Ruby - Christmas Cruise 12.22-12.26 Review/Thoughts w/Photos

[LollyMoz]

Have to post this in portions, here is number one:

 

Okay, here we go. I did a pre-cruise review of our hotel experience in Ft. Lauderdale – at the Holiday Inn Express Convention Center/Cruise Port on 17th street, which can be found in the Florida Departures board here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1961268

As I mentioned in my pre-cruise report, the shuttle was early and we departed the hotel at 12:20 p.m. There was a pretty good amount of congestion at the port, which was totally to be expected with 8 ships in port. But, we didn’t encounter any lines going in, almost no wait whatsoever for security (FYI – we brought 3 1-litre cartons of wine in our carry on (Vendage, available from Publix), and didn’t get so much as an eyebrow raise. Nor did we see anyone get “pulled over” to the “table of shame.” J) Really no wait until we hit the line for actual embarkation. It wasn’t all that bad and we were through the door by 1:10 p.m. and after waiting at the elevator line and the breezeway, we were onboard, greeted by wonderful Christmas Carolers, and in our room by 1:30 p.m. I do want to say here that everyone, and I mean everyone, that we encountered at the port, from security, to gate agents, to embarkation personnel to whomever, was really pleasant, smiling, wishing us a Merry Christmas… what a GREAT start to this cruise! Kudos to all Port personnel for this particular sailing!

We got to our room and settled in… I have to say, I really like this whole carry your luggage on and off thing…no waiting for your bags. Pretty awesome. We were in a Dolphin Mini Suite, which we absolutely love for the extra room, bathtub, etc. Some don’t appreciate the uncovered balcony but that has never been a problem for us. When we walked into the room, I quickly took a couple of photos

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We looked around and unfortunately, found a piece of bacon on our floor, yes an actual piece of bacon, and a dirty, used straw on our balcony. But, hey, is that going to affect us… no, I don’t think so. Our cabin steward came in almost immediately and gave us our glass of sparkling wine to enjoy on our balcony. Just as an FYI and as you can see from the photo, we did have the new patio furniture. I’ll remark on that later. There were 29 hangers in the closet, for those that might want to know. Yes, we had the new shampoo/soap dispensers. Now, I don’t have a problem with the new dispensers, I totally get that it is a money saving measure for Princess…what I don’t understand, is why they changed the actual product that is dispensed. We loved the eucalyptus smell of the previous product; the stuff that is in the dispensers now doesn’t have much of a smell at all and didn’t do anything for us. Glad I brought my own product along.

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[Colo Cruiser]

Nice!!

[LollyMoz]

After we settled in, we wandered the ship, window shopping and stopping at the International Café, where we felt compelled to sample the new offerings. The Thai Beef was excellent! Hubby had Greek salad and the beet salad, which he declared was wonderful. Additionally, they had on offer the typical paninis of tuna salad, ham and cheese on croissant, tomato mozzarella, 2 quiches (the mushroom quiche was absolutely fabulous!) and of course all the pastries you could want.

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[christinelee]

Thanks for the review. Beautiful Pictures!

Happy Cruising!

[riclop]

Great start looking foward for the rest.

[LollyMoz]

I have to mention here that my poor hubby strained his back removing a piece of luggage out of the shuttle van and he was in some pain - still is to be honest. Note to self - let the van drivers do what they do... Anyway, muster was at 4:15 and we were in the Casino. Since we don't really gamble at all, this was one of our only visits to the casino. Muster was as it always is and we were back in our cabin by 4:40. We put away our life jackets and went up to the Lido Deck for sailaway. I got my dad on the phone and walked him through the web cam instructions so that he could follow our departure. I love that! We didn't request a video shot this time, but we did last time and it was awesome. Thanks for those folks that take the time to do that!

