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Ruby Princess

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Regal Princess

Rostock (Warnemunde)

Well-trained and consistently-trained staff. Unfailingly (apparently) happy in their work and with good people skills. 
Good sense of humour (necessary to rebuff the complaints about the food).
Relentless up selling of drink options. (I don't WANT your "special" marguerita - I want an ordinary one!)
Poor organisation in breakfast buffet, though with all waiting staff either assigned to drinks duty ("More coffee, sir" , every three minutes, even when cups still full) or to cleanup when the under-managers were on the prowl (three separate mornings when NOBODY came by our table to ask if I wanted juice or any other drink, I was reduced to pouring it for myself, which of course led to protests from the staff member who noticed!). Wouldn't it make more sense to have some staff assigned to each duty type at all times?
Food in main dining room (8.15 sitting) bland and uninspiring. I was tempted to attend the culinary demonstration in order to find out how they managed to remove any flavour from what were (presumably) reasonable-quality ingredients.
The highlight was the fried sushi rolls, which were inventive and imaginatively-presented.
The lowlight was the food on the Italian night (for some reason scheduled on Halloween, some five days after we had left Italian waters), where great skill had been applied to the desiccation of both fish and meat main courses.
The evening entertainment in the theatre varied from reasonable (Siobhan Phillips - beautiful and unusual voice), through adequate (Freddie Mercury tribute), to pathetic (the "other" David Copperfield). Some people seemed to enjpy Copperfield, to judge by the laughter (unless he had a backing tape set up), BUT I have to say to my US co-travellers that this was not "wacky British Humour" - he simply was not funny!
The nightclub appeared to be patronised largely by off-duty members of the entertainments team, but was a lively place to relax with a post-prandial marguerita. Adagio was altogether more refined. We just didn't like the lack of atmosphere in wheelhouse, explorers, or crooners, but plenty of other people did.
Daytime entertainment appeared to be focused on separating guests from their money (Casino, Art etc). Except, to be fair, the various musicians who played in the Piazza. Special mention should be made of the Atomic party band, who were able to turn their hands to many different styles, but were at their best when allowed to rock!
Room was comfortable (inside, Riviera deck), very quiet and supplied with all necessities. I found it strange, though, that a US-dominated boat appeared to have no shoe-shine facilities, nor did our steward seem to understand what should be done to clean and shine a pair of brown leather shoes. 
Only ended up taking one tour. The staff member assigning us to buses failed to notice the important words "guiados en Espanol" on our tickets, leaving the guide at Olympia to make some hurried phone calls to get us out of the English-language group from bus 11 and onto the Spanish group from bus 14. The other tour we booked was cancelled, so we instead did Ephesus on our own, as for most of the other ports.
The guests were split 1500 US, 500 UK, 500 Aussie and 500 "other". Ages ranged from one year to about ninety, the median being around fifty. The US folk seemed to stick together, but the non-US mixed well (and I include the Latino Yanks in "non-US" here - it was the Anglo-Yanks who seemed to be the most stand-offish).
The itinerary was great (Greek Isles, Venice to Rome), but I don't think we will be back on the Ruby in a hurry.
 

Review of Ruby 24 Oct to 5 Nov - Eastern Med

We went on the Ruby Princess a few weeks ago, The ship has some good features which were different from other ships such as the Cinema under the stars. The entertainment was excellent with top quality shows and a brilliant entertainment director.
The food on the other hand was not up to standard, we found poor choice and quality, and rarely found we had a hot meal. Variety was not order of the day and found only mashed potates was our only choice on most days which look very unappietizing. We also for that breakfast was tasteless, greasy and of poor quality with strange selections such as lasagne, yes lasagne, noodles and soup . the cruise was geared up to its american guests and took little heed to the fact that it also had guest from europe. The formal dining rooms were pleasant enough and service varied from dining room to dining room, but wine was expensive as was drinks of any kind.
The itinerary was good however, although on the last day we were required to vacte our rooms by 8.00am and were transported to the airport being dropped off at 9.30am for a 3pm flight this was totally unacceptable and we felt that PrIncess Cruises had completely abandoned us with atotally unacceptable long wait in the airport.
Would we reccommend the cruise to others, well possibly, but we would not return as passengers because there were too many issues which made us unhappy and feel that we were not valued enough .
We have been on cruises before and have had better expirences both on board and at the airport. Princess clearly need to improve thier quality where food is concerned and when it comes to airport arrangements, a five hour wait for a flight is clearly not acceptable and makes you feel that they just dont care once you have done your time and spent your money.
Dispite the poor food, we had a good time and enjoyed the entertainment so we would rate it as a mixed review and one where people may be happy to be fed in a way that food is not important to them, we fel that it is an important part of our holiday.

