LIVE from the Ruby Princess - VENICE to BARCELONA; May 17th to May 29th

[san diego sue]

Pia,

We made it home last night. I emailed you already.(cruise ending 5/17 in Venice)

We were glad that we didn't sign up for any special Princess package for airport. For people that don't know, princess offered a package for Venice airport at $169.00 per person to fast track you through luggage check in, customs ,etc.

We just took the Princess transfers. Our luggage was transported to the airport, we didn't have to claim in the ship terminal. We had it waiting as we arrived on the Princess bus at the airport. No big lines and we made it through check in and luggage drop off in less than 1/2 hour. We were through customs with no lines. Whole process after arriving at airport and to our gate less than 45 minutes.So anyone cruising next with cruise ending in Venice, Venice airport is not the nightmare we had expected. In fact a lot easier than most foreign airport or here in US. Maybe we just got lucky. We flew Lufthansa.

Pia, we miss you and Mike so much. Lew and I will miss our days spent with you. I know we will cruise again in person with you in the future, and certainly reading all your Live froms.

San Diego Sue:D

[San Diego Ellie]

Welcome home, Gloria and Lew.

Ellie & Joe

[Lynda90]

Hi Pia, will be following your cruise, as usual. Thanks for taking us along.

 

Gloria and Lew, so nice to have met you on the 4/19 leg. Hope to see you again sometime! :p

[Pia1913]

We had a great day doing almost nothing and loved every minute of it. Tried watching Coco movie and we took turns napping. Boring with subtitles. Miss it. ;)

Our M and G this morning was very well attended even though we were in port. Just our roll call people; no staff.

I already know that there are very few Elite on board, but enough well travelled ones that we are in 5th place on this cruise. I am delighted, since that means we will not attend any formal night. Zero. Nada. :D The most travelled cocktail party will be on Friday night. I sure hope they have those monster shrimp again.

Just returned from dinner and will spend the night in our cabin watching an old movie with Katherine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi; "Summertime." Clocks go forward again tonight so we will be 7 hours ahead of EST.

Gloria, we really miss you a lot. Barb, you got your answer. ;) Donna. forget to respond earlier. No prizes in port.

[mississauga]

I

already know that there are very few Elite on board, but enough well travelled ones that we are in 5th place on this cruise. I am delighted, since that means we will not attend any formal night. Zero. Nada. :D The most travelled cocktail party will be on Friday night. I sure hope they have those monster shrimp again.

 

Wow, what a difference a cruise makes! Oh well, at least you won't have to lug home 2 heavy paperweights home from one trip. I'm sure after so many days away, you have accumulated more than enough to go home with and you like to travel light. LOL

[teachergal29]

Glad to be with you on this part of your b2b2b. Enjoy this part of your wonderful cruise and thank you for taking us along...:)

[kidder kid]

Pia -

 

Thanks for posting your new "live." I enjoy your posts so much and look forward to reading about the last leg to your voyage.

 

Carolyn

[san diego sue]

Oh no, Pia you were on dreaded page two. I am posting to bring you back to page one.

Took a nap today, six hours. Probably won't sleep tonight. My body is still 9 hours ahead.

Say hi to our Waiters.Sorry you lost your room steward.

It is 9:20PMTues. here and you are just about getting up Wednesday. Hit that Gym.Can't believe how good you and Mike are about doing that.

[Pia1913]

Wednesday morning at sea. Sun is shining, but very windy with seas jumping a bit. Lost an hour of sleep, but that made the gym less crowded too.

Going to try trivia again this AM just to see what kind of prize there is. Also this morning will be the muster which they hadn't gotten around to doing since we were just sitting in Venice. I love not having to do it. :)

Did you hear about the Morgans? Yep..........they're back at 2:00 PM. The theater tonight will feature Broadway Ballroom, Explorer's has the awful comedy juggler, Fusion is doing 70's disco and MUTS is showing the yucky movie NINE. This cruise for us should be total relaxation, but I need to get my head and my body synchronized at the same time. :D

TTYL guys. You think it's easy talking about nothing? ;)

[Sea Day Cruiser]

Pia, thanks for your live reports. Writing about nothing may be hard, but reading about nothing is fun. I was on the Ruby for 30 days last winter and I guess it did kind of seem like nothing was going on after I'd seen all the shows a couple of times.

