Ruby Princess Review-ish 7/3-7/10 (Alaska)

[gfolchick]

Great trip report...loved that you included menus and clothing! Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures with us, looking forward to our trip later this summer.

[farmgirl65]

Just loving this review! Can't wait to board on the 31st!

 

 

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[gnatz007]

Just loving this review! Can't wait to board on the 31st!

 

 

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You will have an absolute blast. The ship and crew were fantastic!

[gnatz007]

Victoria

Weather: Overcast, high 60’s

Clothing: Jeans, Polo, Fleece – but had to take it off quickly… to hot, rain jackets in the backpack

• We have a condo timeshare, and one of the units is in Victoria, so we were pretty excited to see Victoria and possibly plan a trip in the near future. We were NOT disappointed. We absolutely loved the city! It was friendly, easy to walk around, and stunning! There was just a cool vibe about it.

• We walked over to the fisherman’s wharf, checked out the condo, and then walked over to the Parliament building and the Empress Hotel. Both buildings were very cool!

• We walked up government street and loved all the shops, etc.

• We were most surprised by Victoria on this whole trip. I guess I wasn’t expecting much, but it was such a fun stop for us. The people, the flowers, the architecture, everything. The people should be proud of their city!

 

 

 

 

[gnatz007]

 

 

 

[gnatz007]

Seattle

Weather: Sunny, high 70’s

Clothing: Jeans, Polo

• We weren’t in any rush to get off the Ruby. In fact, we had the attitude of, you will have to pry us off the ship before we will go! We had such a fantastic time. The ship was in beautiful shape, the crew were fantastic, other than the constant drink peddling the first two hours.

• We requested late debarkation, and were given a 9:30 time. We had a rental car waiting for us and planned to see Seattle before catching a later 7:30 flight home. We wanted to treat Seattle as another port stop, instead of just leaving right off the ship.

• We stopped by the Horizon for one last breakfast (they ask you to leave the room by 8:00 to make ready for the next set of excited passengers. So we headed up right at 8:00, had a slow breakfast, and down to the Crown Grill (our debarkation lounge) around 9:15. By 9:25 they called our number and sadly we exited the ship.

• The exit through customs was fast and efficient. We never stopped from the Crown grill all the way to the sidewalk. So have your passports and paperwork ready!

• The Rental Car agency had a van waiting for us to shuttle us to downtown and the car pickup.

• We headed to the Space Needle, since we have only passed through Seattle and never stopped at any of the attractions. One thing we didn’t know (I should have done more research on Seattle) you get a ticket to go up, and there could be a considerable delay. Ours was an hour and a half. No big deal, there was an awesome band playing, and we were content to sit and listen to them.

• Once on top of the needle you are blessed with an incredible view of the city, and the port below. We were sad to see the Ruby in the distance, and would have re-boarded had it been an option for us ;)

• We then headed for Pikes Market which was a ton of fun. Watching the fish mongers, and checking out all the stalls with people selling their wares.

 

That’s about it. I hope you enjoyed the trip, well not as much as us! We had a great time. We did a lot of walking, and still gained 4 pounds. Which luckily came off fast for me! I am back to my pre-cruise weight and will continue to lose more before we board the Crown next spring In the Carribean.

 

Useless fact: during the trip we walked 110,306 steps equaling 64miles. (according to my Garmin Fenix 3)

 

I am happy to answer any questions that haven’t already been answered. I also took many many more pictures and would be happy to share the flikr link (if you haven’t already found it)

 

 

 

 

Edited July 19, 2016 by gnatz007

[akeasley]

Fantastic pictures!! Thanks so much for posting your review.....makes me want to book another trip to Alaska!!

[gnatz007]

Fantastic pictures!! Thanks so much for posting your review.....makes me want to book another trip to Alaska!!

 

Thank you. To be honest, we kind of figured this a "one and done" kind of cruise. My DW tends to like the sun and warmer cruises. After it was all said and done both of us were "oh we will definitely be back!" We will try different itineraries, but I look forward to my next one.

[u2harmony]

Wow....I can't thank you enough for this review, and especially your video of the ship. My husband and I are on this cruise next summer and this was very, very helpful! Glad you guys had such a wonderful time! :)

[AF-1]

great review; thanks for taking the time to post and thanks for all the great pics

[CatsareCool]

Loved the virtual ship tour! OMG! You did get up early, nary a soul around - except in the gym!

If you are going on the Coral next spring (lucky family!) just so you know, the Coral and the Ruby are nothing alike.

Thanks for taking us along on your voyage.

[gnatz007]

Loved the virtual ship tour! OMG! You did get up early, nary a soul around - except in the gym!

If you are going on the Coral next spring (lucky family!) just so you know, the Coral and the Ruby are nothing alike.

Thanks for taking us along on your voyage.

 

My mistake... the Crown! I keep getting those names mixed up...

[Love to Cook!]

Thank you for the wonderful review and all the great photos! I really enjoyed the video. We are sailing on the Ruby next year with 3 other couples and I know they will be excited to see the video. :) :) :)

[gnatz007]

Thank you for the wonderful review and all the great photos! I really enjoyed the video. We are sailing on the Ruby next year with 3 other couples and I know they will be excited to see the video. :) :) :)

 

Glad you enjoyed it. It was kind of an afterthought and I had nothing to do that early in the morning (around 6). I know I missed several areas and I wasn't really taking the time to do it well. I was just trying to capture stuff for our kids...