dissappointing food, excellent entertainment.

Despite being fully booked with 3000 passengers there was no time We ever felt crowded or had to wait an excessive time. The ship seems to have the right balance between space and passengers in the lounges and decks. The cruise was port intensive ie 10 ports in tens days ( and the ship made them all ) with only one tender day at santorini. Independent touring in the ports was very easy and interesting with hop on hop off buses in several cities. If you do your homework touring in the Mediterrean can be significantly cheaper than using Ship tours.The ship was beautifully clean and the staff of course could not have been nicer and more accomodating. The main dining food was good but not exciting which was suprising as the buffet restaurant always had very interesting food Asian, Indian, Continental and British/American. The international cafe is a good place for coffe/cakes and good salads.
However in common with many other cruise lines if you want to have top class food you may find yourself spending more money to eat in the Speciality restaurants . I do believe that cost cutting in the Carnival Fleet is having a detrimental effect on standards of food and entertainment. It may mean spending an extra $100 on top of your cruise price but it could be well worth it
These cabins are more than adequate for port intensive cruising as you tend not to spend much time in them.Also as the ships now dock in commercial ports you willl often have a view of some container ships or warehouses. There is plenty of storage and hanging space . The cabin has american and european sockets ( look behind the bed )

Ruby Princess eastern Mediterrean October 2013

We sailed on the Ruby Sept.18-Oct.5, 2013...Venice to Rome. We are experienced cruisers, having sailed on several cruise lines, to many ports of call but this was our first trip to Europe.
The Ruby is a beautiful ship, well taken care of, with a terrific crew. All staff seemed genuinely happy in their jobs. We did not find the usual "upsell" push (for casino, coffee,soda cards etc) that we have experienced in the past...I actually had to search out the coffee card. This was a pleasant surprise and Princess seems to have listened to others who have complained in the past.
The major design flaw with this series of ships is that sometimes "you just cant get there from here"! You may find yourselves riding elevators or climbing stair to get to another floor that actually goes through to the floor/area that you need to get to!
Our balcony room was the usual size room and the usual tiny bathroom. However the space was adequate and with the balcony we never felt "closed in". Our room steward kept everything clean and tidy and seemed to anticipate things we didnt even know we needed yet! We used the ship laundry service 3 times and she had our laundry sent out and returned in less than 24 hours. Room service was polite and prompt.
The entertainment was the usual at sea fare with comedians, singers, dancers etc with one of the highlights being the performance form the string section of the Venice Orchestra.
Ports of call were what sold us on this cruise. VERY port intensive so be prepared. We took mostly organized Princess tours and a few beach days on our own in the Greek Islands. Pompei and the Amalfi coast were highlight.
Our biggest disappointments were the shore excursion desk and the dining room food and service. The staff of the shore excursion desk either knew what they were doing or they didnt. Princess seriously needs to consider staffing the desk ONLY with staff that have travelled to the ports and experienced the tours they offer. I realize not all staff can go on all the tours but between the entire excursion staff there should be SOMEONE that can answer specific questions. I was constantly having to wait for a supervisor or waiting for a phone call back to get answers. Frustrating.
This was the first time we have done anytime dining. We usually have second seating traditional dining. We found that the traditional dining just did not fit with the entertainment and the early morning shore excursions. The service at anytime dining is definately different. The waiters see so many different cruisers over 2 weeks,that they cant possibly give the personal attention given to those on traditional dining. We missed this aspect of the dining option. We always felt rushed so the next guest could be seated.
The food overall was a disappointment. The Horizon Court is a zoo at all times and food quality was average. In the dining room, there is so much on the "always available" list that there is little left for the chef to come up with. Whenever there was a new item on the menu it was never what we expected when we ordered it. The repeat in the menu during the second week was "cheating" and not what one would expect from Princess.
Princess is still our favourite cruise line and we will sail them again.

