Ruby Princess Coastal Cruise 11.2.24 - 11.9.24 - Have We Made a Huge Mistake?

[Kay S]

I have never booked a cruise I regretted taking before I even took it. Hope it doesn’t turn out to be a self fulfilling prophesy. If you go expecting problems you are more likely to find them. 

[luuuv2cruise]

33 minutes ago, Kay S said:

I have never booked a cruise I regretted taking before I even took it. Hope it doesn’t turn out to be a self fulfilling prophesy. If you go expecting problems you are more likely to find them. 

It wasn't a prophecy.  I was just asking questions.  And as I said, some of the questions/issues have been resolved due to the help of some great cc posters.

[VibeGuy]

4 hours ago, luuuv2cruise said:

My travel companion HATED our 14 day HAL Alaska cruise last year, to the extent that she said she never wanted to cruise again.  A 4+ hour wait in the terminal squished in with passengers from multiple other ships.  
 

Yikes.  Multiple-ship day in Vancouver?

 

HAL has really degraded their onboard entertainment of late.    They’re gonna lose the demographic gains they’ve made since the average age of an entry in their past passenger database was “deceased”. 

[Kay S]

2 hours ago, luuuv2cruise said:

It wasn't a prophecy.  I was just asking questions.  And as I said, some of the questions/issues have been resolved due to the help of some great cc posters.

I hope you will come back after the cruise and let us know if you made a mistake or not.

[mtnesterz]

12 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

 I hope that the OP’s friend isn’t reading this.

Which CD are you talking about? 

I don't feel right about posting a name. His name has not been on the sticky that lists senior officers for quite some time.

I don't make, "rainbows and unicorns,"  predictions every cruise will be like a brochure.

I see you post your cruise history, exceeding ours by a few. Unless you've been awfully lucky, I'll bet you have true stories of things gone awry too, but that doesn't deter people like you and I who love cruising. Fully welcome new cruisers, but cruising isn't for everybody, it's not like staying at a resort.

Edited September 27 by mtnesterz

[CruiseCrabs]

On 9/27/2024 at 7:00 AM, mtnesterz said:

Unless you've been awfully lucky, I'll bet you have true stories of things gone awry too, but that doesn't deter people like you and I who love cruising. Fully welcome new cruisers, but cruising isn't for everybody, it's not like staying at a resort.

Cruising is like floating summer camp: weather can change the plan but your friend is going to have a better cruise if they control what you can (hello, meclizine and other OTC remedies for the icks), and roll with what they can’t (e.g. schedule changes due to medical evacuations, weather, etc.; rough seas due to currents or weather; lines; who is scheduled as entertainment; etc.). Guess what? Many of the situations you and your chosen travel companion may agonize over and that some have mentioned can and do happen during land-based travel.

 

The bottom line is that one may hate a cruise if they limit their exposure to the many opportunities onboard and fail to embrace what one cannot control.
 

 

[Bobsgonecoastal]

On 9/25/2024 at 9:25 PM, luuuv2cruise said:

We just booked a last minute CA Coastal cruise on the Ruby Princess for Nove 2-9, 2024.  Not an exciting itinerary, but the itenerary allows us to drive to the port, and we usually enjoy the food and entertainment on Princess.

I just tried to book dining reservations.  Due to a diabetic dining companion who needs to stick to a fairly strict schedule, I was hoping to book for 5pm each day, but I keep getting the message "Sorry!  There are no available time slots for this date".  I get the same message for both DaVinci and Botticelli dining rooms.  

When I go to the "Ship Schedule", the only entertainment shown is Piano and Vocal Entertainer Paul Holmes.  He shows up on the schedule 21 times.  No other entertainment listed.

I tried to check the roll call, but nothing comes up for this cruise.

I'm trying not to feel buyer's remorse but am starting to dread a cruise with minimal dining options, minimal entertainment (unless Paul Holmes turns out to be to our taste), and kind of boring ports.  Can the dining choices and entertainment really be as bad as it sounds?  Shouldn't there be a roll call?

 

We're doing the same cruise the week before you.   We booked last minute and love the convenience of driving to SF and parking just a couple of blocks away.  I am getting the same message, so we are resolved to doing anytime dining.  I'm guessing that it starts early, so why not go that route.  We sailed them earlier in the year (cruise addicts), and If I remember correctly, there were still spots in the dinging rooms they had held until embarkation.  As far as entertainment, I'm confident there will be ample entertainment that is not showing on the schedule.  We're really enjoy live music in the lounges.  We've found that app to be less than current with that type of info.   We always book the thermal suite for the week, it's a nice addition to the day.  Since we have done this cruise several times, finding new excursions is key.  This trip, I found a snorkel excursion at Todo Santos when we arrive in Ensenada that looks great.

Go and enjoy the cruise, I'll bet you have a great time.

[cr8tiv1]

I have not been on the Ruby to Hawaii lately.  But...

 

It is a 16 day cruise.  You "should" have 3 production shows.  There will be a Halau (hula school) come on board for one show while you are in Honolulu (about 8:30).  As for the other entertainment, they will be swapped out once you hit the islands.  So you will have the same (doing at least 2 shows) coming to the islands and another one after you leave the islands.  Doubt (but not impossible) to swap out entertainers from outer islands.  It would be wonderful if they could board a local musician for the islands and disembark them before you leave...We have some really good people here.