Review of Ruby Princess SF-Hawaii January 16-31, 2022

[ProfMHC]

What follows is a very personal review of our roundtrip SF-Hawaii January 16-31 on the Ruby Princess. A couple of caveats before I begin.  First, current cruise travel is very fluid so things that I describe may have changed since. Second, we have been to Hawaii before (this was DH’s fifth time), and have done all the usual tourist activities. [The very best was the sunrise bike trip down Haleakala on Maui.] We like to balance one cruise a year just for R and R (his choice) and another that might be labeled as port intensive (my choice). And finally, especially on sea days, (but really most generally), we are what I overhead one steward call “cabin rats”. We enjoy nothing more than balcony sitting and reading, sunning, taking naps, catching up on movies etc., etc.  We are also early risers and early to bed at night….

 

PRE-DEPARTURE

I booked our Covid tests at CVS as soon as they were available. Luckily the CVS in our town did the fast antigen type. We went at 9:00 am and were back home by 9:30. My results were back when I checked as we pulled into the driveway. Unfortunately, DH’s took until 10:45!  We were due to leave the house at 11 so we could catch a quick Chik-Fil-A on the way to the airport. Whew!

 

FLIGHT AND HOTEL

The plane left on time and the direct flight to SFO was uneventful (which, lets face it, is the best we can ever say about a flight). The Princess Rep was waiting for us at the airport and ushered us into a cab to the hotel.  SF had lots of Covid restrictions in place.  The hotel (Mark Hopkins) was the first to ask for our vaccination cards and remind us of the mask mandate. Every restaurant demanded the same. We had a nice room overlooking the corner of California and Mason where we could watch the cable cars ply their way up and down California all day.  This particular room location would come into play on the 16th.

 

ONTO THE RUBY PRINCESS

Upon arrival at the hotel we received an information sheet that told us to put our baggage near the room’s door early Sunday morning and to be ready to board the bus at 12:45 pm. We followed it to the letter!  We saw a bus load about noon from our hawkeye position but as all the luggage was still lined up in the courtyard we thought it was probably a tour.  Hah! When we went down at 12:30, right after we saw the second bus pull in, we were informed by the driver that the Princess Rep was “going crazy” trying to find us. Did she not think to call our room?  In any case, we had a private bus ride to the port with the driver, the Rep, and all the luggage!  On our way, she explained that we would be tested again as Hawaii had issued a new requirement 36 hours earlier demanding one at the pier.

The ride was short and we arrived at Pier 27.  Oh, the humanity!!!  My bean counter DH estimated about 700-800 people in front of us in line!  No “priority boarding” offered! By a stroke of luck, SF weather that Sunday was beautiful.  68 and fully sunny when we arrived!  I couldn’t even imagine doing that in the rain.  Well, you know the usual demographic on Princess ships and a lot of folks were having a really rough time.  And yes, there were some who fell and were attended to.  About two hours later we were finally at the end of the line and ready to enter the terminal.  We were given a stickie with our name and called one by one into a makeshift cubicle to have another swab taken.  My gal was sweet as candy and gentle as a lamb. Wish I’d caught her name. We then went to sit with a group of about 25 as our results were processed.  Several other groups were released to loud cheering.  Then our turn came and we cheered as well.  We had arrived at the pier about 1 pm and it was now about 3:30. Upstairs we were processed quickly as we were Green Lane and allowed to board.  We reached our cabin about 4 and found our luggage waiting for us!  DH immediately threw himself on the bed!  I decided that unpacking could wait until the 17th and that we’d be going VERY early to dinner. It was getting cooler and darker but as I relaxed with the glass of ersatz champagne on the balcony, I watched workers taking luggage OFF the ship.  We were told that about 1500 were expected to board but the final total sounded more like 1300.  I can only assume that the difference was those (and/or their traveling companions) who tested positive at home or at the pier.

