Ruby Princess - 1 Night Repositioning Cruise

Repositioning cruises can be a lot of work. Most travel agents and seasoned cruisers cringe the moment you say the words repositioning cruises. I get it, it's a lot of effort for less than 24 hours on a ship, however I feel I have a system down pat that is as effortless as possible. Research your options as early as possible to make the day go as seamless as it can. This cruise was a one day repositioning from Vancouver to Seattle, in the Fall the repositioning cruises will be from Seattle to Vancouver.By 8:00am my Aunt and I were caravanning into the USA to drop a car off in Bellingham at an airport parking lot for cheap, safe parking. I had booked the Bolt Bus back to Bellingham as it's a very reasonable option (it was $8.00 USD from Seattle to Bellingham), so we could just clear customs ourselves and get back to White Rock without having to backtrack.Once back in Canada we picked up our other travelling buddies (a coworker and my Grandmother) parked back at my Aunt's and boarded the express bus to Bridgeport Station from South Surrey, exchanging to the Canada Line straight to Waterfront, right around the corner from Canada Place (the Vancouver Cruise Ship Terminal). We arrived just after 10:00am and could have arrived earlier. If there is more than one ship in port, they are directing people to go upstairs after a certain time into a "holding area" in the convention centre. We were given a green card and a number and sat down. They do have free wi-fi in the holding area, which I can see would really help and offset some of the painful waiting time during peak times. We didn't have to use it however as our assigned number was called within twenty minutes or so. They have the holding area so that they can control groups of about 50-100 people to go through security at once, it is good as at least there are chairs, access to water and washrooms in the convention centre. Once through security we were lined up and sat in rows in another holding area to go through US Customs. There is a Nexus line, so if you had Nexus (my coworker didn't so we sat in line with him), it would save you more time. We waited here about another twenty minuted and we were called to go through Customs.I'm so happy I was able to use the priority line at this point, when I check in I have Elite Captain's Circle as I have completed their travel agent training program. This gives me quite a few awesome perks which I'll talk about in a minute, however skipping the very long check in line at this point was a huge advantage. Within ten minutes we were boarding the Ruby Princess, Black Elite cruise card in hand. By this time they were boarding, so we didn't get to take advantage of the embarkation lounge for Platinum and Elite passengers. We were welcomed onboard and we headed straight for our rooms. I had booked a balcony stateroom, however was able to get an upgrade to a mini suite at no extra charge.We were assigned D304, a wheelchair access mini suite. I have to say I really liked our room. It was massive. If ever offered, I would totally take a wheelchair accessible room again. I didn't mind not having a bathtub, when I cruise I've never taken a bath anyways. In the bathroom, my Elite bathroom amenity kit was placed (it included an eye gel mask, lip balm, linen spray and a few other extras). The extra room also meant an extra large balcony! The room steward had our free mini bar set up (Elite perk) and three glasses of champagne waiting for us (mini suite perk). Great start to a cruise!We headed to Da Vinci's Dining Room for a seated lunch. The food was really good however the portions were a little on the large side, so I couldn't finish my dessert. We then went off to explore the ship. It's a pretty big ship, the Ruby Princess has a guest capacity of 3,082, so it's a medium to large ship for sure. It has 4 pools (one is adult only, near the front of the ship near The Sanctuary), mid-ship you will find Movies Under the Stars (a jumbotron overlooks another pool) and at the aft Skywalkers Lounge with some pretty awesome outdoor space above.Then the annoyances began to surface. I endured the lengthiest by far muster drills ever. I lost 45 minutes of my life and was not happy about it. It was so disorganized, as people were still boarding the ship during muster. They should have postponed it until the last guests had boarded, that way we could have been enjoying the ship, instead of sitting unnecessarily for almost an hour (clock is ticking on these short cruises).After the self guided ship tour and muster station mayhem, my Aunt, Grandmother and I decided a snack was a good idea, we stopped by the Pizza and Ice Cream Bar for a very fresh (and delicious) slice of Margherita pizza and a vanilla/chocolate twist ice cream cone. Gotta test all the food options right?We headed back to our room and enjoyed a cerveza on