Ruby Princess Review 3/9/24 - 3/23/24

[sns1]

Ports were St Kitts, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad, Aruba and Bonaire.

 

The Good:

 

We parked at “park by the port”. This was suggested by a cruise critic member and I’m so glad we took their advice. We always parked at the port but this time we were leaving from terminal 21 but would be back in terminal 2. We will never park at the port again. It was cheaper to park outside and less stress for us.

 

Embarkment was very easy. Long lines but moved right along. Our room was ready when we boarded, which was around noon.

 

We had room E731. Room was very comfortable and our steward was attentive. The only negative was the couch. It needs to be replaced. It was very hard and sat very low. Our bed and pillows were soooooo comfortable. TV’s are now on the wall. Makes a big difference.

 

We are walkers and decided to walk indoors on the Prom. Deck. We walk early in the morning (5:00 a.m.) and there were a few other walkers doing the same thing. It worked out perfect.

 

International cafe was nice. Didn’t seem as congested as other ships. I still wish there was a line for black coffee only.

 

Botticelli dining room was the best for us. We ended up with a table for 4 but it was just us. We did dine early…..5:20 p.m. Our waitress and jr waitress were outstanding. We were in and out within an hour and a half. All the staff in this dining room were amazing.

 

Crooners is a very nice area to hang out and people watch. We sat there most afternoons and had a cocktail before dinner. It was the one area that had blue cheese stuffed olives. YUMMY

 

Sabatini’s was excellent. Location was nice at the back of the ship, overlooking the pool. Our food was perfect, waitstaff was attentive, and our best meal.

 

Laundry was very convenient. There were 4 washers and 4 dryers on the Emerald deck. I can’t remember how many irons but at least 4. Set up is excellent. Also, the token machine was working.

 

Skywalkers is a perfect place to read and relax. More and more people find this hidden gem as the cruise goes on.

 

We did a Princess excursion in St. Kitts. Local Connections: Caribbean Culinary Demonstration & Tastings with Chef. Presentation was great, food was delicious and the amount of time there was perfect. We would definitely recommend this tour.

 

Ship is in good shape. Newer carpet, cleaning all the time, lounge chairs around the pool were comfortable.

 

Employees on this cruise were outstanding. They were friendly and went above and beyond to make everything perfect.

 

We went to the wine tasting and that was fun. We hadn’t been in quite a few years.

 

Food: Short ribs were outstanding. Lots of pork, vegetarian and curry dishes on this cruise. Jerk chicken was also served twice on the menu. I love jerk chicken. Salmon dishes were delicious in the buffet and for dinner. Don’t miss the tenderloin and lobster night. Soft serve ice cream was very good. I’m glad I didn’t have it until the last day. I would have had a cone every day. Pizza by the pool was excellent.  Burgers and chicken sandwiches were also good.

 

Entertainment: Trivia, trivia, trivia. If you like trivia, this was the cruise for you. We did go quite a few times and had fun. We also did the marriage game and had a good time. The Voice competition was fun. Not a lot of competitors but it was fun to watch. The comedian Doug Funk was excellent. He was perfect for every age group. Didn’t see anyone walking out.

 

The Negative:

 

We had the old Plus package and didn’t realize that we had to pay to have the Medallion mailed to us and paid $14.99 for room delivery. This was very confusing to us. We thought we were all set with Plus.

 

The first evening we went to the DaVinci dining room and asked for a table for 2. Staff told us that we requested before the cruise to be at a large table (Not true) We showed the staff our phone and it was completely different than what they showed on ALL days. Things got rectified.

 

Heard a passenger bragging how she hasn’t made any of her dinner reservations, which were at 6:00 p.m. I think part of the dining problem is the passengers. They don’t cancel their reservations..

 

First morning we went to the dining room for breakfast. It was very SLOW. We did not go back again. We ate at the buffet or the International Cafe.

 

Smokers just sit in the casino and smoke. Many are not playing a game. Princess needs to bring back a couple of no nonsmoking nights. We did go in the casino but didn’t stay long.

 

The loungers by the pool were saved by 8:00 a.m.

 

We had reserved the Crown Grill before the cruise for the last Thursday evening. We went there to change our reservation to a different day and was told no availability at the time we wanted (5:20 p.m.). We ended up canceling our reservation. Our money was given back to us as OBC, not back to our credit card. It was refundable OBC but we would have to wait to get it back. The restaurant had many available tables when we walked by the evening we wanted.

