My Balanced Ruby Review with Photos

[bhopal21]

Disappointing to hear about your experience at the Crown Grill.

 

I found out after we disembarked on the 10th that the MD Tiberiu had been replaced with someone else.

 

We had such outstanding service during our B2B that we ate there 4 times. Our waiters Chris and Froderick were very attentive.

 

Mike:)

[Aquahound]

Our final day was a sea day.

 

 

 

There were plenty of activities going on around the ship. this is one of the bands playing at the Neptune Pool. As I mentioned earlier, the bands were excellent. This wasn't the better of the two, but still great nonetheless.

 

 

[Aquahound]

I can't think of anything better than kicking my feet up on my balcony and enjoying the evening sun.

 

 

[serene56]

You should know the path to your cabin depends on which gangway and deck you boarded on and the location of your cabin in relation to that entry point. Not everyone embarking walks through the casino.

 

Lew

 

 

oh wow! really? I didnt know that.

What happens if some one in my party is on Emerald deck and we are on the Caribe deck-- do we board at different places?

[bhopal21]

oh wow! really? I didnt know that.

What happens if some one in my party is on Emerald deck and we are on the Caribe deck-- do we board at different places?

 

Possibly, it just depends on the cabin location fore/aft etc.

 

When we boarded the Ruby on February 1st there were three different gangways.

 

I liked that we didn't have to walk the length of the ship to get to our full aft cabin.

 

Mike:)

[Clutterlady]

Still liking your review...don't agree with everything! You're comparing too much to RCI....but that's ok:)

[Aquahound]

Still liking your review...don't agree with everything! You're comparing too much to RCI....but that's ok:)

 

Yeah sorry. It wasn't my intent. I only went that way because someone else asked. :)

[shootingstar07]

I like this review in that the OP has both positive and negative points about Princess. I am avid Princess cruiser so I agree with his positives. I have to admit, so far, I also have to agree with some of his negatives as well. However, I have never had any problems boarding other than waiting my turn.

 

Did I miss something. Did the OP mention where he embarked from and where he is sailing to.

 

I too was on this sailing. I am elite, and I have never seen such utter chaos at embarkation. But to be fair to Princess, it started shortly after arrival when the coast guard had an unannounced life boat inspection that meant all boats had to be deployed. Needless to say, you can't deploy dock-side lifeboats without turning the ship! That took some time.

 

I felt most sorry for those in transit. They probably thought they could just exit, get their new cruise card and return to their fun in the sun. They sat in the terminal in a secluded area waiting to reboard. They got on first and I was one of the first in the elite/platinum lounge on the ship just shortly before noon. I can only imagine how crazy the rest of the terminal was by 1 p m.

[geoherb]

Speaking of the Cruise Director - Look, I really don't care, but does the CD actually do anything social on Princess? Other than his morning show, I NEVER saw this guy. We went to every one of the game shows and he didn't participate in a single one. ... I'm just curious. It was just one of those things where on day 4 while watching the morning show, my wife asked me, "have we ever seen this guy around?"

If Lee Childers is still on the Ruby, then you have experienced the least-visible of all the Princess cruise directors. We never saw him interact with passengers on our back-to-back cruises in December. But, as you say, he has a great staff to do the activities that we enjoy.

[shootingstar07]

I can't think of anything better than kicking my feet up on my balcony and enjoying the evening sun.

 

 

 

Aquahound,

Great, fair review. Since you said your only port was Grand Cayman, I figure you were on the Feb 20th sailing - the same one I was on. Nice photos, too!

 

You were spot on about the noise in the sanctuary from the the pool below. When I left my not-so-quiet chair in the sanctuary (that I paid Princess for the "peace and quiet") to check out the source of the noise, I too saw the overly-out- of-shape, inebriated fellows cheering each other on at the lap machine. That has to be the worst placed piece of equipment in Princess history.

[Aquahound]

So, I guess that is it with the photos, so I'll just use this post to finish my review. This is all over the place, but of summary of everything else on my mind.

 

One thing I think Princess can do better...reservations. I like being able to reserve specialty restaurants, or make Anytime reservations online before the cruise. It saves a lot of hassle on board. Plus, it creates a record so when something happens like my experience at the DaVinci, I can show them I am not full of sh.t.

 

Another thing is the room televisions. Come on. It's 2014 and this ship is a 2008. Why no interactive televisions? It would make room service and viewing the charge account so much easier. And again, is a way to confirm dining reservations.

