Alaska B2B in Ruby Princess May 7-27 - Semi Live

[CruiseCrabs]

I have a selfish ask. Can you tell me if Ruby currently has the dumb wall hair dryers or the nicer, in-drawer ones? I’m trying to reduce packing weight, if possible.

[cruzin4us]

Lunch in MDR:

 

Beef Carpaccio - if you like beef carpaccio, this was really tasty.  Super happy with this choice

 

Four Flavors in Asian Broth - a nice warm broth with a few small pieces of shrimp and meat.   

 

Crispy Spicy Chicken and Artichokes - it was good but there wasn’t any hint of “spicy”.   Tasted like fried chicken 

 

We just arrived in the port of Juneau and we are waiting to disembark.  It’s a chilly 53 degrees with a slight breeze

[cruzin4us]

3 hours ago, CruiseCrabs said:

I have a selfish ask. Can you tell me if Ruby currently has the dumb wall hair dryers or the nicer, in-drawer ones? I’m trying to reduce packing weight, if possible.

It’s the dumb wall hair dryers that are on the wall.   At least on the Ruby.  I’ll take a picture when I get back to the room 

[cruzin4us]

Juneau

 

We were able to disembark the ship at 3:30.  Kind of a bummer getting to port so late in the day, but the cruising into Juneau was beautiful.   There is a lot more snow on the mountains than there was when we were here last June.   It’s really a different perspective cruising earlier in the season.   The weather was absolutely beautiful today.   Clear skies, and warm enough to just wear a light jacket.   
 

The Wi-Fi was been getting slower and slower as we headed north and between the mountains.   Up until last night it was working pretty fast compared to last June. 

   

I just walked around town and did a little souvenir shopping.   

 

Tomorrow is Skagway

[cruzin4us]

Tonight was Italian night. 

 

Originally I was going to go Tracy’s Crab Shack and get some Alaskan King Crab Legs.  However the price was $89/lb and the line was long so I just decided to head to the MDR instead.  

 

Today I thought it would be fun to do a comparison of 3 items I ordered on the Diamond Princess in January that were being offered tonight (prosciutto & melon, Veal Marsala and lemon meringue cheesecake).  The first pics are of the Diamond and the second pics are from the Ruby that I had tonight.   

 

Sandia en Fuego Cocktail

 

Prosciutto & Melon - the melon was underripe and the prosciutto was hard (not like prosciutto I’ve ever had) - didn’t care for this one and I love prosciutto & melon - compare to Diamond pics.  There was no comparison.   

 

Mushroom & Truffle Arancini - This was really good even though I didn’t taste the truffle.  It was a little deep fried rice ball stuffed with mozzarella and mushrooms.  Served nice and hot and the cheese was melted in the center.  Really good, would order again 

 

Penne Pasta (special that wasn’t on the menu) - it was basically penne in a spicy tomato sauce  and it was the best pasta thus far.  It was nice and hot, and a little spicy.  Yum

 

Veal Scaloppine, Marsala Wine Sauce - It was ok, the veal was a bit on the tough side and the green beans & onions were way over cooked and mushy.   All the veggies have been overcooked thus far.   The only person I know that likes overcooked veggies in this day and age is my grandma.     

 

Lemon Meringue Cheesecake - not my favorite.   It was very dry and tasteless.   Not lemony at all. 

 

It’s interesting how different two ships can be when serving the same item.  Presentation is very important because people taste with their eyes too. The Ruby needs to up her game in the presentation department and fixing off the soggy vegetables.   Diamond is doing it right.  

[SwimCarrie]

18 minutes ago, cruzin4us said:

Tonight was Italian night. 

 

Originally I was going to go Tracy’s Crab Shack and get some Alaskan King Crab Legs.  However the price was $89/lb and the line was long so I just decided to head to the MDR instead.  

 

Today I thought it would be fun to do a comparison of 3 items I ordered on the Diamond Princess in January that were being offered tonight (prosciutto & melon, Veal Marsala and lemon meringue cheesecake).  The first pics are of the Diamond and the second pics are from the Ruby that I had tonight.   

 

Sandia en Fuego Cocktail

 

Prosciutto & Melon - the melon was underripe and the prosciutto was hard (not like prosciutto I’ve ever had) - didn’t care for this one and I love prosciutto & melon - compare to Diamond pics.  There was no comparison.   

