Ruby Drydock Confirmation Sept 24-October 22

[trbarton]

On 4/2/2023 at 1:21 PM, BermudaBound2014 said:

I just read that Ruby is going in for a 4 week drydock September 24-October 22nd, 2023.

 

Can anyone confirm? 

 

Any details of the work that will be completed?

Here’s an Drydocking article….https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/upcoming-cruise-ship-refurbishments

 

Princess is not listed. Sometimes a gap in the schedule is because the ship has been charted by a group/company. 
 

Tom😀

[trbarton]

On 4/10/2023 at 7:00 PM, snoozecrooze said:

Yes, I believe folks recently onboard Ruby were able to confirm this. It'll probably be done in Portland. Don't have your hopes up for any significant "refurbishment", however.

I’ve looked at the Portland schedule but don’t see the Ruby. 
 

Tom😀

[snoozecrooze]

52 minutes ago, trbarton said:

I’ve looked at the Portland schedule but don’t see the Ruby. 

Could also be Victoria or somewhere else. Portland was just a guess after some recent Princess dry docks were done in Portland.

[brisalta]

1 hour ago, trbarton said:

Here’s an Drydocking article….https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/upcoming-cruise-ship-refurbishments

 

Princess is not listed. Sometimes a gap in the schedule is because the ship has been charted by a group/company. 
 

Tom😀

 

As I previously stated when I was on the Ruby Princess back in May I asked crew about the upcoming dry dock. They said it was going to be 16 days dry dock followed by 10 days wet dock. They did not have details of the work to be done. A lot of the crew were going to be on leave while the ship was in dry dock.

[cruisingrob21]

14 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

The Grand has slightly larger showers and cabin space. Corridors are slightly wider. Has a covered pool. Hand washing sinks in the Horizon Court. Actual dedicated pastry area in the Horizon Court with an ice cream freezer. Spirits of the Seas is larger. Has an Alfredo's. Has actual teak on the promenade unlike the ugly yellow painted surface on the Ruby. Those are just a few of the things.

Yes, grand cabins are slightly different layout but the size is essentially the same.  The walk-in closet on subsequent grand class ships is a better layout than the original grand cabins, in my opinion.  The Ruby could end up getting the updated buffet area like the grand has, and other grand class ships have had retrofitted.  It could also get Alfredo's.

 

Agree about the teak vs vinyl (or whatever the yellow painted surface is) but that's pretty common on all ships now.  The grand was designed in the early to mid 90s - it was a different time.  While the layout of the early grand class ships is different and the venues were shifted around, they are still more alike than not (all entertainment lounges are on deck 7, dining rooms on decks 6 and 5, 4 main pools topside) so I'm still confused how the ruby can be that much of a different experience than the grand (or any other grand class ship).

 

What is "Spirits of the Seas"?

[brisalta]

9 hours ago, cruisingrob21 said:

What is "Spirits of the Seas"?

 

"Good Spirits at Sea"  cocktail bar

[Happiest when cruising]

On 4/10/2023 at 8:06 PM, jeromep said:

Well..., until details are made more public, a 4 week dry dock, which is about what the gap in schedule seems to indicate, can get a lot done.  It is about 2 days to transit from San Francisco to Portland, plus it is a bit slow going heading up the Columbia River and to the Willamette River.  I suspect at least another day of transit to get to Vigor in Portland, assuming that the suggestion I read in the thread indicating that the dry dock is going to occur in Portland is correct.  Probably another day to float the dry dock.  And then reverse the whole thing back the other way again to get to San Francisco for the Panama Canal Cruise.  So the dry dock will probably only be about 2 weeks, and maybe a couple of extra days.

 

A lot can happen in 2 weeks, with enough workers and good project coordination.  A 2 week drydock is going to handle any mechanical needs that can't be done while the hull is wet.  I suspect hull painting and coating will occur.  Propeller resurfacing is also likely.  Inside the ship they can change a lot.  And a lot of soft surfaces will be replaced, lots of upholstery, and carpets to be changed.  Sure, they aren't going to be doing major structural changes to the ship, but once done I suspect she will be incredibly fresh and new.

