Ruby 2/10 to 2/17. The Good, The Better, The Best!

Just got off Ruby and had a wonderful 50th Anniversary cruise. The GOOD started with our daughters' surprising us with cabin decorations, balloons and chocolate covered strawberries. Princess awarded us with $50 off spa treatment and $25 towards a shopping spree, which I cheerfully accepted. Thank you all for tips on what to bring to make life easier onboard. The over the door shoe tree was a blessing, not only for shoes but for cameras, binoculars, eye glass cleaner, etc. Two large suitcases fit beautifully under the bed and the two carryon luggages fit between sliding door and drapes, out of site. In the fridge was one large and two small bottles of water which I took out and added the 12 bottles I prepurchased and two beautiful Princess cups and straws were in our cabin upon arrival. Magnet hooks were handy for visors and hats and magnet pad was great for leaving notes. I brought a small travel alarm clock and kept two flashlights by our bed and in my purse as we walked around the ship. The shower caps worked great for covering the strawberries in the fridge and for bringing food back to cabin from International Cafe. A blue Princess bag was waiting for us as well as was two robes. On Caribe deck our balcony had two chairs with footrests and a table and the plastic large clips held our suits out to dry. I don't like the postage size shower towels in cabin so I brought two old beach towels and we used those for the cruise and left them there. Loved the pop up hamper you all mentioned to buy and brought my own plastic hangers. The mattress and bedding was so luxurious, I copied down the name of the comforter to see if I could purchase it. Oh, night lights, I bought the little tea lights and they worked great in the room so I didn't need a plug in light. I remembered NOT to bring a surge protector and used the outlet at the desk for DH sleep machine and phone chargers with three sockets. Reminds me, distilled water waiting in room but NO extension cord as promised. Luckily he didn't need it as his cord stretched over to desk outlet. One more thing, I went on Verizon and took care of Travel Pass for us but it didn't pop up on my phone at all, but it did on DH phone and he was able to do business in port for $5 a day, which was more important. Gotta get back to my wash now. Will get back to you later about the the BETTER.

Sounds like a great cruise, thanks for the report

Srpilo

Nice start to a review.

BTW: if you don't like the cabin towels, just grab some towels from the pool deck. You may have to get new ones each day or your steward might replenish for you (if you ask nice ;)). That way you don't have to pack towels in your luggage. If you bring your own for all your cruises, you'll eventually run out of "old" towels.:eek:

Going on the RUby next week.Was wondering who the cruise director is now.ALso,what movies did they show in the Princess theatre.My cruise is only 5 days,so things can be different. Glad you had a good cruise.Looking forward to your future posts.

Good start to review. Looking forward to the rest. We were on last Fall and will be again on 3/3.

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Going on the RUby next week.Was wondering who the cruise director is now.ALso,what movies did they show in the Princess theatre.My cruise is only 5 days,so things can be different. Glad you had a good cruise.Looking forward to your future posts.

Cruise Director is Peter-John De Kock from South Africa and he's wonderful. He's so friendly and makes you feel like family in addition he's a terrific singer and makes all the activities fun and memorable. Princess Theater: Wind River, Shape of Water and MUTS showed: Guardians of the Galaxy, Mark Felt The Man Who Brought Down the White House, Eddie the Eagle, Lego Batman, Thor, Wonder, Battle of the Sexes, Murder on the Orient Express, Only the Brave, Beauty and the Beast.

Have a great time!

The BETTER was that I listened to you all about what to take off the ship and bought the large plastic waterproof container the size of our passports. I made copies of our passports on photo paper and added our travel insurance info and cards, our emergency numbers in US, prescription lists, one credit card, our driver licenses and ship cabin cards plus cash. I wore it around my neck and tucked it into my bra where all was secure!

I had cancelled a tequila factory excursion due to that RC bus turning over and the crime rate in Mexico but when we docked in PV my DH saw everyone getting off, we did too. There was room on a motor coach for a day tour sponsored by Princess and it was a terrific tour of the city, churches, tequila factory and a beautiful seaside restaurant.

Mazatlan we stayed on board and had the Terrace Pool to ourselves, delightful!

In Cabo we took the Santa Maria Snorkel tour and was disappointed. It was not a calm bay but cold, dark, choppy. We didn't stay out long but had a great party boat ride back to town with great food and fun.

We live two hours from pier and stayed one night at Double Tree San Pedro with a cruise package and looked forward to picking up our car and asking for more warm chocolate chip cookies.

Congratulations on your 50th anniversary! Our very first Princess cruise was on the Ruby and we loved it.

Congrats on your Anniversary! We were on the same cruise as you! I wish we had stayed on the ship at Mazatlan too... :)

Thanks for the report.

OP;

Thank you in advanced out for taking the time I’m to post your review. Sounds like you had a great cruise——-:):):)

Bob

Now for the BEST! DH takes Coumadin and he survived the cruise without a scratch, so much for the suitcase full of bandages! It was truly a wonderful cruise, especially being Valentine's Day. The Captain had a Vow Renewal for many couples with a pink and red balloon display coming down on the Piazza. After 50 years, DH was in SpeakEasy having a cigar, I've learned to pick my battles!

Now we're on to the Emerald on August 5th to Alaska. We had to cancel two Alaskan cruises in the past due to surgery or illness so the third time's a charm, I'm sure. I'm most excited about knowing the ship from front to back since it's the sister to the Ruby, although I might have to refresh my memory prior to embarking.

Thank you for all your good wishes, much appreciated.

HAHAHA @ picking your battles. I know what you mean, and to this day I'm not so good at that... and that's probably a big reason you made 50 years (and I "only" made 33! 33 loooong loooooong years :D )

I just like to say congratulations on your 50th anniversary...:champagne-toast: :)

Tony

I forgot to mention that Princess at Sea worked great on phone especially on checking account balance. Please check yours often because they showed the All Inclusive beverage package on my DH account and we never added it. If we didn’t catch the mistake early, who knows that fiasco. As it was it took two days for them to contact Santa Clarita to take it off our bill. “An honest mistake.”

Congratulations on your 50th wedding anniversary! Thank you for your review. Were you happy with the condition of your cabin and the ship?

I was pleased with the cabin. I never needed the magnet clips for the shower curtain and had no problem with it. It seemed like steward was always changing our towels and the ship was always very clean. The elevators were plentiful and no waiting.

My only complaint was the Spa and I told Princess. I didn’t like being pressured into a higher priced facial and then her coming in with $150 worth of products I should purchase.

Happy Anniversary. Have fun planning for Alaska. You can find lots of information on that board. Princess does an amazing job up there. As far as the Spa "upsell" , just let them know politely at the start that you are not interested in buying any products. The spa attendants are probably required to get you to buy more unless you tell them not too.

Here’s another answer to a question I had in the past. Took hotel shuttle to pier at 10:30. Registration windows opened st 11 and ship doors opened at 11:30. We were told we could go straight to cabin. Dropped our bags off and were at DaVinci DR for lunch before doors opened at noon.

Well that’s it. I’ve answered all the burning questions I’ve had over the years and hope I’ve helped you too.

Enjoy it all and remember, “A rainy day on vacation is better than any day at work!”

First off, congratulations on celebrating 50 years of marriage. That is quite an accomplishment in itself! I know because this year DH and I will be celebrating our 40th.

Love your review of the Ruby. We have been on her twice and she is our favorite ship so far.

So glad you had a beautiful cruise and thanks for sharing your experiences.

Appreciate the feedback.

Thank you for your review.

Keith

 

Enjoy it all and remember, “A rainy day on vacation is better than any day at work!”

You can say that again! Happy Anniversary!