Disappointment on the Ruby.

First of all let me say that Princess has always been my cruise line of choice and I have cruised on her over 50 times. At least 10 of those on the Ruby.

I just got off the Ruby today and I must say that the food was HORRIBLE.

I was just on her in Sept and all was well. What happened Princess?

Food and soups in the buffet were only rotated every 3 days with some minor changes. Food was cold, dry and tasteless.

The pizza had so little cheese and sauce it was like eating baked toast.

The Mongolian Wok, which was excellent in September, was terrible. They changed the sauces and the veggies were still raw after being grilled with the noodles.

The service was good as always, but I lost weight on this cruise. If not for the snacks that I brought on board with me, it really would have been rough.

Fish and Chips were never served in the buffet and are now in the Salty Dog for 12 bucks.

If this is the new Princess, then I'm gonna have to shop somewhere else.

Food and soups in the buffet were only rotated every 3 days with some minor changes. That's what we found on the Crown in Nov/Dec. Then on the star in Dec, all was as it should be.

 

 

Fish and Chips were never served in the buffet and are now in the Salty Dog for 12 bucks. That's not good...DH loves the fish & chips, but we're NOT gonna pay extra for them. :(

See above.

I have the Star booked for next year but am considering cancelling it if this is how it's gonna be.

I'll be keeping my eyes open for future reviews.

OH, that is not good news as we are boarding her on Saturday.

Mind you, I do have after Christmas pounds to shed, lol.

Hey Jill, sorry to hear these issues. :(

Hey Jill, sorry to hear these issues. :(

Let's hope this was just a fluke.

First of all let me say that Princess has always been my cruise line of choice and I have cruised on her over 50 times. At least 10 of those on the Ruby.

 

I just got off the Ruby today and I must say that the food was HORRIBLE.

 

I was just on her in Sept and all was well. What happened Princess?

 

Food and soups in the buffet were only rotated every 3 days with some minor changes. Food was cold, dry and tasteless.

 

The pizza had so little cheese and sauce it was like eating baked toast.

 

The Mongolian Wok, which was excellent in September, was terrible. They changed the sauces and the veggies were still raw after being grilled with the noodles.

 

The service was good as always, but I lost weight on this cruise. If not for the snacks that I brought on board with me, it really would have been rough.

 

Fish and Chips were never served in the buffet and are now in the Salty Dog for 12 bucks.

 

If this is the new Princess, then I'm gonna have to shop somewhere else.

Other than the food issues, how was your trip?

Also just off the Ruby.

Various thoughts in no particular order--

The ATD line was non existent in the MDR that switches from Assigned to ATD. They were not checking our cards but a few of our waiters asked our cabin numbers.

Club Class was in the MDR that switched from Assigned to ATD. It occupied an alcove of the MDR. Never saw it full after 7:30, but we didn't eat in the MDR on formal nights.

We (women) were allowed in the MDR at night wearing capris, men weren't allowed even though their pants were the same length as ours. Will not debate the double standard here.

As Jill said, the buffet food was in an odd rotation. The desserts rarely changed in the buffet. Towards the end of the cruise we started to see some variety. Most nights the Indian options were the same, lentils, vegetable curry and basmati rice. IIRC only two nights were there different offerings. The cheese plate offerings were always nice. The walnut bread was not served until the last night.

Enjoyed the Mongolian in Cafe Caribe for the exact reason Jill hated it. The vegetables were cooked but still crunchy. I asked for some heat and received it at an Mexican Level 2 (Indian Level .5) . Barely any spice.

The grill had ribs and onion rings a few nights. The ribs were the same ones the first three days on the buffet.

FWIW Princess cannot make latkes and why were they served with onion rings? What's with the brown pineapple juice?

The mini suite seemed narrower than the ones on the Grand, Golden, Sapphire. Tub/shower was definitely a bit lower as I could barely touch the ceiling.

Had a few small issues with our Room Steward. All resolved quickly. He did keep us supplied with lotion.

One of the elevators was 'haunted'. Buttons would light up on their own, the elevator would choose which way it wanted to go.

The entertainment was good. The new show Magic to Do was cute. The balloon drop was not crowded.

The last few starboard side rows of the Showroom also enjoyed the loud music coming out of the Wheelhouse Bar. Both had their doors open during the performance.

Needed to get there at least 30 minutes before to get a seat. Almost impossible to get a seat at Explorers.

No receipts were given for drink or gelato purchases.

Were boarding on Saturday also. Hope we have a better experience.

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There were three 'special' gift shop sales in the MDR. One was purses, watches and scarves. The second was the same purses, watches, scarves and some clothes that had been on display outside the gift shops , along with some t-shirts and jackets. The third one had all of the above with Mexican souvenirs.

Other than the food issues, how was your trip?

