RUBY 2/14 sailing REALLY LONG review!!!

[Jessica33]

WHAT A CRUISE!!! We are a week removed from the Ruby and already dying to go back J. This was our third cruise with princess and they just keep getting better and better. The Ruby is the sister ship to the Crown and Emerald and they were near identical in most aspects. One of the great upgrades in the stateroom was the flat screen TV. Overall the boat was absolutely beautiful, clean and we were given the best service we have ever received at any land or sea resort. The staff went above and beyond! One person was nicer than the other!

Well to start off we flew into FLL airport the night before and were greeted by the Spring Hill Suites by Marriot Dania Beach airport shuttle which quickly took us to the hotel. The spring hill was an 8 minute ride from the airport. As soon as you check in quickly sign up for the FREE shuttle to the cruise terminal the next morning. The rooms are newly remodeled and large enough to comfortably sleep a family of 4-5. We woke up Saturday morning and went downstairs to a wonderful free full hot breakfast. Right across the street from the hotel is an extremely large shopping center to get all your last minute items. There was a K-Mart, BJ’s, liquor store, Marshals, Old Navy and several other stores, bars and restaurants. For those looking to bring wine or liquor on board this is your opportunity to buy it before getting to the port. K-Mart and BJ’s both had a wide variety of wine and beer.

EMABRKATION: We arrived at the port about 10:30am which was a bit early because even on the best of days they only begin boarding the elite passengers around 11:30am. We were lucky enough to meet some elites on board the Marriott shuttle to the port and they invited us to the elite lounge prior to embarkation. Once customs cleared Princess to begin embarkation is was extremely quick and painless. From start to finish including photos, customs and check in paperwork we were on board in 12 minutes. We immediately went to our room (which was ready) dropped our carry on baggage and met our lovely steward Mariana on the LIDO deck. Rooms looked great and the balcony overlooked the water and city of Ft Lauderdale. Even thought we were one of the first people onboard the Ruby our luggage did not get dropped off at the room till after sailing so if there is anything you will need for the afternoon remember to carry it on (6:00 to be exact). Our first stop was the Caribe buffet for some lunch after we dropped towels off at the MUTS pool which was empty on that day. Lunch was fantastic at the buffet – some of the feature items were chicken wings, fried scallops and blueberry blintzes which were all to die for. One secret we quickly learnt is that you can get fresh FREE lemonade from the buffet stewards. Different then on past cruises the stewards will get you FREE coffee, iced tea and water instead of you having to go up and get your own. After lying out at the pool for a while and watching a movie on the MUTS screen we walked around the boat and made our dinner and a spa reservation which is highly recommended as specialty restaurants book up fast, as do spa treatments on sea days. At 4:30 they require all passengers to attend a muster (emergency safety drill) at a designated spot on board the boat. I have sailed several cruise lines in the past and Princess definitely makes this required drill as quick and painless as possible – from start to finish it only lasted 15 minutes: RC takes over an hour. After dropping off our life vests from the muster drill we headed to the sail away part on Lido deck and grabbed a delicious mango vodka drink to sip on as we sailed passed Ft Lauderdale beach on our way out to the open sea. After an hour of drinking and listening to the live music we headed to our room to get showered and dressed for some drinks and dinner. Before dinner we went to Crooner’s Martini Bar, which became and always is a staple in all of our Princess cruises. They have a large martini menu as well as the regular drink menu all over the boat. The 2 bartenders were Florian and James. They made me any drink I wanted and were a great comedic bartending duo who really knew how to make you laugh and have a good time! They also have a side kick Jose who they call Panda who just added to the entertainment! We went there every night and had a few martinis. Don’t forget to ask for your free olives when you get a martini. The blue cheese ones were delicious! As far as some suggestions for drinks, the Calypso Cooler, Raspberry Mojito, Ruby Margarita, Pomegranate Martini and my specialty the Pink Lemonade Martini are all fantastic drinks! The Pink Lemonade is not on the menu but James and Florian will gladly make it for you! After a few cocktails we headed down to dinner and then called it a night so we can get an early start the next morning.

