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LIVE from Ruby Princess 16 December 2017

cougaraz

By cougaraz,
in Princess Cruises

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triple7tahoe

triple7tahoe

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We were also on this cruise and I would like to take a moment and talk about the last day buffet. On Thursday the Patter showed that there would be a "Sea Food Market Place" buffet at the lunch buffet and International buffet in the evening, When I went up for the "Sea Food.." on Thursday it was not there. I inquired and was told there was a printing error and it would be on Friday and it was (noted above). The Friday patter said there would be an Oriental Buffet at the evening meal on Friday. That sounded good so I made last day plans to include that buffet-Meaning basically I was not going to dress for dinner. Packed most clothes, sat with friends for a few drinks (To say goodbye) and went up for the Oriental buffet-Not there-Was told that there was a "printing error". Too late to change as suitcase had already been taken and meal in Horizon court was probably one of the worst of the week. Certainly did not make for a good lasting impression. Have not seen post cruise survey yet but IF it does arrive, above issues will be addressed.

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cougaraz

cougaraz

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Alright sports fans, I am back from our morning walk and armed with a hot caffeinated beverage ready to fill you in on all the excitement since last I posted. Yesterday after my morning post, we went to trivia in Club Fusion with Jorge from Portugal and he was a good trivia host. He made it clear right up front that it wasn’t to be taken too seriously and was just for fun. I appreciate this because if you have been to enough trivia you have been at the table next to the team that is certain the prize is a world cruise in a suite or a $25,000 credit at Effy!

 

 

Lunch was in the dining room with Teenapat and Max. We are pretty well recognized and ushered to the same table now with no hesitation. Thus far, I haven’t seen the Club Class section busy or crowded. There seems to be a self-metering function that is especially apparent on sea days at breakfast and lunch. We are fairly early risers so breakfast in the dining room is always a welcome treat and with all the activities going on around the ship and so many dining options, it is clear that many folks opt for another venue at lunch.

 

 

I have to say that yesterday’s lunch was a high note in a cruise that is already proving to be a real treat on the food front. We have enough cruises under our collective belts to recognize that while the menus are similar cruise to cruise and ship to ship, there is variation in both style and quality. It is crystal clear that the team preparing food on Ruby Princess this week is a cut above the Princess line average. Flavors, presentation and execution are all hitting the mark and even seemingly mundane dishes are really being elevated. My wife started with the green-lipped mussels which featured a soy based Asian sauce and were just the right size at four pieces for me to try one. For my starter, our head waiter Franz was doing a table-side pasta of penne with tomato, olive oil, chili flake and bacon. The smokiness of the bacon and zing of the chili were a fantastic pairing and I seriously considered a second portion. DW had an appetizer portion of the pasta carbonara and it was magnificent, the sauce was creamy, rich and seasoned just right. For mains, I had the Philly Steak Sandwich and she had the Chicken Korma. The bread on my sandwich was crusty with a pillow inside and the thin sliced steak with all too fake cheese melting on top was excellent. The ship’s riff on a British take away classic Korma was flavorful and they offered an abundance of toppings. Dessert was rice pudding (which my mom never made, but if she had I hope it would have been like this) and pecan ice cream (in support of our brother in law who grows pecans).

After lunch, we indulged in the very best of our family traditions, a Sunday afternoon nap! Since I am old enough to remember, my family has napped on Sunday afternoons after church and since getting married my wife and I have done the same. Post nap, we were a bit peckish (not sure how that is possible, but it is) so we grabbed some cards and made our way to Café Caribe for the buffet offering of afternoon tea. I was pleasantly surprised to find the expected cookies and scones, but also a chocolate fountain and the perfect completion of the trio…TACOS! We opted for the more traditional tea accompaniments and then played a little gin.

 

 

We took some time to get cleaned up and dressed for the evening before heading down to Explorers for the comedy show with AJ Jamal. We arrived about 15 minutes before start time and had a challenge finding a seat, those arriving after us were pretty much out of luck. The show ran about 45 minutes and I would grade it as okay. He definitely had some hilarious moments and was great with the kids, but he struck a few off notes with some ethnic jokes and his showmanship wandered a bit. However, he kept it family friendly and I did get in a few good laughs.

 

We had a few minutes before dinner and so we stopped by Vines for a glass of wine. The selection is really nice and our server dropped off a nice plate of cheeses to accompany our wine. I like Vines because you can get a glass of really nice bubbly (Veuve Clicquot) that isn’t available as a glass elsewhere.

 

 

For dinner, we ventured to Share. I must admit I am not certain how we ended up there. When we checked our box yesterday morning, along with a half ream of paper about the art auctions, we found a reminder about our reservation at Share. We had not booked it ourselves, nor do I know how the specialty dining credit came to be on our account, but no matter, we went. I will admit, I did so with some trepidation. I was not sure I would like the concept and something about the whole Share roll out has always struck me as odd. However, I was wrong to not go sooner. First things first, you don’t share anything, unless you want to. The menu is six courses and each person makes their own selection for each course. The portions are sized so that a normal human can actually eat all six and enjoy them without being overwhelmed. I remember a decade ago when a meal at Sabatini’s was some sort of test of human endurance when it came to the sheer volume of food put on the table.

