LIVE: Ruby Princess Dec 18-29 Western Caribbean/Mexico

[OceanDreaming2]

2 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

It’s manufactured by 3birdsdesign.com

Thank you!🤗

[JustMeCO2011]

Question on the drink package out of TX.

Note - I have sailed on CCL a dozen times out of TX so I am familiar with the TX laws, no drink package day one, and limited selection until international water (a couple hours).

1. Was your day one (from boarding until 6am on day 2) charge for ALL drinks? Were you able to use the drink package at all day one? 

2. Did you get a refund for one day of the package? 

3. Was there ever any formal communication regarding the drink package?

 

We are sailing Ruby 01/08/2023 and trying to plan out the first day. Princess still states the package is valid on day one and is confused on the TX laws. Any help would be appreciated. 

 

[ceilidh1]

3 hours ago, JustMeCO2011 said:

Question on the drink package out of TX.

Note - I have sailed on CCL a dozen times out of TX so I am familiar with the TX laws, no drink package day one, and limited selection until international water (a couple hours).

1. Was your day one (from boarding until 6am on day 2) charge for ALL drinks? Were you able to use the drink package at all day one? 

2. Did you get a refund for one day of the package? 

3. Was there ever any formal communication regarding the drink package?

 

We are sailing Ruby 01/08/2023 and trying to plan out the first day. Princess still states the package is valid on day one and is confused on the TX laws. Any help would be appreciated. 

 

We were not able to use the drink package until we were 7(?) miles from port, so at 7pm they allowed it. Prior to that, you paid for any alcoholic drinks and there was a limited list available. There was never any formal communication that we received and many of the staff had no idea either. We did receive $25 obc but weren’t told why (I only knew about it from our roll call group with folks that had been on the previous voyage and did get communications). This was the first sailing from Galveston so maybe subsequent ones will be different 

[ceilidh1]

We had a private tour booked through Ultimate Excursions. It was Montego Bay highlights and beach and was $50 per person. It was a little disorganized when we got off the ship as we were told to let the dispatcher know we were there. We did that, but the dispatcher never let the driver know! Thankfully, he wandered down and we connected and were soon on our way. Our first stop was a lookout that gave us views of the bay and our ship. Of course, there was an obligatory gift shop attached and my teen bought some souvenirs. Our driver then asked if we preferred to sightsee first or go to the beach first - we opted for the beach before it got too hot and too busy. This was a wise move!

The private beach we went to was called Tropical Bliss. It was $6 per person to get in and $5 for beach chairs. There was a limited food menu, but plenty of drinks! There was also a DJ who ran drinking games and a fire dancer. The beach and water were beautiful and no one bothered us. This wasn’t the place to go if you are looking for quiet but we had a great time. We had a minor panic when my youngest lost his medallion in the ocean but with the help of goggles and a snorkel we were able to find it!

 

We left around 1pm as the beach was starting to get busy and we were hungry. We asked our driver to take us to an authentic Jamaican place to eat and he took us to Scotchies. There were lots of locals there and menu was in Jamaican dollars, so we took that to be a good sign. We had jerk chicken, jerk pork, rice, wraps, sausage, it was all amazing. I forgot to take pictures but if you ever go to Montego Bay it’s well worth the visit!

 

By the time we were done eating it was 2:45 and we were worried about the traffic on the way back. We opted to head straight back instead of more sightseeing. It took us over half hour and the line to get on the ship was pretty long!

 

Back on board now after a long, hot, tiring day!

[LHARTWICK]

On 12/11/2022 at 4:19 PM, ceilidh1 said:

Sadly, as Princess continues to whittle away benefits, charge extra for packages, and reduce the onboard experiences, we are starting to love them a little less each cruise. 

 

This seems to be the trend.  Just found this thread, and I look forward to reading through it, as we'll be on Ruby FEB 5 - will be our first PCL cruise since the restart.  Saw your comment re: frustration with the app - glad it's not just me!  I'm pretty techy, but their app is way too clunky.  I'm convinced those who design such apps never bother to try them for themselves.  Terrible.

[ceilidh1]

I’m really not sure what the problem is on Ruby with ordering through the app. It works maybe 1 out of 5 times. The order either gets hung up on preparing or it says it’s delivered. It’s not just me - I’ve tried ordering through the kids apps, my friends have tried on theirs, and others we have spoken to have said the same. My guess is that there are too many people trying to order and not enough staff to fulfil them.

[CruzeQueen2]

10 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

Breakfast 

Looks like your beans and hash are almost missing! I usually order the special of the day as you did. I find that it's often a good choice...Hope the portion that you received was tasty. @ceilidh1

Edited December 22, 2022 by CruzeQueen2
adding OP

[ceilidh1]

Dinner

[ceilidh1]

I would say this was the best meal of the cruise so far…

[sunviking90]

3 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

I would say this was the best meal of the cruise so far…

What is that last dessert?

[ceilidh1]

10 hours ago, sunviking90 said:

What is that last dessert?

Coconut mousse. It was amazing 

[ceilidh1]

Grand Cayman today! One downside to having an obstructed oceanview is being woken at the crack of dawn by the tenders being lowered! We have nothing arranged for this port - hoping to cab to the beach. 

