Ruby Princess E. Caribbean photo and video review

[Bimmer09]

Here are shoppers rummaging through the tables of sale items

 

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I had eaten breakfast (bowl of oatmeal at 8.30) and needed a snack so took myself up to the buffet on deck 15 around 11 a.m.

 

I'll see you up there...

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Here's part of the buffet but it was photographed before opening in the morning

 

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This was meal #2 and by the time the day was over I had eaten 5 (or 6?) times. Just a quick pit-stop as they were putting out lunch items

 

 

Good heavens I can't remember everything on this plate but it was licked clean. Hot tasty food. I see steamed potatoes, steamed cabbage, there is some tender brisket at the back there, some grilled chicken pounded thin and some yummy Chicken Masala near the cabbage. I ate a couple of extra breakfasts here too during the week just as they were opening and must compliment the buffet on the food offerings.

 

A good morning so far. What could make it better after lunch #1? ( I was definitely going to the Pub Lunch later!)

 

A cold beer? Correct answer so off I went to the Tradewinds Bar.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

When I arrived at Deck 16 for my beer I entered through the door at the Lotus Spa lobby and there was a herd of people I had to walk through. They were all dressed alike and they had gathered here to practice some singing.

 

Once they started singing in a foreign tongue I realized these were Estonians rehearsing for the show in the Princess Theater coming up at noon.

 

I grabbed my camcorder.....

 

 

Norris

[Susie51]

I enjoy getting my daily cruise "fix" while reading your review. Did I miss your review of the Sanctuary Bungalow on P-Cay. I thought I read you booked it.

 

Ruby Princess looks beautiful. I hope I will be able to cruise on her one day.

[Bimmer09]

I enjoy getting my daily cruise "fix" while reading your review. Did I miss your review of the Sanctuary Bungalow on P-Cay. I thought I read you booked it.

 

Ruby Princess looks beautiful. I hope I will be able to cruise on her one day.

 

Susie it was our friend Cindy who booked the bungalow for her and her two kids. They enjoyed the A/C and the picnic lunch.

 

Thanks for reading along!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Just before noon I met Carol at the Princess Theater and there was a big crowd there.

 

There was a group of about 600 Estonians on board- 197 Nationals and the rest ex-pats living in America. 100 or so were going to entertain us over two shows during the week.

 

I was just expecting a choir.

 

I taped most of the show-without a tripod which some had set up already so my arm was aching after a while trying to hold the camcorder steady.

 

As I shot so much video I am putting it on youtube in sections.

 

The first (this one) is the energetic group of dancers

Second will be the chorus (which I will upload soon)

Third will be a great little Estonian band called Curly Strings.

 

Clumsy edit at the start as I thought the announcer was going to talk forever...

 

Enjoy and have your sound turned on!

 

 

Norris

Edited February 8, 2015 by Bimmer09

[Bimmer09]

You'll see the number 50 all over the ship-it's in that video for instance.

Princess is celebrating 50 years since it's founding by Stanley McDonald back in 1965. I take my hat off to him!

 

Here's a photo of Stanley (L) with a life belt from the first ship Italia.

 

 

Thanks to Stanley and all the staff and passengers who over the years have grown the line to what it is today.

 

Norris

[VenusLady]

Thank you! I am glad you are enjoying. I enjoy the feedback and like to see names that are new to me as well as those who have read my previous ones.

 

The feedback keeps me coming back and working on the review to get it told in a reasonable amount of time.

 

I know everyone has hundreds of posts to read daily, across all the boards.

I surf RCI, Carnival, HAL, NCL, Azamara, Regent, Celebrity and Oceania on a frequent basis.

 

Most of the people I chat with on ships are unfamiliar with CC so I tell them what a great resource it is.

 

Norris

 

I am enjoying very much your review, and as this is the first of your I have seen, I will now work my way through your previous reviews :)

Always fun to see how others see their cruises :)

 

Everyone's is different, and each for different reasons. Mine are just selfish, I want to spend time at sea on my own, doing what I want, when I want ;) and of course meet new people along the way!

[bonship]

Keep it coming, Norris! Thirteen days until we embark the Ruby in Buenos Aires. Your lively review and fabulous photos are making me uber-excited. We were originally scheduled to sail on the Golden Jan. 31, but Princess made us a move-over offer we couldn't refuse--upgrade to mini-suite and basically FREE cruise if we could move to later date. We love the Ruby so it was a no-brainer, and your review is reinforcing our decision. Thank you, thank you.