 

 

My wife and I ordered different options so we could sample a wide variety and the food did not disappoint. We started with the charcuterie, me opting for the spicy soppressata and my wife for the fennel infused finocchiona. The cured meats were velvety and not over-salted, truly well executed. The salad course selections were the lemon poached prawns and tomato and burrata, which were both fresh and delicious. For pasta my wife had the cavatelli and I had the ravioli. The ravioli were delicious and rich, but the cavatelli with beets was more creative and the vibrant colors really made the dish memorable. For the sea course, my wife had the steelhead which was delicate and moist (and the biggest portion of the meal) while I opted for the lobster tail which was perfectly cooked. Our land course consisted of lamb leg that was really elegantly spiced with North African flavors and a duck leg confit with a white bean cassoulet. The cassoulet was especially memorable as it tasted like an old west chuck wagon cook on a cattle ranch had finally gone to culinary school and combined the best of rustic and refined cooking. Dessert capped the evening with a toffee cheesecake and dark chocolate cremeux. We enjoyed all of this with a really nice French white wine from Burgundy. As I said, our meal was complimentary, thanks to some unknown mode of giving, but I think that for at least one evening, I would have felt that $39 per person would have been good value.

 

 

That pretty much concluded our evening. We slept blissfully onboard the ship with a very gentle rocking of the sea and our pleasantly cool room.

 

 

We have had a single issue and it was minor and fixed quickly. A light-bulb in our room was blinking and I had written a note to our room steward to leave on the bed when we went to dinner….alas while we were still getting ready for dinner a maintenance technician showed up to fix it. Our steward George is so good that he didn’t even have to read the note to know what had to be done!

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cougaraz

cougaraz

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I am back with another installment live from the Ruby Princess and happy to report we are still having a marvelous cruise and enjoying ourselves immensely. The weather Monday was mild and seas have continued to abate, resulting in a smooth ride and very comfortable conditions. It has also supported our morning tradition of knocking out a few miles around the promenade deck after breakfast. I don’t think we walk enough to actually offset the work we are putting in at the table, but it does get the blood pumping and a little salt air is good for the soul.

 

 

We took our breakfast in the dining room this morning and it was delicious. As the Club Class area isn’t busy and we were just about the only occupants of our section our waiter and assistant waiter were very talkative and engaged. The breakfast options remain pretty consistent, but I did opt for the daily special of the Mexican omelet and enjoyed it. I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor and texture on the refried beans. My wife went for the traditional bagel and smoked salmon which did not disappoint. We followed our breakfast with our morning walk, a stop for a hot coffee and then a trip to morning trivia. We were joined on our team by Richard who is either a U Penn grad or U Penn parent based on his bling. He was super friendly and delivered a couple big answers including Keith Moon as the drummer for The Who!!

In our never-ending quest for caloric glory we returned to the dining room for lunch and we once again treated like royalty. I think we actually ordered on calamari and one of the table side pasta and shrimp dishes for our appetizers, but were delivered two calamari and a large bowl of the pasta landed between us. Franz was on his game again with a nice chili and garlic sauce with a few delicate prawns all over perfect al dente pasta. My wife chose a simple, but nicely done cheeseburger and I had the parmesan chicken, which is really schnitzel by another name. Dessert was chocolate mint ice cream and my wife’s all time favorite pistachio ice cream.

 

 

The nap that followed was more akin to a period of hibernation in preparing for our first formal night. A drive by of the menu indicated tough choices to follow. Of all the nights on this cruise this is the one where the appropriate selection seems to be “YES” as the entire menu top to bottom is stacked with great dishes and temptations.

We spent a bit of time getting cleaned up and dressed (based on observations later, some of our fellow passengers skipped these steps before going out for the evening). Our pre-dinner routine was relaxed as we enjoyed a glass of wine at Vines while we watched the final preparations and ultimately the splashing of the champagne waterfall. Music was provided by Los Brilliantes and they were very good and perfect for the occasion.

 

 

Dinner was absolutely fantastic, but unfortunately we weren’t able to have everything on offer. We started with the smoked duck breast and crab quiche. Our waiter brought us each a portion of the duck which was very delicately smoked and an absolute treat as it is so far from anything we’d be likely to have at home. In the middle of the table he placed a portion of the crab quiche which was reach and flavorful and beautifully offset by the tang of the tomato sauce. The next course for me was the French Onion soup and my wife had an appetizer portion of the always classic Fettuccini Alfredo. For our mains, we went with the beef medallions and the leg of lamb. Our waiter pointed out that we would have many more opportunities to have shrimp and fish, but this was the last dinner opportunity for lamb, so I seized the chance and was glad that I did. The portion was enormous and the lamb moist and perfectly seasoned. My wife really enjoyed her beef medallions, but the dessert was the kicker. Franz did a table-side preparation of Bananas Foster and he did a perfect job. I have found that too many head waiters and maitre’ds get wrapped up in putting on a show and don’t actually make a very good dessert. However, Franz did a fantastic job with the balance of sugar, rum and butter all delivered in a glorious presentation.

 

 

Our night finished fairly early and once again, we slept like the dead! Last night did see some more interesting passenger behavior most notably excessive drunkenness and the first time I have ever seen anyone using chewing tobacco in the dining room. Today we are making our approach to Puerto Vallarta on glassy seas with warm sunshine and the promise of a fabulous day ahead! We are headed to Las Calletas for relaxation, Mexican food and margaritas. See you all later!!

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culvercitycruiser

culvercitycruiser

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Would you be able to tell me where I can get luggage tags from? Am I supposed to print them off from somewhere or do they provide luggage tags at the dock? Thanks

 

Your online cruise planner has them once you complete all of your documentation. Your Boarding Pass and Luggage tags are on the same page as links.

Yes, you can get them from the porters at the pier.

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