Ruby or Grand for California Coastal

[NOSaints1]

JW what's the difference between the ships, the ship layout, how is the food on the ships, how many pools are there? The average age of the people on the ship cause my DW doesnt want to go on a cruise with all older people. How're the activities and what kind do they have?

 

 

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[Cruise Raider]

JW what's the difference between the ships, the ship layout, how is the food on the ships, how many pools are there? The average age of the people on the ship cause my DW doesnt want to go on a cruise with all older people. How're the activities and what kind do they have?

 

 

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The Ruby is a newer ship, in the Crown class, which holds nearly 400-500 more passengers than the Grand, depending on occupancy.

The Grand does not have a central staircase up to the passenger decks, meaning more elevator rides or hallway walks to the front or back of the ship to get to and from your cabin.

The Ruby does not have an indoor pool, whereas the Grand does. However, the Ruby does have Skywalkers, which is a nightclub at the very back of the ship raised up much like the handle of a grocery cart....or so it has been described as such. The Grand removed this and to me, feels as though it is less stable but others will argue that point. For the nightclub, there is a bar called the One5 club ... great service but not nearly as nice as being able to go to Skywalkers.

 

All cruises that are only a week long tend to have more younger people -- but have been on many Pacific coastal cruises and I would say the average age is about 55-60 years of age. It just doesn't seem to be an itinerary that attracts a younger crowd....maybe that is just for the ones on which I have sailed. The time of year you go will also determine how many younger people will be onboard.

 

I like mostly any cruise that sails out of San Francisco, which is amazing in itself. For you, this would be the Grand. To me, there is really nothing special about sailing out of Los Angeles. However, the Crown is a much nicer ship than the Grand. You would just have to determine what is more important to you. San Francisco is wonderful and the pier is right in the downtown area, but expensive if you need to stay overnight. Worth it but very expensive!! There are many things to do within walking distance ... not so much for the port of San Pedro in LA.

 

The food on either ship is very good. The Grand has an indoor pizza restaurant called Alfredos...some people just love this. I thought the outside pizza was much better but without the atmosphere.

 

The Crown is, as mentioned, newer and looks to be maintained better than the Grand. The service on both was phenomenal with the Grand eeking out the Crown in this category.

 

Both will have 4 pools and several hot tubs, although we found the ones on the Grand not to be in working order.

 

Activities will kind of depend on the cruise director. Ours on the Grand was way above average. They have everything from karaoke to trivia, happy hours, pool games (weather permitting), spin and yoga classes, enrichment lectures, ukulele lessions, pop choir, line dancing, deck parties, photo contests, etc.

 

If the ship itself (accommodations) are important to you including the nightclub, I would definitely go with the Ruby. If the service, having an indoor pool and sailing out of SF sounds more appealing, I would go for the Grand.

[Astro Flyer]

The average age of the people on the ship cause my DW doesnt want to go on a cruise with all older people.

Good luck with that situation on many cruises. ;)

 

I'm an "older" person but like many other Princess passengers we're very active people. We've met & enjoyed spending time with "younger" passengers during our Princess cruises. Age is also a state of mind & mine says that I may be getting older but I refuse to grow up! :p

 

The average age can vary based on the itinerary & time of the year but on the many CA Coastals we've sailed (it's great to drive to the port) it's a younger demographic than on our longer cruises to South America, transatlantic & transpacific. Princess generally has more older passengers than on RCL but most Princess passengers are young at heart.

 

If itinerary & price were the same, we'd choose the Ruby over the older modified Grand. Although we do like the Grand's Alfredo's Pizzeria for a sitdown meal & having a personal size pizza with different combinations than at the Lido's deck pizza by the slice venue.

 

There's another current thread asking about the Grand & even though it's the 10 day Mexico cruise the opinions about the ship would be the same for you.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2311749

Edited February 6, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[NOSaints1]

I'm most interested in seeing Alcatraz that's on my bucket list, how is EZair and can you add the airfare to your booking and pay it down as you pay your cruise, we've had that on Carnival.

 

 

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[Working 2 Cruise]

If your wife doesn't want to.be sailing with older people, cruising isn't for her. No matter what cruise line, you'll find many "older" people.

 

If cruising is a must, I would suggest Royal Caribbean and Carnival on 7 day cruises. There will be more "younger" people. Princess is probably not a good fit for your wife.

 

If Norwegian does a Coastal, that might work out better for you.

Edited February 6, 2016 by Working 2 Cruise

[JF - retired RRT]

We've been on 18 Princess cruises...from a 3 day to a B2B that was a total of 34 days. On ALL of them there was a range in age from toddlers to 80+. Even on the 34 days, there was a wide range of ages.

If you DW doesn't want to sail with ANY old folks, maybe Carnival. If she is willing to put up with SOME old folks, sail away!:D

[Astro Flyer]

I'm most interested in seeing Alcatraz that's on my bucket list, how is EZair and can you add the airfare to your booking and pay it down as you pay your cruise, we've had that on Carnival.

Sorry about some initial errors which I hopefully corrected all of them...watching the Super Bowl coverage so I'm multitasking. :o

 

The cruise terminal is an easy walk from the boat to Alacatraz & is much cheaper than booking through Princess. On their website you can pre book the tour & even see how many seats are available on each trip to Alcatraz. They caution passengers that it could sell out but also if pre booking & missing your scheduled time you'd be standby for any available seats on later times. And if for some reason the ship does not get into port you would lose your money.

 

http://www.alcatrazcruises.com

 

You can view all of the eZAir procedures on the Princess website but basically there are 2 options: Restricted (pay when booking & think it's non refundable unless you have trip insurance) or Flexible (usually less expensive & paid with your cruise's final payment but it still can be changed or canceled until 45 days before sailing). Check their website to confirm these procedures because I'm not currently refreshing my memory by reading all of the details while multitasking. ;)

Edited February 6, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[NOSaints1]

I think she doesn't want a Fancy cruiseline, more than anything where she doesn't fit in and her sis whose a TA said something like X wouldn't be the one for us, so is Princess a fancy line or a casual cruiseline?

 

 

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[Astro Flyer]

I think she doesn't want a Fancy cruiseline, more than anything where she doesn't fit in and her sis whose a TA said something like X wouldn't be the one for us, so is Princess a fancy line or a casual cruiseline?

I'd say that it's both & casual elegance is a term that's used to describe a Princess cruise & I'd agree. Even when I was young the Vegas-like neon glitz of Carnival was not our best option.

 

While I've never sailed on Celebrity, I have read many discussions comparing it with Princess and the overwhelming majority said that both are very similar cruise lines so maybe RCL, NCL or Carnival would be a better option. I have enjoyed cruising Princess even as a younger passenger but that doesn't mean Princess or X are the best options for your wife.

 

My apologies for not deleting the reference to the Grand's Alfredo's Pizzeria. :o

Edited February 6, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[TracieABD]

I have been on both. I would pick the Ruby.

[sassyredhat]

We are booked on Ruby for Feb 14th to Hawaii and on the Grand next year for Alaska.

While I haven't sailed either ship, I have sailed on the Crown, which I did like. That said, I'd probably choose Ruby. Grand has Alfredo's which I like.

The reason we booked the Grand is because we have to embark in SF for Alaska.

Our adult DS and DIL, 40's, were bored on the Sapphire, and prefer RCI and CCL. Both of them are deaf, so that may be why they were bored.

We have also sailed NCL, although in a suite. DS and DIL had an inside and they are TINY.

I can only suggest trying each cruise line until you find a good fit.

 

Patti