Ruby vs. Golden Princess

[Carnevale]

We are looking at two sailings that are one day apart so both are at a good time and both itineraries look good.  One is on Ruby and the other is on Golden.  We’ve only done two Princess cruises both on the Island Princess so both ships are unknown to us and we don’t know how to pick between them.

 

We would appreciate hearing observations on how these ships differ and the pros and cons of each.  In particular, info on where there’s ballroom dancing and how much dancing is available on each ship will be great to get.

 

Many thx in advance for sharing your thoughts!

[cr8tiv1]

I love the Golden Princess.  One less deck (500 passengers) than the Ruby.  Showroom aft so that the CD could possibly schedule 2 performers to break up the crowd.  Other than those two differences, they are "sister" ships.

 

Which itinerary are you thinking of?  The Golden has a covered pool but no thermal spa.

[Carnevale]

5 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I love the Golden Princess.  One less deck (500 passengers) than the Ruby.  Showroom aft so that the CD could possibly schedule 2 performers to break up the crowd.  Other than those two differences, they are "sister" ships.

 

Which itinerary are you thinking of?  The Golden has a covered pool but no thermal spa.

 Thx!  Great info.

 

 We are looking at the Auckland to LA sailings which both ships are doing only the Ruby sailing is one day shorter and the ports differ but the ports on both are all interesting.  So it really comes down to the ship for us.

 

Have you noticed any differences in opportunities for ballroom dancing on these ships?

[OzKiwiJJ]

58 minutes ago, Carnevale said:

 Have you noticed any differences in opportunities for ballroom dancing on these ships?

I haven't cruise on Ruby, but have on Golden and Diamond. On both those cruises they had pre-recorded ballroom dancing music in the Explorers Lounge in the early evenings. Some nights there were entertainers playing dance music in the Wheelhouse Bar at various times.

[cr8tiv1]

Ballroom dancing is decided by the Entertainment Director.  Mark (on the Ruby) was very approachable and I had several conversations with him.  Dancing was pre-dinner in Club Fusion.  The first couple of nights had horrible music.  No one could dance.  After our conversation, the music was great (5:30 - 6:30 ish).  Unfortunately, the back of the ship is not the most stable area for dancing.  Then we had to ask the maintenance people to turn off the strobe lights, flashing lights, etc.  All worked out well, but definitely not enough dancing for me.

 

It is the luck of the draw as to who will be playing in the Explorer's lounge or Wheelhouse on either ship.  I've had terrific bands and not so good ones.  Who can dance to an acoustical guitar?????

 

Another suggestion....if Window Suites are still available on the Golden....grab any one but F301.  You will love the location and full suite perks.  

 

Keep in mind that you will have lots of sea days.  With 500 extra passengers and no one getting off the ship, it will be more difficult to find seating in public areas.

 

 

[sailco]

4 hours ago, Carnevale said:

We are looking at two sailings that are one day apart so both are at a good time and both itineraries look good.  One is on Ruby and the other is on Golden.  We’ve only done two Princess cruises both on the Island Princess so both ships are unknown to us and we don’t know how to pick between them.

 

We would appreciate hearing observations on how these ships differ and the pros and cons of each.  In particular, info on where there’s ballroom dancing and how much dancing is available on each ship will be great to get.

 

Many thx in advance for sharing your thoughts!

The Island Princess is a much newer ship than both the Ruby and the Golden. We've sailed on the Island and the Golden and loved them both despite their obvious differences. Ballroom dancing opportunities are slowly disappearing from all cruise lines unfortunately. We've found dancing to the tunes that we love in an evening venue eg Crooners, can result in ridicule the next day, especially if we've obviously enjoyed dancing together to a range of music...,"oh, too much to drink last night", "showing off eh"?  "making us all look bad?" etc.  So hey, do you have to be drunk to dance in public with your husband these days?  🙃.  We always smile and say "Were you too embarrassed to ask your wife to dance?"

[bvm49]

15 minutes ago, sailco said:

The Island Princess is a much newer ship than both the Ruby and the Golden. .....

Golden 2001

Island 2003

Ruby 2008

Sorry but Ruby is the newest ship.

 

We chose the Ruby for the Vancouver to Sydney cruise in September as it is newer. Also according to an earlier discussion on CC on which to choose as both are repositioning from Alaska to Australia a few days apart; it was stated that Golden is not in a good condition as Princess is selling it to P&O AU.

When we were on the Ruby previously on a 49 night cruise, we didn't find it a problem with the extra passenger deck as there is more public space on this ship than the Golden.

Brian 

[sailco]

11 minutes ago, bvm49 said:

 

Sorry but Ruby is the newest ship.

Brian 

Woops! My mistake. But the OP specifically asked about ballroom dancing. Princess really are removing most evening dancing opportunities for those who enjoy old style music. It's a shame really to see so many people sitting around watching rather than getting up on the dance floor.

[Coral]

I prefer the Golden as it has 500 less passengers and a covered pool. It seems less crowded.

[capriccio]

3 hours ago, sailco said:

 But the OP specifically asked about ballroom dancing. Princess really are removing most evening dancing opportunities for those who enjoy old style music. It's a shame really to see so many people sitting around watching rather than getting up on the dance floor.

Slightly off topic since this is about neither the Ruby nor the Golden...

