first time cruisers on Ruby Princess out of Galveston

[Chajar]

Hello to everyone,

 

My wife and I are taking our first cruise together on Ruby Princess through Cozumel April 9th-14th.  We have learned a lot from youtube videos and reading blogs, but still have a few questions.

 

1) How do you get in contact with your room attendant/steward?  Everyone says to take the time to meet him/her on the first day, but how do you actually find them or contact them?

2) Regarding entertainment, the app and the princess website just give general information. Aside from the "Journey" tab on the app, where can we see a list of all the shows we can see on board?  All I have found are events for gameshows, singers, or poker tournaments.  Do they have any "shows" on our cruise? 

3) Are laundromats, specifically self-service laundromats, on this ship?  If so, does anyone know if they have detergent available to buy or should we bring some in our luggage?

 

Thank everyone in advance for answering our questions.  We are really looking forward to our trip!

 

[DUCHESSRN]

You can call the room attendant on the phone from your cabin , the number is listed on the phone.

Shows are advertised on the print out patter that comes to your room about 8pm every night .

Detergent you can buy on Board in the Launderette .

[waltd]

You will meet the room steward the first day.   He/she will come by each cabin to introduce himself. They will always be in the hallway in the morning and evening taking care of each room.  You will see their cart in the hallway.  Very visable.   When you meet them ask them their schedule.   Then you will know the times they are working.  

[travelin.sisters]

the room steward will generally introduce themselves to you, usually on the first day as you are getting into the room or as you leave for dinner, you can share any special requests with them (we need a sharps container for example & I always say that we like ice for one room but it is not needed for the other) they will often give you or leave in the room a small card with their name & how to contact them, you can also use crew chat to contact them or just see them in the hall mornings & evenings. 

 

you will get a single page/two sided paper each day with the events for the next day it will show what is happening & I find it easier to review than the app which requires a lot of scrolling up & down & back & forth...there should be some kind of show in the theater each night (probably on the formal night will be a production show by the princess singers & dancers, other nights might be guest entertainers which would be musicians of some sort, comedians or magicians, if there is a recent 'live' from the Ruby you might see what they have been doing...usually the shows will be around 7:30 & 9:30 (same show), guest entertainers will often do a different show in one of the other venues on another night...there will be more opportunities than you can probably do each day/evening so it is good to check the schedule the evening before & mark what you want (I take a highlighter just for that purpose) also watch the wake show on the TV the evening before & they will often highlight things you might want to do (depending on the cruise director this will be more or less helpful)

 

here are photos of the laundry room on the Crown earlier this month which should not be terribly different from the Ruby's (I also have photos of the daily schedules...which would be different because it was a Hawai'i cruise but if you want to see what they look like on my current live from our cruise)

 

 

 

have a lovely time...one suggestion, try the various included food venues (dining room, buffet, room service, poolside, international cafe) early  in your cruise to see what you like so you don't discover a favorite the last day & wish you had more chances to eat there

[Bwana Tom]

As earlier said, your steward will make sure to meet you early on the first day and will be available throughout your cruise. You will frequently see him in the passageways as you enter and leave your cabin and usually he will provide you with a card with his ship telephone number on it. They are always extremely helpful. 

As far as the self-service laundry goes this is a great thing that most other cruise lines do not have. As also said you purchase soap, etc. onboard either inside the laundry facility or from the passenger services desk. Sometimes they run out inside the laundromat and when that happens the coins are always available at the services desk. 

My wife always brings her own soap, usually in pod form because she likes the type she uses at home and it is cheaper that way. One tip though, if you are flying to your destination and are bringing pods with you in your checked luggage you might want to seal them up in either a plastic bag or a small container so they don't explode from the air pressure changes on the flight. 

Also, the port in Galviston is quite a ways from the airport so it is a good idea to check into transportation costs for the best deal.

I'm sure you will have a great cruise and I hope this information is helpful.

[Bwana Tom]

One more thing - more activities will be added to your Journey tab as you get closer to the sail date. 