Day 2- SEA DAY One of my first suggestions on a sea day is if you would like a seat near any of the pools make sure someone in your party is up early to throw a few towels on chairs. Although they do not allow saving chairs it worked well for us! The chairs around the pool are all taken by 9ish. We saw many people come down to the pool at around 10:30- 11 and start panicking that there were no chairs by the pool. Chairs are always available on the upper decks, but on hot days it’s a bit of a walk to go to the pool. The breakfast was one of my favorite parts of the day. The chocolate chip rolls, fried egg, French toast, lox, crispy bacon, sausage, and custom order omelets are all excellent! Unlike some people we were huge fans of the coffee! Yes it is made from a syrup and not grinds, but we have always found it delicious! The sea day was extremely relaxing and enjoyable. At around 2 or 3:00 the Calypso band starts. The buffet and trident grill are open for lunch. Both are excellent! This night is the first Formal Night and the Captains Gala in the main atrium. We got to the atrium by 6:30 and sat right outside of Vines so we got good seats for the Cocktail Hour and were still able to see the Captain’s speech. The FREE drinks being served were Cosmopolitans, Rum Punch, Champagne Cocktail, Dirty Martini and Wines. There were also canapés being served as well. The Captain and his crew as well as Lisa the cruise director came out and spoke. It was over by 8ish and we went straight to Crooner’s to let the dinner lines die down then went to dinner (We did anytime seating). Unfortunately I cannot remember what we had each night for dinner but all I have to say is each meal was better then the last.

JAMAICA

Well we got to Jamaica around 8ish and looked out our balcony and watched us pull up to a container yard where we were docking at. Apparently the main dock was being used by another ship. As soon as you get off the boat you will be turned off because you are surrounded by shipping containers and overbearing cab drivers. My number one suggestion is to have a shore excursion pre-booked by Princess or through another company with transportation included. We made the mistake of planning to do a day pass at a local resort which did not include transportation and forced us to try and hire a local cabbie. The first cab quoted $70 each way for a 10 minute ride; we asked several other cabs (legal ones with red license plates) and pricing was all over the board. We finally got frustrated with the hassle from the drivers and settled on a $5 ride to the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort that you can see from the port side of the boat. The day pass was $60 a person for cruise ship guests and included pool, beach, waterslide, food, drinks and non motorized water sports. It was a VERY large resort with several pools, 2 beaches and a fun waterslide for adults and kids. Overall we found the resort really nice and SAFE but the food and drinks were just OK. The beach water was pretty clear and the sand was clean – they had nice large floating discs with cup holders to bring in the ocean which were fun. At about 2:30pm we left the resort and walked to town – this was not a pleasant experience. We were constantly harassed for hair braiding and buying marijuana. The town of Ochos Rios in my opinion was not safe, clean, nice or worth going to. There was very little shopping and you didn’t get that Caribbean feel. You got the feel of being ripped off by the jewelers and harassed by the locals. If I were in Ochos Rios again, which you will never be actually through Princess since they took it off the itinerary because so many people have complained about it, do not waste your time in town and have an excursion booked! Ochos Rios was my least favorite of all the excursions I have done through all my cruises. They also do not set a good tone when they drop you off at a shipping container yard! Overall Jamaica was not for us!

GRAND CAYMAN

The best! Grand Cayman was one of our favorite ports we have gone to in all of our travels. The town is beautiful, clean and safe. The people are friendly and not over-bearing! We booked our excursion through Moby Dick which was to Stingray City. We met the people under their tent and paid $40 p/person in cash for the 4 hour excursion. We had reservations about a month or 2 before we came, which was needed as all tours for the day were fully sold out. Stingray city was the most popular excursion in Grand Cayman. As soon as you get off the tender there were a lot of people advertising for Stingray City, it is a MUST! Moby Dick tours have arranged shuttle services to the boat you take to Stingray City. It is about a ten minute drive and 30 minute boat ride to the first part of the morning. The boat was extremely windy and cold when we went so pack a jacket if you can. We first arrived to a big barrier reef for 45 minutes of snorkeling. The water was incredible, almost picturesque. If you don’t snorkel you can just hop in the water with a life vest and go swimming or stay on the boat. They provide all of the snorkeling gear and life vests. After the snorkeling it was a minute ride to the sand bar where all the stingrays were. There about ten other boats at the sandbar. The 3 tour guides were fantastic! They hoped right in the water with us and held the stingrays so we can pet them and get used to them. They were like large cats rubbing against your leg. It was one of the best experiences of my life! After 45 minutes of non-stop laughter and a great time they took us back to the shuttle which brought us to the 7 mile beach or town where the tenders were. We opted for the gorgeous beach! The water was one of the best we have seen! They had chair and umbrella rentals as well as a lunch and drink place. The food and drinks were a little over-priced but good. After a few hours of swimming and lying out we took a $3 cab to town and did a lot of shopping. Try and save yourself enough time to do the shopping, we were not able to get everywhere, but they did have a lot o great deals on watches, jewelry and cosmetics and perfumes. They also had a Swatch watch store which had good deals on all their watches! Grand Cayman was amazing in every aspect! I definitely recommend using Moby Dick tours they were fantastic!

