Live from the Ruby Princess, Dec. 26-30

[DENNAS]

Thanks for the Live Thread !! Love them...

 

Can you confirm for us "Future Ruby Cruisers" know which night is the, I think you called it, Dress to Impress night, on the 5 night cruise/leg? I believe you said Day 2? I'm asking more out of curiosity than anything else since it doesn't appear any night is super formal anyway. It looks like its pretty informal, and definitely hubby can get in without a tie/jacket?

Trying to decide if we should do the Specialty Dining on our actual Anniversary (which we will be sailing on!) or just do the Dress to Impress night.. (if the menu is super good..oh, by the way, can you share that menu??) then I would "save" the Specialty dining for another night. TIA.

Edited December 28, 2013 by DENNAS

[Moviegirlnyorlando]

It rained last night some, but there wasn’t much additional movement on the ship. We’ve had the smoothest sailing ever on these two cruises.

 

Today we’re off the coast of Grand Cayman. The ship started tendering passengers on excursions early. Two of our tablemates were supposed to meet their group at 7:30. We had breakfast in the dining room late. The specials today were an egg dish with asparagus and muslix. The spa has having a port special of three 20-minute treatments for $119. The options include mini facial, milk wrap, scalp massage, back massage, lime and ginger body scrub, hand and arm massage, and reflexology. We’re not doing any of them.

 

Tonight’s menu is a repeat from our first cruise. I’ll order the rockfish again. It’s delicious. We enjoyed morning in the spa pool and hot tubs. I also enjoyed the sauna. It was nice to have most of the passengers off the ship. It seemed from the excursion desk monitor that most of the tours sold out.

 

We played morning trivia. Only five people showed up. One was a woman from our roll call. She and I had been looking for each other at trivia. It was great to finally meet her, even if we did play against her. We ended up with more correct answers, but Kat gave prizes to everyone. We ate lunch at the International Café. The paninis tasted great. I also enjoyed the gumbo and the baby cheesecake. Sam ordered the gelato again and I helped him eat a bit of it. We’re heading to shore now. They announced that passengers did not need tender tickets around 10:30 this morning.

 

There wasn’t any wait to get on the tender, but we did have to wait a few minutes for other passengers to get on the boat. It’s just a short ride over to the dock. They were checking ship cards several times but we did not need our photo IDs. We took them anyway.

 

The shops in Georgetown are similar to those in every other Caribbean port. We bought some jerk seasoning and a bottle of Tortuga rum, which hopefully will be delivered to the ship by the store and to our cabin tomorrow night.

 

Tonight’s show is a repeat from our first cruise—magician Ben Seidman. I’m not planning on going. They’ve also scheduled the ultimate deck party. On our first cruise, they moved the activities inside because of rain. I’m hoping it stays clear tonight.

 

We loved the mini-cheesecakes at IC and the paninis! Thanks again for more live posting, I'm going to keep my eye out for any flash sales on the leg your on on ruby, the western route, I'd like that, did you do Cozumel and Grand cayman ? I don't remember you saying,

 

I liked Kat on our cruise, bring a trivia buff I'm so sorry I missed all you guys trivia games, I'll be sure to pay attention to any future roll calls and if on ships with any of you, go to trivia. We didn't bother last cruise as Jose doesn't like and isn't very good at it and me alone on a team, wel not enough,

Have you guys ever played trivia games online ? Also do you know of a fantastic trivia smart phone app called "heads up" ? Best group iphone/iPad game we've ever played

[Pia1913]

Thanks for the Live Thread !! Love them...

 

Can you confirm for us "Future Ruby Cruisers" know which night is the, I think you called it, Dress to Impress night, on the 5 night cruise/leg? I believe you said Day 2? I'm asking more out of curiosity than anything else since it doesn't appear any night is super formal anyway. It looks like its pretty informal, and definitely hubby can get in without a tie/jacket?

Trying to decide if we should do the Specialty Dining on our actual Anniversary (which we will be sailing on!) or just do the Dress to Impress night.. (if the menu is super good..oh, by the way, can you share that menu??) then I would "save" the Specialty dining for another night. TIA.

