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Ruby Princess Alaska RT Seattle (7/29) from an (almost) new cruiser

ams cruiser

By ams cruiser,
in Princess Cruises

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  • 2 weeks later...
ams cruiser

ams cruiser

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ams cruiser; great pics on this page. I am proud of you; now you will be a master of posting wonderful pics. Have a great day

 

AF-1, thank you so much for the tutorial. I couldn't have done it without you! I don't know when my next cruise will be, but if I ever write another review, I'll come back to this thread for your postings!

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Durbanite2000

Durbanite2000

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Glacier Bay

 

We were up on the Promenade deck a little after 6 a.m., equipped with cameras and binoculars, and stayed there until almost noon! It was definitely cold early in the morning. It was the first time I wore my light-weight down jacket and gloves, but warmed up as the morning went on. The national park ranger said they only get around 12 sunny days like that a year, so, once again, we were quite fortunate.

 

Before arriving at Glacier Bay, I couldn't have imagined standing out on a deck for almost 6 hours, but we were mesmerized by the sounds of calving and the majesty of our surroundings. It was so calm and beautiful, the captain actually did two 360 degree turns of the ship, so we could enjoy everything twice! At some point in the morning, the park ranger got on the loudspeaker, and gave an interesting narration. (Throughout the cruise, whenever we were in our cabin in daylight hours, we would have our television on the ship's camera station, as this is where any narrations would be broadcast.)

 

One wildlife highlight was a brown bear that was swimming right next to our boat. He passed by so quickly in the current, that it would have been easy to miss him. We, personally, did not see any whales in Glacier Bay, but talked to someone who said that just as he was returning to his aft balcony cabin as we were leaving Glacier Bay, a whale breeched right outside of his balcony window!

 

At noon we went up to the Horizon Court Buffet for the first time, and really enjoyed their seafood buffet. (Picture posted earlier in this review under dining.) The views were magnificent from our table, and we even got some good pictures through the windows.

 

In the afternoon we went back to our port-side balcony cabin to enjoy the view and take more pictures.

 

As I mentioned earlier, no disposable products were allowed while we were in Glacier Bay. We were so glad that we had purchased a thermal Princess coffee mug earlier in the week, as the store wouldn't open until much later in the morning. (I'm hoping that Princess considers my suggestion to have the mugs available for sale right at the International Cafe, especially on Glacier Bay day.) I realize we could have brought one from home, but honestly, don't think we could have fit it in our suitcase![

 

Thank you so much for your review! Great info! Quick question--if you have a balcony, why go to the Promenade for Glacier Bay? Do you need to reserve seats? I think I read people had to reserve lounge chairs?

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ams cruiser

ams cruiser

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Thank you so much for your review? GreT info! Quick question--if you have a balcony why go to the Promenade for Glacier Bay? Do you need to reserve seats?

 

Our balcony was on the port side, so our view was limited to whatever was on that side. When you go all the way forward on the Promenade deck, then up a short flight of steps, you have access to both sides of the ship, as it is just a few steps to go from port to starboard as the ship turns. Many people go all the way to the top of the ship, but it tends to be more crowded. Also, on the Promenade, you are undercover if it rains. There are no seats as it is just a deck.

 

We did use our balcony in the afternoon, where we had beautiful views as we sailed out of Glacier Bay. Because we were graced with beautiful weather all weak, we got quite a bit of use out of our balcony.

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haymary

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thank you for your review. We JUST yesterday put our deposit down on the Ruby Princess 6/30/18 and this is basically the first post i'm reading on Cruise Critic. How lucky i am to have found this. Super informative and helpful.

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ams cruiser

ams cruiser

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thank you for your review. We JUST yesterday put our deposit down on the Ruby Princess 6/30/18 and this is basically the first post i'm reading on Cruise Critic. How lucky i am to have found this. Super informative and helpful.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic! I have gotten so much help from these boards in planning my Alaska cruise, (not to mention how much I enjoyed reading about other people's cruises over the years!)

 

There is so much information about a variety of topics on these boards that will help you plan your cruise. Be sure to check for price drops on your fare, because you can get adjustments (although you have to make sure you aren't losing any perks in making changes) before you make final payment. That being said, we booked almost a year in advance, and the rates only went up during that year.

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ams cruiser

ams cruiser

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I'll add to the many who have thanked you for a thorough review. I will be on the Ruby Princess this time next year! You've provided so much great information.

 

So glad that this was helpful. I tried to put together information about the many questions I had in planning our cruise.

 

How exciting that you have such a wonderful cruise to look forward to next year!

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Lulubelle45

Lulubelle45

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First review??? Wow you did a fabulous job!! Been to Alaska 1 1/2 times ( a 4 day sampler on the Coral + a 7 day on Celebrity) so I was more interested on info on Ruby as I'm sailing on her Oct 1. Do you recall what deck you boarded on?? Any hidden must see spots on the ship?? Glad to see you had awesome weather too. I have yet to see rain in Ketchikan!

 

Sent from my SM-G903W using Forums mobile app

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ams cruiser

ams cruiser

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First review??? Wow you did a fabulous job!! Been to Alaska 1 1/2 times ( a 4 day sampler on the Coral + a 7 day on Celebrity) so I was more interested on info on Ruby as I'm sailing on her Oct 1. Do you recall what deck you boarded on?? Any hidden must see spots on the ship?? Glad to see you had awesome weather too. I have yet to see rain in Ketchikan!

 

Sent from my SM-G903W using Forums mobile app

 

Thanks so much. Writing a review for the first time is a bit intimidating, as I was wondering if anyone would be interested in our trip. (I reasoned that at least I would have a trip journal I could always look back at to remember what a wonderful time we had.)

