LIVE: Ruby Princess to Alaska (round trip from San Francisco)

[PandaBear62]

This cruise is rescheduled from 2020. We were planning on sailing from San Francisco to Alaska with another couple.. When we rescheduled, we ended up on this same cruise, but added another girlfriend and another couple. So now we have 7. There are lots of sea days on this trip, and we look forward to relaxing, playing cards,  Code Names (we love that game!), etc, as well as the port days. 

 

My dh and I have previously sailed Princess from Vancouver, and then took a land tour. That was great, but the airfare to Vancouver and out of Anchorage, plus the extra time we spent in Vancouver made for a pricey trip. Because we are close to the San Francisco port, driving in and parking was a much better budget choice. I am trying to keep this cruise from being a budget buster for our friends. And given how bad airline travel is right now, I was really glad not to be facing a flight.

 

Coordinating excursions for a group can be difficult at times and our group was no exception.

We ended up with the following:

Icy Strait Point: Some of us are  on a ship excursion (Bears) and others plan to just walk around. 

Ketchikan: We have a car rental (mini van). We booked tickets to see the Lumberjack show and then will drive out to Totem Bight park. 

Juneau: Another van rental. We will pick up the car and drive out to Mendenhall Glacier. We then come back, park and have tickets for the Gaustinea mine. If the weather is nice, we’ll take the tram. If not, maybe the state museum.

Prince Rupert: This was a change from Victoria. Since we were in Victoria 6am-noon, we couldn't’ do much anyway so this change wasn’t an issue. We decided against an excursion here, primarily due to cost and distance. For example, the Wilderness Jetboat Adventure is $309 and 5 hours. But the jetboat adventure part is 35 minutes, a hike is 30 and a dinner is 60 minutes. The other 3 hours was travel time. So instead we plan to walk to the city museum and have a drink at the Crest hotel. 

 

I looked into options for getting to the terminal, as we are somewhat local. A limousine was considered, but we ended up booking parking at the pier. Two cars for the 10 days was about $400. We would have needed a Mercedes sprinter to handle our group size and luggage, which required a 4 hour minimum, so would have been over $1000 both ways.  This is the first cruise I’ve been on where we are local, so I am excited about not having to travel both ways. 

 

This is our itinerary. There are lots of “at sea” days and that is okay with us. We plan to relax, play cards, play games, drink and just generally enjoy our time with each other.

 

I will admit I am a little nervous about this cruise. I’ve heard such negative things on these boards about Princess and it’s such a big deal for me that my friends enjoy this trip! 

 

Packing

If you have no interest in packing, just skip this part. I am typically someone who packs a 21” carry on roller and a personal item tote. For this trip, we were driving to the port, so I could realistically bring whatever I wanted. However, I know myself, and I don’t like being overwhelmed by clothing choices when I travel. I also don’t mind doing a quick load of laundry, especially with a cruise with as many sea days as this one. 

While I adore dresses for warm weather trips, I didn’t take any on this trip, with the exception of one as a coverup for my swim suit (not sure if I’ll use the Enclave or hot tub, but want to be prepared in case I do).

My bags were a Travelpro rolling carryon and a Kipling Sasha tote. 

 

Bottoms:

1 pair black ponte knit slacks 

1 pair floral pants (black and navy)

1 pair of black joggers

1 pair of black and white lightweight pinstripe pants

1 pair dressy black pants

 

Tops

black and white stripe long sleeve tunic

Black and white polka dot ¾ sleeve blouse

Blue and black sleeveless floral sleeveless  blouse

Red short sleeve swing tee

Blue short sleeve swing tee

Black ¾ sleeve swing tee

Gray ¾ sleeve tee

Royal blue short sleeve tee

2 “dressy” tops (one in varied blue tones and one with green and black shades)

 

Misc Clothes

Swim suit

swim cover up 

Underwear

Bras

socks

 

Cold weather clothes

Soft fleece like gaiter

Magic gloves

Black pashmina

2 pairs black tights

2 under tees (performance wear)

 

Outerwear

Black very lightweight ¾ sleeve open cardigan

Lightweight windbreaker with hood

A down jacket (not that great of quality, but used it on last Alaskan cruise)

black ponte knit casual blazer

 

Shoes

Sneakers

May jane style sneakers

Arch support slip on shoes (think skechers style)

Dress flats

 

Misc

iPad mini

Kindle

Electronics cords and chargers

Games (Code names, cards, Left Right center)

Toiletries

Umbrellas

OTC meds such as bonine, ibuprofen, etc

[PandaBear62]

Day 1: San Francisco 

I got up this morning and ran around doing last minute tasks until we left to pick up my girlfriend and drive up to San Francisco. We decided to go to the pier and drop off my friend Kathy and I with the luggage and have dh then go to the parking garage. Huge mistake. The Embarcadero was so amazingly crowded and it took us over 30 minutes to drive the short distance to the pier. We are planning a Hawaiian cruise also out of SF and will go straight to the parking garage and walk our luggage the block or two. 

