Ruby Princess 11/15 - 11/22

[RTEJME]

The Ruby Princess is a beautiful cruise ship, however, some things we were very disappointed with. We were in Dolphin 501 and our air conditioning was not working. We asked four times for it to be checked. As we were getting ready the sweat was pouring down our faces. We never were told what was wrong with the system. Talked to a few others close to 501 and said their rooms were also very warm. They never did fix the problem so we just gave up and accepted it. Princess does not get high marks for sharing with us what was wrong. Our phone was constantly out of service, again never an explanation, just that they would fix it the next day. Glad we did not have an emergency during the night. I realize this is a new ship and they have to get out the kinks, but hey princess at least let us know what is going on.

 

We did have a wonderful time with friends and family so I guess that is all that matters.

 

Would I choose Princess again. I am not sure. I think for the cost of the mini suite it was very small compared to the suite we had on the Carnival Valor last year. I know your going to all say we had a suite vs mini, but the cost for both were the same.

[Sandytoes]

Typically on a maiden voyage cruise lines assign their best and most experienced crew to a new ship.

Inaugural sailings are a little bit iffy and you should expect occasional foul-ups.

It's not uncommon for cabins to have temperamental thermostats, mislabeled electrical outlets, or card-key locks that refuse to function.

 

Annoyances aside, by your review it's clear Inaugural sailings are not for you.

 

Thanks for sharing and enjoy Carnival.

[Colo Cruiser]

We had the phone issues too as did many others, new system and bugs to work out. our AC was set on the coolest setting all week. We did not let it deter from our experience. :)

[DonahCBrown]

We, too, are just back from the 11/15 to 11/22 Ruby. Caribe deck didn't seem to have the phone issues - at least not in the forward cabins, and our thermostat was fine. We were thrilled with the level of service received overall, with a couple of minor exceptions - the most notable being a fairly snarky guy in charge of the internet cafe. He refused to allow Elite and Platinum passengers access to the extra 30 minutes for signing up on the first day because our internet was "free" - this was a first as we've been given it on all our other cruises since the new policy went into effect. Told him this and he responded that all the other internet managers on all the other ships were "doing it wrong"! The other glitch was with the priority tender embarkation, but a stop by and chat with the Captains Circle hostess got that handled for the second tender port.

 

I thought the caliber of entertainment was quite high - particularly the two new production shows, and that the singer was very good. I particularly enjoyed the atrium 'sidewalk' entertainers - there was always something going on there and it was fun to stroll by and catch whatever was on offer.

 

The International Cafe was great, Cafe Caribe was good, the Pub Lunch in the Wheelhouse was wildly popular and fun, the service in the dining room was outstanding (Michaelangelo - Table 226) and even the coffee was better than usual. Capt. Yeomans came to the CC get together and spent quite a long while chatting and answering questions (he was dubbed "Captain McCharming - ref: Grey's Anatomy - by some of the CCer's who were on both the Nov. 8 and Nov. 15 sailings)

 

The ship itself is very lovely, has a 'new car' smell still, the new bedding was heavenly, the crew was very welcoming and accomodating. All in all, a very nice experience - we didn't have time to even get to half of the things we wanted to do.

[nursebubba]

We, too, are just back from the 11/15 to 11/22 Ruby. Caribe deck didn't seem to have the phone issues - at least not in the forward cabins, and our thermostat was fine. We were thrilled with the level of service received overall, with a couple of minor exceptions - the most notable being a fairly snarky guy in charge of the internet cafe. He refused to allow Elite and Platinum passengers access to the extra 30 minutes for signing up on the first day because our internet was "free" - this was a first as we've been given it on all our other cruises since the new policy went into effect. Told him this and he responded that all the other internet managers on all the other ships were "doing it wrong"! The other glitch was with the priority tender embarkation, but a stop by and chat with the Captains Circle hostess got that handled for the second tender port.

 

I thought the caliber of entertainment was quite high - particularly the two new production shows, and that the singer was very good. I particularly enjoyed the atrium 'sidewalk' entertainers - there was always something going on there and it was fun to stroll by and catch whatever was on offer.

 

The International Cafe was great, Cafe Caribe was good, the Pub Lunch in the Wheelhouse was wildly popular and fun, the service in the dining room was outstanding (Michaelangelo - Table 226) and even the coffee was better than usual. Capt. Yeomans came to the CC get together and spent quite a long while chatting and answering questions (he was dubbed "Captain McCharming - ref: Grey's Anatomy - by some of the CCer's who were on both the Nov. 8 and Nov. 15 sailings)

 

The ship itself is very lovely, has a 'new car' smell still, the new bedding was heavenly, the crew was very welcoming and accomodating. All in all, a very nice experience - we didn't have time to even get to half of the things we wanted to do.

We are on the caribe deck also on Dec. 6th. My sister and I both menopausal. When I read about the air cond. problem I about died. I can endure anything as long as I am not too hot. We are by the laundry and elevator so it sounds like we are close to where you are. I wonder how much air comes in the balcony door if ship is moving. It is our 1st balcony.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

We were on Emerald deck and never had phone or aircon problems - I woke up hot every night but I guess that was just me as Hubby who is normally the hot one was fine:D

 

I did notice that the water faucet (tap) was mislabelled the hot showed blue and the cold red but we switched that around:D

 

Donna it was great meeting you guys at the M&G and it took us the 2 weeks to check out the ship and I'm sure there were areas we never got to. We did go play minature golf one day and Aubrey shot a few hoops, I went to check out the sanctuary, the spa pool, spa etc so I could take pics.

[DonahCBrown]

We are on the caribe deck also on Dec. 6th. My sister and I both menopausal. When I read about the air cond. problem I about died. I can endure anything as long as I am not too hot. We are by the laundry and elevator so it sounds like we are close to where you are. I wonder how much air comes in the balcony door if ship is moving. It is our 1st balcony.

 

We were towards the front in C226, not far from the laundry. I have a broken internal thermostat also ;) and was able to stay comfortable with no problem. There's a good breeze when the balcony door is open and the Caribe balconies are nice and spacious, 1/2 covered, 1/2 open, with a small table and two chairs and two additional larger 'sitting' chairs - very nice.