Live From The 10-24-2013 Ruby Princess to Florida (51 Days)

[ccrain]

(Thanks everyone. when I get on board and figure out how much time I and Judy have, I'll respond to questions, but the first 12 days will be port and excursion intensive and then tapering off on DIYs from there on...)

 

10-23-2013 Evening Update –

 

Tired and almost at the end of our split of 5 hour energy we went to the Bacaromi Bar, a “Cicchetti” like establishment in the Hilton complex, Not very adventurous, but hey, we’re still tired from all this travel and it was dark outside! The food was wonderful. Some cicchetti were just ok, some were just phenomenal. Don’t expect me to pronounce or even spell food correctly on this trip. No way… The star of the evening was Judy’s cuttlefish risotto with real, and let me state right up front, REAL, parmesan areggiano. This cheese was like nothing we’ve ever tasted before. No wonder its so expensive at whole foods! I had stewed octopus in tomato sauce over white creamy polenta – and fresh baked breads that were even better than the bread on the ship. Oh wow, were we in heaven! If a hotel restaurant is this good, we can’t wait until we get out in Venice proper!

 

We plan to eat almost anything we can’t pronounce or recognize on this trip that’s for sure and those little tasty octopi were a perfect start! Add to that a great bottle of Italian Pinot Grigiot, the French have nothing on Italian wine that’s for sure, and we were good for a nice 9 hour sleep.

 

But Judy and I had to stop and think about it several times over dinner. WE WERE HAVING DINNER IN VENICE ITALY! Hey, don't care if it was MickeyD's, it was still in VENEZIA! Now that all alone is pretty darn exciting!

 

BTW, we had to stop by and chat with Rafaella at the Hilton front desk. she is just so cute and from Naples! so we had to pick her brain on where to go eat around the museum. Now I got some good local recommendations for PIZZA in NAPOLI! (This is just way too cool...)

 

So we’ll catch up on board…see ya…

[Bimmer09]

A great thread and am reading avidly.

 

Norris

in Chicago

[ccrain]

10-24-2013 – Venizia

 

For those of you familiar with my previous “live froms”, we have a couple of those ‘near perfect’ cruising days every cruise or so. Most of them happen a week or two into a cruise. So what happens when you have one on the very first day? Its either a very, very good sign or a very, very bad sign. Let’s hope for the good.

 

Why ‘near perfect’ you ask? Well, in a nutshell I got lost in Venice, well, maybe not lost, but at least turned around enough that out came google maps to the rescue! Needless to say we did eventually get back to the ship, after walking back from Piazza San Marcos, but I get ahead of myself.

 

This morning ended an absolutely wonderful night’s sleep. It was a glorious 8 solid hours of sleep. Breakfast at the Hilton’s executive lounge was typical Hilton resort breakfast, but with Proscutto and plain ham with hard cheese and goat cheese spread. Oh yeah, forget the bacon and eggs and give me that European breakfast every time, especially with fresh baked bread to die for! A couple of cups of coffee, a shared 5 hour energy drink and we were ready to repack everything for embarkation. We did a short walk down the island, talked to a couple of people we’d me the night before and pantomimed with a fisherman, who wasn’t catching anything – if I read the sign language correctly…

 

Now, don’t laugh, but we did do a water taxi from the Hilton to the port. Yes, OCPD me wanted to make sure our 51 days of luggage got handled properly. That 15 minute trip was 65 euros. Yep, 65 euros. But you know, for me it was simple piece of mind over the Aliguana bus and me manhandling all of that luggage. This is no time for Judy to pull a muscle or hurt herself this early in the cruise.

 

Embarkation was smooth. So smooth we basically only stopped walking at the counter to hand over our passports and sign our papers. One of the smoothest we’ve ever had. (BTW – they are serious in Venice about checking passports – even upon return to the ship...)

 

After relaxing a bit, unpacking, getting all of our goodies into the room we decided to take the shuttle boat to Piazza San Marco for some PASTA and in particular Judy wanted some squid ink pasta. Simple to solve, we’re in Venice, she’s with me, she shall have squid ink pasta. So we wandered around St Marks for a while, taking pictures of people taking pictures of people with pigeons all over them, dodged the rose guys and headed deeper into the bowels of Venice. Pretty cool for an OCPD cruiser like me! No plan, no map, NO GPS GUIDANCE, NO CELL SIGNAL OH MY GOD WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!!!.

