LIVE from the Ruby 1/24-1/31

[Jessica33]

Hey just wondering what the Broadway Ballroom show consists of ? Is it all different Broadway songs or acts ? If so what shows are in it? Hope you having a great cruise ! Thanks for the updates its greatly appreciated and makes me look forward to my cruise even more in 3 weeks !

[juggles]

the broadway show is superb and so energetic and fast, you feel good when you come out it lifts the spirit. There's a selection of dance routines and songs. Don't miss 'Once Upon A dream' it's amazing but get in the theatre ten past the hour to get the best seats. The best viewing is half way back in the middle to get the full effect

[powderhorn]

Thanks so much for posting. We were on the Ruby in December and had just about the best cruise of our lives. Glad you're enjoying yourselves. Reading your post brought back very fond memories.

 

I'm wondering if I might ask a small favor. If you find yourselves in the Wheelhouse again during the cruise, would you mind possibly telling the bartender, Carla, that Chris and Derrick say hi and that we miss them all? The crew in the Wheelhouse were just wonderful to us and helped put the experience right over the top.

 

Thanks so much, if you get the chance, and happy sailing! :D

 

Hi Guys! Hey...any bets on the superbowl this year???.... good to see you enjoyed the Ruby. Paula and I are heading to FLL on Wednesday for 7 days aboard her on the 7th....will pass along your best wishes to Carla.....still remember how good that beer tasted aboard the Golden about a year ago!:)

 

All the best,

[stanford's girl]

I won't be on the Ruby until November but I love reading all I can about this new ship. Thanks for sharing with us "LIVE"!!! :cool:

[kendon]

Personally, I think the seafood buffet was over rated. The dinner buffet in the Horizon Court is quite good with plenty of variety.

[5:00_Somewhere]

Hi Guys! Hey...any bets on the superbowl this year???.... good to see you enjoyed the Ruby. Paula and I are heading to FLL on Wednesday for 7 days aboard her on the 7th....will pass along your best wishes to Carla.....still remember how good that beer tasted aboard the Golden about a year ago!:)

 

All the best,

 

Hey, nice to see you!!! No bets on the superbowl this year. Since our Pats aren't in it, it'll be all about the commercials for me. ;) Enjoy the Ruby. As I'm sure you've seen all over this board, she is an absolutely beautiful ship with a fantastic crew. We just loved everyone we interacted with, but especially the gang in the Wheelhouse, as well as Generoso, the Maitre 'd, and Rui, Head Waiter in the Michelangelo diningroom. Actually, as we were giving ourselves a tour of the ship after boarding, we ran into a woman named Kayan, who had been our waitress on the Star and last February on the Golden, so we made sure to have dinner with her when we were in the diningroom (I highly recommend her, by the way.) ;)

 

Bon voyage, and go ... er ... someone! ;)

 

p.s. -- if you haven't experienced the Sanctuary yet, I highly recommend it, at least once. We saved it until late in the cruise when we wanted a bit of a break from the sun (though there are loungers in the sun as well). But, you have to get there early in the morning to get a reservation.

[Colo Cruiser]

Godwin is an assistant MD and was onboard for the Inaugural. Not sure if he is on vacation yet or not. :)

[Av8tor]

Part 3

Well, I’ve been remiss by not continuing the cruise report live, but hey, I was too busy having fun!!! I’ll try to play catch-up now…

Monday’s dinner was another fun and enjoyable time. The food was good, the wait staff was outstanding and our table mates couldn’t be better. Afterwards, we all went to Explorer’s Lounge to see the ‘dangerous magic’ of James Michael and comedian Troy Thirdgill. They were both hilarious and not a single joke about buffet lines or vacuum toilets – quite a switch from other cruising comedians!!

