just back from ruby, comments

[njsonja]

i know how lucky i am to be able to afford a cruise..i'm simply stating facts

 

1. there is no blowdryer any longer in the spa; someone, somewhere put the blowdryer in a sink and got electrocuted; they took them out of all the spas; so after sauna/steam and shower, you have to go to your room with wet hair, in or out of a towel; if they blow dry your hair in the salon, it will be $50 and up.

 

2. just an fyi; the thermal suite...there are several steam rooms; no sauna and the steams are not as hot as the ones that are the public area and don't cost anything

 

3. they request that you return the playing cards you borrowed

 

4. dining room; much smaller portions; escargots and french onion soup are on the menu but it must be a secret because you can request it but it's not printed on the menu; lobster tails, you can get more than one, but not at one time, one after another; a woman asked for 3 danish at bkfst and the waiter made a snide remark to her about her wanting too many; you can get freshly squeezed orange juice upon request in the dining room for bkfst; if you order it up on the horizon court it will cost you $6.00 for a large and they ran out of baked alaska as it was requested the night before by a few people and that was a secret too

 

5. you can now use the internet until the moment you disembark provided you do not need to buy minutes...you can buy them up until 11 p.m. the night before you leave

 

6. the shows were excellent but now they show 4 of the same 2 nights in a row (early and late) so no one misses anything which means they have cut the shows by half

 

have a great time..

 

sonja

[sidari]

Sonja .... The Main Saunas are at the rear of the changing rooms in the Lotus Spa but maybe you knew that? your post doesnt make it clear, you have to pass them to get to the Thermal suite and as you are aware it is downstairs.

 

We had French onion soup which was on the menu! which Dining room were you in?

 

As for a hairdryer maybe because there is one in every room they decided due to the incident you mentioned that there was no longer a need for any in the Spa, and walking inside with wet hair isnt that big an issue is it??....:eek:

[cynbar]

Can someone let us in on the secret of when the escargot and French onion soup are available?????? How do you know this ---- does your waiter offer it when you sit down, or do you need to somehow figure it out with a secret code or something????

[njsonja]

we asked at lobster night, the second formal night, why they didn't have escargots and the waiter said they did, but it was not on the menu...

 

the onion soup was mentioned by someone in the dining room somewhere

 

and yes, it is a big deal for me to go up to my room with wet hair...i'm still paying for the cruise aren't i? is it a big deal to have a blow dryer where you wash your hair?

 

and yes, there is a sauna and a steam in the lotus spa for free; there is no sauna in the thermal where you pay for it.....and in the free area, the steam and sauna are wonderfully hot

 

s

[Pia1913]

So I guess this means you won't be cruising Princess again?

[njsonja]

i'll let you know...lol

 

every cruise has its good points and bad....i'll weigh the options...i've cruised 16x, 10x with princess....we'll have to wait and see...

 

have a good one...i'm unpacking as we speak...

 

s

[steveweese]

Had a great, great time.

 

The were alot of ornery, bit##y people on it thou.

 

Ship was nice, crew was nice, food was nice etc.

[sherman931]

Thanks for the info

[Tatka]

4. dining room; much smaller portions; escargots and french onion soup are on the menu but it must be a secret because you can request it but it's not printed on the menu; lobster tails, you can get more than one, but not at one time, one after another; a woman asked for 3 danish at bkfst and the waiter made a snide remark to her about her wanting too many; you can get freshly squeezed orange juice upon request in the dining room for bkfst; if you order it up on the horizon court it will cost you $6.00 for a large and they ran out of baked alaska as it was requested the night before by a few people and that was a secret too

 

I never understood this complaint..

 

We don't care about size of portions, actually glad they aren't huge, as we could try (and were able to finish them all).. But we allways can order as many portions as we wish.. in fact my DH orders 2 main entries every meal... Never saw even a glimpse of dissatisfuction from waiters.

[Colo Cruiser]

Wow!! big changes from my Ruby cruise last month. :eek:

[nursebubba]

Had a great, great time.

 

The were alot of ornery, bit##y people on it thou.

 

Ship was nice, crew was nice, food was nice etc.

Will post my review later but for those packing for next week some thoughts: the only outlet in the bathroom would not take my little fan even though it si not even 3 pronged. All our plugs have one side larger and wider than the other and the bathroom would not take it. My extension cord from behind tv would not reach even though 15 ft. So buy some sort of plug that will convert it. As for the comment about the bi**hy lady, she was the talk of the ship and I will post more later about it but it was really sad. The coffee was only bad one morning. Ask for extra cream, 2 creamers and have them warmed if you use alot as the cream will make it cold. There are a few people I need to mention, I don't feel so well today as I get the seasick feeling after I get off. David and Jasper in Michelangelo are wonderful. David told us each night about things like the french oniion soup etc. Liza in the spa gave me my very 1st massage and I had 2 more. She goes the extra and is also a physical therapist which made me relax after telling her about my herniated disc. We were on Caribe 305 and had the best stewardess ever after 12 cruises. Her name was Walai from thailand. Carlos on the other end of that room service button each day was so nice. I can't remeber their names but go see the bartenders at Crooners and tell them the sisters from ohio sad hello. They deserve a medal for what they had to endure. The food was great. The night we went to the steak place was ok but no better tham the steak you can order each night in the dining room. The head waiter Jan in mich. dining room can get you reservations each day with David and Jasper. He has a dry sense of humor so take him that way. We arranged our day around eating with them even though we were anytime. I accidently slept through my meet and greet so that was sad. On last day stay on ship as long as possible as that taxi thing was a nightmare but no fault of princess. Well again I need to lay down and will post a full review later.