 

Mushroom & Truffle Arancini - This was really good even though I didn’t taste the truffle.  It was a little deep fried rice ball stuffed with mozzarella and mushrooms.  Served nice and hot and the cheese was melted in the center.  Really good, would order again 

 

Penne Pasta (special that wasn’t on the menu) - it was basically penne in a spicy tomato sauce  and it was the best pasta thus far.  It was nice and hot, and a little spicy.  Yum

 

Veal Scaloppine, Marsala Wine Sauce - It was ok, the veal was a bit on the tough side and the green beans & onions were way over cooked and mushy.   All the veggies have been overcooked thus far.   The only person I know that likes overcooked veggies in this day and age is my grandma.     

 

Lemon Meringue Cheesecake - not my favorite.   It was very dry and tasteless.   Not lemony at all. 

 

It’s interesting how different two ships can be when serving the same item.  Presentation is very important because people taste with their eyes too. The Ruby needs to up her game in the presentation department and fixing off the soggy vegetables.   Diamond is doing it right.  

Wow. I can't believe the difference in the presentation. I'd have eaten it either way but Diamond definitely wins on presentation. 

[FrankieJayIII]

you should 100 percent show this to the top in charge on ship for food and chef.    i would show them the side by side pictures.  

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

Nice of you to share.  We got off Ruby Sunday, to make way for you! lol

Agree with much of what youre saying, like upping their game in Dining.

We had some oddball waiters in MDR's.  I think we tried all 3 dining rooms.

Our best dining was Crown Grill, but you get what you pay for.... well you know what I mean.

 

One MDR towards end of evening, like 8pm, the waiter began singing & humming so

loudly that it seemed like he was trying to annoy us so we would Leave!

It worked.

We left shortly thereafter. 

Some of the staff on Ruby seem like they are more than ready to vacate the ship.

Good luck, I hope you have a wonderful experience, and surrounded by happy crew.

Congrats on having minisuite to yourself!

 

 

[FrankieJayIII]

i get on in 2 sailings from now; i am concerned. 

[CruiseCrabs]

26 minutes ago, FrankieJayIII said:

i get on in 2 sailings from now; i am concerned. 

We board next week and will not be thrilled if the food prep, cook, and plating is sub par. 

[cruzin4us]

Hopefully, some of you that are concerned about the food can remember the ones I suggested (and didn't suggest).   Next week, I'll try different items and post them too so you get a good idea of the entire menu.

 

I think what's lacking is the presentation is sub par, the food hasn't been real hot with the exception of today.   This might have been a result of what happened with my meal yesterday.   The dining room was really slow when I went to dinner because many people were still in Juneau.   I spoke with my waitress and we talked about making sure my food comes out hot.   I wasn't rude about it and my table is tucked away in a corner so I wasn't making a scene.   She knows as well as the Maitre D that I'm posting my mini review here and on FB so maybe that's why my food came out hot.....I dunno, but either way, I'm pleased that issue was much, much better today.

 

I think the other thing that is lack of appropriate seasonings.   Everything is bland for the most part.  If you order something say spicy, garlicy or with truffle very rarely do you taste it.   The Diamond excelled in the seasoning.....there is no comparison.

 

I still have 6 days left (I think) so I'll keep you all posted.

[jack dcruiser]

My friend loves Karaoke, Is there any on the ship? 

[memoak]

10 hours ago, CruiseCrabs said:

We board next week and will not be thrilled if the food prep, cook, and plating is sub par. 

What are you going to do go on a hunger strike ?

[SwimCarrie]

13 minutes ago, memoak said:

What are you going to do go on a hunger strike ?

All fired up and ready to speak to the manager. 😂 Kidding. I hope that's not what they mean.  

[FrankieJayIII]

i'm going full scale Karen on them!!!

[CruiseCrabs]

30 minutes ago, memoak said:

What are you going to do go on a hunger strike 

16 minutes ago, SwimCarrie said:

All fired up and ready to speak to the manager. 😂 Kidding. I hope that's not what they mean.  

When you go on a cruise that touts their food and you have had beautiful food on the line before, the prosciutto and melon as well as the veal situation is just sad. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to have concerns. Call me Karen if you must (apologies for Karens everywhere for getting dragged) but I don’t think it is unreasonable to expect food coming out of a cruise ship kitchen—not the buffet; different story entirely—to be as good or better than what you can get at home. 

[FrankieJayIII]

i think you missed that i am going karen, not you.  

