Ruby Princess Review January 2024

[Sulialto]

7 hours ago, charliedalrymple said:

So nice to hear that you thoroughly enjoyed your cruise on Ruby!

 

We really want to do a Panama Canal cruise but I'm a bit ignorant on the details.  Perhaps you (or others) could answer a couple of questions.

 

- Was this a full or partial canal cruise?  How long does each take?  Does it get a bit boring after a while if you are in the canal an entire day?

- Was this the new or the old canal?  Which would you recommend?

Neglected to add - the total trip to the lake from the bridge was about 2 1/2 hours, so I guess each lock was around 20 minutes.

[5:00_Somewhere]

I'm so happy to hear such a positive review of the Ruby. She's long been our favorite Princess ship, but it's been several years since we sailed on her. And, we just booked a cruise on her (albiet not until 2026) because we were missing all our favorite Grand Class features. This has me even more excited.

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

2 hours ago, 5:00_Somewhere said:

I'm so happy to hear such a positive review of the Ruby. She's long been our favorite Princess ship, but it's been several years since we sailed on her. And, we just booked a cruise on her (albiet not until 2026) because we were missing all our favorite Grand Class features. This has me even more excited.

 

Were just the opposite about Ruby!  lol

We were (stuck) ugh, Had Ruby out of San Francisco, too many times, felt like forever....

We sailed on her enough.  So the thought of flying to Florida to sail AGAIN on Ruby?

Kind of rubs us the wrong way.  But were going for itinerary.  And really Hopiing shes

in much better shape and Less Smokey!

 

[nini]

4 hours ago, Sulialto said:

I do recall they said, “Saphire is #1, but it’s hard to compete with a ship sailing in Antarctica!”🤣

 

I definitely have to agree with that!

[nini]

10 hours ago, charliedalrymple said:

So nice to hear that you thoroughly enjoyed your cruise on Ruby!

 

We really want to do a Panama Canal cruise but I'm a bit ignorant on the details.  Perhaps you (or others) could answer a couple of questions.

 

- Was this a full or partial canal cruise?  How long does each take?  Does it get a bit boring after a while if you are in the canal an entire day?

- Was this the new or the old canal?  Which would you recommend?

 

We did the full transit in June 2018. Canal Day was very informative and entertaining for us. Onboard was a guest lecturer/ author. He did several educational talks in the Princess Theater before and after Canal Day. This was his 212th transit through the canal. On Canal Day, he spoke for about 10 hours non-stop. We could hear him out on deck and through the tv in our cabin. He was a wealth of information. At one point he pointed out the training camp where he was sent for boot camp before being sent to Viet Nam.

[5:00_Somewhere]

43 minutes ago, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

 

Were just the opposite about Ruby!  lol

We were (stuck) ugh, Had Ruby out of San Francisco, too many times, felt like forever....

We sailed on her enough.  So the thought of flying to Florida to sail AGAIN on Ruby?

Kind of rubs us the wrong way.  But were going for itinerary.  And really Hopiing shes

in much better shape and Less Smokey!

 

 

The grass is always greener, I guess. With Princess, we've only been sailing on Royal class ships for the last several years and have missed the Grand Class design. So we will be flying cross country, from Boston to San Francisco, the cruise on the Ruby again, and we're really looking forward to it. 

[shiner6]

5 hours ago, Sulialto said:

This was a partial transit from Ft Lauderdale via the Agua Clara (new) locks. We didn’t find it boring, but had also done some studying on the canal before we went. We chose to spend the day in the Sanctuary (reserve immediately 1st day), and could wander around to get a 360 view, rest on our loungers out of the sun & enjoy food & drinks. Many people got off and took excursions when we got to Lake Gatun - the only thing to be wary about is you’re at the liberty of the Canal Authority as to when you can get back to the ship. Many people end up waiting a couple hours before they can re-embark. 

I have the excursion booked for Lake Gatun, but I wonder if we might be better off in the Sanctuary that day instead. My husband has trouble with humidity and I cannot see him waiting in line for hours to reboard the ship. Is there anyone who has experienced this recently? I am so grateful for your posts. Very helpful in planning.

[Sulialto]

21 minutes ago, shiner6 said:

I have the excursion booked for Lake Gatun, but I wonder if we might be better off in the Sanctuary that day instead. My husband has trouble with humidity and I cannot see him waiting in line for hours to reboard the ship. Is there anyone who has experienced this recently? I am so grateful for your posts. Very helpful in planning.

