tuleia

:cool:We've booked 4 rooms at the Captain Cook for our June 2018 cruise. Its sister hotel, The Voyager Inn, is across the street and is cheaper because it doesn't have all the "bells & whistles" ... restaurants and shops ... but it does have free buffet breakfast and free use of the gym/pool at the Captain Cook. Hope this helps.:ship:

:)Following is the review that I had posted on Trip Advisor:

Reviewed April 30, 2017

A FABULOUS DAY

We were a group of 10 adults visiting Puerto Vallarta on March 28, 2017, and scheduled for a private 5-hr “City And Tropical Tour” excursion with Bernardo Pena of “My Tours Vallarta.”

From the moment Bernardo met us at the ship, and throughout the entire tour in his comfortable air-conditioned van, Bernardo provided a running commentary of the culture, history, beauty and people of Puerto Vallarta . Bernardo is extremely friendly, efficient, knowledgeable, considerate, a safe driver, and speaks impeccable English.

After an informative drive through the Malecon, Bernardo wended his way through Old Town Puerto Vallarta so that we could peek and marvel at the variety of businesses whose owners, in many cases, lived directly above. At one point, Bernardo stopped ... ran across the street ... and returned with bags of hot-off-the-grill tortillas, chicharrón, and strips of fried pork ... all to be eaten while he continued with our scenic drive, and while we also drank the chilled water, beer or Coke in his cooler. The food was absolutely DELICIOUS, and the SURPRISE detour ... the highlight of a fabulous day!!!

Among other things, we had requested a tequila-tasting stop, and Bernardo recommended a visit to “Rancho Verano Distileria de Tequila” ... which recommendation proved to be, again, another EXCELLENT choice.

Bernardo’s selection for our lunch stop ... Chico's Paradise Restaurant ... which is located in a little mountain village close to the tequila factory ... was a first-rate choice ... with its superb food, service, and ambiance .

Throughout our tour, Bernardo insisted that we not rush and that we take as much time as we needed to thoroughly enjoy ourselves. Although we had already exceeded the time allotted for our tour, Bernardo, after overhearing our discussion about Mexican candy, recommended that we make an unscheduled stop in Old Town to do some souvenir shopping. He was, again, correct.

Thanks to Bernardo Pena and “My Tours Vallarta,” our stop in Puerto Vallarta was outstanding and, without a doubt , truly memorable ."

Will be glad to answer any questions.:)

:D During our stop in Puerto Vallarta in March 2017, we had requested that our private guide for the day make a tequila-tasting stop. We visited “Rancho Verano Distileria de Tequila” ... which proved to be an EXCELLENT choice,

From the port in Villefranche, our group of 8 spent a full day on a private tour with SYLVIE DI CRISTO to explore the “Inside of the French Riviera.” The tour was fantastic. We explored the remote and less-frequented villages of the Cote d’Azur - Peille and Sainte Agnes - and ended with a visit to Monte Carlo. Needless to say, this excursion was the highlight of our 2014 cruise. Hope this helps!;)

:D Hi! Hope you've got your "land legs" back!!!

If your below offer still stands, I would appreciate receiving your Patters by mail. How do I send you my address in California? Thank you, Tuleia

"No problem, I can definitely do that. If you live in the !

kunta67 ... "Thank You" for your kind consideration and offer to mail the Patters to me. I live in California.

However, I believe there are others are also interested in reading the Patters, so if it is not too much of an imposition, would you, instead, please post copies of the Patters in this thread so that all may benefit from your generosity. Thank you, again.

:ship: Have a fantastic balance of your cruise!!! :ship:

(y) Loving your thread!!!

If at all possible, we would appreciate your also uploading all of the Patters ... some time after the conclusion of your cruise.

We have been unable to locate copies of the Patters for this season’s 7-night Mexican Riviera cruise on the Ruby.

Our family of 10 ... ranging in age from 14 - 73 ... sails on March 25th ... and we were hoping to plan our daily ship activities before hand. We’d be grateful for any assistance. Thank you. :)

Really enjoying your pictures and comments. Was the First Formal Night on the 1st sea day (Sunday) or 2nd sea day (Monday) after embarkation? Thanks.:)

Thank you for taking the time to share the patters!!!! Looking forward to reading all of them.

Have a fabulous cruise ... Will be reading your posts as we sail on march 25th :d

:D GREAT PHOTOS ... TERRIFIC OF YOU TO SHARE:cool:

Please let us know whether the First Formal Night is the 1st (Sunday) or 2nd (Monday) sea day following embarkation. Thanks.

We sail on Ruby in a month ... getting excited. Have a great cruise!

Thanks KruzeKrazy. Although that is what is indicated in these Patters ... someone had posted in December 2016 that Ruby's 1st formal night was the First sea day after embarkation ... so I'm attempting clarification as we are planning to dine at the Crown Grille on whichever sea night is not Formal Night. Thanks, again.

Dear NEW 2 CRUISIN ... would appreciate your letting us know ... when you return from your cruise next weekend ... whether the 1st formal night is held on the First or Second sea day after embarkcation, that is, on Sunday or Monday. We will be on the Ruby in March. Thank you. Have a great cruise!

Hello, again. We have a dining question.

