Live from the Ruby 9/9-9/21 Greek Isles

[WendyG]

Hi all,

 

I'm sitting in the hotel room in Civitavecchia and will be boarding the beautiful Ruby Princess tomorrow morning. :)

 

This will be my 16th Princess cruise (yay-I'm finally elite!) and we were booked in an Emerald Deck mini-suite E723 but got an upsell email offer last week that we jumped all over so we are now sailing in C751. Super happy! :D

 

Please keep in mind, this will NOT be a live like Pia's lives (only James Patterson can keep up with her!) but I will try to answer any questions and give some info out while onboard.

 

Until tomorrow.....

[tequilasunrise]

Looking forward to your thread, thanks for taking the time!

[bettycoop]

Am looking forward to hearing all about your cruise. Hope you have a great time.

[Princessmich]

Enjoy Wendy! Have fun and I'll look for pics on fb! Have fun with trivia! Win Win Win!:)

[luvcdays]

We are so excited for you!!

 

Thanks for doing the "Live From". It will almost be like we are going with you :D DH said "I guess she is not coming to visit us at the Resort next weekend". lol

 

Can't wait to see pics the next time we see you. Have a fabo time and stay out of those "crazy shops". :eek:

 

Love you!

 

PS-Hi Michelle :)

[I object 2]

Looking forward to your posts, Wendy. This cruise is on our bucket list. Have a fabulous cruise!

 

Jan

[WendyG]

Hello from the lovely Ruby Princess!

Embarkation was a breeze, the hotel had a free shuttle and they dropped us off around 10:45 and we waited inside their waiting area until our number was called. We were given priority 1 tickets (suite and elite maybe?) so we were the first group to board. They called our number at 11:30 and we were on the ship at 11:33. 

Captain is Giuseppe Romano

Staff Captain is Paolo Arrigo

Chief Engineer is Vincenzo Alfi

Hotel General Manager is Melania Parnisari

Cruise Director is Dan Styne

Food and Beverage Director is Andrea Magrin

Customer Service Director is Antonio Romano

Maitre D is Giorgio Pisano

 

Tonight the welcome aboard show features the Princess dancers and variety entertainer David Copperfield. Really? THE David Copperfield? I’ll find out at 10:30 tonight!

The Jean Mac Duo is in Wheelhouse

Evolution is in Explores

So of course I went to the original cabin we had booked to take a peek, and we also went to the two other suite cabins they had given us a choice of, the couples in there were very nice to let us look around. I do like the balcony in the R411 room because there is no beam, but other than that, the inside looks identical and we are happy with our choice. The other choice was L106 and that room was awful! They call it a suite but it’s in the very front of the ship and the room is configured differently, but their bathroom is the same as the mini-suite (tub and shower combo) and although they did have a HUGE wraparound balcony, it’s right under the observation bridge (kinda cool) but the whole half of the rail is steel. I like ours better, at least we have a panoramic view and when sitting at the nice teak table, the railing is clear plexiglass (or whatever that material is)

One thing I found retarded was there are absolutely NO shelves in the bathroom by the sink!!! Not even a shelf under the sink! What’s up with that???

The room is very spacious, it’s a beautiful day and our room steward just got on the ship for the start of his 11th contract so I told him that means we should get excellent service because he isn’t tired! His name is Carlito and he brought us two lovely bottles of champagne which we just enjoyed on the balcony along with the giant fruit basket. Time to finish unpacking and explore some more, muster is at 5:15, welcome aboard trivia at 7:30, and Crown reservations are at 8:30pm 

[luvcdays]

Pictures Wendy, pictures!!

 

How is the ship other than your suite?

[EightFurryPaws]

Hi WendyG,

 

Just wanted to let you know that Captain Giuseppe Romano is actually "Commodore" Giuseppe Romano, the highest "Captain" in the princess fleet. He was on both our TA in the Med on the Ruby and our TA in the

Baltics on the Emerald.

