A Very Ruby Christmas - Ruby Princess 12/20-30 review (very long)

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks.

[Working 2 Cruise]

Hi Infi (Cindy):

 

Was so nice to meet you and your daughter on the cruise. Even though we had sailed together last year, we never actually met that day.

 

It was a fun Christmas cruise. The six of us enjoyed our time on the cruise and the islands. The two private tours we set up in St. Lucia and St. Kitts turned out to be excellent. Was very glad that we booked them. I wasn't sure what you did on the islands, so will be interested to read your review of them. I was so glad that past cruisers on CC had posted their thoughts on some of the private companies because they turned out to be excellent.

 

Can't believe the cruise has come and gone. It was a lot of fun.

 

Take care,

 

Susan

 

Susan, I will be on the May 1 cruise on Sapphire Princess to the Mexican Riviera... Is this where you are also headed? Looks like it will be a lot of fun, and total relaxation! I can hardly wait... Counting the days! I see it isn't your first time on the Sapphire, but it will be mine... Any tips I should know about? Thank you!

[jackdiamond]

Again, thank you for a very fine review. When we were in Barbados last month, one ship was docked near the industrial area; and, we observed many folks from that ship walking to Brandon beach, which is a very nice beach. Did you perhaps witness the same activities.

As a result of our observations, we decided to walk back to the Equinox, which was a mistake due to the length of the stroll and the beach stuff which we carry. As a matter of fact, it was about a 45 minute journey.

However, if we dock as you indicated on our March cruise we will probably walk to Brandon, since it is only about a 15 minute stroll from there, probably about the same distance as the path from the Equinox to the taxi stands.

[tedwit]

:) Great review. We are sailing on the Ruby 2/18. Could you tell me which one of the first 2 days at sea was formal?

[Donder1]

Heading out on the Ruby this Saturday. Thanks for the tour. Sounds like you love your DD very much..

[bun38]

No rush on the Patters or Menus...would enjoy reading them thanks!

[jtagphillycruiser]

Thank you. I love reading about your trip. Can't wait for more...Joanne

[Hulagirl]

Funinla: We actually just canceled our Sapphire cruise for May. We would have been getting on the day your disembarked. It was the coastal cruise that I'd booked. Actually I changed to the Golden doing the coastal instead. It just had a better itinerary for us. You will love the Sapphire. I really can't think of anything to tell you other than just have a wonderful cruise. We went the Mexico cruise at the end of last October. It is always fun and easy. Enjoy your time.

 

Infi: We went with Cosol Tours for St. Lucia. I'd contacted him the end of last September and booked us privately with them. He seemed to have several vans going that day, but it was just the 6 of us in the one van. We had a really good time. The hills and the roads were getting old though near the end for me. Lindsay's ears kept popping which led to another problem for her.

 

In St. Kitts we booked with Rose and Jim. I'd read so many good things about them on the CC board and she was the nicest lady. Turned out that we were the only ones with her that day. I think there had been others from the Carnival Valor that had booked, but then the ship changed dates and they were in St. Kitts the day before. So for us it worked out quite well. During the tour that day the van had a flat tire. So Ed, Dustin and Steve changed it for her (really Ed did the most) and off we went. She took us on a longer tour because of that, which was nice.

 

Lindsay's ears really started to bother her in St. Thomas. Actually she said they felt like they were burning inside, so that night (of course after hours) we ended up going to the medical facility on the ship. Now that was definitely a first class operation. The DR and the nurse on duty that night were excellent and we were impressed. Turned out though she had a sinus infection and we had to go to the DR once we got home for antibiotics. It hadn't gotten to that point on the ship yet otherwise I'm sure he would have put her on them. I was quite worried with all the flying we had to do to get home. She made it though.

 

Have to laugh about Italian night. I'm disappointed in what Princess has done with their menus. Several of the items we liked are gone. That night there used to be this delicious pasta on the vegetarian side of the menu, but it is now gone. I know you went to the Crown Grill the night of the Chef's Menu, but I have to say that is one of our favorite menus. The Crown Grill on the Ruby was very good and we had an excellent dinner there also.

