I was not going to review this cruise, but based on some very ‘suspect’ reviews and ratings here I felt compelled. We have 46 cruises under our belts and Princess STILL has a wonderful product. We place them as equal to RCL and NCL in service and attention to detail (food, entertainment etc). If you are looking for belly flop contests and line dancing, you may want to sail the Caribbean or Mexico on another cruise line. Princess is an older clientele and therefore there are many walkers, WC’s and ‘jazzies’ That’s just how it is. The weather on an Alaska cruise will be a BIG factor in your activities. Embark and Disembark was very similar to most of our other 45 cruises. Sanctuary is one of the best ‘retreat’ style venues of ANY cruise line. We LOVE Sanctuary! Covid: We have been vaxxed (twice) boosted (twice) and I caught Covid in May. We do not wear masks and We do not avoid crowds.. it is my belief that Covid is here to stay and everyone will get some form or mutation eventually. We choose to not let Covid ruin our vacations. There was a commensurate amount of sanitizing and cleaning as our other post-Covid cruises on RCL and Regal Princess.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
We had a 1:30 ‘show’ time but arrived pierside at 1:05 due to all the negative comments about SF embarkation. We were on board with a cocktail by 1:45, and that’s even after wife lost het medallion. (Replaced on board). 3 metal detectors are a choke point, not Princess’s fault.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Dined at all MDR’s, Buffet and Sabbatini’s. Great, attentive service and food. Buffets have a wonderful variety of selections and the Princess Pizza is some of the best we’ve had. The Salty Dog Gastropub ($18 up charge) was a very pleasant surprise. Awesome burger; first I’ve ever had with Kimchi on it. Very Good!
The Salty Dog Grill
4 out of 5
Outstanding Burger, maybe $18/person is a bit much.
Sabatini's Italian Trattoria
5 out of 5
Excellent!
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Same activities you’ll see on any cruise ship.. trivia, group meetings, veteran events, bingo, karaoke, ice sculpture, art sales, competition darts, wine tasting, fitness center and of course, Casino. What you won’t see are water slides, belly flop contests, rope courses, climbing walls, etc. That is simply not Princess.
The Sanctuary
5 out of 5
We ABSOLUTELY love Sanctuary. Try it per day or for entire cruise, but on Alaska cruises the weather has to be perfect or it isn’t worth it.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Excellent! 2 different production shows (Princess singers, dancers) on a 10 day cruise plus a magician, singer or comedian in the theater on every ‘non-production show’ night. We ate at 5-5:40 every night and went to 7:30 shows. Many shows were SRO.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
The service and attitude of all the staff was excellent. The Medallion is a bit ‘wonky’ and that causes most waiters/bartenders to ask for your room number when ordering. The medallion (little round dongle) is supposed to do that automatically. Like all electronic gear, It will get better. I found that when the Medallion App (on phone) acted up, I could make it work better by logging out and logging back in. Princess staff- 5 stars, Medallion App- 3 stars
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
So many negative comments (here) about Ruby had me looking very closely at this category. She was built in 2008 and refurbed in 2015. The carpet in our stateroom is BRAND NEW. She is well outfitted and clean inside but does need some paint (some rust visible) .. any sailor will tell you rust is a constant battle with a sea-going vessel. 15 out of the 26 RCL ships are older than Ruby and 9 out of the 19 NCL ships are older than her. 8 of the Princess fleet is older than Ruby and 6 are newer. Every door, toilet, elevator, auto-open door, exercise equip and hot tub we tried was working. Some hot tubs were closed (netted) on bad weather, low usage days but they were still full and hot.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Caribe Deck balcony rooms have a 9’ by 9’ balcony. 30% is covered (shaded) by balcony above and 70% is unshaded. Unshaded part is visible from balconies above. We loved this configuration and I spent many hours sitting outside with my binoculars. There is only one desk chair inside the cabin for seating, no couch.
Ship tip
If you can’t make reservations for the specialty restaurants, stop by at 5-5:30 pm to see if there are any no-shows. DO NOT miss the early morning sail into and out of the fjord, beautiful.. take binocs! Take clothing layers for Alaska cruising.. we had 50° days and 72° days. Buy a suction cup (outside) thermometer for your balcony window. Wine tastings are $12/ person.. much cheaper than other cruise lines. The Cigar lounge is open (near casino).. I like an occasional cigar and a lounge is becoming a rarity! Have a paper copy of your shot record, Covid test, passport and boarding pass within reach when boarding.. you may or may not be asked for them but be ready!
I never sleep well on our last night aboard. Since we slept with the sliding glass door open the ENTIRE cruise, I could hear the bouys and also harbor seals barking as we approached the channel into SF. When I heard road traffic noise, I went to the balcony and we were sailing under the GG Bridge.. awesome sight at 0535! It was foggy when we went under on day 1, so this was a great photo op. We self-assisted and walked off after breakfast at the buffet. We finished eating at 10am and we were at our gate in SFO airport at 10:45, we used Princess airport transfers ($34 each).
Really loved your positive review and the fact that you provided some comparisons to help potential cruisers gain a more accurate expectation from a premium cruise line. Glad you decided to weigh in with details and help balance the comments for this ship/sailing.
Thanks for your great, informative feedback 👍
I've only been on Ruby once (2020) but I wouldn't hesitate to sail on her again! So glad you enjoyed your cruise ⚓️
I like the Ruby Princess and have had several cruises on her. Like a few people have mentioned there those that scroll through peoples post looking for a bad experience just do they can put in their negative opinions, even though they haven't cruised on Princess in nearly 10 years. Like all social media outlets, there are the trolls who have way too much time on their hands and enjoy posting crap just cause they can. Good to hear you had a great cruise and thanks for your informative review.
What a fantastic review! Glad you decided to do it. It is sad that some people just love to bash certain things. I just read a review of the Ruby by an RC fanatic who felt we wanted to hear his bias rhetoric. Just tell the truth, good and bad. Glad to hear Ruby is still doing OK and you can have a good time aboard if you want to.
Thank you for your great honest review! We love Princess and our first cruise on Princess was on the Golden. We will go on the Discovery next month and cannot wait. We are looking forward to a relaxing time on another beautiful shop.
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