Ruby Princess Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,975 reviews

Dreary weather for a slightly dreary cruise

Review for Alaska Cruise on Ruby Princess
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yorkshireyank
10+ Cruises • Age 50s

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Value for Money
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Additional details

Sail Date: Sep 2016
Cabin: Penthouse Suite with Balcony
Balcony view looking forward
Balcony
Penthouse bath and shower
Penthouse main bedroom area
Penthouse sitting area with pullout couch (sagging cushions)
Team Rootberry (Jugglers extraordinaire)
Crown Grill
Allen Marine Tours (Juneau) evening whale watching quest with a pod of Orca
Movies Under the Stars
Allen Marine Tours (Juneau) evening whale watching quest with Steller Sea L

Let me start off the conversation by saying that this is about our 10th cruise and our second one with Princess. We did the Voyage of the Glaciers in 2013 (June- Island Princess) and had a great time. So we thought we would try Princess again, this time in September, and cruising the Inside Passage. Overall, we give this trip out on the Ruby Prince an average score and that is because customer service, passenger to crew communication, and crew attitude was less than average and detracted from the positives.

Embarkation was excellent at Seattle. The cruise terminal (#99) and Princess have it down to a science. As a suite passenger, you get to sit in the Wheelhouse Bar on disembarkation and that process went even smoother than embarkation. To make your trip even go smoother—use their EZ Check service. Princess partners up with participating airlines to transfer your luggage to the airline and you won’t see it until you get to your final destination. While it does cost $20 per person, there are no excess weight fees should your luggage be over the weight limit. The service also checks you into the flight and you will receive boarding passes on the ship. You must pay the airline for any additional 1st, 2nd, etc. bag fees not covered under your reservation.

Excursions/Itinerary. September is the rainy season in Alaska and the weatherman did not disappoint. The rain wasn’t bad but the constant low cloud cover and fog really obscured a lot of Alaska’s beauty. If this were our first time to Alaska this cruise truly would have been a bummer, but luckily we still managed to have fun on the majority of our excursions we took. Recommend taking the Evening Whale Quest with Dinner out of Juneau. Allen Marine Tours ran an excellent tour and we saw everything from Orca pods, humpback whales, and Steller Sea Lions barking away on one of the islands in the gulf. The stop in Victoria was disappointing because you get in late evening (around 7 PM) and city sightseeing really means all you get to do is see the city and Craigdarroch Castle. You can save yourself the $45 per person fee and skip this tour if you get in once it is dark.

Cabin Review

Penthouse Suite with Balcony

Cabin S4

I have included some cabin pictures and the cabin scores average because of wear and tear as well as a slight sewer odor from the bathroom that permeated the room. Our steward tried to clean the smell for us but it only masked the smell for a short time. Some folks have suggested the problem may have been with the dry (in floor) drain and sewer gas backing up the drain. A suggestion was made to pour some water down the dry drain every night to try and keep the smell down. Other than that the room was very clean and well maintained by our steward. Large balcony and a nice sized whirlpool tub.

This room is nicely situated under the Lido deck and centered across from the mid-ship elevators but very low traffic area. We did hear the moving of chairs and tables above on the Lido deck from time to time but not enough to bother our sleep. There are quite a few suite perks not available on the Ruby Princess as on other newer ships but take full advantage of the free laundry/dry cleaning services!

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