 

Will be interested to read the rest of your review. I had no idea about the man and his wife on the ship. We heard the Code Alpha announcement, but had no idea what it was all about. So very sad for them and their family.

 

Can't wait to read more.

 

Susan

[Infi]

Funinla: We actually just canceled our Sapphire cruise for May. We would have been getting on the day your disembarked. It was the coastal cruise that I'd booked. Actually I changed to the Golden doing the coastal instead. It just had a better itinerary for us. You will love the Sapphire. I really can't think of anything to tell you other than just have a wonderful cruise. We went the Mexico cruise at the end of last October. It is always fun and easy. Enjoy your time.

 

Infi: We went with Cosol Tours for St. Lucia. I'd contacted him the end of last September and booked us privately with them. He seemed to have several vans going that day, but it was just the 6 of us in the one van. We had a really good time. The hills and the roads were getting old though near the end for me. Lindsay's ears kept popping which led to another problem for her.

 

In St. Kitts we booked with Rose and Jim. I'd read so many good things about them on the CC board and she was the nicest lady. Turned out that we were the only ones with her that day. I think there had been others from the Carnival Valor that had booked, but then the ship changed dates and they were in St. Kitts the day before. So for us it worked out quite well. During the tour that day the van had a flat tire. So Ed, Dustin and Steve changed it for her (really Ed did the most) and off we went. She took us on a longer tour because of that, which was nice.

 

Lindsay's ears really started to bother her in St. Thomas. Actually she said they felt like they were burning inside, so that night (of course after hours) we ended up going to the medical facility on the ship. Now that was definitely a first class operation. The DR and the nurse on duty that night were excellent and we were impressed. Turned out though she had a sinus infection and we had to go to the DR once we got home for antibiotics. It hadn't gotten to that point on the ship yet otherwise I'm sure he would have put her on them. I was quite worried with all the flying we had to do to get home. She made it though.

 

Have to laugh about Italian night. I'm disappointed in what Princess has done with their menus. Several of the items we liked are gone. That night there used to be this delicious pasta on the vegetarian side of the menu, but it is now gone. I know you went to the Crown Grill the night of the Chef's Menu, but I have to say that is one of our favorite menus. The Crown Grill on the Ruby was very good and we had an excellent dinner there also.

 

Will be interested to read the rest of your review. I had no idea about the man and his wife on the ship. We heard the Code Alpha announcement, but had no idea what it was all about. So very sad for them and their family.

 

Can't wait to read more.

 

Susan

 

Susan,

That's so funny about Lindsey's problem on the ship. I also started feeling like a sinus infection was coming on in St. Thomas (I get them often) and felt really blah that morning when we were shopping (ill while shopping, I couldn't believe it either). When I got home, sure enough, that's what it was. Thankfully, I had a Dr's appointment set for the day after we came back so I was able to get antibiotics, but it really knocked me out for a few days. Glad to hear that the medical center onboard was so good - I've never used one (and hope I won't have to) but it's reassuring to hear you all were treated so well.

 

I wish we had been able to go with Cosol in St. Lucia. Those tours sounded wonderful. If I had only known about Spencer's tour, I would have just booked Cosol instead. Sounds like you had a nice time with the private van. Your St. Kitts tour sounds nice also. I really thought our train ride would be great because of what I read here, but it was pretty dull. Next time I'll try a private tour instead. Do you feel like you got to see much, or were there not many sites to see? That was our main issue with the train - just scenery and little background story.

 

Since you've been on Princess so many times, you must really know the menus backwards and forwards. When they're good, they're really good, but when they're not, it's hard to find something to eat (the Caribbean night in particular is pretty bad!). We used to like the Chef's menu, like the crab and souffle, but now that both of those are gone we'll just skip it. I've noticed Princess has been getting rid of things just in the year we've been sailing with them, I wish I could have seen the menus before the cutbacks. We were really pleased with the Crown Grill on this trip, and I'm sure we'll be there again next time. I have to ask - will you be writing a review? I'd love to hear your take on the ship.

