My Balanced Ruby Review with Photos

[metairiegal]

Thanks for posting your review and pics. We'll be on the Ruby in a few weeks.

[serene56]

 

Quest - Worst version of Quest I ever saw.....not even close to how RCI does it. It was done at 2:30 on a sea day and the Quests really weren't that funny. The best was when they had to try and get a red vest from a bartender. I guess it was more PG rated, which was what made it a little boring.

 

i dont think any cruiselines comes close to how RCI does the Quest

[bhopal21]

 

However, one thing I forgot to mention, this was about the most crowded feeling ship I have sailed. I don't know Princess, so I don't know if it's by design, space ratio, or just a fluke. It was something both my wife and I noticed. On that first sea day, 2 deck chairs together were not to be found anywhere. You know how there are always open chairs in the more obscure locations, like far away from the pool on a higher deck? Not on Ruby.

 

That is a surprise, since both of us had commented 2 weeks earlier that we felt this was the least crowded of any cruise ship we had sailed. We never had to wait in a line for anything (other than waiting for the pier to open at 1030) and commented frequently on that during our cruise.

 

And we almost did not book the Ruby cruise because we had experienced very crowded conditions on the Emerald (her sister) just a few years back.

 

I guess it just shows how things can vary from cruise to cruise.

 

Paul, I think you did an excellent job of reporting your experiences on your first Princess cruise.

 

Thanks

 

Mike:)

[Aquahound]

Paul, I think you did an excellent job of reporting your experiences on your first Princess cruise.

 

Thanks Mike. You were a wealth of information prior to my cruise and for that, I am very appreciative.

 

Despite the few things I didn't like, most of which could happen on any cruise line, I did have a great time. The ship was very well maintained...except for the daily toilet problems I forgot to mention...which again, happens to every cruise line. There was no obvious rust or corrosion, the carpets looked good, and all the furnishing I saw were in good shape. Other than the few dated areas, the ship looked really good.

[SailinC2C]

Also just off the Piazza on deck 7 was Crooners. This was our most utilized night spot because they had real espresso on hand to make our drink of choice...espresso martinis. There was a nightly piano player taking requests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's in an espresso martini???? It sounds great!

[msmoger]

Loved your review. We were on the Ruby a week before you and experience the same cluster with Anytime Dining that you did.

 

Thanks for writing

 

-Andrew

 

Just wondering if you have any theories as to why these short cruises seem to have this problem with Anytime Dining?

 

We've always had AT and always get a table for 2. We also never go to eat before 8:00 and often closer to 8:15 or 8:30. Yes, we often get a pager but rarely have to wait more than 10 or 15 minutes and could almost always have been seated immediately if we were willing to share a table.

 

I'm not sure why this would be, but do you think it could have anything to do with the passenger mix on the short cruises?

 

Just curious if anyone has an opinion on this. In general, from what I've read over the years and in spite of the occasional gripe, ;) Princess is viewed as doing Anytime Dining somewhat better than many of the other mass market cruise lines.

 

Thanks,

[Aquahound]

What's in an espresso martini???? It sounds great!

 

Only a little piece of heaven on earth! There are several ways to make it, but my preferred version is a shot of real espresso (dont let them use the van-gogh crap), mixed with vanilla vodka and just a little bit of Kahlua for flavor. Don't use too much Kahlua because it will be too sweet. This is the perfect mix if you like the flavor of espresso.

 

If you want a sweeter dessert version, substitute the Kahlua for Baileys and use a full shot of Baileys.

[bhopal21]

Daily toilet problems??

 

I got to hear about this, please.

 

Mike:)

[Aquahound]

Daily toilet problems??

 

I got to hear about this, please.

 

Mike:)

 

Lol. Nah, nothing too intereting. It's just that at least once a day, the toilet in my room would not flush. And you know how it goes, this isn't something you find out until its too late. ;)

 

Come to find out, they are having problems with their vac system. I don't know how much of the ship was affected, but all the rooms near me (R219) were having the same problems and at the same times. We were all shut down at the same time. It was a daily occurance, so it might be a lasting problem.

[bhopal21]

Well that's a bunch of crap, literally.:eek:

 

I would have been down at the PSD complaining.

 

Functioning bathroom facilities are a number one priority and the creature comforts come after that.

 

Mike:)

[CruisinCadie]

Love the review and photos. We will be on the Mar. 10 sailing, and I can't wait.

 

Kathy

[cruiseknots]

Excellent review! Enjoyed reading both the positive and negative. We are diamond on RCI and will be trying Princess for the first time in March! Can't wait!

[MoyCoy]

So, I guess that is it with the photos, so I'll just use this post to finish my review. This is all over the place, but of summary of everything else on my mind.

 

One thing I think Princess can do better...reservations. I like being able to reserve specialty restaurants, or make Anytime reservations online before the cruise. It saves a lot of hassle on board. Plus, it creates a record so when something happens like my experience at the DaVinci, I can show them I am not full of sh.t.

