Just off Ruby: March 15 (5 nighter)

[Colo Cruiser]

Enjoyed Capt Phillips.

[nannyny]

Did you take a ship excursion or an independent one?

We are thinking going independent, not interested in Sting Ray City

Many thanks

[CruiseAdict218]

Nice read, thanks for posting, my brother and a bunch of his friends were on the same cruise and they had a blast, I was jealous I didn't get to go! :o

[LaraTiara]

Hi! We have booked the Ruby for March 29th. Did you ladies check out the specialty dining? We are celebrating my husband's 40th birthday, just the two of us. I was wondering if you think it was worth it? First time taking Princess so we have no clue but thanks for your review!

 

 

Hi YukonGirl!

 

We will join you on April 3rd on the Ruby!

 

We also sailed her in the Greek Isles last fall, and ate at both restaurant venues. They were fantastic! But we did prefer the Italian fare at Sabatini's. Be sure to call and book to dine on embarkation day!

 

 

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[jdvmd]

Thanks for sharing your comments. We are on the Ruby this coming Saturday.

[tothemall&beyond]

Hi Everyone,

Well, DD (now 18) and I just got off the Ruby on one of her little 5 night cruises. Thought I'd share a bit:

 

1. Embarkation: wow, they are taking the new wine policy very seriously. I acknowledged that there was wine in my carry-on and then was sent to the "naughty" table where I basically had a staring contest with some overly stringent (IMO) rep. Told him he was free to open my suitcase but he just gave me the nastiest once-over. Not a pleasant way to start the cruise.

 

Also, embarkation was slower than usual despite our purposefully late arrival as most guests just carry on luggage for this length, which speeds down security.

 

2. Ship/Cabin - in lovely condition. Crew were always out and about sanding, polishing, cleaning. Really top notch. Our cabin steward was in his early 60's I'd say and he always seemed tired. He also seemed to have a LOT of rooms.

 

3. Casino - I must be wrong, because I could have sworn it was 18 to be in the casino. DD wanted to try some slots but we were told it was 21. (Maybe it is 18 on other lines?) Ergo, they got none of our money.

 

4. Food - perfectly acceptable to pretty darned good. Full disclosure - I have been in the restaurant business my whole life and am "picky" shall we say. I thought they did a good job. Menu had changed up a bit since we sailed last, but I think they suffer from "just one more thing might make it better" in regards to the food. (Well if we just add THIS it will be great, instead of sticking with a good thing.) DD had troubles as she has some food allergies and had middle of the road food tastes.

 

Room service- as a subset to food, was a horrible mess. We ordered a PB&J one day for DD and it came, 45 minutes later, without any Jelly.... I get that the folks in the galley making it were not likely raised on PB&J's but really? Then another day I ordered a pot of coffee and a couple of juices (full disclosure - to put in my fridge as I don't like juice in the morning, but after a full day of sun it's nice to have). One hour, 2 phone calls, and no coffee later they realized my order was brought to the wrong cabin. I give the room service a big thumbs down.

 

5. Entertainment - we skip most of the production shows now. The comedian onboard was good, but I prefer an evening "adults" show in the Explorer's Lounge over the general (PG) comedy in the Princess theater. I walked out of the "Broadway Dreams" show as I thought it was silly at best. I feel for those dancers who work hard and then are put in silly Bollywood outfits and made to do such choreography.

 

6. Stops - Cozumel - a pain to be at the "wrong" pier. Adds $$ to get into town. We did go to Chankannub for the day to Swim with the Dolphins, per DD's request. Note - I booked online directly with Swim Discovery the previous week and they were having a buy 1 get 1 free sale. If you book this way it includes the $21 park admission. When we got there they even threw in free buffet lunch. Otherwise, you get there and pay the $21 then they try to talk you into the dolphin swims. We both recommend it (vs the one we saw in Grand Cayman the next day which was run by the same company but took place in a pool environment).

 

Grand Cayman - coming in at 11am was difficult as most of the on shore operators are out and on the water at 9 or 9:30. We took a land based tour that was not worth the $ (IMO). Would have loved to have gone out to Rum Point but I am glad that I did not rent a car with the left hand driving and all of the roundabouts. That likely would not have turned out well.

 

 

All in all, an excellent value, though I won't likely do a 5 nighter again. I really just start to relax at about day 3 or 4 so I prefer a week.

 

Anyone w/ questions, ask away!

