TravelingEA

Thanks for posting this. Gives me hopes we may not have to take our life jackets with us to Muster Drill on our upcoming on Ruby in January like we have always had to do on other Princess cruises.

LuLu

We did on the Ruby in November.

We were on the Ruby a couple of weeks ago. There was a "horse race" in the Piazza that was quite entertaining on afternoon.

We were on the Ruby - Happy hour was 3-4 every day in the Wheelhouse Bar and again from 11-Midnight at Skywalkers. Needless to say my wife never made it to the 3:30 tea. The Happy Hour times and location were listed in the patter each day.

You will find very few families and middle aged adults cruising in November. For one thing the kids are in school and the adults are preparing for the holidays and or probably don't want to use vacation time at this time of the year. This is a good time of year for retired Florida residents to jump on a last minute discounted cruise. Thanksgiving week would be the exception. November is usually the time for Newlyweds and Nearly deads to be sailing. Spring Caribbean sailings have a much different demographic.

I just got off the Ruby yesterday after a 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise. There were a few families, but many middle age couples. I saw more couples in their 40's to 50's than in their 70's. There were 700 that were staying on the ship to go to the Western Caribbean. Many of those were not the geriatric set.

We will be boarding the Ruby on Saturday Nov 15, so will see if we have the same types of experiences you did.

My cousin was also able to get the same rate we got. The prices when she looked was $300 higher than what we paid, but they got the same rate as us.

What is the current price of the coffee card? I see it is $31 if you pre-order through My Personalizer.

My understanding is you save the sales tax if you purchase it ahead of time. We will be on the Ruby next week. I will try one of my old cards with punches remaining to try use it for gelato,

We had no problem 3 weeks ago. I did not black out the accohnt number, and received the OBC promptly.

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I've seen lots of discussion on getting OBC for having 100 shares. Several people have mentioned that they have used an existing retirement account to obtain the 100 required shares, but I've never seen any specifics on how that works.

 

What type of retirement account do you need to do this? We have several different types of accounts, but I'm thinking it's not possible with a traditional 401K account as we don't have any say on the specific companies it invests in...just which sectors it invests in and what percentages.

 

We have other types of retirement accounts. Wondering if we have one that we can do this with or if we just need to front the money ourselves.

 

TIA for any info.

I have 100 shares in my IRA. If you have a 401K that allows you to have a brokerage account within the 401K or 403B, you should be able to do it there as well.

I would love to drive, rather than fly, but the time constraints are too much. I can only take a week's vacation at at time, so a 7 day cruise is a stretch, but can usually make it work. If I were to tack on an extra 2 days on either end, I would not be able to cruise at all. Maybe when I am retired.

We were just upgraded from an obstructed ocean view to a balcony for free on the Ruby. I thought I had a big bargain originally at $229 pp plus a $200 pp OBC for a 5,day getaway. I guess not too many people want to go to Jamaica in November!

Congratulations on the upgrade. I have been to Jamaica twice and wish to never go back again. If I do, I will just stay on the ship. It is my least favorite island to go to. The only good thing is the Blue Mountain Coffee!

Budget - we walk past the every photographer that is trying to take our pictures as we board or eat. We never plan to even look at any of the photos, let alone buy any so why waste the paper and ink to print them.

Splurges - coffee card for me and coke card for my wife and specialty restaurants on formal nights.

I don't agree with Southwest being the lowest price airlines. They may have been at one time, but the past year or two they have been more expensive (even with the luggage charges) of some of the legacy airlines.

We started out with the inside cabins, and now do either a OV or balcony - but the balcony only on the Caribe deck. We got upgraded once from an inside to a balcony and if we go by ourselves, we now book balconies. However we sometimes go with some friends who prefer a OV cabin at the front of the ship - I think L101-L104. We will book one of those if they are available.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-2-New-Princess-Cruises-Specialty-Coffee-Cards-/161461011305?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2597d38369

 

Probably more than you want, as it is for two complete cards.

 

Also, remember that, in addition to the speciality coffees, coffee cards include unlimited freshly brewed for the cruise on which they were purchased.

 

These cards, however, are not marked with the name of the ship, and therefore include the unlimited freshly brewed coffee.

 

The opening bid of $54 represents a 12% saving on the $62 it would cost you if you purchase two cards on line before your cruise.

I have one without the name of the ship on it from several cruises ago. I still have several punches on it. When I tried to use it for unlimited brewed coffee, on another cruise, I was unable to.

I take my cruise card - the contents of my wallet (not much left in it). I usually will use a credit card (Capital One) to pay for things on shore, since there is not any foreign transaction fees with Capital One. We usually take very little cash with us when we travel. Usually enough for tips.

I got sick on my 2nd cruise - I barely left my room, except for the staff to clean the rooms. I felt fine at boarding, but after 2 days, I could not do anything. It turned out to be Ulcerative Colitis. It was not contagious, but I was extremely sick.

We usually eat in the specialty restaurants on formal nights, because we don't have to get dressed up any more than smart casual. After all we are on vacation. We do not feel out of place at the specialty restaurants. Not to many tuxes, but I have seen a tux or two in the buffet on formal nights.

I had the choice of FLL or Houston on my trip .I live in Vancouver and until they get a direct flight from FLL I would fly from Houston.A direct flight just under 4 hours.It takes me all day with changing flights to FLL from and to Vancouver BC

I avoid trips starting and end in FLL.Until the day we get that direct flight I will not be tempted one bit by all the offers Princess sends me.

I did do this trip to FLL several years ago started off just after 7.00AM reached the hotel in FLL next to airport just after 7.00 PM:eek:My friend who arrived from UK had already arrived on a 5 hour flight.

This is our normal flights - There is not a non stop to anywhere from where I live.

Thanks - didn't really want to pack for a formal night for a 3 day cruise. :)

Due to airline limitations, I don't like to pack for a formal night on a 7 day cruise!

Many times at ports you can just walk on board with your purchases, especially when it's very busy. Just walk up the stairs & no one will look twice.

I was in Columbia, bought a couple of bottles of rum. I took them back on the ship and was told there was not anyone there to check the booze, so I should just take it to my room.

Was the post made by my hairdresser's cousin who knows Jan Swatrz's aunt's Zumba instructor's friend? If not, I don't think that's very reliable. :):p;)

They probably give tax advise as well.

From what I understand, the credit is per household, per cabin. (I would assume that a household is based on address...).

My wife & I have different addresses. I should get her to buy some CCL stock and see if we get double the amount.

We went in May and the temps were very comfortable. We needed a jacket in the evening. As another poster said, in May the people who work in the tourism business are happy to see you. In September, they cannot wait to get rid of you. We also saw plenty of wildlife when we went - bear, moose & whales. We would go again in the spring. We also like Vancouver, so would probably go out of there, although Seattle is great as well. You can take a very scenic Amtrak ride from Seattle to Vancouver (about 4 hours) for around 40 or so per person.

Just have your boarding passes out. The top of yours will have a green background indicating you have preferred boarding. Princess personnel will then direct you to the correct line(s).

How does that work if printed on a black & white laser printer?