Ruby Princess Mexican Riviera
LA Mexico Ruby Princess Cruise
We flew Air New Zealand into LA . Very pleased with economy seating & service on a long flight. Meals were fine & plenty of entertainment on seat back screen. Glad to have a couple of hours to stretch legs in Auckland. Would definitely consider Air NZ’s Sky lounge next time. 3 economy seats that convert to a double bed with mattress overlay, pillows & polar fleece blanket. Better value than premium economy.
As expected, LAX was a drag getting through Customs & Immigration. I allowed 3 hrs before car pick up & only just made it. Amazing system for Hertz car hire, especially if prepaid. Sign the papers & select your car from a huge lot in your category & off you go. We had a variety of locations to visit plus get to ship near Long Beach so booked a car. Next time we would probably stay at Long Beach or Santa Monica & use Uber or Lyft.
Beautiful weather in April for LA, visited Universal Studios, Warner Bros, Santa Monica, Venice & Beverly Hills. (will do a separate LA review in more detail).
We drove to San Pedro where Princess has their World Cruise Centre. After dropping off our luggage we returned our vehicle & strolled 15 minutes back to ship, ready to board. Wow, straight onto check-in, through security & we were on the ship in about 15 minutes. Our Balcony cabin was available straightaway & our luggage was there too. In 24 cruises never had it so quick.
Ruby Princess Overall
She is a huge ship with an interesting layout. Princess is a very stylish brand with an elegant feel. Lots of dark timber, green marble & a cosy feel that I like. The Piazza is only a few levels high & probably a bit small for that size ship as lots of activities were held there. We often enjoyed the rear Outrigger pool area with a bar, tables & deck chairs. Especially after a day ashore, it was great for a swim & refreshing drink along with some nibblies like corn chips & fresh salsa. Princess always immerses you in the region you are visiting with music, dance & history, this includes the food. Outrigger Bar is a quieter area & is close to Horizon Court buffet so you can have any meal in the fresh air. Ruby has 4 pools & a number of spas. None were crowded & not full of kids. On this cruise, there were only about 30 children onboard.
I was curious if the US passenger makes up would be different than Australia & for this cruise, it was very similar. Lots & lots of retirees & I would estimate average age at about 60 plus. Yes, it did feel like a retirement village at sometimes with many just reading or playing cards all day. Having said that Princess knows their market, & are very good at looking after passengers with varied health conditions. They gave them priority, had specialist support crew plus systems in place to make sure no one missed out on anything. The plus was it was easy to watch a show or get a table any time after about 7.30pm. I would recommend Princess for any elderly passengers concerned about getting around a ship or going ashore in foreign countries. Princess is the experts.
Entertainment - After many cruises, we tend to do our own thing & not be dictated to by time. Often we just enjoyed being on our balcony scanning for whales & dolphins. We had plenty of sightings. The big stage shows were very professional but few & far between. I am not a music lover but watched Stephen Sondheim’s Magic To Do. Love the magic, not so much the singing. Many found story confusing. Overall main theatre shows were a disappointment for me. Shows such as comedians, magicians & jazz muso’s in the smaller lounges were quality & impressive.
We watched the Darkest Hour at Movies Under The Stars. Nice touch with lounge cushions, pillows, blankets & popcorn.
Dining - let's face it, its what we love about cruising. We selected anytime dining & pretty much got a table whenever we wanted. The menu was varied & great dishes each night, themed for a different region. Each night there were a number of Mexican dishes. Standouts were Surf & Turf, Broiled Lobster tail, Scallops, Salmon amongst many. We also pre-booked Crown Grill Steakhouse & Curtis Stone’s Share. Excellent food & service at both.
Horizon Court buffet was very good, consistent & varied. Each evening the menu was totally different from main dining rooms plus you had the option of eating outside under the stars.
Casino - I don’t mind a bit of a punt onboard. Most ships take your money very quickly but were surprised by good returns & great atmosphere with it quite crowded all the time. Slot machines were very up to date & interesting plus they paid well.
Cabin- We were very happy with our cabin’s size & layout. We had a mid-ship position, close to the elevators & were initially concerned about noise but really didn’t hear anything. Princess’s Dream bed was lovely & we had a great sleep. Princess allows you to bring to bottles of wine onboard which we enjoyed in the afternoon with cheese & meats or a glass before dinner.
I will detail our Mexico ports in my next blog.