We have first-seating traditional dining reservations.

The Patter indicates that “Traditional Dining” is seated in the Boticelli Dining Room for both First and Second seating.

However, the Patter also states that there is a “First Seating Traditional Enhanced Dining” in the Da Vinci Dining Room.

Do you know what “First Seating Traditional Enhanced Dining” means?

Thanks for your continued assistance.

Thank you for taking the time to post your Princess Patters.

There are 10 in our group ... from age 14 to 74 ... and your generosity is giving us a chance to plan our ... individual or group ... ship activities for our upcoming cruise on the Ruby at the end of March.

Thank you, again.

Thank you to all who have generously taken the time to post their Princess Patters.

We are interested in reviewing the Patters for any recent (within past 2 months) Ruby Princess 7-night Mexican Riviera cruise to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.

Our diverse group of 10 ... ranging in age from 14 to 73 ... wish to get a jump on planning our ship activities for our upcoming cruise at the end of March.

Thank you, again.

Thank you for your honest assessment of the pros and cons of your cruise on the Ruby Princess. It has validated the excitement our group of 10 has for our upcoming cruise at the end of March. If at all possible, and convenient for you, we would appreciate your posting the daily Patters. This would be most helpful and, I'm sure, of interest to others as well. Thank you, again, for your informative review.

Looking for Patters of recent 7-night Mexican Riviera cruise on Ruby Princess.

If it is at all possible for you to do so, we would greatly appreciate your scanning them, preferably in .pdf format, and posting them to share. We sail in March 2017.

Thank you for your help.

Love your bullet style and content ... review is great. We will be on Ruby in March 2017.

So sorry to read of your problem. It is likely too late for you to do what we had done but following is the information.

We have a similar situation, but our separate travel agents (2) had arranged/coordinated with Princess on the traditional dinner seating arrangements for the 12 of us.

Firstly, my travel agent informed Princess of our preference/request to coordinate our separate dinner seating arrangements so that we all could dine together ... at the same time at 2 adjacent tables of 6 each..

My travel agent gave Princess my group’s 4 separate Booking Nos. to cross-reference with my friends’ 2 separate Booking Nos. being handled by another travel agent.

Princess then assigned our group a personalized cross-reference ID number to be used for the dining purposes only.

This ID number is specifically being used to associate my 4 Booking Nos. with my friend’s 2 Booking Nos. booked through another travel agent.

We have confirmed that our dinner seating arrangements are exactly as we have requested.

However, it is our plan, immediately after boarding the ship, to go to the assigned traditional dining room to locate our tables and, if need be, request that the maitre’ d make whatever seating adjustments are required to conform with our request.

Do see the maitre’ d ASAP ... in the past, we've never been disappointed ... and were always amazed at the "miracles" achieved.

Bon Voyage.

How many passengers fit into a Pulmonia?

Sorry ... that specific information has long since been scrubbed from my brain ... but I do recall that the cost was surprisingly low ... and by far the least expensive of the transfer/tour costs of our 12-night Mediterranean cruise.

In 2008, we used Tuscany By Taxi for an air-conditioned, mini-van, transfer-only service between Livorno and Florence.

Because Tuscany By Taxi is based in Livorno, they are permitted to enter the port itself in order to meet cruisers directly adjacent to their docked ship. This is extremely convenient and saves a great deal of time.

Our assigned Tuscany-By-Taxi driver was prompt, courteous, spoke English well, and drove safely.

He pointed out sights of interest along the drive into the city and return to the ship (about an hour and-a-half drive to and from Florence).

Unlike the buses that transport those on a ship’s excursions … who must off-load their passengers at the outskirts of Florence, Tuscany-By-Taxi is authorized to drive within the city-proper.

Our driver first took us to the pedestrian area fronting the Cathedral Square, Santa Croce Square, the Uffizi Gallery, the Gallery of the Academy and Pitti Palace, in order that he could show us the location at which he would be waiting for our designated return to the ship.

We had arranged for Tuscany-By-Taxi to pre-purchase our entrance tickets to the Accademia (#1 on our itinerary) to view the statue of David; so our driver dropped us off directly at the entrance to the museum … thereby avoiding the extremely long cue of visitors … personally spoke to the guard at the entrance … who then immediately opened the door to let us in.

Our driver then left us to explore Florence on our own.

On our return to the ship, our driver stopped at Piazzale Michelangelo for a breathtaking view of Florence from this hilltop square. We then proceeded to Pisa where taxis have access directly to Miracle Square and the Leaning Tower. From Pisa, the return to Livorno is about 30 minutes.

Their e-mail address is: booking@tuscanybytaxi.it

Happy planning!

My vote is for #1 because that's basically our 2014 itinerary. We first explored the narrow streets of POSITANO with its numerous boutiques as we wended our way toward the beach. Our excellent and safe driver then headed Southeast past a number of picturesque fishing villages on our way to visit AMALFI. Afterwards, we continued on up to RAVELLO and its breathtaking view of the coastline. Our next stop was a winery at the base of Mount Vesuvius in NAPLES for a short tour, wine tasting, and a delicious multi-course lunch.

We had previously toured POMPEII with a private guide during our cruise in 2008.

Hope this information helps!