 

Can you believe it's been over a week since we got home? I wish we were back onboard the ship. It's been so cold here the last week (30s and 40s, so very cold for us) that the Caribbean warmth would be perfect right about now.

 

Cindy

[Infi]

Thanks to everyone who has been reading, I'm happy to hear others have been enjoying the trip report. Your comments are so kind, thank you for them...I really appreciate it. And Bon Voyage to all the future Ruby cruisers, I know she sails tomorrow for all you lucky folks. :)

 

WeBeGone: Thanks for the Barbados tip, I knew there had to be something else worth doing there. Were you on the Equinox 11/19 by any chance? Your screenname looks familiar.

 

Tedwit: The first sea day was the first formal night, and the last sea day was the second. (This is the itinerary with two sea days at first, I don't know if that's the same as yours.)

 

Bun38: I am having trouble with my scanner, so if I do get the Patters up, they will probably be photos. Just wanted to give you an update.

[Infi]

Part 3

 

Day 7, St. Kitts

Arrived in St. Kitts this morning to find the Grand Princess berthed alongside us. We had booked a Princess tour today, the St. Kitts scenic railway. Most reviews agreed that this was the excursion to do in St. Kitts, as it offered a comprehensive view of the island. We loved the White Pass & Yukon RR in Skagway so much we’ve done it twice, so this seemed like a neat way to see the island. Met on the pier, where we were directed to air-conditioned mini-buses. It was December 26th (Boxing day to us Americans), which was the start of Carnivale in St. Kitts. Our driver commented that the locals had been out partying since 4 in the morning in Basseterre, and that the streets would be impossible to get through. Our tablemates ventured into town in the afternoon and confirmed that it was filled with lots of locals and lots of empty beer bottles, but it was fun to see. So, our driver avoided the town, instead taking us on the brand new highway (only the second day it was open!) named after one of St. Kitts’ Olympian runners. He gave us a good narration, pointing out battle sites and churches, as we drove through various towns to get to the train station. The drive took about 20min. The coastline is very pretty, though there are areas where you can see the damage done by various hurricanes. You can really tell the difference between the Atlantic and Caribbean sides (which you see later on the train) just by looking at the waves. We arrived at the empty train station (which is really just a sidewalk and a turnaround) and waited about ten minutes for the train to arrive. You board the same number car as your bus, and when you disembark the train, your corresponding bus will be waiting right outside. Very simple. The cars each have two levels: the bottom floor is air conditioned, with large windows, tables, and comfy wicker chairs; and the upper floor is open air with padded benches. Most people stayed on the upper level, which has the better views, even when it briefly rained during our trip. You can hear the narration no matter where you are, but to be honest, there wasn’t much of it.

We were amused to hear that the train is run by the same company who runs the White Pass RR in Alaska, and the train itself is pieces cobbled together from different European countries. Originally, investors built the railway in the early 1900s to transport sugar from the island estates to the factory in Basseterre. Because of the railway, St. Kitts was able to produce more sugar for more months in the year, compared with the other Caribbean islands. St. Kitts finally stopped their sugar industry in 2005, long after many other islands had given up production. Now they focus on (you guessed it) tourism. Like I mentioned before, there is a narrator in the first car, but he didn’t speak much during our trip, only occasionally to point out towns or bridges. I think this is where our disappointment came: there just wasn’t much to see (nor was there much history or stories told). Most of the time, we were just rolling along looking at empty land and trees. Yes, the island is pretty, but there’s only so much silence and landscapes that you can take. We did get to see Nevis in the distance, and a black sand beach. One of the few highlights was when we passed through towns and saw local children waving at the train. As promised, the tour served one drink per person (soda, rum punch, frozen drinks, or water) and some homemade sugar cookies (very sweet). During the ride, a female trio came around to each car and sang songs acapella.