 

Oh my gosh, I am so directionally challenged, I was constantly running up and down the stairs, trying to find places I visited every day, like the International Court. I'm sorry, but I have no idea what deck we boarded on. It's really a mystery to me the different ways we got on and off the ship, depending on the port.

 

We didn't really look for hidden spots, although a couple we dined with told us they loved an area outside of Cafe Caribe (on the far end of the Horizon Court) where they would sit every day. We found our Glacier Bay lookout forward on deck 8 (a short flight up from the Promenade deck) to be a perfect sheltered place to spend the morning on Glacier Bay.

 

Rain was predicted for every day we were in Alaska, but we never saw a drop. (Eleven inches of rain the weekend before we arrived in Ketchikan!) We really went with the expectation that it would rain, and that flights might be cancelled, but we were determined to have a great time, no matter what.

 

Your third time back to Alaska - how wonderful!

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Lulubelle45

Lulubelle45

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Thanks so much. Writing a review for the first time is a bit intimidating, as I was wondering if anyone would be interested in our trip. (I reasoned that at least I would have a trip journal I could always look back at to remember what a wonderful time we had.)

 

Oh my gosh, I am so directionally challenged, I was constantly running up and down the stairs, trying to find places I visited every day, like the International Court. I'm sorry, but I have no idea what deck we boarded on. It's really a mystery to me the different ways we got on and off the ship, depending on the port.

 

We didn't really look for hidden spots, although a couple we dined with told us they loved an area outside of Cafe Caribe (on the far end of the Horizon Court) where they would sit every day. We found our Glacier Bay lookout forward on deck 8 (a short flight up from the Promenade deck) to be a perfect sheltered place to spend the morning on Glacier Bay.

 

Rain was predicted for every day we were in Alaska, but we never saw a drop. (Eleven inches of rain the weekend before we arrived in Ketchikan!) We really went with the expectation that it would rain, and that flights might be cancelled, but we were determined to have a great time, no matter what.

 

Your third time back to Alaska - how wonderful!

Oh. I must clarify, I'm doing a Pacific Coastal on the Ruby down to LA. I totally get the disorientation on ship. I was on the NCL Pearl last year and thank God for the carpeting. The fish pattern always faced the bow off the ship. If I noticed them swimming downstream I knew I was heading to the stern. Also HAL ships have the day of the week carpet in the elevators. Most ships have the theater at the bow and MDR and buffet at stern lol all about the food!

 

Sent from my SM-G903W using Forums mobile app

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ams cruiser

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Most Princess ships have port coloured carpets on the port side and blue on starboard, and cabin numbers increase from the front (bow) of the ship to the rear (stern)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Thank you. That would have been handy for me to try to remember! One good thing that came out of getting turned around, was that I got a lot of exercise going from place to place!

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Steelers0854 "Live from...." Rare

Steelers0854

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Thanks for such an amazing review!

 

On motion sickness. DW used to have terrible motion sickness like you do. She had to be in the front seat of the car with the air blowing on her or she would be sick.

 

One Cruise we were talking with our tablemates to dinner and one of the women there said she had terrible motion sickness until she got acupuncture and now she has no issues. So DW decided to give it a try while on the cruise and it worked like a charm! She no longer gets sick in cars and she only has to take a small meclizine when the ocean gets rough on cruises.

 

I would encourage you to look into it, either wait til your next cruise and have them do it on board or find a reputable acupuncturist near you at home.

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ams cruiser

ams cruiser

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Thanks for such an amazing review!

 

On motion sickness. DW used to have terrible motion sickness like you do. She had to be in the front seat of the car with the air blowing on her or she would be sick.

 

One Cruise we were talking with our tablemates to dinner and one of the women there said she had terrible motion sickness until she got acupuncture and now she has no issues. So DW decided to give it a try while on the cruise and it worked like a charm! She no longer gets sick in cars and she only has to take a small meclizine when the ocean gets rough on cruises.

 

I would encourage you to look into it, either wait til your next cruise and have them do it on board or find a reputable acupuncturist near you at home.

 

Thank you for the acupuncture suggestion! This is one treatment for motion sickness that I hadn't heard about. I do see a wonderful acupuncturist from time to time - a woman from China who has been in practice for over 30 years - but have never asked her about motion sickness. Interesting that the effects last beyond the actual treatment period. I'll definitely bring it up with her next time I see her.

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Steelers0854 "Live from...." Rare

Steelers0854

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Thank you for the acupuncture suggestion! This is one treatment for motion sickness that I hadn't heard about. I do see a wonderful acupuncturist from time to time - a woman from China who has been in practice for over 30 years - but have never asked her about motion sickness. Interesting that the effects last beyond the actual treatment period. I'll definitely bring it up with her next time I see her.

 

 

 

I want to say it's been 4 or 5 years since she had it and still no issues, she said it's been the best thing she has done.

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ams cruiser

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I want to say it's been 4 or 5 years since she had it and still no issues, she said it's been the best thing she has done.

 

I just Googled acupuncture and motion sickness and came across quite a few testimonials for its effectiveness. A couple people mentioned taping an ear bead to one ear at a specific pressure point that the cruiser would rub when starting to feel nauseous. (One happy client mentioned she got the idea of acupuncture from reading the "Outlander" series in which Jamie gets acupuncture on board a ship while in the depths of seasickness! But, I digress...)

 

I'm definitely going to give it a try before my next cruise, which, unfortunately is not even in the dream stages yet.

 

So happy for your wife, as being seasick is a miserable experience. Thanks, again, for sharing.

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