Have a good cruise!

[Honolulu Blue]

9 hours ago, Chajar said:

My wife and I are taking our first cruise together on Ruby Princess through Cozumel April 9th-14th.  We have learned a lot from youtube videos and reading blogs, but still have a few questions.

 

1) How do you get in contact with your room attendant/steward?  Everyone says to take the time to meet him/her on the first day, but how do you actually find them or contact them?

2) Regarding entertainment, the app and the princess website just give general information. Aside from the "Journey" tab on the app, where can we see a list of all the shows we can see on board?  All I have found are events for gameshows, singers, or poker tournaments.  Do they have any "shows" on our cruise? 

3) Are laundromats, specifically self-service laundromats, on this ship?  If so, does anyone know if they have detergent available to buy or should we bring some in our luggage?

 

Thank everyone in advance for answering our questions.  We are really looking forward to our trip!

Lucky you!  We're on the same cruise!

 

That's not why you're lucky.  This is one of Princess's 80s themed cruises.  There's a special list of entertainment on this cruise, in addition to what Princess usually has.  Here's the details of what they have planned for us:  https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/special-events/#80s

 

I should note that there are rumors that Red Corvette will not be appearing and we'll instead get a Pat Benatar tribute or a Blondie tribute.

 

For much more discussion of this particular cruise, take a look at the roll call at

 

Edited March 28, 2023 by Honolulu Blue

[Honolulu Blue]

Welcome to Cruise Critic and welcome to the world of cruising!  I hope you have a happy stay here and a great time on the high seas.

[Paula_MacFan]

9 hours ago, Chajar said:

 

3) Are laundromats, specifically self-service laundromats, on this ship?  

 

Detailed deck plans are available on the Princess website.  You might check those out for the specific location of the laundry facilities in relation to your room, along with any other questions you may have about the ship's amenities.  

 

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/ru-ruby-princess/

[sirclean]

IF you like, bring post it notes with you.  You can leave them on the mirror in the room, or the bathroom and the steward will find them.  I was on the ship last week and left a few notes on the back of the breakfast menu card on the top of the lamp next to the bed. 

 

If you are on an 80s cruise, then you will have plenty of activities!  otherwise, there are shows and entertainment on the ship. 

 

I was particularly impressed with one of the singing groups in the lounges, "Simphonee" .  Very talented!  (I am not certain of the spelling of their group name, but it is nt the spelling for the actual word). 

[Chajar]

On 3/27/2023 at 10:57 PM, Chajar said:

Hello to everyone,

 

My wife and I are taking our first cruise together on Ruby Princess through Cozumel April 9th-14th.  We have learned a lot from youtube videos and reading blogs, but still have a few questions.

 

1) How do you get in contact with your room attendant/steward?  Everyone says to take the time to meet him/her on the first day, but how do you actually find them or contact them?

2) Regarding entertainment, the app and the princess website just give general information. Aside from the "Journey" tab on the app, where can we see a list of all the shows we can see on board?  All I have found are events for gameshows, singers, or poker tournaments.  Do they have any "shows" on our cruise? 

3) Are laundromats, specifically self-service laundromats, on this ship?  If so, does anyone know if they have detergent available to buy or should we bring some in our luggage?

 

Thank everyone in advance for answering our questions.  We are really looking forward to our trip!

 

I cannot thank everyone enough for all the great feedback.  We look forward to seeing everyone aboard. And my wife & I live near Galveston so please ask us anything we might be able to help with you.

[jeromep]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  I'm happy that you are on the Ruby for your first cruise.  My wife and I were on the Ruby many years ago for a Caribbean cruise.  We loved the ship.  She was a lot newer then, but I'm sure she will be in great condition for your cruise.

 

On 3/27/2023 at 8:57 PM, Chajar said:

1) How do you get in contact with your room attendant/steward?  Everyone says to take the time to meet him/her on the first day, but how do you actually find them or contact them?

