Ruby Princess 4/19/2010

[SgpMBL]

Just wondering if there will be any other GLBT travelers on the Ruby Princess transatlantic cruise departing from Fort Lauderdale on April 19, 2010. Would be great to have an opportunity to get to meet and chat with others via this board ahead of time.

[DenvCruiser]

My friend Stephen from Vancouver, BC and I will be on the cruise. Princess is usually real good about having several FOD or GLBT meetings so we can all get to meet each other.

 

Greg

[SgpMBL]

Greg and Stephen -- looking forward to meeting you both. Mind if I ask you what to expect on a Princess cruise with regard to FOD/GLBT meetings? This is our first with Princess.

 

Lastly, Happy New Year!

[DenvCruiser]

On our Oct-Nov 09 Coral Princess cruise, the first LGBT Get Together was held at 5 PM in Crooner's Lounge the day after embarkation. I wasn't sure how manywould show up, since hardly anyone answered the roll call on Cruise Critic. About twenty guys showed up.

 

Princess scheduled the Get Togethers for about the first seven days of our 15-day cruise. Everyone knew each other by then, so there was no need for additional meetings. Many of the guys would meet for pre-dinner cocktails. The meetings were posted in the Princess Patter. Princess served complimentary champagne the first day. A member of the cruise director's staff showed up the first day to welcome us.

 

Greg

[Bigsmiles]

My partner and I will be on the Ruby Princess this April 19th TA....celebrating our 7th year together...!!! cant wait to meet you

Nate and Grove

[Bigsmiles]

My partner and I will be on the Ruby Princess 4/19 and can't wait !!!

[gmoutlaw]

Nate and I (Grover) are looking forward to meeting you on the cruise. We are glad we found the F's of D ahead of time.

[SgpMBL]

Nate, Grover... looking forward to meeting you as well.

[SgpMBL]

Just realized that we never introduced ourselves so better late than never. Jeremy and Bryan from Washington, DC.

 

And Happy New Year!

[SgpMBL]

Finally got our flights booked and we're arriving in FLL a couple of days early (Saturday) so we can enjoy Fort Lauderdale. Haven't decided yet where to stay. Are others just doing a conventional hotel or one of the resorts near Sebastian St. Beach?

[Bigsmiles]

My partner and I live in Ft. Lauderdale and have some advice. The guest houses near Sebastian are very close to the port (short cab ride) and do offer a better time as far as meeting people and being near a very nice beach.

 

The Elysium Resort and the Grand Resort are the two higher end GLBT guest houses, but there are others.

 

http://www.sunny.org/visitors/glbt-travel/where-to-stay/

 

That link is paid for by the Broward County Convention and Visitors bureau.

 

Hope this helps

[kimmo]

Hey all, I am just coming off this cruise when you get on, so I will break her in for ya all, hope you guys have a great cruise as i hope i do as well there is not so many gays on this cruise on there is only me and another couple that i have found so far so it could be real interesting ..:)

 

 

 

tim

[SgpMBL]

My partner and I live in Ft. Lauderdale and have some advice. The guest houses near Sebastian are very close to the port (short cab ride) and do offer a better time as far as meeting people and being near a very nice beach.

 

The Elysium Resort and the Grand Resort are the two higher end GLBT guest houses, but there are others.

 

http://www.sunny.org/visitors/glbt-travel/where-to-stay/

 

That link is paid for by the Broward County Convention and Visitors bureau.

 

Hope this helps

Thanks for the recommendations and the info.

[SgpMBL]

Hey all, I am just coming off this cruise when you get on, so I will break her in for ya all, hope you guys have a great cruise as i hope i do as well there is not so many gays on this cruise on there is only me and another couple that i have found so far so it could be real interesting ..:)

 

 

 

tim

Thanks Kimmo. Hope you have a great cruise as well.

[SgpMBL]

Again, being new to Princess, I'm curious if Princess does any theme parties while on board. I think I read that they tend to do a country western. Anything else I should plan for as I plan what to pack?

[Bigsmiles]

Hey guys we are just starting to think of shore excursions and we are 'virgins' to these ports. Any suggestions or possibly we join you for a few excursions?

Thanks.

 

Nate and Grove

Ft Lauderdale, FL

http://picasaweb.google.com/NateKlarfeld/Cruise2009#5394048969934031986

[JonAlone]

anyone know of any single guys going on this trip?

 

I have a friend working on the ship in the show group, but would be nice to be able to meet others as would be travelling alone..

 

just takes that last nudge for me to get the credit card out and book, tho the single fares are prohibitive...

 

Would be nice if there was a FOD late sitting dinner table to join too...

 

Jonathan

London UK

[kimmo]

Hey Jon if you are thinking of April 9-19th southern caribean on the ruby ya there is a few of us going on that boat you should join the roll call for ruby we have all of our posting on there and on face book under cruise buds 09 its going to be a blast .....hope to see you on board or talk to you on face book thanks and good luck in your decesion s

 

Tim (kimmo);):)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

anyone know of any single guys going on this trip?

 

I have a friend working on the ship in the show group, but would be nice to be able to meet others as would be travelling alone..

 

just takes that last nudge for me to get the credit card out and book, tho the single fares are prohibitive...

