Ruby Princess Dining Rooms

[Calif Explorer]

We will on a 15 day cruise on the Ruby Princess to SF- Hawaii RT.  We would be requesting a table of 4 daily same time early dining.  What are the differences (if any) between the 3 dining rooms, i.e., Botticelli, DaVinci, and Michelangelo.   Thanks in advance for any insight between them.

[SiliconCruiser]

Botticelli and Da Vinci are on the Fiesta Deck, Botticelli needs to be accessed using a separate elevator in the aft section of the ship.  I think Da Vinci may have a separate section for Club Class dining using the starboard entrance.  Botticelli and Da Vinci share the same kitchen (which is between the two dining rooms.)  Michelangelo is on the Plaza Deck.  The menu offerings for each day are the same in all the dining rooms (though I've heard that they may have an additional offering in Club Class.)  Some of the menu items are also available in Horizon Court buffet.

 

[Calif Explorer]

Are seating arrangements for tablets of 4 similar in the 3 dining rooms?  Pro and Cons of the 3 rooms?

Thanks

[Sea Hag]

1 hour ago, Calif Explorer said:

Are seating arrangements for tablets of 4 similar in the 3 dining rooms?  Pro and Cons of the 3 rooms?

Thanks

We encountered a big con with the Boticelli on the Ruby this spring. There's not enough waiting area outside the restaurant to accommodate all the people who show up at once at 5:00. It was an absolute zoo. The line snaked back and forth in the small lobby area. There was a line wrangler guy who herded everybody into line. After the first night, we had an assigned table, but that didn't help. We still had to line up like the rest of the herd. If it hadn't been such a great table and wait staff, we would have bailed and taken our chances getting reservations at one of the others. If you like to eat later, you might be okay there, but definitely not if you prefer early.

[woostergirl]

Just got off the Ruby and enjoyed the Botticelli dining room very much. We had a 7p dining time for a table for 4 every night and even on our 9-day cruise the first and second nights were kind of a zoo. But after that there was minimal waiting.

 

I picked Botticelli because our cabin was in the aft on Dolphin (level 9) and a quick walk down the stairs to dinner. Also, we have kids who go to kids club and it uses the same elevator so it was easy to drop them off after they were done early and come back to the table to finish my own dinner. Also, I read about cigarette smoke  wafting in from the casino in the other dining rooms, which I definitely wanted to avoid.

 

We found that booking the table at the same time in the same dining room made the dinner process smoother than people who had to reserve a table each night on the ship. Also, making some kind of personal connection with Ronald, in the white jacket (the diniing room manager?), and Joseph one of the assistant dining room managers, on night 1 and 2 made the dinner process much smoother for all the other other nights, for us. Our table got successively better too! Got a table by the window the last three nights of the cruise! 😄 Good luck and happy cruising!

 

[Steelers36]

On 7/8/2022 at 6:13 PM, Calif Explorer said:

Are seating arrangements for tablets of 4 similar in the 3 dining rooms?  Pro and Cons of the 3 rooms?

Thanks

There is the same variety and range of table sizes in all DR's. From 2-tops to 10-tops.

 

Similar decor, same service level.  In the aft section (especially) of the aft DR on Deck 6, you can get vibration and noise from the engines - particularly if the pier departure is occurring while you are are dinner.

 

As mentioned above, if your cabin is towards the back, you may prefer the Aft DR.  If forward, you will likely prefer one of the two mid-ship DR's.

 

I am not sure of the complete DR operation nowadays, but Princess appears to not be loading up the Deck 5 mid-ships DR's into the MC App for DineMyWay (DMW) purposes.  If doing a "walk-up" for dinner, it would make sense to me to head there since guests would not have booked there pre-cruise.  I am not sure if that DR gets added to DMW once the cruise begins and it might be the best choice for a daily reservation. 

 

PS to Others:  (I would like to know if the 3rd DR ever does show up in DMW for booking).

 

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

There is the same variety and range of table sizes in all DR's. From 2-tops to 10-tops.

 

Similar decor, same service level.  In the aft section (especially) of the aft DR on Deck 6, you can get vibration and noise from the engines - particularly if the pier departure is occurring while you are are dinner.

 

As mentioned above, if your cabin is towards the back, you may prefer the Aft DR.  If forward, you will likely prefer one of the two mid-ship DR's.

 

I am not sure of the complete DR operation nowadays, but Princess appears to not be loading up the Deck 5 mid-ships DR's into the MC App for DineMyWay (DMW) purposes.  If doing a "walk-up" for dinner, it would make sense to me to head there since guests would not have booked there pre-cruise.  I am not sure if that DR gets added to DMW once the cruise begins and it might be the best choice for a daily reservation. 

 

PS to Others:  (I would like to know if the 3rd DR ever does show up in DMW for booking).

 

Just got off the Ruby  They were putting the deck 5 dining room into the scheduling app.  

 

For several months during the restart the deck 5 dining rooms were being used by ship staff to spread out crew dining   This worked fine during low occupancy.

 

Now that covid rules are easing, the ships are starting to use the deck 5 dining room for passengers, depending on ship staffing and occupancy.

 

 

[zentraveler]

We have had a table for 2 in Botacelli at 5 pm booked for our cruise and love it. The first say or two it was a zoo and yes, a very small waiting area, but that has all smoothed out. We are in a small niche area with 6 tables and great wait staff. DaVinci is where we eat breakfast and lunch and the "club" section is there. Both dining rooms are lovely; we like Botacelli for the variety of not eating breakfast and lunch (they are only open for dinner) and the Adagio lounge is a quick shot up to 16 and is a very nice lounge with drink service starting at 4:30 pm. It is next to the specialty Italian dining room (Sabatinis?)