 

Luckily Judy has a much more level head on her shoulders and really didn’t care where we went as long as we didn’t get wet. That meant we either went too far or I had an accident. We happened along a little restaurant with about 6 chairs and 3 tables deep in this back alley. I was looking at the menu and the matre de had a friendly face, so we decided to have dinner. OMG! The black ink pasta was so different, so tasty. My pasta vongoule, clams, was garlicky, briny and so tasty. This might have been the worst food in Venice, but it was absolutely wonderful to us. Even beats the ship’s pasta on Italian night.

 

So we left the restaurant, don’t remember the name or the street and with no cell or gps signal could not map it, and wandered through the back alleys following the crowds, window shopping and ended up at the Rialto Bridge and a gelato shop. WOW! Again, this could have been the worst gelato in Venice, but it was darn good and I mean fingerlicking, smooth as silk, tasty right down to the bottom of the cone good. These Italians know how to eat!

 

And then I made my mistake. Wanting to check out the Rialto market we headed across the bridge into the market instead of following the Grand Canal back to the shuttle point. Hey I’m a guy. We don’t want to retread old ground. Moving forward. That’s what we do. So we followed various lighted pathways and signs, and several unlighted ones, to Piazzale Roma. Had to find a bridge in several locations with a clear line of sight to the stars on a couple of occasions to make sure we weren’t just going in circles, but we did finally reach the Piazzale, the people mover and the ship. That’s where we found out they do indeed check passports on returns.

 

Upon returning to the ship we immediately headed down to check out the party band for dancing. Atomic. Pretty good so far. We were able to get in a couple of cha chas, a foxtrot, a couple of night club 2 steps, a cha cha line dance and a swing. Then their set was over and our dogs were barking.

 

But all in all, one heck of a way to start a cruise. We are now enjoying the fruits of our bar, relaxing in the cabin, and going to hit the hay a little early tonight in preparation for another day of getting lost in Venice.

 

Can’t wait…

 

Night all…

[bassmaster150]

The Hilton Stucky is a great hotel!!! Stayed there last year, and probably will every time we cruise out of Venice. About getting lost in Venice....that is THE BEST way to discover Venice!!!!! Some of those back alley restaurants are nothing short of amazing!!!

[Lake Huron Sunsets]

Hi ccrain ~ I am so enjoying your humourous account thus far & looking forward to the next several days as my sister is on board. Almost like I am travelling with her, well maybe not but at least you are giving me a wonderful picture in my head.

Can't wait till tomorrow to "read all about it".

Thank you & good night from the wet sometimes snowy shore of Lake huron.

[ccrain]

10-25-2013- Still In Venice (And our 32nd wedding anniversary)

 

Well you have to admit they are both pretty close to once in a lifetime events! Sleep was hard to come by with all of that activity yesterday. Finally had to break out the Ambien at midnight, which worked quite well. Now up and starting to get the beginnings of a pattern that we’ve been enjoying the last couple of cruises…coffee at the IC! A couple of large lattes, a bite of breakfast sandwich, some conversation, updating

 

We’ve never been on the Ruby before, but she is gorgeous. Why oh why did Princess go off and change something so wonderful? The layout is a bit different from the Emerald, but the rich dark wood of the hallways is just so elegant. The IC is a bit different in layout as is the Piazza and Vines, but only in subtle differences. Enough to make her a unique ship of her own rather than a copy.

 

Plan for the day – We have heard of a grocery store close to Piazzale Roma that we are going to hit for water and a few forgotten items – yes we actually forgot a few things or at least they did not show up – although Judy swears they got put in somewhere. So we will probably go shopping – what else – and then most likely take the shuttle to Piazza San Marcos and wander around the area again – this time in the daylight!

 

Not many activities in the patter today. No trivia until 11:15 and then again at 4:15 with a Taboo Challenge in between at 2:15. The last trivia is at 730PM.

 

Some specials on MUTS this morning – looks like a documentary on Venetian hydrology, then a port destination lecture on Corfu and Katakalon. MUTS offerings this afternoon and this evening include Man of Steel,

 

Julio Delgado is the on-board port lecturer. His lecture on Dubrovnik is this afternoon at 4, which we will try and make. All aboard is 5PM with muster drill at 515 and the drive by of St marks at about 645. The sailaway party starts at 615. Tonight is the Welcome aboard showtime at 815 and 1015. Dan “blew by you” Riley is on board. We saw him on the Caribbean in April and he is hilarious. The Ruby Princess dancers have a Beatles Medley in the Piazza at 745 and 900 – thanks for listening Princess – these little vignettes using your onboard talent are great. Atomic has sets in the explorers starting at 915 and 1100. The Jean Mac and George Gallus Duo are in the wheelhouse at 730, 900 and 1030.

