Cruising on the Rudy Princess again in July to Alaska. Hopefully it will be a much better experience.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Best embarkation ever - I was on the boat within 40 minutes of arriving. Lines were minimal.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
I had one great dish on the cruise, the soup in the Da Vinci dinning room at lunch on embarkation day.
The food wasn’t great. About one third of food was good or ok, while the rest was poor, including the desserts. They served the same menu in the dinning rooms with two or three differences - and I saw the same desserts the next day in the buffet.
The buffet salad dressings were really bad bottled dressing. I’m sailing again on the Rudy Princess in July and I’ll bring my own salad dressings. I sent the Princess cruise line several simple dressing recipes that would be a major improvement over what they offered. They didn’t have set ups for either a large salad or getting dressing on the side, so I used a warmed plate and got the dressing in the standard “salad” bowl.
If you went to buffet on off hours, which as I solo cruiser I like to do, the food had sitting out so long it looked dried and horrible.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
The staff was fine for the most part. It wasn’t as good as I had on my other Princess cruises.
As single cruiser, I did receive less service than tables with more people. I once went a full hour in a bar with no one asking if I would like a drink.
I did get the worst hair cut I ever had on a cruise. I usually get my get hair cut on a cruise (this was my sixth time) and most have been great. The Ruby only had one stylist available and he was so bad. He sat through the hair cut, never checked if the length matched in the front (it didn’t) then gave me this horrible curly finish so ugly, I pulled hair into a bun as soon as I left the salon.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The bathroom was the cleanest and best smelling bathroom I’ve ever had.
The ship didn’t really have a good place to sit and watch the ocean other outside or the horizon cafe. The top bar didn’t have a lot of window seats. I like to sit, read and whale watch during cruising days.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Cleanest bathroom ever! The smallest shower ever! The rest was good.
On your next cruise check out Skywalkers at the top aft…panoramic views and during most days a quiet place to read and relax
Outside whale watching is catch-as-catch-can…and it will be cold and breezy…but I enjoy getting up and walking or watching the water
The buffet is the buffet…it will always be just that …in my life the only buffets I found with worthwhile food were attached to Casinos…and a large number of them were just meh…when you register you indicate if you want a swift meal or a leisurely meal…if I need attention I am not shy about politely flagging down the nearest server to find mine…the key word is polite…I’ve watched passengers become border line abusive to staff…if you do not care for MDR offerings you can request an off menu item and if they can accommodate you they will
I like your review…much more pleasant than the folks who scream poison from beginning to end…this will be our second cruise on the Ruby…our 15th cruise to Alaska…and the reason I will not be found curled up in a fetal position in my office next week
I hope my suggestions helped some
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