Just got off the Ruby (April 11 - 16)

[Napagirl]

I just got home and want to give an honest report. This is my experience and opinion, not meant to negate or discredit anyone else. I had seen quite a few complaints here and I was getting nervous - wondering if I should cancel. I'm so glad I didn't! But for those who want to know, as I did in the weeks before we boarded her, this is how it went for us!

 

It's probably no secret that embarkation was long. It was a bummer to be sure, but that was the only negative after five lovely days on the Ruby. We went on this short cruise with no expectations that it would be exactly the same as pre-covid. This was our first cruise after the shut down and we understood that things are different, at least for right now. Our main goal on this trip was to get some time alone together, to relax and restore ourselves. Tip: If you find that your embarkation will be at the much smaller Pier 35, be prepared. Look at the weather, dress accordingly and have sun protection. If you have mobility issues or any other concerns, I suggest going right up to the front and talking to someone. We made friends with the people around us and held each other's space in line when going to the restrooms at Pier 39.

 

What we did to try to mitigate the chances of getting sick: We got our second booster two weeks before sailing. We bought a large pack of KN95 masks and wore a fresh one daily - put on before we walked out of our cabin. I brought Clorox wipes and hit most surfaces, handles, remote control, etc. in our cabin. We made frequent use of hand sani and of course washed our hands often too. Most of our meals were eaten outside or in our cabin - exceptions were Wednesday night at Salty Dog and Thursday night at Sabatini's. For both specialty restaurants we were seated more than 6 feet from other diners. We did enjoy the live jazz in Adagio one night sans masks once we were seated, but again, the room was half full and we were far from others. We never ate in the MDR and we never went to the Princess Theater.

 

For what it's worth, we did see a mix of people wearing masks and not. But not one person ever gave us a dirty look or commented on us wearing them. In fact, people seemed to be in a good mood overall - lots of asking how folks are doing, are you having fun, did you go into the port, have a great day...that sort of thing. 

 

Food: The buffet was alright and a few dishes were pretty good. I have seen some asking about being able to get your own drinks in the buffet - and yes, you certainly could. There are also staff offering to serve you. If you have dietary restrictions, just ask any of the buffet staff for direction. Room service food was ok, delivery was speedy - tip: the portions are very tiny so order two of everything if you're hungry. For example, the guacamole and chips is about a tablespoon of guac. The chili was especially delicious but I wouldn't call it a full serving. Sabatini's was the star! The service, the beauty of the room and the food was great! The casual Salty Dog Pub was also really good and for any of my fellow "veggie"  cruisers, the Beyond burger is a must! We also enjoyed the poolside Salty Dog food - it's a hand made veggie burger for those who want to know, plus they had veggie tacos and french fries. Yum!

 

Activities: We went to two trivia games and as always, had a good time. I sang one song at karaoke  lol I watched them fully sanitize mics in between each singer so I was ok with it. We loved the Princess Jazz Cats in the Adiago bar - sure wish there had been more of that. We also found that the Adiago bar was a good place to play cards during the day as there was usually no one there, though now we have given away our secret. We popped in briefly at Skywalkers one night to enjoy the view and the club vibe.  Good mix of dance music.

 

Staff: Princess staff is still the best! I felt like we were well cared for - they were always ready to go above and beyond. Lots of warmth and friendliness. 

 

Finally: There were only 2100 guests with the capacity of 3800 and we definitely could tell that there were less people than usual. It wasn't difficult to get away from the crowd at all. I don't know how long that will last though. 

 

We feel really good and healthy, but will wait a few days and test at home anyway, since we have to be in close quarters with others soon. I will report back on how we fared. 

 

Feel free to ask questions, as I probably didn't hit every point.

 

[princess76021]

34 minutes ago, Napagirl said:

I just got home and want to give an honest report. This is my experience and opinion, not meant to negate or discredit anyone else. I had seen quite a few complaints here and I was getting nervous - wondering if I should cancel. I'm so glad I didn't! But for those who want to know, as I did in the weeks before we boarded her, this is how it went for us!