 

We dropped off the luggage easily and got in line. I thought the line w as long….at 11:30 it was basically at the sign for Pier 23

By 12:30 we were nearing the entrance to check in and the line had just about doubled. It looped back to the terminal. 

 

I’m not sure these pictures really show the true picture of how long the line is. 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a representative from Princess circulating around and he acknowledged that they were not enforcing at all the arrival times we signed up for. 

 

At 12:40 we were in the building, through security and in line for the next check in.

 

At 1, we were on the ship. Yay!! I’m curious how long it will take our friends to board…..they joined the line about 12:30.

 

Our room was available, so we dropped off a couple of things and headed up to the lido deck. We then went to have lunch at the Iguana Grill, which dh wanted. I had a sweet potato and black bean street taco which I enjoyed. 

 

Patter for today:

 

 

 

[rayandshirl]

I was a solo passenger on the Ruby in May for the 10 day cruise to Alaska and had, as always, a great time on the ship.  There was body lotion on my sink and another tube when it ran low.  I look forward to returning on the Ruby in September for the cruise to Vancouver.  

[Phantom of the Seas]

Keep the patters coming.....thank you....MDR menus if can.... 

[edspec]

I was VERY nervous about my April Princess cruise due to what I read on these boards. I envisioned a crowd of wizened entitled cranks yelling at me to get out of their hallway. The reality was completely different as the people I met on the ship were lovely. These boards do Princess no favors, unfortunate for those of us who want to find information before sailing.

[PandaBear62]

correction: we ate at the Salty Dog Grill. I think the Iguana Grill is Carnival. 
 

After lunch we went to the muster station and checked in and then saw the spa. I plan to get a manicure and apparently if you book today you get a bonus. For the manicure it’s a paraffin treatment and a massage you get the longer one for the cheaper price.

 

We then headed to Vines and sat by the window with a view of the Bay Bridge. I’d post the wine list but apparently it’s not accurate. The server noted he didn’t have wines that were listed and he had others not on the list. So you really have to ask.

Lovely  view of the Bay Bridge. 
 

[dreaminofcruisin]

We'll be on the Ruby in October, so enjoying your review.

Your picture-taking skill is exemplary!

So often, the photos people take of the Patters are hard to read. Yours are SOOOOO very clear!!!

Thanks!

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Thanks for taking the time out of your holiday to do this. If you don’t mind and if it’s convenient would you please ask to see the bottles (and take pictures to post here) of red and white wine that is being pored for the Plus  package (up to $12)   My understanding is since the introduction of the Premier package (up to $18) the wines for Plus are listed as Red, white or rose. No vineyard or varietal given. 
 

[treesah]

Thank you for posting.  We'll be following you on 7/29 so I'm very interested in your impressions and comments.  Your packing list was helpful.  Hope you have lovely weather in the next ten days.

[marden1970]

2 minutes ago, treesah said:

Thank you for posting.  We'll be following you on 7/29 so I'm very interested in your impressions and comments.  Your packing list was helpful.  Hope you have lovely weather in the next ten days.

My husband and I will also be on that sailing.  Got our medallions yesterday!  We are also interested in PandaBear's postings and will be following along.

[RLK33853]

We are also driving to San Francisco next month prior to boarding the Ruby - could you please let me know where you parked and how you reserved your parking?  Was the parking garage secure? 

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Thanks

 

Ray

[Cruise Raider]

Thanks for taking the time to post.  We’ve been on the Ruby several times since the restart and had a great time on each and every cruise.  It appears that some people are more likely to complain that write anything positive.  I’m sure you will have a fantastic time.  The Ruby has an amazing crew and staff. The food has been great, the entertainment was fantastic, the rooms are comfortable, etc.  

