My Ruby Princess Review (dogs allowed on board??) 01/23/14-01/27/14

My husband and I got back yesterday from a WONDERFUL vacation aboard the Ruby Princess.

I posted live on enbarkation day and I noted that when I checked in, I felt as though I was at the DMV. The gentleman checking us in was very abrubt, non-friendly, and almost borderline rude. But nothing was going to get in the way of enjoying our vacation.

We were among the first to arrive and we received priority check-in and got on board pretty quickly.

The first thing I did was go up to the Santuary to try to get a spot. The young woman told me they were all sold out for the week and for the day because B2B cruisers can make reservations on the last day of their cruise for the following cruise. In a very polite way, she basically informed me it was nearly impossible to get a booking for the week unless I'm doing a B2B cruise. (I personally don't think that is fair, but those are the rules). She told me to make sure I come early the next day if I wanted to book for the day.

They open at 8am, so I went up at 7:30am, and there was already a long line, so I turned around and went and ate breakfast. I didn't try again for the rest of the cruise because it just wasn't worth getting up at standing in line.

However, I did visit the Sanctuary area when my husband and I got our couples massage up there. (More on that later).

In regards to my title "dogs allowed on board??"... I was very surpised to see SEVERAL dogs on board! Now, I'm not talking about service dogs... I'm talking about little fluffy dogs wearing bows and dresses. They walked around the piazza on leashes. This is the first time I've ever seen a pet dog onboard! Is this new? Do they pay the fare of a second or third guest? Lol.

More to come...

No. Dogs are not allowed other than service dogs. However, keep in mind that there are many different types of service dogs, not just those for the blind. They can be trained to alert for a seizure or other non-obvious reason. Sometimes, even trained service dogs can look like pets. That said, there was a supposed service dog on my Royal T/A who was being fed by his/her person on a table in the IC. IMHO, that's not a trained service dog and I found that unsanitary and creepy.

How do you know that they are not service dogs?

Also, I have seen dogs on board who were part of an entertainer's show.

No. Dogs are not allowed other than service dogs. However, keep in mind that there are many different types of service dogs, not just those for the blind. They can be trained to alert for a seizure or other non-obvious reason. Sometimes, even trained service dogs can look like pets. That said, there was a supposed service dog on my Royal T/A who was being fed by his/her person on a table in the IC. IMHO, that's not a trained service dog and I found that unsanitary and creepy.

That guy was different,to say the least.I played blackjack with him a few times and the dog was sitting in his wheelchair next to him.I asked him his dogs name and he just stared at me and looked away.

We had a lady on one of our cruises on the Emerald that had her dog dressed like a clown and would have a group of people around her all the time.She would change outfits everyday.

The dog urinated in the Piazzza and ran all over the place. :eek:

It may have been for the passengers entertainment but not by Princess.

It's a possibility they were service dogs, but they had nothing identifying them, and they were not the typical breeds usually used as service dogs.

Someone mentioned perhaps they were in one of the shows. That seems more likely!

To be allowed onboard, the dog has to be "certified" as a service animal.

Our cabin:

We had a balcony on the Baja level. The balcony was quite small, but I liked that it was covered (for privacy). Last November, we had a balcony on the Baja floor aboard the Sapphire and we were given reclining chairs. I was told our balcony was too small for reclining chairs in this cabin.

Our suitcases were brought up almost immediately. I usually bring extra hangers from home because there never seems to be enough (even when I ask for extra), but I was pleasantly surprised to have a lot of hangers.

I probably have a few blinders on when it comes to Princess because of the wonderful past experiences I've had on all of my Princess cruises. But I tried to be objective, pretending it was my first cruise.

I was a bit surprised of a few things that were a bit under par. The chairs on our balcony were badly chipped (you can tell they've been repainted, and rechipped several times).

The big picture frame in our cabin had a few chunks missing from it. It clearly needs to be replaced.

The shampoo/conditioner bottle was about 60% empty. It ended up being refilled a few days later, but I feel it would've been better for it to be filled prior to boarding, while turning over the room. (I also wish shampoo and conditioner were in separate containers).

Now with all of that being said, these things are VERY minor, and in no way would if effect my cruise or my overall opinion about Princess. It was just a bit surprising that these things seemed to be just below the level I've become acustomed to with Princess.

More to come...

EXCURSION / PORT

We only had one stop on this cruise (Cozumel). Prior to the cruise, I pre-booked the Adventure Park, Zipline, Snorkel & Beach excursion through Princess.