 

it's unacceptable to me 

[CruiseCrabs]

17 hours ago, cruzin4us said:

It’s the dumb wall hair dryers that are on the wall.   At least on the Ruby.  I’ll take a picture when I get back to the room 

Thank you so much! I’ll pack accordingly and will see you on the next trip.

[cruzin4us]

I had a difficult time trying to figure out what to order for dinner tonight.   

 

I had a massage and I really just wanted to crawl into bed and take a nap, but I hadn't eaten since I had a donut this morning so I was hungry.   

 

Nothing really inspired me, so I picked some random items off the menu and figured I'll order something else next week.   

 

I met a woman onboard who said she has ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp and it was wonderful.  The woman next to me tried to order Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken and she was met with resistance.   Found that a bit odd, it’s not that hard to add some grilled chicken so I’m curious to see if they accommodate her request.   (They did) 

 

There wasn't really much continuity in the menu.  Tonight I'm ordering Alaska, Italian, Mexican, Indian and Viennese food figuring I just order item’s I’ve not tried before.  

 

Dinner:

 

Cream of Wild Alaskan Mushroom Soup - was pretty good.   Would like to have had a bit more mushroom pieces but I’m being nit picky on that count.    The bread dipped in the soup was delicious.  

 

Heirloom Caprese - It always makes me laugh when I see the word "heirloom" and I end up with Roma Tomatoes which aren’t Heirloom tomatoes.   I just ate the mozzarella cheese balls. The tomatoes were extremely underripe and tasteless.   Maybe if they had sliced the tomato instead of quartering it would have been better?  Heirloom tomatoes should look like the kind I grow.  -  Don’t recommend this dish at all.  

 

Chili Rellenos - I wasn't going to order this, but I really wanted to see how Princess did their Chili Rellenos - Frankly, I didn't have much hope for this but I ordered it anyway.   I wasn’t wrong, they can’t do Mexican Food.   What a joke for a main course.  The chili relleno was only 2 bites and the sauce was just a tomato sauce like used on pastas.   It was horribly plated.  The 2 bites of relleno tasted ok, but literally it was only 2 bites.   Rice did not taste like Mexican rice.   Giving them an F on this dish

 

Indian Style Butter Shrimp - The Maitre D came up to my table and suggested this dish so that’s what I ordered - This was delicious.   It had 4 medium sized shrimp, so, you might want to order more if you are a big eater.  The flavor was spot on and it arrived piping hot.  Really good, and I would order again.    This is the first meal I felt was seasoned properly.   According to my waitress, many of the cooks are from India which explains a lot!   Now I know why this dish was so good 😁

 

Viennese Apple Strudel, Vanilla Sauce -  it tasted ok, but the crust was kinda soggy.  I’ve had worse but I’ve had much better    

 

My massage was very good, she gave me a nice deep tissue massage and I'm relaxed beyond belief.  

Tomorrow we are cruising Glacier Bay and I'm hoping the weather is kind to us.   Ketchikan is supposed to be getting 1.65" rain tomorrow, so I'm glad we aren't in port tomorrow.

 

At 7:00 they are bringing the Alaskan Husky puppies onboard for picture taking opportunities.  They are set up in the Piazza.   It's always a super popular event, so get there early if want to see them

[cruzin4us]

Puppy time!

[SwimCarrie]

1 hour ago, cruzin4us said:

Puppy time!

Do you get to hold them????

[FrankieJayIII]

thanks for the food reviews !!!

[cruzin4us]

They let people hold them for a few seconds while they snapped a photo and then they moved on to the next guest.  They are trying to socialize the puppies, but the crowd is pretty overwhelming because everyone wants to hold them.   

 

I was fortunate to get a picture when they were bringing them in.....she is a lot cuter than me holding a puppy 🙂

 

[Cruise Raider]

Great review!  Thanks for taking the time to do this.  
I believe we will be on the Ruby at least one time this summer while she is here in SF.  
Oh, and I agree with you wholeheartedly about the Oakland airport.  We live just east of it and it beats SFO for us every time.  Unfortunately, we can’t always get the flights we want so need to go to SFO or even San Jose International, at times.  We are fortunate to live within an hour’s drive to three major airports, two of which have a BART extension (OAK and SFO).  
BTW, if they still have tapas at Vines, you might enjoy them.  
 

[CruiserN1]

That chile rellano is beyond pathetic. I have never seen one that small! It's my husband's favorite Mexican dish so I will be sure to tell him NOT to order it when we're cruising Alaska this summer.