 

Don’t forget to go to the naturalist talks they have in the Princess theater.  Some are good and others are great.  If you are lucky enough to have Ranger John onboard, you won’t be sorry to adjust your schedule around going to his lectures.  

Also, just of note, the museum in Prince Rupert is small and very close to the ship so it won’t take too long for that.  Be sure to walk to the nearby Sunken Gardens, also small but a nice place for taking in a leisurely stroll.  There is also a trail to walk along the water front about a mile away .. Rushbrook Trail you may be interested in.  
 

Enjoy and keep these posts coming!  

[XBGuy]

20 hours ago, PandaBear62 said:

 

We then headed to Vines and sat by the window with a view of the Bay Bridge. I’d post the wine list but apparently it’s not accurate. The server noted he didn’t have wines that were listed and he had others not on the list. So you really have to ask.

Lovely  view of the Bay Bridge. 
 

 

 

My best Vines tip.  On most ships, and it has been too long since I was on the Ruby Princess, there are various bottles of wine displayed around the edges of the seating area.  Most of these are on the Vines list,  However, there may be wines that are not on the list.  If you happen to find one that is not on the list but looks good to you, they will open it up for you.

 

Also, good call by the folks who chose the Bear Search at Icy Strait Point.

[PandaBear62]

I tried to post this last night, but the internet was too inconsistent. 
 

We stayed at Vines awhile and then made a quick trip to the room. Our friends were at the Salty Dog eating so we joined them.

 

The Captain announced a delay in departing. They are expecting maybe 8pm. Something maybe about provisions arriving late? 

 

I went to the spa to schedule a manicure. They were quite booked the next two days (both sea days). I was offered an 8am appointment…..no thank you! But they then said I could do it right then and that worked. Pricey, of course, but I knew that going in. But a nice manicure. 

 

I also discovered my app really wasn’t working. Not the usual the app is slow and crappy but the “app has lost all my info and won’t let me add it in again” problem.  So we added a trip to guest services to figure that out, and now it seems to be working better. 

 

We ended up at dinner in the DaVinci room. We were told that we really should make reservations, rather than walking up. So I guess we’ll try.

 

Our group is not “foodies”, so take my comments with that grain of salt. I also am bad at remembering to take photos.

 

Here is the menu from the first night: I included the list of wines for the beverage package. We didn’t drink tonight….we had already had a few drinks and after a long day I just didn’t want more. So I’ll report later if the list is accurate. 

 

 

 

 

 

I had the garlic shrimp, which I enjoyed, and the risottto which was really good. For dessert, the soufflé. I’m not usually a fan of soufflé, but I ordered it because of the amaretto sauce. It was really good. The chocolate was light, not a heavy chocolate flavor….just yummy.

 

No pictures except the risotto

 

 

 

My husband went to the casino but I went back to the room for bed….I was tired.

 

Couple of thoughts:

We were told there were 3000 passengers aboard this cruise. 

Our room is nice (L103)-an obstructed ocean view.  My husband likes a room with natural light. Good closet space. But, virtually no outlets!

 

Tune in tomorrow for more!

 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

great report! Thanks for posting as we all know how challenging the internet is. Posts tend to disappear when you hit post so I found it helpful to copy my post to a notepad, clear my internet history and cookies and try again. 
 

on deck 7 aft by the photo people you’ll find the medallion ap people. I have found them very helpful on the Ruby recently. Next time you walk by and there’s no one or very few passengers try letting them help you get the ap working better. They are usually successful.  
 

 

[PandaBear62]

[Phantom of the Seas]

A BIG Thank-you! 

[SiliconCruiser]

10 hours ago, PandaBear62 said:

I tried to post this last night, but the internet was too inconsistent. 

The menus seem to be pretty consistent with the pre-covid days.  Not much has changed.

 

 

 

That's the exact same menu that we had on 7/9 on the Ruby!  What a surprise!

[PandaBear62]

day 2 At sea
 

I had been saying yesterday how really tired I was. Like exhausted.  Very atypical for me.  I woke up about 6 or 7 and went back to bed. About 8ish I heard my dh in the shower and figured I get up when he got out. Nope, I fell back asleep. That’s a long way of saying I didn’t wake up until 11am. 
 

So I went to the international cafe and had a coffee and then a small lunch there: a roast beef sandwich on a baguette, some shrimp noodle salad and a lemon cookie. It was yummy and I am pretty sure it will become a lunch favorite location. I get overwhelmed by all of the choices at the buffet and like the smallness of the cafe.  