 

Dress to Impress is on the four night cruise. The five night has a formal night. My husband most of the time does not wear a jacket. He follows "men in black" attire; black shirt, black slacks, white tie. Even when we score in the top three.

Edited December 28, 2013 by Pia1913

[geoherb]

We’re now sailing away from Grand Cayman. During trivia, they paged one passenger. They only did it once, so I’m assuming he was on the ship. Sam wanted to watch Carolina play in the Belk Bowl, so he did not join our team. And the wife of the couple we’ve been playing with also wanted to do something else. So the husband and I joined the woman from Cruise Critic and her friends. We won, missing one question. It’s the best my team has done so far. Quite a few of the questions were multiple choice, which I find easier than having to dredge up a piece of trivia in my mind.

 

I did not do as well in the golf chipping contest. I only got a practice ball over the pool’s edge this time. It’s better than I did on the first cruise. A 16-year-old girl won the contest. She had an unusual grip—one hand at the top of the club and one in the middle. She’s the only passenger to hit a ball into the middle hoop for 50 points.

 

It’s time for the evening cocktail party at Skywalkers. We’ll meet friends after that in Adagio. It’s a great place for before-dinner drinks.

 

Sorry I did not take a photo of the dining room menu. Almost everything has been delicious. The only dish I would not order again was at the embarkation lunch--the beef was tough and overdone. (I ordered it rare, and the waiter said that was possible.) If I had been really hungry, I would have ordered the salmon to replace it. But since this was our turnaround day, I really wasn't hungry enough to do so.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Which night is the formal night on the 5 night?

[Moviegirlnyorlando]

We’re now sailing away from Grand Cayman. During trivia, they paged one passenger. They only did it once, so I’m assuming he was on the ship. Sam wanted to watch Carolina play in the Belk Bowl, so he did not join our team. And the wife of the couple we’ve been playing with also wanted to do something else. So the husband and I joined the woman from Cruise Critic and her friends. We won, missing one question. It’s the best my team has done so far. Quite a few of the questions were multiple choice, which I find easier than having to dredge up a piece of trivia in my mind.

 

I did not do as well in the golf chipping contest. I only got a practice ball over the pool’s edge this time. It’s better than I did on the first cruise. A 16-year-old girl won the contest. She had an unusual grip—one hand at the top of the club and one in the middle. She’s the only passenger to hit a ball into the middle hoop for 50 points.

 

It’s time for the evening cocktail party at Skywalkers. We’ll meet friends after that in Adagio. It’s a great place for before-dinner drinks.

 

Sorry I did not take a photo of the dining room menu. Almost everything has been delicious. The only dish I would not order again was at the embarkation lunch--the beef was tough and overdone. (I ordered it rare, and the waiter said that was possible.) If I had been really hungry, I would have ordered the salmon to replace it. But since this was our turnaround day, I really wasn't hungry enough to do so.

 

Herb weren't you the one that told me to order the salmon before my trip? My daughter had the ravioli too it was good. They should change up the pasta on that meal maybe for the fettuccine Alfredo as it's always good, yum

[Pia1913]

Which night is the formal night on the 5 night?

 

Looking at the January 18th itinerary, I would expect it to be on the 19th.

[geoherb]

I got the rock fish and the halibut mixed up. Both were good, but the halibut was much better. Nevertheless, I enjoyed eating the rock fish again tonight at dinner. Our tablemates did not show up, so service was very quick for the two of us. We ate in about an hour.

 

Tomorrow is our last full day. We’ll be at sea. The schedule is pretty full in the Patter: zumba, art events, trivia, culinary demo and galley tour, ice carving, pub lunch, MUTS, pool activities, horse racing, and lots of spa, shop, and casino events.

 

Two of our new friends mentioned toilet problems on the Riviera Deck forward cabins. Apparently they’re having problems in the spa area as well. Their cabin is underneath the spa. We’ll find out tomorrow if the crew has fixed the problem. I hope so. We had a slight problem on the Island Princess, when our toilet did not flush for a couple of hours.

[bhopal21]

Thanks so much for the reporting.

 

I hope to be able to continue when we board the Ruby on February 1st.

