fsdorado

We booked VL on a six night sailing out of Miami on 3/3/23 last night. This morning, we woke up to the e-mail that our cruise had been cancelled. We submitted a request to move to a VL 3/2/23 seven night sailing out of San Juan, PR. Our travel agent said that VV will honor the price we paid for the six night cruise and throw in an extra $300 OBC. The seven night cruise is considerably more expensive so I think we lucked out. We told my BIL about the six night cruise and he and his wife were very interested but they waited until this morning to call our TA. The TA was surprised that he couldn't find any staterooms on the original cruise. They will miss out on the extra OBC and the lower price. It's all about timing... Frederick

Can anyone compare The Haven on NCL on the Prima-class ships to the Retreat? I did mock booking and can get a Haven Two-Bedroom Family Villa for the price of our Beyond sailing in a SS, which has almost twice the space (and two bathrooms) for three adults. We've always seen NCL on the same level as Carnival and RCCL. Frederick

What is the equivalent to an Edge-class SkySuite on Oceania and Regent? Frederick

Cole and his staff were definitely the highlight of the trip. Our "stop" at Tracy Arm Fjord was cancelled due to very poor visibility but the CD staff kept us all entertained. If you get a chance to do Javi's Improv Workshop or his musical improv show, don't miss it. He's really very talented. Frederick

@Cruise Raider We really enjoyed the CD, Cole, and his staff!! They did a really great job with activities on the multiple sea days. Please say hello to Javi from Frederick and Mickie from Texas if you see him around. Frederick

Wow!! That's way better than the current Mini-Suite plus Inside that we were in. We had a tub/shower combo in our bathroom.

On a minor note, it's a LONG walk to the very front of the ship. My mother and I would take advantage of the Suite Breakfast every morning at Sabatini's (far aft, deck 16). The walk definitely spurred our appetites!! There was also a lot more motion that midship. On our Inside Passage cruise, it was only really noticeable on the first two nights (up the coast of California). The seas were pretty calm on the journey back south to San Francisco. Frederick

Sorry, wrong thread

We disembarked Ruby on 8/5/23. I agree that Ruby is in fine shape for a ship of her age. We talked to several crew members about dry dock. They confirmed that she will spend two weeks in Portland and a week in Canada (she didn't specify Victoria but that makes sense). She just signed on a cruise before ours and said that they'll stay aboard during dry dock to take care of the dry dock workers and to do a bunch of cleaning. Frederick

As Thrak mentioned, D101 is a typical inside stateroom with its own bathroom. That was one of the big selling points to the Family Suite. One of the other nice things about the Family Suite is the very large balcony, right at the front of the ship. There were two chairs that recline with separate foot rests and a table with four chairs. The down side is that it's very exposed so it could get very windy. Frederick

The videos I found on YouTube showed a second couch in the living room area. On Ruby, it was just two chairs. Frederick

Yes, our travel agent had to call Princess to get the family suites. They go quickly so get in touch with Princess ASAP. @Knickearth Your "Family Suite" was way nicer than our "official" Family Suite. Frederick

We just sailed on Ruby Princess in one of the two Family Suites (D101/105). D105 is "mini-suite" room, with beds that be either singles or a queen. There is not a lot of privacy in this bedroom from the living room. We purchased some "blackout" curtains from Amazon and hung them from the ceiling using magnetic hooks. D101 is an inside cabin attached to the living room. There are four single beds (with upper beds that fold down). My mother and a family friend slept in this room. They had no issues with the beds. We did not check out the sofa bed in the living room area. In D105, there was only one couch and two barrel chairs. (I've seen some pictures and videos where there were two couches.) You should note that the Family Suites are considered Full Suites so you'll have all of the Full Suite amenities (like free laundry service). If you have any questions or need more information, please let me know. Frederick

We just came off a 10 night Alaska Inside Passage cruise sailing from San Francisco on Ruby Princess. X is by far our favorite cruise line but my whole family lives in the Bay Area and Mom was paying for everyone's (16 in total) stateroom so sailing from San Francisco made sense. My wife and I shared a Family Suite with my Mom and my sister's MIL (who recently lost her husband), so we got the full suite benefits. We usually sail on Sky Suites on the Edge-class ships. We were fully prepared to be disappointed with Ruby, given her age and the things we'd been hearing about the food recently on Princess. I must say, we were pleasantly surprised with Ruby. She was in pretty good shape for a ship her age. She's a very traditional ship, with lots of wood and brass (which is not generally to our liking). The food was actually very good. The service was generally very good as well. Where Ruby really shined was with the Cruise Director and his staff. They were by far the most engaged, entertaining group we've ever had. Overall, we thought the food and service on Celebrity is better. Would we sail on Princess again? Sure, given the right itinerary. We were supposed to visit the glaciers but very poor visibility prevented us from getting into the fjords. I think it's really hard to compare an older ship like Ruby to a newer Edge-class ship on Celebrity. Frederick

We just disembarked Ruby on Saturday. The crew confirmed that the ship will be going into dry dock in Portland then in Canada before heading back to San Francisco for the scheduled Panama Canal transit to Florida. Frederick

We just disembarked Ruby on Saturday. People were generally wore casual clothes at night. Most people were not wearing suits or fancy dresses on the "formal" nights (though I wore a suit both formal nights). Men were wearing dress shirts and slacks (but generally not ties) and women were wearing dresses or skirts and blouses. As others have stated, please no shorts and flip flops!! Frederick

FYI, we're currently aboard Ruby Princess. We have the "old" Plus package and we have ordered several $15 drinks and have not been charged the difference. When we ordered an $18 drink, we did. Of course, YMMV.

I board Ruby on Wednesday. I'll let everyone know what my experience is. I have a feeling that YMMV. Frederick

Are you suggesting that the App is wrong? Inconceivable!! 😜 Frederick

We board Ruby Princess on Wednesday. I'll try to report back here with my experience.

I also purchased the "Old" Princess Plus before the price went up. Interestingly enough, when I look online in the Cruise Planner and in the app, I have TWO entries for Princess Plus, one with the old benefits and one with all of the new benefits (including the $15/drink and the premium desserts). I just had to scroll down in the Packages screen in the app. Frederick

She brings a juicer with her.

Thanks everyone!! My DW is waiting patiently to chat with someone from Princess. I suspect they will give her the same advice that you are giving. We may try to get at least one aboard on the first day. Frederick

That's sort of what I figured. We're in a suite so I might ask our cabin steward as well. Thanks!! Frederick

I know this is probably a strange question to ask but my DW is trying a liver cleanse treatment which involves consuming the juice of a whole freshly squeezed lemon daily. Will she be able to get lemons on the ship (Ruby Princess out of San Francisco) or will she need to bring lemons onboard with us? Thanks!! Frederick