 

Karen

[margord]

Wednesday morning at sea. Sun is shining, but very windy with seas jumping a bit. Lost an hour of sleep, but that made the gym less crowded too.

 

Going to try trivia again this AM just to see what kind of prize there is. Also this morning will be the muster which they hadn't gotten around to doing since we were just sitting in Venice. I love not having to do it. :)

 

Did you hear about the Morgans? Yep..........they're back at 2:00 PM. The theater tonight will feature Broadway Ballroom, Explorer's has the awful comedy juggler, Fusion is doing 70's disco and MUTS is showing the yucky movie NINE. This cruise for us should be total relaxation, but I need to get my head and my body synchronized at the same time. :D

 

TTYL guys. You think it's easy talking about nothing? ;)

 

 

Do you have to muster each cruise when you do B2B2B?

[tallulahbel]

After roasting there on the 14th, I'm not sorry at all. I am sorry for the passengers on this cruise who were looking forward to their Athens visit.

 

 

 

 

Hi Pia

 

Venice airport on 5/18 was not bad at all. Delta flight to JFK 12:05PM. We were in air by 12:07PM. Not bad for the 2nd worst airport in the world (LOL) Enjoy the next leg of your cruise.

 

Andrea

[kellylegs]

My husband and I are first time cruisers and he has water in his ear:( Does anyone have "swimmer's ear" drops? Or something he can take? They want to charge him $60 to go to the infirmary. Thanks soo much!!! We are in D602...if you could let us know!! Limited internet time you know!!

[Woobstr112G]

Enjoy Venice. I can't wait to get there.

 

Marilee

 

Venice is indeed truely a magical city. I just wish we didn't have to wait till October of next year to be there.....:):):)

 

Pia, I'm continuing to follow your journey. It sounds like you are having a great cruise.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Pepes Pal]

My husband and I are first time cruisers and he has water in his ear:( Does anyone have "swimmer's ear" drops? Or something he can take? They want to charge him $60 to go to the infirmary. Thanks soo much!!! We are in D602...if you could let us know!! Limited internet time you know!!

 

If I'm correct you are on your way to Kusadashi. There is a pharmacy in the arcade of stores outside the port, See a Pharmacist ASAP if you are not going to use the infirmery. I feel the $60/visit fee is worth the money to allieviate pain & discomfort. Ear infections if not treated can cause damage.

I copied & pasted the info below from the Mayo Clinic's website.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Treatments and drugs

By Mayo Clinic staff

The goal of treatment is to stop the infection and allow your ear canal to heal.

Cleaning

Your doctor will use a suction device or ear curette to clean away any discharge, clumps of earwax, flaky skin and any other debris. Cleaning is necessary to help medications get to the infected areas of the skin.

Medications

Your doctor may prescribe eardrops that have some combination of the following ingredients, depending on the type and seriousness of the infection:

• Acidic solution to replicate your ear's normally acidic, antibacterial environment
  
• Steroid to reduce inflammation
  
• Antibiotic to fight the bacterial infection
  
• Antifungal medication to fight a fungal infection
  

Ask your doctor about the best method for taking the medication. Some ideas that may help include the following:

• To reduce discomfort of relatively cold drops in your ear, you can warm the eardrop solution by holding the bottle in your hand for a few minutes to bring it closer to your body temperature.
  
• If possible, have someone else put the drops in your ear.
  
• Lie down on your side with the infected ear up to help the medication travel to the site of the infection in your ear canal.
  
• Put a cotton ball in the "pocket" of your outer ear to absorb any excess fluid after you sit or stand up.
  
