45 family members went on this cruise to celebrate our parents' 80th birthdays. I rarely write reviews but since I scoured the internet for tips on packing, excursions, weather, formal night attire, etc. I thought it only fair that I help others. The first few paragraphs are specific to the Ruby Princess, but the rest should be helpful to anyone going on a summer cruise to Alaska. We could not have had better weather which is obviously not common so bear that in mind. We were blessed with sun every day so our views and attire (and subsequent jubilant mood!) reflected that. Our cabin was P209, on the 5th level. It had a window but no outside deck. A deck would have been awesome while in port or in Glacier Bay, but we spent little time inside our room so it was an easy place to save money. While the boat is moving, it can get pretty chilly outside so not sure how often you would sit outside unless boat was in port.

We ate dinner most nights at the early traditional dining room which in my opinion has far superior food to the buffet. If you do the early seating you will likely have more children around. We did try both the Share by Curtis Stone and the Crown Grill specialty dining rooms and enjoyed both. There is a $29 pp fee for the Crown Grill and I think $34 for Share. Share is on the 17th level and has gorgeous views through its many windows. For breakfast and lunch, we mostly ate at the buffet until we discovered the set menu at DaVinci (one of the set dining times for dinners but you can walk in for breakfast or lunch). The food there was FAR better than the buffet as I didn't notice much change from day to day in terms of variety so it got old. It was perfectly fine, but not amazing, so I'd opt for the DaVinci when you aren’t in a hurry or don’t have young kids with you. One day we ordered room service for breakfast as we had an early excursion but that was mediocre at best. One of my daughters is a vegetarian and while there was always a vegetarian option for her, it was a bit harder. Okay, enough on food.

We did do the drink package but do not think I'd do it again. When you first get on the ship, everyone is excited and you start drinking, but the reality is between the time you are off the ship for excursions, you aren't going to drink 15 drinks. Whether or not you have the package, you swipe your room key card so there isn't a "card" advantage for ease of paying. You cannot get more than one drink at a time and some places make you wait 15 minutes before you can purchase a second drink in case you are thinking of "sharing" a drink package. My husband at some bars wanted a double but several would not give him a double. We did pay $25 per person to attend the wine tasting event the day at sea but I would not recommend this. It was fine but hard to hear and very basic information. My sister bought the coffee package as she loves coffee. You can get free coffee all day (self-serve) in the buffets, but it is from a pump and not fresh brewed so to her the coffee package was worth it even though she doesn't drink the more expensive fancy coffee drinks. The line at the only coffee bar on level 6 seemed crowded for my lack of patience so I was fine with normal free coffee even though nicer coffee was included on my drink package. Our favorite place to hang out after dinner was at Adagio (next to Share on the 17th floor). The place resembled a cigar bar or country club and was never crowded so it was perfect for a group or people hard of hearing. My daughter purchased the "mock-tail" package and that was a good deal for her since we had hot weather and she indulged in virgin daiquiris etc. (Pretty sure she got a few for her cousins). Drinks seemed to be $2 for sodas, $8 for wine and $9 for mixed drinks, if I’m remembering correctly. Nice coffees were $2-4. I also paid to have a case of water delivered in advance to our room for I think about $6. This was good. We didn’t go through the entire case but came close. You can drink water from the tap on the ship and you can fill your refillable water bottles at meals (by first pouring into a cup and then into your water bottle—this is great for excursions). Hope that helps. Read more