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Yes, I am actually on this cruise... :D

[LollyMoz]

So, we sail away and I say bye to my dad, who is thrilled to have seen us sail away from his home in Philly... and I turn around to find my hubby, who at last sighting was happily watching football on MUTS...uh oh...he's gone. We spent the next hour circling the ship trying to find each other. I went to the cabin, no sign of him, tried the piazza, nope... Sigh. Meanwhile, hubby went to the cabin and Jessie, our cabin steward, told him that he just missed me! So he decided to park himself in the cabin and watch some TV and wait for me. Luckily, I went back to the cabin and found him and we had a good laugh. So we walked back up to the shops, which were now open. The ship was very full and felt busy, but not in a bad way. The Christmas decorations were absolutely gorgeous! We wandered down to the main dining room, but at this point it was 7:00 p.m. and the line was way too long. We saw very casual attire - shorts, jeans, t-shirts. So, we went up to the HC which was also very busy. We managed to slide into a two-top which had not been wiped down or set up with silver/napkins. No one ever came by; we got our own silverware/napkins, drinks, etc. For dinner we had mussels, roast beef, scallops, tomato soup, salad, cheese and olives. Never did have a server stop by. Oh well. We went back to the cabin and filled out our room service card. Poured a glass of wine (oh, we also brought along a 12-pack of water which we strapped to one of our suitcases); sat on the balcony and looked at each other... it was a good day and we decided to just stay in and watch movies, relax on the balcony. My only regret of this cruise is that we didn't get to see Colors of the World, as it was only performed on the first night. Darn! :(

[LollyMoz]

On MUTS that night was the Philly game; Dad was jealous that we had the option of watching it on a cruise ship under the stars. The ship was moving very slowly, so there wasn't a lot of rocking and rolling. We got a good night's sleep and I was up early to take some photos of the ship. One note here to new cruisers. Please know that it is not good etiquette to let your door slam shut. Very disturbing to the surrounding cabins. Just saying. Here are some photos of the ship on the first morning:

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Edited December 29, 2013 by LollyMoz

[LollyMoz]

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We really enjoyed the Wheelhouse Bar and spent several enjoyable evenings there listening to the G&V Duo. Sadly, those photos didn't come out because of the bright blue lighting. But here are a few photos before the ship came to life.

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Sorry that some of these photos are blurry. Flash issues, don'tcha know!

[LollyMoz]

I was up early and highlighted the patter. Our room service order was absolutely correct and on time. We wrote in bacon and sausage - no problem whatsoever. The HC was fairly quiet at this time of day on this morning. Here are more photos:

 

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[LollyMoz]

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[LollyMoz]

I did notice that the hand sanitizer at the entrance to the HC was being enforced. The staff were yawning, but seemed happy and pleasant. After I returned from taking a few photos, we enjoyed our room service breakfast on our balcony. We had tomato juice, prune juice, coffee, tea, fruit (grapefruit and melon) and bacon and sausage. Hubby enjoys his baths, which is one of the reasons we pick the mini-suite, so he took a nice, long soak (remember his bad back...). We walked up to look at the Sanctuary, Spa and Gym. We then walked to MUTS - Back to the Future was playing. The pool area was busy, but not crazy. We shared a Bloody Mary (extra spicy, thank you very much), but got kind of crowded out and walked aft to look at the hot tub and pool area.

 

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[LollyMoz]

My hubby was seriously hoping to be able to soak in the hot tub and watch MUTS, which is one of his favorite things to do. But, unfortunately, one of the hot tubs at that particular pool was not working (for the duration of our cruise) and the only available hot tub was loaded with kids, as one might expect on a cruise with 700 little ones aboard.

 

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So much for soaking and watching MUTS. The pool was a bit chilly for us, but I'm sure it was fine for those of the passengers who were from colder climes. We decided to head to the IC for some noshes. We tried the Thai beef noodle salad which was way yummy! Also had grilled veggies which were delish. The Piazza was busy with the cruise services presentation. I'll say that sometimes the ship did feel crowded, but again, what would one expect on a sold out cruise with 700 kids aboard?

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[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for posting your thoughts and pictures.....:):):)

 

Bob

[LollyMoz]

Was just typing away for 20 minutes and had a brief power failure. Grrr. I'm taking a quick break to check on our new addition - Snowball the Canary - and see how hubby and his back are doing. I shall return shortly. Thanks for following along and almost happy new year to everyone!

[iloverags2]

Enjoying your review and lovely pictures of the beautiful Ruby!

[LollyMoz]

Okay, so where was I? It is a rainy, quiet day here in Florida and I am just taking my time writing this. Thanks for your patience. By the way, made an awesome batch of ham/green bean/mushroom chowder that is simmering away on the stove. Perfect for a day like today.