Would I be dreaming to hope they get the newer Marketplace Buffet? We’re booked on the Circle Caribbean cruise in March, but we just did 21 days on the Crown, so now I am rethinking the cruise to maybe something newer, even if we have to go back to FLL for a btb. 

[snoozecrooze]

47 minutes ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Would I be dreaming to hope they get the newer Marketplace Buffet? We’re booked on the Circle Caribbean cruise in March, but we just did 21 days on the Crown, so now I am rethinking the cruise to maybe something newer, even if we have to go back to FLL for a btb. 

I'd lean on the side of "dreaming" right now, but you never know. I just don't feel like CCL has a ton of money it can allocate to vanity projects like the Marketplace buffet design, because it's not really a necessary change to make, and CCL just has too much debt at this time. Again, though, you never know; hopefully, someone with some insights can share with us the plans.

[cruisingrob21]

1 hour ago, snoozecrooze said:

I'd lean on the side of "dreaming" right now, but you never know. I just don't feel like CCL has a ton of money it can allocate to vanity projects like the Marketplace buffet design, because it's not really a necessary change to make, and CCL just has too much debt at this time. Again, though, you never know; hopefully, someone with some insights can share with us the plans.

Tough to say - with few new ships on order for Princess and CCL as a whole (Star and Sun were being developed back before covid), there is still a need to invest in onboard amenities.  While Princess won't try to compete with some of the amenities on NCL, Royal, and even Celebrity's newest ships, some remodeling might be in order.  Remodeling might be minimal, but for Princess to say "the Ruby Princess was recently refreshed with a new take on the Horizon Court" that may be enough to help her compete a bit better with newer ships.  Unfortunately for Carnival, Princess, and HAL, the majority of their fleets were constructed before 2010 and most of those ships will likely be entering the time of typical replacement for modern, 1st tier cruise ships (25 years).  CCL doesn't have the balance sheet now, or likely in the next 5-10 years to replace tonnage at the rate it may need replacement.  I could see lots of remodels as well maybe even lengthening?

[snoozecrooze]

1 hour ago, cruisingrob21 said:

Remodeling might be minimal, but for Princess to say "the Ruby Princess was recently refreshed with a new take on the Horizon Court" that may be enough to help her compete a bit better with newer ships

I agree in principle and in theory with your points, but I also have low expectations for Princess and CCL when it comes to maintaining an even level of standards across the fleet. If they know what they currently have is filling up ships with new and loyal cruisers alike, then 🤷 

 

A remodel is definitely in store for many of the Grand-class, but not any time soon IMO.

[memoak]

11 hours ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Would I be dreaming to hope they get the newer Marketplace Buffet? We’re booked on the Circle Caribbean cruise in March, but we just did 21 days on the Crown, so now I am rethinking the cruise to maybe something newer, even if we have to go back to FLL for a btb. 

We are just the opposite. Right now we are on the Discovery and it is packed. On sea days you can’t really move around and to get into Gigi’s yesterday was a 45 minute wait. We waited for an hour to get sushi after ordering. We are booked on Grand class ships for the nex 4 cruises and are happy to do so

[Happiest when cruising]

24 minutes ago, memoak said:

We are just the opposite. Right now we are on the Discovery and it is packed. On sea days you can’t really move around and to get into Gigi’s yesterday was a 45 minute wait. We waited for an hour to get sushi after ordering. We are booked on Grand class ships for the nex 4 cruises and are happy to do so

Oh…we like the older ships, but that buffet on the Crown was not very big and quite crowded most times. I’m ok with having to look for a seat, but since it was cruising to Hawaii the weather was not great, so there were many more people eating indoors than what you would see in the Caribbean. 