 

At the end of the tour, each family received a DVD of the train ride (if you wanted one of your own, they would give it to you but you had to ask). We haven’t watched the DVD yet, so I can’t comment on its quality. We felt slightly disoriented when we got off the train, as it only took a few minutes to return us to the pier via bus – we hadn’t realized the train had circled the entire island and now we were almost back at our starting point (though we disembarked at a different place than we embarked). I felt we got more out of the bus ride over to the train than the train ride itself, which is sad. Considering the price (and the many positive reviews), I expected more. Oh well, live and learn!

Managed to make it back to the ship for a quick lunch in the MDR before heading out to do some souvenir shopping for friends. The area immediately closest to the pier is Port Zante, one of those sanitized cruise ship shopping areas. There are a multitude of shops here, so many you might even get lost in the maze of them. We managed to find a small craft market behind all of the tacky t-shirt stores and picked up some pretty handpainted coasters and a wooden jewelry box.

You’ll also see locals out with their trained monkeys here, offering to take photos. St. Kitts is notoriously overpopulated with monkeys (80,000 monkeys for 35,000 people), and supposedly they roam free all over the island (though we never saw any). Before our trip, a family friend had warned us not to wear any jewelry (monkeys love shiny things, and sometimes their owners have trained them to steal) or to feed the wild monkeys, unless you want to be overwhelmed with monkeys. We stayed away from the trainers, and were glad we did. Our friends told us a trainer held their camera hostage until they paid him double the amount he originally quoted for a photo – yikes.

 

Sailaway was very cute this afternoon, as both the Grand and Ruby were trying to beat each other out of port. Passengers were waving and shouting at each other from the balconies and promenade as the ships waited to leave port. Everyone was watching for pier runners, of which there were plenty today. Finally, the Grand pulled up her gangway and sailed off, letting the late afternoon sun shine in on the Ruby.

Came back to our cabin to a nice surprise: DD had won the daily morning show trivia prize, which was a free drink in Adagio. Both of us joked that the trivia prize drinks are probably the bulk of Adagio’s business – other than that, the place is deserted. On our previous cruises, the trivia prize was dinner in one of the specialty restaurants, so this is a slight cutback.

 

Tonight’s menu was one of the Princess dinners. Our headwaiter prepared a plate of caprese salad as an appetizer for us, it was a nice gesture but the appetizer itself was mediocre. We (along with most of our table) had the shrimp kebab entrée, which was flavorful and delicious. Some of our tablemates were still talking about the entrée at the end of the night, it was that good.

The evening’s entertainment in the Princess theater was Dave Evans, billed as comedy and musical variety showtime. Oh my god, this man was awful. He repeated each joke a minimum of three times. Apparently, this is British style comedy, but we found it obnoxious and tiresome. His humor focused mainly on obscure British celebrities and singers. The whole act really catered mainly to the UK passengers in the audience, which was nice for them, but why alienate the other 2/3 of the ship? The only thing he had going for him was a half decent singing voice. I wish we had skipped this one.

Tonight at 9:30 was also the much-touted white hot deck party. (About a quarter of the passengers actually followed the dress code, so don’t worry about having something white). Other than the white dress code, this was no different than your average Caribbean deck party. Line dance lessons, a conga line, and they had a live band playing. The party did flame out quickly, almost like the cruise staff wanted to get it over with. They did the streamer throw early and most people left after that.

Later in the evening, I went to the comedy juggler (3 shows, one night only) David DiMuzio in Explorers. I thought he was good, especially considering the low ceiling in Explorers but my friend didn’t like him or his humor.

 

Tonight on MUTS: Mystique of the Baltic and Cirque du Soleil: Delirium. Club Fusion: Ballroom dance hour, karaoke and multimedia trivia.

