Come sail with me on a virtual cruise to Hawaii on Ruby Princess

[winifred]

Shimmy up the ropes you say and get on board?.... now there's a thought?🤣 

Great post about back in the day (as the youngsters say) 😃Love the pictures! 

[ellie1145]

Apologies for the quality of some of these photos, which are photos of photos.

 

 

Days were relaxed, with sunbathing on the deck (with no warnings about the danger of skin cancer), or sitting on the long enclosed promenade deck lined with wooden loungers, or writing letters to home from the Writing Room. Some might even relax in the Smoking Room, which had a constant ‘fug’ of cigarette smoke, but anyway, smoking was allowed everywhere, much to our chagrin.

 

There were scavenger hunts and trivia to keep us entertained. There was even a cinema! I remember watching “The Ipcress File’ with Michael Caine, and my father getting quite shirty that we would be late for our tender into Cannes that afternoon, but we just wanted to finish the movie. 

 

 

At some stage during the cruise they would perform the ‘Crossing the Line Ceremony’ and everyone would gather round the small pool at the back of the ship to watch. King Neptune would board and sentence various willing passengers to being thrown into the pool, or made to slide along a greasy pole, or be slapped with a dead fish, a tradition which continues today, but more likely only when you do actually cross the Equator. The one and only pool was tiny and always crowded, but we revelled in it all. It was all good clean fun - well as clean as it can be when you’ve been slapped with a smelly fish.

 

On our Canberra cruise in 1971, I had just got engaged to my DH who had to remain at home, and he telephoned me one evening, via ship to shore radio, while we were at sea. My name was called out over the tannoy system and with huge embarrassment I had to walk through the crowded main lounge during a Quiz, to be sent up to the radio room at the top of the ship. Here I donned headphones and was eventually put through to my fiancée who, sadly, sounded like Mickey Mouse, not very romantic. We only dared stay on the phone for a short time as he was calling from my home, using my dad’s telephone, and he would have been none too pleased had he known about this unexpected expense, but love conquers all!

 

Canberra was innovative as her superstructure was made of aluminium, being very lightweight. She also was one of the new breed of ships which had the funnels at the rear of the ship.

 

She became famous as a hospital ship during the Falklands War, and returned battered and rusty after having performed with great distinction.

 

By the time we took our fifth cruise my parents had upgraded from bunk beds on Australis, to the beautiful Lanai Suite on Britanis. She was just 25,245 tons, so tiny in comparison to Majestic Princess, but she was 640ft long and was once the SS Monterey, built in the USA by the Matson Line.

 

This is an original brochure - amazing what you keep!

 

Unfortunately, one thing was the same - norovirus, although we never called it that and nothing was ever mentioned onboard about it. It was on this cruise that I succumbed, despite there being no buffet to spread germs, but nevertheless both my mother and I fell ill with it, and it was very unpleasant. However, after 24 hours being unable to rise from our beds, and missing Tenerife, we felt able to be out and about, and shockingly, there was definitely no quarantining in the cabin.

 

[ellie1145]

16 minutes ago, winifred said:

Shimmy up the ropes you say and get on board?.... now there's a thought?🤣 

Great post about back in the day (as the youngsters say) 😃Love the pictures! 

 

Now Winifred, with all those online exercise classes I’m sure you’ve been doing whilst we were in lockdown, it should be a doddle.....😉

 

 

[dickinson]

Thanks for starting this!  I am enjoying seeing the pictures and hearing about your cruises from long ago as I didn't start cruising until 1988.

Edited October 29, 2020 by dickinson

[ellie1145]

 

To put things into perspective, at that time I was a newly qualified teacher taking home £80 a month, so our cruise would have been the equivalent of more than a month’s salary! And that was for an inside cabin with bunk beds and no facilities. Thank goodness my parents paid for us both! 

 

 

Interestingly, wIth all this talk about over 70’s possibly needing a Health Certificate before being allowed to board, that was actually required in 1973!