 

Mike:)

[geoherb]

Service has been pretty good on this cruise except for our cabin steward. He’s pretty slow. A couple of days it has been after noon before he’s made up our cabin for the morning. And it’s not because we’ve been in the cabin. We are usually gone a few hours for breakfast and walking around the Promenade Deck and then trivia from around 8 until 11. When we come back to change to go for a swim, the cabin hasn’t been made up.

 

Sam is disappointed that they have a bottle of shampoo and conditioner in the shower instead of the smaller bottles that he can take home. The cabin steward gave him a couple of small bottles of shampoo on the first day, but he did not get the hint that Sam wanted more. We’re using a full-size bar of soap that I brought from home.

 

It’s currently sprinkling. Clouds hid the sunrise. It looks, though, that the clouds may be clearing off some. I hope so, for the sake of those who like to lay out. I’ll be sticking to the shady area of the spa pool.

[Pia1913]

Thanks so much for the reporting.

 

I hope to be able to continue when we board the Ruby on February 1st.

 

Mike:)

 

Hey, wait for me. :D We get on again Jan. 13th.

[geoherb]

This morning’s visual trivia was identifying Broadway shows from their posters. Of course the titles were blocked out from them. Our team did well, getting 22 out of 25 and tying with another team. Fortunately they did not do a tie-breaker. Both teams got bottles of cheap champagne. We're chilling it to enjoy at this afternoon's trivia with our teammates. We also won magnetic clips in the running trivia.

 

I picked up the papers from the culinary demo. I was glad to see them doing different dishes than I’ve seen in the past. Today’s were a pasta dish, veal chops with asparagus and crabmeat, and a Thai chicken soup. I did not get to stay for the demonstrations or the galley tour, but we’ve been on several of them before.

 

They’re serving the pub lunch today in the Wheelhouse Bar. The menu is fish and chips, bangers and mash, steak pie (no mention of kidney), and the ploughman’s lunch. I think the menu was the same four days ago on our first cruise. We’re going to the dining room.

 

Our cabin steward did not deliver our disembarkation info, so I had to wait in line at the excursion desk to sign up for a time. We’re in the group that’s supposed to leave at 8:05. Our hotel may be able to check us in at 9, so that would work out about right. Fortunately, I went early to sign up. There’s a much longer line right now.

[TwoBadKnees]

Sorry if I missed it, but what did the Ruby do, if anything, for most travelled?

 

I'm learning a lot about these getaway cruises from your posts :)

[geoherb]

We found out from friends we met on the first cruise that they did not have a luncheon or cocktail party for the most-traveled passengers. Instead they received dinner at the Crown Grill or Sabatini's. They also got a lovely crystal paperweight.

[Pia1913]

Sorry if I missed it, but what did the Ruby do, if anything, for most travelled?

 

I'm learning a lot about these getaway cruises from your posts :)

 

Adding to what geoherb wrote above, we also received our choice of Godiva chocolate or bottle of cheap champagne. We took the box of chocolate.

 

What we especially missed was our photo with the captain.

[DENNAS]

Just wanting to confirm, is Formal Night Day 2, of the 5 night cruise? thanks !!

[Justprettynpink]

Formal night will be New Year's Eve :-)

[bhopal21]

Just wanting to confirm, is Formal Night Day 2, of the 5 night cruise? thanks !!

 

 

Yes the second evening of your cruise.

 

Mike:)

[DENNAS]

Yes the second evening of your cruise.

 

Mike:)

 

OK, Mike, thanks a lot !!

[Moviegirlnyorlando]

Everyone boarding today have a great cruise and see you next year !

[cruisin4thedeepblue]

1. They're allowing anything goes in the dining rooms in the evening--men in shorts and T-shirts. On the "dress to impress night" on the first cruise, I saw about 20 percent of the men wearing sport coats or suits. Some wore dress shirts and ties. Some of the women were dressed very nicely for that night as well. But there were still men eating in shorts and T-shirts. At least I did not see anyone in a baseball cap.

 

2. I'll try to find out. The two production shows on our four-night cruises are Colors of the World and Broadway Ballroom.

