Live from the Ruby Princess - 10 day Alaska Inside Passage 5/20-5/30

[Phantom of the Seas]

review of “Good Spirits of Sea” bar or bar menu if can...& thanks for MDR menus......

[tcdcruiser]

Nowadays Headwaiter are called restaurant managers.  Silly but true

 

My suggestion....ask a restaurant manager (aka Headwaiter) during embarkation lunch in the MDR.  Offer to come in late (7pm) and  offer that a window table is not necessary and you will increase your odds dramatically.  

Asking at 5pm dinner on night one is problematic since at that moment with a whole ship of new passengers it is total chaos in the MDR.  Not a good time to ask for a favor. 
 

If you cruise a LOT you will eventually know a lot of MDR staff and that makes the whole process easier.  We frequently have a table arranged prior to embarkation 

 

 

 

[7seascruising]

Captain’s announcement at noon included the news that we are skipping Icy Strait Point. I was planning on doing the ZipRider for the second time, so quite the bummer. Actually bought video equipment to film it and everything. The change is due to the rough seas we encountered on the way up the coast. If you’ve not experienced the ZipRider, it’s an awesome experience. Maybe next time. 

[memoak]

12 minutes ago, 7seascruising said:

Captain’s announcement at noon included the news that we are skipping Icy Strait Point. I was planning on doing the ZipRider for the second time, so quite the bummer. Actually bought video equipment to film it and everything. The change is due to the rough seas we encountered on the way up the coast. If you’ve not experienced the ZipRider, it’s an awesome experience. Maybe next time. 

If you are going to Ketchikan check the zip line tour in the forest 

[7seascruising]

21 minutes ago, memoak said:

If you are going to Ketchikan check the zip line tour in the forest 

I’ll have to look that up. Thanks!

[7seascruising]

Day 5 MDR Dinner menu

[weedpindle]

On 5/21/2022 at 10:02 AM, tcdcruiser said:

I’m also aboard.  Both speciality  restaurants are definitely not open every night.  However the pax load is around 2000, so I think supply is being driven by demand. 
 

Fighting 30+ knot headwinds.  Only averaged a speed of 10 knots overnight. Currently racing at 14 knots.  

On this and previou cruise. Staff shortage is the reason they are open alternating mights

[7seascruising]

Day 6 MDR Dinner menu

[grimpil]

Have they altered the menu in CG or sabatinis to reflect the new Alaskan seafood menu?

[HaveDogWillTravel]

On 5/21/2022 at 7:21 PM, cruzin4us said:

 

 

If you wouldn't mind asking, that would be a super big help to me.   We sail June 9th if that helps any.   Thank you so much!!!!

Dennis and Carlos managers of Sabatini’s and Crown respectively were both at Sabatini’s tonight. They both said they wouldn’t know until the 29th which restaurant would be open on the 30th. And they said if you’re booked fir a night they are shut they automatically move you to the next night. If you want to keep the same night they do their best to accommodate you in the other venue. 
 

captains announcement was 2080 passengers 1084 crew. 
 

I will try to post pictures of Sabatini’s menu they added something for the Alaska bit and gave it a $5 up charge. They don’t have the crunchy bread sticks anymore.  Hopefully the picture of the new bread posts. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

[cruzin4us]

44 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Dennis and Carlos managers of Sabatini’s and Crown respectively were both at Sabatini’s tonight. They both said they wouldn’t know until the 29th which restaurant would be open on the 30th. And they said if you’re booked fir a night they are shut they automatically move you to the next night. If you want to keep the same night they do their best to accommodate you in the other venue. 
 

captains announcement was 2080 passengers 1084 crew. 
 

I will try to post pictures of Sabatini’s menu they added something for the Alaska bit and gave it a $5 up charge. They don’t have the crunchy bread sticks anymore.  Hopefully the picture of the new bread posts. 

 

Thank you so much for checking and getting back to me as well.   I guess I'll just leave all my reservations as they are and deal with it once I board.     

Thanks for the pics of the menus....my mouth is watering.   How was the food?

Once again, thank you!

[Coffeeluvr05]

13 hours ago, ebeluga said:

In general, may I asked whom we should talk to in order to have the same table for the entire voyage? Headwaiter or restaurant manager?  Thx!

We were told by the person who checks you in with the medallion scanner but we confirmed with the head waiter on our way out from dinner on our first night. They told us even if we are going to go to a specialty restaurant one night not to cancel our MDR reservation. They said our table is held each evening and if we are more than 20 minutes late then they can release it to someone else. 

[caribill]

What are the production shows for this cruise? Thanks.