I had pre-ordered the beer package (6 for the price of 5), but hubby wasn ‘t in the mood for beer, so we changed it to a bottle of chardonnay and had that delivered to the room. Very cute story… the young room service attendant who delivered our wine told us that he could not leave the cork screw with us because on the cruise previous to ours, a (in his words) “drunk lady” cut herself badly on the foil cutter and so now the policy is that the room service attendant can open it for you at the time of delivery, or you can call down to have it opened later… yeah, no. So I asked him to go ahead and open the wine, but bless his heart, he was obviously new to the game. After watching him struggle and struggle, I quietly took the bottle from him, showed him how to use the little lever to push down on the rim of the bottle and POP, the bottle was open. He actually blushed. It was the cutest thing ever. Note to all cruisers: don’t cut yourself on the foil cutter, hammered or not, because it will affect everyone else on future cruises!!!! :D

It was "Dress to Impress" night, which took the place of formal night on this short cruise. Quick note here: there was no Captain's Circle member night because it was a short cruise, and I had read that others received a chit for a free cocktail. Even though we are Ruby members, we never did get any type of free drink certificate. Perhaps this is only for elite/platinum members? I have no idea and didn't fuss about it. If you can't tell, I'm not a fusser. Okay, so I saw lots of folks dressed beautifully this night. We decided that we would dress up for Christmas Eve dinner at the Crown Grill (I called up when we first hit the cabin to make reservations. LOOOOONG time on hold, but they will get to you eventually. Don't give up!) We went to the MDR for anytime dining right at 5:30 and were somewhere like 5th in line. Got a table for two with no problem. Dining room filled up very quickly after that however. For dinner we had: watermelon feta salad (YUM), gravlax appetizer, French onion soup, Caesar salad w/anchovies, beef medallions, macadamia encrusted mahi-mahi.

French Onion Soup - Best Ever! by lollymoz, on Flickr

Ceasar Salad w/Anchovies by lollymoz, on Flickr

Macadamia Crusted Mahi-Mahi by lollymoz, on Flickr

Beef Medallions by lollymoz, on Flickr

We enjoyed coffee and tea and a dry sack cognac after dinner. Very good!!!

[LollyMoz]

Went to see Comedian Phil Tag at the early show. He was fun. We'd seen him before and the routine was pretty similar, but we enjoyed it. We then went to the Piazza for the champagne water fall. Wow. Crowded. But, again, fun. It was/is a photo op for those who want to have their picture taken (we didn't). We had a couple of glasses of sparkling wine, watched the Commodore's remarks/staff introductions and wandered the shops. One of our favorite bars on the Ruby was the Wheelhouse. It's dark and clubby feeling. Viri was our server most nights and she was so awesome. Had a martini there and listened to the G & V duo. Tried to take photos, but the blue light over the stage just wasn't letting it happen. They went on break and we then went to Club Fusion where we just caught the tail end of the Disco night. From there we went to Explorer's (can you say pub crawl...it's not over yet) for rock n roll night and the Elvis impersonator contest, which was a complete blast! Such laughter and carrying on. After that we went to Crooners for a night cap. We met so many wonderful servers on this cruise and have to say that despite being

away from their families and loved ones, all that we encountered seemed to be in good spirits and were very pleasant and professional.

 

Rock & Roll Night in Explorers by lollymoz, on Flickr

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Edited December 29, 2013 by LollyMoz

[LollyMoz]

One of the things I enjoy doing is, at the end of the evening, sitting on the balcony with a beverage, star gazing and enjoying the sounds of the sea. I did that, as hubby got to catch up on some movie watching (he never stops long enough at home). We were snoozing by 12:30.

 

12.24 - Christmas Eve

 