Trip of a Lifetime

We caught a water taxi to the ship door to door from our Venice Hotel to the port where we were met by Princess staff. Embarkation was easy and we settled into our room prior to having some lunch in the buffet. We had chosen the 6:15 dinner seating and had a table for 2. We enjoyed the company of the people near us and we thought the food was excellent. This cruise was 3 weeks and many people were on different sectors of it. We have only cruised once before this and we really enjoyed the longer cruise although I did mention in my evaluation with Princess that this cruise was marketed as a 21 day cruise in Australia (not 3 back to back weeks).
There were some changes in staff and the menus were repeated but we were too exhausted from walking around ruins to be worried!! We took a couple of Princess tours which were good (they do a good job organising a crowd), several private tours with people we met on CC and in other ports we just wandered around or swam. I loved the ship, the staff and everything about the whole cruise experience - great entertainment, lots of fun activities to join in or just watch. Great cocktails, beer and wine!! Enjoyed meeting up with CC members before, and during the cruise. This was our first trip to Europe and it was fantastic.

An amazing holiday

Ruby Princess is a beautiful ship and the Sail Away from Venice was magic. We had a balcony cabin r626 on deck 14. No noise either late at night, early morning or during the day from the public deck above - Horizon. Our cabin steward was a gem, kept the stateroom immaculate, responded to any of our requests with a smile.
Embarkation was a breeze and our luggage was in the cabin promptly.
We had 18 ports and only 3 sea days so it was a full-on cruise. We would have enjoyed a couple more sea days but wouldn't have liked to miss out on any or the ports, even those we had previously visited. We noticed on the sea days the ship seemed a lot more crowded.
We had 'any time' dining and only waited when we wanted to have a table for 4. We were travelling with another couple and occasionally we liked to spend a meal just with each other. Met some lovely fellow cruisers and have kept in touch. The meals on Ruby were good but not as good as we have had on previous Princess Cruises - this could be due to the fact that the ship was full. We have been on longer cruises but never on a full ship before, and we could see the difference.
I can't comment on the entertainment as we didn't attend any other entertainment except the musical shows, we tended to spend time with our friends and new people we met which was fun.
We did a mixture of Princess excursions, those arranged thru CC and some just the 4 of us. We felt the Princess excursions which were the long full day ones, although expensive, very good value.
All in all a terrific holiday on a lovely ship and we look forward to the next cruises booked for 2014.
 

A Busy Cruise itinerary

My wife and I are experiences cruisers with thirteen ocean cruises and two river cruises in the past. We have sailed with RC, Celebrity, Norwegian, Carnival, and Princess previously.
Our only previous experience with Princess was the Golden Princess in 2001 shortly after it entered service.
We picked this cruise because of its wonderful itinery - Venice, Dubrovnik, Corfu, Sea day, Instanbul, Mykanos, Athens, Santorini, Rhodes, Kusadisi, Crete, Sea, Naples and finishing at Rome.
We had a great overall cruise but were dsiappointed with the dining room and the buffets. In my opinion, the food quality has gone down considerably since our last Princess cruise in 2001 and is not as good as RC or Carnival. We had a table of eight in the Boticelli dining room and two couples did not go to the dining room at all because of the food the during last week of the cruise.
We ate twice at the extra cost Crown Grill and it was excellent.
Our cabin was on deck 11 aft. We like to go to the casino before dinner, but it is awkward from this location. You need to travel to mid ship before you go to deck 6 because if you take the aft elevator to 6 6 you can't get there because the kitchen blocks your access. After we are done at the casino we needed to go up to deck 7, head aft and then drop down to 6 for dining. The Golden Princess is the same as I recall.
Shore excursions and departure day were very well organized. The quality of the excursions including the guides was very good.
Overall, I would rate the service quality as average at best. We have had better service on other cruise lines.
 

