Ruby Princess Review
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Ruby Princess Review – June 16-23 2018
7-night round trip cruise to Alaska departing from Seattle on June 16 and returning on June 23. Our group of four couples ranged in age from 45 to 60. We also celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary during the cruise.
Summary
Cabin Review
Interior
Our inside stateroom on the Aloha Deck – A244. The room was comfortably cool if the thermostat was at the lowest setting. The bed was comfortable and the pillows were also acceptable. The carpet and furnishings were in good condition. The bathroom sink and shower were acceptable but more worn than the room. The shower curtain stayed where it belonged and did not drift into the shower or allow water to escape onto the bathroom floor. The closet area was open and formed a wall behind the desk, with the bathroom accessed from the open area. This was a very efficient use of the space. We pre-ordered two cases of water which were in the room when we arrived. We immediately loaded the water and wine into the small refrigerator. Our room steward James did a great job keeping the room fresh while we were away having fun.
Port Reviews
Glacier Bay
After extensive research on Cruise Critic, I determined the other must do and bucket list item on this cruise was Glacier Bay. Others in our party of eight had cruised to Alaska before but had never experienced Glacier Bay and they were in awe, as were we. While in Glacier Bay National Monument the National Park Service provides three park rangers to narrate the journey and answer questions. Our first stop was Margerie Glacier, where we cruised right up next to it at the end of the bay. This was impressive and was actively calving, although nothing huge fell off into the ocean while we were there, we did hear the ice cracking and thunderously crashing into the sea. The Grand Pacific Glacier is next to Margerie Glacier but has receded and is not up against the sea.
We then sailed to the Johns Hopkins Glacier, passing the Lamplugh Glacier along the way. We did not get as close to the Lamplugh Glacier and were quite a distance from Johns Hopkins Glacier. However, being some distance away added perspective and a better appreciation for the glaciers and the surrounding mountains they flow down from. In this area there were many small icebergs where the harbor seals were hanging out.
As we left Glacier Bay we passed what seemed like hundreds of sea otters swimming the opposite direction. While transiting Icy Straight we saw our first humpback whales from a distance. Later in the evening we saw humpbacks closer to the ship.
Victoria
We took the shuttle into the inner harbor which saved us walking in the wind and intermittent light drizzle. Our primary goal was visiting Rogers Chocolate on Government Street. We then walked around awhile and took a few pictures of the Empress Hotel and Legislative Buildings after the rain passed and the sun came out.
Juneau
Due to a medical emergency on Sunday, Ruby was delayed 7.5 hours and finally arrived in Juneau at 6:30 PM, resulting in our dog sledding excursion and evening whale watch excursion both being cancelled. Many of the 3,000 passengers wanted to get off and long lines quickly formed for disembarkation. We made it off the ship at 7 PM. This left 2.5 hours before re-boarding at 9:30 PM. We walked along the harbor and noted the long lines at all the restaurants and the Mt. Roberts tram. We kept walking to the Red Dog Saloon which was also packed. We found a coffee shop after about 30 minutes that was closing but managed to get some coffee. We decided to return to the ship around 8:30 PM to beat the crowds returning at 9:30.
Seattle
Our first stop on Thursday was Ivar’s on Pier 54 where we had an excellent lunch. Then we walked along the waterfront and up to Pike Place Market where we visited the gum wall, watched fish being thrown and visited the first Starbucks. After another stop at Moore Coffee we returned to our hotel (the Arctic Club) to check-in. After an early dinner at Piroshki on 3rd next to our hotel, we walked three blocks to Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour of Pioneer Square, which we enjoyed. As sunset approached we walked one block from our hotel to Columbia Tower to go to the Sky View Observatory on the 73rd floor. The view from almost 1,000 feet above Seattle was amazing, looking down on the Seattle Mariners game at Safeco Field, looking north to the Space Needle (much lower in elevation) and watching the aircraft carrier John C Stennis heading out to sea after leaving from Bremerton.
On Friday after experiencing a tasty breakfast at Biscuit Bitch across the street from our hotel we returned to Pike Place Market to meet another couple for lunch at the Athenian. We then headed to Chocolate Box to sample wine and chocolate and while there acquired two bottles of wine to carry-on the ship for our stateroom. After dropping the wine at our hotel we visited Chihuly Garden and Glass at Seattle Center, which was really cool. We skipped the Space Needle because it is still under partial renovations and was really crowded. After Chihuly we attended the WNBA basketball game at Key Arena between the Seattle Storm and the Connecticut Sun.
On Saturday morning we enjoyed Top Pot Doughnuts for breakfast before heading to Pier 91.