Crown vs Ruby notes from recent cruiser

[nattie]

We have just sailed on Crown in December and followed that with Ruby in January (woo hoo, free cruise!). I just wanted to post my notes on both cruises in case it might help someone.

First of all, I enjoyed both cruises. The ships are almost identical to each other with some very minor differences. To be honest the only 2 i noticed was abscence of kiddie pool on Ruby and chenge of locations for shore excursions desk.

With that out of the way:

· In general, the customer service was better on Crown vs. Ruby. We had one incident at ice cream bar that I am still upset about. It is a silly one really and in no way did it ruin my cruise but I felt like the response I got was not in line with usually high Princess standards. What happened was I went to the ice cream bar on Lido to get my DS ice cream cone. On Crown as well as on all my other Princess cruises I was able to ask for and get real ice cream instead of soft serve with no issues. This time the answer was “no”, real ice cream was for milkshakes only and they refused to scoop some in the cone. My question to why I was able to get it on Crown as well as that I have seen someone else get ice cream in a cup a day before were met with cold stare. Overall, not a big deal by any stretch of imagination, but not the service I expected.

· For those of you with kids. Crown has a hidden gem of kids pool behind Pelicans club – small shallow pool with sun sail over it. Ruby doesn’t have that. Also, on Crown my DS practically lived in kids club but refused to go there on Ruby. Not sure why.

· Guest entertainment was great on both cruises. I love listening to live bands perform. We thoroughly enjoyed the bands, guest entertainers and piazza acts. However, the ships singers and dances were just OK with Ruby crew being just a tad better at their craft.

· Food is a very subjective category, as for myself, I enjoyed the food options on both cruises. It is interesting to note that some things were offered on Crown that was not offered on Ruby and vice versa. I wonder if that is due to itinerary differences or the Chefs?

· Dining room service was good on both ships. We never had to wait long for the anytime dining table (longest was 5 min) and service was prompt and attentive.

· The itineraries are not really comparable and besides we have done Eastern Carib plenty of times, so no comments there. We just did our own thing, i.e. beach time via cab or foot.

Please let me know if anyone has questions, I would gladly try to answer. This community has been wonderful in helping me plan and analyze the options for our cruise vacation. I'll be asking plenty of question when prepping for our next adventure :)

[OCruisers]

Thanks for comparing Crown vs Ruby. :)

 

Have you ever been on Emerald?

 

LuLu

[Steviewonder1]

We've done both ships in the same PH Suite on the Aft of the ship with no soot or odors. Both were wonderful. Only difference we had was on the Ruby in the Eastern Med, the Lobster Tails were half the size we had on the Crown in the New England Cruise. We hosted the M&G on the New England Cruise in our Suite, on the Eastern Med cruise we hosted in Skywalkers Lounge for 80 folks. You will not go wrong on either ship.

[JimmyVWine]

This time the answer was “no”, real ice cream was for milkshakes only and they refused to scoop some in the cone. My question to why I was able to get it on Crown as well as that I have seen someone else get ice cream in a cup a day before were met with cold stare.

 

This would have brought out the Jack Nicholson in me.

 

ME: "I'd like some hand-scooped ice cream please."

 

SERVER: "We don't serve hand-scooped ice cream. We only use that to make milk shakes."

 

ME: "OK then. I'd like a milk shake, but can you hold the syrup? I don't want it to sweet."

 

SERVER: "Sure. I can do that."

 

ME: "Oh. And hold the milk too. And instead of putting the other ingredients in the blender, just put them in a cup."

 

SERVER: "What do you want me to do with the blender?"

 

ME: "I want you to hold it between your knees!"

 

Thanks for the quick review(s).

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your comparison.

[nattie]

Thanks for comparing Crown vs Ruby. :)

 

Have you ever been on Emerald?

 

LuLu

 

No not emerald, most of our princess cruises we did on Caribbean and Crown. We also did Tahitian before she was renamed (one of the last cruises on her). I am looking into Panama Canal this November so we will try new ship too :)

[nattie]

This would have brought out the Jack Nicholson in me.

 

ME: "I'd like some hand-scooped ice cream please."

 

SERVER: "We don't serve hand-scooped ice cream. We only use that to make milk shakes."

 

ME: "OK then. I'd like a milk shake, but can you hold the syrup? I don't want it to sweet."

 

SERVER: "Sure. I can do that."

 

ME: "Oh. And hold the milk too. And instead of putting the other ingredients in the blender, just put them in a cup."

 

SERVER: "What do you want me to do with the blender?"

 

ME: "I want you to hold it between your knees!"

 

Thanks for the quick review(s).

 

I LOVE it! Why do the best comebacks come to you after the fact? Also, I was really trying not to go *** in front of 4 yo DS.

[CI66774]

This would have brought out the Jack Nicholson in me.

 

ME: "I'd like some hand-scooped ice cream please."

 

SERVER: "We don't serve hand-scooped ice cream. We only use that to make milk shakes."

 

ME: "OK then. I'd like a milk shake, but can you hold the syrup? I don't want it to sweet."

 

SERVER: "Sure. I can do that."

 

ME: "Oh. And hold the milk too. And instead of putting the other ingredients in the blender, just put them in a cup."

 

SERVER: "What do you want me to do with the blender?"

 

ME: "I want you to hold it between your knees!"

 

Thanks for the quick review(s).

 

Love, love, love "Five Easy Pieces." Thanks for bringing back one of the greatest bits of dialogue ever!

[Mare10]

Thanks for your comparison. I was just poking around the boards trying to get that!

 

You mentioned the ships for kids. We're taking 2 grandsons.... 15 and 13. Any reason to go on one rather than the other? We're researching an Alaskan cruise in 2015.

 

Thanks!

 

Marilyn

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for posting. I have cruised on the Crown one time and absolutely loved it. I have seen reviews of the Ruby and would love to cruise her one day as well.:):):)