 

CLUB CLASS DINING

We tried Club Class this time as we love midship mini-suites and our coffers were full because we’d not traveled ANYWHERE for two years.  The food was exactly the same as the MDR except for a special dish or two at each meal.  Some were welcomed as “loaded” pancakes or crepes were offered each day (a DH favorite) while others were simply a different variety of pasta.  The only complaint (by DH) was that he could see LARGE pastries in the MDR at breakfast while we were offered a wider variety but of a size he termed “single bite”.  We found portions to be smaller generally than what we remembered but the Pepcid bottle remained unopened on this cruise! The beef was definitely of an inferior quality while the fish was usually very good.  Desserts, as usual,were terrific.  The main benefit of CC, IMHO, is that it approximates traditional dining.  Luis Filipe was our restaurant manager and a good one.  He noticed who was chatting with whom, (even though distancing was practiced unless quite crowded), and made sure that when we ate at similar times we were placed in proximity.  Hence, we made some great acquaintances and had some wonderful conversations. He also directed us each time to the same terrific wait team. Taras (Yugoslavia) and Atmaram (India) couldn’t have been nicer and took care of us like the pros they are. For the first time we tried room service for a couple of lunches while docked in Hawaiian ports and able to fully enjoy the balcony. The app and the tv (used both) worked great and we got everything we had ordered and pretty darn fast.

 

EXCURSION

I’m a sucker for whale watching so we did that in Honolulu.  I tried for Maui but that whale excursion only popped up onboard and I was already set to try some land legs on Oahu.  We had a great time and the captain found six or seven pods.  Just too fast for my poor iPhone camera.  DH did better. The only issue was arriving a full hour before the cruise.  Yes, we needed time to present (again) our vaccination cards but jeez it was hot! And sunny! As I told Princess in my survey – shorten it up.  However, we were able to board the bus directly just by walking from the ship into the large terminal – easy for distancing! No Princess theater! We had planned to do a walkabout at the other ports but as this was just the second cruise ship to dock in Hawaii the normal shuttles weren’t going yet.  And they were needed as Hilo and Kahului were docked at commercial ports that demanded a 45-60 minute walk just to get into town.  We did enjoy our walk in Kauai and snapped up some souvenirs and even found a Crazy Shirts shop.  Hadn’t seen one of those in years! 

 

A FEW “LESS THAN” EXPERIENCES

• Movie choices were many and varied but lots and lots were old – so old they were bordering on classics.  Hopefully new ones will be added soon as cruising continues to move forward.

• We toyed with the idea of visiting the spa for a massage but our buddies in the CC dining assured us that the usual pressure tactics were still being used.

• International Café. We loved getting our drinks there and Good Spirits but the food was not what we had come to expect there. Let’s hope it gets better as cruising goes forward.

• Buffet.  Ditto.  One of the reasons we did room service.  We found getting served was okay.  But some of the small presentations were just plain silly: a tiny clay pot with three celery sticks, two carrot sticks, and one sweet pepper stick. 😂  And cookies?  Never displayed – always had to ask.  And DH depends heavily on those cookies to get through the afternoon and at night.

• And why no paper or pen in stateroom?  C’mon now….

 

MORE THAN A FEW POSITIVES

• Club Class.  We will definitely do it again.  We loved the TD aspect.  And a shout out to George and Carole, Greg and Beverly, Brandon and Heather, Andy and Roberta, and Steve and Dawn!

• Our room steward Alex worked to the “button”….you know, the red one on the panel by the door you can push when you’re a cabin rat and are finally leaving to eat, whip around the Promenade deck, or retreat to Skywalkers (still a great place to read and/or meditate with the wake in front of you.) We appreciated his discretion!

• Brian and Rowena entrained us with song and dance in the Atrium each afternoon before dinner.

• Grace’s Secret each night in the Explorer Lounge after dinner.  Super good band and terrific lead singer. Fleetwood Mac is not an easy cover let alone “Satisfaction”!