 

But of course, there was no internet then where I am sure people will be able to obtain a false ‘negative Covid’ one for a few dollars, like they do in order to bring their pets onboard as Emotional Support Animals!

 

In those days, Smallpox, not Covid, was of great concern and we had to have regular smallpox vaccinations, every 3 years, before we could sail. 

 

 

Edited October 29, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

3 minutes ago, dickinson said:

Thanks for starting this!  I am enjoying seeing the pictures and hearing about your cruises from long ago as I didn't start cruising until 1988.

 

Thank you so much Dickinson, I was a bit worried about overloading everyone with my reminiscences! 😉

[DUCHESSRN]

2 hours ago, ellie1145 said:

 

I’ve got everything crossed for you! That would be a fantastic cruise. I have the Pacific Islands on my bucket list as I would love to see Tahiti, Bora Bora etc. When is that going to be?

April 2nd 2022....I am pretty sure we stop in Bora Bora ...never been to Sydney and then 2 stops in New Zealand ...

[DUCHESSRN]

Oh Ellie I would love to see the cruise ships moored off Southampton I am guessing . 

I learned to walk on the Empress of France 1950 I am Liverpool to Quebec ....my Mother said they changed the clocks every day one hour which was challenging with a small Toddler , also one I started walking I guess I demanded to walk the decks in pretty chilly weather ...I will look for some of the pictures. 

 

[ellie1145]

16 minutes ago, DUCHESSRN said:

April 2nd 2022....I am pretty sure we stop in Bora Bora ...never been to Sydney and then 2 stops in New Zealand ...

 

Let’s hope that by April 2022 we will all be looking forward to cruising again. Sounds like a really wonderful itinerary, so I do hope all will be well. Sydney is well worth visiting. 

 

 

[ellie1145]

Just now, DUCHESSRN said:

Oh Ellie I would love to see the cruise ships moored off Southampton I am guessing . 

I learned to walk on the Empress of France 1950 I am Liverpool to Quebec ....my Mother said they changed the clocks every day one hour which was challenging with a small Toddler , also one I started walking I guess I demanded to walk the decks in pretty chilly weather ...I will look for some of the pictures. 

 

 

That would be wonderful, DuchessRN. I’d love to see some photos.

 

It must have been a challenging voyage all round. Such bravery to uproot your family and start a new life, but so many people did have the courage to do it, and ended up loving their new country. 

[ellie1145]

8 minutes ago, DUCHESSRN said:

Oh Ellie I would love to see the cruise ships moored off Southampton I am guessing . 

 

 

The ships are moored off the coast of Dorset, near Poole - Allure of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas, Empress of the Seas, Ventura, Aurora, Arcadia, and Queen Victoria. 

 

The Mudeford Ferry has been doing a roaring trade with its to and a half hour ‘Ghost Tours’ of the ships. 

 

They must be a sight to see. 

[ellie1145]

 

A trip down memory lane...

 

 

 

Another favourite of mine is the now scrapped ‘Norway,’ which was once the pride of France and named ‘SS France.’ She and the QE2 vied for the Blue Ribband, trying to outdo each other in crossing the Atlantic the fastest. At that time she was the longest liner afloat, at 1035ft in length.

 

She cut through the Atlantic waves with ease and with her majestic winged funnels she was a sight to see. Although she was fast, with a top speed of 35 knots, once flying became more common, sailing the Atlantic fell out of fashion and she was laid up for several years, until NCL bought her in the 1980’s, and converted this classic liner into a cruise ship.

 

Sadly, she met an incongruous end when one of her boilers blew up whilst docked in the port of Miami. Eight crew were killed and she was later scrapped. Her prow can still be seen in France, where it was returned. 

 

My family and I once visited the ‘France,’ owned by the French Line, when she was docked in Southampton - something you could write to the cruise line and request. We were allowed to board in the evening as passengers were embarking, and we were given a free run of the ship until they finally departed. Imagine that these days! She was a beautiful Art Deco ship, with little bell boys in smart uniforms operating the elevators, the epitome of luxury and attentive service. 

