Interested about cruising on the Ruby

[princess76021]

Hi all, 

 

We haven't cruises with Princess since 2015, we are thinking of booking the Ruby Princess in March of 2023 out of Galveston

 

What can you tell me about Princess, specifically the Ruby.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Hugs from Texas

[princess76021]

i guess no one on this board has cruised on the Ruby?

 

it's been 7 years since we cruised on Princess,  can't anyone tell me anything?

thanks

[NSWP]

10 minutes ago, princess76021 said:

i guess no one on this board has cruised on the Ruby?

 

it's been 7 years since we cruised on Princess,  can't anyone tell me anything?

thanks

G'day, we were on Ruby in 2010, Rome to Fort Lauderdale, which is med and transatlantic.  She was quite new then in pristine condition. Everything was good on the ships back then, food, staff, entertainment. Of course in recent times things have changed with Ruby, the awful incident in Sydney a couple of years ago with hundreds sick from the lurgy - the CV.  Now I read she is still having issues. But even so she is a nice ship, Grand Class but has one extra passenger deck compared to the older Grand Class ships. This impacts I think on public areas, those extra pax.

 

Anyway that is all I can tell you currently.

 

Safe cruising to you.

Edited April 13, 2022 by NSWP

[partybarbie]

I'm not sure how you missed this recent posting, but here's the link for you.  

 

[Alwaysmorecruising]

Personally Ruby is our favorite ship.  We're doing Hawaii in Oct and Panama Canal next April.  Lots of fun activities, good music/dancing, great service and food. 

 

I have seen the posts about the covid issues on the Ruby, but that is the risk we all take in this day and age.  We each have to assess the risk for ourselves and make a decision we're comfortable with.  I'm comfortable with the safety precautions I take for myself, so I will continue to cruise. Please don't bash me or try to change my mind.  You do you and I'll do me.

[Steelers36]

33 minutes ago, partybarbie said:

I'm not sure how you missed this recent posting, but here's the link for you.  

 

That may be interesting reading for @princess76021, but I hope - and expect - the experience will be MUCH different and better a year from now when they sail. 

 

PS - for the OP, we like that era of ship (Ruby/Emerald/Crown) and I am sure you will find it a good experience if you like Princess.

Edited April 13, 2022 by Steelers36

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

Ruby is one of our favorites.  The newly converted to Sabatini’s on deck 16 aft is a terrific place for specialty dining.  I’m on it currently and its in good shape and crew is great too.  Don’t hesitate to book the ship.

[princess76021]

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

G'day, we were on Ruby in 2010, Rome to Fort Lauderdale, which is med and transatlantic.  She was quite new then in pristine condition. Everything was good on the ships back then, food, staff, entertainment. Of course in recent times things have changed with Ruby, the awful incident in Sydney a couple of years ago with hundreds sick from the lurgy - the CV.  Now I read she is still having issues. But even so she is a nice ship, Grand Class but has one extra passenger deck compared to the older Grand Class ships. This impacts I think on public areas, those extra pax.

 

Anyway that is all I can tell you currently.

 

Safe cruising to you.

As a matter of fact I was on the Ruby from ft. Lauderdale to Barcelona in 2010! then we did the Panama canal from los Angeles to ft. Lauderdale in 2015 on the island princess but have not cruises princess since then.  Than you for your response.

[princess76021]

50 minutes ago, partybarbie said:

I'm not sure how you missed this recent posting, but here's the link for you.  

 

Thank you I will check it out!!

Edited April 13, 2022 by princess76021

[princess76021]

37 minutes ago, Alwaysmorecruising said:

Personally Ruby is our favorite ship.  We're doing Hawaii in Oct and Panama Canal next April.  Lots of fun activities, good music/dancing, great service and food. 

 

I have seen the posts about the covid issues on the Ruby, but that is the risk we all take in this day and age.  We each have to assess the risk for ourselves and make a decision we're comfortable with.  I'm comfortable with the safety precautions I take for myself, so I will continue to cruise. Please don't bash me or try to change my mind.  You do you and I'll do me.

Personally we loved the ruby! We were on it for 17 days for the transatlantic in 2010. But it's been a while and lots have changed. We were hoping not too much 😁😁

 

Thanks for giving me hope!!