• The abbreviated Patter was fine.  Told us all we needed to know. The lack of anything else sneaking in under the door was fantastic.  I found the shops were very much like before though the items that used to be in the Atrium (tee shirt promotion and rings for two examples) were sometimes in the shops but you had to browse on sea days as they were not advertised.

• Room service – not a daily thing but we’d certainly use it again!

• Just about everyone socially distancing in elevators, shops, etc.  And wearing masks! Properly!

• Football playoffs on the big screen!  Go Bengals (I’m writing this on Super Bowl weekend.)

• Crown Grill – we did it twice and it was as good as ever.

• The beverage package.  I tried so many new drinks and didn’t feel bad when I didn’t like them (sorry Debbie but I didn’t like Strawberries on Fire --- too much fire!).  And DH found a new favorite bourbon….Buffalo Trace.  We also loved the unlimited bottles of Perrier and San Pellegrino. 

• Cruising under the Golden Gate

• The sunrises and the sunsets

 

WRAP UP

Was I nervous to be cruising?  You betcha. But this particular trip allayed most of my worries.  Planes and airports still masked.  Testing not once but three times(yes, we were tested again on the ship before arrival in Hawaii – very efficiently that time). Everyone vaccinated and many boosted (those not boosted had to test yet a fourth time before arrival stateside -- SF requirement). Everyone masked and trying hard to follow the rules. I’ll still weigh the pros and cons before our next trip in May but for me, well, cruising is literally the BEST way to travel.  No cooking, no cleaning, no thinking, no worrying, and lots of spoiling! Could this woman ask for anymore?

[CruzinNoony]

Great review.  Thank you.  We were on the Jan. 19 Hawaii cruise on the Ruby out of LA.  Also, had a wonderful time.   BTW, you can get a traditional dining setup by speaking to the head waiter once you get on the ship in the regular MDR.  This was our 9th Princess cruise since the start up and we had the  same table, same time and same waitstaff for all of them.  

[ProfMHC]

9 minutes ago, CruzinNoony said:

Great review.  Thank you.  We were on the Jan. 19 Hawaii cruise on the Ruby out of LA.  Also, had a wonderful time.   BTW, you can get a traditional dining setup by speaking to the head waiter once you get on the ship in the regular MDR.  This was our 9th Princess cruise since the start up and we had the  same table, same time and same waitstaff for all of them.  

Good to know! 

[pompeii]

19 minutes ago, CruzinNoony said:

  BTW, you can get a traditional dining setup by speaking to the head waiter once you get on the ship in the regular MDR.  This was our 9th Princess cruise since the start up and we had the  same table, same time and same waitstaff for all of them.  

We're on the Grand to Hawaii out of LA on March 10 and would love to have a traditional dining set up.  Were you able to do this right when you got on board, or did you wait until the first evening when you went to the dining room to find the head waiter?  

 

We aren't able to make dining reservations on the medallion app and we aren't optimistic that the issue will be resolved before we sail, so I'm interested in finding out how to deal with it once on board.  

[KCSungirl]

Thank you for sharing. Sounds like a lot of great R&R. I like the cabin rat thing too. 😁

[Kmkub]

Nice review, Ty!
 

We are also cabin rats, but we sleep and stay up late!
 

 

[trbarton]

11 hours ago, ProfMHC said:

What follows is a very personal review of our roundtrip SF-Hawaii January 16-31 on the Ruby Princess. A couple of caveats before I begin.  First, current cruise travel is very fluid so things that I describe may have changed since. Second, we have been to Hawaii before (this was DH’s fifth time), and have done all the usual tourist activities. [The very best was the sunrise bike trip down Haleakala on Maui.] We like to balance one cruise a year just for R and R (his choice) and another that might be labeled as port intensive (my choice). And finally, especially on sea days, (but really most generally), we are what I overhead one steward call “cabin rats”. We enjoy nothing more than balcony sitting and reading, sunning, taking naps, catching up on movies etc., etc.  We are also early risers and early to bed at night….

