Overall, we had a wonderful time (pretty hard NOT to have a good time cruising!) and found just what we were looking for. I don't think the MDR food in the Botticelli Dining Room was as good as we remembered from past Princess cruises, nor was the entertainment commensurate with what we've come to expect from Princess, but none of it was what I'd call bad or even substandard, just not quite to the level we expected. To end on a positive, overall the cruise met our expectations due to the high level of service one expects and RECEIVES from Princess, from the Captain on down to the stateroom attendants. I'd recommend this cruise to anyone who enjoys lots of relaxing sea days, with the beautiful and picturesque Hawaiian paradise as the "middle eight". Bon Voyage!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was stress free and fast, thanks to my wife (the travel consultant) being at Elite level, really no complaints from that perspective.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We didn't try all the specialty restaurants onboard, though we did try Curtis Stone's "Share", advertised to be a culinary experience like no other, and I'd have to agree that it's unique in it's tastes, ambience, and for the sheer volume of food. While all SIX COURSES weren't exactly to my liking (let me add here that we're certainly not gourmets, not even considered "foodies", our tastes trending toward the simpler options food-wise) the meal was overall pretty good, certainly some combinations we weren't used to or expecting, but in total it was an excellent dining experience. One word of caution to those trying "Share", be mindful of the amounts you're consuming in the beginning portions of the meal, they will most certainly bring you 6 courses; I would suggest partaking of half of each, otherwise you'll be forcing yourself by the time you reach the dessert course.
Cafe Caribe
5 out of 5
Often less crowded than the Horizon Grill, and easier to find a seat.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We chose this cruise for 2 reasons: The abundant sea days (9 glorious days of relaxation!) and Hawaii, certainly in our top 5 of cruise destinations. We participated in trivia (not all of them, but some) but declined the hula dancing, the ukelele lessons, the choral offerings (all this geared to a performance toward the end of the cruise that we weren't particularly interested in either attending or performing in) and we attended few of the onboard lectures, though we did enjoy the one by Tiki Dave about Kauai, as we had special plans for our day spent there. 4 ports in 4 days (Hilo, Honolulu, Nawiliwili, and Lahaina) is a bit much at our age (around 60) but we wanted to enjoy our stops as well. As usual on most cruises, if you're bored it's because you failed to participate in what's being offered, and our goal on the abundant sea days was relaxation, and of that we had plenty, and it was greatly appreciated and taken advantage of.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
We considered the entertainment on this cruise to be what one would encounter on a 7 day cruise, not on the longer trips (15 days). On our previous longer cruises, we noticed the entertainment was usually a cut above normal compared to the standard 7 day, and here Princess somewhat disappointed. While we enjoyed the musical offerings, they just didn't seem to be up to par with normal "longer cruise" fare. There was quite a variety, from Tiki Dave and his native Hawaiian wife (excellent!) to a pair of classical musicians who were very good, but didn't seem to have their sound equipment working correctly. The poor female half of Walker Black had bronchitis, and while she gave it her all, we almost felt sorry for her struggling through her numbers, though they did offer a "good" show, not a "great" show. The ships' band was stellar as usual on cruise ships, but some of other offerings left us feeling like we'd went to a 2nd rate nightclub, and the entertainment showed it.
Club Fusion
5 out of 5
A great venue for modest shows (music groups, trivia, karaoke, etc) though one of the staff commented that he preferred Explorers Lounge, as it seemed more intimate.
Movies Under The Stars
5 out of 5
We watched "Bohemian Rhapsody" there, and had a ball. The staff brought us both pizza and popcorn. A chilly night, but was great watching a film while snuggling under the warm blankets the staff provided
Children's Programs
no kids, in fact very few on the longer cruises during the school year
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The crew were the stars on this cruise, from Rodelio our room steward, to Edward and Jed in the Botticelli Dining Room, to pretty much every bartender and waitstaff person with whom we interacted, professional, smiling, and very attentive.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
We have previously sailed on Grand, Crown, Caribbean Princess (Island Princess is another class of ship) and they were enough alike that we pleasantly felt "at home" on Ruby Princess. She was tastefully furnished, beautifully outfitted, and the flow on both the Promenade and the Lido was easy, uninhibited, and uncrowded. We love this class of ships, and look forward to sailing some of the others of this class as well. Our stateroom was roomy as well as cozy, more than adequate as a home for 2 weeks.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We nearly always book inside rooms, both for the economy (we've had balconies and don't find them worth the extra $$$) as well as the option for near total darkness for afternoon naps (we always leave the bathroom light on, the light under the door is perfect to prevent disorientation) and Baja deck was the perfect middle point between Lido and Promenade, where most is "happening". We can't further elaborate, we'd take the same room again in an instant.
Ship tip
Don't forget to check out the Skywalker lounge, deck 18 aft, just a neat space day or night.
Again, we did Pearl Harbor our last time in Hawaii, so we did the Waikiki Trolley, 3 lines (of which they offer 5 or 6) the coastal tour, Diamondhead, and downtown Honolulu. Waikiki was crowded (we were there Saturday) as we expected, but greatly enjoyed the sights we saw. Had no interest in the shopping or dining tours
We had made previous reservations (not through Princess) and rented a motorcycle on Kauai. To all motorcyclists, you owe yourself this experience. We rode to the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, and then around the other side of island to Kiluea. It was worth the entire trip!
Went snorkeling, though we didn't see many fish we did see a couple of inquisitive turtles, and some whales and dolphins while on the boat. The port area of Lahaina is crowded to the say the least, and the wait for the tender back to the ship was trying, though it was our fault for staying really later than we planned due to one of our planned excursions being unavailable.
As usual, the areas of the ship designated for the different disembarkation groups were crowded and with inadequate seating, but we weren't there long, and took the Princess shuttle to LAX for our flight home.
On the same one, agree with the MDR comment. It had a brand new menu that, while there were some great dishes, overall not as good as before. Even the boss cook said one night that they were still learning how to do the food.
On the same one, agree with the MDR comment. It had a brand new menu that, while there were some great dishes, overall not as good as before. Even the boss cook said one night that they were still learning how to do the food.
On the same one, agree with the MDR comment. It had a brand new menu that, while there were some great dishes, overall not as good as before. Even the boss cook said one night that they were still learning how to do the food.
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