Live from the Ruby Princess…April 14-30 from Galveston to San Francisco

[FrankieJayIII]

I am trying to figure out how to schedule to see the comedy at 6:30; dinner 7:30; late production show 9:30.    Currently have a sabatini reservation 5:30 on second sea day/ and then 7pm MDR on other nights.   I think I could juggle things around depending on our dinner reservation.

 

I think they need to give us a schedule more in advance on the app to let us know so that we can schedule accordingly.    

 

Speaking of which, how is the app working?

[PandaBear62]

55 minutes ago, FrankieJayIII said:

all of your pictures are great.   I didn't really like the MDR menu you shared from the other night and I wouldn't know what to order that night.    What did you order?

 

Looking forward to Stardust...  we have about 30-40 days left until we are on this ship, the ruby. 

 

I imagine, generally speaking, what I am seeing now is what will be on the cruise we are going on, a few changes of course with the Alaska itinerary.   

 

What snacks/food have you tried at the IC.   What about your DH...   

 

Glad to hear that acupuncture is working; I have a bad lower back and would be interested in seeing how this service could help me. 

 

What is your favorite drink at Adaigo? 

Which night do you mean? (For MDR)

 

I’ve had the prosciutto sandwich and the Brie. I don’t remember what else, but I’ll start to note it. They were both good. 

 

I typically only drink vodka (with an occasional margarita) so I like the sorbetto and the Amalfi Collins (my favorite).

 

here is the menu

[PandaBear62]

1 hour ago, FrankieJayIII said:

I am trying to figure out how to schedule to see the comedy at 6:30; dinner 7:30; late production show 9:30.    Currently have a sabatini reservation 5:30 on second sea day/ and then 7pm MDR on other nights.   I think I could juggle things around depending on our dinner reservation.

 

I think they need to give us a schedule more in advance on the app to let us know so that we can schedule accordingly.    

 

Speaking of which, how is the app working?

The app is now working fine. I do wish it showed on the daily your reservations. You have to go to different topics on the app to find them.

[PandaBear62]

While having coffee I ran into Megan, who we met the first night when we shared a table (we are now eating with the group we came with). She is traveling with her parents and all three are delightful. We discovered we’re on the same excursion in Costa Rica and agreed to try and be on the same bus with them. We chatted a bit and I headed back to the room to meet up with dh. I saw his bag of supplements and man, they were expensive. Gulp! 

 

But, dh doesn’t spend a lot on himself and treats me like a Queen. I am extremely spoiled. So if he wants to spend a lot on some supplements, good for him. 

 

In terms of budget, we typically sail in an obstructed view outside cabin. Dh likes natural light and I tend to go for the cheapest room. So this is a good compromise. We actually have a nice view as a lifeboat is next to us instead of in front of us. And with the staircase we have essentially an unobstructed view. It is Emerald 119.

 

 

We 100% of the time get Princess Plus but do not upgrade to Premier. We may gamble a little bit but not much. We used to do things like wine or liquor tasting but since we now have drink packages, we don’t. We also don’t tend to shop much or bring home souvenirs. I buy a small keychain from where I’ve been. When I get home, I take off the keychain part and add a ribbon. They all go on a tabletop Christmas tree I call my travel tree. I also sometimes buy a piece of clothing if it’s something I’ll wear at home. Dh might get a nice polo with a small emblem or a funny graphic tee. We sometimes play Bingo. And I usually do something in the spa. I’ve been trying to convince dh to get a pedicure. So that’s about us.

 

While I was in the room I received a phone call from the Sanctuary. There was a cancellation and they wanted to know if we wanted it. I said “yes” immediately and ran upstairs to see the location. Well, it was excellent! Super thrilled!’

 

 

We got our clean laundry put away and went to the International Cafe for lunch. This time I had the tomato and mozzarella with pesto and dh had a ham sandwich and a mortadella sandwich. They are all in different kinds of bread and are essentially pretty simple. Dh had the egg salad yesterday (on a Dutch crunch roll) and he has liked all of them. 

 

As an aside, dh shared that this morning while waiting for coffee, a woman in front of him was complaining that it took so lon to get coffee. There was someone taking orders, two people making coffees and a fourth delivering. There really isn’t much space there….if you want it quickly don’t go at the primo time between 8ish and 9ish. I was there around 9:30 and there was no one in line. 

[PandaBear62]

Patters from Saturday (Day 2)

 

[Olympic Crow]

Enjoying your pics.