 

Another thing is the room televisions. Come on. It's 2014 and this ship is a 2008. Why no interactive televisions? It would make room service and viewing the charge account so much easier. And again, is a way to confirm dining reservations.

 

We had a bit of a debacle with the steel drum lessons. They only have 15 drums, so I didn't get into the first lesson. However, the staff member running it gave my wife and I tickets to come back for another leson on Sunday. Problem was, the staff member didn't show to regulate it and all the drums were once again taken. It was pointless to even say anything to the instructor.

 

One more gripe....they scheduled the adult comedy show in the Fusion and the room was packed. Every inch of the floor was taken by people sitting. It was ridiculous. The show should have been in the theater.

 

I loved the way they did announcements. It sounded pre-recorded using a professional announcer. Very classy.

 

I also enjoyed they way they showed The Love Boat reruns. That was pretty cool. Although, I kept seeing the same show over and over (3x). Do they not show them all? :confused:

 

I could not have asked for better bar service. Every bartender was very friendly and very accomodating. A+.

 

I'm torn on the muster drill. Princess still requires life jackets be brought when all other major lines have eliminated them. Yeah, it's inconvenient, but the USCG in me thinks it's a good thing.

 

Adagio is a great little secret hideout...if you can find it. They had a piano player there, and the Tirimisu Martini is to die for.

 

There was a nice selection of snacks and Gelato at the International Cafe in the Piazza. The capuccinos were excellent, and were a nice size. The only thing I would add is a sugar free gelato for those of us who keep in shape and try to watch what we eat.

 

All in all, I enjoyed my first Princess cruise. I do not have a new favorite, but will certainly consider Princess in the future. In my opinion, Princess is a lot like cruising Celebrity, but with the activities of Royal Caribbean. In fact, I'd say Princess and RCI are the closest in comparison of the 5 lines I have sailed. I do believe Princess is better than HAL, and MUCH better than NCL. That one's not even close. Of course, I make these comparisons in general because I'm sure Princess' smaller ships are a different experience.

 

Any questions...please feel fre to ask. :)

 

I too am a avid Celebrity/RCL cruiser. I am sailing Princess for the first time with my children in 2 weeks (The Sapphire) I was wondering if you considered the over all service on board to be comparable to Celebrity ?(in spite a few bad nuts) And the main dinning room food, how was it in comparison? Does Princess offer a glass of champagne upon boarding? What are some obvious differences between the two lines?

 

I am pleased you would book with them again. Princess offers more cruises from the West Coast that are under 15 days, which is why we are trying them out. The 4 day sampler cruise at a great price was a no brainer! You mentioned that Princess has more activities than Celebrity..; do they offer classes , lectures, etc. in addition to the group activities?

 

I do miss the active side of a ship when I sail Celebrity, but indeed now that I am a Mom.. all I want is peace and Quiet! We bounce back and forth sailing Celebrity for peace and awesome food/service And RCL for a Rocking Rollin time with a super friendly staff.

[Cruzin-K]

Speaking of the Cruise Director - Look, I really don't care, but does the CD actually do anything social on Princess? Other than his morning show, I NEVER saw this guy. We went to every one of the game shows and he didn't participate in a single one. No biggie because his Activities Director, a French girl who goes by "Frenchie," was hilarious. I'm just curious. It was just one of those things where on day 4 while watching the morning show, my wife asked me, "have we ever seen this guy around?"

 

Speaking of game shows, Princess does most of the typical shows you find on other lines....Majority Rules, Quest, Liars Club, etc. The only unique show I saw was Yes or No, where the contestant could not answer with yes or no answers. However, there was no Love & Marriage type show.

 

Quest - Worst version of Quest I ever saw.....not even close to how RCI does it. It was done at 2:30 on a sea day and the Quests really weren't that funny. The best was when they had to try and get a red vest from a bartender. I guess it was more PG rated, which was what made it a little boring.

 

Thanks for a great review. I sail both lines and like them both. Princess has much better fares for solos though. I can only sail RCI if I find someone to go with me because it's way too expensive on my own :(

 

Sounds like you got a dud for a CD. None of the CD's I've had on Princess have been as good as the best ones on RCI, but I did at least SEE all the CD's on Princess at the theater shows, and welcome back party. Brett Siborne (recently on the Caribbean Princess ran just about all the game shows himself. he seems to really like trivia)

 

There has been a Love & Marriage show on at least two of my Princess cruises. Maybe because you were on such a short cruise they couldn't squeeze it in.

 

I agree completely with what you said about the B2B2B2B2Bers being obnoxious at trivia games. I just experienced this on the Allure, where one couple got a perfect score in the Love & Marriage game, and another group would guess the answer in one type of trivia (a game where you shout out the answers) after the first clue. Really? The activities staff would say "this person was born in 1929" and the group would shout out some celebrity name and it would be correct. We skipped trivia the rest of the cruise after that.