[Colo Cruiser]

Will post my review later but for those packing for next week some thoughts: the only outlet in the bathroom would not take my little fan even though it si not even 3 pronged. All our plugs have one side larger and wider than the other and the bathroom would not take it. My extension cord from behind tv would not reach even though 15 ft. So buy some sort of plug that will convert it. As for the comment about the bi**hy lady, she was the talk of the ship and I will post more later about it but it was really sad. The coffee was only bad one morning. Ask for extra cream, 2 creamers and have them warmed if you use alot as the cream will make it cold. There are a few people I need to mention, I don't feel so well today as I get the seasick feeling after I get off. David and Jasper in Michelangelo are wonderful. David told us each night about things like the french oniion soup etc. Liza in the spa gave me my very 1st massage and I had 2 more. She goes the extra and is also a physical therapist which made me relax after telling her about my herniated disc. We were on Caribe 305 and had the best stewardess ever after 12 cruises. Her name was Walai from thailand. Carlos on the other end of that room service button each day was so nice. I can't remeber their names but go see the bartenders at Crooners and tell them the sisters from ohio sad hello. They deserve a medal for what they had to endure. The food was great. The night we went to the steak place was ok but no better tham the steak you can order each night in the dining room. The head waiter Jan in mich. dining room can get you reservations each day with David and Jasper. He has a dry sense of humor so take him that way. We arranged our day around eating with them even though we were anytime. I accidently slept through my meet and greet so that was sad. On last day stay on ship as long as possible as that taxi thing was a nightmare but no fault of princess. Well again I need to lay down and will post a full review later.

 

 

Bathroom outlet clearly states "Shavers Only" on it.

 

 

I agree 100% about Carlos, he handled every request perfectly. ;)

[chasinraynbowz]

There is a plug at the desk that I was able to use for my curling iron (and my fan would have worked there too, if I had remembered it... lol).

 

As for the escargot and french onion soup, we never knew they were available. We had a great waitress, but she seemed overworked. No complaints about her though... she and her helper were both great and we never had to wait for anything. :)

[newmexicoNita]

I guess it is welcome to cruising today. Much of what you witnessed can be seen on many lines. The prices have stayed stable or increased very little in the past 5 years while everyhing has gone up, the cruise lines want to make a buck so they can stay in business. We are going to see more cuts as the rate war continues or we are going to find more nickel and diming.

 

Nita

[Tatka]

I guess it is welcome to cruising today. Much of what you witnessed can be seen on many lines. The prices have stayed stable or increased very little in the past 5 years while everyhing has gone up, the cruise lines want to make a buck so they can stay in business. We are going to see more cuts as the rate war continues or we are going to find more nickel and diming.

 

Nita

 

We honestly haven't noticed this on our Princess and Celebrity cruises during last 2 years. Everything was perfect... On NCL Spirit this Spring and HAL Zuiderdam downfalls in service were definitely noticable. While stewards and waiters (on HAL) tried to do their best they were understaffed and overworked.

[newmexicoNita]

We honestly haven't noticed this on our Princess and Celebrity cruises during last 2 years. Everything was perfect... On NCL Spirit this Spring and HAL Zuiderdam downfalls in service were definitely noticable. While stewards and waiters (on HAL) tried to do their best they were understaffed and overworked.

wow, I always wonder about the word "perfect" I don't think other than my first cruise I would say any cruise was perfect. We did see a huge problem with Princess last January.

the food was good, but the service was just so so and our cabin steward or stewardess, actually wasn't an better. In fact it was the first time since auto tipping we didn't leave extra. I guess it just depends on the cruise, but I do believe things are changing. We even saw a difference in our first and second Celebrity cruise, but we haven't been on Celebrity for 3 years. HAL offered the best of everything, again it has been 2 years. We will be on Princess again this coming year, I will be anxious to see what the service is like this time.

 

Nita

[sidari]

njsonja ......."and yes, it is a big deal for me to go up to my room with wet hair...i'm still paying for the cruise aren't i? is it a big deal to have a blow dryer where you wash your hair?"

 

Doe sthat mean you want a dryer on deck for when you get out of the pool...LOL.....:D

[Tatka]

wow, I always wonder about the word "perfect" I don't think other than my first cruise I would say any cruise was perfect. We did see a huge problem with Princess last January.

the food was good, but the service was just so so and our cabin steward or stewardess, actually wasn't an better. In fact it was the first time since auto tipping we didn't leave extra. I guess it just depends on the cruise, but I do believe things are changing. We even saw a difference in our first and second Celebrity cruise, but we haven't been on Celebrity for 3 years. HAL offered the best of everything, again it has been 2 years. We will be on Princess again this coming year, I will be anxious to see what the service is like this time.