[ceilidh1]

Breakfast

[Beav1279]

Thanks for doing a LIVE on the 1st cruise out of Galveston. My DH and I are going in March and this will be our first cruise on Princess. I'm excited to "experience" the ship with you ahead of time. Merry Christmas!

[ceilidh1]

We had no real plans for cayman but we’re thinking of making our way to the beach. We had priority tender as elite so headed to explorers lounge at 9am. By this time there was no line and we walked straight on. The ride was only about 5 minutes. There were lots of vendors in the port area pushing tours, taxis, etc so we just kept walking until we were out of the gates. At this point, my kids said they weren’t keen on another beach day and would prefer to go to the turtle centre and Hell.

 

We made our way to the bus station - an easy walk up Fort Street to the public library. The buses on Cayman are great - 14 seater vans that you just flag down and get off as you please for $2.50 per person. We easily found a bus that was going in the right direction - if you plan on doing both the turtle centre and Hell, don’t make the rookie mistake we did and visit Hell first as that is the opposite way of the bus route and you will have to double back!

 

We mailed the obligatory postcards from Hell and took a few pictures, but that’s really all it is. Good as a “been there, seen that” thing but not worth the trek otherwise. From here, we flagged down a bus and discovered our mistake with the route. Luckily, the driver was great and took us to a connection point for free - I still paid him though! Then we were on our way to the turtle centre.

 

The turtle centre was a very pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting much and almost didn’t do it when I saw the price (just over $75usd for three of us). I’m glad I did. It was amazing to see the turtles, as well as all the other delights there. I highly recommend it. We had lunch there, which was good but overpriced as you would expect!

 

Heading back, the bus had room only for four. We had three in our group and were there first. There was another family of three behind us. We got on and as we were taking our seats, the other family pushed in front of us and took the seats! So rude! 
 

The tender ride back took forever to load and unload but we are now back on the ship, exhausted!

[ceilidh1]

[ceilidh1]

[ceilidh1]

Just posting this as it confuses me! I don’t have premiere package this trip, but the “inclusions” have wines by the bottle, which I don’t understand!

 

Also, some places on the ship are starting to run out of things… no apple juice at breakfast this morning, no Blue Moon in Explorers this evening. No biggie, but FYi

[ceilidh1]

I also forgot to update you on the fact that we tried room service again last night. This time we had success! The key lime pie was NOT the key lime pie we know and love! The banana crème pie was delicious!

[ceilidh1]

Drinks on the pool deck, not so much! There are NO servers out here. Either go to the bar (where there is one bartender) or order on the app and never get it! I ordered 20 minutes ago…

[ceilidh1]

@PescadoAmarillois your other half still onboard? I am 99% sure he is sitting across from me in Crooners right now, but it would feel kind of stalker like to go up and accost him! Lol

[CruzeQueen2]

2 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

We had no real plans for cayman but we’re thinking of making our way to the beach. We had priority tender as elite so headed to explorers lounge at 9am. By this time there was no line and we walked straight on. The ride was only about 5 minutes. There were lots of vendors in the port area pushing tours, taxis, etc so we just kept walking until we were out of the gates. At this point, my kids said they weren’t keen on another beach day and would prefer to go to the turtle centre and Hell.

 

We made our way to the bus station - an easy walk up Fort Street to the public library. The buses on Cayman are great - 14 seater vans that you just flag down and get off as you please for $2.50 per person. We easily found a bus that was going in the right direction - if you plan on doing both the turtle centre and Hell, don’t make the rookie mistake we did and visit Hell first as that is the opposite way of the bus route and you will have to double back!

 

We mailed the obligatory postcards from Hell and took a few pictures, but that’s really all it is. Good as a “been there, seen that” thing but not worth the trek otherwise. From here, we flagged down a bus and discovered our mistake with the route. Luckily, the driver was great and took us to a connection point for free - I still paid him though! Then we were on our way to the turtle centre.

 

The turtle centre was a very pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting much and almost didn’t do it when I saw the price (just over $75usd for three of us). I’m glad I did. It was amazing to see the turtles, as well as all the other delights there. I highly recommend it. We had lunch there, which was good but overpriced as you would expect!

 

Heading back, the bus had room only for four. We had three in our group and were there first. There was another family of three behind us. We got on and as we were taking our seats, the other family pushed in front of us and took the seats! So rude! 
 

The tender ride back took forever to load and unload but we are now back on the ship, exhausted!

Great info, thanks! Have an extra glass of wine, on me, tonight. 

[ceilidh1]

Let me tell you what bothers me about the app and ordering. I have the package so not getting charged for those drinks that don’t materialize, but what if I didn’t? They also get deducted from the 15 drink limit. I don’t get close to the limit, but what if I did.

[CruzeQueen2]

2 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

@PescadoAmarillois your other half still onboard? I am 99% sure he is sitting across from me in Crooners right now, but it would feel kind of stalker like to go up and accost him! Lol

It has been known to happen...people that we "meet" here on CC - are sometimes found on ships. Unfortunately, I got so close to finding you, but didn't. @ceilidh1Have fun!

[ceilidh1]

Bus info for cayman