 

It's probably no secret that embarkation was long. It was a bummer to be sure, but that was the only negative after five lovely days on the Ruby. We went on this short cruise with no expectations that it would be exactly the same as pre-covid. This was our first cruise after the shut down and we understood that things are different, at least for right now. Our main goal on this trip was to get some time alone together, to relax and restore ourselves. Tip: If you find that your embarkation will be at the much smaller Pier 35, be prepared. Look at the weather, dress accordingly and have sun protection. If you have mobility issues or any other concerns, I suggest going right up to the front and talking to someone. We made friends with the people around us and held each other's space in line when going to the restrooms at Pier 39.

 

What we did to try to mitigate the chances of getting sick: We got our second booster two weeks before sailing. We bought a large pack of KN95 masks and wore a fresh one daily - put on before we walked out of our cabin. I brought Clorox wipes and hit most surfaces, handles, remote control, etc. in our cabin. We made frequent use of hand sani and of course washed our hands often too. Most of our meals were eaten outside or in our cabin - exceptions were Wednesday night at Salty Dog and Thursday night at Sabatini's. For both specialty restaurants we were seated more than 6 feet from other diners. We did enjoy the live jazz in Adagio one night sans masks once we were seated, but again, the room was half full and we were far from others. We never ate in the MDR and we never went to the Princess Theater.

 

For what it's worth, we did see a mix of people wearing masks and not. But not one person ever gave us a dirty look or commented on us wearing them. In fact, people seemed to be in a good mood overall - lots of asking how folks are doing, are you having fun, did you go into the port, have a great day...that sort of thing. 

 

Food: The buffet was alright and a few dishes were pretty good. I have seen some asking about being able to get your own drinks in the buffet - and yes, you certainly could. There are also staff offering to serve you. If you have dietary restrictions, just ask any of the buffet staff for direction. Room service food was ok, delivery was speedy - tip: the portions are very tiny so order two of everything if you're hungry. For example, the guacamole and chips is about a tablespoon of guac. The chili was especially delicious but I wouldn't call it a full serving. Sabatini's was the star! The service, the beauty of the room and the food was great! The casual Salty Dog Pub was also really good and for any of my fellow "veggie"  cruisers, the Beyond burger is a must! We also enjoyed the poolside Salty Dog food - it's a hand made veggie burger for those who want to know, plus they had veggie tacos and french fries. Yum!

 

Activities: We went to two trivia games and as always, had a good time. I sang one song at karaoke  lol I watched them fully sanitize mics in between each singer so I was ok with it. We loved the Princess Jazz Cats in the Adiago bar - sure wish there had been more of that. We also found that the Adiago bar was a good place to play cards during the day as there was usually no one there, though now we have given away our secret. We popped in briefly at Skywalkers one night to enjoy the view and the club vibe.  Good mix of dance music.

 

Staff: Princess staff is still the best! I felt like we were well cared for - they were always ready to go above and beyond. Lots of warmth and friendliness. 

 

Finally: There were only 2100 guests with the capacity of 3800 and we definitely could tell that there were less people than usual. It wasn't difficult to get away from the crowd at all. I don't know how long that will last though. 

 

We feel really good and healthy, but will wait a few days and test at home anyway, since we have to be in close quarters with others soon. I will report back on how we fared. 

 

Feel free to ask questions, as I probably didn't hit every point.

 

Thank you for taking the time to give us a review. Much appreciated by us! 

Hugs

[c-boy]

38 minutes ago, Napagirl said:

 I sang one song at karaoke  lol 

😄 pictures or it didn't happen  lol

[Napagirl]

4 minutes ago, c-boy said:

😄 pictures or it didn't happen  lol

My husband took a video of the whole thing LOL 

[c-boy]

that's true love.  Happy Easter 🐇

[justafem]

I met you! Am on the next leg too.

 

Couple things to add. Internet was almost nonexistent.  It went out every night. 

