First time Princess, Usually go Celebrity or Royal.Ruby Princess to Alaska REVIEWS :(

[jled]

Help...I need some reassurance...I know food is subjective and some people are just complainers...( the bedspread is worn..really????).. I have sailed on every line except Princess...about twenty cruises over the years...I love Celebrity and Royal...but I have been reading the reviews and am starting to get a little worried. I booked the Ruby Princess April 28, 2018 because the itinerary for Alaska and flying in and out of Seattle ( had a companion ticket to use ) really worked for me. Booked in Aft Premium Balcony R51...I am just getting a bit apprehensive over the level of complaints...I am pretty easy going when it comes to cruises....I am on a cruise..How bad could it really be???

 

I am booked in Anytime dining..and am very surprised that you can't make advance reservations..I like to eat around 7:30-8:00, but I totally will just get a pre dinner cocktail if there is a wait ( I have the Sip and Sail promo beverage package).. Please...some reassurance for a Princess Newbie....

 

Oh.. about us......we are a long married couple..early 50's from NY.. thanks in advance...

[releck97]

Enjoy your cruise! The Ruby is a beautiful ship. We have been on her twice. We love everything about the ship.

[waltd]

If you like a later dinner then anytime dining will work for you. Princess anytime dining has more issues for the early seating 5:30 to 7:30

[JF - retired RRT]

Help...I need some reassurance..

Booked in Aft Premium Balcony R51 Aft balconies are fantastic!...

I am just getting a bit apprehensive over the level of complaints...always take complaints with a BIG grain of salt.

 

I am booked in Anytime dining..and am very surprised that you can't make advance reservations..Depends on the ship & the maître D'

I like to eat around 7:30-8:00, Rarely a wait at that hour. Usually the wait is really long between 5:30-6:30

Please...some reassurance for a Princess Newbie....

Go with your mind make up to enjoy yourself and you will.;)

[moki'smommy]

Don't listen too much to the complaints. If you have any time dining, you CAN call the DINE line in the morning and make a reservation for that evening. Alternatively, you can choose fixed (traditional) dining.

 

Food is subjective, but Princess has reduced their menu quality lately (hamburger replacing steak!) But the Alaska menu was the best cruise food we've ever had. Princess specialty dining is not as fancy as Celebrity but not as expensive either. Princess afternoon tea is very basic (tea, scones, desserts, sandwiches), but is free. Celebrity has a bigger assortment, white gloved waiters, and a fat charge for what you get.

 

Princess' beverage package was better than Celebrity's, even with the recent changes. First, the vast majority of beverages are included in the Princess package while Celebrity had lots of drinks that were over the price limit. Secondly, my daughter never had a problem getting a diet coke refill on Princess. On Celebrity, refills at dinner were very slow in arriving.

 

Bedspread worn??? First of all, they have duvets, not bedspreads. Secondly, the ships all rotate thru a replacement and refurb schedule. There are lots of ships; not everything happens on all ships at the same time.

 

Bottom line--I can find something that I liked best about every line we've cruised and something I didn't like. Same for individual ships. Princess and Celebrity are pretty much the same in a lot of ways, and definitely a step up from Royal Caribbean (IMHO) That said, Celebrity's suite level is a lot more fancy with more perks than Princess.

[Bimmer09]

I have sailed the Ruby twice and would gladly do a third. There's a different crew on her now no doubt (as there was each time I sailed her) but Princess has standards that are usually pretty high so go and enjoy!

Norris

Edited March 26, 2018 by Bimmer09
spelling

[4cats4me]

You will be fine. Some people complain about everything.

My Time Dining runs quite well. Anytime Dining does not, depending on what time you show up for dinner.

For example, on most Princess ships there are three dining rooms, one that is reserved for only traditional dining, one that is reserved for only Anytime dining, and one that is traditional for the first seating only, but then opens up to Anytime diners at approx 7:45,

so we were successful dining without a wait if we showed up as soon as Anytime opened up in that dining room. Also, after dining there on the first night we were actually able to reserve that Same

Table for the duration of the cruise. They don’t always allow that, but we have done this a few times.

Also, much like on land, the restaurants will be crazy busy between 6:00-7:30. We’ve noticed a trend over the last few years where majority of West Coast cruises have packed dining earlier and walk-in at any time dining from 8:00 on. It used to be the opposite.

 

Princess does Alaska best. We sailed on X to Alaska and enjoyed it a lot, but Princess’s programs are better, as well as their naturist speakers.

