Ruby Princess - Our first cruise :) March 2013 Eastern Caribbean

[jomaleo]

Hello, this is our first cruise (finally been convinced by my husband !) and I'm trying to find all the info regarding the things to do on ports of call, there is so much info on the web that I'm not sure anymore what we should do as excursions! Also, I was looking forward for the 2 formal dinners and got disapointed because there is a lot of postings saying that is not respected, so I'm a little bit confused! Any tips or advice for us will be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance. :)

[tennisobo]

Welcome to Cruise Critic. You have come to the right place.

 

Regarding Formal Night attire. A minority of people will not dress according to the rules. If you like to dress up you should. You will be in the majority.

 

Ports of Call excursions: Go to the ports of call page here on Cruise Critic.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

 

You might also want to participate in the Roll Call here on Cruise Critic, too. That's a message board where you can communicate with others here on Cruise Critic who will be sailing with you. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=481

Scroll down this page until you find the sailing date for your cruise on the Ruby.

 

Have a great time!

[jomaleo]

Thanks for the quick response Susan!

Have a good day!

[caribill]

As this is your first cruise, I suggest the following.

 

a) As the previous poster suggested, join the roll call for your cruise on Cruise Critic. There will be several members who are organizing private (not ship-sponsored) tours and you can see if any of these interest you. Those on the roll call who organize these will have picked reliable tour vendors who will normally provide a great tour and will get you back to the ship on time.

 

b) Check the shore excursions available on Princess. They may be more expensive than private tours, but you will normally have a good tour and not have to bother about any details other than showing up at the appointed place and time.

 

On future cruises, especially if going to some of the same ports, you may be more confident in planning your own private tours.

 

One thing I do not suggest is getting off the ship in a port and picking a vendor on the dock for a tour. You have no way of knowing the quality of the tour you will get this way. Some will be fantastic and some will make you wish you remained on the ship.

[highheel girl]

! Also, I was looking forward for the 2 formal dinners and got disapointed because there is a lot of postings saying that is not respected, so I'm a little bit confused! Any tips or advice for us will be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance. :)

 

Enjoy your cruise, and the formal nights. Don't let comments on dress stop you from doing what you look forward too. :)

[Mom33]

The majority of cruisers follow the recommended dress suggestions on formal night. There is no need to worry about dressing for formal night. Princess asks those that do not want to participate in the spirit of the evening to dine in the specialty resataurants or Horizon Court out of respect for those that do participate.

[jomaleo]

thanks to all for great advice! just realizing that on formal dinner night, it's not the time to book for a specialty restaurants :) did not know that !

[Cupcrazy]

Welcome to Cruise Critic. I was on the Ruby in November and wrote a review. You can find the link in my signature below. I have posted a lot of pictures of the ship and information about it.

I like to dress up for the formal nights. I find it fun.

[dmwnc1959]

thanks to all for great advice! just realizing that on formal dinner night, it's not the time to book for a specialty restaurants :) did not know that !

 

Per Princess Cruises website:

 

• When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the Traditional Dining and Anytime Dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests. For details regarding this, please see the section on Formal Wear.

 

• Inappropriate dress such as pool or beach attire, shorts, ball caps and casual jeans (with fraying and/or holes), is not permitted in the dining rooms.

 

I don't see anything that mentions formal night attire being required in their specialty restaurants. When I was on Ruby Princess last month I ate in Sabatini's on one of the formal nights. I showed up in a pair of clean nice jeans and a polo shirt. I was seated right away and they never batted an eye. The restaurant remained 2/3 empty for the entire time I was in there. Other guests showed up in a mix of smart casual to tuxedo. No one was turned away.

[dmwnc1959]

thanks to all for great advice! just realizing that on formal dinner night, it's not the time to book for a specialty restaurants :) did not know that !

 

Also see this thread from last month

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1747552

[CFD130]

As this is your first cruise, I suggest the following.

 

a) As the previous poster suggested, join the roll call for your cruise on Cruise Critic. There will be several members who are organizing private (not ship-sponsored) tours and you can see if any of these interest you. Those on the roll call who organize these will have picked reliable tour vendors who will normally provide a great tour and will get you back to the ship on time.

 

b) Check the shore excursions available on Princess. They may be more expensive than private tours, but you will normally have a good tour and not have to bother about any details other than showing up at the appointed place and time.

 

On future cruises, especially if going to some of the same ports, you may be more confident in planning your own private tours.

 

One thing I do not suggest is getting off the ship in a port and picking a vendor on the dock for a tour. You have no way of knowing the quality of the tour you will get this way. Some will be fantastic and some will make you wish you remained on the ship.

