LIVE - Ruby Princess, Nov 6 - 20, 14-day Circle Caribbean

[partybarbie]

54 minutes ago, banderboo said:

Have they been offering High Tea onboard?

I was on the prior cruise and the afternoon tea was offered in the Da Vinci dining room. It was a very nice selection of sandwiches, cookies, little pastries, and the scones with jam and whipped cream.

[aring75]

Day 4 - St. Kitts

 

 

 

[aring75]

Today’s tour was St. Kitts Scenic Railway and Coastal Cruise.

 

We met at the end of the pier at 12:15 pm and then boarded a small bus which took us to the train boarding station. 
 

You could opt to sit in the open air car up too or the air conditioned parlor car below. Mark was feeling overheated so we decided to play it safe with the lower level. 
 

 

 

Once the train got underway, they served complimentary drinks. Mark just got an ice water but I opted for a mango daiquiri. 
 

 

 

The train ride was nice, but only “scenic” in just a few places. 
 

 

But we enjoyed it overall and felt it was very relaxing. 
 

[aring75]

After the train, it was on to the catamaran for a 30 minute boat ride back to the ship.

 

 

Here they served unlimited rum punch, Carib beer, and assorted other drinks. 

 

We turned the corner and saw the Ruby come in to view. 

 

 

It was a long day. We arrived back at the pier to reboard Ruby a little before the all aboard time of 5:30 pm. 
 

 

[canadarocks]

@aring75 Glad you enjoyed the day and it looks like you had great weather.

[aring75]

2 hours ago, canadarocks said:

@aring75 Glad you enjoyed the day and it looks like you had great weather.

Great weather today. Warm, but with a nice breeze. Thanks!

[aring75]

We had a great (!) dining room experience tonight. Our nightly reservation is at 7 pm but before tonight we’ve waited 20-30 minutes to be seated. 
 

We arrived at 6:50 pm and waited less than two minutes. We really liked our table and our service team so I spoke to the restaurant manager and requested that table for the rest of the cruise. We said we’d be willing to change times if that would help, but he said 7 pm would work fine. 

[aring75]

Tonight’s MDR menu

 

 

[aring75]

Mark had the yellow split-pea soup. He said is was good, but the flavor was a lot milder than he was expecting. 
 

 

 

I had the beef satay with peanut sauce and it was fantastic. 
 

 

 

Mark had the Caesar salad and I opted for the field greens with spring onion and cabbage slaw. 
 

[aring75]

Mark got the jerk chicken and liked it. It looked really good. (But he didn’t even offer me a bite so I’m taking his word for it.)

 

 

 

I had the pork chop with fig Demi-glacé. A tiny bit dry, but overall a good flavor. 
 

[aring75]

Dessert. 
 

 

 

 

Key Lime Pie for me. (Not quite tart enough, but I am key lime picky.)
 

 

Mark had the sugar free dessert option. It was not very flavorful, but our waiter suggested a scoop of sugar free ice cream to go with and Mark said it was quite a bit better. 
 

[aring75]

Watched karaoke tonight and now it’s 11pm and we are definitely winding down. We don’t have a tour scheduled for tomorrow (Guadeloupe) so we are going to play it by ear and see what happens. 
 

Oh! By the way. Anyone who was wondering, in St. Kitts they had an information booth at the end of the pier with various private tour company options plus lots of drivers in the pier area offering private tours. The port area in St. Kitts was quite large with lots of shops and also a few bars and restaurants. An easy way to kill a couple of hours without a ton of walking. 

[LidoLiz]

Good morning, Guadeloupe!

 

We had our first experience at the Salty Dog gastropub last night. Both the food and the service were absolutely top notch. 

 

 

Edited November 10, 2023 by LidoLiz

[aring75]

Day 5 - Guadeloupe

 

 

[aring75]

Guadeloupe. A few clouds this morning, but looks like it’s going to be another nice day. 

 

 

 

[Kenosha Cruiser]

Just joining in, your live thread looks amazing with all the information, Princess Patters and pictures. We will be doing the same 14 day itinerary on the Ruby come March 9th, only difference is we will stop in Bonaire instead of Curacao. Looking forward to following along on your cruise adventure. Have fun!!!

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

[TxTeach79]

Posted on the wrong thread. Oops. Really enjoying this review! Love the Ruby!

Edited November 10, 2023 by TxTeach79
Dum Dum

[aring75]

Docked next to Marella Voyager today. 
 

 

 

The port area has a small artisan market, but not all of the stalls accept US dollars. 
 

 

[aring75]

Headed back to the ship, Princess sets up a comfort station with ice water and cold towels. 
 

[LidoLiz]

A few more photos from my afternoon walkabout. The refurbished Ruby is looking pretty good.

I went into the area off the Lotus Spa on Deck 16 to check out what was formerly the free sauna and steam room. Just like on the Emerald, these features are gone…but the new showers in the locker room look pretty nice and there is absolutely no signs indicating you have to be a paying Lotus spa patron to use them. So I may try them after tomorrow’s gym time. I’ve added a couple more gym photos …I was able to use the spinner bike, just had to roll it away from the wall.

Also visited the new arcade but it is closed like the casino while in port….

The sports deck is also very tidy and the mini golf is now fun!

(Sorry that I haven’t figured out how to separate my photos yet…or why the mini golf is upside down!!)

 

 

 

Edited November 10, 2023 by LidoLiz

[AQUALUNG]

Love what you're doing with the daily posts, very informative. Was on the Ruby back in 2012 and looking forward to sailing on her again. Disappointed that traditional dining is no longer available as we always liked getting to really know our tablemates and building lifelong friendships. Thanks again for the excellent daily information, it's like we are on the cruise with you. 

[skynight]

I am reading these posts. I'm booked for the same itinerary & ship in March I find them very interesting.

In case you are not aware in Curacao the ship will dock on one side of a port entry canal. The main street of Willemstad with all the photos you see in the ads runs along the canal. To get there you have to cross the pontoon bridge. This bridge opens for boats quite frequently. When open there is a ferry shuttle which takes longer to use. Avoid being caught on the main street side of the canal with little time to return to the ship. If the bridge opens it isn't easy to quickly get across to where the boat is docked. 

[aring75]

This sign is on every table in the buffet area, but it doesn’t stop people from camping out with card games and even a jigsaw puzzle. It would be different if there were more than enough tables for seating, but we’ve had times where we had to walk around in circles trying to find an empty table. We have finally gotten in the habit of securing the table first then taking turns getting our food. Of course, that usually means we can’t eat together unless one of lets our food get cold waiting for the other. 
 

 

 

I’m all for just going to the dining room or grabbing a sandwich from the IC, but Mark loves the buffet. I just wish it was a little more convenient. 
 

[aring75]

These are the chairs and small tables found on the promenade deck. No footstools though. 
 

 

 

They have multiple games in the atrium area throughout the day. Even while the ship is in port. 
 

[canadarocks]

One of the MANY reasons we hate the buffet... 😠