Just off Ruby Princess - Alaska - Owner's Suite

[bassmaster150]

Just off of the Ruby Princess. We did a back-to-back cruise.....one day Pacific Coastal from Vancouver to Seattle, then 7 day Alaska where we visited Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. We were supposed to Cruise the Tracy Arm Fjord, but that was abandoned due to ice build up at the entrance to the fjord. Therefore, they took us up the Endicott Arm Fjord up to the Dawes Glacier. We didn't know about that until they gave us the cruise log on the last day. The scenery was awesome, and the trip was really nice. After having done both Alaska (first time), and the Fjords of Norway, we would recommend the Fjords of Norway as the more majestic place for people who can go there. If you have any questions about the ship, the cruise, or the Owner's Suite, please ask them and I will answer them. We are about to get on a 4 hour flight home to Texas so I will answer whatever I can.

[SuiteTraveler]

Please tell us about the amenities in the Owner's Suite and if you had a butler and concierge. I'd love to read all about it! I've been thinking of doing a Norwegian Fjord cruise and you have just answered my question as to if that is better than Alaska! Thank you!

Edited May 15, 2016 by SuiteTraveler

[Coral]

I was on a cruise once where the Captain made an announcement at 7 am that we were missing Tracy Arm due to ice and going to Endicott Arm. Once we reached Endicott Arm, many people had missed the announcement and thought we were at Tracy Arm.

 

Tracy Arm has a lot of curves getting to the glacier. Endicott Arm does not.

[TracieABD]

Please tell us about the amenities in the Owner's Suite and if you had a butler and concierge. I'd love to read all about it! I've been thinking of doing a Norwegian Fjord cruise and you have just answered my question as to if that is better than Alaska! Thank you!

 

Princess suites do not come equipt with a butler- I have only seen that on NCL ships (for the mainstream lines). There is also no dedicated concierge- unless you sailing on the Royal or the Regal. There is a dedicated "short line" at the Passenger Service Desk.

 

On the Royal and the Regal, there is a Concierge Lounge that has a concierge station there for several hours each day (in two shifts).

[HI-C-Dubs]

Thanks for making yourself available for questions! We are going to be on the Ruby in two weeks, so your insight is greatly appreciated!!

 

One question that keeps coming up I my head is the 'Puppies in the Piazza'... Did this happen on your cruise? Which port was that in?

 

Also, did you take any excursions that you'd highly recommend? I'm really curious if 'cook your catch' is as easy as it sounds because in my head I can only imagine the logistics of such a program being pretty insane.

 

Again, thanks for answering our questions!!!

 

C-Dubs

[JF - retired RRT]

We're looking at the future Alaska cruise at the end of April/first of May in 2018. The only thing that is a concern is the weather.

Was it COLD or just cool? Rain? Sunshine?

[bassmaster150]

Please tell us about the amenities in the Owner's Suite and if you had a butler and concierge. I'd love to read all about it! I've been thinking of doing a Norwegian Fjord cruise and you have just answered my question as to if that is better than Alaska! Thank you!

 

No butler and no concierge. We did like the included minibar, the large room, the expediated service everywhere on the ship, and since we were on a back to back cruise (a one day pacific coastal plus a 7 day alaska cruise) we received double loyalty points...so we were credited for 4 cruises instead of 2. Probably the thing we liked the most was the daily breakfast in the Crown Grill. Everything was made fresh, and it was very quiet and subdued in there. I would get a suite again just for that....well not really...but it was nice. We will try a suite on Celebrity next year to see what they have to offer.

[bassmaster150]

I was on a cruise once where the Captain made an announcement at 7 am that we were missing Tracy Arm due to ice and going to Endicott Arm. Once we reached Endicott Arm, many people had missed the announcement and thought we were at Tracy Arm.

 

Tracy Arm has a lot of curves getting to the glacier. Endicott Arm does not.

 

Yeah...we thought the same thing (that we were cruising the Tracy Arm), and I even posted the photos on Facebook saying Tracy Arm....we didn't realize this change until the last night of the cruise when we received the captain's log and read where we went.

[bassmaster150]

Thanks for making yourself available for questions! We are going to be on the Ruby in two weeks, so your insight is greatly appreciated!!

 

One question that keeps coming up I my head is the 'Puppies in the Piazza'... Did this happen on your cruise? Which port was that in?

 

Also, did you take any excursions that you'd highly recommend? I'm really curious if 'cook your catch' is as easy as it sounds because in my head I can only imagine the logistics of such a program being pretty insane.

 

Again, thanks for answering our questions!!!

 

C-Dubs

 

1. Did not see or hear about any puppies in the piazza.....maybe we missed that. My wife is telling me that they did have it though but she doesn't remember what day.

