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Ruby or Grand Princess?

mj

By mj,
in Princess Cruises

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mj

mj

Posted
Posted

Looking at Grand Princess and Ruby Princess. Are there any major differences between the two ships? The only Princess ship that I have sailed has been the Caribbean Princess and had a great time.

 

 

Would love to hear your thoughts. Looks like both have Crown Grill, Sabantini's, and the international cafe. Ruby would do an Eastern whereas Grand would do Aruba, etc.

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vmom

vmom

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We were on the Ruby last January and she's a beautiful ship. We have the Grand booked for our next cruise.

 

The Grand has one less passenger deck then the Ruby. The Ruby is newer. The Ruby stops in Grand Turk where as the Grand stops in San Juan. I've been to Grand Turk twice now. Its a nice stop if you have never been there before or if you want a nice beach day. Hanging out at the beach or taking an excursion out snorkeling are the primary activities on Grand Turk. There is not much else to do there. If you are looking to save some money on excursions, there is a nice beach with free chairs as part of the main port area. It can be crowded depending on how many ships are in port for the day. I was in San Juan years ago so can't comment much about that port.

 

Grand leaves on a Sat, Ruby on a Sunday. For us we needed a Sat to Sat cruise due to work schedules.

 

I have read good reviews on both ships so I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

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bhopal21

bhopal21

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Ruby is newer and larger. We like her better. We sailed with the Grand twice and both times we had engine problems.

 

Actually the Ruby is the same hull with one additional deck of cabins carrying 500 more passengers for the same size ship.

 

We prefer the Grand for that reason.

 

Mike:)

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Sanibel*Gal

Sanibel*Gal

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Actually the Ruby is the same hull with one additional deck of cabins carrying 500 more passengers for the same size ship.

 

We prefer the Grand for that reason.

 

Mike:)

 

 

Acutally it is the Caribbean Princess that is the same size as the Grand with the added deck. The Ruby is the newer (until the Royal Princess debuts) ship along with the Emerald, Sapphire and Crown.;)

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bhopal21

bhopal21

Posted
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Acutally it is the Caribbean Princess that is the same size as the Grand with the added deck. The Ruby is the newer (until the Royal Princess debuts) ship along with the Emerald, Sapphire and Crown.;)

 

Sorry but you are mistaken.

 

The Caribbean, Ruby, Crown and Emerald all share the same hull with the Grand, they just carry 500 more passengers.

 

They are all newer than the Grand but no longer, just taller.

 

Mike:)

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littlesteelo

littlesteelo

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Sorry but you are mistaken.

 

The Caribbean, Ruby, Crown and Emerald all share the same hull with the Grand, they just carry 500 more passengers.

 

They are all newer than the Grand but no longer, just taller.

 

Mike:)

 

The Ruby, Crown and Emerald all do have more internal public space, due to the more expanded aft decks.

 

I would go for Ruby purely because it is a newer ship by 10 years. The refit on Grand did not extend to the entire ship, and no amount of refits will change the fact the ship is 10 years older.

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cruisetrail

cruisetrail

Posted
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The Ruby, Crown and Emerald all do have more internal and external public space, due to the more expanded aft decks.

 

I would go for Ruby purely because it is a newer ship by 10 years. The refit on Grand did not extend to the entire ship, and no amount of refits will change the fact the ship is 10 years older.

 

Absolutely correct.

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bhopal21

bhopal21

Posted
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The Ruby, Crown and Emerald all do have more internal public space, due to the more expanded aft decks.

 

I would go for Ruby purely because it is a newer ship by 10 years. The refit on Grand did not extend to the entire ship, and no amount of refits will change the fact the ship is 10 years older.

 

Yes, there are different interior arrangements but all the mentioned ships are 951ft in length with a 118ft beam and the newer ones have 500 more passengers onboard. The Riviera deck on the newer ships is all passenger cabins which adds nothing to public space.

 

Mike:)

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caribill

caribill

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Besides the additional deck on the Ruby, there are some other differences.

 

The Grand was the first ship in the series known as the Grand class.

 

a) Cabin layout, especially near the bathroom was improved on the later ships giving more storage space in the closed.

 

b) The Grand has no public staircase above deck 7 in the center of the ship. The Ruby does.

 

c) The Ruby had an International Cafe when it was built. The Grand had it as an add on in recent years and there was no room for the gelato case.

 

d) The four aft elevators on the Ruby all go down to the deck 6 aft restaurant. On the grand, only two of the four do so.

 

e) The Ruby has the extra buffet area (Cafe Caribe) aft of the Horizon Court which the Grand does not.

 

f) The Adagio lounge exists on the Ruby, but not on the Grand. It is a very nice place to relax and is located next to Sabatini's Italian Restaurant.

 

g) Although the Grand originally had a Skywalkers Lounge, it was removed

about 20 months ago and replaced by the One5 lounge and nightclub. The Ruby does have a Skywalkers Lounge.

 

h) Alfredo's Pizzeria has been added to the atrium area on the Grand, not not on the Ruby.

 

i) The Grand has some window suites. The Ruby does not.

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Phyljim

Phyljim

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Actually the Ruby is the same hull with one additional deck of cabins carrying 500 more passengers for the same size ship.

 

We prefer the Grand for that reason.

 

Mike:)

 

We agree wholeheartedly! Those 500 extra passengers make a big difference to us. We have sailed on both, many times on the Grand, just twice on the Ruby. We would sail on either one again, but if given a choice we would pick the Grand.

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Croooser

Croooser

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We sailed the Grand and the Golden one time each. We also sailed the Emerald twice. We felt that both sailings on the Emerald were overcrowded. We noticed the extra 500 passengers at any popular venue at peak time: the buffet at lunch time, anytime dining at peak times, the early time for shows, disembarking at ports, etc. The second time we were on the Emerald we even booked late traditional seating because we felt that the anytime was so bad the first time. That worked for dinner but we still had all of the other issues to contend with. Of all of the cruises that we have taken, these were the two where we had some disappointments. YMMV

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caribill

caribill

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We have just had 17 days on the Grand and as nice as she is after her major refit I would choose the Ruby. So many on the design flaws in the early Grand class ships have been overcome in the Ruby.

 

The Star and the Golden also had those design flaws fixed and have the same number of passengers as the Grand,not 500 more like the Ruby.

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Putterdude

Putterdude

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The Star and the Golden also had those design flaws fixed and have the same number of passengers as the Grand,not 500 more like the Ruby.

 

Not quite, the Star and the Golden also only have the 2 aft elevators that go down to the MDR on Deck 6 and none have restrooms outside the MDR both of which makes it very difficult for a mobility challenged person. We always get a change of dining venue but it's an aggravation for people who don't.

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

Posted
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Not quite, the Star and the Golden also only have the 2 aft elevators that go down to the MDR on Deck 6 and none have restrooms outside the MDR both of which makes it very difficult for a mobility challenged person. We always get a change of dining venue but it's an aggravation for people who don't.

 

I will still take that over 500 extra passengers.

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