Sulialto

6 hours ago, Sulialto said:

Ruby Day 4 at sea
Rock & Roll!
Well, “we” had a fabulous day, but for some it was a tad rough. Beautiful weather but with 20ft rolling seas. Lots of on board activities and outstanding food & service as usual. Spent nice time speaking with the new Hotel General Manager, Shane. Super nice guy & very knowledgeable- a good addition to Ruby.

Ruby Day 4 at sea
Rock & Roll!
Well, “we” had a fabulous day, but for some it was a tad rough. Beautiful weather but with 20ft rolling seas. Lots of on board activities and outstanding food & service as usual. Spent nice time speaking with the new Hotel General Manager, Shane. Super nice guy & very knowledgeable- a good addition to Ruby.

Ruby Day 3 Falmouth Jamaica
MDR breakfast, delicious (eggs Benedict for me & yogurt & fruit for my husband). Beautiful weather, lovely clean and friendly port - ventured outside the company and found the towns people to be very welcoming & not pushy. Back on board ship was pretty empty ❤️. Dinner Crown Grill totally the best we’ve had in any Crown Grill. We had the Porterhouse & Rib Eye plus sides & indulgent dessert! Good entertainment throughout the ship. PS - if you can secure the Sanctuary, it’s fabulous!!

3 hours ago, Kenosha Cruiser said:

If you get a chance, please post a picture of the officers of the Ruby Princess. I know they have a photo frame hanging somewhere near the piazza of them. I assume Natalie is the "Cruise Director". I'm not familiar with her, glad to hear you like her.  

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

Natalie is acting as the cruise director while the new one gets over an illness. Natalie was actually promoted to Entertainment Director and will be moving to another ship. Ruby had just come from 13th in the fleet to 2nd! Outstanding new crew❤️

Ruby Day 2 at Sea

Quick recap - great day at sea yesterday- totally smooth sailing! Nice variety & fast service in the International Cafe for breakfast. Best Meet & Mingle to date! Met a well known(in the cruise industry) Cruise Director (now Director of Entertainment), Natalie. Afternoon watched a Michael Bublé concert then the Ravens & Cowboys on the Movies under the Stars Screen. Platinum & Elite lounge service outstanding & nice snacks. Delicious dinner in MDR - We had the Red Snapper & Beef Tenderloin. Fun evening Yes/No game show & then Wheelhouse Bar for music - came back looked at stars from the balcony. What more can you ask for?!

1 hour ago, Kenosha Cruiser said:

If you get a chance, please post a picture of the officers of the Ruby Princess. I know they have a photo frame hanging somewhere near the piazza of them. I assume Natalie is the "Cruise Director". I'm not familiar with her, glad to hear you like her.  

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

current officers as of January 20, 2024

Shout out to ALL the Fabulous Officers & Crew on Ruby Princess! Cruise is soo good! And of course we have the best Director of Entertainment/Cruise Director/ everything else she does - Natalie! How much more can we ask for?!!! #cruisedirector #cruisedirectornatalie #directorofentertainmentnatalie

2 hours ago, Kenosha Cruiser said:

Thanks for starting your live thread with pictures. We will be following along as we board the Ruby Princess starting March 9th to the southern Caribbean for two weeks. Have a great voyage to the Panama Canal. 

 

We remember being with you on the Sky Princess back in Feb. 2023, you are a fun couple to hang out with.

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

Hi guys!! Too bad we missed each other this time! Will to my best to keep up with the posts! We had a terrific M&M this morning! Great crowd & crew! All is really good so far! All good up to par! Service outstanding! 

Boarded Ruby yesterday🛳️ 

On board at 10:40am! Went directly to the Sanctuary & secured front row lounges for all the times we wanted to- INCLUDING the canal! Secured a spot for the Caymus Wine Pairing Dinner, all by 11:30am. Lunch in Reserve Dining in MDR was delicious & love our servers David & Kevin. Rooms ready at 12:30. 
1st dinner excellent & always recommend the Pot Roast (never disappoints) & of course soufflé & crème brûlée! Fun games in Explorers Lounge, especially loved Musical Bingo! Off to an outstanding start!

REGAL sailing from MAYFLOWER terminal - I understand the “no boarding time” aspect, but, when you arrive at the terminal, will they have a checkin line for Platinum & Elite guests?