[PandaBear62]

Monday con’t

 

After lunch dh and I separated. I went down to the thermal spa and enjoyed the lounger. Read a little, dozed a little. It was empty when I arrived. Friends I was traveling with have a balcony so they spend more time in their room, enjoying the balcony. I have a lesser room but enjoy the thermal spa. As they say, “different strokes for different folks”. 

 

After the thermal spa I met dh in the room and we relaxed until before dinner. We grabbed a glass of wine at Vines and sat and listened to music before heading to the dining room.

 

I did forget to tell a funny story from the other day. As I have mentioned, this cruise does skew older. I’m 60 (turning 61 on the cruise) and while I have been told I don’t look my age, im not exactly young. The tables in Vines can be crowded and I I was passing by a table, I excused myself and the older gentleman said “no problem young lady”. Made my day (and week!)

 

Dinner menus:

 

 

 

 

I had the Caesar salad (again), the chicken satay and fettuccine Alfredo. The satay wasn’t bad, but the peanut sauce wasn’t flavorful enough for me. I had the apple pie for dessert and it was quite good.

 

We ran over to the Princess theater to see Darren Dowler for the second time this cruise. This show was even better than the first. We really liked both of his shows. He does “vocal impressions” that were quite good.

 

We then went to the musical bingo game. We didn’t win but it was fun. This was our scorecard:

 

We have to be ready for our excursion at 8:40, so we headed up to the room. We have been enjoying watching a Love Boat episode when we’re back earlier, so we did tonight and then turned in. 

[FrankieJayIII]

panda o pando o where have you been!  What are you doing? 🙂 

[PandaBear62]

4 hours ago, FrankieJayIII said:

panda o pando o where have you been!  What are you doing? 🙂 

here I am! I haven’t forgotten about you! I just had a busy day!

 

Tuesday April 18

We had to be at the Princess Theatre today at 8:40 for our excursion in Cartagena. Not great for me, as I had an extremely bad night and didn’t fall asleep until close to 4am. But I got up, had a coffee and made my way to the theatre. The tour is "Canoe Tour of Mangrove Tunnels & Old City Stroll

8:00AM - 12:00PM". When we arrived at the theatre it appeared to be a small group. We were divided into 2 groups, each about 18 people and were traveling in a small tour van. I was pleased because I prefer smaller tour groups. The weather was quite warm and humid, I heard about 88 degrees. 

 

 

The tour was originally scheduled for 8-12 when I booked but was changed to 9-1, which I preferred.

 

It took us about an hour to get the mangrove area. There were bathrooms which I was grateful for. I was glad I brought a bunch of dollar bills. We also then tipped for coconut water. 

 

We were fortunate enough to see a mama raccoon and then a nest of baby raccoons. We assume mama was out for food. 

 

We really enjoyed the canoe ride. You stop part way and there is a fishing demonstration in the water. So bring a buck or two for this as well. 

 

We then stopped in the walled city, where the old prison was now shops. I’m not a big shopper but did get a keychain for my travel tree. It was only about a 20-25 minute stop so it wasn’t bad.

 

Next was the actual walking tour. It was very interesting and beautiful. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are vendors everywhere you go. The walled city is a UNESCO heritage site. 

 

The fortress:

 

As an aside, being a California girl, we don’t generally get the real heat and humidity of other locations. So I’m not used to wearing hats. But I took a packable hat with me and wore it today and I was really glad. It really helped keep me cool. While it was humid, there were wonderful sea breezes and in the shade it was quite comfortable.

 

I did laugh, because the bus picks you up right at the gangway. However, on the way back, you are dropped off at the parking lot so you can walk through the port shops. I told our guide we call that the “Disney effect”, since many Disney rides and Disneyland or Disneyworld have you go through a shop while exiting a ride. 

 

Our guide Oscar in front of the statue of Simon Bolivar. He was outstanding!

 

We were dropped off about 1:15. We had to be back on the ship by 2:30.

 

We were in our room because dh had another acupuncture appointment. I fell asleep as I was exhausted. We got up and went down to dinner a little before 5. I was also starving, as all I had to eat was a latte and shared croissant with dh. So I tried a tapas from Vines….a scallop and rice bowl.

 

We went to dinner and celebrated a friends birthday. 

Dinner menu:

 

 

 

I had the scallop with polenta. The scallops were seared nicely but a little chewy. The polenta was outstanding! Just perfect. Six out of seven of us had the potstickers as an appetizer and liked them.

