Review: 1/4/14 Ruby Princess

[camarodrivenrs]

Celebrity Reflection Review:http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=41240212#post41240212

We just got back from our winter vacation. We’ve been planning this trip for almost the entire year. I’ll post my review of the Ruby Princess here and provide a link at the beginning to my Celebrity Reflection cruise since that one was first.

A quick background on us, I’m Brett and my girlfriend is Hannah and we are both engineering students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in our 20’s. We both work hard all summer at our internships so we can escape the terrible Alaskan winter. The Ruby Princess cruise following the Reflection cruise was a complete surprise to Hannah who thought we were flying out of Fort Lauderdale after the cruise.

We got off the Celebrity Reflection and met our limo driver after getting through the Port of Miami zoo, I mean customs. I used Limos of Miami and they were great. They had overbooked their normal limos and to our surprise sent a stretch Escalade. This horrified Hannah as the thing was huge and it was just the two of us. The driver took the long way to Port Everglades, he even drove through the departure drop off part of the Fort Lauderdale airport to complete the surprise. She was completely surprised when we ended up at the port. This was her first cruise on Princess and my 5th.

We arrived at the port around 11:00 am and were onboard no later than noon. As was the case with my previous Princess cruises our room, A747, was ready. I don’t know why all cruise lines don’t let you go to your room right away and drop your things off, even if the room isn’t ready it is so nice to be able to drop off your bags. After almost four years without being on a Princess cruise it was nice to be back onboard a familiar ship. I’ve always considered the Grand class ships my favorite design, however Hannah thought the layout was confusing and very closed in compared to the Reflection. I’m not going to directly compare the two ships because the Reflection is a much newer design than the Ruby so there’s really no point. I at some points compare service and food though. We didn’t make our Cozumel call because of weather, instead calling on Ocho Rios. Once this was announced we quickly booked a Dunn’s Waterfall and Green Grotto Cave tour. We walked around downtown a little after the excursion and it isn’t a great place to be. At the end of the cruise getting off was no problem and customs was much smoother than at the Port of Miami.

The Ship and Crew

As mentioned above I really like being on Grand class ships and the Ruby Princess did not let me down. The ship was in great shape and the crew was hard at work painting and refinishing wood during our cruise. We enjoyed watching football on MUTS and enjoyed the aft pool area a lot. The ship never seemed to be overcrowded and was very relaxing after the partying and madness of a New Year’s cruise. A747 has a unique balcony shape which provides quite a bit of extra space. I wish they would put reclining chairs on this balcony but we just pushed the chairs out of the way and it was easy for both of us to lie on beach towels on the balcony. The commodore and staff were not very visible around the ship except on the formal night. Our room steward was great, however some of the crew seemed a little unenthused and after talking to our waitress she seemed to think some of the crew didn’t enjoy doing 4 and 5 night cruises.

The Food

We opted for 2nd seating dining and found the food to be very good. The dining room food was quite a bit better than we had last year on Carnival, but just half a step behind what we had the previous week on the Reflection. 2nd seating dining was not very popular for some reason and a couple of nights our wait team only had us and another couple at our table in her section. I really like the buffet setup on the Ruby Princess, it is nicely separated into sections and never seems crowded compared to what we found on the Reflection. We both thought the buffet food was better on the Ruby than the Reflection and the variety was better, with dishes changing every day.

The Bars

We didn’t drink much on this cruise as our livers were recovering from New Year’s and our drink package, but when we did the bar service was fine. We did try one of the giant margaritas available at the aft bar.

Entertainment and Music

We did not enjoy the performances by the Ruby performers, but that is ok because I personally would never go to the shows anyway and just go cause Hannah wants to. It was so nice to hear island music around the open decks while laying in the sun after not hearing it all week on the Reflection. Jobs, The Wolverine, and World War Z were offered on MUTS as well as NFL playoffs and the BCS National Championship Game. It was a windy day before the BCS game and many of the MUTS chairs were stacked up and tied down. Numerous staff watched passengers untie and unstack the chairs so they could use them without offering help or telling them not to do it, seemed odd that they would do neither.

Overall, I was very happy to be back on a Princess Ship and I thought the Ruby was great. My girlfriend really enjoyed it but not quite as much as I did, as she thought the layout wasn’t as good as the Reflection and was confused by deck 6 not being continuous. At first she didn’t like the tiered aft decks, but by the end she really liked it, so I think Grand class ships need more than 5 days to grow on a rookie. I did find that I don’t really agree with the people who say Celebrity and Princess are more alike than different. We both thought Celebrity was definitely aiming at a different group of people than what Princess was aiming at.

Would we cruise Princess again? Absolutely

Would we cruise the Ruby Princess again? Sure

By the way the 100% back credit had already been applied to my circle savings account by the time I was back in Alaska.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer.