Good. :D

Service was good and I was still able to unwind and relax.:D

I was just hungry all the time. Best things were the ham and cheese sandwiches at Cafe Caribe, but I did get tired of them.:(

Enjoyed the Mongolian in Cafe Caribe for the exact reason Jill hated it. The vegetables were cooked but still crunchy. I asked for some heat and received it at an Mexican Level 2 (Indian Level .5) . Barely any spice.

Too funny. When we asked for a little spice we were given Tapatio hot sauce to add after it was cooked. Really?

Last cruise there were Teriyaki, and 2 other delicious sauces to choose from. One was spicy. It was super yummy. My onions were basically served to me raw this time. YUCK!

Were boarding on Saturday also. Hope we have a better experience.

 

 

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I hope you do too. Please let us know how it went for you.

Good. :D

Service was good and I was still able to unwind and relax.:D

 

I was just hungry all the time. Best things were the ham and cheese sandwiches at Cafe Caribe, but I did get tired of them.:(

Good to hear!! I'm sailing on her in 39 more days. Thank you for your honest review, I like knowing what to expect/avoid :-)

We were on the Ruby on October & were not too happy. Cancelled one in Feb due to lackluster food, service, shows etc.

We got off the Ruby today too, buffet was weird as the 1st few days the same items just repeated, almost as if they forgot it was a 10 day cruise and not 7

Sailed RUBY first week of November.

Thought MDR food and service were great, also the pizza.

Buffets were not particularly impressive in either quality or variety though.

Sailed RUBY first week of November.

Thought MDR food and service were great, also the pizza.

Buffets were not particularly impressive in either quality or variety though.

That's good to hear. Guess I'm just gonna have to get off my butt and get down to the dining room.

First of all let me say that Princess has always been my cruise line of choice and I have cruised on her over 50 times. At least 10 of those on the Ruby.

 

I just got off the Ruby today and I must say that the food was HORRIBLE.

 

I was just on her in Sept and all was well. What happened Princess?

 

Food and soups in the buffet were only rotated every 3 days with some minor changes. Food was cold, dry and tasteless.

 

The pizza had so little cheese and sauce it was like eating baked toast.

 

The Mongolian Wok, which was excellent in September, was terrible. They changed the sauces and the veggies were still raw after being grilled with the noodles.

 

The service was good as always, but I lost weight on this cruise. If not for the snacks that I brought on board with me, it really would have been rough.

 

Fish and Chips were never served in the buffet and are now in the Salty Dog for 12 bucks.

 

If this is the new Princess, then I'm gonna have to shop somewhere else.

Probably a new chef.

I'm another CC'er boarding the Ruby on Saturday -- how was the food in the MDR? This will be our first Princess cruise, and we talked a few friends in to switching lines with us. Certainly hoping the food is decent enough that they don't all hate me :-P

We were on the Ruby on October & were not too happy. Cancelled one in Feb due to lackluster food, service, shows etc.

That's disappointing to hear. We were on the Ruby in October, and my biggest complaint was that it was only a 7-day cruise.

Our meals were consistently good. We never ate in the dining rooms. I had my breakfasts in the buffet. (I never have very high expectations for buffets, and my expectations were adequately met.) Most of our dinners were in the specialty restaurants, and those were consistently excellent. One evening we enjoyed a light dinner from the International Cafe. You really can't complain about that. Quick and easy. A nice light bite after a big lunch on shore.

We found service to be superb. Possibly the best room steward we've ever had. Excellent service in the restaurants.

I have no comment on the entertainment. We didn't go to any of the shows or visit any of the lounges.

Probably a new chef.

I hope so, but my friend just got off the Caribbean Princess a few days ago and they were unhappy with the food too.:eek:

That's disappointing to hear. We were on the Ruby in October, and my biggest complaint was that it was only a 7-day cruise.

 

Our meals were consistently good. We never ate in the dining rooms. I had my breakfasts in the buffet. (I never have very high expectations for buffets, and my expectations were adequately met.) Most of our dinners were in the specialty restaurants, and those were consistently excellent. One evening we enjoyed a light dinner from the International Cafe. You really can't complain about that. Quick and easy. A nice light bite after a big lunch on shore.

 

We found service to be superb. Possibly the best room steward we've ever had. Excellent service in the restaurants.

 

I have no comment on the entertainment. We didn't go to any of the shows or visit any of the lounges.

As I said before, my cruise on the Ruby in September was excellent. However between now and then something drastic has happened.

I also got off the Ruby today.

I thought the food was better than before in the MDR. We don't eat at the Buffet.

The Crew was great.

We had a great time.I don't have one thing to complain About.

I'm leaving on the Ruby in 2 wks, so hope the food is better.

I've never had a bad cruise, just some better than others....lol