First time and last time on Princess!

Item: Ruby Princess
Rating: 3.5
Author: knizme

Ruby Princess Cruise Review to Alaska

knizme

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 24

Overall rating:

3.5 out of 5

Verified Review

10 Night Alaska Inside Passage With Glacier Bay (San Francisco Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 30, 2022

Ship: Ruby Princess

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: B251

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

This was our first time on Princess and we'd been told to expect greater things than we'd experienced on other cruise lines. Double disappointment as it was not even as good as the other 3 cruise lines we've been on. ALSO, brought another couple with us for their first cruise ever and felt really bad about it all. Alaska is amazing, Princess is NOT!

Embarkation

1 out of 5

Sad, sad, sad - an hour and a half to get onboard WITH a disabled member of our party. Unorganized and chaotic and VERY unpleasant. What a way to start a cruise!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

Out of ~30 meals, less than a half dozen were "cruise worthy"(aka gold level quality). The rest were sad, sad, sad. In both dining rooms and buffet, food was many times cold to luke warm and also overcooked/dry or tough. Ended up speaking to the Food & Beverage Service Director about it all. Many items in buffet area looked disgusting... like sweaty cheese plate. The final meal included a "Faked Alaska" which reinforced their inability to produce what was advertised on the menu! I could go on but, what's the point - it was not the level of food we expected, as experienced with ALL other cruise lines we've been on.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Not a lot of activities that seemed interesting with 4 days at sea OR they were scheduled on top of each other or during meals.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Comedic performances were amazing! Musical performances were so-so.

Children's Programs

no kids

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Service was the only redeeming factor on this trip. Everyone was amazing.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

The ship took awhile to navigate. It has some quirks like where dining rooms are located and what elevators go where in different parts of the ship. Logistically not the best layout. Also, should mention that the NEW hi tech systems installed to aid in information and communication did NOT work well or at all, sometimes.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Only balcony cabin we've ever had that had nowhere to sit except on bed. Not the best layout but still nice. Couldn't have our guests come in and socialize...