 

Day 8, St. Thomas

We had an interesting experience being in St. Thomas on a Sunday. For those who don’t know, the downtown shops close up early on Sundays, around 1 or 2pm. The Crown Bay shops did stay open later, but the ones that did were mainly jewelry shops. They do this so the employees can actually have some time off, because they have ships in every other day of the week. There was also only one other ship in, the Serenade of the Seas, which docked at Havensight while we were at Crown Bay. BTW, if you like iguanas, they were out in full force at Crown Bay today. I swear, every time we come here they get more gutsy. We saw several chubby ones practically begging for food at one of the bars, and they have no fear of getting stepped on by the tourists – they’ll cross right in front of your path, so watch your step! We did not do a tour here, we’ve been here so many times and I know we’ll be back again. It was overcast and rained on and off during the day, so it wasn’t that great of a beach day either.

Went downtown to do some shopping, it’s $4pp each way in those awful truck-buses. Noticed that there were less of those than usual, probably because it was Sunday. Downtown was pleasantly empty, thanks to only two ships in port. The small park near downtown was still decorated for the holidays, as were most of the stores. Spent some time wandering around Crown Bay before heading back to the ship. They’ve added more shops and this large bar/restaurant building (that wasn’t open) since our last visit, but we still prefer Havensight over here.

 

Tonight was the Chef’s dinner (another one of our least favorites), so we had dinner in the Crown Grill instead. For those interested, they have removed the crab legs from the Chef’s menu, replacing them with another type of fish. One of my pet peeves is that when you make a specialty restaurant reservation, they send you a reminder on the evening of the dinner. Why not send it in the morning, or even the afternoon? We stepped outside at 6pm to go to dinner and found the steward placing the reminder card in our mailbox – silly.

This was our first time in the Crown Grill, and we were pleased with the experience. Our server, Mako, was fantastic and anticipated our every need. For appetizers, we shared the lobster cake (more filler, not much lobster taste) and the prawns (great). I had the goat cheese salad, which was good, and DD had the shrimp bisque, which she enjoyed. We both had the same entrée, the surf and turf (filet and lobster). The filet was one of the largest I’ve ever had (I couldn’t even finish it) and it melted in your mouth. Mako told us the lobster tails were small, so he brought four instead of two. Add in the sides – mushrooms, red potatoes, and asparagus served family style – and honestly, there was far too much food for just the two of us. While the presentation is impressive, it feels wasteful, and I would be content if the sides were just plated along with the entrée.

Choosing a dessert was the hardest part of the meal, they all looked delicious. The solution to our problem, Crown dependence dessert sampler, was amazing. Our server even brought us another dessert, the berry cobbler, that wasn’t on the sampler after we said we had trouble deciding. The two of us left here feeling much fuller than after Sabatini’s – I didn’t think that was possible, but it happened. We will definitely visit Crown Grill again.

 

CD Lisa had been hyping tonight’s production show, Once Upon a Dream for most of the cruise, and tonight was the first performance (it was repeated again twice the next evening). The show is unique because it uses video projections instead of sets. The projections are animated and very neat to watch. The show itself was very good, the best of the cruise in my opinion – it had a wide variety of popular songs, unique settings and costumes, and the projections added to the show. DD liked it too, but thought the projections were really Princess being too cheap to buy sets. Our tablemates loved it so much they went to see it again the following night.

After the show, we went to see comedian Troy Thirdgill in Explorers (three performances tonight, and two the next night). We had seen Troy last month on the Equinox, and his show was almost the same. He’s hysterical and tells it like it is, so his show is not to be missed.

 

Tonight on MUTS: if it’s Sunday, it must be FUTS – Sunday night football games, again. Club Fusion: Country-western party, trivia, and Princess Pop Star.

 

Day 9, At sea:

Woke up this morning and watched the morning show to discover DD had won the trivia prize again. Lucky! Later in the morning, we attended the cooking demonstration with our friends. Head chef Joel and Maitre D’ Jose were entertaining and they had a good banter back and forth as they cooked. They made Caesar salad, spicy shrimp kebabs, some kind of pasta, and tiramisu. Afterwards they offer a tour (more like a walk through) of one of the galleys. Just about everyone who attended the demonstration also went on the galley tour, so it was a huge mass of people walking through in a long line. The galley was smaller than I expected, but then again, there’s also one for each restaurant onboard.