[Bimmer09]

I am enjoying very much your review, and as this is the first of your I have seen, I will now work my way through your previous reviews :)

Always fun to see how others see their cruises :)

 

Everyone's is different, and each for different reasons. Mine are just selfish, I want to spend time at sea on my own, doing what I want, when I want ;) and of course meet new people along the way!

 

The great thing is that on a cruise you can do as much or as little as you want.

You can highlight the Patter and see everything possible or relax with a book on your balcony-and everything in between.

 

If you are at sea on a beautiful ship like the Ruby then you are going to have a fine vacation.

 

Glad you are following along!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Keep it coming, Norris! Thirteen days until we embark the Ruby in Buenos Aires. Your lively review and fabulous photos are making me uber-excited. We were originally scheduled to sail on the Golden Jan. 31, but Princess made us a move-over offer we couldn't refuse--upgrade to mini-suite and basically FREE cruise if we could move to later date. We love the Ruby so it was a no-brainer, and your review is reinforcing our decision. Thank you, thank you.

 

Anticipation is a big part of cruising- I'm far from blasé about it.

 

Enjoy the next 13 days and beyond. Ruby is ready for you.

 

Norris

[Jules59]

Norris, I just wish there was a like button on here. Thanks for all you are sharing with us.

[Bimmer09]

Norris, I just wish there was a like button on here. Thanks for all you are sharing with us.

 

Jules, I think you just found it.

 

Thanks for reading along!

 

Norris

[LoveByrds]

Loving your review about Ruby! Thank you for taking the time to add so many photos and write your thoughts! We will sail on her 9/6 to Alaska and are so excited!

If you have time would you post about the HC and Cafe Caribe? It sounds like Cafe Caribe is themed buffets and HC is regular? I haven't found photos or a lot of info about the differences of these areas.

Thank you again for the detailed review!

[Bimmer09]

Loving your review about Ruby! Thank you for taking the time to add so many photos and write your thoughts! We will sail on her 9/6 to Alaska and are so excited!

If you have time would you post about the HC and Cafe Caribe? It sounds like Cafe Caribe is themed buffets and HC is regular? I haven't found photos or a lot of info about the differences of these areas.

Thank you again for the detailed review!

 

Hi Lovebyrds and thanks for joining us.

 

I hope another reader can come to my rescue here as my experience with the buffets on Grand Class ships is very limited.

 

I know that Caribe was the one that became the Crab Shack on two of the nights but in the mornings it was open for breakfast- one side of the ship both HC and Caribe serving. I only saw this when I got coffee to take out onto the aft deck.

I have never had dinner in the buffet as the MDRs are so good and we like a sit down dinner served in courses.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

After the dancers got the show rolling the choir took their place on stage....

 

 

I'll hold back the third and final video excerpt until later and continue with the day at hand- Monday January 26 sea day.

 

PUB LUNCH!

 

Now my tastebuds are dancing!

 

The concert actually started at 12.30 not 12 as I said earlier. The consequence of this is that when it ended at around 1.40 pm many people, including us made a beeline for the Pub Lunch in the Wheelhouse Bar next door so they got slammed with an influx of customers but handled it really well as there was a supervisor directing traffic and we got seated quite quickly by a window.

 

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The Steak and Kidney Pie as it came to the table

 



 

Carol's Ploughman's Lunch

 

 



 

Now I had carved an entrance in the roof of my pie to let the steam out and get to the steak and kidney within. A spoon is provided to haul the rich meaty gravy from the bottom of the pie.

 



 

No finer accompaniment

 

[Susie51]

I finished reading your updates this morning. Now I'm going to watch your youtube video.

 

Thank you for keeping your review so interesting and responding to my question.

[Bimmer09]

PUB LUNCH runs from 11.30 a.m to 2 pm and especially for a Brit like me is a special treat.

 

Others were enjoying it too

 

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After a satisfying lunch Carol was off to the Sanctuary to read her Kindle/swim/hot tub while I headed up to the Tradewinds bar for another cold Guinness in the sun.

 

 



 

No live music by the pool. The stage is empty

 



 

A lazy day up here. Tans being perfected, tropical drinks sipped. Naps being enjoyed.

[hospvol]

Thanks for the interesting review and all the fabulous pictures. We were on the Ruby Princess in 2009 and had the pleasure of meeting Captain Tony Yeomans. He has since retired. We enjoyed him very much.