COZUMEL

We had been to Cozumel and loved it so we knew what to expect here and had an idea of what we wanted to do. Cozumel is unique in that there are probably close to 50 private beach “clubs” requiring an entry fee which usually includes beach and pool use as well as food and drinks. This time we did extensive research on local resorts and decided to do a day pass at the Occidental Grand Cozumel Resort. The day pass fee was $50 per person and was awesome!! The resort was HUGE yet relaxing and private. They had two pools, a beautiful beach, several restaurants and bars with premium cocktails, wine and beer all included. Most of the beach clubs cost $40-$60 so at $50 this was a great deal and nicer then any beach club out there. The drinks were great and the lunch was OK but certainly the atmosphere paid for itself. Roundtrip cab fare was less then $30 for the cab (not per person). We left the resort around 3 and had the driver take us to the main downtown shopping area which certainly had a lot of shops and restaurants but most were local souvenirs that we don’t particular care for. We then grabbed a $3 cab to the other shopping area where our boat was docked which had some better duty free shopping. Overall our Cozumel experience was great! We love the beaches, the water is crystal clear and the sand is nice with a little bit of coral. You can’t go wrong with just about anything you do in Cozumel.

2nd DAY AT SEA

Our second at sea day was just as nice as our first. We got up early put our towels and magazines down at our chairs and went straight to breakfast. Throughout the day there were many activities to participate in like wine tasting, bingo, scrapbooking, pottery, cooking class, art auctions; you name it they had everything you can imagine! If we weren’t big pool and sun people we would have been at every activity! At 3pm a man with a cart rolls around the pool and serves warm cookies and milk, they were delicious! The 2nd at sea day was a sushi buffet, we are huge sushi people and it was not that good, but we are just very picky, although many people seemed to enjoy it! The real good sushi is down at Vines where you have to pay $1 per piece, which was great sushi! At 11am there is also outlet shopping in one of the dinning rooms where they have a bunch of clothing at discount prices and some t-shirts discounted as well. Last years outlet shopping on the Crown was better, but we did manage to get a few items. Also at around 3pm they have these amazing free waffles in the buffet that you can put on ice cream or whatever you like, those you shouldn’t miss! This was the second formal night, and for all those Captain’s Circle Members, our Private cocktail hour. Same drinks and canapés as last time, very good and there free so even better!

PRINCESS CAYS

My one and only suggestion is to get up early and get yourself to the Princess theater so you can get on a tender and get there early. We got there at 8:30 (they said to be there at 9) and we were the first tender to the island. Anything after 10, we heard waited for up to an hour. Since the boat is too big to dock there they have to use their tenders, so that is the one pain about this place. As soon as we got off the tender we picked up our rental floats and found a great spot on the beach. The island is incredible; the water is absolutely beautiful and crystal clear! We had also signed up for the banana boating which was a lot of fun as well! There was Princess photographers all over the island taking pictures of you. The lunch was delicious, the ribs are a must! Although be prepared to wait on some lines for lunch because it closes by 1:30 I want to say, but it is worth the wait! We absolutely loved Princess Cay and can’t wait to go back on our next cruise! After we took a tender back to the boat we sat by the pool for a little longer and participated in some Bar Wars (those are always a great time!) Then we unfortunately had to go back to the room to pack :0(We put out luggage outside our room after we got back from dinner. Some people put it out before but from previous cruises we have found that it just sits out there till later in the night. We did some last minute shopping on the boat for some perfumes, colognes and cosmetics (since they are cheaper on the boat then NY) and had our last delicious dinner.

DINNERS:

We chose the anytime dining option which we find to be the best as it does not constraint you with having to be at dinner at the same time every night. Whenever we got ready to eat I would run down from crooners bar and put our name down on the list. They gave us a vibrating pager that would let us know when our table for two was ready. We never had to wait more then 15 minutes. There were SOO many good appetizers, soups, salads, pastas, entrees and deserts every night but below is a list of some of our personal favs.

