not do this part again.

 

Ketchikan-We did the crab boat day, awful weather but sill an amazing experience. The captain and staff were very informative and made sure everyone was involved. An excellent tour.

 

Casino

 

I played poker every night, we had a great group, same people every night but the casino host rarely gave drinks like all other cruises especially. It is a normal cruise practice since the casino does not provide a deal and grabbing 15% rake. She was very cold and non friendly.

 

Overall a good cruise but not sure Princess is for us as we always book a future cruise while on one but passed this time. Basically the ship shut down around 10:30 at ;latest most night and we like a little less non trivia and selling activities. We loved Alaska other than a little chaos gettng off and on the ship but may visit again just not on Princess

Please feel free to ask any questions

[easyboy]

Thanks for your feedback.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[ejincali]

Thanks for posting your thoughts on your cruise. Since you mentioned you didn't think Princess was for you, curious as to which cruise lines are your favorites?

[dvond]

Thanks for posting your thoughts on your cruise. Since you mentioned you didn't think Princess was for you, curious as to which cruise lines are your favorites?

 

We have done Carnival, Celebrity RCL and NCl

 

We like RCL the best, its a good mixture of everything

 

We do love the nightly comedy on Carnival, gives us something fun late every night

 

NCL has best entertainment

 

Celebrity was best food

 

On this Princess cruise nothing really stood out, every cruise is a good cruise but we won't fly or pay extra just for Princess with all the east coast options we have in NY, NJ, Bostons, and Baltimore

Edited August 26, 2017 by dvond

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[SDWalt]

Took the Ruby to Alaska in July. Alaska was great, but the Ruby was just okay. It was cold & rainy a lot so everything below deck was just packed all the time. Venues on deck were empty most of the time.

[satxdiver]

We were on the Ruby to AK the first week of August. It was our second trip out of Seattle and we had done the north bound cruise out of Vancouver on a HAL ship. The ship was lively in the evening but as the bewitching hour approached the crowd would of course thin. We spent a lot of time in Crooners but did go up to Skywalker's late at night. Like all cruises Skywalker's is busy on sea days and not so much on port days. We had a great time in all three ports just wandering around since we had already done what we wanted to do.

[drpack]

While in the Coast Guard, I was stationed in Alaska 3 different times, for a total of 8 years. I regularly traveled the waterways on Alaskan Ferries and small passenger vessels. However, I'm still looking forward to taking an Alaskan Cruise, and Princess is high on my list.

[donswife]

While in the Coast Guard, I was stationed in Alaska 3 different times, for a total of 8 years. I regularly traveled the waterways on Alaskan Ferries and small passenger vessels. However, I'm still looking forward to taking an Alaskan Cruise, and Princess is high on my list.

 

We were on The Crown in Alaska last summer and found plenty to do, with a great variety of Alaska specific guests including Libby Riddles, a lumberjack, a naturalist, and a folklore guy. I wonder if they have cut back on those?

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Clarea]

Just saw this, thanks for the report.

[heffy2]

Thnak you for the review, I sail on her in Feb.

[partybarbie]

We were on The Crown in Alaska last summer and found plenty to do, with a great variety of Alaska specific guests including Libby Riddles, a lumberjack, a naturalist, and a folklore guy. I wonder if they have cut back on those?

 

We had everything you mentioned on our Grand Princess Alaska cruise in May of 2017. We also had the "puppies in the piazza". It's important to read the daily patter, otherwise you will miss out on the offered activities.