 

When he is not "working" he is always chatting with passengers around the ship. A very nice man.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

[WendyG]

Went to Skywalkers for the drinks and snacks and met some lovely people. Trivia didn’t have too many teams and we ended up tied for first and lost the tie breaker. What year did bobsledding enter the Olympics? We had NO idea! Crown Grill was delicious but service was VERY slow and then we went to the Welcome Aboard show. Dan Styne is a super funny guy, we saw the dancers for one dance and then David Copperfeld.

1. He wasn’t THE David Copperfield

2. He was simply awful and we left (singer)

That’s all for now, tomorrow is Naples and we have an early morning excursion planned with our cruise critic group for an Amalfi Coast/Pompeii adventure. Should be a great day! 

 

PS: Janis – I’ll email you pics!

[TorontoTL]

Have a great cruise Wendy, we did this itinerary on the Crown last year and it was fabulous.

[melody hounddog]

Have a great trip! Thanks for posting!

[mskaufman]

We did this in June. Will be keeping up with you here and via the bridgecam.

[luvcdays]

Hope your having a great time? How was your Pompeii Tour?

[cookieartist]

Wendy...enjoying your postings. We did this trip in April with Commodore Romano on the Ruby. Love them both....the ship is wonderful and had some of the best food and the Commodore is always "walking" the ship chatting to his crew and passengers. He runs a very happy ship.

 

Santorini was our favorite but had the BEST calamari ever in Corfu. Enjoy your cruise and keep the posts coming.

[WendyG]

Had a wonderful day in Naples!

We had a lovely lady named Becky from our roll call who took charge of scheduling our tour of this port with Italy Limousine Company. We drove the Amalfi Coast (beautiful) stopped in Sorrento for shopping (my fave)  and then we went to Positano for more shopping followed by a nice Italian lunch!

Next was our tour of Pompeii which was simply fascinating. We had the best tour guide, he was so knowledgeable and kept us entertained and informed the entire walk thru these lovely ruins.

Last stop was a wine shop, tasting all kinds of goodies, and of course I had to buy a bottle of limoncello.

All in all an exhausting and hot day (even though it was overcast for most of it) we had left the ship around 8 and were back by 530. All aboard was 630.

Tomorrow is one of our two sea days (after this we have seven ports in a row before our next sea day!) and our wonderful Sailaway John has taken charge of our official meet and greet which will be held at Skywalkers at 10:30 am. This overlaps with morning trivia so I may be a few minutes late!  We have just over 100 people expected. Should be a fun time!

[Shogun]

Hi Wendy,

 

Thanks for posting,

 

have a great cruise

 

how is the Ruby, what condition are the deck carpets, etc

 

yours Shogun

[WendyG]

Good morning from the sea!

Woke feeling blah (had my new Aussie friends over for limoncello last night) and we polished off ¾ of the bottle along with some red wine. I can’t keep up with them! I feel ick. Good thing we have a sea day!

Had a lovely breakfast in Sabatini’s (what a fab perk!) listening to Italian music playing in the background and enjoying a delicious (and much needed) café latte. The wait staff there are so wonderful 

The M&G at 10:30 was a huge success, SO many people showed up, many that never posted but apparently read the thread. Captain Romano attended (he is so nice and my neighbor in Florida!) and mingled amongst the guests and then spoke for a few minutes (Janis, you would have liked this M&G much more than our last one) There were several groups standing all around mingling and chatting and the Captain made his way to each one, then said a few words at the end. For anyone interested, the Captain is getting off this ship on 9/28 and said he will fly home and come back to the Ruby in November (5th I think he said?) He is always scheduled on the Ruby now. The Cruise Director made a quick appearance and said a few things, I got a picture with both Dan and the Captain so I was happy :) and the Maitre D was there, along with the F&B guy and the Captains Circle host (she told me there are 88 elite passengers onboard) and there were two other officers there who I didn’t get to meet because it was so crowded! A very nice M&G indeed, thank you Putterdude and Sailaway John for organizing it all.