• If your ear canal is blocked by inflammation or excess discharge, your doctor may insert a wick that helps transport the medication into the ear canal.
  

If the infection is more advanced or doesn't respond to treatment with eardrops, your doctor may prescribe oral antibiotics.

Other treatments

You will need to keep your ear dry and avoid any irritation of the ear while you're treating swimmer's ear.

• Don't swim or scuba dive.
  
• Avoid flying.
  
• Don't wear an earplug or hearing aid before pain or discharge has stopped.
  
• Avoid getting water in your ear canal when bathing. Use a cotton ball coated with petroleum jelly to protect your ear during baths.
  

Hope this helps.

Judy

[CruzinNoony]

Hi Pia, Bob and I just got back from our TA on the Star. We got home Sunday night after 3 nights in Iceland (planned). I've spent the last two days catching up on your "live froms". It sounds like you are having a great time. Interesting: the piano player you spoke about (female Liberace) was also on the Star and we did go to see her. She was actually very good. Good job on your limericks! On the " Kelvin" TA cruise where Bob and I won so many times, he also gave away drink vouchers. Bob doesn't drink, so I had them all to myself!

[Pia1913]

Formal night aboard the Ruby and we are comfy following our Cafe Caribe dinner. Not busy up there, so most of the passengers elected to don their finery.

Remember the Morgan's? Well guess what we did. Yep...........saw it again. Also went to trivia and lost with 18. What can you do about a Brit team who wins with 20? The prize? A pen.

Those who followed the last LIVE know that we received Veuve Cliquot with our 1st place status. Since neither of us like champagne, I requested a white wine and today they delivered two bottles in exchange; a Mondavi chardonnay and Pouilly Fuisse. Right now we're still working on the bottle of red that Gloria and Lew left us. Red tastes a whole lot better when cold. My opinion.

Margord, no, you only muster once.

Kellylegs, we don't get to Kusadasi for another 36 hours. Penny wise/pound foolish doesn't pay. Don't ruin your cruise for $60 bucks.

Andrea, glad you made good connections.

[DonahCBrown]

Do you have to muster each cruise when you do B2B2B?

 

No - only on the first leg. After that you are not required to attend, since, presumably, you already know where your muster station is, how to put on a life jacket, and not to have open flames unattended in your cabin, accept packages from strangers, throw cigarettes or other stuff overboard, etc. etc.

 

Maritime law requires that you go to the first one on each voyage, though.

[Baileydog1]

Pia,

We made it home last night. I emailed you already.(cruise ending 5/17 in Venice)

We were glad that we didn't sign up for any special Princess package for airport. For people that don't know, princess offered a package for Venice airport at $169.00 per person to fast track you through luggage check in, customs ,etc.

We just took the Princess transfers. Our luggage was transported to the airport, we didn't have to claim in the ship terminal. We had it waiting as we arrived on the Princess bus at the airport. No big lines and we made it through check in and luggage drop off in less than 1/2 hour. We were through customs with no lines. Whole process after arriving at airport and to our gate less than 45 minutes.So anyone cruising next with cruise ending in Venice, Venice airport is not the nightmare we had expected. In fact a lot easier than most foreign airport or here in US. Maybe we just got lucky. We flew Lufthansa.

Pia, we miss you and Mike so much. Lew and I will miss our days spent with you. I know we will cruise again in person with you in the future, and certainly reading all your Live froms.

San Diego Sue:D

 

San Diego Sue,

For others on a future cruise who are flying out out of Venice, we, too had an easy exit on Lufthansa. Note, you can only check luggage in no more than 2 hours before your flight, although you can print your boarding passes earlier. There is a cafe where you can wait it out if necessary.

We stayed an extra day at the comfortable Santa Chiara Hotel in the Piazalle Roma area for an early exit by airport bus from there (first bus out is at 5 AM). Short, easy walk with luggage to board ACTV airport bus to Marco Polo airport (20 minute drive). Buy tickets for 2.50 E each at the ACTV building by the canal and near the P. Roma vaporetto stop--can do a day ahead.