 

A couple of other things. The cruise long spa pass is $108 for this cruise. Dan Styne is the CD. The Captain is John Foster. Skywalkers opens at 10.

 

Well, that’s it for the morning. Now to go see what kinds of trouble we can get into today…

[ccrain]

10-25-2013 Nighttime Update –

 

Fog, fog and more fog was the order of the day. The shuttle boat did not run until after 1PM and even some of the Vaporettos were canceled or delayed. So we decided to make this a scouting day and a grocery store morning. Off the ship and onto the people mover, which is a piece of cake, but you can also walk it if you want. Around and round Piazalle Roma looking at the various vaporetto stops for the next time we are in port. We are planning a day in Morano and a day in Lido, so I found the stops I wanted, found the validation machines, and in general found what we needed to know for the next 3 days in Venice in November.

 

We also found the grocery store. It is almost due north, across the road and down to the waterfront from the people mover station. It had great prices on wine. A Santa Margherita Pino Grigiot for 8 euros, some baby wipes and a six pack of water. A nice lady, native of Venice, explained to me that the water was 0.50 Euros per bottle, but only 1.39 Euros for a six pack and that it was a better bargain. My Italian was so minimal, but we understood each other when it comes to shopping for bargains! It’s a great little store and I had no problem getting the wine or the water back onto the ship. A couple we ran into on the way back the other night let us in on the location and the wine, so we went for it today.

 

Now I must confess, and you experienced cruisers who do this all the time can skip this part, but for those of us who are newbies at this DIY stuff, just getting off the ship by ourselves in a foreign port was a major accomplishment. Shopping in a grocery store with no tour guide around! Hey for us this is new territory, but you know what, it was new, exciting and fun…who knew shopping for wine and water could be that much fun!

 

We came back on board in time to enjoy lunch in the HC. The cold salads have been, and are again, my favorite. Judy loves the soups. A cold salad of Cajun sausage and potato, with mustard was pretty good. A pounded pork cutlet called pork parmegian, more like a German snitzel, was really good as well. The desserts, especially the carrot cake, was exceptional. After which it was time for the vacation power nap.

 

Muster drill was accomplished about 530PM with sailaway by Piazza San Marco at about 7pm. It was dark by then, but we did go by the Pacific Princess. Judy and I was supposed to be on the Ocean the 7th of October from Singapore to Sydney, but changed to this itin and saved a bunch of money…

 

After sailaway, we went to the wheelhouse to try the Jean Mac and George Gallus duo. Got in a couple of dances with them, she can really sing, and then off to the theater to see Dan Styne, our CD, and Dan Riley for the welcome aboard show.

 

Now I must say we have never sailed with Dan Styne before, but have heard nothing but good things about him and his show was one of the best. He is one of the funniest CDs with excellent delivery and great rapport with the audience members. Yes, some of the jokes are the tried and true Princess approved jokes, but he delivers them in a way that makes even the oldest ones funny again. I think we will really enjoy him as CD. Dan Riley is a hoot. His comedy music is funny and even though we’ve seen him before, his delivery makes it funny all over again. We will have to see his main show as well.

 

After the show we went back to Explorers to dance to Atomic and Motown night. Great music, great vocals, a good set with lots of dancing. A late dinner was a simple split pea soup and a cheese plate in the IC while I had a grilled vegetable salad with a little greek salad mixed in. A very light and satisfying dinner. With 51 days on a ship, we need to keep our activity level up, our food intake down otherwise every piece of clothing we have is going to shrink.

 

So that’s it for the night. We have had a wonderful 32nd anniversary in Venice and are really looking forward to the rest of the cruise. Tomorrow is a sea day and the first formal night. Then Dubrovnik and corfu where we will put our new found courage at striking out on our own to the test.

 

I will update tomorrow morning whilst, love that term, having my latte…

 

G’night all….

[ccrain]

Just got to share this. She emailed me from the bathroom.

 

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Sailing with you

There's nothing better to do

 

The sky is blue

The sea is green

There's so much more

Left to be seen

So

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Forever me

Forever you

[Oahucruiser]

Marvelous, fun and very thorough posts. We'll really enjoy following you on this wonderful journey.

[mollyanne]

That was sweet!

 

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Forums mobile app

[Mom33]

Happy Anniversary and Bon Voyage!:D

[lovevacadays]

(Thanks everyone. when I get on board and figure out how much time I and Judy have, I'll respond to questions, but the first 12 days will be port and excursion intensive and then tapering off on DIYs from there on...)