[Woobstr112G]

Help...I need some reassurance...I know food is subjective and some people are just complainers...( the bedspread is worn..really????).. I have sailed on every line except Princess...about twenty cruises over the years...I love Celebrity and Royal...but I have been reading the reviews and am starting to get a little worried. I booked the Ruby Princess April 28, 2018 because the itinerary for Alaska and flying in and out of Seattle ( had a companion ticket to use ) really worked for me. Booked in Aft Premium Balcony R51...I am just getting a bit apprehensive over the level of complaints...I am pretty easy going when it comes to cruises....I am on a cruise..How bad could it really be???

 

I am booked in Anytime dining..and am very surprised that you can't make advance reservations..I like to eat around 7:30-8:00, but I totally will just get a pre dinner cocktail if there is a wait ( I have the Sip and Sail promo beverage package).. Please...some reassurance for a Princess Newbie....

 

Oh.. about us......we are a long married couple..early 50's from NY.. thanks in advance...

 

You can call the dine line to make reservations, but allowing reservations (IMHO) is one of the reasons Princess has so many issues with ATD.

 

Have a wonderful cruise. We've sailed twice on the Ruby (2009/2011) and thoroughly enjoyed both voyages.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Tapi]

I haven’t sailed on Celebrity, but I’ve sailed on Royal several times. I’d place Princess one notch above Royal. But Princess won’t wow you the same way that Royal does (with their innovative approach to cruising, enormous ships, and endless list of activities and entertainment). But they will wow you with their attention to detail, customer service, more elegant ambiance, and overall better quality. We considered their cuisine to be much better than Royal, including their buffet.

 

Overall, we considered Princess a better option for a cruise just for my wife and I, but we consider Royal a better option when traveling with our young and very energetic children.

 

 

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[busterfla]

If 7:30-8:00pm is your preferred dining time, you should have little or no wait. That is our normal time and on most of the ships we walked in (either a two top, no share or a four top, again no share). If we find a table with great staff that we want to return to, we call the dine line (opens @ 8am) and ask for the table by number and dinning room and say 7:30 or 8pm, never a problem.

[joeyancho]

You will love the Ruby. We are in your demographic and choose to sail Princess since our first cruise with them. We had over 30 on other lines.

[skynight]

You will have a great time. R751 is a nice cabin in a nice location. If you enjoy dining late you will not have any problems. You should be seated quickly as an extra DR is available for ATD starting at 7:30. Early dining is more difficult. Most ships allow reservations for ATD by call the DINE line around 8am. Don't forget to try the International Cafe open 24/7. Good for lunch, breakfast, and sometimes even dinner and for nice espresso drinks. You have the beverage package which will include about 95% of all alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks offered on the ship, excludes room service. If you enjoy wine, try Vines in the Piazza.

[Sacto Rick]

We would be glad to hold your hands through this frightening experience for complimentary tickets.;)

 

j/k You should have a great cruise. On our cruises, we always use traditional but the anytime diners could call and reserve a dinner time. And besides that, like others have said, the busy time is more like 6:30. You shouldn't have any problem if you like dining between 7:30 and 8:00.

[DD692]

Help...I need some reassurance...I know food is subjective and some people are just complainers...( the bedspread is worn..really????).. I have sailed on every line except Princess...about twenty cruises over the years...I love Celebrity and Royal...but I have been reading the reviews and am starting to get a little worried. I booked the Ruby Princess April 28, 2018 because the itinerary for Alaska and flying in and out of Seattle ( had a companion ticket to use ) really worked for me. Booked in Aft Premium Balcony R51...I am just getting a bit apprehensive over the level of complaints...I am pretty easy going when it comes to cruises....I am on a cruise..How bad could it really be???

 

I am booked in Anytime dining..and am very surprised that you can't make advance reservations..I like to eat around 7:30-8:00, but I totally will just get a pre dinner cocktail if there is a wait ( I have the Sip and Sail promo beverage package).. Please...some reassurance for a Princess Newbie....

 

Oh.. about us......we are a long married couple..early 50's from NY.. thanks in advance...

 

We sailed the Ruby last year for our annual Alaska cruise and enjoyed the ship. We have found that most of the negative comments are subjective in nature. We have sailed Princess 18 times (19 coming up at the end of May on the Emerald in Alaska) and have found that most of the complaints about the ships we have sailed on we had no problems with. Just enjoy your Alaska cruise on the Ruby.

[freddybeachpete]

Our 3 x Princess cruises have all been +++ enjoyable. Always chose Anytime Dining and no complaints. Most nights we were seated right away. A couple of times had a short wait but they gave us a pager, we went for a pre-dinner drink and it was no bother at all. Enjoyed being seated with new and diverse dinner companions each night. Food and service was just fine. Bon voyage !!