 

We had a bit of a debacle with the steel drum lessons. They only have 15 drums, so I didn't get into the first lesson. However, the staff member running it gave my wife and I tickets to come back for another leson on Sunday. Problem was, the staff member didn't show to regulate it and all the drums were once again taken. It was pointless to even say anything to the instructor.

 

One more gripe....they scheduled the adult comedy show in the Fusion and the room was packed. Every inch of the floor was taken by people sitting. It was ridiculous. The show should have been in the theater.

 

I loved the way they did announcements. It sounded pre-recorded using a professional announcer. Very classy.

 

I also enjoyed they way they showed The Love Boat reruns. That was pretty cool. Although, I kept seeing the same show over and over (3x). Do they not show them all? :confused:

 

I could not have asked for better bar service. Every bartender was very friendly and very accomodating. A+.

 

I'm torn on the muster drill. Princess still requires life jackets be brought when all other major lines have eliminated them. Yeah, it's inconvenient, but the USCG in me thinks it's a good thing.

 

Adagio is a great little secret hideout...if you can find it. They had a piano player there, and the Tirimisu Martini is to die for.

 

There was a nice selection of snacks and Gelato at the International Cafe in the Piazza. The capuccinos were excellent, and were a nice size. The only thing I would add is a sugar free gelato for those of us who keep in shape and try to watch what we eat.

 

All in all, I enjoyed my first Princess cruise. I do not have a new favorite, but will certainly consider Princess in the future. In my opinion, Princess is a lot like cruising Celebrity, but with the activities of Royal Caribbean. In fact, I'd say Princess and RCI are the closest in comparison of the 5 lines I have sailed. I do believe Princess is better than HAL, and MUCH better than NCL. That one's not even close. Of course, I make these comparisons in general because I'm sure Princess' smaller ships are a different experience.

 

Any questions...please feel fre to ask. :)

Edited February 25, 2014 by Aquahound

[Aquahound]

Aquahound,

Great, fair review. Since you said your only port was Grand Cayman, I figure you were on the Feb 20th sailing - the same one I was on. Nice photos, too!

 

You were spot on about the noise in the sanctuary from the the pool below. When I left my not-so-quiet chair in the sanctuary (that I paid Princess for the "peace and quiet") to check out the source of the noise, I too saw the overly-out- of-shape, inebriated fellows cheering each other on at the lap machine. That has to be the worst placed piece of equipment in Princess history.

 

Thank you! :) I guess they had good intentions, figuring people would only use it for a workout. But as you and I know, that was not the case. It looked like Spring Break n that pool.

 

Later in the afternoon on Sunday,though, I did see a young 20-something using the lap machine. He had the build of a competition swimmer.

 

If Lee Childers is still on the Ruby, then you have experienced the least-visible of all the Princess cruise directors. We never saw him interact with passengers on our back-to-back cruises in December. But, as you say, he has a great staff to do the activities that we enjoy.

 

To tell you the truth, I never got his name. If Lee has brown, gelled up, spiked hair, then yes, it was him.

[Ilovepj]

Thanks so much for the review. This will be my first princess cruise as well. I have only sailed RC and carnival. I have to say I do love RC, but my son has sailed on princess a few times with his family and he loved it. So I am doing a 5 day to check it out.

 

I enjoyed the pictures, and your very fair review of the good the bad and the ugly, ha.

 

I am going to do anytime dining and the crown grill hope we have better luck on those two things.

 

Again, Thanks

[hubofhockey]

44 cruises and this is the first time I've been on a ship with a self-serve laundry facility. This is brilliant, and until you cruise on a ship that actually has this, you don't realize how nice it is to be available. I always thought...blah...who needs that? Well, I'm an idiot. All ships should have this. Even if to go get a few wrinkles out of the linen pants, this sure beats giving them over to the laundry people and waiting 1-2 days to get them back. I used these irons twice and never once saw another person in here.

 

 

I'm assuming the laundry room was empty because you were on a 4-day cruise. In two months, this ship will be doing 12-day cruises in Europe and there will be long waits for machines on sea days. ;) Everyone has his own strategy on how to snag machines.

 

I enjoy your posts on the RCI boards. You are always very helpful. We switch off between the lines and we do our family cruises (with our teens) on RCI and do Princess when we don't have the kids. Not sure if you mentioned it, but Princess is behind the times when it comes to accessing folios and menus from the in room televisions. Also, I agree that the pool set up on the Grand Class ships is great and it upset so many to see Princess change that with the new Royal class. Other comments - yup, the Princess Theater is just too small. They could do better. I find the Crown Grill to be a step up, in terms of quality of steaks, than Chops. However, I prefer Giovannis to Sabatinis (since Sabatinis changed the menu and style of dining). The Princess cabins are small, but I suppose I am used to them by now, but appreciate the larger ones on RCI. We enjoy both lines and now we're anxiously awaiting the third in the Oasis/Allure family.