- King Crab Legs - Asparagus, Bacon and Tomato Salad - Cheesecake

- Lobster Tails - Gorgonzola Soufflé -Desert Soufflés

- Filet Mignon - Linguini with Seafood - Love boat Brownie

- Jumbo Shrimp - Fettuccini Alfredo - Veal Ravioli

- Rack of Lamb - Shrimp Cocktail - Duck

One night we went to the Crown Grill specialty restaurant which costs $25 per person. It’s as good as any steakhouse I have ever been to – it’s up there with Lugers, Morton’s and any big city steak joint. I got the Filet and my boyfriend got the rack of lamb and lobster tail combo. As sides we got corn casserole, scalloped potatoes, grilled asparagus and garlic mashed. Soups were French onion and lobster bisque and for desert we got the sampler which included 4 mini desert selections but it does not come with the berry cobbler so have your waiter bring you that out as well.

CLOSING:

We had an early flight on Saturday morning so we were off the boat bright and early. Disembarkation was simply and quick and we got our luggage within seconds. This was simply a fantastic trip with very few flaws. Princess line truly goes above and beyond in all aspects of your trip. I am sure there are a million things we forgot to write about but feel free to ask as many questions as you would like!!!

[maggieq]

thanks for your review....we got to see the ruby up close from our room at the Ft. Lauderdale Grande pre cruise...

 

I love the 10 day itins for next carib season....while we might not be able to afford a balcony...i think the 10 days would be wonderful.

 

Wondering about the shows...we go to every one of them on rccl.....did you have any issues getting into them? Were they good?

 

Thanks.

[LuvTheGoodLife]

I loved all of your review except your recommendation for people to 'hog' (my word) "save" (your word) pool loungers with towels. Putting a chair on a towel before you are prepared to use it should not entitle you to that chair. You are not in the chair so you should not expect anyone to respect your towel as a place marker. People will walk around hopelessly looking for pool loungers only to find them 'saved' with towels. They are reluctant to take these empty chairs because they are afraid to confront 'chair hoggers' when/if they return.

 

Princess clearly has a No Saving pool chairs or theatre chairs policy. If I see a lounger saved with a towel and no one near by can confirm someone is definitely using that chair, I will claim the lounger and the towel.

 

Glad you enjoyed the cruise but think twice next time before saving pool chairs and advocating others to do so as well.

[Colo Cruiser]

Excellent review, thanks. :)

[rcacace]

I loved all of your review except your recommendation for people to 'hog' (my word) "save" (your word) pool loungers with towels. Putting a chair on a towel before you are prepared to use it should not entitle you to that chair. You are not in the chair so you should not expect anyone to respect your towel as a place marker. People will walk around hopelessly looking for pool loungers only to find them 'saved' with towels. They are reluctant to take these empty chairs because they are afraid to confront 'chair hoggers' when/if they return.

 

Princess clearly has a No Saving pool chairs or theatre chairs policy. If I see a lounger saved with a towel and no one near by can confirm someone is definitely using that chair, I will claim the lounger and the towel.

 

Glad you enjoyed the cruise but think twice next time before saving pool chairs and advocating others to do so as well.

 

And I would take claim of the magazine.

[Dorset Cruiser]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise, as we did in January.

 

However, it must be the first time I have ever heard anyone own up to being a 'chair hog' - please, don't do it. It is so frustrating to play by the rules and not try to find a chair until I want to sit in it, only to be faced with rows and rows of seats saved with towels, books, shoes etc. It's a very selfish way to act:o

[palolake]

I agree with LuvTheGoodLife. I was enjoying the review until you admitted that you save chairs and obviously think it's ok. Shame on you. People like you are the reason that considerate people like me have to walk around looking for chairs. It happens every cruise and every cruise it's upsetting. Every cruise, after I finally find an open chair, I watch those reserved chairs sit unoccupied for hours. It just amazes me that people are so incredibly rude and think that they are better than everyone else and that the rules don't apply to them. And it sure takes guts to admit it!

[SeaYa52]

Great review - Thanks so much for taking the time to post.

:-)

[LARGIN]

I agree.. Nice review except for the chair hogging part.. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Richard]

At least we now know the name of one of the CHAIR HOGS...oink, oink

[berwyn]

Have you read this?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=927309

[hawgwildterry]

Jessica,

 

Thank you for the informative review of the Ruby Princess. I have booked a Penthouse Guarantee on the Riviera Deck for my wife and I for the Ruby's January 19, 2010 sailing. She thinks we have a mini-suite and will not know about our actual stateroom until we do the embarkation. We are returning to Princess after having done our last four cruises on Holland America. Our Holland America experiences have been great...just felt it was time to return to our orginal favorite.