 

A beautiful, stable ship, she was a bit of a shock when we first embarked, as she was undeniably old, and nothing like the new and sparkling Enchantment of the Seas we had recently sailed on. We nearly jumped ship, but grew to love her by the end of the two weeks.

 

Biscayne Deck, where you entered the ship after leaving the tenders, had pipes and electric cables clearly in view in the ceiling.

 

The lifeboats were perched on the top deck and would have had to be lowered from davits.

 

We did a Transatlantic on her in April 1999, and I won’t bore you with the details, but because of certain circumstances, we met the Chairman of NCL,  who was travelling on the cruise with his family, and at the Cocktail Party we were offered the Royal Suite for our use for the remainder of the cruise - but that’s another story! That truly was the upgrade to end all upgrades.

 

The Royal Suite had a dining room, lounge, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It was used regularly by President de Gaulle when it was the ‘France.’

 

 

 

As a result of this upgrade we had little treats delivered each night such as chocolate strawberries and canapés, as well as a pass for the spa. We were invited up to the bridge for the sailaway from Madeira which was a wonderful once in a lifetime experience. 

 

 

My son standing on the deck as we left Madeira. He was itching to press the buttons and turn the knobs!

 

SS Norway had two tenders, Little Norway 1 and Little Norway 2, which were used to transport passengers to shore at various islands. They were huge twin hulled vessels, capable of transporting 450 passengers at a time, and based on landing craft.

 

 

The tender would beach itself and the front would drop down onto the sand and we’d all spill out onto the beach, bit like Dunkirk without the guns. 

 

These enormous tenders were kept on deck at the front of the ship. They are still in use, apparently, on Little Stirrup Key, NCL’s private island in the Caribbean.

 

[ellie1145]

 

Don’t be sad because those times are over, 

Be happy because they happened.

 

 

 

My cruising adventures came to an end when I married. We were too busy concentrating on our careers, mortgages and bringing up children, and as a mainly stay-at-home mum we couldn’t afford luxury holidays.

 

But when our last child was 10, we decided to spend Christmas on Enchantment of the Seas, in her inaugural season, and that re-ignited my love of cruising. They, too, became ‘hooked’ on cruising, and we enjoyed many great vacations together onboard a variety of ships. Now, of course, they are grown up and left home so we mainly sail on our own. 

 

Our daughter eventually left university and worked on a British cruise ship as a Food and Beverage Manager and a Wedding Co-ordinator. It was incredibly hard work with long hours, especially those spent on the dockside in all weathers during storing, or standing in the galley to watch that staff didn’t order extra lobster to take back to their cabins!

 

But we have enjoyed some fantastic cruises and have seen more of the world than we ever expected. We still love the Caribbean, although it has changed so dramatically since we started visiting it, and we can hardly believe that we have been to Malaysia, Australia, Fiji and Hawaii, as in our young days that was the stuff of dreams.

 

 

Since then we have cruised with Princess, Royal Caribbean, Cunard,

P & O, Celebrity, Norwegian and Carnival. We love the ‘big girls’ like Oasis and Symphony, and the Royal Class ships, but any cruise is better than no cruise.

 

Princess is definitely our favourite cruise line, but RCI comes a close second. They are just different - if we want a high energy cruise with wonderful entertainment and lots to do we choose Royal Caribbean. If we want to feel pampered and enjoy a calm ambiance we choose Princess.

 

 

Although we love the Royal Class ships, we also enjoy cruising on the Grand Class ships, particularly because of the size of their balconies. We have sailed on most of these ships - Grand, Crown, Star, Diamond, Ruby, Emerald, Caribbean as well as Royal, Regal and Majestic.

 

So let’s get this show on the road, shall we?

 

 

 

 

[ellie1145]

Our Itinerary - Ruby Princess Hawaiian Islands

 

 

 

 

This was our first (and probably our last!) experience of a long haul economy flight with Lufthansa. 