[Jessejo]

Just want to add my thanks for your wonderful review and fabulous photos and videos. DH and I will be on the Ruby in 18 days - woo hoo. This was a great preview. Thanks again.

[gnatz007]

Just want to add my thanks for your wonderful review and fabulous photos and videos. DH and I will be on the Ruby in 18 days - woo hoo. This was a great preview. Thanks again.

 

You will have a fantastic time! if you happen to stop by the Michaelangelo dining room say hi to M&M!

[cpjo]

Thanks so much for your excellent review of the Ruby. We embark on August 21st. Hubby especially appreciates the info on MDR dressing and copies of the menus.

[calisilent]

Thanks so much for your excellent review of the Ruby. We embark on August 21st. Hubby especially appreciates the info on MDR dressing and copies of the menus.

 

I second cpjo's comments! Your review was awesome and I love your pictures. The ones of Endicott Arm are my favorites!

The menu looks fantastic and when DH and I dine during the week of September 4, we will absolutely partake of the Hazelnut Salmon and I personally may order TWO of the Chocolate Pistachio Dome desserts!

Thanks again for the time spent on writing a lovely review!

Cathy

[gnatz007]

I second cpjo's comments! Your review was awesome and I love your pictures. The ones of Endicott Arm are my favorites!

The menu looks fantastic and when DH and I dine during the week of September 4, we will absolutely partake of the Hazelnut Salmon and I personally may order TWO of the Chocolate Pistachio Dome desserts!

Thanks again for the time spent on writing a lovely review!

Cathy

 

Do, they are the best! We put in our review to Princess that we wished the Pistachio Dome was part of the every night princess favorites dessert menu :D! I hope you have a great time, we sure did. And the salmon was fantastic!

[gnatz007]

Thanks so much for your excellent review of the Ruby. We embark on August 21st. Hubby especially appreciates the info on MDR dressing and copies of the menus.

 

I can't remember if I covered MDR dressing, the clothing I mentioned earlier were our during the day clothes. Realizing that MDR wear becomes a religious battle, I will only state my observations and what we wore.

 

On formal nights, I wore a slacks, dress shirt, tie, suit coat. DW wore a nice skirt, formal-ish shirt. We observed others from a tux, to nice jeans and a nice shirt.

 

On most other, regular nights, I wore a collared golf shirt, slacks and dress shoes. DW wore either a skirt or nice dress pants. We observed others wearing jeans and even t-shirts. However, they stuck out like sore thumbs as there weren't alot of them.

 

One exception, on Victoria night, there is a mad rush to get off the ship at 7:00. The MDR's were all open seating, so people were lined up 30 minutes in advance, and they opened the doors about 15 minutes earlier than their publicized opening times.

 

On Victoria night, most were dressed ready to go out to Victoria. On that night I wore nice jeans and a golf shirt, and DW wore nice jeans, and a nice shirt.

 

They did post a sign no Hats, tank tops, shorts. They were stopping people for those offenses, or jeans with holes. If your jeans were nice, no problems.

[calisilent]

I can't remember if I covered MDR dressing, the clothing I mentioned earlier were our during the day clothes. Realizing that MDR wear becomes a religious battle, I will only state my observations and what we wore.

 

On formal nights, I wore a slacks, dress shirt, tie, suit coat. DW wore a nice skirt, formal-ish shirt. We observed others from a tux, to nice jeans and a nice shirt.

 

On most other, regular nights, I wore a collared golf shirt, slacks and dress shoes. DW wore either a skirt or nice dress pants. We observed others wearing jeans and even t-shirts. However, they stuck out like sore thumbs as there weren't alot of them.

 

One exception, on Victoria night, there is a mad rush to get off the ship at 7:00. The MDR's were all open seating, so people were lined up 30 minutes in advance, and they opened the doors about 15 minutes earlier than their publicized opening times.

 

On Victoria night, most were dressed ready to go out to Victoria. On that night I wore nice jeans and a golf shirt, and DW wore nice jeans, and a nice shirt.

 

They did post a sign no Hats, tank tops, shorts. They were stopping people for those offenses, or jeans with holes. If your jeans were nice, no problems.

 

Thank you for this piece of information! We weren't sure how it would work for Victoria. We have never gone to a port later in the evening. Once we docked at 5 pm in San Juan but it happened to be a time we were not getting off the ship so it didn't matter. DH and I like to dress up, but on this particular cruise we are packing light. No tux for him this go round. Just bringing one Jacket for dinner.

[jormot]

If possible, do you remember which two nights were the formal nights on this cruise? Thanks!

[hollon]

I will be on the Star next May, I am booked at the very back on emerald deck, if I go up to the aft pool, will this be a good view when going into glacier bay, hubbard glacier, etc? Instead of walking all the way forward, or do I need to be upfront - thanks

[gnatz007]

If possible, do you remember which two nights were the formal nights on this cruise? Thanks!

 

 

 

The first day at sea, and the sea day after Skagway.

 

 

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[gnatz007]

I will be on the Star next May, I am booked at the very back on emerald deck, if I go up to the aft pool, will this be a good view when going into glacier bay, hubbard glacier, etc? Instead of walking all the way forward, or do I need to be upfront - thanks

 

 

 

Sorry we didn't do glacier bay so I couldn't comment on that. For just inner passage viewing the aft was our favorite. Every time we would go forward on the promenade or above the bridge, it was breezy to very windy, which would make it quite cold.

 

 

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