 

PRE-DEPARTURE

I booked our Covid tests at CVS as soon as they were available. Luckily the CVS in our town did the fast antigen type. We went at 9:00 am and were back home by 9:30. My results were back when I checked as we pulled into the driveway. Unfortunately, DH’s took until 10:45!  We were due to leave the house at 11 so we could catch a quick Chik-Fil-A on the way to the airport. Whew!

 

FLIGHT AND HOTEL

The plane left on time and the direct flight to SFO was uneventful (which, lets face it, is the best we can ever say about a flight). The Princess Rep was waiting for us at the airport and ushered us into a cab to the hotel.  SF had lots of Covid restrictions in place.  The hotel (Mark Hopkins) was the first to ask for our vaccination cards and remind us of the mask mandate. Every restaurant demanded the same. We had a nice room overlooking the corner of California and Mason where we could watch the cable cars ply their way up and down California all day.  This particular room location would come into play on the 16th.

 

ONTO THE RUBY PRINCESS

Upon arrival at the hotel we received an information sheet that told us to put our baggage near the room’s door early Sunday morning and to be ready to board the bus at 12:45 pm. We followed it to the letter!  We saw a bus load about noon from our hawkeye position but as all the luggage was still lined up in the courtyard we thought it was probably a tour.  Hah! When we went down at 12:30, right after we saw the second bus pull in, we were informed by the driver that the Princess Rep was “going crazy” trying to find us. Did she not think to call our room?  In any case, we had a private bus ride to the port with the driver, the Rep, and all the luggage!  On our way, she explained that we would be tested again as Hawaii had issued a new requirement 36 hours earlier demanding one at the pier.

The ride was short and we arrived at Pier 27.  Oh, the humanity!!!  My bean counter DH estimated about 700-800 people in front of us in line!  No “priority boarding” offered! By a stroke of luck, SF weather that Sunday was beautiful.  68 and fully sunny when we arrived!  I couldn’t even imagine doing that in the rain.  Well, you know the usual demographic on Princess ships and a lot of folks were having a really rough time.  And yes, there were some who fell and were attended to.  About two hours later we were finally at the end of the line and ready to enter the terminal.  We were given a stickie with our name and called one by one into a makeshift cubicle to have another swab taken.  My gal was sweet as candy and gentle as a lamb. Wish I’d caught her name. We then went to sit with a group of about 25 as our results were processed.  Several other groups were released to loud cheering.  Then our turn came and we cheered as well.  We had arrived at the pier about 1 pm and it was now about 3:30. Upstairs we were processed quickly as we were Green Lane and allowed to board.  We reached our cabin about 4 and found our luggage waiting for us!  DH immediately threw himself on the bed!  I decided that unpacking could wait until the 17th and that we’d be going VERY early to dinner. It was getting cooler and darker but as I relaxed with the glass of ersatz champagne on the balcony, I watched workers taking luggage OFF the ship.  We were told that about 1500 were expected to board but the final total sounded more like 1300.  I can only assume that the difference was those (and/or their traveling companions) who tested positive at home or at the pier.

 

CLUB CLASS DINING

We tried Club Class this time as we love midship mini-suites and our coffers were full because we’d not traveled ANYWHERE for two years.  The food was exactly the same as the MDR except for a special dish or two at each meal.  Some were welcomed as “loaded” pancakes or crepes were offered each day (a DH favorite) while others were simply a different variety of pasta.  The only complaint (by DH) was that he could see LARGE pastries in the MDR at breakfast while we were offered a wider variety but of a size he termed “single bite”.  We found portions to be smaller generally than what we remembered but the Pepcid bottle remained unopened on this cruise! The beef was definitely of an inferior quality while the fish was usually very good.  Desserts, as usual,were terrific.  The main benefit of CC, IMHO, is that it approximates traditional dining.  Luis Filipe was our restaurant manager and a good one.  He noticed who was chatting with whom, (even though distancing was practiced unless quite crowded), and made sure that when we ate at similar times we were placed in proximity.  Hence, we made some great acquaintances and had some wonderful conversations. He also directed us each time to the same terrific wait team. Taras (Yugoslavia) and Atmaram (India) couldn’t have been nicer and took care of us like the pros they are. For the first time we tried room service for a couple of lunches while docked in Hawaiian ports and able to fully enjoy the balcony. The app and the tv (used both) worked great and we got everything we had ordered and pretty darn fast.