 

3. I haven't noticed it being anything special. They did have a huge mound of shrimp on our last night. I carried up a plate to go with the food we were eating at Skywalkers.

 

4. It's not working. But at least the pool is open. It's my favorite. On the first short cruise, it was closed the whole time. The hot tubs there are not very hot. I've heard several people complain about them being too cool.

 

5. We heard people behind us in line at the turn-around saying that their new minibar set-up was already in their cabin. So far, I have been using leftover Internet minutes from the first cruise. I'm going to have to talk with the Internet guy about getting my new minutes.

 

Hi, thanks for the review. We have been on over 20 cruises and what we like the a lot is having a nice dinner where people dress like it's an expensive restaurant and look nice. Our age I guess. (60 - 70) It's a sign of respect which is disappearing in America today. Was it really the case that Princess is allowing men to where shorts and t-shirts in the dining room in the evening? :mad:

Edited December 30, 2013 by cruisin4thedeepblue

[jennifers490]

Hi, thanks for the review. We have been on over 20 cruises and what we like the a lot is having a nice dinner where people dress like it's an expensive restaurant and look nice. Our age I guess. (60 - 70) It's a sign of respect which is disappearing in America today. Was it really the case that Princess is allowing men to where shorts and t-shirts in the dining room in the evening? :mad:

 

i don't think it's age - i'm in my 30's and i agree with you - i wouldn't expect it at home in a semi-decent restaurant so don't expect it on a cruise - if this is the direction princess is going i think my cruises with them will be much fewer

[more cruises]

Hi, thanks for the review. We have been on over 20 cruises and what we like the a lot is having a nice dinner where people dress like it's an expensive restaurant and look nice. Our age I guess. (60 - 70) It's a sign of respect which is disappearing in America today. Was it really the case that Princess is allowing men to where shorts and t-shirts in the dining room in the evening? :mad:

 

On Christmas we were seated next to 3 generations of a family. The "grandpa" was wearing his croks, shorts and a t shirt. And that wasn't the worst. The kids never stopped playing their video games the entire meal so the parents had to feed them to get them to eat. Wow!

[geoherb]

We had fun the last night of the cruise. We tied for third in the last afternoon trivia. The winning team had a remarkable score of 19 out of 20. Second place had 17 and another team and we had 16. Our tablemates showed up for dinner again. In my opinion, they should have signed up for anytime dining instead of having an assigned table since they missed half the meals. They had told us they were going to miss the second night, but they did not give us any warning about missing the third night. The menu was slightly different since the last night of the previous cruise had been a special Christmas menu.

 

Disembarkation went fairly smoothly. We ate breakfast at the International Café, then carried our bags down to the dining room and waited about 10 minutes before they let us off. Our official time was 8:05 and we were disembarking at 8:15. The line for Customs was pretty long—about another 15 minutes. We walked from the dock to the Hilton. It was a 15-minute walk. It would have been easier if they had accessible curbs everywhere, but they don’t. It would have also been easier if we had just one piece of rolling luggage each, but I dragged two of them. If we had not flown Southwest, we would have gotten this down to two. I packed one with my kingsize pillow, our Christmas tree, and our snorkel masks. It’s got our bottle of rum and leftover bottle of wine as well right now.

 

The Hilton has been renovated since we last stayed here a few years ago. We have a poolside room. Our flight is early. I checked in this morning on the ship and received good numbers for our boarding.

 

Overall the four-day cruises are fun and worth it. Since we fly down from Raleigh, we probably won’t do another unless we can arrange to do another back-to-back itinerary or stay in Fort Lauderdale a few days before or after the cruise.

[geoherb]

Hi, thanks for the review. We have been on over 20 cruises and what we like the a lot is having a nice dinner where people dress like it's an expensive restaurant and look nice. Our age I guess. (60 - 70) It's a sign of respect which is disappearing in America today. Was it really the case that Princess is allowing men to where shorts and t-shirts in the dining room in the evening? :mad:

From what I heard one of the head waiters tell a man, it's just for the short cruises that they relax the dress code. I hope he's right. I'd hate to see it become like our Carnival cruise a year ago. Although I have to admit that the passengers on Carnival made a great effort on the one formal night we had. It surprised me.