Photo Essays - Azura and Ruby Princess

When I am out cruising, I often come across other ships that are in a photogenic situation. Sometimes, during the course of a day, there will be opportunities to photograph the ship in different ways. Sometimes the resulting photographs can be put together to tell a story.




This week we have photo essays on two sister ships - - P&O Cruises’ Azura and the Ruby Princess. Although the two ships said for different cruise lines they are sisters. They are both Super Grand Princess class ships built by the Fincantieri ship yards in Italy. P&O at one time was the parent company of Princess and now they are both part of the Carnival Corporation family so it is not surprising that they would share a ship design.



The essay on Azura follows her through a port call at the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. It was a beautiful day and Azura photographed well against St. Kitts’ green mountains and clear blue skies. It is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/PO-Azura-photos-StKitts.html



Just as Azura is P&O Cruises’ latest new-build ship, Ruby Princess is Princess Cruises’ latest new-build. During the winter months, she is based in Fort Lauderdale and in this essay we see her at various times between ending one cruise and beginning another. In addition, we see her making a port call at the popular island of St. Maarten.

It is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/Princess-RU-Photos-1.html

Emerald Princess Photo Tour and Commentary

Emerald Princess is one of three virtually identical ships. I am not speaking here about the fact that she is a member of the Grand-class, all of which stem from the design of the Grand Princess - - there are about a dozen such ships now in service. Rather, I am speaking of the fact that she has the same layout, amenities and décor as Crown Princess and Ruby Princess.

The three ships entered service over a period of three and a half years beginning in May 2006. They reflect all that Princess Cruises had learned about the highly successful Grand-class over the course of decade. Thus, it is not surprising that they are so similar - - why change a winning formula?

So, if the three ships are identical, it follows that they must be fungible, right? Not exactly. While on a superficial level the ships may seem the same, the atmosphere on each is subtlety different. Different sets of people have manned the different ships, leaving their marks which persist even after they have gone on to other things. Also, like people, the ships’ characters have been molded by their different life experiences.

Crown Princess was the first of three and sent a shock wave through the industry with her beautiful Italian-influenced décor. She was also an innovator with the adult-spa retreat called “The Sanctuary” and the sophisticated New York-style steakhouse “The Crown Grill.” Also, the fact that she spent her first two summer seasons based in New York helped to hone her more cosmopolitan atmosphere.

Ruby Princess is the latest of the three. When she emerged on the market in November 2008, it was with a great deal of energy and a “can-do” attitude. Her reviews and high scores on the guest comment cards demonstrated that this was not just bluster. Her innovations such as the “Ultimate Ship Tour” proved successful and have been passed on to her sisters. A schedule of seven-day cruises added to her more fast-paced atmosphere.

Emerald Princess is the middle child. She did not emerge with as much fanfare as her sisters. However, she has all the same features that they do. Moreover, she goes about performing her job extremely well - - just quietly. Perhaps because she does relatively longer cruises, the atmosphere is more relaxed. Perhaps it has something to do with beginning her career in the sunny Mediterranean. It certainly has something to do with the friendliness of her crew.

My profile of Emerald Princess is posted at: http://beyondships.com/Princess-EP-Profile.html The photo tour and commentary begins at: http://beyondships.com/Princess-EP-Tour-1.html

At the Helm of Ruby Princess

As I have mentioned previously in these pages, I was very impressed by the Ruby Princess when I cruised on her in November. The Grand Princess class ships offer a good variety of activities and amenities and I have found the service to be consistently good on those ships. However, everything seemed to come together particularly well on Ruby Princess, which is quite amazing for a new ship.

Much of the credit for this must go to the man at the top because the character of a ship is often influenced by her captain. In addition, since Ruby Princess may well be the last Grand Princess ship built for Princess (there is another Grand under construction but she has been earmarked for sister company P&O Lines), the person assigned to be her first master must be a special individual.

Accordingly, I was very pleased to be able to spend some time talking with Captain Tony Yeomans in his office near Ruby Princess’ bridge. Captain Yeomans is a soft-spoken native of Derby, England who is quick to smile. He takes an understated approach to command that reflects confidence. Indeed, Captain Yeomans has a wealth of experience to draw upon having commanded nine Princess ships and having served on such legendary ships as Canberra and the first Royal Princess.

I spoke with Captain Yeomans about his career and about bringing the Ruby Princess into service. My interview appears in the Ruby Princess section of my website at http://beyondships.com/Princess-RU-art-Yeomans.html.

For those who are interested in military ships, I have added an article to the website about the various naval attractions open to visitors to Portsmouth, England. http://www.beyondships.com/sspi-RN-Ports.html

Talking Ruby Princess

There is always a certain excitement about going on a new ship. However, one usually has to expect that there will be new ship problems as well. The facilities are untested and the crew is not used to working with each other or within the new ship. Ships work best when they have settled into a routine and it takes time to establish routines.

One of the things that impressed me about Ruby Princess when I sailed on her was that there were no new ship problems. The ship had only been in service less than a month yet the crew knew what they were doing and were able to work together efficiently. In sort, it was the best of all worlds - - one had the feeling of being there at the start of the ship’s career, yet none of the problems.

I spoke about with this with Dirk Brand, the Passenger Services Director on Ruby Princess. Dirk has headed the hotel department on Queen Mary 2 and on several of the Grand-class Princess mega-cruise ships. He is an experienced professional and thus not surprisingly, Princess asked him to bring out their new ship.

Dirk responded by outlining how the Ruby Princess team was formed and the steps that were taken to build that team. My interview with Dirk is posted at: http://www.beyondships.com/Princess-RU-art-Brand.html

The New Ruby Princess

Ruby Princess is the latest ship to join the fleet of Princess Cruises. She is based on the design of that line’s extremely successful Grand Princess but has the benefit of ten years of operational experience with this design of ship. As a result, she incorporates all of the features and the design changes that have been made in the Grand class in the eight ships that have preceded her. In short, she is a well-laid out ship with a pleasing contemporary décor with numerous places to go and things to do.

Of course, the fact that a ship has a great design is no guarantee that it will provide a good vacation experience. Ships coming out of the shipyard frequently have service and/or technical problems. It frequently takes several months for the crew to come together as a team. Thus, it was with some trepidation that I embarked on Ruby Princess’ fourth cruise in November.

I was quite amazed, however, to find that the officers and crew of Ruby Princess were already acting like a veteran team. There were none of the mishaps and service problems often associated with new ships. It was an excellent cruise experience.

Ruby may well be the ultimate Princess Grand-class cruise ship. Only one more ship of this design is on order and that is earmarked for P&O Cruises. Thus, it is highly appropriate that the ship and the crew have come together so well in such a short time.

My profile of Ruby Princess is at http://www.beyondships.com/Princess-RU-Profile.html and the photo tour and commentary begins at http://www.beyondships.com/Princess-RU-Tour-1.html.