 

Our plane was a huge Airbus 380, and we flew from London Heathrow to LAX via Munich, Germany. I’m afraid we flew Economy, and it was probably one of the most uncomfortable flights we have ever done, and we’ve done a few in our time!

 

Tuesday April 2nd   Travelodge near home

Wednesday April 3rd   Crowne Plaza Heathrow

 

Thursday April 4th

Flying with Lufthansa

London Heathrow to Los Angeles     

 

LH 2485  Departs LHR 07.25.

Arrives Munich 10.10

LH 452  Departs Munich 12.05

Arrives LAX 15.05 local.

 

Friday 5th April - Monday April 8th

Crowne Plaza Los Angeles Airport

 

Monday April 8th

Embark Ruby Princess Cabin E622.

 

Tuesday 9th - Friday 12th

At Sea

 

Saturday April 13th

Hilo. 09.00 - 18.00

 

Sunday April 14th

Honolulu  07.00 - 23.00

 

Monday April 15th

Kauai (Nawiliwilli) 08.00 - 17.00

 

Tuesday April 16th

Maui (Lahaina) 07.00 - 18.00

 

Wednesday April 17th - Sunday April 21st

At Sea

 

Monday April 22nd

Ensenada 08.00 - 17.00

 

Tuesday April 23rd

Fly to London Heathrow from LAX

 

LH 453 Departs LAX 17.20

Arrives Munich 13.30 Wednesday April 24th (next day arrival)

 

Wednesday April 24th

LH 2476 Departs Munich 14.45

Arrives LHR 15.45

 

[PaulS]

Ellie:

 

I am once again enjoying your virtual trip, especially the pictures of your first cruises. I also enjoyed your description of your current age. I, too, am three score and ten but had never heard the dreaded 70 expressed so elegantly. My birthday is coming up so I will just tell my friends that I am going to be three score and eleven!

[ellie1145]

9 minutes ago, PaulS said:

Ellie:

 

I am once again enjoying your virtual trip, especially the pictures of your first cruises. I also enjoyed your description of your current age. I, too, am three score and ten but had never heard the dreaded 70 expressed so elegantly. My birthday is coming up so I will just tell my friends that I am going to be three score and eleven!

 

Hello there, Paul, welcome back. Glad to have you along on our Hawaiian adventure.

 

I believe the term ‘three score and ten’ derives from the bible, as it was considered to be the lifespan of man (or woman). 

 

The great thing is that many young people haven’t a clue about what a score is, so we can both pretend that we are 40! Or 41.....🤣

[katisdale]

I am doing my "happy" dance. Another virtual cruise with Ellie. This will be a fun ride.

[TeaBag]

I'm settling right in Ellie.

First to answer your questions, we sailed on the Neptunia from Dublin to Halifax on April Fools Day!  How's that? Then we took the train right across Canada to Vancouver.  Last October we did the Canada/New England cruise on Celebrity Summit and we visited Pier 21 in Halifax.  This was very special to me as that was where we first stood on Canadian soil.  The Museum of Immigration there is very well done.  There was even a picture of the Neptunia. 

I laughed at your account of the shared bathrooms.  Believe it or not, on Neptunia, mens' cabins were on one side of the ship with women on the other!  We shared bathrooms too.  When we were in our cabins we had to hang up our keys in a box in the hallway outside!  One day some pranksters took everyone's keys and locked us all into our rooms!!  What terror!

I'm surprised when your first cruise was on Chandris that you didn't continue with Celebrity.  We are opposites.  Our first cruise was on the old Star Princess and then we changed to Celebrity.

I do wish Celebrity still sailed to Kauai as we used to enjoy going down to the dock and talking to the cruisers.

Edited October 29, 2020 by TeaBag

[ROWSE]

So excited to be along on this journey as well.  

I am packed and have thrown in the snorkel and mask as there is wonderful snorkeling in the Hawaiian islands!