[memoak]

38 minutes ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Oh…we like the older ships, but that buffet on the Crown was not very big and quite crowded most times. I’m ok with having to look for a seat, but since it was cruising to Hawaii the weather was not great, so there were many more people eating indoors than what you would see in the Caribbean. 

Another reason we avoid the buffet

[Happiest when cruising]

13 minutes ago, memoak said:

Another reason we avoid the buffet

Yep, there are lots of reasons not to go there, and a few reasons to go for a quick meal. Sometimes the dining room just takes too long, even for lunch. 

 

[memoak]

56 minutes ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Yep, there are lots of reasons not to go there, and a few reasons to go for a quick meal. Sometimes the dining room just takes too long, even for lunch. 

 

Yes but I would then use the IC, lido outside venues or pizzeria if there is one one your ship

[1emerald1]

4 hours ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Oh…we like the older ships, but that buffet on the Crown was not very big and quite crowded most times. I’m ok with having to look for a seat, but since it was cruising to Hawaii the weather was not great, so there were many more people eating indoors than what you would see in the Caribbean. 

The Discovery is the most beautiful ship, but the crowds and lines spoilt the experience.  And good luck trying to find a place to sit for a pre-dinner drink.

[Happiest when cruising]

1 hour ago, 1emerald1 said:

The Discovery is the most beautiful ship, but the crowds and lines spoilt the experience.  And good luck trying to find a place to sit for a pre-dinner drink.

Luckily, that’s not something I have to worry about…we don’t use those bar venues. We went on the Discovery last fall and had a great time, but it was only 6 nights and not too crowded at that time. 

[Outerdog]

On 6/9/2023 at 9:28 AM, cruisingrob21 said:

unlike the ugly yellow painted surface on the Ruby

 

Of all the things to complain about...

 

 

"Ugly" is subjective, but "yellow"? That's not yellow.

 

[MikieF]

On 6/8/2023 at 9:54 AM, skynight said:

There is a 30 day gap in the Ruby's schedule from Feb 8, 2024 until Mar 9, 2024. She is scheduled for a 10 day partial PC transit on Jan 29th until February 8th. The next posted sailing is a March 9th Circle the Caribbean. Both these sailings are from Ft. Lauderdale. Certainly looks like a dry/wet dock with some major repairs, most likely in the Bahamas.  

We have a partial Panama Canal/Caribbean booked on the Ruby beginning February 18, 2024

[memoak]

On 6/10/2023 at 12:39 PM, 1emerald1 said:

The Discovery is the most beautiful ship, but the crowds and lines spoilt the experience.  And good luck trying to find a place to sit for a pre-dinner drink.

Go to take 5. Almost never a crowd 5-8

[ldubs]

On 4/2/2023 at 1:21 PM, BermudaBound2014 said:

I just read that Ruby is going in for a 4 week drydock September 24-October 22nd, 2023.

 

Can anyone confirm? 

 

Any details of the work that will be completed?

 

I had heard this too when we were on Ruby a couple weeks ago.   Public spaces and cabins are getting a little worn out.  I hope they can address that.  

 

Several previous posts mention the small showers & shower curtains.  That just isn't an issue for us.       

[brisalta]

On 6/10/2023 at 4:48 PM, Outerdog said:

 

Of all the things to complain about...

 

 

"Ugly" is subjective, but "yellow"? That's not yellow.

 

 

The color is way off in that photograph. Even the life ring in that photograph have the wrong chroma.

[Bjbilly]

I don't see how the ship could be out of service for almost 4 weeks for just the touch up

[skynight]

3 hours ago, Bjbilly said:

I don't see how the ship could be out of service for almost 4 weeks for just the touch up

I can't locate a work schedule on line. 4 weeks is long. It has been mentioned that the docking is approximately half dry dock and half wet dock. Probably some lengthy maintenance. 

[Bjbilly]

Anything new on the Ruby Dry Dock