[sfo2008]

thank you!

[OCruisers]

Paul .... Thanks so very much for your time to do such a well written and detailed review of your thoughts on Ruby Princess. :)

 

LuLu

~~~~

[Guest arowe6]

Loved your review. We were on the Ruby a week before you and experience the same cluster with Anytime Dining that you did.

 

Thanks for writing

 

-Andrew

[Aquahound]

I'm assuming the laundry room was empty because you were on a 4-day cruise. In two months, this ship will be doing 12-day cruises in Europe and there will be long waits for machines on sea days. ;) Everyone has his own strategy on how to snag machines.

 

Machine hogs, huh? I never thought of that. :)

[ladypirate2012]

44 cruises and this is the first time I've been on a ship with a self-serve laundry facility. This is brilliant, and until you cruise on a ship that actually has this, you don't realize how nice it is to be available. I always thought...blah...who needs that? Well, I'm an idiot. All ships should have this. Even if to go get a few wrinkles out of the linen pants, this sure beats giving them over to the laundry people and waiting 1-2 days to get them back. I used these irons twice and never once saw another person in here.

 

 

Oh please tell me where the ironing boards are! I'm addicted to ironing my clothes and even had an iron confiscated a time or two... I leave on the Ruby this weekend!

[Northender]

Oh please tell me where the ironing boards are! I'm addicted to ironing my clothes and even had an iron confiscated a time or two... I leave on the Ruby this weekend!

 

You can find them in the laundry rooms. :)

 

OP thanks for your review. We will be sailing the Ruby again in April. So far she is my favorite ship.:)

[ladypirate2012]

Oh please tell me where the ironing boards are! I'm addicted to ironing my clothes and even had an iron confiscated a time or two... I leave on the Ruby this weekend!

 

 

Ok smarty pants, I need to know where the laundry rooms are with the ironing boards are located on which deck! Yeesh...

[shootingstar07]

Ok smarty pants, I need to know where the laundry rooms are with the ironing boards are located on which deck! Yeesh...

 

Every deck has a laundry room. They alternate forward or aft pending your deck. I was amidship on Baja and the laundry was aft around the bank of elevators.

On most ships I have been able to access them from either port or starboard side cabins.

 

On sea days it is best to get there early and you can get to a washer pretty quickly. Not too many people iron - most of the time I see folks ironing on formal night.

 

BTW: they have money changing machines as well as laundry product dispensers with boxes of soap, bleach and fabric softener.

[Aquahound]

Oh please tell me where the ironing boards are! I'm addicted to ironing my clothes and even had an iron confiscated a time or two... I leave on the Ruby this weekend!

 

On deck 14 (Riviera), it was located in the 600 block and could be accessed from both the strbd and port side hallways. I think it was about in the same area on each deck.

[FritzG]

On Caribe the laundry room is fairly far forward, somewhere around the 400's.

Edited February 26, 2014 by FritzG

[Aquahound]

Thanks so much for the review. This will be my first princess cruise as well. I have only sailed RC and carnival. I have to say I do love RC, but my son has sailed on princess a few times with his family and he loved it. So I am doing a 5 day to check it out.

 

I enjoyed the pictures, and your very fair review of the good the bad and the ugly, ha.

 

I am going to do anytime dining and the crown grill hope we have better luck on those two things.

 

Again, Thanks

 

You're welcome. :) I think you'll enjoy it. Like I said, the activities are abundant and if you like live entertainment, you won't be disappointed.

 

However, one thing I forgot to mention, this was about the most crowded feeling ship I have sailed. I don't know Princess, so I don't know if it's by design, space ratio, or just a fluke. It was something both my wife and I noticed. On that first sea day, 2 deck chairs together were not to be found anywhere. You know how there are always open chairs in the more obscure locations, like far away from the pool on a higher deck? Not on Ruby.

 

Also, and this is just a personal gripe that won't effect 99.9% of you...I've been collecting the small wooden ship models that usually come as a Christmas ornament. I've got one from every ship I have sailed since 2007. Unfortunatley, I couldn't add the Ruby to my collection because they didn't have any. :(