 

EXCURSION

I’m a sucker for whale watching so we did that in Honolulu.  I tried for Maui but that whale excursion only popped up onboard and I was already set to try some land legs on Oahu.  We had a great time and the captain found six or seven pods.  Just too fast for my poor iPhone camera.  DH did better. The only issue was arriving a full hour before the cruise.  Yes, we needed time to present (again) our vaccination cards but jeez it was hot! And sunny! As I told Princess in my survey – shorten it up.  However, we were able to board the bus directly just by walking from the ship into the large terminal – easy for distancing! No Princess theater! We had planned to do a walkabout at the other ports but as this was just the second cruise ship to dock in Hawaii the normal shuttles weren’t going yet.  And they were needed as Hilo and Kahului were docked at commercial ports that demanded a 45-60 minute walk just to get into town.  We did enjoy our walk in Kauai and snapped up some souvenirs and even found a Crazy Shirts shop.  Hadn’t seen one of those in years! 

 

A FEW “LESS THAN” EXPERIENCES

• Movie choices were many and varied but lots and lots were old – so old they were bordering on classics.  Hopefully new ones will be added soon as cruising continues to move forward.

• We toyed with the idea of visiting the spa for a massage but our buddies in the CC dining assured us that the usual pressure tactics were still being used.

• International Café. We loved getting our drinks there and Good Spirits but the food was not what we had come to expect there. Let’s hope it gets better as cruising goes forward.

• Buffet.  Ditto.  One of the reasons we did room service.  We found getting served was okay.  But some of the small presentations were just plain silly: a tiny clay pot with three celery sticks, two carrot sticks, and one sweet pepper stick. 😂  And cookies?  Never displayed – always had to ask.  And DH depends heavily on those cookies to get through the afternoon and at night.

• And why no paper or pen in stateroom?  C’mon now….

 

MORE THAN A FEW POSITIVES

• Club Class.  We will definitely do it again.  We loved the TD aspect.  And a shout out to George and Carole, Greg and Beverly, Brandon and Heather, Andy and Roberta, and Steve and Dawn!

• Our room steward Alex worked to the “button”….you know, the red one on the panel by the door you can push when you’re a cabin rat and are finally leaving to eat, whip around the Promenade deck, or retreat to Skywalkers (still a great place to read and/or meditate with the wake in front of you.) We appreciated his discretion!

• Brian and Rowena entrained us with song and dance in the Atrium each afternoon before dinner.

• Grace’s Secret each night in the Explorer Lounge after dinner.  Super good band and terrific lead singer. Fleetwood Mac is not an easy cover let alone “Satisfaction”!

• The abbreviated Patter was fine.  Told us all we needed to know. The lack of anything else sneaking in under the door was fantastic.  I found the shops were very much like before though the items that used to be in the Atrium (tee shirt promotion and rings for two examples) were sometimes in the shops but you had to browse on sea days as they were not advertised.

• Room service – not a daily thing but we’d certainly use it again!

• Just about everyone socially distancing in elevators, shops, etc.  And wearing masks! Properly!

• Football playoffs on the big screen!  Go Bengals (I’m writing this on Super Bowl weekend.)

• Crown Grill – we did it twice and it was as good as ever.