 

We just returned from a 14 day cruise on the Sapphire Princess and were very pleased to see the Sapphire Show Band do two 45 minute sets in the Wheelhouse and another 45 minute set in Club Fusion.  While not dancers, we enjoyed watching those who did dance and greatly enjoyed the music.  The musicians are so talented and seemed to be having a great time in a less structured setting and obviously the dancers were very appreciative.  I'm going to mention it when I complete my survey today.

[sandybeaches44]

cr8tiv1, why would you consider Golden Princess window suite F301 undesirable?  

 

After looking at the deck plan, I can see it's location is near the  Princess Theater and the Players Cigar Bar.  I will be on the Golden this summer and F301 is the only window suite available.

Thank you.

 

 

Edited June 30, 2019 by sandybeaches44

[EDDY0827]

F301 is a smaller cabin and next to an exit door for the suite hallway(passageway). Other than that, it is a great cabin with an excellent location.

[jondfk]

If F301 were the only Window Suite available I'd take it without hesitation.  It is slightly less desirable given it's smaller size.  The main difference compared to other WS is that the massive 'desk' under the windows is not present in F301.  This reduces flat space and storage somewhat, but the room still has tons of drawer storage.  

 

I'll warn you though that once you've had a window suite you'll be deeply saddened to see them leaving the fleet.  Long Live Grand and CB!  They are the only others that have these on deck 6.

[cr8tiv1]

On 6/30/2019 at 3:22 AM, sandybeaches44 said:

cr8tiv1, why would you consider Golden Princess window suite F301 undesirable?  

 

After looking at the deck plan, I can see it's location is near the  Princess Theater and the Players Cigar Bar.  I will be on the Golden this summer and F301 is the only window suite available.

Thank you.

 

 

 

I'm just spoiled.  F301 is smaller, but the same perks.  If you can keep the hallway door closed, you won't have any problems with the cigar lounge.  The "furthest" forward I've been is F307.  It's above the "bow" and sometimes you can "feel" where the ship cuts through the waves.  The further away from the Princess Theater, the smoother the ride.  Best perk for F301 is that you have an "emergency" bathroom right outside your hallway.  Good to know fact.  

 

I agree, once you've experienced Window Suites on the Grand, Golden, and Caribbean, it's really hard to book anything else.  Location, location, location.  Sure wish Princess would have built newer ships with Window Suites on the Fiesta Deck (not on the higher deck as on the Sky).  

[skynight]

Ballroom Dancing

Ruby

There could be sets of ballroom in Club Fusion. This could include times with recorded music, times with the Princess Orchestra and times with the party band. Club Fusion has the largest dance floor but it is a multi use facility.

The Wheelhouse Bar is divided into sections. One side is the Salty Dog GastroPub. The other is a lounge. Normally there is a duo or small group on board that play in the Wheelhouse Bar. They have sets throughout the evening starting around 7 or 8. They play ballroom dance music, rumbas, fox trot, and others. The dance floor in the Wheelhouse is small. The Party band plays in Club Fusion as well as Explorer's Lounge. The Adagio Lounge is a quiet area. On the Emerald, sister ship, they had jazz there some evenings.

Golden

The Golden does not have Club Fusion. It has the Vista Show Lounge in that space. When the stage is retracted there is a dance floor where they may have sets of ballroom. The Golden's Wheelhouse is smaller than the Ruby, and adjacent to Sabatini's. There should be ballroom in there just like the Ruby.

Both ships have some dancing in the Piazza area.

Watch the Princess Patter for times and locations of live music.

[Coral]

1 hour ago, skynight said:

 

The Golden does not have Club Fusion. It has the Vista Show Lounge in that space. When the stage is retracted there is a dance floor where they may have sets of ballroom. The Golden's Wheelhouse is smaller than the Ruby, and adjacent to Sabatini's. There should be ballroom in there just like the Ruby.

 

Oh I love Vista Lounge vs Club Confusion! I hate the broken up parts of Club Confusion - bad views of what is happening up front.

[greenie082756]

We have been on both the Ruby and Golden.

 

As a matter of fact we will be back on the Golden on July 2020 for a farewell to that beautiful ship. Golden was our first experience with Princess and I look forward to being back on her again. She is headed to P&O is my understanding. 😞

 

With that said, our second favorite is Ruby. We had such a good time on her and did not feel crowded at all.

 

Which ever one you chose I am sure it will be an excellent choice.

 

 

 

[Murphey]

On 6/29/2019 at 8:24 PM, Carnevale said:

We are looking at two sailings that are one day apart so both are at a good time and both itineraries look good.  One is on Ruby and the other is on Golden.  We’ve only done two Princess cruises both on the Island Princess so both ships are unknown to us and we don’t know how to pick between them.

 

We would appreciate hearing observations on how these ships differ and the pros and cons of each.  In particular, info on where there’s ballroom dancing and how much dancing is available on each ship will be great to get.

 

Many thx in advance for sharing your thoughts!

 

We chose the Ruby because of the slight difference in itineraries.  We'd rather go to Kauai than Hilo and since we are doing the cruise to Sydney, the Ruby has more time in NZ.  My sister chose the Golden on price.  Both ships have advantages.  

[sandybeaches44]

Thanks for the information on the Window Suites. 

  Hopefully, in the future , I will be able to enjoy all the benefits of a window suite, that is more mid ship.

[joeyancho]

Been on both ships, both are nice. Ruby a little newer. Ruby has Share, Golden has Sabatinos. Both have a Crown Grill. Golden has a covered pool. Golden does not have gelato at the IC. Either is wonderful.

Edited July 3, 2019 by joeyancho