We arrived on time to meet the group. After about twenty minutes, we were gathered together and the tour guide told us he wanted to make sure we knew this was NOT a jungle zipline, it was in an amusement park. He also informed us there would be NO snorkling available at this time. In order to make up for the snorkling, we would be allowed to go on the zip lines as many times as we wanted (as opposed to three times). But at this point, I'm imaging long amusement park lines! (And it tu

He said if we choose to go forward with this, we must initial our tickets, agree to NOT ask for any type of refund, and no complaints.

I very much appreciated him being upfront about everything. My husband and I had very much looked forward to snorkling (and the idea of an amusement park was NOT what we were looking for). We quickly spoke to the Princess represantative who was standing outside the ship, and she agreed to refund us, which was very nice.

This ended up being a GREAT decision because we ended up having a phenomenal time!!!

We rented a jeep for $75 for the day (plus gas and insurance). We rented snorkle equipment for $15. We drove around the perimeter of the island, stopping at beaches for snorkling and playing in the waves (the waves were AWESOME on some of the beaches)! We stopped at a few restaurants along the way too.

Cozumel was gorgeous!!!!

FOOD

We ate in the anytime dining room twice and ate in the Horizon Court twice for our dinners. The food is very good, especially for being a mass production.

On the shorter cruises, the "surf and turf" consists of steak and two large shrimp. I missed the lobster tails. We could have gotted lobster tails at the specialty restaurant, but it wasn't worth spending the extra money.

We also had sushi at Vines (they now require you to purchase a drink to get the sushi). We each had a glass of wine and sushi. It was delicious. I was happy to find out that Vines serves sushi (as opposed to Pizza on the Sapphire). I love the pizza they serve by the pool, so I had no reason to visit Vines on the Sapphire.

We ordered room service a few times. I LOVE the vegetarian sandwhiches.

To be cont'd...

We were on the Ruby Jan 23-27 and there were a few small 'service dogs' that I also found odd. Someone we met said that they asked someone about their small 'service dog' and were told it was a 'stress relief' dog. It did have an official 'badge' that said 'service dog.' I had never heard of that before.

Our local TV station did a report recently on people abusing the label of "service dog" for animals that are not properly trained. It can take a year or more of training for real service dogs to earn their credentials. Some people think that their therapy dogs should qualify, and they purchase fake credentials for them over the Internet.

My mother is in a senior complex, so I know that therapy dogs are great in certain situations. But they have not had the extensive training required of true service dogs.

I saw a beautiful white dog on Ruby (1/9-1/13) That was in the litter pan under the stairs on Promenade deck. A crew member was tending to the dog and told me it belonged to one of the entertainers on board. I thought that a little strange.

Thanks for your review.

Vines is on the Sapphire and it serves sushi, along with Alfredo's... Sorry you missed it!

I saw a beautiful white dog on Ruby (1/9-1/13) That was in the litter pan under the stairs on Promenade deck. A crew member was tending to the dog and told me it belonged to one of the entertainers on board. I thought that a little strange.

That's not strange at all to me. My son used to work backstage in a couple of theatres and many actors bring their dogs daily to the theatre. So he or one of the other backstage employees would have to look after the dogs.

I can see that an entertainer on a cruise ship might have it written into their contract that they can bring their dog on board.

I can see that an entertainer on a cruise ship might have it written into their contract that they can bring their dog on board.

I would say only if its part of their act.

My husband and I got back yesterday from a WONDERFUL vacation aboard the Ruby Princess.

 

I posted live on enbarkation day and I noted that when I checked in, I felt as though I was at the DMV. The gentleman checking us in was very abrubt, non-friendly, and almost borderline rude. But nothing was going to get in the way of enjoying our vacation.

 

We were among the first to arrive and we received priority check-in and got on board pretty quickly.

 

The first thing I did was go up to the Santuary to try to get a spot. The young woman told me they were all sold out for the week and for the day because B2B cruisers can make reservations on the last day of their cruise for the following cruise. In a very polite way, she basically informed me it was nearly impossible to get a booking for the week unless I'm doing a B2B cruise. (I personally don't think that is fair, but those are the rules). She told me to make sure I come early the next day if I wanted to book for the day.

 

They open at 8am, so I went up at 7:30am, and there was already a long line, so I turned around and went and ate breakfast. I didn't try again for the rest of the cruise because it just wasn't worth getting up at standing in line.