Hopefully someone who did the excursion will chime in - I will say it is very hot & very humid in Panama, another reason we stayed on board. We did hear some people really loved their tours, so it’s a hard choice.

[suekel]

When I did a partial a few years ago, we took the excursion that took us on a ferry all the way through and they bussed us back to the ship.  It was long, it was hot, it was amazing.  I read The Path Between the Seas before I went which really added to my appreciation.  It was so hot that I told my husband next time we're doing a full transit so we can go back into our cabin into the air as needed.  Which we're doing on th Ruby in March.  Plus, a ferry cannot go through the locks alone so you have to wait for a larger vessel which added hours to the trip.  The beer man on board was our new best friend and he sought us out for pictures at the end.  Then the bus broke down on the way back to the ship, they had to wait for us.  The dining rooms were closed, thank goodness for a mini bar and room service.  If you can handle the heat and don't mind a really long day, this was a great excursion.  

[redflag216]

I have an excursion at lake Gatun which ends at 4pm. The ship is to arrive in Colon at 5pm. I assumed that we would be cleared to board when the ship arrives. Would that not be the case? Reading posts about not being able to get back on the ship for hours has me a little concerned…

[shiner6]

On 2/3/2024 at 8:00 PM, suekel said:

When I did a partial a few years ago, we took the excursion that took us on a ferry all the way through and they bussed us back to the ship.  It was long, it was hot, it was amazing.  I read The Path Between the Seas before I went which really added to my appreciation.  It was so hot that I told my husband next time we're doing a full transit so we can go back into our cabin into the air as needed.  Which we're doing on th Ruby in March.  Plus, a ferry cannot go through the locks alone so you have to wait for a larger vessel which added hours to the trip.  The beer man on board was our new best friend and he sought us out for pictures at the end.  Then the bus broke down on the way back to the ship, they had to wait for us.  The dining rooms were closed, thank goodness for a mini bar and room service.  If you can handle the heat and don't mind a really long day, this was a great excursion.  

First of all, I want to thank you for posting this realistic review. This is exactly what I have done in planning-read the book and plan the excursion. However, If it really is going to be miserably hot and humid with no easy place to cool off, then this is not for us.  As wonderful as it all sounds, I'm not sure we are up to the challenge. I am really torn about this. I wish I would have booked a full transit to begin with. Maybe this is a sign that I will need to return some day.

[Sulialto]

26 minutes ago, shiner6 said:

First of all, I want to thank you for posting this realistic review. This is exactly what I have done in planning-read the book and plan the excursion. However, If it really is going to be miserably hot and humid with no easy place to cool off, then this is not for us.  As wonderful as it all sounds, I'm not sure we are up to the challenge. I am really torn about this. I wish I would have booked a full transit to begin with. Maybe this is a sign that I will need to return some day.

We were very happy to have travelled the aqua clara locks & read & watched a lot about the history. The partial transit was enough for us❤️

[ChiGal1962]

Thank you for posting this! I impulsively booked a cruise on the Ruby Princess this week (16 nights r/t Hawaii) and was starting to question whether I made the right decision. I booked Premium mostly because Alfredos was my favorite place on the Regal last spring, only to find out they didn't have one on Ruby. But your review was very encouraging. And that Caymus dinner looks amazing!! I'll have to search that out - hopefully it's offered on my upcoming cruise. 

 

On another note, I did a full transit of the Panama Canal years ago (through the original locks) and found it absolutely fascinating. Glad you got the chance to see it. I look forward to doing that again some day.

[CRLess]

We too, were on this voyage and, in fact, had the Sanctuary chairs right next to Sulialto and her hubby.  This was our fifth time on the Ruby, but our first time on a Gem Class ship in 5-6 cruises.  We love the Royal class of ships and thought we would be disappointed going back to an "older" ship.  Needless to say, those fears were quickly put to rest once we boarded.  We thought the ship was in great condition and the staff was wonderful.  We had the same room we normally book on Gem class ships (E730 or E731), a mini suite with a covered and GIANT balcony (about twice the size of a normal mini suite balcony on that class of ship).

We booked the Sanctuary for the entire cruise.  There was a few days we did not use it due to the wind, and we were not charged for those days.  Having it for the Panama Canal day was a treat, with a breakfast spread and unlimited Mimosas, plus nobody standing in your way.  With that said, we were in the Sanctuary for our passage through the locks up the 85ft to Gatun Lake, but stayed on our balcony for the trip back down to sea level.  In my opinion, being lower on the ship (deck 8 in our case) really puts into perspective how much the ship is traveling up/down through the locks.