On 8/22/2023 at 9:23 PM, rubyred1952 said:

Today, We received a phone call about New Princess Future Cruise Promotion. I reported the phone call/emai  with same info as #16 note to TA & Princess customer service. We are concerned that private information was available to this person. 

SO, believe it or not, it’s not a scam but a 3rd party (Open Network) working with PCL offering you this “deal”. We were forced to use them (Open Network) by getting a $1000.00 gift certificate for a Princess Cruise from Verizon. Most of the staff was pleasant, but lacked any detailed knowledge about Princess… I certainly knew more than they did! In any event, “IF” you “REALLY” think you’ll use ALL they are offering and can put up with using them as your TA, go for it.

4 hours ago, georgemoe said:

 

I must be missing something. This isn't Le Havre and not Honfleur. I cannot find a basic shuttle/bus service on Viator. Thanks.

Gosh I’m sorry that is clearly the Zeebrugge to Bruge! I had been discussing that with another cruiser. There is regular bus service to Hon Fleur from Le Havre but, we’re not quite sure how far the bus terminal is from port. I found transportation on “Rome to Rio” to be helpful.

33 minutes ago, georgemoe said:

 

Thanks for this. Is there a signup for the regular Viator bus? I went to the site but only found the private (up to) 7 person tour for Honfleur. Thanks.

SOrry that this is just a screen shot, CC won’t let me copy & paste😔 This is what we booked - cheap & picks you right up at the ship!

5 hours ago, georgemoe said:

 

Sorry about that. Nomad Cars was a tip I found here on CC that I had not fully vetted yet.

https://www.nomadcar14.fr/fr/ Looks to be a pain in the neck. Another option I saw was using 

https://beelehavre.com/en/how-to-visit-discover-and-travel-easily-between-le-havre-honfleur/ .

Looks like you need to take a taxi to the bus station to catch the shuttle which allows 3 free hours in Honfleur. I might go for that.

So we had heard about the Bee, but there is a a “regular” bus that you can book thru Viator, or somehow directly - we did the Viator bc it was easy and I’m sure not too much $ more! BTW there’s more flexibility with the time - the Bee has very limited service- the Regular Bus goes every half hour.

1 hour ago, georgemoe said:

 

We are on the same sailing in August. We are not doing the bus to Paris or Normandy. We will most likely grab a Nomad car at the port and spend time in HonFleur. That's if we even get off the ship. We are hoping to do a Paris based river cruise in 2026 so we'll save a Normandy excursion for then.

Sorry to be ignorant, but I’m not familiar with Nomad Car? I googled it, but it’s mostly showing me old Chevys🤣 Are you just saying renting a car? We plan on skipping the big trips as well and going to Hon Fleur via the bus from Viator.

17 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

Good LORD this casino has our number..quite literally we don’t bet more than $5 a spin on the machines and my wife will play just above minimim on the Heads up Hold’Em table ($5 min; she plays $10) and we’ve lost $500 a piece each night! That’s absurd as we’re pretty regular gamblers and it’s not uncommon to have a few losing sessions..but six nights of BOTH OF US going busto…verrrrry sus. I mean literally never putting in the $500 going up $200 or $300 (we’ve had some hits but none to get us actually ABOVE $500 for a day)

I guess on the other side of that coin; we’ve earned 9000 points between us (wife probably has some “hidden” points because she plays some tables and they don’t accrue “visible” points)

i seen some single players with 10-12k points..only betting like $1.25-$2.50 a spin! That means they’re literally in the casino each night from opening-closing…someone ought to tell these people..believe me, Vegas will treat you better!

So on the gambling front, that’s enough butt kicking for one trip! The next six days will be no casino-ing

With any luck they’ll offer you either a big discount/upgrade or free future cruise! Evidently that’s how it seems to work - it’s the more you loose, the better your chances🤣😢

50 minutes ago, Tyskie said:

 

That's odd, it used to be blue

Heard they were changing some things....................

Now they’ve also changed the next level to Gold. Ruby is still red and Platinum is still silver.

2 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

So we got up today at 8:30; got cleaned up and had breakfast in the buffet. While we were eating, Capt Tim came on the loudspeaker and said because we were in a pretty good storm cell, water tenders would be paused until it passed. (Fine for us because we had just sat down to eat)

so now, about 45 minutes later, he came back on the loudspeaker and announced that the cell had passed and the sun was back out and tenders were re-commencing.