Eastern Med 14 NIghts Septemeber 21 - October 5 2013

We had always travelled "by land" in Europe so this was a huge change for us. We thought this would be the best way to see Greece and it really was. We were delighted with our perfect cabin and wonderful stewart Apolonio from The Philippines .. he could not do more for us from the first glass of champage to repairing my suitcase ! In fact the people on the ship were consistantly excellant and had a smile for all occasions.
I had been abit worried about certain aspects of cruising - since we always travel alone and like it that way but we opted for casual dining and every night found a table of new friends. The food was varied and after having a large table for 10 which we found hard to speak around - we just asked for 6 or 8 seating - we never waited more than a couple of moments for a table as we always shared - I cant imagine sitting by ourselves and not getting "into" it. And wasnt it nice to not have people on their phones or texting - it is such an annoying habit that we really were pleased to not see !! I find generally British travellers are the ones you want to share with - they have the right attitude to travel - they want to enjoy themselves and are open and friendly (I am abit predjudiced as my husband is Scottish). Other travellers really shouldnt leave home - always finding something to complain about - but when we found ourselves with a couple like that - well we just chatted around them and let them natter away to themselves then avoided them in future ! Most cruisers seemed to be very experienced !
The things we were disappointed in was the expensive and poor quality internet access - and that is only because we have to keep in touch with our office and most of the time it took a long time of your paid allocation to connect - it should really be a free service.We took several excursions and they were really well organised and the guides obviously well versed in their destinations. We felt we got good value for our money. We also went on our own for some places - Corfu, Olympia, Dubrovnik and Naples - it is very easy to get around on your own in any of the ports actually.
We also had a good experience embarking - we were in our cabin before noon and cases there soon after .. and leaving went smoothly as well as we had an early flight from Rome.
Although we probably wont be cruising again any time soon - we still prefer the freedom a car has - we would recommend this tour for anyone wanting to see this area. We really liked our cabin location too - it was very private and close enough to the elevator we could go to 15th deck easily and stairs to 7th deck for promenade. Although we were right above Club Fusion did not hear a peep (although in saying that - it was never busy ..)The only sound we had was when coming into port - but after the first time - we knew what the noise was and just ignored it ..I am sure seasoned travellers would not notice it. We were also pleased with the comfort of our beds - and used our balcony every day - just relaxing with a cold bottle of wine 
There are so many places to relax on board that it was easy to find a quiet or active spot - and lets face it the food is available all the time ..

Perfect Greek Holiday!

I have travelled on many ships in my life and was looking forward to our 12 day Mediterranean cruise with Princess, having previously travelled with Costa, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Cunard and P & O and thoroughly enjoyed all of them.
We boarded Ruby Princess in Venice with our two teenageers and within 24 hours had experienced some very arrogant behaviour by a Restaurant Manager who kept us waiting for Anytime dining for over 30 minutes with no explanation or apology. When he was approached for information regarding the wait , he brushed off saying it wasn't his fault a lot of people had come at once. As a travel professional I suggested that it might have been good service to explain to customers there might be a wait and give some sort of indication how long. He blamed his staff and said it was their job not his and offered no apology and or resolution. After 45 minutes (total) we went to the buffet missing out on a more formal dining experience for which we had dressed. I contacted Customer Services on a number of occasions regarding this matter and some 48 hours later they offered an alternative restaurant.
Following that, we were woken daily, when in port (nine days in total) by shipboard announcements at 7am with details of how to disembark etc. After each announcement, in a number of languages, it was impossible to get back to sleep. by day 6 of a 12 day cruise I was besides myself with tiredeness and asked if they would stop. The disembarkation information is available through a number of different means and when awoken with this sort of information you can not take it in so it is of little value.. Additionally, I spoke with other passengers who felt the same. The customer Service Manager admitted there had been complaints but couldn't do anything about it unless the ship's managment agreed. Nothing was done and I returned home exhauseted and unable to appreciate any of the good things about the cruise.
I have written to Princess Cruises and had to chase their response (28 days after writing). The eventual response was evassive and said that my comments would be passed on, etc Whilst there is nothing Princess can do to make good an expensive two week holiday that was ruined, I had hoped they would realise how serious sleep deprivation can be for some people. Their response does not indicate it is an issue they are concerned with.
I have found some of their responses to cusomer service issues, both on board and off, to be somewhat arrogant and would wish to advise anyone who values sleep to check beofre travelling as to the policy on early morning announcements. I would certainly not have booked with princess had they made me aware and am still cross that they would not listen to me or other passengers. They had every opportunity to put this right on board but chose not to for reasons I still cannot understand.

