Just Off The Ruby Princess California Coastal Cruise

[Woobstr112G]

Good morning all. The below is the review I just submitted to CC regarding my recently completed cruise on the Ruby Princess.

 

DW & I just returned from a great 7 Day California Coastal Cruise on the Ruby Princess.  This was our 20th overall cruise and 13th in a row on Princess.  This was also our third time on the Ruby albeit the last time was 2011.  

 

Even though we only live 92 miles away from the cruise terminal, we did a two night pre-cruise stay at the Hilton Doubletree in San Pedro. For the two days we just hung out and got more motivated for the cruise. The night before embarkation, we joined several other roll call members in dining at a wonderful nearby restaurant called "22nd Street Landing." As far as the Hilton DoubleTree goes, I would highly recommend it for anyone thinking of a pre-cruise stay for a cruise out of San Pedro. The hotel also offers a free shuttle to the cruise terminal which is a relatively short distance from the hotel.  

 

On embarkation day, we arrived around 1130 and were onboard rather quickly.  Prior to boarding, I had read that cabins would not be ready until 1300.  I am here to say that, at least on the Ruby, this policy was followed to the letter. With this in mind, we hung out in some comfy chairs outside of the Explorers Lounge.  At exactly 1300 the deck access doors, off the elevators, opened and passengers were allowed access to their cabins.

 

For this voyage we had a Vista Suite (E733) on the aft portion of the ship.  Having a "Wake View" balcony is a must for me and I always try and book one.  We''ve had Vista Suites in the past so I was very familiar with the cabin layout.  Our cabin Steward "Renato" from the Philippines, was fantastic. He always had a smile on his face and did everything imaginable to make our stay in the cabin enjoyable.  He is definitely an asset to the line.

 

As far as the Ruby goes this was, as stated earlier, our third time sailing on her.  While I was familiar with the layout, some of the changes since 2011 made her seem a little new to me.  A couple of observations include the addition of the Salty Dog Gastro Pub to a portion of the Wheelhouse Bar.  We dined there one night and I enjoyed it.  The Salty Dog Grill (formerly Trident Grill) was great place to grab a burger or hotdog.  For a small fee, they also offered the "Ernesto Burger" with or without a beer (+Beer option $3.00 more).  Prego's Pizza is now called "Slices" and is joined with the old "Scopes" Ice Cream bar which is now called "Coffee & Cones."The regular Pizza offerings at Slices are augmented by some small offerings (bread based).  I'm sorry, but I do not remember what they were as I did not try one.

 

Here goes regarding the subjective area of food (dining).  For dining, we had Club Class.  We dined there three out of the seven nights on the ship.  The added perk for CC on the Ruby was the Head Waiter personally cooked a pasta based dish that was offered as a starter, appetizer, or main course.  We enjoyed all meals in Club Class.  The service was very good as well.  We had our suite perk embarkation night dinner in the Crown Grill.  Both DW and I had the filet that was tasty and cooked to order.  The service overall was very good.  During dinner, I also enjoyed a nice bottle of Italian wine. 

The buffet on the Ruby is still called the Horizon Court.  The food offerings were as expected  and were at times a little repetitive, especially for breakfast.  Food temps for hot dishes could have been a little warmer for my tastes.  The Cab Shack was offered on two nights.  I unfortunately did not attend.  

For breakfast each day, we enjoyed our suite perk of breakfast in the Crown Grill.  On the Ruby & Emerald, Sabatini's was replaced with Share hence having the Suite Breakfast in the Crown Grill. Food and service was outstanding.  As far as dinner in Share, I cannot comment as I did not dine there.  

 

I can't comment on any of the shows as I did not attend any offerings in the Princess Theater.  Since this was a shorter cruise, I also didn't take time out to watch any movies on MUTS.  I did kick back one night and enjoyed piano music in Crooners.

 

As far as shore excursions go, we just walked around in San Francisco.  We were not allowed to tender in Monterey due to high winds/strong seas. In San Diego, we took a delightful two hour harbor cruise (non Princess based) that was quite enjoyable.  We did not get off the ship in Ensenada.

A few more observations of the.  It seems that Princess no longer provides corsages and boutonnières for suite passengers on the first formal night (not sure if this has been reported in the past).  The passenger services desk no longer has roped off lines. 

 

Probably the best improvement that Princess made, in my personal opinion, deals with the with their menu of offered beers.  The menu is now greatly expanded with more offerings than in the past.

 

In closing, I'd have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this cruise. Next up, is a T/A on the new Sky Princess in November.  Princess, at least for me, continues to provide a great experience for a competitive price. Sure there are some hiccups every now and then but overall it remains my line of choice for the foreseeable future. 

 

Bob

[4x4bob]

Bob

Thanks.  I always enjoyed your trip reports.

 

Bob

[c-boy]

I like it, very informative 

[mjceditor]

Great trip report Bob. Enjoyed your live from reports and your pictures on Flickr.

Again thanks for posting the MedallionNet speed test.

 

Mike

[Woobstr112G]

15 minutes ago, c-boy said:

I like it, very informative 

 

6 minutes ago, mjceditor said:

Great trip report Bob. Enjoyed your live from reports and your pictures on Flickr.

Again thanks for posting the MedallionNet speed test.

 

Mike

Thanks for the kind words.  My apologies for the typos.  I'm probably the world's worst proof reader.....😁😁😁

 

Bob

[c-boy]

whats a "typos" 

[Woobstr112G]

18 minutes ago, c-boy said:

whats a "typos" 

Short acronym for "Typographical Errors.".....

Bob

[c-boy]

oh, I thought it might be a new food venue on the ship.   Prego's .... Typo's  

[SailinC2C]

We are doing the California Coastal in Oct. Santa Barbara is a tender port and the only port we have never been to on our 10 day cruise. I sure hope we don't miss it!

[jwattle]

Thank you for the review. Mayhaps we will all be sharing wake views on the Enchanted😃

[polmcs]

Tpyo? What bleedin Typo? 😉

[Woobstr112G]

2 hours ago, polmcs said:

Tpyo? What bleedin Typo? 😉

Short acronym for Typing error.....

 

Bob

[polmcs]

16 hours ago, Woobstr112G said:

Short acronym for Typing error.....

 

Bob

 

You might want to look very closely at what I’d written 😉 

[Woobstr112G]

4 hours ago, polmcs said:

 

You might want to look very closely at what I’d written 😉 

I  need to quit reading when I'm half asleep.....😁😁😁

 

Bob

[EDDY0827]

On 3/20/2019 at 8:20 AM, c-boy said:

oh, I thought it might be a new food venue on the ship.   Prego's .... Typo's  

Typos, Thaipos... different locales, different spelling. Same great food! 😋

[1emerald1]

The passenger services desk no longer has roped off lines. 

 

So how did that work then?  Did passengers line up in front of the agents, or did they form their own line?  And is there no longer a separate line for Elite/Suite passengers?  Thanks for your review, and thinking of your wife as I too am a melanoma patient.