 

2. Excursions....the one we liked the most was the Railway through White Pass up into the Yukon. The Yukon...although remote...is very pretty country, and the train ride up the pass is incredible. This excursion is in Skagway. Also, pay attention about 30-45 minutes after you leave Skagway. We saw about 70 killer whales just off of the boat. They were in packs of about 4-5 and lasted for almost an hour. They are incredibly fast in the water as well. On the last day coming into Victoria in the morning off the coast of Vancouver island there were a lot of humpback whales as well. In Juneau, take the tram to the top of the mountain. The views are great.

 

We didn't do the "cook your catch", but we did eat at the Twisted Fish company which is really close to the mountain tram. It is excellent!!!

[bassmaster150]

We're looking at the future Alaska cruise at the end of April/first of May in 2018. The only thing that is a concern is the weather.

Was it COLD or just cool? Rain? Sunshine?

 

 

Are you sitting down????? It was HOT as crap.....and sunny.....very unusual weather for this time of year in Alaska according to the residents, tour guides, and ship people. We packed for cold, and were greeted with temperatures in the upper 70's. Ketchikan was a bit cold, but Juneau, Skagway, and the Yukon were hot. Victoria was bitter cold and raining though. I would prepare for cold, but bring warm just in case. Dress in layers.

[JF - retired RRT]

Are you sitting down????? It was HOT as crap.....and sunny.....very unusual weather for this time of year in Alaska according to the residents, tour guides, and ship people. We packed for cold, and were greeted with temperatures in the upper 70's. Ketchikan was a bit cold, but Juneau, Skagway, and the Yukon were hot. Victoria was bitter cold and raining though. I would prepare for cold, but bring warm just in case. Dress in layers.

WOW! Thanks, I hope it's like that in 2018.

DH is hesitant to book...he says he is done with cold, now that we are retired.:D ;)

[brianlojeck]

Did you take any video of the suite?

 

with regard to temperature, I've been to alaska twice, a year apart, both times in the may/april timeframe. One time it was 85F, one time it was 60F. Be prepared for anything. :-)

[bassmaster150]

Did you take any video of the suite?

 

with regard to temperature, I've been to alaska twice, a year apart, both times in the may/april timeframe. One time it was 85F, one time it was 60F. Be prepared for anything. :-)

 

Actually, I did take some video of the suite. It is on my iphone, and I am not sure how to get it off and post it somewhere to make it work on cruise critic. If anyone can instruct me how to do this, I will post the video. The room was very big and very comfortable. It could have used more closet space though.

[idcruisers]

Do you remember the name of the naturalist on the Ruby?

[john_galt]

Celebrity Suites and above get butler service and we wear them out. Two trips on the Constellation and still haven't seen the inside of the MDR. Butler delivered every meal to the room, course by course. Jeans and t-shirts cruising.

 

We love Princess but no butlers. Decided to tone it down to a Vista Suite so we can afford Silversea again on the cruise after this one.

[HI-C-Dubs]

Wow! It's kinda surprising that it is that Hot! What was your favorite part of cruising the inside passage? And your favorite part of the Ruby?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[akgomer]

Do you remember the name of the naturalist on the Ruby?

 

Shari Newitt

[bassmaster150]

Do you remember the name of the naturalist on the Ruby?

 

I do not....but she gave some great lectures

[bassmaster150]

Wow! It's kinda surprising that it is that Hot! What was your favorite part of cruising the inside passage? And your favorite part of the Ruby?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

1. Our favorite part was probably the sail away from Skagway. The scenery is quite breathtaking with all of the snow capped mountains. The bonus on this sail away was about 45 minutes after departure, we ran into an absolute mess of Killer Whales. They were EVERYWHERE.....we probably saw about 70 of them in total. Also, just as we learned from my kid days at Sea World, they do indeed hunt in packs of about 3-5 whales each, and they are INCREDIBLY FAST in the water. We saw a pair doing the nice majestic arched jump out of the water next to the ship when all of a sudden one of them made a sharp U-turn, and accelerated to a speed that I could not believe something that large could achieve in such a short time. It was breathtaking.

 

2. Our favorite part of the Ruby - Well this was our third (and 4th if you count the BtB) time on the Ruby, and I must say that the best part every time without fail is.....The Crown Grill. We absolutely love that place, and on a 7 day cruise, we ate dinner there three times, dinner twice in port, and dinner twice in the MDR. Also, since we were in a Suite, we ate breakfast just about every morning in The Crown Grill as well. The Ruby no longer has Sabatini's, so they moved the suite breakfast to The Crown Grill.

Edited May 17, 2016 by bassmaster150