 

Nita

 

I was especially impressed with service, and not only in Dining room.. but in buffet. At first I thought these people wanted to sell me something (drink, coffe a la carte), but they just wanted to bring me free juice or tea or... There always was somebody who moved a chair for me, cleaned a table etc.

 

Princess has implemented "small" touches that we had on Celebrity before.. for example cold towels in hot upon re-boarding in ports.

 

Entertainment, well, small scale entertainment was great even on our first with them, but this time they outdid themselves with almost non-stop "street entertainment" at Piazza.

 

Stateroom attendant service .. Well this is something that difficult to compare, maybe it was as good as on our last Princes cruise, but this cruise was right after our cruise on NCL Spirit ... so .... I still remember our room not made at 1 pm and 9:30 pm almost every day. On Princess (same Anytime Dining concept by the way), every single time we returned after dinner our room was done.. at 6:30, at 7:30 etc.

 

One difference was that last time there was specific person at the back Adult only pool, who watched kids (and told them out) all day long. This time I saw kids twice at the pool, but crew members did ask them to leave.

 

Princess somehow limits number of kids on board, even though they do have very adequate facilities for them. On our Thanksgiving cruise there were maybe around 500 kids.. Now, imagine 800 kids on NCL Spirit, no.. don't do it it's scarey. :D

 

Just to let you know, we enjoyed our cruise on elegant NCL Spirit and will consider them for our future cruise, but with all honesty I saw a couple of very faults.

[Tatka]

Oh.. one more remark.

 

My DH is a salesman (for Toyota). Toyota corp spends pretty money on employee phsycological training. He can tell a good service from bad... from his position. I won't go into the details, but they even being tought how to smile naturaly... :D

 

So. He spent some time alone walking around the ship and observed crew working (not on purpose). He was really impressed how enthusiastic and eager to help they looked. I personally was also also impressed how many times I saw short trainings of the groups of pool deck attendants.

 

I call it maintaining and improving service.

[newmexicoNita]

I was especially impressed with service, and not only in Dining room.. but in buffet. At first I thought these people wanted to sell me something (drink, coffe a la carte), but they just wanted to bring me free juice or tea or... There always was somebody who moved a chair for me, cleaned a table etc.

 

Princess has implemented "small" touches that we had on Celebrity before.. for example cold towels in hot upon re-boarding in ports.

 

Entertainment, well, small scale entertainment was great even on our first with them, but this time they outdid themselves with almost non-stop "street entertainment" at Piazza.

 

Stateroom attendant service .. Well this is something that difficult to compare, maybe it was as good as on our last Princes cruise, but this cruise was right after our cruise on NCL Spirit ... so .... I still remember our room not made at 1 pm and 9:30 pm almost every day. On Princess (same Anytime Dining concept by the way), every single time we returned after dinner our room was done.. at 6:30, at 7:30 etc.

 

One difference was that last time there was specific person at the back Adult only pool, who watched kids (and told them out) all day long. This time I saw kids twice at the pool, but crew members did ask them to leave.

 

Princess somehow limits number of kids on board, even though they do have very adequate facilities for them. On our Thanksgiving cruise there were maybe around 500 kids.. Now, imagine 800 kids on NCL Spirit, no.. don't do it it's scarey. :D

 

Just to let you know, we enjoyed our cruise on elegant NCL Spirit and will consider them for our future cruise, but with all honesty I saw a couple of very faults.

Agree about limiting the numbe of kids, this can make a big difference especially when you are cruising over a holiday. As for when the cabin is made up, we too were a little put out with NCL on the Spirit, but we had a similar experience on Princess. The one thing we all have to remember, the crew has X number of cabins, if you are the last on the route you can be assured you will not have a clean up before mid afternoon or 9pm plus. We asked about this, and the answer makes sense, olden days it was easier due to "early versus "late" seating, now they can't clean based on that.

 

On the Spirit last week I had several crew members offer to carry my plate for me in the buffet, Actually I wanted to slug them, I didn't realize I look tha old. LOL We always had someone to pull our chair out for us, both dining room and buffet and the tables were always kept clean. NO, we didn't get the towel touch which we do like but we did get the champange upon embarkation.

 

Nita

[AJMissal]

The onion soup and escargo was only on the menu Thursday night!

[chrysalis]

It was only on the menu Thursday night!

 

what was?

[Colo Cruiser]

what was?

 

 

Chutney!! :eek:

[chrysalis]

Chutney!! :eek:

 

mango?

[Tatka]

Don't worry. I don't think they offer help in buffet based on the age. On my very first cruise 5 years ago I was 31.. :D

 

I don't believe service is slipping, what I think is we are becoming more critical with an age.

 

IMHO, cruiselines are trying a lot of things to improve especially now when they are facing steep competition and have to win customers to fill hundreds of ships.