 

Kathy and I made our way to the Princess theatre to see the Whales of Alaska presentation by Tess Juliana. It was good. We then headed to a lounge (Club Fusion) for Bingo. $39 for 6 cards for 4 games plus a scratcher (but not a winner, sigh). We had a terrible time getting the attention of a server to order a drink, so I finally just got up and asked someone to come over. I’m not shy I guess! 

 

No surprises, we weren’t even close to winning. Like someone won and the best we had was 2 in a row! We walked up to Sabatinis to see if we could switch around our reservation but no one was there. We’ll go tonight. We then headed to the International Cafe for a little snack to hold us until dinner 

 

I headed back to my room and ended up napping! We headed out for dinner. 

 

 

 

 

I had the Caesar salad, prime rib and ice cream for dessert. I was pleasantly surprised with the prime rib. So many places serve it wigh so much fat, you can’t eat it. This has a little bit not too much. The ice cream was excellent.

 

After dinner my friends Kathy and Jan went to Adagios and played cards and had a drink. We had planned to talk about changing around our dinner at Savatinis and I remembered the speciality dining was just every other night. But that’s okay because we discovered  Adagios. What a lovely bar. We’re thinking this could be a good place for viewing in Glacier Bay day.

 

When it closed, I headed back to the room for the night. 
 

Tomorrow: another sea day. 

[san diego sue]

we were on the July 9th cruise. We arrived at the port at 10:am. no line outside at all but once in big lines for checkin. We were Green Lane and although lots of help, very slow checkin.It was dumb because all our info already in computer system and all they needed to do was see our  covid tests and passports. Felt sorry for people on the Blue line , plenty of windows open and massive lines.

So my advice don't come later to port, go as early as possible. I heard there were huge lines as the morning progressed into the early afternoon.SF seems to have unskilled people manning those check ins. In San Pedro, it was quick and easy.

Also no one checked if we had the Arrive Canada done. We got reminders in the patter daily to do it but no one checked , no one on the ship or when we actually got off in Prince Rupert. We were thinking that maybe the ship had gotten a list from Canada with who did it or maybe Canada got a passenger list from the Ruby. No one actually knew the answer and we didn't ask at passenger services.

Our cruise was fabulous and we would do it again in a heartbeat. Even though boarding was a bit of a hassle, worth it in the long run to do this cruise.Internet was lousy so I hope the person doing the Live thread has better luck using it.

[Phantom of the Seas]

Great review.....”Tess” (Naturalist) is a MUST do!

[san diego sue]

3 minutes ago, Phantom of the Seas said:

Great review.....”Tess” (Naturalist) is a MUST do!

She was very different in her lecture approach. Good information and I agree a must to see.

[PandaBear62]

Patters for Day 3

 

 

 

 

[Phantom of the Seas]

The prices you see for cocktails & glasses of wine......does it make sense to keep Plus or upgrade to Premier? Thanks

[LreedCA]

2 hours ago, san diego sue said:

we were on the July 9th cruise. We arrived at the port at 10:am. no line outside at all but once in big lines for checkin. We were Green Lane and although lots of help, very slow checkin.It was dumb because all our info already in computer system and all they needed to do was see our  covid tests and passports. Felt sorry for people on the Blue line , plenty of windows open and massive lines.

So my advice don't come later to port, go as early as possible. I heard there were huge lines as the morning progressed into the early afternoon.SF seems to have unskilled people manning those check ins. In San Pedro, it was quick and easy.

Also no one checked if we had the Arrive Canada done. We got reminders in the patter daily to do it but no one checked , no one on the ship or when we actually got off in Prince Rupert. We were thinking that maybe the ship had gotten a list from Canada with who did it or maybe Canada got a passenger list from the Ruby. No one actually knew the answer and we didn't ask at passenger services.

Our cruise was fabulous and we would do it again in a heartbeat. Even though boarding was a bit of a hassle, worth it in the long run to do this cruise.Internet was lousy so I hope the person doing the Live thread has better luck using it.

We were also on the July 9th cruise.  I could not believe how many passengers handled ALL of their large sized bags at embarkation.  Ladies were struggling to lift them onto the scanner belt at security.  I have never seen this before.  I think this also really slowed down the boarding process.  I was surprised Princess even allowed this.