 

 

I'm assuming the laundry room was empty because you were on a 4-day cruise. In two months, this ship will be doing 12-day cruises in Europe and there will be long waits for machines on sea days. ;) Everyone has his own strategy on how to snag machines.

 

I find the Crown Grill to be a step up, in terms of quality of steaks, than Chops.

 

I didn't have a problem with the laundry rooms on my 12 nighter. I guess we just lucked out and hit it at the right times. We only had to wait for a machine once, and we did laundry at least three or four times because it was so darn hot and we couldn't wear things more than once :o

 

I agree that the Crown Grill is better than Chops. I think it's going to be even more so after all the ships get the new and not-so-improved Chops menu :mad:

[Aquahound]

I too am a avid Celebrity/RCL cruiser. I am sailing Princess for the first time with my children in 2 weeks (The Sapphire) I was wondering if you considered the over all service on board to be comparable to Celebrity ?(in spite a few bad nuts) And the main dinning room food, how was it in comparison? Does Princess offer a glass of champagne upon boarding? What are some obvious differences between the two lines?

 

I am pleased you would book with them again. Princess offers more cruises from the West Coast that are under 15 days, which is why we are trying them out. The 4 day sampler cruise at a great price was a no brainer! You mentioned that Princess has more activities than Celebrity..; do they offer classes , lectures, etc. in addition to the group activities?

 

I do miss the active side of a ship when I sail Celebrity, but indeed now that I am a Mom.. all I want is peace and Quiet! We bounce back and forth sailing Celebrity for peace and awesome food/service And RCL for a Rocking Rollin time with a super friendly staff.

 

Hi MoyCoy. :). Unfortunately, I'd have to give ther service a slightly lower rank than Celebrity. With my MDR debacle and inattentive service in Crown Grill, it's tough to say its equal or better. That said, of course I am comparing one 4 day cruise to my overall opinion on several Celebrity cruises. So take that for what it's worth.

 

No, they did not offer champagne and mimosas like on X. I also think Celebrity's MDR food is a little better. But again, I only ate in there 2 nights and sat down already frustrated both times.

 

I don't recall much in the way of classes other than the steel drum lessons and some line dancing classes, and there were no lectures scheduled. It was definitely majority group activities, more like RCI than Celebrity. I'm told the longer cruises are different though.

[Cruzin-K]

They do give you "champagne" if you're in a mini-suite or above.

[MoyCoy]

They do give you "champagne" if you're in a mini-suite or above.

Do they receive champagne in their rooms?

[bhopal21]

Do they receive champagne in their rooms?

 

Those in a mini-suite receive a glass of champagne upon arrival in their cabin and those in full suites receive a small bottle and glass.

 

Mike:)

Edited February 28, 2014 by bhopal21

[Cruzin-K]

Do they receive champagne in their rooms?

 

Both times that I sailed in a mini-suite on Princess, the cabin steward brought two glasses of champagne to the room. We were asked first if we wanted any, then he left to get it, and came back with the glasses.

[MoyCoy]

They do give you "champagne" if you're in a mini-suite or above.

 

 

 

hum did not know that:p

[bhopal21]

Just fyi Cruzin-K, Lee Childers is probably the least liked of any Princess CD and Brett Siborne is right at the top.

 

I am one of those who couldn't care less who the CD is since that is just not a part of our cruise; but I have to say that Brett Siborne was everywhere and never passed us that he didn't speak when we were on his ship.

 

Mike:)

[Aquahound]

They do give you "champagne" if you're in a mini-suite or above.

 

Thanks. I didn't know that. I took the question as referring to the initial boarding.

[PinkMEB]

Thank you for your excellent review with photos. You must have taken them very early in the mornings because I didn't see any people! My daughter and I are taking the Ruby four-day cruise this week. How was the temperature in the public rooms? Was the AC cold? Overall for dining do you recommend the buffet over the dining rooms? We are in a mini-suite so I guess our balcony is open. This is my 7th cruise, but the first on Princess.

[Aquahound]

Thank you for your excellent review with photos. You must have taken them very early in the mornings because I didn't see any people! My daughter and I are taking the Ruby four-day cruise this week. How was the temperature in the public rooms? Was the AC cold? Overall for dining do you recommend the buffet over the dining rooms? We are in a mini-suite so I guess our balcony is open. This is my 7th cruise, but the first on Princess.

 

Hello. :) most of the interior pictures were taken when I first boarded or at times nothing was going on.

 

The temp was fine through most of the ship. I gauge it on my wife, who never complained except for in one area. The only area it felt chilly was on deck 7, starboard side, in the photo area.

 

As you and I know, dining recommendations are very subjective, but if I had this 4 nighter to do again, I would skip the MDR all together. The chaos just wasn't worth it. I never thought I would say this, but the buffet was a much more pleasant experience.

[OCruisers]

They do give you "champagne" if you're in a mini-suite or above.

 

Sorry to be a "Fun Sponge" ... but it's sparkling wine and taste awful. :rolleyes:

LuLu

~~~