Crown v Ruby Hawaii ?

[winty]

Hi all. Looking at cruises to Hawaii. Can’t decide to go with the Crown or Ruby. Depart LA or San Fran on 7th Dec. Haven’t been on either of these ships. Price is the same on both, price looks good. Flying from Orlando (doing Disney beforehand but from U.K.), flights more expensive to SF but not by much. 
Just looking for any advice, any differences between ships ? 
thanks all. 

[skynight]

Sister ships. No real difference. Difference is do you want to visit SF or LA pre or post cruise. The port area of LA, San Pedro, is not very exciting. LA downtown is about 45 minutes away. Long Beach is close by and is a little more interesting. 

I found SF much more interesting. 

[NavyVeteran]

I don't know if you're definitely committed to Disney in Orlando. You could consider skipping Orlando and visiting Disney in LA.

[Sunset329]

Another thought. Have you considered taking the 15 or 16 day Hawaii cruise on the Sapphire Princess from San Pedro?

[HaveDogWillTravel]

The ships are the same. Sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge is really a great experience.  SF is my home port and I never tire of it. 
 

That said I did book the Sapphire out of San Pedro to HA as she’s got 400 fewer passengers, a much wider promenade deck (all 3 of these ships have full promenades), & and Alfredo’s restaurant which Ruby and Crown don’t. Those features are enough for me to fly an hour and a half to LA vs drive to the port. 

[USCcruisecrazy]

1 hour ago, NavyVeteran said:

I don't know if you're definitely committed to Disney in Orlando. You could consider skipping Orlando and visiting Disney in LA.

Curious...have you been to Walt Disney World?  That compared to Disneyland is sort of like NFL Football or High School football...same game but nothing alike.

[TBfrPH]

Here's another consideration if, like us, you don't travel with a lot of luggage.  You can fly into SFO, board the light rail from within the airport terminal to the Embarcadero station in SF, and you're 15-minute walk away from Pier 27, where Ruby normally docks.

 

Second others that SF is much more interesting than San Pedro, if you plan to spend pre/post cruise time.

[tcdcruiser]

IMHO…..no sail away is better than a departure from San Francisco.  The view of The City and slipping under the Golden Gate is simply breathtaking.   Usually visiting tourist on the GG will be waving to you as you depart.   Book a cabin on the port side and enjoy the show from your balcony. 
 

Edited March 12, 2022 by tcdcruiser
oops

[Sea Hag]

It's hard to beat San Francisco as a sail-away. Beautiful views of the city, Angel Island, Alcatraz, and, of course, the Golden Gate. Most times we've sailed from there, there were flocks of seagulls sailing around, along with sail boats and wind surfers. 

[cvpends]

The ships are essentially the same with the exception of the specialty restaurant: Ruby has Sabatinis, Crown has Share.  I enjoy both.  I would go with itinerary.  Sailing from San Francisco is great fun.

[rdsqrl]

Actually, both ships have Sabatini's.  The Ruby used to have Share but it was replaced by Sabatini's.  

 

I cast yet another vote for departure from San Francisco -- a more interesting pre- or post-cruise destination and a phenomenally beautiful sailaway.  However, you also want to take a look at the differences in the itineraries.  When I sailed to Hawaii, facing a similar choice, the LA departure was cheaper but it would have had us in Honolulu on Christmas, when tours of Pearl Harbor are not available.  So, you want to check on that kind of thing. 

[telecheck]

One thing people haven't mentioned is that due to the PVSA rules, Ensenada has to be on the itinerary. However, since Los Angeles is much closer to Ensenada, it is a true port of call that you can spend a full day right there. For San Fransico, since it takes time going back north, Ensenada will only be a technical stop in the evening for just 3-4 hours. You can't really do much with such short period of time.

[Redwing55]

Well, here's a twist.  Now it looks like Royal is in the mix.  Ruby going to TX and Royal taking it's place.  At least that's what I gather.  I just emailed my TA this am to book the Ruby.  I guess we'll be going on the Royal again.... at least it looks that way.

[EDDY0827]

Ruby will be doing Western Caribbean and Panama Canal full transits.

[trbarton]

On 3/10/2022 at 10:32 PM, winty said:

Hi all. Looking at cruises to Hawaii. Can’t decide to go with the Crown or Ruby. Depart LA or San Fran on 7th Dec. Haven’t been on either of these ships. Price is the same on both, price looks good. Flying from Orlando (doing Disney beforehand but from U.K.), flights more expensive to SF but not by much. 
Just looking for any advice, any differences between ships ? 
thanks all. 

Princess has moved my December 27 cruise from the Ruby from San Francisco  to the Royal so a December Hawaii cruise, the one after ours, my also be on the Royal. I’ve cruised out of San Pedro many times & there is really nothing to do unless you have a car..In San Francisco there is many things to do just walking from the ship plus excellent public transportation. 
 

Tom😀

[Redwing55]

well.. it's as official as it can be.. Though I booked just this week, the following day I got a notice that the Royal will be going instead of the Ruby.  No other change for this January '23 Hawaii itinerary.

[Kmkub]

On 3/13/2022 at 12:58 AM, rdsqrl said:

Actually, both ships have Sabatini's.  The Ruby used to have Share but it was replaced by Sabatini's.  

 

I cast yet another vote for departure from San Francisco -- a more interesting pre- or post-cruise destination and a phenomenally beautiful sailaway.  However, you also want to take a look at the differences in the itineraries.  When I sailed to Hawaii, facing a similar choice, the LA departure was cheaper but it would have had us in Honolulu on Christmas, when tours of Pearl Harbor are not available.  So, you want to check on that kind of thing. 

I was on the 5th sailing of Ruby. We definitely ate at Sabatini’s.

[LasVegasSolo]

Yes Ruby is going to be ported in Galveston for a season with a Panama Cruise leaving and returning to San Francisco so many people are happy about this including me. 🤫 ssssssh but it seems that Galveston is becoming a prime port for multiple lines they have even built a new terminal, two lines are even planning on putting brand new ships there in the next 2 years, WOW.  I think it is great alternative to Florida.