 

 

I also agree with this regarding excursions-especially for a first time- We have been on several cruises and been to many of the ports several times- I feel a little confident in doing some things on our own- But still do mostly princess excursions. I have Always found that they are not priced that much more and you get great value for your money.(Plus the assurance that you are safe and you will get back to the ship on time) We canceled a princess catamaran excursion the morning it was supposed to leave-it was kind of rough and my wife wasnt to excited about a catamaran ride in the rough seas- there was no charge-

JMHO

[CFD130]

Go to http://portevergladeswebcam.com/ Sunday around 4pm and watch Ruby leave Fort Lauderdale live-

[CFD130]

Another useful thing I learned on cruise critic-Board as soon as you can- explore your cabin and all it has to offer. Then take your ship map and take a few hours and explore the ship and get your bearings. Check out the places you plan to visit and see where they are ( the spa, pool, buffet,pursers desk etc.) Princess has a thing where you take a card to various parts of the ship to have it stamped and when its full you can be entered into a drawing for prizes. Also take note of the color carpet in the hall way on your side of the ship- Princess ships have red tones on one side and blue on the other ( I dont remember which-maybe someone else can help) That way when you get off the elevator your can look left then right and head towards your color. I know it sounds simple but if you dont pay attention it is very easy to get off and spend alot of time walking down the wrong hallway.I have seen people wandering around the ship looking lost several days into the cruise-there is so much to do and so much fun to have to sepnd even a minute lost- its worth the time to get your bearings

[caribill]

Also take note of the color carpet in the hall way on your side of the ship- Princess ships have red tones on one side and blue on the other ( I dont remember which-maybe someone else can help) That way when you get off the elevator your can look left then right and head towards your color.

 

Where starboard (blue) meets port (red)

 

[RLK33853]

Regarding the formal nights - remember that this is your cruise, no one elses.

 

We love the formal nights and dress up for them because we enjoy the experience, not because someone expects us to. There has been a great deal of discussion on these boards about what other people do - but really, who cares. The same thing applies to those who complain about everything on the cruise (and you will certainly meet them.....). The other thing about dressing up is going to the Piazza and enjoying the experience with the others that have dressed for the night.

 

We enjoy each and every cruise. Have they always been fabulous, no. Have we always found them to be enjoyable, yes. One of the things we always talk about is trying to remember our first cruise experience and how spectacular everything was.

 

We wish you all the best and have a great cruise.

[caribill]

Regarding the formal nights - remember that this is your cruise, no one elses.

 

We love the formal nights and dress up for them because we enjoy the experience, not because someone expects us to. There has been a great deal of discussion on these boards about what other people do - but really, who cares.

 

Would you expect the same attitude at a land restaurant that requires a coat and tie for men? "Hey, it's my night out and I don't want to wear a coat and tie because I wear one all day at work."

 

Or would you expect men who go to that restaurant to always wear a coat and tie? If so, why should the attire request at a restaurant at sea be treated differently?

[jaynak]

You are in for a fabulous vacation! Ruby is a wonderful ship with the best production shows ever (IMO!). My Christmas review has just been posted and may give you some excursion ideas. We have used Godfreys Tours in St Thomas many times and I wouldn't hesitate suggesting a first timer use him. Bernard's Tours in St Maarten worked well too just made for a very busy day.

 

We found formal nights were definitely observed. And for the most part the dress code was adhered to other nights as well. You will always have a few who insist on dressing however they wish but I imagine they play by their own rules in other areas of life too :-).

 

Have a great cruise.

[dmwnc1959]

We found formal nights were definitely observed. And for the most part the dress code was adhered to other nights as well. You will always have a few who insist on dressing however they wish but I imagine they play by their own rules in other areas of life too :-).

 

Keeping in mind that the Princess Cruises website offers suggested dress guidelines on Formal Nights for those dining in the Main Dining Rooms, the two specialty restaurants, lido buffet, pool grill, and other eateries like the International Cafe DO NOT require formal wear nor does the rest of the ship. On one formal night I ate somewhere else other than the MDR (the Caribe Cafe to be exact) and there was no one in there dressed in anything close to their definition of Smart Casual or Formal and the place was packed. And these same people are not restricted from walking around the rest of the ship simply because they aren't adhering to the Main Dining Room dress guidelines for formal night. It has nothing to do with playing by their own rules. Princess allows it by definition of their dress guidelines.

 

.

[dmwnc1959]

Would you expect the same attitude at a land restaurant that requires a coat and tie for men? "Hey, it's my night out and I don't want to wear a coat and tie because I wear one all day at work."

 

Or would you expect men who go to that restaurant to always wear a coat and tie? If so, why should the attire request at a restaurant at sea be treated differently?

 

You simply can not use the analogy that the entire ship is like a single land based restaurant. Now, if you had compared it to a small city (which it is) with different types of dining venues and eateries (which it has) that all have different kinds of dress codes (which they do), then you would have been right.