Very Disappointed

We sailed the Ruby Princess from Venice to Rome on the 12 Day Greek Isles on 4 August. This was our 13th cruise and the first on Princess. We were very pleased overall with the ship, crew and dining.
We flew in a day before and took the Alilaguna Water Bus from the airport to a bus stop right at our hotel for 15 Euro each. We chose a hotel, the NH Manin because it is right at the Sant' Angelo bus stop on the Grand Canal. You walk off the landing and take an immediate right and the door faces the canal. It was a good location; only minutes walk from St. Marks Square and the Rialto Bridge. The hotel room was a good size for Europe and they provide a full breakfast. We shared a water/land taxi combination to the ship which deposited us right at baggage drop off. We arranged the transportation through our hotel and it cost 100 Euro which we were fortunately able to share with another couple. All transportation in Venice is expensive, including the local vaporetti or water bus.
Embarkation was well organized; we checked in quickly and were provided a number for boarding. We waited only about 20 minutes and by the time we boarded around 1:00PM, our cabin was ready.
Our cabin was on Deck 14, all the way aft. It was a great location, near the Terrace pool, a bar, and the buffet.
The ship was clean and well maintained. The wait staff and cabin steward did a great job and were friendly and helpful.
The food in the buffet was among the best we have had in over 13 cruises. The quality and selection was excellent. There always seemed to be plenty of room to sit and service was excellent for water, coffee, and other such refreshments.
We had the second seating for formal dining and the food too was quite good, although I must say some of the more unusual dishes we have encountered. We had great table companions and spending many enjoyable evenings conversing.
This is a port intensive cruise with only two at sea days. But you really see a lot of beautiful scenery and ancient ruins. It is fascinating how advanced the Greek and Roman civilizations were 2000 years ago. One of the highlights of this cruise was the stop in Kusadasi Turkey which gave us access the ancient Roman city of Ephesus which was one of our more interesting stops. This city is huge and still partially buried. We took the optional tour of the Terrace houses which is not far out of the way, just a lot of steps. It was well worth it to see how the wealthy lived long ago. We took the ship's excursions in all ports which may be more expensive then local tours, but they proved to be excellent. The guides were very knowledgeable and spoke fluent English. The buses were new and comfortable. The meals provided on two of our tours were excellent local fare.
We found the theater entertainment lacking in variety and quality. The ships singers and dancers were excellent but we did not see as much of them as we would have liked. Some nights there was no theater production. One comedian was OK but the mentalist put us to sleep, maybe he was really a hypnotist. This poor showing of shows was the only drawback to an excellent cruise. We particularly enjoyed the "Movies Under the Stars". This is a great feature for Carnival and Princess, we watched several movies.
Disembarkation in Civitavecchia was well organized. Within a couple days of boarding, we were provided a form to indicate when we wanted to go ashore. We had to be out of our cabins by 8:00 but could stay in the lounges or Buffet until leaving. Once we left, our luggage was readily available and our transportation to Rome was right on time. We stayed over a few days in Rome and used Bobs Limo for transportation. It was a pleasant ride to our hotel in downtown Rome. We stayed at the Hotel Adriano. The room was comfortable with great air conditioning along with a full breakfast. Additionally, it was a great location, within walking distance of most attractions; Vatican City, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and the main shopping street Via del Corso.
 

GREAT CRUISE, VERY NICE SHIP

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