 

But let's be honest, we don't cruise for Internet. 

 

Issues were difficulties booking dinner.  Unable to link rooms and no room service when Internet was out.

 

As an in-transit pax, I was unable to make reservations for the current leg. So, I have no idea when or where we'll eat.  Feel sorry for us!

 

 

[JimmyVWine]

2 hours ago, Napagirl said:

Our main goal on this trip was to get some time alone together,

 

2 hours ago, Napagirl said:

My husband took a video of the whole thing LOL 

No need to post the video here! 🤣

Thanks for your report. Much appreciated. 

[venussuz]

26 minutes ago, justafem said:

I met you! Am on the next leg too.

 

As an in-transit pax, I was unable to make reservations for the current leg. So, I have no idea when or where we'll eat.  Feel sorry for us!

 

 

Thank you! I'm so glad to hear (mostly) positive reports from you and Napagirl. Getting excited about our TA next month and fully expecting little internet connectivity. As long as we can eat, play trivia and wander around, it will be fabulous.

No sympathy from me, lol, but definitely wishing you a wonderful second leg of the trip.  

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

Thanks for your report.  We hung out in Adagio also and had a wonderful time.  We’re on the 16th also, and are sitting in Adagio passing by Alcatraz.  

[cvpends]

We were on this cruise also, and had fabulous fun!  In addition to what you said, we also loved the game shows in Explorers and enjoyed the house band, Supersonics.

[dog]

Things are looking up. Will follow some same strategies: KN95 masks, Lysol wipes packed. Double vaxed & double booster. We have a suite and will have Club Class or room service.

Do want to see Rock Opera.

[c-boy]

1 hour ago, AnyMajorCruiseDude said:

Thanks for your report.  We hung out in Adagio also and had a wonderful time.  We’re on the 16th also, and are sitting in Adagio passing by Alcatraz.  

isn't wonderful.  Your on vacation relax, enjoy 

[amypete]

We are on Majestic in two weeks. (Hopefully) Is it me or do things seem a bit calmer this week? Don't want to jinx anything.....

[Cruise Raider]

We were on the same cruise and agree with your assessment of the sailing.  

 

A few things to add without writing my own complete review:

 

Cons (I like to always end on a good note):  

- the internet was poor to altogether absent

- the app didn't work for us at all ... I reinstalled it but it only worked for about 10 minutes and didn't work again for the rest of the cruise 

- it was my turn for my medallion to not work ... the front desk gave me a new one and actually ran up to the room for us to see if it worked.  

- the casino was so incredibly smokey, we couldn't even go in there.  It seems as though the formal night wasn't even nonsmoking.  There were a lot of people gambling on this trip and the smoke was noticeable even on decks 5 and 7, but especially on deck 6.  

- no priority boarding and embarkation at Pier 35 was about as bad as it gets

- no elite goodie bag or even Princess blue bag in the cabin (certainly not even an annoyance) 

- some passengers were very rowdy and boisterous on this sailing.  We've cruised several times since the restart and this was one of the more crowded cruises.  We could hear conversations very clearly from other sides of the room.  It was just exhausting that some people were so loud ... I kept wanting to say, 'use your indoor voices people'.   We had to walk out of the production show because the people behind us were talking so loudly with one another, the same thing happened at the Captain's Circle party while the CD and captain's circle host were talking up on stage.  There were even people shouting over to another table in the Crown Grill and in the DaVinci dining room  and of course, in Crooners and in the Piazza.  People would sit right behind us in the theater and not cover their coughs or sneezes.  We ended up skipping those crowded events after that.  

 

Pros:  

- the staff and service were both phenomenal 

- the food was consistently awesome (Crown Grill, DaVinci, IC, poolside grill, Slice).  We never went to the Salty Dog (even though it's one of my favorites), the buffet or Sabatinis.  