Room Service was once again exactly on time and right. We enjoyed our coffee/tea/juice/bacon/fruit and I highlighted the patter (does anyone have any interest in the Patters, because I could post them if so). It was our plan to just relax on the ship today, and enjoy the quiet spaces as everyone got off to visit Princess Cay. There wasn't much on MUTS - this cruise seemed to have a lot of old movies and concerts. Football on Sunday and Monday night. It was a leisurely morning and I gathered the candy that I brought for our cabin steward and put it in the gift bag (I had read on CCRain's review what candy the crew liked and I really loaded up). I had a Christmas card for him and put in a $20 bill. Hubby took a nice, long bath and watched Superman on TV while I walked up to MUTS. Princess Bride was on - one of my faves - and since the ship was so quiet, I grabbed a prime spot and settled in with my water and my Kindle and was just happy as a clam. Bliss. Not too much later, hubby came up and found an open hot tub and was able to relax and let his back soak up some good warmth. We went to HC for lunch and hubby got a big salad with all the fixings and I had fish, green beans, and cauliflower with a parmesan cream sauce. We also shared a couple of pieces of pizza - pepperoni and the pie of the day which was prosciutto, mushroom and basil. Delish!!! Seriously, Princess does know how to do a pizza! We decided that since it was such a lovely day, we'd head over to Princess Cay for a short while. It was really crowded (to the left) which was no surprise, but still we were able to grab a lounger and order a beverage (dark rum w/pineapple juice and a touch of coconut). I got in the water for a bit. Hubby tried, but it was quite rocky and he wasn't as sure footed as he wanted to be, so he relaxed while I swam a bit. The water was pretty brisk getting in, but I got used to it quickly and it was really refreshing. When I go back to Princess Cay, I think I'll head to the right off the pier and explore in that direction, as it seemed a bit more open. The wait for the tenders was pretty much nonexistent, and we hopped right on and got back to the ship by around 3:30. Rain showers were closing in and we showered up and watched the rain as it approached the ship. Good napping weather! (Another reason I love the mini-suite - the full size sofa I could stretch out on while hubby was deep into his movie catching up). I did see a sting ray and many fish just off the boat while gazing at the water from our balcony.

 

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[wineforhealth]

Love the review with the pictures

[LollyMoz]

It was hard to force myself to get up and get ready for Christmas Eve dinner at Crown Grill, but nonetheless, I had to do it. We enjoyed a nice glass of wine in our cabin before dinner and wandered the ship a bit before our 5:30 reservation. If you can't tell, we like to dine early. We had an AMAZING, LONG dinner at Crown Grill. Our waiter, Chris, was absolutely fabulous. It was such a memorable meal... I want to go back right now! We stared out with the shrimp bisque and the black n bleu French onion soup (hubby said it was the best he ever had. I'll have to take his word for it, as I don't do moldy cheese products! :D) We then moved on to the lobster cake and seared scallops. For our entrees we ordered lobster tails, filet mignon, and the Chilean sea bass...oh my gosh people... you have to have this! The sea bass was among the best we've had anywhere. So amazing! Our sides were creamed spinach and grilled asparagus. When were graced by a visit, my hubby asked the Chef de Cuisine (for all the specialty restaurants) for a chef's hat, which was happily delivered as we were enjoying our after dinner cocktails of sambucca, cognac, and coffee. Yes, the evening was a 3 hour adventure in dining and I wish I could do it again right now. Does the Crown Grill deliver to Palm Harbor, FL???? After dinner we waddled...um I mean strolled to the Wheelhouse for our nightly G&V Duo encounter. We would have danced had it not been for hubby's bad back. Again, thanks to CCRain for the good recommendations. We did see several couples that were good dancers utilizing the dance floor for a bit of Rumba action. That night was supposed to be the Ultimate Deck Party on the Lido Deck, but due to rain, it was moved inside and combined with the line dance party. Oh my gosh. So crowded, but what a great vibe and so much fun to watch!!! Everyone seemed in such great spirits. Other than one couple I observed having a fight as they walked through the photo gallery, I'd say that this was one of the happiest cruises we've been on. The Christmas Eve service was in the theater at 11:30, which we had every intention of attending, but sadly missed. Back to the cabin, some TV and reading and zzzzz.... Merry Christmas!

 

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Dinner @ Crown Grill - Christmas Eve by lollymoz, on Flickr

[LollyMoz]

Okay, back at it. It is such a dreary, rainy day here...hard to keep motivated. The sofa keeps beckoning...but I digress.

 

Merry Christmas! Normally we don't draw the curtains in our cabin, preferring to enjoy the early morning light as we wake. For some reason, this particular morning we drew the curtains and it was a snooze FEST!. Thank goodness I didn't order room service until 8:30 because we barely made it! As usual, everything was perfect and we enjoyed our breakfast on the balcony. Mentioned earlier, we had made our photo appointment for 10:00 a.m. this morning. My hubby had never sat for a photo session before, so this was a first for him. We went to the photo gallery and met Tara from Platinum Studios. Again, I highly, highly recommend this service. She took us up to her studio on 19 (just off the sports deck) and sat us down on a couple of sofas. She asked us to tell her our story - how we met, how we fell in love, how we married, etc. She really got to know us. Then she started with the 1/2 hour photo shoot. Though I have to say my hubby was WAY out of his element, he finally got into it and we did get some amazing photos out of this shoot. I highly recommend Tara/Platinum Studios. Not cheap, don't get me wrong, but to us, worth every penny!