 

Last month we were on the Royal Princess with Captain Dino Sagani. He was a delight. He played the Love Boat tune on the ship's horn as we left every port.

[Bruinboy]

Norris, thanks for the reports. Funny, no plans to go on the Ruby and no plans to go to the Caribbean, but absolutely love you sharing your experiences and insights while on board. Sadly my wife and I aren't booked for another cruise until Feb 2016 (South America on Star Princess), but this helps to enjoyably pass the time here in Omaha.

 

I love your camera work. Beautiful pictures. The videos are equally fun.

 

Richard

[Bimmer09]

Keep up the good work Norris! Enjoying your review so far. Ruby is one of our favorite ships and we are so sad to see her head over to the left coast. Did you happen to meet Maitre D' Nicola? He's very personable and a great guy.

 

Sorry I'm late in answering your question, Chris but no I did not meet the Maitre D on this trip nor saw him in any of the venues I was eating in. He will appear in the Champagne Waterfall segment. The only MD I have ever met is Neville Saldana who is all over the ship leaving a wave of chuckles behind. Love him.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

It's so nice to see a review from my favorite reviewer, especially since we will embark the Ruby for our first time on her next month for a California Coastal. We were on her sister, the Crown Princess, a couple of times, most recently for a Mexican Riviera cruise last month. So far, judging from your photos, the ships look quite similar. One thing I loved about Crown was the band, which in addition to playing for shows in the Princess Theatre also played in the lounges as a jazz band. Does Ruby have a similarly multitalented band?

 

Sorry for responding so late. Yes Ruby has a band which they would call the Princess Orchestra and they are used in the Explorers Lounge to play dance music and in The Princess Theater as backing for Rick Steele in this sailing. They have been replaced in the production shows by canned music.

 

I didn't catch as much live music on this sailing as I would like and may just have been in the wrong place at the wrong time and should really read the Patters more.

 

I know there was a solo pianist who played in the Piazza and a solo guitar player too but never saw them. I miss more than half of what is going on by not creating a daily schedule and sticking to it. I don't know how anyone could ever complain about there being "nothing to do". There's too much to do! Somewhere in the day I have to eat 10 meals (LOL) and relax in the sun with a cold drink and take 100 photos etc.

 

There wasn't enough "island music" on the pool decks. There was a duo with a good guy playing the steel drums (and lessons were offered) but duos without real drummers and bass players and someone singing some Bob Marley don't excite me. Taped backing musicians have no soul.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Thanks for the interesting review and all the fabulous pictures. We were on the Ruby Princess in 2009 and had the pleasure of meeting Captain Tony Yeomans. He has since retired. We enjoyed him very much.

 

Last month we were on the Royal Princess with Captain Dino Sagani. He was a delight. He played the Love Boat tune on the ship's horn as we left every port.

 

Thanks for the compliments on the photos. I have a good camera but am struggling to get the most out of it as a lot of brainwork and trial and error is involved using the manual settings. I'm encouraged to learn more though.

 

Dino Sagani is my favorite of the 7 Captains I have sailed with (Diamond Princess to Alaska Aug 2012). The Captain on the Ruby (Karl Austin) was a rather dry un- engaging fellow you'll see in an upcoming video but he didn't run us aground or get us lost so he passed the test. For laughs Nick Nash is a gem.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris, thanks for the reports. Funny, no plans to go on the Ruby and no plans to go to the Caribbean, but absolutely love you sharing your experiences and insights while on board. Sadly my wife and I aren't booked for another cruise until Feb 2016 (South America on Star Princess), but this helps to enjoyably pass the time here in Omaha.

 

I love your camera work. Beautiful pictures. The videos are equally fun.

 

Richard

 

Richard thanks for the compliments on the photos!

 

South America on the Star sounds very appealing. SA is on my bucket list.

 

Norris

[CRLess]

Sorry I'm late in answering your question, Chris but no I did not meet the Maitre D on this trip nor saw him in any of the venues I was eating in. He will appear in the Champagne Waterfall segment. The only MD I have ever met is Neville Saldana who is all over the ship leaving a wave of chuckles behind. Love him.

 

Norris

 

Ha...Neville is my buddy. I am having lunch with him in Ft. Lauderdale at Southport Raw Bar next Monday on his turnaround day while the Coral is in port!