 

Steak in the dining room was chewy. My husband ordered that and said he wouldn’t again.

 

Princess future cruise package information was delivered to each room. Same thing that many of us have gotten phone calls about. Mine went right in the trash can.

 

One day we ordered chicken sandwich and a burger to be delivered to Skywalkers. Delivery was perfect, food was hot and everything was there. That was not the case a couple days later. Food was cold, no condiments and took forever.

 

FYI --

 

We sat alone at a table for 8 one evening because Princess had no tables for 2. We weren’t the only ones sitting like that. There were so many large tables. One of the employees said that they were set up for big groups and families. The employee also said that most people on this cruise wanted a private table.

 

We received paperwork that walk offs needed to be approved and only 1 piece of luggage. You had to have a free hand for the railing. During disembarkment, they turned anyone away from the escalator if you did not have a free hand. A few people were upset. Also, there were people who did walk off and then demanded to get their luggage from the checked area. Those poor employees were getting yelled at from the passengers that weren’t suppose to do walk off.

 

We noticed that not as many people were ordering food delivered as in the past. Maybe the delivery charge has cut down on that.

 

Princess theater and explorer’s lounge fill up quickly. Get there early.

 

This cruise met our expectations and we had a great time.

 

[LACruiser88]

We had good friends that were on your voyage.  They both came down with mild cold symptoms over the last couple days of the cruise.  They both tested positive for covid once they returned home.  Btw, they had a fantastic time on the cruise.

[ArizonaStorm]

I appreciate the review.  I'll be on the Ruby to Hawaii in December, and am looking forward to the sea-days.

[mamafun]

Thanks for the wonderful review!

[sns1]

LACruiser88..........tell your friends that we just tested positive also.  There was so much coughing and sneezing on the ship.  Covid is here to stay.  We will continue to cruise.

[Cruise Raider]

What a great review .. balanced and very informative.  So sorry you got CoVid. I hope your symptoms aren’t severe.  
I have to confess, I have definitely been one of those passengers that haven’t gone to dinner even though I have reservations.  I used to go to tell them if I won’t be making it.  I am going to go in my app and cancel these reservations for my future cruises now.  Thank you for the reminder on how it impacts others.  

[negn]

We made reservations months before for 2 at 6pm.  Never got a table for 2.   We were told it would be an hour wait.  Why offer reservations if they are not able to provide?  Feel the dining rooms are still set up for the old 2 seating times as most tables were for 6-8.   We,too, sat at a table for 8 at breakfast although there were only 2 of us.   Chair hogs were out in force.  Before 6 am all loungers in shade were reserved.   In Martinique, we got a lounger around 9 and the ones next to us were reserved.  By 3 pm no one had been there.  Had an urge to accidentally drop my ice cream on their stuff. Lol

 

 

 

 

[memoak]

1 hour ago, negn said:

We made reservations months before for 2 at 6pm.  Never got a table for 2.   We were told it would be an hour wait.  Why offer reservations if they are not able to provide?  Feel the dining rooms are still set up for the old 2 seating times as most tables were for 6-8.   We,too, sat at a table for 8 at breakfast although there were only 2 of us.   Chair hogs were out in force.  Before 6 am all loungers in shade were reserved.   In Martinique, we got a lounger around 9 and the ones next to us were reserved.  By 3 pm no one had been there.  Had an urge to accidentally drop my ice cream on their stuff. Lol

 

 

 

 

With all the MDR issues we hear about on every ship we are glad too always be in Reserve Dining. Since the restart we have never waited more than 2 minutes

[KKB]

23 hours ago, sns1 said:

We had the old Plus package and didn’t realize that we had to pay to have the Medallion mailed to us. This was very confusing to us. We thought we were all set with Plus.

This isn't right--have been booking the Plus package since 2021...never have had to pay for our Medallions to be shipped.🤷‍♀️

Edited March 27 by KKB

[memoak]

1 hour ago, KKB said:

This isn't right--have been booking the Plus package since 2021...never have had to pay for our Medallions to be shipped.🤷‍♀️

When you order it will say $10 but when it ships the invoice says $0 and you are not charged. This has been going on for several years with the apps