 

Thanks also for posting the MDR menus. Some disappointments:

o No flourless chocolate cake (used to always be on first evening)

o No flavored ice creams (do they have them in MDR at lunch?)

o No Crème brûlée (used to have it every evening)

[grimpil]

6 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

thank you so much for posting, did you try the river steelhead salmon carparccio?

[HaveDogWillTravel]

No I didn’t try the carpaccio.  I wasn’t too hungry so stuck to my favorites.  The soup, salad and lamb skewers were excellent, even better than last month. The lamb was cut it with a fork tender.  I normally love the spaghetti &  meatballs and they were fine but didn’t wow me like last month. Could have been I was so full by the time they came. The risotto and pappadelle are usually solid choices. 
 

@Coffeeluvr05I wish I had asked about whether to cancel or not.  Doggone it I did and I really love where I’ve been sitting in MDR. And now Endicott Arm is 5:30 to 9.  That’s going to make it hard for folks to get a nice dinner and spend time on the decks. My reservation is at 8 but I’ll bet that ends up being a popular time. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

4 hours ago, caribill said:

What are the production shows for this cruise? Thanks.

 

Thanks also for posting the MDR menus. Some disappointments:

o No flourless chocolate cake (used to always be on first evening)

o No flavored ice creams (do they have them in MDR at lunch?)

o No Crème brûlée (used to have it every evening)

Stardust and Colors of the World 

[PescadoAmarillo]

9 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

captains announcement was 2080 passengers 1084 crew. 

I wonder if this is because Princess is keeping the passenger numbers low (due to inadequate crew numbers) or if people aren’t booking. We sailed with 700 more than that on the Ruby Princess in March. And people here on Cruise Critic insisted that when mask mandates were removed, the numbers would go up because so many people were resistant to wearing masks. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

The new International Cafe offerings are a huge hit for me. Today I had the blueberry yogurt, the egg & avocado sandwich and the broccoli egg muffin. Excellent! I hope the pictures post.  

[HaveDogWillTravel]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2022 by HaveDogWillTravel

[cruzin4us]

@HaveDogWillTravel  Wow, I'm glad to see the nice selection at the IC since it's my favorite place to eat most of the time.   Thanks for showing some good pictures.

Only 17 days and counting and I'll be taking your place.   Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[arizonaperson]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

What are the production shows for this cruise? Thanks.

 

Thanks also for posting the MDR menus. Some disappointments:

o No flourless chocolate cake (used to always be on first evening)

o No flavored ice creams (do they have them in MDR at lunch?)

o No Crème brûlée (used to have it every evening)

The flourless chocolate on the first night was my favorite, I even requested a whole cake the next evening once to share. We’ll darn it is off the menu now.

Edited May 23, 2022 by arizonaperson
Oops

[PescadoAmarillo]

Flourless chocolate cake on the first night of each cruise was always my favorite dessert (well, key lime pie is up there too). I always said it was the best part of doing B2B cruises. But on the Ruby Princess in March it was a shadow of its former self. More brownie than cake. I’m hoping they’ll bring back the original that so many of us know and love. 

[7seascruising]

After a few days on the ship, I figured I’d post some thoughts about things in general. 

 

First, the ship. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be tired. First thing I noticed when embarking was the rust stains from some of the windows. I’ve noticed rust in other places around the ship as well. Also, we’re in a mini suite on the Dolphin deck. While I love the space and the storage, the room needs more than a cleaning between cruises. The couch needs to be replaced (one of the cushions is flipped and I don’t want to see what’s on the other side) and the electrical around our desk seems like it could fail at any minute. One of the overhead lights flickers enough that we just shut it off and one of the desk lamps turns off if you touch the desk to hard. Overall, this room needs more TLC than it can get between cruises.

 

Second, the food. Overall, it’s  been good. The dining room dinner offerings have been excellent. Some of the other meals have been less than stellar. I had a burger when I first boarded that was just “Ok”. I guess I expected more. The buffet, in my opinion, needs a massive makeover. I know all ships aren’t the same, but I’ve been on the Majestic and the Sky and the layout is so much better and the preparation of the food seems better as well. The food is warm, but not hot, and by the time you’ve eaten some of it, parts of it are cold. Again, like the room, it’s Ok, just not meeting expectations. 

 

Lastly, the crew. They are the shining star of this cruise. Our room steward, Ricardo, has been awesome. The dining room staff has been super attentive and quick to respond to any request. Even in the buffet, one of the crew stopped by just to chat us up. If I had more than two thumbs up to give them, I would. 

 

These are just my thoughts. Others may feel different, but after having some cruises under my belt and knowing what level things could be at, I wish they were there. 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2022 by 7seascruising

[tcdcruiser]

Agree. Maybe the many millions invested in the Medallion Class product would have better invested in food and furnishing quality and maintenance.