 

By any chance, was your cabin port side on Plaza Deck near IC? The cabin steward there is Andy, who is in his late 50's. But he is a bundle of energy and never seemed tired during the 3 cruises (20 days) we sailed with him. He even climbed UP the 600+ step donkey trail in Santorini when we were there. I met him as I climbed DOWN. He is very popular with passengers and other crew members because he is so joyous and vivacious. So I'm hoping he is not who you are describing -- although he would be completing a very long contract right about now...

[capriccio]

Most emphatically NO. Although we prefer a hard mattress, these were too hard for us. I was afraid to request an egg carton topper though, lest it make the bed too soft.

 

And the pillows were terrible. I have allergies, so I always ask the steward to replace the feather ones with hypo-allergenic ones. These were stuffed with shredded foam and were extremely lumpy. That's about the only reason we were glad this was only a 5-nighter.

 

 

Kathy

 

Mattresses and pillows vary from cabin to cabin. We were on a Ruby B2B in February and had to move cabins (E731 to E729). Both had comfortable pillow-top mattresses and my husband remarked that both had the best pillows he's experienced on Princess. Due to luck or maybe the fact that we book minis and full suites, we have had pillow-top mattresses on all our 6 cruises since April 2012 (on Sapphire, Coral, Caribbean, Royal and Ruby).

[littletyger]

"Grand Cayman - We took a land based tour that was not worth the $ (IMO)."

 

Could you tell me which excursion this was? I'm bringing my 83 yr old mom on the 3/29 cruise and she wants to do an excursion on GC. I believe it's the turtle farm, Hell & rum cake tour.

 

Thanks!

[dilly25]

Has anyone been on the Ruby and ordered meals from room service and would remember what are the choices? What could be ordered for breakfast for an early port day?

 

Thanks.

[caribill]

Has anyone been on the Ruby and ordered meals from room service and would remember what are the choices? What could be ordered for breakfast for an early port day?

 

 

The menu is the same for all Princess ships. Here is the card that will be in your cabin each evening.

 

[geoherb]

We had friends on our Ruby Princess cruise last week that did the excursion to Hell, the turtle farm, and the rum cake place. They were disappointed in it. The description, from the Princess website, says, "From the very beginning, demand was high and today you can visit a Tortuga Rum cake center. Watch the luscious delights and treat yourself to a free sample of the finished product." They were expecting to see the cakes being made and packaged. "Watch the luscious delights" meant they saw boxes of rum cakes in the center, which they described as looking like a convenience store. They also said that the center had samples of only a couple of the different flavors.

 

The visit to the turtle farm was the highlight of the excursion for them.

[Colo Cruiser]

Has anyone been on the Ruby and ordered meals from room service and would remember what are the choices? What could be ordered for breakfast for an early port day?

 

Thanks.

 

 

There is a seperate full menu in the binder located in the cabin on the desk. You can't order off any other menu unless you are in a suite.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Colo Cruiser

[dilly25]

The menu is the same for all Princess ships. Here is the card that will be in your cabin each evening.

 

 

Thank you for providing the menu. I appreciate your effort in posting it.

[FawnRiver]

Hi YukonGirl!

 

We will join you on April 3rd on the Ruby!

 

We also sailed her in the Greek Isles last fall, and ate at both restaurant venues. They were fantastic! But we did prefer the Italian fare at Sabatini's. Be sure to call and book to dine on embarkation day!

 

 

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We're on the April 3rd sailing for 9 days too.

 

Our last cruise was on the Ruby, the TA back in November/December. The Crown Grill and Sabatini's were both great. We also did the chef's table which was spectacular, but probably spoiled us for all future chef's tables since Chef Alfredo was onboard and did the meal personnally.

[LaraTiara]

We're on the April 3rd sailing for 9 days too.

 

 

 

Our last cruise was on the Ruby, the TA back in November/December..

 

 

Are you on our cruise's Roll Call thread? There will be a Sail Away party @ 4pm at The Outrigger. Hope to meet you then! I'd love to hear all about your recent Ruby TA.

 

 

 

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[FritzG]

We were also on this cruise and the March 20th one.

Room service breakfast worked fine for us except for the morning of the 18th. Someone took the tag off our door handle, and breakfast never arrived. When I called they said that it was a big problem. I wonder if someone who was partying too hard for St. Pat's day thought it would be funny to remove them. I have never had this happen before.

Our order was correct and more or less on time every other day for both cruises.

We didn't go to Sabatini's this time, but we did try Crown Grill for the first time. We love Sabatini's on every ship we've been on, but we were disappointed in Crown Grill. My veal chop had bone fragments in my very first bite, and it was tough. I sent it back, and the chop that replaced it was dry and overcooked.