- room service food was fast, orders accurate and food was hot and very good

- the entertainment was very good but we missed a lot because of crowded venues or other plans.  Our favorite was Danny, the guitar player and singer in the Wheelhouse or in the Piazza.  The house band was great but we hadn't seen them until midway through the cruise.  The Piano Player in Crooners was very engaging.  Micca, the CD was very funny.  There seemed to be a few more activities and entertainment as the cruise went on.  I think there may have been some quarantine issues at the very beginning of the cruise.

- the officers and upper management definitely had a presence throughout the cruise.

- our stateroom was in full working order and was nice and quiet.  Our room stewards was one of our favorites (we've had the same one for the last three cruises).  

- Vines and the IC are always our go to hangouts ... very fun!!  

- disembarkation was a breeze 

- masking was optional, we wore them in crowded venues and not as often if we were in venues without crowds.  I would say that we noticed only about 1/3 of the passengers wore masks.  

 

The cruise was too short.  Thankfully, we have another one coming up in about a week.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[princess76021]

10 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

We were on the same cruise and agree with your assessment of the sailing.  

 

A few things to add without writing my own complete review:

 

Cons (I like to always end on a good note):  

- the internet was poor to altogether absent

- the app didn't work for us at all ... I reinstalled it but it only worked for about 10 minutes and didn't work again for the rest of the cruise 

- it was my turn for my medallion to not work ... the front desk gave me a new one and actually ran up to the room for us to see if it worked.  

- the casino was so incredibly smokey, we couldn't even go in there.  It seems as though the formal night wasn't even nonsmoking.  There were a lot of people gambling on this trip and the smoke was noticeable even on decks 5 and 7, but especially on deck 6.  

- no priority boarding and embarkation at Pier 35 was about as bad as it gets

- no elite goodie bag or even Princess blue bag in the cabin (certainly not even an annoyance) 

- some passengers were very rowdy and boisterous on this sailing.  We've cruised several times since the restart and this was one of the more crowded cruises.  We could hear conversations very clearly from other sides of the room.  It was just exhausting that some people were so loud ... I kept wanting to say, 'use your indoor voices people'.   We had to walk out of the production show because the people behind us were talking so loudly with one another, the same thing happened at the Captain's Circle party while the CD and captain's circle host were talking up on stage.  There were even people shouting over to another table in the Crown Grill and in the DaVinci dining room  and of course, in Crooners and in the Piazza.  People would sit right behind us in the theater and not cover their coughs or sneezes.  We ended up skipping those crowded events after that.  

 

Pros:  

- the staff and service were both phenomenal 

- the food was consistently awesome (Crown Grill, DaVinci, IC, poolside grill, Slice).  We never went to the Salty Dog (even though it's one of my favorites), the buffet or Sabatinis.  

- room service food was fast, orders accurate and food was hot and very good

- the entertainment was very good but we missed a lot because of crowded venues or other plans.  Our favorite was Danny, the guitar player and singer in the Wheelhouse or in the Piazza.  The house band was great but we hadn't seen them until midway through the cruise.  The Piano Player in Crooners was very engaging.  Micca, the CD was very funny.  There seemed to be a few more activities and entertainment as the cruise went on.  I think there may have been some quarantine issues at the very beginning of the cruise.

- the officers and upper management definitely had a presence throughout the cruise.

- our stateroom was in full working order and was nice and quiet.  Our room stewards was one of our favorites (we've had the same one for the last three cruises).  

- Vines and the IC are always our go to hangouts ... very fun!!  

- disembarkation was a breeze 

- masking was optional, we wore them in crowded venues and not as often if we were in venues without crowds.  I would say that we noticed only about 1/3 of the passengers wore masks.  

 

The cruise was too short.  Thankfully, we have another one coming up in about a week.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thank you for your appraisal,  i love it.  

i always appreciate an honest assessment.

everyone has their own opinion.

and i think that's great.

i always think the cruise is too short, so on the last day

i try to bungee cord and lock myself to the balcony! 

somehow my DH caught on and always has the combination!!

hugs

 

 

[Napagirl]

On 4/16/2022 at 5:40 PM, justafem said:

I met you! Am on the next leg too.

