LIVE from the Ruby Princess - BARCELONA to VENICE, May 5th - May 17th

[Pia1913]

Buenos dias; Miercoles; Cinco de Mayo, from Barcelona. That's it folks. Almost the entire extent of my Spanish vocabulary. I'm typing this off line and will post later when this cruise officially begins. Right now at a little before nine, it's drizzling and cold.

There's an 80% chance of rain and we haven't decided yet whether or not to spent the day on or off the ship. Meanwhile, we have to wait until 9:45 to officially check in. Technically, we can get off now, but would not be allowed to get back on until 11:30. So, we will wait to see if the weather gets better. Sun would be nice.

Before we begin this next cruise, I'd like to thank those who cruised along with us on the transatlantic and for all the input which made a very interesting LIVE. Hopefully this cruise will be as successful. We have our new cruise cards, we've already gotten our new bar setup and room service is now on their way to make our requested changes. Signing off until this cruise officially begins.

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And now it begins. We did in fact leave the ship about 10, the weather cleared, the sun came out and it's a beautiful day. There's a port shuttle that takes you to the foot of the Ramblas. Cost is 3 euros round trip. We walked the Ramblas, visited the huge market and bought a large flatbread which was glazed and had sesame seeds (one euro) and ate that with coffee at Dunkin Donuts. We also went into a supermarket and got 2 bottles of wine; one white, one Rose; total cost 4.50 euros for both. What a bargain!

So here I am now back in the cabin drinking wine and welcoming you to this 12 day intensive cruise from Barcelona to Venice. If you read the first LIVE, you know that Capt. Yeomans got off today and our new captain is Tony Draper. We've had the pleasure of sailing with him previously, though don't recall which ship(s). I do recall that he's originally from Scotland.

Tonight's welcome aboard show will have a new comic, Don Sherman, along with singers and dancers. MUTS will have Cirque du Soleil: Delirium and the first of several karaoke sessions will be in Club Fusion. Hutch is still on board as the port lecturer and there are two new ones; Gloria Reckner whose subject is computers and Brian Billick, whose subject has yet to be announced.

The Elite, suite and platinum lounge will be opening on this cruise from 5:30 until 7:30 every night. On the last cruise they opened at 5, which gave us more time if we wanted to dine at 6. Special drinks are again $2.99. The Sanctuary is advertising themselves now; never heard a peep out of them on the 16 day crossing. I must presume they expect us to have good weather.

Time to grab a little something to tide myself over until dinner. Just having wine is not going to do it.

[chamima]

Hi Pia

Looking forward to "sailing" with you again!

Hope the weather improves for this leg!

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for taking us on your next leg. :D

[paul929207]

As always thanks for the entertainment.

[mississauga]

Ok, signed on for the next leg. LOL:) Hope the weather gets better for you.

[u2cruiser]

Thank goodness the sun came out in Barcelona. Can't imagine it without :eek:

 

Thank you for your funny reports. :)

[Tkennedy]

Pia, we'll be following you on to Venice. Hope the weather improves for this leg on you cruise. Thanks for your blog from FLL - Barcelona. I may not post often but know we're reading along and thinking of you & Mike. Have fun.

One of these days we'll get to cruise with you again.

Take care, Lorraine (Tom too):)

[seamwoman]

Each day I read your post is one day closer to joining you in Venice :) YIPEE! I hope the weather improves and you have smooth sailing! Karen

[Raamo]

Thanks for the 2nd live - enjoy the Med!

[wineforhealth]

Pia

 

Thanks for keeping us in the loop, look forward to you 2nd leg log and hope for better weather.

[spingal]

Pia,

 

I am "onboard" with your new "Live From" thread! It will be great to follow your cruise. Thanks for posting! :D:D

[Woobstr112G]

Pia;

 

Thanks for once again posting your Live From thread. Looking forward to more great reporting as we expereinced from the T/A Live From.....:):):)

 

Bob

[DonahCBrown]

Aloha Pia and Mike! Hoping for the weather to hold for you and looking forward to hearing about your further adventures!

[Toto2Kansas]

Pia, hope the weather stays pleasent. Enjoy this next sailing!

[Oahucruiser]

Enjoyed every word of the first part of your voyage. Looking forward to this next part.

[partymaker]

Pia....thanks for taking us along with you....we are on the next leg...Ruby Rousers on May 17th. I am so excited to read your daily posts from this leg of your journey........just helps build the excitement for us and gives us a preview of what to expect. Just leave us a "little" money in the casino . We leave for Venice on the 13th....see you on the Ruby. Hope the weather remains good for you!!!!

Karen (aka Partymaker)

[HKM]

At least the clock won't be changing every night! I love Barcelona; I'm glad you got good weather there. Thanks for taking us along to the Med.

[treesah]

Thanks for letting us join you on another leg of the journey. I'm particularly interested in this portion of the trip since a dear friend of mine and her daughter have just joined you in Barcelona today. If you cross paths with Susi and Linda from San Diego, please say hello to them. You and Susi have something in common... she's a trivia whiz. Sunny skies to you all.

[caribill]

Pia,

 

On a thread about the current Caribbean Princess voyage, it has been said that on that ship the Sabatini's breakfast is also open to all Elite passengers.

 

Is that true on the Ruby? Or do you think they are experimenting with this on the Caribbean?

[JWJs]

Hi Pia. Thanks so much! Awesome following along with you and Mike. Love the detail of how a b2b works. Can't help but think of the people who had to get off...and wish they could have stayed on board for this leg. That was our case when the Coral docked in Vancouver and the next leg was through the canal and on to Fort Lauderdale.

[DonahCBrown]

Pia,

 

On a thread about the current Caribbean Princess voyage, it has been said that on that ship the Sabatini's breakfast is also open to all Elite passengers.

 

Is that true on the Ruby? Or do you think they are experimenting with this on the Caribbean?

 

Recently off the Sapphire where we had a suite - breakfast at Sabatini's was strictly suite pax and they checked at the door for the first several days until they knew everyone! It is a really nice perk - I'd love it if they extended to Elites, but suspect that it would overwhelm the venue if there are a lot of Elites on a sailing - maybe the Caribbean didn't have very many so they extended the invitation??

[grandmaa]

Pia...Thank you for taking us along on the second leg of your B2B2B. Isn't The Boqueria amazing? We went there every day while we were in Barcelona to get the smoothies and to buy some amazing fruit. Here's wishing you blue skies and calm seas on this segment of your vacation...Enjoy the Med.

[painfree]

Hi Pia..

 

Another fan has boarded your "LIVE" blog..Thanks for bringing back very fond memories and kindling our excitment for our upcoming Ruby cruise this fall..Our first B2B but it won't be the last..Wishing you calm seas, bright blue skies and the strength to 'burn' the the computer keys..Awaiting your next edition..

 

Carol

[financialgrl]

I'll be checking in with you - taking the same cruise May 29th to June 10th! I am psyched and anxious to read your posts. Thx!!

[PhillyCruiser]

It's wonderful to read about your ongoing journey!

 

I saw today that it was raining farther east in the Mediterranean, but hopefully the sunny weather in Barcelona will continue to push east and you'll have a magnificent time.

 

Joan