We ate in Sabatinis on the first night and had a great meal and service.  We did Crown Grill on our anniversary and were surprised with a bottle of Proseco and a cake for dessert from our dear friend who is a DRO on another ship currently.  The Crown Grill is always a winner with us!  We also did the Salty Dog Bistro one night, but gave it a "Meh" rating.

We always book the Premier package as we like our good wines.  On a prior cruise on the Enchanted, we only did the Plus package, and our upcharge charges on our wines each night, far exceed the difference in cost, at least from our experience.

As for our room...we had new carpet and everything was in tip top shape...except for the couch.  The cushions were shall we say "tired".  We declared the couch unusable.  If you sat down, you slid forward.  The front of the cushions had nothing for padding.

Something new we experienced was the Ultimate Balcony Breakfast.  We were surprised with this as a gift from my Uncle and Aunt for our Anniversary.  Room service called us to arrange for it, and we decided to have it on our port morning in Costa Rica, to avoid all the wind as the ship was moving.  The food arrived hot, and the Bloody Marys and Mimosas were a great touch.

I logged some quality hours in the casino playing Black Jack and came out ahead for the week, so hopefully the casino department will reach out to me with some great deals to try to get their money back.

If anyone has any specific questions about our experience, feel free to ask.  Not trying to hijack this thread, but wanted to add to what Sulialto already said...don't be afraid to sail on the older ships!

Edited February 8 by CRLess

[shiner6]

Question for CRless: Was it difficult to obtain your Sanctuary passes?  I have never reserved a spot there,but would like to do so next week. What area would you recommend?

 

Thanks for your review, it is very useful for planning. 

[CRLess]

3 minutes ago, shiner6 said:

Question for CRless: Was it difficult to obtain your Sanctuary passes?  I have never reserved a spot there,but would like to do so next week. What area would you recommend?

 

Thanks for your review, it is very useful for planning. 

Get to the port early and board the ship as early as possible, then go straight upstairs to the Sanctuary.  The Panama Canal cruises are very rarely done as B2B cruises, so there is less pressure for the seats up there.

[ymsullivan]

We were also on the same cruise. It was way too hot and humid for me, but I enjoyed the cruise anyway. I thought the entertainment and production shows were some of the best we've seen

As always Princess goes above and beyond. This was our 4th trip on the Ruby and our tenth Princess Cruise.

My husband loved the Wheelhouse bar and the staff that worked there.

[Thrak]

Sailed on Ruby in December 2022 and had a "mostly" great cruise. I got sick and went to bed for several days. I don't really even remember those days as I was horribly ill. I didn't go ashore in Cartagena on that trip as I was mostly unconscious. We did visit Cartagena on a previous cruise but that was on Coral Princess and was through the old locks - which Ruby can't do. On that trip we booked with Dora De Zubiria at http://cartagenatour.com/ and would highly recommend her tour. The ubiquitous vendors all knew her and, for the most part, left us alone. We were lucky and got Dora herself. We were in a small van and didn't have to deal with a large group on a bus.

[trin880]

On 2/3/2024 at 7:51 PM, redflag216 said:

I have an excursion at lake Gatun which ends at 4pm. The ship is to arrive in Colon at 5pm. I assumed that we would be cleared to board when the ship arrives. Would that not be the case? Reading posts about not being able to get back on the ship for hours has me a little concerned…

We were on Jan 29th sailing and returned to Colon at about 6 or 6:30pm from old lock transit excursion...No problem returning on board, just keep walking and there were 3 entrances to re-board, easy peasy...

[roomba920]

Sailed on the Ruby to Alaska in 2017. It was our favorite cruise. She's a great ship!

[Cristmac]

On 2/1/2024 at 10:53 AM, Sulialto said:

$40.00 per day, $20.00 for half and no price break ~ a $20.00 additional for entire day of the Panama Canal crossing. Canal day was well worth it, panoramic views and no one standing in front of you - plus the amenities of The Sanctuary…… sign up AS SOON as you get on board.

Great review.  Is there any way to reserve The Sanctuary onboard via phone to Guest Services or do you have to physically go there?  Many thanks.

[Sulialto]

Sadly at the moment he only way is to go directly (fast as possible) as soon as you’re on the ship.