Very early Tuesday morning (Grand Cayman), we were awoken from a deep sleep at about 6am by a tremendously startling series of noises coming from under our cabin’s floor. While this was our first mini-suite on the Dolphin deck and we did have a bit more room, I’ll admit that I never thought they’d be so noisy during tender operations. The tenders are on Emerald deck, just below Dolphin, and if you’re unlucky enough to be right over a tender that is being launched or recovered, it is quite loud. During launches, the tender system’s “arms” first extend out from the ship so the tender can clear the Promenade deck and then the tender is lowered and released. The process is reversed for recoveries. It’s not so bad (loud) during the day when you know what’s going on, but it’s quite a different story in the early morning when you’ve closed Skywalker’s the previous evening. If you want to avoid this noise during early AM launches of the 6 tenders, try to get a mini-suite more forward of 509 or aft of 622 above one of the smaller life boats that are not normally used as tenders. I guess the noise issue might also be an issue for Emerald obstructed view cabins in the same number range.

Any way, I went scuba diving in Cayman on Princess’ “West Wall 2 tank dive”, and while it was enjoyable, it wasn’t as good as I’d hoped – just an average dive in my opinion. Jackie went shopping in Georgetown and didn’t break the budget.

That evening was Chef’s Table and it was everything we’d heard it would be – absolutely fantastic. We were really glad we made the extra effort to board the boat early and get signed up for the list. Generoso (Maitre d’) and Manlio (Executive Chef) were very gracious and informative while still being fun and friendly. And the “grub” wasn’t bad either – absolutely scrumptious is more accurate. They also presented us an autographed Princess Courses cookbook and a group photo of all the participants with Generoso and Manlio.

Wednesday was Cozumel and we did the “Playa Mia Deluxe Beach Break, also through Princess. It was relaxing and I can confirm that they’ve gotten rid of all the old plastic “S” shaped chairs and now have all new plastic loungers that were pretty comfortable even though the did not have cushions. We were at the park from 10 to 2 and even though we might have paid less money by making our own arrangements, it was nice just going with the flow. The included cocktails were refreshing and the food, even though it was buffet style, was good. I was surprised however, that the Princess tour left the park at 2, and was back at the pier by 2:15, even though the all-aboard call was not until 5:30. We could’ve spent more time on the beach break and still got back to the boat in plenty of time – seems like a waste to me. I’m thinking that they’ve entered into an agreement to have passengers back at the pier way early so they can spend money in the shops!!

We stayed a bit too late at dinner that evening and missed the International Crew Show. I had heard it was a good show and wanted to experience it myself. Oh well, it might have been good, but the fun time we were having with our table mates was a sure thing so we stuck with that.

More later…

Happy Sailings,

Paul

[dsawyer]

Godwin is an assistant MD and was onboard for the Inaugural. Not sure if he is on vacation yet or not. :)

 

Godwin told me he was going off the ship around Christmas time to visit his parents. He may not be back yet.

 

Sure hope Generoso stays put for awhile.

[juggles]

if you see Daniel from Manchester UK in Trade Winds, give him my love

[Av8tor]

Part 4 (conclusion)

Omelets are available made to order in Horizon Court. You simply place your order with one of the attendants near the toaster machines. They are prepared quickly and are rather tasty! Makes it a bit easier than having to go to a separate omelet station in the Calypso pool area like on Sapphire a few months ago.

Thursday was the second sea day and the second formal night following the Captain’s Circle Club reception. Dinner special was lobster and jumbo shrimp. It was all good/fun, but paled in comparison to surprising my wife with a renewal of vows ceremony performed by the Captain just before dinner in celebration of our 25th anniversary! The look on her face was priceless when I asked her to marry me, again, as Captain Draper entered Adigo lounge. It was certainly well worth all the scheming and planning to keep it a secret.

Friday was Princess Cays and while it was nice, I don’t think I’ll bother going ashore the next time I’m there. For me, it just wasn’t worth the hassles of tendering back and forth. At least the noise of launching the tenders in our Dolphin cabin didn’t start until around 9AM rather than 6AM like in the Caymans. The food on the island was just ‘cookout’ food served in numerous buffet lines. Hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, chicken patties & drumsticks and ribs along with a few salad items. The salads were sort of bland but the drumsticks and ribs were quite good. The wait for the tenders back to the ship was about 20 minutes in line at around 2:10 when last tender was supposed to be 3. The actual last tender returned to the ship at about 3:40 or so. I GUESS that lots of people tried to avoid standing in line by waiting until almost 3 before queing up and still had to wait anyway.

