Ruby Princess Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,975 reviews

Great ports, bad cruise ship experience!

Review for Alaska Cruise on Ruby Princess
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jaked123
2-5 Cruises • Age 20s

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Sail Date: Jun 2016

My family went on this cruise because we wanted to see something completely different. This was our first ever cruise on Princess, and this will be our last for sure. To begin, if you have children under the age of 18, there is not very much for them to do on the ship as it caters to an older crowd. My family loved it when we got off the ship, but on the ship was a completely different story. The food on the cruise was awful and also unsanitary! I saw one of the chefs making a fresh pizza with no gloves (and he was touching the cheese and the dough with his bare hands). There were also three instances where there was hair in the food we were served. The only good things to eat on the ship were pretty much French Fries....and don't even get me started with the buffet! Very bland (not to mention I saw people coughing all over the food)! The entertainment on the ship was not really there. The main things to do were gambling, trivia, and watching a couple of shows. The sauna was not available the entire trip (even though we were told it would be available 3 days after we left for Ketchikan). And the laundry facilities were deplorable as all of the dryers were broken except one, leaving people (including one of the members of our group) waiting for 4 hours to get laundry done. We wasted half of a day just doing laundry and nobody bothered to come up until 4:30 in the afternoon!! We were in there since 10 in the morning doing laundry! It was definitely not a good experience. As for the cabin, we had 2 cabins, and the cabins were not too bad (one was a cabin with a balcony and the other was a cabin with no window). If you don't like the sun being up all night and you have any type of window in the cabin, I recommend bringing a sleeping mask as the sun does rise at 4am! We had a very good room attendant that catered to our every need without having an attitude. Unfortunately for the most part, the staff were very uppity in my opinion. I seemed to feel rather uncomfortable just wanting to ask a simple question. They seem miserable, and they don't really know what is going on around the ship. Of course I cannot say that for every single staff member on the ship, but the majority of them were either rude, clueless, or looked miserable. There was one instance where I got yelled at for requesting a lemonade! But apart from the bad, this is a beautiful, scenic cruise that takes you up the southern part of Alaska. Here are the cities and my thoughts:

Ketchikan- This is such a nice little city, with amazing salmon, and they also have some good shopping! I recommend going there and walking the city before whatever tour you decide. We went to Totem Bight State Park, and it was very informational, not to mention it is very educational and cultural! They have a gift shop there, where we got free coffee and cookies. For the most part, there was some walking done as this is a walking tour, but it is very nice and its not really unbearable walking. Not to mention, the views from the park were spectacular and the weather we had for that day was very nice (did not rain which was unusual for Ketchikan). I recommend this tour for people who want to throw in something cultural into their Alaskan adventure. If you wish to buy a mini Made in Alaska totem pole, bring lots of money as they can be very pricey. The city is very walkable though and we had no problems with getting lost.

Juneau- Juneau is the capital, which makes it a much busier city than the other Alaskan cities on this voyage. They have lots of shopping throughout the town, and they have lots of flowers on the streets, making it look and seem very lively. The streets are very clean, and the air was very crisp (this is something that you will find throughout Alaska). We did a 4 1/2 hour excursion to the Mendenhall Rainforest (which is not too too big but it feels like you can get lost cause it's so beautiful). They had a wide variety of flowers, and what was really nice about this place was that it was owned by a husband and a wife, which gave this place a more personal feel. This tour also included a trip to the Mendenhall Glacier (no helicopter ride, but you can see the glacier). We had gone to the observatory building, where they have some souvenirs that you can buy, and they also give you the option to see a video. They have some really nice trails that can take you all around the compound. We chose to take a trail that took roughly 45 minutes to and from. This took us to Nugget Falls and we got a close up of the glacier. The falls were gorgeous and the glacier was awesome! So after this, we decided to take the Mt. Roberts Tramway (which has stunning views of the Gastineau Channel from above). The tram goes every 5 minutes, and to be fair, I think one time going up and down is enough (and not to mention, they have some shopping on the top). For food, I highly recommend Tracy's Crab Shack as it is some of the best seafood that I have ever had (highly recommend the bisque). All in all, Juneau is a walkable city and it is very clean and a nice place to go for the day.

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