Live from Ruby Princess Nov 20-30

[Pirateskigirl]

Greetings from the Ruby.

 

It was very busy day in port at Fort Lauderdale.  There were 6 ships leaving for the week.

We were blue lane because we had to pick up our Medallions.  Total time from drop off to onboard less than 20 minutes.  

Cabins were not ready until 1pm.  
There is a sanctuary onboard.  $40 a day for full days, $20 for half day either AM or PM, or $30 a day if you book for whole cruise. 
We booked our massages in the Lotus spa and enjoyed a beverage or 2 to relax.  
Lunch at the Salty Dog Grill. The grilled chicken tacos were good. 
We did not eat in the MDR, we opted for a light meal at International Cafe. 
We did 2 trivia games (our team won both)!  And enjoyed the Music Bingo. We didn’t come close to winning.  

MUTS had the EAGLES V CHEIFS game but you could not get it in the room. 
I’m happy to answer any questions.

Cheers 

Stacy. 
 

[Pirateskigirl]

This is my first time doing this so apologies in advance. Here are the platters for Nov 20 & 21 and the Cafe Caribe buffet themes.  I’m not a buffet person so not sure I can answer any specific questions. 

 

 

[partybarbie]

The football games are available in your stateroom. It’s a little confusing, but I believe you go to live TV, then special events. The sports channels carry other sporting events. Hope this helps.

[memoak]

2 hours ago, partybarbie said:

The football games are available in your stateroom. It’s a little confusing, but I believe you go to live TV, then special events. The sports channels carry other sporting events. Hope this helps.

Yes there are some extra channels for special sporting events but you have to click on them sometimes to see what is on. We will be on the Grand during the summer Olympics and expect there will be several in use

[Pirateskigirl]

3 hours ago, partybarbie said:

The football games are available in your stateroom. It’s a little confusing, but I believe you go to live TV, then special events. The sports channels carry other sporting events. Hope this helps.

It was not there on any live TV channel in our cabin. Looked 3 times. 

[partybarbie]

33 minutes ago, Pirateskigirl said:

It was not there on any live TV channel in our cabin. Looked 3 times. 

Strange, because we were able to watch all of the games in our cabin, on the same ship, just two weeks ago. It won’t say “football” on the screen, but it should be there.

[memoak]

Just now, partybarbie said:

Strange, because we were able to watch all of the games in our cabin, on the same ship, just two weeks ago. It won’t say “football” on the screen, but it should be there.

Agree there was several NFL games every Sunday on the crown last month

[thera]

6 hours ago, Pirateskigirl said:

Greetings from the Ruby.

 

It was very busy day in port at Fort Lauderdale.  There were 6 ships leaving for the week.

We were blue lane because we had to pick up our Medallions.  Total time from drop off to onboard less than 20 minutes.  

Cabins were not ready until 1pm.  
There is a sanctuary onboard.  $40 a day for full days, $20 for half day either AM or PM, or $30 a day if you book for whole cruise. 
We booked our massages in the Lotus spa and enjoyed a beverage or 2 to relax.  
Lunch at the Salty Dog Grill. The grilled chicken tacos were good. 
We did not eat in the MDR, we opted for a light meal at International Cafe. 
We did 2 trivia games (our team won both)!  And enjoyed the Music Bingo. We didn’t come close to winning.  

MUTS had the EAGLES V CHEIFS game but you could not get it in the room. 
I’m happy to answer any questions.

Cheers 

Stacy. 
 

Hi, we are scheduled to hop on the Sky on Saturday and there are seven (!) ships in port.  What time did you get to the port?  We have to pick up our Medallions as well. Our boarding times are from 10:30am-2pm so I was thinking we would get there earlier rather than later.

 

Thanks!

[BabsinTX]

8 hours ago, Pirateskigirl said:

Greetings from the Ruby.
 

We had six cruises on Ruby this year.  Loved it!

[CruzeQueen2]

@Pirateskigirl Thank you for taking questions and taking us along! I would like to know what the specific hours are for the half days in the Sanctuary. I'm wondering about the PM portion - afternoons.

TIA I hope you are enjoying your activities and dining options so far!

[Pirateskigirl]

8 hours ago, thera said:

Hi, we are scheduled to hop on the Sky on Saturday and there are seven (!) ships in port.  What time did you get to the port?  We have to pick up our Medallions as well. Our boarding times are from 10:30am-2pm so I was thinking we would get there earlier rather than later.

 

Thanks!

Our boarding was 11-2 and we arrived at terminal at 10:50am. 