So we’re going to go down and head into Dublin via the DART train.

Our plans include: Trinity College, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Jameson Distillery, Guiness StoreHouse, and maybe a lunch somewhere (I’d like to try some real authentic Irish Stew)

 

On another note; we got a note today that they completely changed our Edinburgh tour. Originally it was Royal Mile, Hollyrood, and the Castle…but this morning it was changed to Royal Mile and National Musuem (which we have no interest in) so I requested a refund, and booked Edinburgh Castle tickets on my own (£15.50 each; because the crown jewel room is closed on 4 July).

Well catch the X99 from Queensferry to Edinburgh for £1.25 each, then walk the Royal Mile up to the castle. 
The princess tour was £90 each.

Good choice to do it on your own - Edinburgh is a pretty easy city.

13 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

I wish it were leg cramps..amazingly my legs never cramp up..it’s my midsection, almost feels like someone is sliding a knife in my side.

😢

44 minutes ago, KarmaCruisers said:

So after we got back from our excursion; at 5:45, we took a nap, which we just got up from, haha.

So it was really interesting, the Irish history lesson our bus driver gave us. He told us about the history all the way back from Brian Boru, until todays Sinn Fein Party. It’s crazy that even TODAY, there’s a “peace wall” in Belfast! I never knew just how bad in conflict Ireland has been! From the sounds of it; come the new general election in 2024; they may have an all out Civil War!

Now it really makes us wish we would have taken the “Black Taxi Tour” in Belfast; to continue this “education”…

But on a LIGHTER note; we’re going to get some food at the buffet at 9:30’ish (it’s open until 10!) We had RSVP at the MDR for 8pm; but having ate such a big meal in Kinsale, we’re were hungry quite yet.

Weve tracked our steps and have been walking an average of 2.5 miles for the last few days! This is coming from someone who literally walks maybe 500 FEET in a day! (Yes I’m a lazy lout, literal jello-human; And this exercise is making me cramp like a mofo!)

Drink lots (LOTS!) of water - it will help your leg cramps😉

25 minutes ago, kttraveler said:

The military hospital would require a different bus (71) or a long walk from the 91/92 bus. It sounds like it is worth the visit though.

👍🏻

13 minutes ago, KarmaCruisers said:

To be honest; for Kris and I, the £10 each day-pass wasn’t worth it..and this is why..

- We live 90 mintutes away from California beaches (so the beach here wasn’t no thing)

- Fruit..well…see above; California is known for its agri-abundance.

- Wife doesn’t eat seafood so stopping off at one of the little restaurants along the bus route wasn’t an option.

 

Now; if you live someplace where there is no ocean..or good fruit, or you like seafood..a day-pass may absolutely be for you.

the single ride pass for £1.25 would have served us better, because we just rode the 91 around the island and never got off.

we ended up giving our day passes to a couple who was getting off the ship when we were in line to get on (paid it forward)

13 minutes ago, KarmaCruisers said:

To be honest; for Kris and I, the £10 each day-pass wasn’t worth it..and this is why..

- We live 90 mintutes away from California beaches (so the beach here wasn’t no thing)

- Fruit..well…see above; California is known for its agri-abundance.

- Wife doesn’t eat seafood so stopping off at one of the little restaurants along the bus route wasn’t an option.

 

Now; if you live someplace where there is no ocean..or good fruit, or you like seafood..a day-pass may absolutely be for you.

the single ride pass for £1.25 would have served us better, because we just rode the 91 around the island and never got off.

we ended up giving our day passes to a couple who was getting off the ship when we were in line to get on (paid it forward)

Thanks! That may be the option for us - the only thing that we might be interested in walking around is the little chapel - I think most of the WWII sights may be accessible by just walking..?

On 6/23/2023 at 1:45 AM, KarmaCruisers said:

Thanks for the tip! We’ll definitely give it a go

LOVE THE TIPS! We sail Sept 17 and trying to get all our ducks in a row with regards to getting around!

47 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Yes, that's what I have always done...but others have pointed out a supposed "alternative" shown in one of the posts above. I don't understand how that process works...

We do it that way as well & we had credit posted within a couple days of both our upcoming cruises. VERY easy!