 

However, I did visit the Sanctuary area when my husband and I got our couples massage up there. (More on that later).

 

In regards to my title "dogs allowed on board??"... I was very surpised to see SEVERAL dogs on board! Now, I'm not talking about service dogs... I'm talking about little fluffy dogs wearing bows and dresses. They walked around the piazza on leashes. This is the first time I've ever seen a pet dog onboard! Is this new? Do they pay the fare of a second or third guest? Lol.

 

More to come...

there are several type of service dogs...........some are for people with severe anxiety problems...these would be small fuffy dogs

I have had the please to sail with a few service dogs and enjoyed it

One can turn their dog (or other pet) into a service animal just by going online and ordering a 'kit' for their 'service animal.' You pay them money and they will send you the paper work and a vest for the animal. There are no rules as to what qualifies your pet to be one. So, anyone can say their pet is a service animal and take them anywhere!

Sad, but people will take advantage and use these mail order places!

I have no idea if this animal you saw was a real service pet or not, just letting you know what I learned just now on the internet!

OP;

Thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts on your cruise.....:):):)

Bob

Magician on Ruby from 1/13 to 1/18 had 2 dogs on board, but otherwise we didn't see other dogs.

On our Alaska cruise on the Sea Princess in 2012 we saw probably 6 dogs on board all appeared clearly to be service dogs and one person commented they had to work rather hard to get Princess to approve it.

To be allowed onboard, the dog has to be "certified" as a service animal.

I have a veterenarian friend who will "Certify" any animal you choose as a service animal.

There is no offical standard for certifying an animal, so just about any letter from a Vet is good enough.

The best part is the good old ADA in it's wisdom, prohibited cruise lines from asking what the animal in question actually does as a service animal.

Many selfish passengers have taken advantage of this goofy situation to bring their pets onboard with them. Princess has had particularly big problems with this and has had to blacklist a number of passengers who refused to stop playing this game.

Your tax dollars at work................................

We were on a Hawaii cruise last year where there were 15 service dogs on board--all of which appeared to be very highly trained.

One afternoon they had a Pet a Puppy session in Explorers and all of the folks who wanted to do so, took their dogs off their harnesses and let them play with the people. It was a hugely successful event with people pouring out into the gangway because Explorers became over crowded with dog lovers.

To be allowed onboard, the dog has to be "certified" as a service animal.

The dogs that are popping up on cruises and airplanes are "emotional support dogs". All you need is a note from a mental health professional and you can take your dog on planes, cruises, in restaurants, etc. There is a difference between a service dog and an emotional support dog.

One of the dogs on your cruise was a service dog. She is a toy poodle named Honey . The reason the man in the wheelchair did not respond to you is because he is DEAF. The dog was trained for 9 months to be a guide dog for the deaf. The man likes to dress up the dog and that is his choice. That poodle does more then you could imagine for him. BTW I do not know what dog Pam was referring to on the Royal, but I can assure you the poodle NEVER eats at the table and never in public. She is trained to have very good manners and sleeps under the table when his owners are dining..

Also in order to bring a service dog on a cruise, you MUST show proper documentation. No fake service dog would be allowed. Also for each port you go to, the service dog needs special paperwork, often extra shots or a vet visit and yes all this paperwork does cost money.

Unfortunately many people abuse the service dog certificate. That ruins it for those who actually spend the time and money having a real service dog trained. BTW Princess DOES NOT allow emotional support dogs on their ships, only real certified service dogs

Do not know about dogs that are part of the entertainment as I have never seen that. One more thing, cruise ships can ask for certification papers and do. They are not bound by American laws that state you can not ask for certification because the ship is not registered in the USA.

Hope this clarifies for you about service dogs on board a cruise ship.

I have a veterenarian friend who will "Certify" any animal you choose as a service animal.

 

There is no offical standard for certifying an animal, so just about any letter from a Vet is good enough.

The best part is the good old ADA in it's wisdom, prohibited cruise lines from asking what the animal in question actually does as a service animal.

 

Many selfish passengers have taken advantage of this goofy situation to bring their pets onboard with them. Princess has had particularly big problems with this and has had to blacklist a number of passengers who refused to stop playing this game.

Your tax dollars at work................................

We have doctors here in Colorado who will certify you (wink wink) :rolleyes: for a medical marijuana license too.