I'm sorry we didn't get to meet you--maybe another time.

Kathie

[Baileydog1]

Pia,

I'm back to living vicarioulsy through your blog again, after a long but easy trip home yesterday. We wondered why the Ruby didn't sail as scheduled--kept watching for it as we walked around Venice. I'm sorry for those who wanted to be in Athens on this cruise, too, but an extra day to enjoy shipboard life and to rest up before the intense touring in Ephesus and Istanbul will be good. We experienced heavy police presence in Athens and saw the damage from previous protests so better not to be near a planned demonstration. It was a pleasure meeting you and your husband and thanks again for the great updates.

Kathie

[san diego sue]

Sorry we didn't meet you Baileydog. Were you on the Transatlantic, or did you get on in Barcelona?I walked around at M&G for transatlantic and met everyone. In Barcelona we had that little get together after the Muster drill in the wheelhouse.

We actually arrived at the airport 2 1/2 hours before our flight time. After a few minutes, we were on line for boarding pass, Lufthansa directed us to check our luggage and also did the boarding pass. Apparently since we were to board the plane 1/2 hour before departure, they took our luggage earlier.Didn't charge us for slighly overweight bags. We were asked to check our two carry on bags and said we wouldn't be charged , so we did.Those bags were really heavy and glad to do it.We put the valuables in a backpack.

For that person that is on board and afraid to go to the Doctor on board. It is $60.00 and medicine is extra. I had the misfortune to get an allergic reaction to something and went to him. Of course he told me that the horrible rash on both my legs was prickly heat (was in the middle of the Atlantic with no sun so not the correct diagnosis). However the medicine worked, that in combination with Pia giving me some Benedryl.

I found many people on board with the same rash in the same place on lower legs, we all laughed at the diagnosis of prickly heat. there was something on board that did that. I stopped wine for two days , it wasn't that,Changed to liquid soap that a fellow passenger gave me. Some thought it was the towels, some thought something in food. I now think my problem was a reaction to shellfish. I loved those yummy shrimp. One night a special dish was prepared and I ate 20 of them (and nothing else). So I stopped all shellfish and seemed to get better.

San Diego Sue

[Pia1913]

Good Thursday morning as we start another day of sun, and wind; but very calm smooth seas. Gym was packed again this morning; tomorrow will be better, since we're due for early arrival into Kusadasi.

Did I mention there was a pub lunch yesterday? In any event, there's another one today. It seems that this ship has one every sea day. Also today is the Maitre D' Wine Club; the expensive one. No freebie for Elites at this event. Today's activities for us will be few; two trivias. Afternoon movie is Nine. YUK!

I am sure they had intended to get rid of the juggler in Athens, but since today is the missed port, he's on again tonight. Can't they just hide him somewhere? Also tonight in the theater is last week's not so good songbird Emily Reed. This makes me wonder whether they've just decided to keep the same "talent" for the entire Med run. MUTS has Julie and Julia and Fusion is doing a Wild Bunch Party, which translates to R and R music.

The Wake Show has returned and they're requesting limericks. Here I go again! Thanks to so many of you who are reading, but please, I need more input too. :D

[lizboyle]

Hi Pia,

By input do you mean more questions? If so, here goes! We are renewing our vows on the Ruby in July. Did you see anybody doing this? We are really looking forward to it, the only thing I have to decide on is short or long dress. After 35 years I don't want to look like a merinque!

Liz

[DonahCBrown]

Hi Pia,

By input do you mean more questions? If so, here goes! We are renewing our vows on the Ruby in July. Did you see anybody doing this? We are really looking forward to it, the only thing I have to decide on is short or long dress. After 35 years I don't want to look like a merinque!

Liz

 

Liz - we did the vow renewal a few years back and it was lovely - I'd go for the long dress if you have one you like and feel good in. They do on formal night and it is very special!

 

Enjoy!!

[margord]

Pia,

 

Is this your last leg of the cruise or is there more to go?

 

Marilee