[Morgsmom]

[quote name='littletyger'][COLOR=red]"Grand Cayman - We took a land based tour that was not worth the $ (IMO)."[/COLOR]

Could you tell me which excursion this was? I'm bringing my 83 yr old mom on the 3/29 cruise and she wants to do an excursion on GC. I believe it's the turtle farm, Hell & rum cake tour.

Thanks![/quote]

Yes, that was it. Not worth the time or $.

[7leagueboots]

[quote name='geoherb']The new wine policy is that each adult passenger is allowed to bring one 750 ml bottle of wine. All bottles have to be in the carry-on luggage and taken through security. If you want to have more than the limit, you pay the corkage fee upfront ($15 per bottle) and are given a sticker for each bottle that you pay the fee for. You can take the bottles for which you've paid the fee to any restaurant or other public area and not have to pay any additional corkage fee. You're supposed to enjoy the bottles that you did not pay corkage on in your cabin.

I walked around the track on the upper deck where they have the mini golf course. I did not play. Someone else took this photo: [url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/canmark/6006847001/[/url][/QUOTE]

Sounds reasonable.

[Griff4AU]

Thanks for the review. We were on the Ruby for the sailing on the 20th and had a very different take on the "naughty table" (love the term).

If it (wine) was in your checked luggage, it would have been removed. They have a pretty reasonable 1 bottle per person policy, so how else do you expect them to check?

We too were sent to the "naughty table" and spent less than 15 seconds there. The gentleman asked how much we were bringing, and as I was pulling out a bottle to show him said "just two". He smiled and said "thanks, you're all set." I left the "naughty table" thinking, "Darn, I could have carried on 5 bottles." Then we boarded, bought the beverage package, and didn't even drink the wine.

So how would you suggest they handle the checking of "one bottle per person" differently?

[rbt001]

[quote name='SheepdogGriff']Thanks for the review. We were on the Ruby for the sailing on the 20th and had a very different take on the "naughty table" (love the term).

If it (wine) was in your checked luggage, it would have been removed. They have a pretty reasonable 1 bottle per person policy, so how else do you expect them to check?

We too were sent to the "naughty table" and spent less than 15 seconds there. The gentleman asked how much we were bringing, and as I was pulling out a bottle to show him said "just two". He smiled and said "thanks, you're all set." I left the "naughty table" thinking, "Darn, I could have carried on 5 bottles." Then we boarded, bought the beverage package, and didn't even drink the wine.

So how would you suggest they handle the checking of "one bottle per person" differently?[/quote]

I, too, was on the March 20th cruise. Just as with my January & February cruises, the staff between X-Ray and "The Table" are thorough and there's no slipping by. (Perhaps Princess is tired of reading too many posters here bragging about how they circumvented the policy.) I would characterize them as pleasant and professional; they're just following policy.

In March I had one bottle of wine in my carry-on bag, and I also carried a canvas shopping bag that had three large plastic bottles of water. As I was retrieving my luggage from the X-Ray, I was approached and asked what I had. I told him I had a bottle of wine in my carry-on and I showed him the three bottles of water. He didn't ask me to open my luggage to see the wine. He said: "you're fine," and waved me on without a stop at the table.

But just as another poster mentioned, this was the third time I took a bottle of wine and never even opened it! Between the Vines wine tastings, and wine with dinner, I've never opened the bottle I intended to have in the room. Lesson learned. They have plenty of good wines on the list.

[fun_one]

[quote name='geoherb']The new wine policy is that each adult passenger is allowed to bring one 750 ml bottle of wine. All bottles have to be in the carry-on luggage and taken through security. If you want to have more than the limit, you pay the corkage fee upfront ($15 per bottle) and are given a sticker for each bottle that you pay the fee for. You can take the bottles for which you've paid the fee to any restaurant or other public area and not have to pay any additional corkage fee. You're supposed to enjoy the bottles that you did not pay corkage on in your cabin. [/quote]

I have read through this thread and feel like several of you have had very different experiences with carrying on wine. No one said they were actually asked to pay the $15 up front although we'd be willing to do that to get better wine than what they offer on the menu for the prices they list. Did anyone actually pay the $15 per bottle?

Also, now that they are offering the beverage package on the 5 day cruises, can anyone tell me what kind of wines by the glass they offer? Previous posts have commented that the wines were very low end and there weren't many choices.

We sail on April 12th so I am anxious to hear more from you! Thanks,
Barbara