 

10-23-2013 Evening Update –

 

Tired and almost at the end of our split of 5 hour energy we went to the Bacaromi Bar, a “Cicchetti” like establishment in the Hilton complex, Not very adventurous, but hey, we’re still tired from all this travel and it was dark outside! The food was wonderful. Some cicchetti were just ok, some were just phenomenal. Don’t expect me to pronounce or even spell food correctly on this trip. No way… The star of the evening was Judy’s cuttlefish risotto with real, and let me state right up front, REAL, parmesan areggiano. This cheese was like nothing we’ve ever tasted before. No wonder its so expensive at whole foods! I had stewed octopus in tomato sauce over white creamy polenta – and fresh baked breads that were even better than the bread on the ship. Oh wow, were we in heaven! If a hotel restaurant is this good, we can’t wait until we get out in Venice proper!

 

We plan to eat almost anything we can’t pronounce or recognize on this trip that’s for sure and those little tasty octopi were a perfect start! Add to that a great bottle of Italian Pinot Grigiot, the French have nothing on Italian wine that’s for sure, and we were good for a nice 9 hour sleep.

 

But Judy and I had to stop and think about it several times over dinner. WE WERE HAVING DINNER IN VENICE ITALY! Hey, don't care if it was MickeyD's, it was still in VENEZIA! Now that all alone is pretty darn exciting!

 

BTW, we had to stop by and chat with Rafaella at the Hilton front desk. she is just so cute and from Naples! so we had to pick her brain on where to go eat around the museum. Now I got some good local recommendations for PIZZA in NAPOLI! (This is just way too cool...)

 

So we’ll catch up on board…see ya…

 

I loved this post of yours. Sounds like a wonderful day. I too, love those port/cruise days that just stand out. For me, it doesn't have to be something spectacular. It just seems these days come on as just perfect. I feel very blessed that I have had the opportunity to experience them and happy to hear of your day.

 

I forgot how much I love your "live from" threads. You really have a way of bringing your experiences alive. Plus, I love someone who really relishes all of life's little pleasures.:):):)

 

Just got to share this. She emailed me from the bathroom.

 

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Sailing with you

There's nothing better to do

 

The sky is blue

The sea is green

There's so much more

Left to be seen

So

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Forever me

Forever you

 

Ok, did you have to make me tear up? How wonderful is this. I love it.

[JimmyVWine]

Soooooooo jealous. Enjoy the journey and Happy Anniversary!

[TracieABD]

What a grand live from for you grand voyage!

[homeinboca]

Happy Anniversary and Bon Voyage. Looking forward to sharing your trip with you.

 

Ron

[san diego sue]

Charles,

Thank you so much for taking us along.

My mouth was drooling as you described your food experiences.

 

Charles, I had to laugh as you described navigating through Venice. We too, although we cruise often, are usually afraid to venture out in foreign ports by ourselves. We also managed to do it in Venice. They say, if you haven't gotten lost in Venice, you haven't seen Venice. And I agree.

I am really enjoying your posts and look forward to hopefully daily updates.

Loved your wife's poem to you.

:D

[rdsqrl]

. . . Shopping in a grocery store with no tour guide around! Hey for us this is new territory, but you know what, it was new, exciting and fun…who knew shopping for wine and water could be that much fun! ….

Grocery stores in foreign countries are the best! Such a great way to get a feel for a place, not to mention the fun of discovering new products. I always try to seek one out, even for just a quick stroll through. I'm glad you had such a good experience venturing out on your own -- keep it up! I can't wait to read more as you bring us along with you.

[Ethel5]

Grocery stores in foreign countries are the best! Such a great way to get a feel for a place, not to mention the fun of discovering new products. I always try to seek one out, even for just a quick stroll through. I'm glad you had such a good experience venturing out on your own -- keep it up! I can't wait to read more as you bring us along with you.

 

I thought I was the only whacko who enjoyed doing this! You really do get a feel of the area and it's people by going shopping. :)

[kellor]

Happy Anniversary and Bon Voyage!

[ccrain]

10-26-2013 At Sea

 

What a lousy nights sleep. I think as we get older our capacity to overcome jet lag is substantially reduced. I used to be able to adjust in just a couple of days = but not anymore. Even used scotch instead of Ambien and that didn’t help anymore. One issue was the lack of the sounds of the sea. It was flat calm all night and this morning looked like a goldfish pond out there. Our fake sound app wasn’t working right either as it “clicked” whenever it reset. Oh well, I’m up now in the IC having my morning caramel mocha latte, Judy is still sound asleep, and updating the travelog. I have to wake up by 0915 as we have Zumba! And I need my Zumba to get my body and mind up and moving.