For dessert, we had ordered a carrot cake birthday cake and it was quite nice.

 

After dinner four of our group went up to watch a game: Majority Rules

 

Myself and two others went up to Adiago to play cards. A new server was there tonight and she was a doll. She’s just 21! I can’t believe I forgot her name already….chalk it up to too many Amalfi Spritzers.

 

My friends were teaching me a new card game called Hand and Foot. It’s a little complicated but I started to get the hang of it. We finished by playing 3 to 13, a favorite of mine.

 

We were back at our cabin by 11:30 to get ready for our Panama Canal day. 

[GHCruiser7]

Wonderful blog!

We board 5/7 for 3 S.F. > Alaska back2backs.  Excited.

I noticed in the Patter that there isn't any mention of Pickleball open play or anything else.  I don't think you're a Pickleball player but I'm wondering if you've heard anything at all about it on the Ruby.  I'm a pretty avid player and trying to decide if it's worth it to bring my paddle and stuff.

Thanks again for your "dailys."  Much fun...

Joel

[GHCruiser7]

Forgot to "Follow" topic.  Sorry.

[FrankieJayIII]

@GHCruiser7 I am on the Alaska cruise after you on the same out of San Francisco. Are you going to be doing a report update like we are observing now? Many people want the updated menus and powders from the 10 day Alaska thank you in advance if you are already planning to do this.

[FrankieJayIII]

we are really enjoying your updates. I hope you enjoy the Panama Canal cruise today.

[Essiesmom]

Panama Canal day.  Looks like great weather.  Here you are, moving into the first lock, and then into the second lock:

 

 

[GHCruiser7]

5 minutes ago, FrankieJayIII said:

@GHCruiser7 I am on the Alaska cruise after you on the same out of San Francisco. Are you going to be doing a report update like we are observing now? Many people want the updated menus and powders from the 10 day Alaska thank you in advance if you are already planning to do this.

Hi @FrankieJayIII.  I don't have the patience or schedule to do such a comprehensive blog.  I can probably post the Patters but the menus may be a bandwidth challenge for me... never been a journaling type but will consider your request.  I have a pretty full regimen on cruises; workout every morning at 6, play Pickleball from 9 to 11, eat lunch, nap :), possibly play P'ball again at 2:30ish, then get ready for the evening.  We eat at 5, dance in Wheelhouse until 8 (we're both former ballroom dance hosts), then go to bed quite early.  BUT, if there isn't any decent Pickleball on Ruby, I will have more time for something like this.  I know that you didn't ask for such detail. Ugh.

[FrankieJayIII]

that's the kind of detail we would love to hear about during your cruise lol.   yes the patters would be great; any menus a bonus.  we don't need a lot of info.   formal nights would be nice to know,  menus are a plus for special items bc it's alaska,  the patters is what we really want.   this will show us the shows and the general schedule.

 

thank you!  ballroom dancing is amazing!  hope you enjoy your cruises!

[CruisinCadie]

Thanks for the coffee menu.  Is iced coffee available?  DH and I enjoy a casual afternoon break with iced coffee and cookies or other treats from the International Cafe.

 

Kathy

[PandaBear62]

39 minutes ago, CruisinCadie said:

Thanks for the coffee menu.  Is iced coffee available?  DH and I enjoy a casual afternoon break with iced coffee and cookies or other treats from the International Cafe.

 

Kathy

I believe you can just ask for a coffee over ice. 

[PandaBear62]

2 hours ago, FrankieJayIII said:

@GHCruiser7 I am on the Alaska cruise after you on the same out of San Francisco. Are you going to be doing a report update like we are observing now? Many people want the updated menus and powders from the 10 day Alaska thank you in advance if you are already planning to do this.

we did the Alaska Cruise sailing out of SF last summer (July). It was great! If you are interested, send me your email and when I’m home I can share that trip report with you, if it’s helpful. It is a year old though. 

[FrankieJayIII]

yes very interested 

 

frankiejayiii@aol.com

[Olympic Crow]

Do you know if any of your shipmates bought emeralds in Cartegena?

[PandaBear62]

10 minutes ago, Cruising2024 said:

Do you know if any of your shipmates bought emeralds in Cartegena?

I do not know. I thought about it, but we did not.

 

[Essiesmom]

Passing Pedro Miguel locks

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Heading for Cocoli Locks from the Miraflores cam

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Cocoli Locks