Live from the Ruby Princess, Dec. 26-30

[geoherb]

Our stay at the Hilton was pleasant. We enjoyed riding the water taxi over to Las Olas for lunch. We ate at a little wine bar. It was not very fancy, but it was convenient and cheap and tasty. I had a southwest chicken sandwich and a salad. Sam had the chicken salad sandwich. We did not get the "free glass of wine" promised on the water taxi website, just a small taste. But we weren't really in the mood for a lot of wine in the middle of the day. The ice cream in the shop next door was excellent, even better than the gelato on the Ruby. I had rum raisin and Sam had eggnog. They did honor the water taxi's coupon of two for the price of one.

 

The best thing about the Hilton, other than location, is the wonderful pool area. It was pretty crowded, but we did not need chairs for lounging. We wanted to be in the water. It was nice to have a heated pool--one that was a lot warmer than the spa pool on the Ruby.

 

There were three ships in port other than the Ruby yesterday--Celebrity's Equinox, HAL's Nordam, and Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas. We watched them sail away from the 17th St. Bridge. It's always bittersweet to see our ship leave without us.

 

We used our water taxi passes to go back to Las Olas for dinner. We ate at the Briny Pub. The food was pretty good--nothing fancy. We enjoyed seeing the holiday lights. We'd love to be there for the flotilla.

 

Our flight out of Fort Lauderdale was at 6:55 this morning. We got up at 4:30 to get ready. We left the hotel at 5:25 and were at the airport about 10 minutes later. It's a lot faster when there's not much traffic. We breezed through check-in and security, too. We're now in Tampa waiting for our next flight at 10.

 

I saved all the Patters in case anyone has any questions about activities that haven't been mentioned.

[bhopal21]

Thanks Herb for all the details of your cruise onboard the Ruby.

 

Can you give me a little detail on the water taxi? We may want to do that on turnaround day next month when we are on the Ruby.

 

Thanks and safe travels home,

 

Mike:)

[Pia1913]

Safe trip home guys. It was great meeting you and playing trivia with you. Hope to connect again on a future cruise.

[more cruises]

Thanks Herb for all the details of your cruise onboard the Ruby.

 

Can you give me a little detail on the water taxi? We may want to do that on turnaround day next month when we are on the Ruby.

 

Thanks and safe travels home,

 

Mike:)

 

I'll jump in here since the op is probably traveling. The website for the water taxi is:

http://www.watertaxi.com/watertaxi/fort-lauderdale/

 

You can catch it right under the 17th street bridge, so an easy walk from the ship. The web site says it takes about 3 hours to do a complete circuit of Fort Lauderdale but you might want to get off for shopping or dining. Just go to the boarding area and wait for the boat. They start at 10am. There will be a schedule at the dock for the taxi. There aren't any employees there, the people on the taxi jump off, open gates and sell tickets. You can buy your tickets online or when you get on the boat.

 

We did the whole complete run, including Hollywood but you might just want to do the Fort Lauderdale part. That's where they point out the mega yachts and ritzy houses. I had a delicious margarita at Flip Flop at the north end of the run.

 

Later in the afternoon the lines for the boats can get long so leave yourself enough time if you get off for shopping or eating. When we were on the Ruby last week it said we needed to be back by 3:30.

Edited December 31, 2013 by more cruises

[capriccio]

Was it really the case that Princess is allowing men to where shorts and t-shirts in the dining room in the evening? :mad:

 

We were on the Royal Princess Dec 8th cruise and my DB - who at the age of 51 still hasn't realized that his older sister is always right :D - went to the MDR one night in shorts (his wife had warned him too). The hostess very politely sent him back to his room to change. His wife and I were amused :). We ate at Alfredos or the Horizon Court - which was surprisingly good and pleasant - on the remaining evenings.

[bhopal21]

I'll jump in here since the op is probably traveling. The website for the water taxi is:

http://www.watertaxi.com/watertaxi/fort-lauderdale/

 

You can catch it right under the 17th street bridge, so an easy walk from the ship. The web site says it takes about 3 hours to do a complete circuit of Fort Lauderdale but you might want to get off for shopping or dining. Just go to the boarding area and wait for the boat. They start at 10am. There will be a schedule at the dock for the taxi. There aren't any employees there, the people on the taxi jump off, open gates and sell tickets. You can buy your tickets online or when you get on the boat.

 

We did the whole complete run, including Hollywood but you might just want to do the Fort Lauderdale part. That's where they point out the mega yachts and ritzy houses. I had a delicious margarita at Flip Flop at the north end of the run.

 

Later in the afternoon the lines for the boats can get long so leave yourself enough time if you get off for shopping or eating. When we were on the Ruby last week it said we needed to be back by 3:30.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Mike:)

[geoherb]

The water taxi was fun. We enjoyed the evening ride especially, seeing the houses decorated for the holidays. If you go on the water taxi, be sure to check out the discounts offered on the website. They have a QR code you can scan with you cell phone, too, that tells of the different discounts. Some of the employees at the stores are not quite sure what's offered. For instance, the ice cream guy wanted to give us 10 percent off initially instead of the buy one get one free that's offered on the website. He did honor that, however, after I showed it to him.

[bhopal21]

Thanks Herb:D

 

Mike:)