 

Thanks for the tips on the Martini Bar and especially the sushi information reference the Vines Restaurant. I do love my sushi!

[tjdm]

Nice review!

One question about your statement of Ocho Rios. You said they took it off the itinerary. Is that for the remainder of this cruise season or next year? We are leaving on Sat. and our itinerary says "Ocho Rios".

Are there places in the shade on Princess Cays? Any hammocks?

Thanks!

[mafig]

I started reading the review and then I thought

 

OMG, someone has actually admitted to being a chair hog!:eek:

double:eek::eek:!!!

[TorontoTL]

Nice review, thanks for posting it.

[juggles]

Nice review!

One question about your statement of Ocho Rios. You said they took it off the itinerary. Is that for the remainder of this cruise season or next year? We are leaving on Sat. and our itinerary says "Ocho Rios".

Are there places in the shade on Princess Cays? Any hammocks?

Thanks!

 

 

If you look at the bridge cam for the Ruby it's on its way to Montego Bay today

[vjmatty]

One of my first suggestions on a sea day is if you would like a seat near any of the pools make sure someone in your party is up early to throw a few towels on chairs. Although they do not allow saving chairs it worked well for us!

 

It worked well for you because no one had the nerve to claim your chairs after being empty for an hour or so. Next time you might not be so lucky.

 

The only way for a chair to be "your chair" for the entire day without you in it is if you bring one from home. Unless you are willing to do that, the chair is not yours.

[Seacucumber]

We were in the same cruise and we concur with your excellent review

[RockinRobin]

I stopped reading your review when I realized that you were a chair hog and recommended your disrespect for other cruisers in such a flippant way. Hope I'm never on a cruise with you.

[SargassoPirate]

Jessica33 - so you admit that you are not supposed to do so, but you are a chair hog anyway?

 

There's one word for people like you and it's OINK!

 

It would certainly be too bad if your stuff blew overboard while it was unattended:eek:

[WeBeGone]

Thanks for the review.

[wrecks]

Jessica, you must not be aware of the recently formed International Association For The End Of Chair Hogs (IAFTEOCH, aka EOCH, pronounced YUCK.) This association tracks all known chair hogs and insures that the Fairness Of Lounge Chair Use Act of 2009 (FOLCUA-2009) is followed. Welcome to the list!

See you on the water - along with your towels.

Rex

[frofro]

Great review, thanks!

 

For a brief moment I actually thought you were joking about the towels on the chair :eek:

[u2cruiser]

Thanks Jessica, I enjoyed reading your review and it made me want to be back on my cruise. We had a 'not so great' day in Cozumel last year and I will remember about the Occidental for future visits.

[CruisinChris]

Our first stop was the Caribe buffet for some lunch after we dropped towels off at the MUTS pool which was empty on that day.

 

 

Ok - maybe you've been spanked enough for being a chair hog and being audacious enough to admit - I have concluded that you're just not that worldly yet and don't realize that it would be uncool to do and even more uncool to admit. Separately, after three Princess cruises I'd have thought you would have realized you had lunch at the Horizon Court.

 

 

Day 2- SEA DAY One of my first suggestions on a sea day is if you would like a seat near any of the pools make sure someone in your party is up early to throw a few towels on chairs. Although they do not allow saving chairs it worked well for us!

 

Congrats.

 

Well we got to Jamaica around 8ish and looked out our balcony and watched us pull up to a container yard where we were docking at. Apparently the main dock was being used by another ship.

 

This is the James Bond pier and is Princess regular dock in Ocho. Don't assume...Once you've traveled more you will realize that passenger piers don't exist in many places...

 

There was very little shopping and you didn’t get that Caribbean feel.

We left the resort around 3 and had the driver take us to the main downtown shopping area which certainly had a lot of shops and restaurants but most were local souvenirs that we don’t particular care for.

 

It's a shame you don't care for the local stuff - typically local is what people travel for.

 

Our second at sea day was just as nice as our first. We got up early put our towels and magazines down at our chairs and went straight to breakfast.

 

Seriously.

 

At 11am there is also outlet shopping in one of the dinning rooms where they have a bunch of clothing at discount prices and some t-shirts discounted as well. Last years outlet shopping on the Crown was better,

 

IT's a clearance sale - not an outlet mall.

 

Since the boat is too big to dock there they have to use their tenders, so that is the one pain about this place.

 

Here you go assuming again. Perhaps you failed to notice there's not a pier at Princess Cays? Maybe that;s the real reason they don't dock there.