[Jersey42]

As others have said, if you want to eat after 7:30 you should have little or no wait. If you don't mind sharing a table with other couples, you can often get seated quickly, even during the peak hours of 6:00 - 7:30. Unfortunately the habits of the people on your specific cruise will affect the wait. Usually we figure out the best times to avoid or arrive after the second night.

[ericopia]

I'm glad to have stumbled on this thread; I was feeling the same way and I'm glad to see some reassurances. Our first Princess cruise is coming up, too, and the complaints on this board have sometimes made me feel a little dread and "buyer's remorse" over the steady stream of "decline of service on Princess" messages. I'd almost started a thread "What do you LIKE about Princess?" because of how much negativity I've seen. Before our first cruise with Celebrity, the complaints I tended to see on that board were more about the line refocusing on a younger demographic, which was fine by us.

 

(I'll say that the vehemence against ATD really has surprised me the most; we've done the comparable flex-time dining option once on RCL and twice on X; both lines took reservations for their ATD, if I recall, and neither had the kind of issues it sounds like Princess — and some of her long-time/loyal customers — seems to have with it.)

[avcruz]

Since Princess started offering Anytime Dining, that is what we have always chosen. We too prefer to dine 7:30 - 8:00 and in all our years of cruising have only had to wait longer than 5 minutes once. We were given one of those light-up hockey pucks, went to Crooners for a cocktail, and were flashing within about 20 minutes.

It is usually faster to be seated if you are willing to share a table. Not all ships have a lot of two-tops.

 

 

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[fishywood]

I am booked in Anytime dining..and am very surprised that you can't make advance reservations..I like to eat around 7:30-8:00, but I totally will just get a pre dinner cocktail if there is a wait ( I have the Sip and Sail promo beverage package).. Please...some reassurance for a Princess Newbie....

 

 

What Princess has is true Anytime Dining. If on a certain night you wish to eat a bit earlier or later than your usual time you are free to do so. Unlike RCI and X which put a ridiculous amount of pressure on their My Time Dining patrons to make a standing reservation for the same time and table every night. And if you show up without a reservation you risk being told to go to the buffet, that no more people can be seated for the rest of the evening.

 

Trust me, you will never go back to the clusterflop that is My Time Dining after cruising Princess.

[jled]

Thanks so much for all the reassurance...I usually don't get too crazy about reviews...but there don't seem to be any positive ones! This is my first Alaska cruise..I live in New York and am looking forward to it. I usually cruise in the Caribbean so this will be a very different experience..but I have cruised in Japan and Italy too...I have no problem dining at a big table...love to meet new people. On my last Celebrity ( Reflection), all the two tops in the anytime dining were very close to each other, and we found we liked the table guests on each side, so we all dined at the same time every night to be " together: but still separate...

[suec12]

We are long time X cruisers but did Ruby last summer to join family members. We have now booked another Ruby cruise. In the summer, family wanted traditional dining at 6:00 which turned into 5:30 :( Next cruise, next week!, we will try traditional so I can post on how that goes.

 

About food - I thought the Princess MDR was pretty good but I will say, X does better beef and lamb; Princess IMO does much better seafood - not so much fish, but the other options. They had a variety of entrees with shrimp, scallops, lobster, even snow crab legs which were quite nice. And the fettucini alfredo made an excellent "side" for the seafood. We did really miss the escargot and French onion soup, but overall we ate every night in the MDR and were not interested in the specialty options.

 

I would not post about a worn bedspread but food would be a deal breaker for me!

[XBGuy]

To the OP and others who can't find a favorable review of the Ruby Princess, I might suggest you look at this thread:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2615960

 

This lady just completed two back-to-back cruises. I think it's a reasonably good report--she seems to be able to report both the good and the bad--and she has some pretty good pictures of the ship.

 

 

I should also mention that, typically, there is an excellent "naturalist" on the Princess cruises--not "naturist." (Look it up.) ;):eek:

 

BTW, we will be cruising to Alaska on the Emerald Princess--sister ship to the Ruby Princess--at the same time as the OP.

[LeeW]

You will find Princess to be very similar to Royal. The only problem I can see for you is that April is pretty early for Alaska. Might impact where the ship can go.

 

As others have said, Anytime can be a pain to get into if you don't show up when it opens and want to eat before 7 or so. After that you should be able to just walk in (two dining rooms open for Anytime after about 7:30). Food is about the same as Royal except no steak available every night. On most ships if you really want a reservation you must call exactly at 8 AM for that day. Hard to get through on the DINE line.

 

While we like to fly into Seattle, we really prefer to drive up to Vancouver for the cruise. But those cruises are generally one-way to or from Alaska. Last time we did a B2B from there.

 

Alaska cruises are very different than Caribbean. It is all about the scenery (although they do offer a snorkeling excursion in Ketchikan).