 

Princess has a new thing on TV. Destination in Depth. Yesterday it was Dubrovnik and today it is Katakalon and Athens. I’m sure Corfu will be in there somewhere. They are somewhat short 15-20 minute specialty shows on the ports of call. A good overview. For those of us with OCPD, we will have already covered most of the information via Rick Steves books, Tom’s Port Guides and multiple google and youtube searches, but you can never have too much information. A nice new feature. They also have a video presentation of upcoming cruise itineraries on one channel.

 

We have Michael and Victoria in the IC this morning. Bright smiles, they remember our names after only one day and great personalities. Wonderful way to start off the morning. Of course the caffeine and the ‘egg mcmuffin’ thingy doesn’t hurt either.

 

So let’s look at the Patter for the day…

 

MUTS for the day. Dirty Dancing in the morning, Lionel Richie in concert this afternoon and Red2 for the evening movie. We have deliberately avoided watching this movie in anticipation of this cruise and watching this movie up on deck so we will definitely catch it once or twice.

 

Trivia is at 1015, 1615 and 2015 – late night trivia. Fruit and vegetable carving in the Piazza. Art auction, bingo (twice), matre de wine club (not the free one), Princess pop choir is today, a pub lunch in the wheelhouse, line dance class and a foxtrot class. Lots to do and not enough time to do it all, but on this cruise, we hopefully will be able to do it all at least once!

 

Tonight is the first formal night, we did not bring formal wear this cruise, but will try and slip in to snag a few free drinks. There will be lots of dancing tonight with recorded music in fusion starting at 1700, the Jean Mac duo in wheelhouse at 1715, the orchestra at 1830 in explorers,

 

As previously stated we have Zumba at 0915 and 1415 (215PM) this afternoon. Two classes! With Line dance in between.

 

Lots of things to do, lots of way to burn off those calories. Getting ready to DIY Dubrovnik. We have Kunas prepped and ready to go and a very large wall to walk.

 

E’ya all later…

[PescadoAmarillo]

We came very close to booking these same 51 days and only the sea days at the end prevented us from doing so. Thanks to your wonderful life from, it seems like we did go after all. Thank you!

[GRADY WHITE]

We are so enjoying your Anniversary Live! It is fun to relive our similar itinerary (for our 50 TH) a year ago on the Ruby.

 

BTW, was your grocery shopping venue COOP? It is so convenient with the best selection in the Piazzale Roma neighborhood.

 

Will be following you all the way

 

Happy Times

[Sailingpeace]

I will be following your live with great interest. From your first post , I already learned two interesting things, the name OCPD ( I have many symptoms but enjoy them :)) and using Youtube to preview airports ! I am working with my SGD on a bucket list , trip of a lifetime, cruise that would include Venice. She is now 12 years old and the trip would be within the next two years. We will be taking notes . Thanks, have a great cruise and happy anniversary !

Edited October 26, 2013 by Sailingpeace

[ccrain]

10-26-2015 – Saturday At Sea Evening Update

 

Already losing track of which day of the week it is. Not a bad thing when you are on vacation that’s for sure. Today was pretty much a bust as that non-night’s sleep really caught up with both of us. We did do Zumba this morning, but Eve was not feeling well so they cancelled the afternoon session. There was a specialty Mexican buffet in Café Caribe this afternoon. Good guacamole, beans and fresh diced jalapenos – mmmm good. Chips and salsa, I’m happy that’s for sure. Add in some fresh beef fajitas and we’re both happy.

 

We did do some dancing in club fusion to canned music. Judy had a light dinner in the IC, a fresh clear broth and some greek salad. We went to see Broadway Ballroom – the new production show we’d not seen before. It was pretty good. The two professional ballroom dancers were great and the Paso Doble routines were really well done. The vocalists were, as usual, really good. Very nicely done.

 

Tonight is a weird night with an hour back tonight and then an hour ahead on Sunday night. We are hitting the hay early so that we can be ready for Dubrovnik in the morning.

[ccrain]

We are so enjoying your Anniversary Live! It is fun to relive our similar itinerary (for our 50 TH) a year ago on the Ruby.

 

BTW, was your grocery shopping venue COOP? It is so convenient with the best selection in the Piazzale Roma neighborhood.

 

Will be following you all the way

 

Happy Times

 

Apparently all the locals shop there as well...