 

Thank you for again entertaining us all so fabulously! 

[ellie1145]

1 hour ago, katisdale said:

I am doing my "happy" dance. Another virtual cruise with Ellie. This will be a fun ride.

 

I’m doing a ‘happy dance’ that you are sailing along with us! Hang onto your hats!

 

My husband has just googled ‘Hickory” and it sounds a lovely place.  We have flown into Charlotte many times and love the rocking chairs. Sadly we have only passed through the airport, but NC sounds like a wonderful place to live. 

Edited October 29, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

58 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

I'm settling right in Ellie.

First to answer your questions, we sailed on the Neptunia from Dublin to Halifax on April Fools Day!  How's that? Then we took the train right across Canada to Vancouver.  Last October we did the Canada/New England cruise on Celebrity Summit and we visited Pier 21 in Halifax.  This was very special to me as that was where we first stood on Canadian soil.  The Museum of Immigration there is very well done.  There was even a picture of the Neptunia. 

I laughed at your account of the shared bathrooms.  Believe it or not, on Neptunia, mens' cabins were on one side of the ship with women on the other!  We shared bathrooms too.  When we were in our cabins we had to hang up our keys in a box in the hallway outside!  One day some pranksters took everyone's keys and locked us all into our rooms!!  What terror!

I'm surprised when your first cruise was on Chandris that you didn't continue with Celebrity.  We are opposites.  Our first cruise was on the old Star Princess and then we changed to Celebrity.

I do wish Celebrity still sailed to Kauai as we used to enjoy going down to the dock and talking to the cruisers.

 

What a wonderful story, TeaBag, and what a journey. How amazing to return to Pier 21 in Halifax. That must have bought back many memories for you.

 

It must have been quite an adventure for you. How we ever coped with sharing showers and toilets I will never know, but I don’t remember thinking twice about it. 

 

To be honest it was only years later that I discovered the link between Chandris and Celebrity, when I saw the white cross on one of their ships. 

 

Was it a Lloyd Triestino ship?

Could this possibly be Neptunia?

 

 

[ellie1145]

1 hour ago, ROWSE said:

So excited to be along on this journey as well.  

I am packed and have thrown in the snorkel and mask as there is wonderful snorkeling in the Hawaiian islands!

 

Thank you for again entertaining us all so fabulously! 

 

I’m excited to have you along with us again. 

 

Glad you have packed your snorkel. I’m sure you will have time to do a little snorkelling.

 

I have realised that you also do trip reports, so when I have a spare moment (maybe when this is finished!) I will manage to read some of yours, too! Thanking you in advance, I know I will enjoy them. 

[cr8tiv1]

Just confirmed.  We were on the same cruise you were on..April 8th.  

 

Aloha means hello and goodbye.

[ellie1145]

37 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Just confirmed.  We were on the same cruise you were on..April 8th.  

 

Aloha means hello and goodbye.

 

That’s great news, cr8tiv! I hope you will chip in on the way, like azbirdmom did. She was able to fill in a lot of gaps.

 

I don’t suppose you have a copy of the Log by any chance as I cannot find mine and I know I would have brought it home?

[TeaBag]

1 hour ago, ellie1145 said:

 

What a wonderful story, TeaBag, and what a journey. How amazing to return to Pier 21 in Halifax. That must have bought back many memories for you.

 

It must have been quite an adventure for you. How we ever coped with sharing showers and toilets I will never know, but I don’t remember thinking twice about it. 

 

To be honest it was only years later that I discovered the link between Chandris and Celebrity, when I saw the white cross on one of their ships. 

 

Was it a Lloyd Triestino ship?

Could this possibly be Neptunia?

 

 

No, it was built in Amsterdam in 1920 and named Johan de Witt.  Then later renamed Neptunia. Your picture is too nice.  It was a tub!  Later that year it hit a rock off the coast of Cobh  and was towed off to Europe for scrap.  I could give you lots of details but that, now, would qualify for boring people!!