Guest arowe6 Posted February 18, 2014 #26 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Thanks! You are making me very HAPPY I have an OV instead of a balcony this Thursday! Franky (from Crooners) was great to me in December and we had in common that he is from Nusa Dua, Bali and I lived in Nusa Dua for 3 years. I know he'll be surprised to see me again Thursday and I am trying to think of something to bring him. He already gets tipped well from me but if anybody has any suggestions....t-shirt from my home town, magazines, Girl Scout cookies.....Any good ideas???? Thanks! Can't help you on the gifts but can tell you to have a wonderful time. :) -Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest arowe6 Posted February 18, 2014 #27 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Thanks for your review. First time Princess cruiser here. Sailing the first week of April. I have been reading alot about Princess/Ruby. Looking for all the pointers I can get ahead of time. You didn't mention if you had any trouble ever finding seats by the pool? You reference the "spa pool" Which pool is this and which deck?? I have been checking out the deck plans. I see a terrace pool on deck 14 and then two pools on 15. Then from what I read there is also the sanctuary (which we won't pay extra for) Can you make recommendations?? We love to spend the day relaxing at the pool. don't need all the games and loud music. Just want to be able to find 6 seats as this is a girls getaway. Sorry for taking a while to get back online. When I talk about the "spa pool" I'm talking about the pool all the way forward on deck 16 (i think). It is surrounded by the gym area and in front of the pool is the sanctuary. The sanctuary costs money. The spa pool next to it is free. We like this area because the pool is "adults only", thus families/kids tend to choose another area that's closer to a non "adults only" pool. We are a couple and never had a problem getting chairs. However, we always left early so we had a pick of loungers. There were many times during peak hours (11am-2pm) where we saw people hunting for open loungers and were having problems. With 6 people, I would make sure you get out there early. We always made it out by 930-10am and never had a problem. If you're picky with your loungers (sun/shade, private, quiet, etc) I would go grab 'em sooner rather than later. Most importantly, go with an open mind and have fun. :) -Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest arowe6 Posted February 18, 2014 #28 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Also, what is the best way to avoid the trouble you had in the dining room with getting seated? We have My Time Dining, but have always sailed Royal Caribbean so we could make the reservations the night ahead for whatever time we wanted. Never a wait. We like being able to choose 6 one night and 7:30 the next, but if I read correct you cant make reservation on Princess with My Time? Just saw this post. I have no advice for you except to be flexible and patient. Yes, you can make reservations ahead of time by calling the Dine Line. However, I have read about people having problems making reservations between 6 and 8pm. We were told a few years ago that the dining room would not accept a reservation unless it was before 6pm or after 8pm. -a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest arowe6 Posted February 18, 2014 #29 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Great pictures Andrew. Brings back great memories of when I was on Ruby Princess back in April of 2012 :) By the way, can't imagine why you won't ever go on an effing Carnival cruise... ;):D Thank you for your kind words. We really, really, really want to try another line. Not because we aren't happy with Princess, but we want to see what else is out there. Can you give me some insight on RCI, Celebrity and Holland America? Thanks, Andrew :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest arowe6 Posted February 18, 2014 #30 Share Posted February 18, 2014 We got off the Ruby Feb 1. After waiting an hour the first night for dinner I called the next morning for a reservation. After a 20 minute wait I could have5:30 or 8:30 and no tables for two. Same thing on day 3and 4 with shorter wait times on the dine line. Anytime dining was horrendous!!! Karen Glad we weren't the only ones. It was very odd. Certainly and fluke and not the norm with Princess. -a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest arowe6 Posted February 18, 2014 #31 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Never had bad neighbors. Think I would make some noise of my own. Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app Thats great! We have been lucky in the past. This cruise, not so much. Oh well. Onto the next vacation. :D -a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugsyCruiser Posted February 18, 2014 #32 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Thank you for your kind words. We really, really, really want to try another line. Not because we aren't happy with Princess, but we want to see what else is out there. Can you give me some insight on RCI, Celebrity and Holland America? Thanks, Andrew :) Hey Andrew :) I love RCI and Celebrity(Silhouette was awesome). HAL? I did have a good time aboard the Eurodam but I would not sail with them again... just doesn't appeal to me. I think the best way to sum it up is: Princess: Classy without being stuffy. Fun into the late night but no need to bop you over the head with it Celebrity: Same as Princess but IMHO, the food on Celebrity Silhouette couldn't be beat RCI: Fun, incredible ships. WOW factor times ten... basically daring other cruise lines to top what they've done(especially Oasis class) I'd highly recommend when you get a chance to go to the links on my live reviews and check out the photos I took :) By the way, I will be reporting LIVE from Regal Princess when she sails for the first time from Fort Lauderdale. Based on your review of the Royal, I hope those issues have been resolved and won't show up on the Regal especially with the soot on the aft balconies since I will have one on the first 7 day sailing to the Caribbean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest arowe6 Posted February 18, 2014 #33 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Hey Andrew :) I love RCI and Celebrity(Silhouette was awesome). HAL? I did have a good time aboard the Eurodam but I would not sail with them again... just doesn't appeal to me. I think the best way to sum it up is: Princess: Classy without being stuffy. Fun into the late night but no need to bop you over the head with it Celebrity: Same as Princess but IMHO, the food on Celebrity Silhouette couldn't be beat RCI: Fun, incredible ships. WOW factor times ten... basically daring other cruise lines to top what they've done(especially Oasis class) I'd highly recommend when you get a chance to go to the links on my live reviews and check out the photos I took :) By the way, I will be reporting LIVE from Regal Princess when she sails for the first time from Fort Lauderdale. Based on your review of the Royal, I hope those issues have been resolved and won't show up on the Regal especially with the soot on the aft balconies since I will have one on the first 7 day sailing to the Caribbean Thanks for the insight. Looks like we might try Celebrity next. As far as the soot, it is my understanding that it's an engineering issue. The exhaust stacks aren't shooting the soot high enough. Thus they are landing on the aft balconies. This is what a few different people at Princess told us. It's clear they are aware of the issues so I would assume it would be addressed with their new build... Hopefully ;) -Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobyt Posted February 18, 2014 #34 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I enjoyed your review, we have had really great cruises on the Ruby. I was also very interested in your Royal review. We were on last week and had many of the same concerns as you, I am going to try to write a review soon but agree with so much of what you encountered! We will be considering trying X next year for our winter break....Royal was really less than "us" and concerns me of the direction Princess is heading..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkribs Posted February 20, 2014 #35 Share Posted February 20, 2014 thanks for the review and for posting pics. do you know if the Ruby was doing the $49/day beverage package that people are talking about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhopal21 Posted February 20, 2014 #36 Share Posted February 20, 2014 thanks for the review and for posting pics. do you know if the Ruby was doing the $49/day beverage package that people are talking about? No that is only on the Star and Sapphire at present. Mike:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladypirate2012 Posted February 20, 2014 #37 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Thanks for the entertaining review. I enjoyed it very much. We will be on the March 1-6 sailing. Andrew - thanks for your review? Will be on the same March 1-6 sailing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest arowe6 Posted February 20, 2014 #38 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Andrew - thanks for your review? Will be on the same March 1-6 sailing! Have fun ladypirate. Ruby is a wonderful ship with a wonderful crew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gelo7 Posted February 20, 2014 #39 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Excellent review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest arowe6 Posted February 22, 2014 #40 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I enjoyed your review, we have had really great cruises on the Ruby. I was also very interested in your Royal review. We were on last week and had many of the same concerns as you, I am going to try to write a review soon but agree with so much of what you encountered! We will be considering trying X next year for our winter break....Royal was really less than "us" and concerns me of the direction Princess is heading..... The Royal was a great ship and had a TON of features we enjoyed. Unfortunately, the other classes of ships had even more features we liked. Different strokes for different folks :-p -a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare hllwdcruiser Posted February 22, 2014 #41 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Thanks for the insight. Looks like we might try Celebrity next. -Andrew We want to try Celebrity too - we've heard so many good things and have limited ourselves to Princess these last few years. I do want to hit Platinum though - only one more cruise to go! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now