[partybarbie]

20 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

That may be interesting reading for @princess76021, but I hope - and expect - the experience will be MUCH different and better a year from now when they sail. 

 

PS - for the OP, we like that era of ship (Ruby/Emerald/Crown) and I am sure you will find it a good experience if you like Princess.

I’m hoping it’s better for my cruise on her next month.

[princess76021]

8 minutes ago, AnyMajorCruiseDude said:

Ruby is one of our favorites.  The newly converted to Sabatini’s on deck 16 aft is a terrific place for specialty dining.  I’m on it currently and its in good shape and crew is great too.  Don’t hesitate to book the ship.

Thank you, thank you 😀😀

[princess76021]

2 minutes ago, partybarbie said:

I’m hoping it’s better for my cruise on her next month.

Please report in!  Been cruising carnival and were anxious about princess!!

 

[partybarbie]

2 minutes ago, princess76021 said:

Please report in!  Been cruising carnival and were anxious about princess!!

 

I promise to give you the good, the bad, and the ugly, lol. 😉 It will be myself, my sister and my aunt in an inside cabin. What could possibly go wrong?

Edited April 13, 2022 by partybarbie

[princess76021]

Just now, partybarbie said:

I promise to give you the good, the bad, and the ugly, lol. 😉

Love you already!!! Thank you!!!

 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, partybarbie said:

I promise to give you the good, the bad, and the ugly, lol. 😉 It will be myself, my sister and my aunt in an inside cabin. What could possibly go wrong?

Sounds like a party!

[eclue]

My husband and I cruised on the Ruby in December, 2021 for the Christmas cruise. It was wonderful. Absolutely no complaints from the staff to the service to the food......We are cruising again on the Ruby on JUne 29th from SF to Alaska and will most definitely be cruising a few times on Ruby when she comes to Galveston later this year. There has been so much bad press about Ruby due to a recent blog about covid....Well, these are troubled times and one must take precautions for themselves regarding the virus.....It is unfortunate that there was a covid outbreak on the ship and it also affected the embarkation process for April 11th due to getting the covid cases off the ship.  So much Princess bashing. One simply cannot blame Princess if you get covid.....there is on one to blame. Covid happens and it could happen anywhere...that is chance you take. I highly recommend Princess as we have 38 cruises behind us and two more booked for this year so far...I also highly recommend Ruby as she is one of our favorite ships.

[Coral]

12 hours ago, partybarbie said:

I promise to give you the good, the bad, and the ugly, lol. 😉 It will be myself, my sister and my aunt in an inside cabin. What could possibly go wrong?

You should have some protection - I would hope, after your last experience.

 

Have a great cruise.

[dstables]

26 minutes ago, eclue said:

My husband and I cruised on the Ruby in December, 2021 for the Christmas cruise. It was wonderful. Absolutely no complaints from the staff to the service to the food......We are cruising again on the Ruby on JUne 29th from SF to Alaska and will most definitely be cruising a few times on Ruby when she comes to Galveston later this year. There has been so much bad press about Ruby due to a recent blog about covid....Well, these are troubled times and one must take precautions for themselves regarding the virus.....It is unfortunate that there was a covid outbreak on the ship and it also affected the embarkation process for April 11th due to getting the covid cases off the ship.  So much Princess bashing. One simply cannot blame Princess if you get covid.....there is on one to blame. Covid happens and it could happen anywhere...that is chance you take. I highly recommend Princess as we have 38 cruises behind us and two more booked for this year so far...I also highly recommend Ruby as she is one of our favorite ships.

The recent blog about Covid on the Ruby you refer to is written by a very seasoned Princess cruiser. I have followed her personal blog for many years and it has always been very informative non bias reports about cruising on Princess and is a wealth of fabulous travel information. She usually has very favourable comments about Princess but when Princess does fall short she is not afraid to write about that. The recent thread here on Cruise Critic was not Princess bashing and her blaming Princess for getting Covid. It was her personal experience of how POORLY Princess treats passengers once they test positive for Covid on a ship. She is not the only Princess passenger reporting such terrible treatment of passengers testing positive on Princess Cruises. We all should know the current risk involved in cruising in today’s world and from what I have read this lady knew the risk but she was reporting and giving others a heads up as to what actually happens when passengers are testing positive on Princess. 