 

Would be nice if there was a FOD late sitting dinner table to join too...

 

Jonathan

London UK

[kimmo]

so where else are you going as we get on the boat on the 9th so i am confused is this a btob cruise ?? if your on it since the 4th ???:confused:

tim

 

 

 

 

Hey guys we are just starting to think of shore excursions and we are 'virgins' to these ports. Any suggestions or possibly we join you for a few excursions?

Thanks.

 

Nate and Grove

Ft Lauderdale, FL

http://picasaweb.google.com/NateKlarfeld/Cruise2009#5394048969934031986

[JonAlone]

Hey Jon if you are thinking of April 9-19th southern caribean on the ruby ya there is a few of us going on that boat you should join the roll call for ruby we have all of our posting on there and on face book under cruise buds 09 its going to be a blast .....hope to see you on board or talk to you on face book thanks and good luck in your decesion s

 

Tim (kimmo);):)

 

I am thinking of the Transatlantic from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona....

 

19th April for 16 days... that takes us to the 35th April...

 

is there a facebook page for this???

[JonAlone]

I am thinking of the Transatlantic from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona....

 

19th April for 16 days... that takes us to the 35th April...

 

is there a facebook page for this???

 

 

can't find cruise buds 09 on facebook either....:(

[Bigsmiles]

My partner and I are on the Ruby from FTL to Barcelona. Just started working on shore excursions. Any suggestions?

[JonAlone]

1st stop Madeira.... just take the cable car to the top of the mountain, have a walk around.. there is a toboggan ride down again, bu tthis is a big wicker double chaor and is pushed down the windy road by local men in white trousers... (best to take the cable car back down, have a coffee and a walk around the port area.. perhaps look at local flora and fauna ..) I dont think the guided tours will show you much more worth seeing... and they will cost a fair bit if done with Princess...

 

2nd stop Gibraltar.... this is not the most exciting place in the world.. duty free shopping doesn't mean profit free!! Take a walk around the town centre and see the Union Jack street... have a beer or a whisky.. get back on board ... enjoy the ship when it isnt packed out... Certainly avoid guided tours from the ship... they will only take you to shops that give them a kick-back...

 

Sardinia... should be an old town to walk around or maybe a beach if the weather is good... get the feel of the locals rather than get on a coach with 50 people with flatulence.. :eek:

 

Rome... I would suggest a guided tour that will take in Vatican City and other sites worth seeing.. I haven't been there and if I do book on the ship tomorrow, this is one place where a guided tour from the ship, or in a small group of 6-8 in a mini-bus would be well worth doing. Doing it in a small group means you wont get 50% of your time stuck in a tourist shop

so the guides can get a commission.

 

Florence / Pisa Florence is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and well worth looking for the old town centre and walking around... and you should try to get a ride to see the leaning tower of Pisa. I am sure minibus/cab would be best option here too... plenty of time to get back on board...

 

Genoa.... No idea... will look at guide books

 

Monte Carlo..... This is the tax haven for the mega rich... I think it is only worth a walk around as the big houses are very private, but most live there in apartments that dont look that wonderful from outside.. very overcrowded and really a home for the mega-rich racing drivers of Europe and ex-supermarket billionaires who are now over 80 years old... The Casino is a particularly famous spot... been in many films (Bond and others) over the years...

 

Barcelona... No idea how long you have there, but if you have any time to sight-see a MUST is the Sagredad Familiar - The Gaudi cathedral that they have been building for about 60 years (if memory serves me well) ... it is about 65% complete, but the intricate plasterwork and spires are well worth the trip to the top.... Dont go for Tapas on The Ramblas... you will be ripped off for around $60 per head for a small meal and a couple of glasses of wine.. this is tourist city and you need to hold on to your wallets... and dress down... Take a walk along the Ramblas and do research on Google before you go to chose a restaurant off the main drag. The next road north of Ramblas in the Gothic Quarter has good tapas and wine bars where the locals will eat and drink.

Even the tacky looking places on Ramblas that dont appear as if they could be expensive are very costly!!

 

I hope this helps.... please bear in mind that I dont tend to do trips with the ships as experience with Royal Caribbean has taught me that there is more to see than tacky tourist shops.. In Cairo RCCL gave 30 mins at the Pyramids and 45 mins in a fake papyrus institute where you could buy replicas of the things you didnt have enough time to see for real!!

 

In Grand Caymen we took a speedboat to Stingray City and on to Coral Gardens for £120 for 6 of us... we got to play with the stingrays and snorkel with around a dozen people in the water and a personal service from the 2 guides... those that did the ships tours were not allowed in the water, had to see the stingrays with 500 people.. at the snorkel site there were hundreds of people in the water and that cost them $125 each!! My views are certainly coloured by this...

[kimmo]

ok you are leaving on the 19th correct we get back on the 19th now it all makes sense well sorry you wont be on the boat with us but have a great cruise sounds like a blast you are going to have good luck

 

tim ;)

 

 

can't find cruise buds 09 on facebook either....:(

[JonAlone]

is anyone planning a friends table at dinner??

 

that is the main thing stoppping me from booking at the moment.. that restaurant table of hetro couples talking about their grand children and asking where your wife is dining.. lol