Cabin stewards are very perceptive.  We generally see ours multiple times a day and if we need something we just ask when we see them.  You can dial them from the cabin phone, too.  Others have suggested the crew chat function through the Medallion app, and that works, too.  But we like to talk with the steward and if we need anything we'll bring it up while chatting.  As for being perceptive, we typically have free laundry benefit and we'll put up a bag of clothes to go out to the laundry and the steward picks it up without even asking.  We just pack it up, fill out the form, and leave it on the bed and it is gone when we get back to the room.

 

On 3/27/2023 at 8:57 PM, Chajar said:

2) Regarding entertainment, the app and the princess website just give general information. Aside from the "Journey" tab on the app, where can we see a list of all the shows we can see on board?  All I have found are events for gameshows, singers, or poker tournaments.  Do they have any "shows" on our cruise? 

Entertainment is the whole purpose of the cruise.  There will be at least two showings of "song and dance" numbers or full on production shows in the Princess Theater every evening.  That is located up in the bow of the ship.  You'll also have music or a smaller show in the Vista Lounge, all the way aft, and probably going on at the same time.  There will be some sort of entertainment in the Explorers Lounge also.  Live music is going on in the Piazza periodically through the day.  And then there is Crooners, which is a piano lounge with a piano singer.  Skywalkers, way up high on the stack, is the best place during the day to get a view of the sea around you.  It is also generally quite during the day.  You will probably transit from port to port in the normal shipping lanes.  You might get lucky and see other cruise ships and freighters plying the waters.  Bring your binoculars.  At night Skywalkers turns into a night club with a DJ.  And there is always some form of entertainment up on the Lido at the pools.  Either a live band with "party" music, or they are playing something on the big screen that is used for Movies Under the Stars.  And I almost forgot, at night... Movies Under the Stars, also known as MUTS.

 

Request the paper version of the daily newsletter, the Princess Patter.  It is a lot easier to navigate than the app and makes for a nice souvinour.  It will detail everything going on all day on the ship, the shows that are being offered at night, what is playing on MUTS during the day and at night when they cover the loungers in cushions that have pillows and hand out popcorn and blankets for movie watching.

 

I have a numerous 3-ring binders that contain the Patters from previous cruises.  I generally get a few copies of the Patter from a cruise, and then 3-hole punch them and put them in the binder when I get home.  Do enough cruises and you realize how similar the on-board activities are from cruise to cruise, but also how some things change, too.

 

On 3/27/2023 at 8:57 PM, Chajar said:

3) Are laundromats, specifically self-service laundromats, on this ship?  If so, does anyone know if they have detergent available to buy or should we bring some in our luggage?

Yes, generally one on every hotel deck.  The deck plan on the Princess site will show you their locations.  It costs money.  You charge the washer/dryer usage to your onboard account.  I believe you use the medallion to get tokens that operate the washers.  I also believe they have vending machines for detergent and other laundry supplies.  I'd honestly just bring a small Ziplock container with a number of detergent pods with me to lessen the cost and use what I already do at home.  But for a rather short 5 day cruise I'd actually just pack at least that many days of clothes, and not waste my valuable time on vacation doing laundry.  Most years we take a week to 10 day RV trip someplace and we pack enough underwear and socks that we have something clean for all the days we are on the road and some extra just in case, and then mix and match and do a bit of hang up and reuse another day with our regular clothing.  You are only going to be at sea for 5 days, so I'd do similar rather than do laundry.

 

We really liked the location of Sabatini's on the Ruby.  It is up high and looked out over the aft terrace and a fountain that was up on the aft terrace.   Then it was changed to Share, which was a concept that I don't think lasted long, but did require a dry dock to swap out the Sabatini's appearance for the starker look of Share.  I think it is back to being Sabatini's again, which certainly required a dry dock to accomplish.  If you like Italian food, it is worth the cover charge to dine there.

[bjkTX]

One of the nice things about the "Medallion" is your room steward knows when you are in your room that first day - probably watching the mandatory safety program on the TV - which is when our stewards normally pop by.  We were on the Ruby out of Galveston over Christmas - enjoy your cruise!