OK…I need a nap…I’m never drinking again… (lol)

[WendyG]

Hi Wendy,

 

Thanks for posting,

 

have a great cruise

 

how is the Ruby, what condition are the deck carpets, etc

 

yours Shogun

 

Hi Shogun,

 

To be honest, I never pay attention to that kind of stuff. :) The carpets look ok, I always hear vacuuming, and it looks very clean. She's not that old so hopefully the whole ship stays looking as nice as she currently does.

[bobandalice]

Enjoy yourself, Wendy! And happy to hear that you've given up the evil grape juice! Or not.

 

Have FUN!!!!

[jaceyar]

Hi Wendy, how I envy you - we did the reverse itinerary in August. I may be telling you something you already know but a few money-saving tips:

Santorini - don't get the cable car, book a ticket (20euros) for the boat around to Oia whic includes a bus to Fira and the cable car down - a lovely day.

Kusadasi - omg, the shopping. We booked a tour to Ephesus in the mall just of the ship (20euros) - it was very good.

Mykonos - don't pay 10euros for the ship's coach transfer - there's a little boat just off the ship which transfers you for 2euros each way. It's also there at 12.30am when the ship docks (if you fancy a few drinks).

Athens - a taxi to the Acropolis cost 20euros.

Katakolon, we used Katakolon Express to Olympia (10euros) - there were spaces if you hadn't booked. Nice little shopping street and a small beach.

Corfu, there's a little harbour shuttle and then a bus which takes you into town.

Dubrovnik - a taxi to the Pile Gate cost 10euros - there were 4 of us, so cheaper than the ship's 10euros pp. We did a lovely boat trip around the bay for 10euros and also went to the top of the cable car for great views (and lovely toilets!).

Venice - fab. We used the ship's shuttle and bought a day vaporetto pass. It was crowded so we went to Murano which was more relaxing.

 

You probably know all this - ignore me.

 

Jacqui x

[gelo7]

Thanks, for checking in.

[WendyG]

Ended up going to the pub lunch today, it was very good, better than I remembered than the last time I went. The service on this ship is wonderful, we have met so many happy staff members on board. That’s nice to see. It was formal night tonight but no lobster so that will be next time. This ship does not seem full at all, I asked at the desk, they said 3100 but I think it’s less. More get on in Athens since they split this 12 day cruise into two sixes about a month ago. Nothing is ever full, the art auction has empty seats, the theaters always have empty seats, seems not many people onboard!

Quiet night, played two trivias and won one, a Princess water bottle. WOOHOO! All in all a fun day, (and profitable) I won $300 in the casino YAY Shopping $$$ for Fira and Oia tomorrow. 

PS: I did not have any drinks today! :D

[WendyG]

Jacqui,

 

Thank you so much for those money saving tips! I already like your 20 euro boat, bus, and cable car ride suggestion. I hope we can find the place to buy those since we arrive in 8 hours :)

 

Very sweet of you to share!

[WendyG]

Good afternoon from Santorini

 

WOW – what a beautiful place. I have never seen so many white buildings and never ever saw marble sidewalks before. Simply incredible! It was a super hot day, being a Floridian I’m used to it, but many people were complaining about the heat and humidity.

We did find the place to take the boat to Oia and then the bus pack to Fira and we shopped in both. What lovely little towns. I would happily go back and spend a few days, we met some very nice people on holiday there who flew in from Manchester and simply love it.

We set sail at 730 but the captain plans to position the boat so we can watch the sunset before we set sail. There is a huge deck party called the Santorini Sunset Sensation tonight, they’re having music, food, and drinks on decks 15, 16, & 17 aft but we plan to order dinner in and watch from our balcony. I’m excited to have a front row seat for this sunset I have heard is spectacular from so many people. 