• The beverage package.  I tried so many new drinks and didn’t feel bad when I didn’t like them (sorry Debbie but I didn’t like Strawberries on Fire --- too much fire!).  And DH found a new favorite bourbon….Buffalo Trace.  We also loved the unlimited bottles of Perrier and San Pellegrino. 

• Cruising under the Golden Gate

• The sunrises and the sunsets

 

WRAP UP

Was I nervous to be cruising?  You betcha. But this particular trip allayed most of my worries.  Planes and airports still masked.  Testing not once but three times(yes, we were tested again on the ship before arrival in Hawaii – very efficiently that time). Everyone vaccinated and many boosted (those not boosted had to test yet a fourth time before arrival stateside -- SF requirement). Everyone masked and trying hard to follow the rules. I’ll still weigh the pros and cons before our next trip in May but for me, well, cruising is literally the BEST way to travel.  No cooking, no cleaning, no thinking, no worrying, and lots of spoiling! Could this woman ask for anymore?

Great review. Looking forward to some of your photos. 
 

Tom😀

[caribill]

16 hours ago, ProfMHC said:

• And why no paper or pen in stateroom?  C’mon now….

 

 

 

This was a Covid precaution.

 

But I think you could ask your cabin steward or at Passenger Services desk for them.

[ProfMHC]

Here are a few of my favorite pictures. I’m not a great photographer and kinda would rather be in the moment….it’s messy ‘cause I never added pictures before!

[ProfMHC]

A few more. Sorry about the repeats … learning curve….

[Linsifer]

You said:

 

“My bean counter DH estimated about 700-800 people in front of us in line!  No “priority boarding” offered!By a stroke of luck, SF weather that Sunday was beautiful.  68 and fully sunny when we arrived!  I couldn’t even imagine doing that in the rain.  Well, you know the usual demographic on Princess ships and a lot of folks were having a really rough time.  And yes, there were some who fell and were attended to.  About two hours later we were finally at the end of the line and ready to enter the terminal.”

 

Oh my goodness!  Are these long lines the norm since Covid??  Yikes.  We were on that cruise in 2019.  No lines.  Priority boarding.  Also, Club Class.  We’ll be sailing to Alaska out of SF in early August. I wonder if things will be easier by then.  Also, maybe no mask mandates either?  We shall see! 🤞🏼 Thank you for your review.  Those chocolate drinks at the bar looked delectable!  What were they?  I can see I’m going to need to bring a few larger pairs of pants! 🥴

[JF - retired RRT]

On 2/12/2022 at 9:19 AM, ProfMHC said:

And finally, especially on sea days, (but really most generally), we are what I overhead one steward call “cabin rats”. We enjoy nothing more than balcony sitting and reading, sunning, taking naps, catching up on movies etc., etc.  We are also early risers and early to bed at night….

You just described us!

Great overview, thanks.

[Crystabel]

We sailed with you and agree on everything. I’m sure many of the hiccups were due to the recent resumption of cruising after the long pause. But I’ve got to say, we felt like the food was really subpar, the worse we’ve had on any cruise. There were exceptions, of course, but over all it wasn’t very good. The entire crew was top-notch! 

[PescadoAmarillo]

I just found your review in read it with interest. My DH is currently on the Ruby Princess in Hawaii and with the ship in Lihue today we finally had a chance to really catch up on the phone. He says exactly what you did about the food, definitely subpar and smaller serving sizes. He is a little upset that, again on the Ruby Princess, the Terrace Pool is closed off (we encountered that for most of the 15 nights we were on the Emerald Princess in October). He booked a cabin on the back of Riviera Deck specifically to use the Terrace Deck and Pool. He said the bar waiters either do not appear to know how to use the Medallion for drink processing or it isn’t working as smoothly as it did on the Emerald Princess. He said drink orders are taking a very long time to receive. 
 

Still, he’s cruising at a great price, and just extended his trip today. I will be joining him on March 27, but he was warned me that it is not at all like it used to be.