My Ruby Princess Review--Sorry, no pics

We disembarked the ship on Sunday, June 5. This was our first Princess cruise. Our second cruise to Alaska, the first on HAL.

I am doing this review strictly from memory as I did not take any notes.

We did not go to the naturalist talk so I don't know who it was.

The ship: It is a beautiful, elegant ship. Lots of earth tones with marble, wood and stained glass. The atrium is especially lovely. It is laid out fairly well. One gripe I had is the way the Lido buffet is organized. It seemed to promote congestion as people were funneled into a small area with various bars placed in staggered places. It is plenty big enough ship for me. The HAL ship we were on was much smaller but I liked it just as well. One thing I really liked on the Ruby is the abundance of elevators. Waiting for one was not a long wait and that made us happy. We did not go to the Sanctuary, the adults only section of the pool deck, because I am too cheap to pay $20 for a half day. Sorry, that's just me.

I thought the dining room was very nice. It seemed more intimate than the ships with 2 or 3 levels open to a great big chandelier. I did not care for the 80's decor though, especially the awful light sconces on the walls.

We did anytime dining and there was never a long wait.

I did get confused some as to which way to go sometimes but that is a small complaint because I am direction challenged.

The food: It was very good to excellent. We ate dinner in the dining room every night and never had a bad meal or bad service. I had the hazelnut crusted salmon with maple glaze and found it to be very delicious. I didn't eat any beef but my wife did and she said it was all good. Of course, I had the lobster and prawns and loved them. The prawns were the biggest I've ever seen. I had seared scallops one night and loved the also.

Desserts were mostly very good also. I had creme brulee 3 or 4 nights just because I love it. The ice cream was a disappointment. No matter what flavor I tried it just seemed tasteless. The cheesecake was probably the best I ever had on a cruise.

The buffet food was excellent. We didn't eat there a lot so I cannot remember anything specific that I liked. The Trident grill had hot dogs, hamburgers, fried, etc. The hamburger was very good and I loved the fries. Room service food was good but it took a long time to get it.

Entertainment: We saw 2 shows, Colors of the World and Magic to Do. I was not impressed with either one. Magic to Do was the better one but it wasn't that great.

The comedienne was J.J. Jamal and he was hilarious. Loved him. He did one show that was like traditional comedy and then another where he did impressions, like Michael Jackson doing the weather. So funny.

I am not a fan of using the atrium for shows and events. There is very limited seating on the bottom level and of course none on the other levels.

Activities: We did not participate in many because most were like a lead in to sell you something. I think there was bingo only once or twice during the whole week.

This is one weakness that exists when comparing Princess to HAL.

Cabin: It's a typical cruise ship cabin. We had a balcony on deck 11. The beds slept wonderfully. One problem was that the room steward told us he could not put our twin beds together to make one big bed because our daughter had to use one of the bunk beds that came from the ceiling. She has been on at least 11 cruises and we have never been told this before.

Service: For the most part the service everywhere was great. All the crew members that we came in contact with were happy and smiling. They greeted us with a sincere hello. One waiter in the dining room was a little slow but not too bad. I tried my best to get my water glass empty at dinner and was only able to do it twice. They were on the ball. One person in our group didn't feel like coming to the dining room one night. We told not to worry that we would bring her something. Well, that was a no go. They refused to allow us to take a plate to the room from the dining room. We never had a problem with this before on other cruise lines. Princess seems to stick by the rules and won't go out of their way to take care of you.

Dining room attire: There was a sign at the door to the dining room that said shorts, ball caps and tank tops are not allowed at dinner in the dining room. While I never saw anyone wear shorts or a tank top there was a guy in a ball cap and they did not say anything to him. 90% of the people dressed at least semi-formal on formal nights. I saw a few men wearing sport coats but no ties. I didn't see any long dresses but lots of short cocktail type dresses and a few dressy pant suits. I don't think I saw any jeans on formal nights but there were plenty on the other nights.

Excursions: We were to do the Tracy Arm Adventure and the White Pass Train ride. Well, the ship didn't go up Tracy Arm because of too much ice so our excursion went up Endicott Arm to Daus glacier. It was beautiful and we even saw quite a bit of glacier calving which was awesome. We saw a bunch of sea lions but no whales while on the excursion. We saw a lot of whales off our balcony though. The train ride was spectacular and thrilling. The scenery was beyond beautiful. I recommend both excursions highly.

Embarkation and Disembarkation: Both went smoothly. We got to the ship around 11:00 am and was on before 12. We got off the ship around 9:30. That was the latest they would allow you to stay on the ship.

That is about it for this review. I hope it helps give some needed info. I am not sure we would do Princess again mainly because of the activities and entertainment. The food and service were great. If you have any questions I will try to answer the best I can remember. LOL

Thanks for the review.

One person in our group didn't feel like coming to the dining room one night. We told not to worry that we would bring her something. Well, that was a no go. They refused to allow us to take a plate to the room from the dining room. We never had a problem with this before on other cruise lines. Princess seems to stick by the rules and won't go out of their way to take care of you.

 

Thanks for your report.

Although Princess does not allow food to be carried out from a dining room, we have found that a request to a headwaiter to have food sent to the cabin of someone who did not feel well enough to come to dinner has always been met with a "yes, we can do that."

Sometimes when we told our waiter that someone was not well enough to some to dinner, the waiter volunteered to have food sent to the cabin.

Nice review thanks.

Tony

Thanks for the review. As said, Princess doesn't allow food taken from the dining room. They used to but haven't for a couple of years. Just ask and they will deliver to someone's cabin. I've done that several times. My sister was coming down with a cold and I asked to have one of the yummy Norman Love chocolate desserts delivered. My waiter ran upstairs with it as we were having coffee.

On Princess, in general, all you have to do us ask. They are far more flexible than my experience as a 3-star Mariner on HAL.

Thanks for taking the time to write a review! Glad you enjoyed the train too! We've done the train all through AK, now I want to do a cruise...its on the list! :D