Edited January 10, 2014 by camarodrivenrs

[rdh rules]

Thanks for your review. I'm glad you enjoyed both cruises. I wouldn't feel like going back to Alaska after all that warm weather:eek:

We're planning on going on the Ruby 4/17-4/22 to Cozumel and Cayman. Was this a 4 or 5 nt? When we did a 7nt on the Crown, they had crablegs and lots of shrimp on the buffet our 1st night. We didn't know about it till they were cleaning up as we had ate in the MDR. Did you see any seafood night in the buffet? When was your formal night? We can't wait! I hate it's a shorter cruise, but my husband doesn't have the vacation time for any longer.

[The Big Booper]

A holiday cruise will always be more crowded then a cruise the following week. How many people were on the Reflection and the Ruby.

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.....:):):)

 

Bob

[marazad16]

I enjoyed your review and thank you for taking the time to write it. We are sailing on the Ruby Monday and this will be our first time with Princess. Looking forward to it and especially some warm weather. We happen to be in A746!

 

Did you try either of the specialty restaurants? Also wondering of this was a more casual dressed crowd due to the shorter sailing?

 

Loved the way you surprised her - sounds like fun! :)

[drarill]

Excellent review!! thanks for sharing your cruises with us!:):)

[sweetsleep]

I am trying to decide to book my first ever Celebrity cruise on the Reflection in early March or go on the Royal Princess or Ruby during that same time period.I have been on the Ruby twice.

Can the OP tell me which ship he liked best between Celebrity and Princess?

I will very likely be sailing solo though

[linny11]

Loved the review. Thanks for posting. I am glad you enjoyed your cruises

[Timbles]

Thanks for your review! I was so totally focused on the fact that this was a Ruby review, I didn't notice your location until you mentioned it. I was beginning to think I was the only Princess fan in the Interior, been in North Pole 26 years.... both my kids are Nanook alums too!

 

We are doing a 5 day Ruby in the end of March, followed by a week on the Royal. We always try to do more than just a seven day cruise to justify these flight costs!

 

I was wondering if the 4/5 dayers were going to wear on the crew, that kind of makes me sad.

[CathyCruises]

We sail mostly Celebrity but sailed on the Sapphire last year. I have to say that after the openness and elegance of the S class ships, I really disliked Sapphire (assuming sister to Ruby). I thought the decor was tacky and I hated the dead ends or seeming dead ends--walls that you walk up to only to find a tiny opening.

 

Our OV room was nice and I did like having the self service laundry; I had a customer service issue which was handled very promptly, and I appreciated that. I also liked that the waiters in the buffet brought your drinks. Did not understand why you had to ask for smoked salmon each day! Why not have it available??

 

I did not like the idea of the 4 separate dining rooms and found them closed-in feeling, with low ceilings, not at all like the grand two story MDR on the X ships.

 

The indoor pool was a loud zoo with kids screaming and game players screaming; since it was an Alaska cruise, the outdoor pools were deserted and there was no place to go to relax, nothing like the (free) Solarium on X ships.

 

I guess a lot is what you are used to--just wasn't for me personally, luckily we have a lot of choices.

[Topo Gigio]

I was on her maiden voyage and wasn't crazy about her design either. I really want to try the Royal or Regal now.

[camarodrivenrs]

I am trying to decide to book my first ever Celebrity cruise on the Reflection in early March or go on the Royal Princess or Ruby during that same time period.I have been on the Ruby twice.

Can the OP tell me which ship he liked best between Celebrity and Princess?

I will very likely be sailing solo though

 

That's a tough one because I've always considered Grand class ships my favorite. I really enjoy the tiered aft end of the Ruby, but I'm not sure if the Royal has that. My girlfriend would definitely say the Reflection. We faced the same decision as we were deciding between the Reflection and the Royal for New Year's. If you drink and can get the 123GO deal, I would definitely suggest going with Celebrity. It was so nice not to have any bill at the end of the cruise.

[rose*]

We are looking at the Ruby Princess for Spring break. My husband and I are mid 50's but love to have fun. Dancing, working out, tennis, running, rock and roll..... Do you think that the Ruby Princess is a good fit for that?

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review.

[scottydog123]

We are sailing the Ruby on 1/27 and we also have Room A747. Picked it because of the larger balcony. Thanks for the review.

 

Quick question, was the water in the pools heated? We sailed on the Crown in February a couple of years back and the first day the pools were super cold and then the next day they had heated them. It was a pleasant surprise.

 

Thanks in advance for your answer.

[camarodrivenrs]

I didn't notice the pools being heated during our cruise. They were chilly at best.

[camarodrivenrs]

We are looking at the Ruby Princess for Spring break. My husband and I are mid 50's but love to have fun. Dancing, working out, tennis, running, rock and roll..... Do you think that the Ruby Princess is a good fit for that?

 

There is fun to be had if you look for it. The night club on Princess is usually not too full, but you see the same faces in there and get to know them and it usually is a good time. It will probably be a party atmosphere during spring break though.