 

As I mentioned before, Princess Cruises does not expect someone on an evening designated as Formal Night (for the MDR) who has chosen to eat dinner at the Trident Grill, Pizza Bar, International Cafe, Horizon Court, Cafe Caribe, grabbing some sushi or tapas at Vines, or even ordering dinner as room service to show up wearing a tuxedo or suit. Different dress codes throughout the ship depending on where you are. That's why, in accordance to their website, formal wear is only required (suggested) for those dining in the Main Dining Rooms (Traditional Dining and Anytime Dining).

[Texas Realtor]

do a lot of research about packing. Some cabins only have a couple of outlets for charging things. Space is much tighter on a cruise ship than a land hotel. Overpacking can be a pain in the rear. Over the door shoe hangers are useful for putting toiletries in and save the space for something else. Remember to turn off your phone or you could get a large bill from your carrier. Remember to call your credit card companies prior to sailing. I also scan important documents and send them as emails to friends at home as well as saving them in my phone.

 

cabin selection is important you don't want to be too close to the elevators or under the busier decks.

 

I am on the Ruby in March and can't wait. Hope you will have a great cruise.

 

FYI I am not doing an excursion through the ship. It is more of an anxiety thing if you ask me. Some people don't feel comfortable going it alone. If you do your research, you can have a more private excursion and generally save money.

 

Part of the problem for me and wife with formal nights is the extra clothes. You can rent a tux, which I am going to do this time. We fly in, so extra luggage is more difficult.

 

Feel free to ask questions. this board is great with help.

 

Don't forget a small night light. If you are in an interior cabin, they can get pitch black.

 

Other tips include:

 

Bring a kitchen garbage bag to keep dirty clothes separate from clean ones.

Bring a roll of quarters and sample size detergent if you want to do your laundry.

Small spray bottle of wrinkle releaser is nice to have.

Remember to put a copy of your boarding pass in your luggage just in case the tags get torn.

My first cruise I was burned pretty bad. Keep reapplying sunscreen. Now I go tanning a couple of weeks ahead and apply sunscreen more often.

ziplock bags of all sizes are helpful.

Think about what you will be taking on shore and have a safe place to put everything.

 

I hope you have a wonderful first cruise.

[Texas Realtor]

ideas for shore excursions include

 

St thomas

 

Rumbabas sail and snorkel. exensive but well worth it.

 

St Maarten

 

Take a cab to maho beach and watch the planes land. Last time we were there we went to Orient beach for 2 hours and then Maho beach for 2 hours. Lots of fun.

 

Those are the only islands and experiences we have had. I found out about Rumbabas on these boards and it was the best excursion We have had in our 4 cruises. They only have room for 6 people, so you need to pre book if that is what you want to do. The food is amazing, and the snorkelling was top notch.

[Kenomed]

Looks like your getting some good suggestions. Make the formal night what you want, regardless of what others say. We last sailed the Ruby when it was a month old. It is a great ship. We had two families. All the men rented tuxes. (2 men, 4 boys). While heading east, you have to get a drink at the back of the boat and watch the sun touch the horizon. I would also suggest a message in a Cabana as late as they will book it..... under the caribbean air, it is awesome

[jaynak]

Keeping in mind that the Princess Cruises website offers suggested dress guidelines on Formal Nights for those dining in the Main Dining Rooms, the two specialty restaurants, lido buffet, pool grill, and other eateries like the International Cafe DO NOT require formal wear nor does the rest of the ship. On one formal night I ate somewhere else other than the MDR (the Caribe Cafe to be exact) and there was no one in there dressed in anything close to their definition of Smart Casual or Formal and the place was packed. And these same people are not restricted from walking around the rest of the ship simply because they aren't adhering to the Main Dining Room dress guidelines for formal night. It has nothing to do with playing by their own rules. Princess allows it by definition of their dress guidelines.

 

.

 

Op said she was looking forward to formal dining. Formal dining takes place in the dining room. Those who don't adhere are playing by their own rules. By all means wear what you like elsewhere. I stand by what I said.

[dmwnc1959]

Op said she was looking forward to formal dining. Formal dining takes place in the dining room. Those who don't adhere are playing by their own rules. By all means wear what you like elsewhere. I stand by what I said.

 

Again, these are not 'rules' but suggested guidelines by Princess Cruises. There is a difference. That's why they allow a certain degree of leeway to a point. Sure there will be no jeans in the MDR during formal nights but not everyone will show up in a dark suit or tuxedo. Some will show up in a long sleeved shirt and tie. And still get into the dining room. On formal night. And Princess Cruises allows this. Don't blame those not playing by someone else's expectations of what a formal night dinner should look like. Blame the cruise line.