 

Couple things to add. Internet was almost nonexistent.  It went out every night. 

 

But let's be honest, we don't cruise for Internet. 

 

Issues were difficulties booking dinner.  Unable to link rooms and no room service when Internet was out.

 

As an in-transit pax, I was unable to make reservations for the current leg. So, I have no idea when or where we'll eat.  Feel sorry for us!

 

 

Ok, now you have to describe yourself to me and tell me where we met! As for internet - we didn't buy it so had no idea. We used the tv for room service, as the Medallion app really didn't ever work for us. Did you see all the tv options? You could even order things from the stores! Yeah, I'll take a diamond ring and plate of cookies. lol

 

We had pre-booked Sabatini's and walked into Salty Dog. So didn't try to book on board either.

[Napagirl]

On 4/16/2022 at 8:05 PM, Cruise Raider said:

 

- some passengers were very rowdy and boisterous on this sailing.  We've cruised several times since the restart and this was one of the more crowded cruises.  We could hear conversations very clearly from other sides of the room.  It was just exhausting that some people were so loud ... I kept wanting to say, 'use your indoor voices people'.   We had to walk out of the production show because the people behind us were talking so loudly with one another, the same thing happened at the Captain's Circle party while the CD and captain's circle host were talking up on stage.  There were even people shouting over to another table in the Crown Grill and in the DaVinci dining room  and of course, in Crooners and in the Piazza.  People would sit right behind us in the theater and not cover their coughs or sneezes.  We ended up skipping those crowded events after that.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oof - not nice when people don't care about those around them. Especially during a show!!! 

 

Yeah, we skipped all crowds on this cruise. We seemed to always hit the buffet at the right time to avoid most folks - I guess our schedule isn't really typical. Is your next cruise on the Ruby? 

[Napagirl]

I should mention that DH and i have no symptoms of illness. It's too soon to test but so far, so good! 🙂 

[sfaaa]

On 4/16/2022 at 2:55 PM, Napagirl said:

 

 

 I sang one song at karaoke  lol I watched them fully sanitize mics in between each singer so I was ok with it.

 

Does Princess have a good selection of songs on the karaoke list? Was the buffet food station crew or self serve? Thanks.

[Napagirl]

14 minutes ago, sfaaa said:

Does Princess have a good selection of songs on the karaoke list? Was the buffet food station crew or self serve? Thanks.

I couldn't find any karaoke books of songs, so I got in the sign up line and asked. They said there was a QR code in Club Fusion (and we were in Explorers - not sure why they did it that way???). The QR code took you to the list of songs. But in that instance, I just gave them my song and they had it. I never did go check out the QR code for the full list. 

 

The buffet was mostly self-serve. When there was a small salad bar they had a crew member dish it up for you. There was the usual slice and serve meats. And breakfast had someone serving you the oatmeal or congee. There were also many pre-plated items that you could grab and go. 

[Napagirl]

Forgot to mention that the Medallion app didn't work for either of us. We used the tv to order room service and got our own drinks and food when we wanted them. We were hoping to get drinks delivered to us when we were in the hot tub but it wasn't meant to be. lol 

[Cessna140]

Thank you both for giving us info on what its like to cruise on the Ruby.

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, Napagirl said:

Oof - not nice when people don't care about those around them. Especially during a show!!! 

 

Yeah, we skipped all crowds on this cruise. We seemed to always hit the buffet at the right time to avoid most folks - I guess our schedule isn't really typical. Is your next cruise on the Ruby? 

 

No, we have a few on the Discovery before we return to the Ruby.

[Napagirl]

On 4/18/2022 at 5:05 PM, Cruise Raider said:

 

No, we have a few on the Discovery before we return to the Ruby.

Discovery looks like a great ship! I'll be watching for your posts so I can live vicariously. 🙂

[Napagirl]

Hubby tested and got negative. We both feel fine so I haven't tested, but probably will tomorrow just in case. Yay!