In the afternoon, we went to one of the game shows (Liars Club), followed by an ice carving demonstration by one of the pools. The pools were very crowded today, with everyone trying to get in their last tanning time before the cruise ended. We were finally able to make it to tea again, which was lovely. The menu for tea doesn’t change much from day to day, but it’s such a nice way to spend part of the afternoon.

 

Before dinner, at 5:15, we had the Captain’s Circle cocktail party. There were so many CC members aboard that they had five cocktail parties. I think the breakdown was around 1,000 gold, 200 platinum, and 100 elite. The average age at our party had to be at least 60, I was shocked. There were plenty of (not very good) canapes to go around, and I had no trouble asking for a different drink that what was being served. Captain Draper teased about Princess’ new ship, the “Ocean Princess” and got a few people riled up until he said it was just the Tahitian, renamed. He didn’t offer any more info about newbuilds, unfortunately. None of the most cruised members (each of whom had at least 450 days) were at our party, but they gave away the requisite champagne anyway in a drawing.

 

This was our second and final formal night. Noticed people didn't dress up as much for this night as they did for the first formal. The seafood salad appetizer was excellent, as was the chilled peach and mango soup. We both had beef Wellington (as always, very good) and split the lobster entrée. The lobster must be on a great weight loss plan, because he shrinks each time we see him, yet his companion prawns get bigger. If you want lobster onboard, try the specialty restaurants – the dining room one just isn’t worth it.

 

Tonight was a repeat of Once Upon a Dream, at 8:30 and 10:30pm, and a repeat of comedian Troy at the same times. We went to the Love & Marriage gameshow with our tablemates at 9:30. Two of them were honeymooners and had been looking forward to this for the whole cruise, so we were there as their cheering section. Unfortunately, they weren’t picked. The three couples they did pick were incredibly boring and unfunny, and the cruise staff host, Dan, dragged the show out for way too long. It was really disappointing.

At 11:15, the cruise staff had their New Year’s Eve Ruby Ball in the Piazza. Personally, I think this is kind of cheesy on any other cruise, but for a Christmas cruise it was fitting. The staff did a great job with the party, it was well attended and everyone had a great time. I think it kept going until way past midnight! We gained another hour of sleep when we went to bed tonight, a nice way to cap off a busy day at sea.

 

Tonight on MUTS: Heart of Alaska, and Julie and Julia.

Next up, the final part of the review...Princess Cays, Disembarkation, and some final thoughts. Thanks so much to everyone for reading and commenting, it's been a lot of fun reliving the trip through writing this review.

[cutiepie43]

Infi thank you so much for your amazing review of the ship. We are sailing on ruby over Valentines day and we can't wait. I read your (long) posts to my wife in bed and we couldn't wait for the next segment to arrive. I also checked out your menu/food pics and I must admit, I normally don't care for photos of the food but your photos were so helpful in helping us decide what to try or even what to stay away from.

 

Thank you again for all of your time/effort and thoughtfulness.

[ingatestonian]

Enjoying your review Infi, it's great to hear of the experiences of someone else from the same cruise.

 

One of the great things about Cruising is how there is something for everyone and all age groups and interests can find something to enjoy. You clearly didn't enjoy Dave Evans but we found his range of talents to be amazing. From playing the piano and singing "Great Balls of Fire" to singing "Nessum Dorma" and playing saxophone and clarinet he has amazing musical ability. Although his comedy was a bit dated, he had a real sense of fun and I loved his comment that on his last cruise the passengers were all so old that the portholes were bi-focal!

 

He is the father of a much more well known UK comedian, Lee Evans and you are right that he probably appealed more to UK passengers. By contrast, most of the Trivia sessions were very US focussed.

 

Looking forward to the final episodes of your report.

 

Martin

[Hulagirl]

Infi:

 

Just thought I would look to see if you had finished the review and found you hadn't. Hopefully everything is alright! Would love to read your final thoughts on the cruise. We had such a good time and can't believe it has been over with for over a month now. Hope all is well and would love to read the final thoughts on the review if you have time.

 

Susan