Silent disembarkation went smoothly on Saturday. We signed up for a late call since our flight wasn’t until 3pm. We got Aqua2 tags and were scheduled for a 9:15 call in Explorers. I got up early and had one last swim in the current pool then we had our last breakfast in the dining room. Then we got a farewell Bloody Ceasar from the International Café cash bar and waited in the Club Fusion Platinum/Elite lounge for disembarkation. We waited about 10 minutes after they ‘called’ our group and then slowly strolled to the gangway. We ended up being among the last 20 or so people off the ship (after also being among the first 20 to board a week earlier). There was a bit of a back up getting through customs/immigration, but we were waiting for a taxi by about 10:10AM. The taxi area was a zoo and since we had lots of time, we simply waited in the background until about 10:45 and then easily got a cab. We got to the Southport Raw bar (near the port just 2 blocks off 17th Ave on Cordova) right at their 11am opening time. We spent the next 2 hours killing time eating seafood chased by beer and wine. That sure beat waiting at the airport, especially since FLL won’t let you check in any earlier than 3 hours prior to your flight’s departure. Not sure why that is. I’ve never heard of that restriction at any other airport!

All in all, this was a fabulous cruise. The new Ruby is a beautiful ship and the crew was great. Our cabin steward, Gabriel, and waitress, Viorica, were the best we’ve had on Princess. We especially enjoyed meeting and interacting with the Vines sommelier, Stefano; Botticelli Head Waiter, Marino; and Maitre d’, Generoso – they were great.

Happy Sailings,

Paul

[hllwdcruiser]

Thanks so much for your posts AV8tor, I've really enjoyed reading them.

I can't wait to meet Stefano - I had already intended to visit there at least once every evening - I just hope I don't go "overboard" on all that inexpensive sushi - I may not have room for dinner.

What is a Bloody Caesar? I'm assuming he's a not to distant relative to Mary -

is that the one made with Clamato?

Thanks again - I'm going to miss your reports.

[sellsitall]

Paul,

 

Thank you so very much for taking the time to post. Very generous of you.

 

Alina

[Jessica33]

Thank you so much for taking the time from your cruise to tell us about everything, it is greatly appreciated !

[Av8tor]

Thanks so much for your posts AV8tor, I've really enjoyed reading them.

I can't wait to meet Stefano - I had already intended to visit there at least once every evening - I just hope I don't go "overboard" on all that inexpensive sushi - I may not have room for dinner.

What is a Bloody Caesar? I'm assuming he's a not to distant relative to Mary -

is that the one made with Clamato?

Thanks again - I'm going to miss your reports.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Yes, the Ceasar is a Mary made with clamato!

[5:00_Somewhere]

Thanks so much for posting. We were on the Ruby in December and had just about the best cruise of our lives. Glad you're enjoying yourselves. Reading your post brought back very fond memories.

 

I'm wondering if I might ask a small favor. If you find yourselves in the Wheelhouse again during the cruise, would you mind possibly telling the bartender, Carla, that Chris and Derrick say hi and that we miss them all? The crew in the Wheelhouse were just wonderful to us and helped put the experience right over the top.

 

Thanks so much, if you get the chance, and happy sailing! :D

 

Av8tor, first, I wanted to say that I have also enjoyed your postings. Took me back to our cruise in December.

 

And, I especially wanted to thank you for saying hellow to Carla for us. You're a true gentleman. ;) She emailed me today to say a nice man named Paul had stopped by specifically to pass on our regards. She said she thought it was just wonderful of you and that it made her day to know we were still thinking of her. I had emailed her, but hadn't heard anything back so wasn't sure if it was just a matter of being too busy (which I assumed) or having a bad email address.

 

In any event, thank you so much for going out of your way on our behalf. You have our most sincere gratitude. :D