[PescadoAmarillo]

Since I am the OP of the blog that @eclue mentioned, I feel compelled to respond. 
 

We were on the Ruby Princess from September 2019 to December 2019 in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific and loved the ship, absolutely loved it, and I said as much in the blog posts I published from that time. There is nothing wrong with the ship itself; in fact, I much prefer it to any of the Royal Class ships with the possible exception of the Majestic Princess.  
 

The issues with the Ruby Princess now are largely COVID-related (and it can be argued how many of them are Princess’s fault. I think many are, especially since they dropped so many precautions at the same time due to the fact that 50% more guests were joining the ship). 
 

But that doesn’t mean that these will be issues months from now or years from now. I wouldn’t avoid this ship in particular in the distant future. I would seriously consider the length of the cruise before booking a cruise on any ship right now. I guess that, with 125 Princess cruises, I am a little more cautious than @eclueabout recommending any and all cruises on their ships at the current time. 

[partybarbie]

26 minutes ago, Coral said:

You should have some protection - I would hope, after your last experience.

 

Have a great cruise.

Thank you. I’m hoping for the same. Excited to try the new Alaskan menus that I read about the other day. 

[princess76021]

2 hours ago, eclue said:

My husband and I cruised on the Ruby in December, 2021 for the Christmas cruise. It was wonderful. Absolutely no complaints from the staff to the service to the food......We are cruising again on the Ruby on JUne 29th from SF to Alaska and will most definitely be cruising a few times on Ruby when she comes to Galveston later this year. There has been so much bad press about Ruby due to a recent blog about covid....Well, these are troubled times and one must take precautions for themselves regarding the virus.....It is unfortunate that there was a covid outbreak on the ship and it also affected the embarkation process for April 11th due to getting the covid cases off the ship.  So much Princess bashing. One simply cannot blame Princess if you get covid.....there is on one to blame. Covid happens and it could happen anywhere...that is chance you take. I highly recommend Princess as we have 38 cruises behind us and two more booked for this year so far...I also highly recommend Ruby as she is one of our favorite ships.

fantastic!  thank you for this. would love to hear from you about your next cruise!

again, thanks

hugs from texas

[princess76021]

1 hour ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Since I am the OP of the blog that @eclue mentioned, I feel compelled to respond. 
 

We were on the Ruby Princess from September 2019 to December 2019 in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific and loved the ship, absolutely loved it, and I said as much in the blog posts I published from that time. There is nothing wrong with the ship itself; in fact, I much prefer it to any of the Royal Class ships with the possible exception of the Majestic Princess.  
 

The issues with the Ruby Princess now are largely COVID-related (and it can be argued how many of them are Princess’s fault. I think many are, especially since they dropped so many precautions at the same time due to the fact that 50% more guests were joining the ship). 
 

But that doesn’t mean that these will be issues months from now or years from now. I wouldn’t avoid this ship in particular in the distant future. I would seriously consider the length of the cruise before booking a cruise on any ship right now. I guess that, with 125 Princess cruises, I am a little more cautious than @eclueabout recommending any and all cruises on their ships at the current time. 

appreciate your telling about your experiences.  hopefully by next March things will get better.

i'm hoping anyway!!

thank you

 

[Coffeeluvr05]

I last sailed on the Ruby in 2017 and loved the Ruby and really enjoy all of the grand class ships.  We sail on her again in May and we are really looking forward to it. 

 

I am sad to say the recent negative reports have me just a tad concerned, but I am hoping that our experience will be different.  I have not shared those experiences, but I believe them to be true and it has me most worried about getting covid while sailing and having all control removed from my ability to, well, do absolutely anything about it.  But, it is my choice to cruise and the risk I take.  Sigh.

[BabsinTX]

We're so glad about Princess coming back to Texas that we've booked four cruises out of Galveston next year!  I've read that Ruby is a favorite ship for many people and we can't wait to board her.  (We were on a one-night Ruby cruise several years ago; not much time to create an impression.)