[Pirateskigirl]

6 hours ago, CruzeQueen2 said:

@Pirateskigirl Thank you for taking questions and taking us along! I would like to know what the specific hours are for the half days in the Sanctuary. I'm wondering about the PM portion - afternoons.

TIA I hope you are enjoying your activities and dining options so far!

AM 8:30-12:30pm or PM 12:30-4:30pm. 

[Pirateskigirl]

First, it was odd, we couldn’t get the MNF game in our cabin.  We have Thursday night games, so hopefully that changes.

 

Sea Day#1 

It was a bit choppy & windy today.  My friend and I enjoyed our Salt stone 75 min massages. The Lotus pool was drained and closed today because it was rough and the water from the pool sloshes out and into the spa. 
FYI the aft pool at Outrigger bar is currently closed for maintenance. Hopefully, it will reopen during the cruise.

A nice lazy day. We had lunch at the Salty Dog Grill. 

 

[Pirateskigirl]

Captain’s Welcome Dinner tonight.

Captain’s Champagne waterfall in Piazza. 
We had a nice pre-dinner Martini at Crooner’s. 
We elected to have dinner in the MDR tonight.  The lines at Michelangelo were too long. We had no reservations at 7pm and only waited 10 minutes for a table for 2.  Service was good and efficient.  
The crab cake appetizer was good. The vegetarian meat balls with eggplant was delicious.  The Red Snapper and Beef Medallions delicious and perfectly cooked.  
We had a Raspberry Bailey’s Martini after dinner drink while enjoying the music of Utopia.  
We played Musical Connection game show in Explorers and watch the comedian Daniel Tirado.

Here are the menus and food pictures.

[MissP22]

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[Pirateskigirl]

Good Morning from Montego Bay, Jamaica 

[acutecanuck]

Thank you for doing this live from! I'll be getting on the Ruby on November 30th so your posts are making me super excited!

[bethfelk]

Following, thanks for doing this thread! We were on ruby last year and really enjoyed it but will be doing regal next month so curious to see how they compare. Let us know how Montego Bay is - we have heard not great things and are kinda planning to just stay on the ship but that could change

[Essiesmom]

Have you heard anything about excursions in Gatun Lake? Excursions were canceled by Rotterdam on Sunday and Emerald Princess Monday due to civil unrest.  I watched on AIS and found it strange there were no tenders darting around.  EM

[Pirateskigirl]

31 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Have you heard anything about excursions in Gatun Lake? Excursions were canceled by Rotterdam on Sunday and Emerald Princess Monday due to civil unrest.  I watched on AIS and found it strange there were no tenders darting around.  EM

Nothing yet.  We expect further info on or before Nov 24 or 25. 

[Pirateskigirl]

At 6:45pm, the Captain announced that there will be no shore excursions on Panama Canal day.  The Ruby will still transit into Lake Gutan turn around and proceed to Limon, Costa Rica. 
The decision was made by the Panamanian Tourist Authority due to clashes & demonstrations over mining. Princess has decided to put passengers safety over excursions.  Everyone will have their on board accounts credited for their tours.  Disappointing but not surprising.  

Edited November 22, 2023 by Pirateskigirl

[Pirateskigirl]

Montego Bay 

We did the Princess excursion Go Native Jamaica.  We toured around Montego Bay. We had 20 on the bus, Samora our guide was very informative. We went by Fort Montego and proceeded to St James Parrish. A lovely church that was built in 1775. Drove by Usan Bolt’s shop & the hotel Gloriana and Margaritaville. Then, we went to Mount Olive school to meet a group of 3-6 year olds.  They entertained us with a few songs and we toured the school.  We headed to John’s Hall Plantation where, we learned about Blue Mountain Coffee & had a nice lunch in the mountains featuring jerk chicken & pork plus other things.  This place use to be an animal sanctuary but sadly they lost many of the animals during COVID. They have a nice gift shop that helps support the school we visited.  The guide was great but the tour was OK. 
After browsing the port shopping area, We returned to the ship for a leisurely late afternoon.  
 

[Pirateskigirl]

The ship is now decorated for Thanksgiving and they will have traditional American Thanksgiving meal in the MDRs.  

[CeeCee59]

Are they showing NHL hockey onboard? Lots of Canadians would sure appreciate that!

[Pirateskigirl]

17 hours ago, CeeCee59 said:

Are they showing NHL hockey onboard? Lots of Canadians would sure appreciate that!

Not seeing any hockey on the Live TV in the cabin.  But, they have been showing it on the Club Fusion tvs at the bar.