our balcony as we pulled away from Canada Place, it was Cinco de Mayo, so a Mexican beer was very fitting! Once we sailed away, we went to the aft of the ship to Deck 19 where we awaited sailing under Vancouver's Lions Gate Bridge, a definite highlight! With just a few feet to clear, we sailed under, waving to bystanders on the bridge. After a few videos and photos, we were en route to the Elite sailaway party in Skywalkers lounge. They offered complementary hors d'oeuvres and drink specials. In keeping with the Cinco de Mayo theme, it was margaritas all around and they were delicious.It was then time to walk off the snacks with a little bit of shopping. We headed down to the Promenade Deck, where we checked out our boarding photos and checked out the boutiques. I bought a magnet (I always buy a ship magnet) and a shot glass. My mug cabinet is getting a little full, so I swap it up from time to time to shot glasses from mugs to save on space. It was time to go back to our room, relax a bit before dinner. Our view from our room was facing East, so we were facing Vancouver and that side of the coast as we sailed. There is something so calming about sailing on a ship, I love it. Makes me really excited to sail again in August (this time for longer and on the Mediterranean Sea). Cruising is my happy place for sure.We ate dinner in Botticelli's Dining Room at the aft of the ship. We were seated at the very back of the ship at one of the windows. It was such a nice view of the sunset. Shame that's where our pleasant dining experience ended. Our waiter was very inattentive, I had to ask for a wine list. The girls seated beside us (a bachelorette party) clearly were just onboard to party and very inconsiderate to everyone else with the noise level. It was just very disappointing. I was disappointed in the service level I am used to when cruising and disappointed in the group next to us acting like children in a what is supposed to be a nice dining room. It kind of tarnished my view of Princess Cruises to be honest. I know one day cruises are an anomaly, they can be rowdy, however that is usually kept to the clubs after dark or in the buffet. I was surprised. The food however was delicious and the company at our table was great.After dinner, we trekked all the way forward to the Princess Theatre where we saw the show "Magic to Do". This was probably the best show on a cruise ship I had ever seen! It was so good! Definitely a highlight of this cruise. By the time the show had ended it was past 11:00pm, we said our good nights and headed back to our respective staterooms. I sat on the balcony for awhile wrapped up as it was quite chilly and watched the lights in the distance slowly fade by. It was a very smooth sailing, never felt the ship sway once.I woke up very early, I guess I sensed us pulling into the harbour near Seattle. I again bundled up and went out onto the balcony where the Eurodam (a Holland America ship) was just ahead of us docking, then it was our turn to maneuver into position and alongside the pier. We all got dressed and headed upstairs to Horizon Court (the buffet) where we had coffee and breakfast. The waffles are worth the wait, just saying. So crispy and delicious, plus they have lots of toppings to choose from. The buffet selection was very good and very fresh. Once breakfast was over it was time to check out of our room and wait in the Elite disembarkation lounge until we wanted to leave the ship. It was a very quick trip and it had some ups and downs. I was really disappointed in the level of customer service onboard and others noticed the same. I had better customer service in general on my Norwegian Cruise this past Fall and they are supposed to be lower than Princess.Upon leaving the ship, my shopping bag had developed a hole from my water bottle leaking, which my shot glass fell out and broke on the gangway (thankfully I was able to repair it once I got home), just kinda summed up my trip with Princess, I was left disappointed. We got off the ship only to wait in another long line for passport control, two lines, one from the Eurodam and one from the Ruby. Then joined another long line for taxis.It was a $20.00 USD cab fare from the Smith Cove Cruise Ship Terminal (Terminal 91) to where the Bolt Bus was going to pick us up, and we got there in plenty of time. Once we boarded the Bolt Bus, we were in Bellingham an hour and a half later. The airport parking had arranged for the shuttle to meet us at the bus terminal, so it was a easy ride back to my car and back home.Overall, I had a great time. I do like these one day cruises. Talking to other guests, it seems like the customer service and lack of friendliness is contained to the Ruby Princess. So I am willing to give them another try. I'm not sure if I'll be doing another one this year however, too many other trips to look forward to and not enough time ;)