This cruise had been on our bucket list for years, and we actually had it booked once but had to postpone due to work conflicts. On this Alaskan cruise you will see some of the most beautiful, pristine parts that are left in this great country. The cruise is not cheap, and Ruby Princess was competitively priced. The embarkation process went smoothly, disembarkation also went smoothly, but we paid extra for port valet service so we wouldn't have to worry about our bags, they were checked right thru both of our flights, and the service included transportation to the airport, and a priority group departure time depending on your flight, This went well, and is highly recommended. The ship itself was definitely not the newest, but was very clean, nicely furnished, well maintained, and had more than adequate staffing. The cabin we selected had a balcony, (also highly recommended), because there were plenty viewing opportunities for seeing not only beautiful scenery, but whales, sea lions, bears, birds and much more. Our cabin steward was fantastic. The food was pretty good, the buffet had many choices, different ethnic foods each day, the anytime dining option was also a plus, There was always some kind of food available, sandwiches, pizza, ice cream were abundant. Also the were finer dining options for an extra fee.

the service in the food areas, dining rooms, staterooms was very good, they were very friendly and helpful.

The problems/complaints we had was with the manner in which the staff handled a problem we had with weather. Overall our weather was great, much warmer than usual (70's) for September, almost no rain, very unusual, but when we were to make port in Juneau, it was too windy to dock, so the captain decided to continue on to Skagway first and return to Juneau later. This was a safety issue, and quite understandable, but we had pre-paid excurisions planned for both cities that had to be rescheduled, At each port there were always other ships in port as well, so now you are competing with them for the excursions. Since we booked our excursions thru Princess (recommended), The staff on our ship said they would try to accommodate everyone, and new excursion tickets would be sent to your state rooms. Well, that didn't happen, and with our rescheduled port rapidly approaching, we decided to wait on line on the ship for the excursion desk, which only had three people working at it and hundreds of people on line. Two hours later we were told if they couldn't reschedule, our credit card would be refunded for our White Pass Train Ride, (an eight hour tour and $200.00 per ticket). Actually they credited our ship board account, which I still don't understand why. And we had to scramble in the port for an independent tour operator, which wasn't as good as the original. I understand how this could happen, weather is unpredictable, but there was very poor/no communication from ship staff to us in keeping us informed as to how it would be handled, misinformation was given out and the passengers were confused, unhappy and frustrated. I am sure this was not the first time ports had to be rescheduled due to bad weather. It could have been handled much better, and passengers should have been more informed. Read more