So now we are done with our big Hollywood photo shoot, so it was time to EAT again. On our way to lunch we observed Santa in the Piazza...a line that was beyond beyond. But, again, everyone happy, smiling, laughing. Great vibe. Had lunch in Davinci - tortilla chicken soup, vegetable terrine, Greek salad, tuna melt, hamburger. Filled our empty spaces. Wandered the ship - gosh, seems we did more of that on this trip than any other, but when you have a lot of time at sea, what else do you do? Up to Café Caribe just to see what was on offer. Grabbed a few fried shrimp and went out to the aft bar for a glass of wine. Kind of rainy, but the staff was busy wiping things down and as always, very cheerful.

As we walked back through the interior spaces, it felt crowded, as is no surprise since it was inclement outdoors and the ship was full. We had to rest my poor hubby's back - what a trooper he has been - so back to the cabin it was.

 

Let me share some general thoughts at this point, for those that care and/or are still following along. How am I doing Tim??? Good with the photos, thanks to you???

 

New balcony furniture. Very good looking. VERY stiff. The chairs do recline, but the first position is very upright...very. The second position is too reclined to have a conversation, etc. Good for stargazing and the like. I hope the furniture will soften up after a bit, but hey, no complaints here.

 

Lots of great holiday activities. Gingerbread making contest, Santa, caroling, etc. Good time for the littles.

 

Heard many times from several different servers, how well they are treated and how they feel like a family. Kudos to the bar managers. One thing though is that the shorter cruises don't allow staff to bond with the pax as they might on a longer cruise. Turnaround days are hard on the staff and a shorter cruise is taxing on them.

 

Food - completely subjective. You don't have to worry about going hungry on the Ruby. International Café? Horizon Court? Café Caribe? Main Dining Room? Specialty Restaurants? Room Service (best PB&J EVER)? There is something for everyone and anyone. Please don't listen to the few naysayers out there who can never be satisfied.

Shrimp Bisque by lollymoz, on Flickr

Scallops by lollymoz, on Flickr

Lobster Cake by lollymoz, on Flickr

Black n Bleu French Onion Soup. by lollymoz, on Flickr

Fabulous Dinner @ Crown Grill by lollymoz, on Flickr

Yes...we had fun! by lollymoz, on Flickr

[kellor]

Love, love your review !! Thank for taking the time to give us all such wonderful virtual cruise. Lori

[Colo Cruiser]

Yum Yum now I am hungry! :D

[LollyMoz]

It was a quiet, last sea day as the cruise was winding down. May I just state for the record how envious I am of the stalwart cruisers who have 42,700 days at sea and just cruise all year long. Oh I wish I was you!!! We dearly love cruising, but as with many, can only afford/take time off, for our once a year or so indulgences. Perhaps that makes it sweeter and why I never complain, even when encountering a piece of bacon on my cabin floor.

 

While hubby rested his back, I went up to the shops (yes, I know, I've been there a thousand times during the cruise, but hey). I got some little gifts for the folks back home - the neighbor who has been dutifully watching our home while we're gone, friends, colleagues, etc., and a shirt or two, as well as a nice bottle of single malt Scotch that I can take back to the room since it is the last day. Dropped off the loot and since Hubby was so comfortably settled in, went to the art auction and watched the festivities. I'm not one to buy art at these things, but sure do enjoy watching!

 

Went back to the room and enjoyed a glass of wine with my sweet, hurting hubs. We had an appointment at 5 to pick out our photos with Tara. Got a great package. Score! Went to Vines for a glass of wine to celebrate, then decided to head to HC for dinner as we weren't all that enticed by the menu at the MDR. We ended up eating turkey, stuffing, potatoes, beef medallions, and all the fixings. Happy happy full tummies.

 

Went down to our nightly excursion at the Wheelhouse to see G&V duo and have a drink with Viri. If you are heading out on the Ruby any time soon, please look her up. Long dark hair, very pretty and what a wonderful soul...

 

We were back in the room by 9:00 - again, love this carry on/off luggage stuff, no having to worry about putting the luggage out early. Ship was moving sooooooo slowly that the smoke was overtaking us on the starboard side. Wasn't very pleasant on the balcony so my night time ritual was not to be. We ordered a final room service of chili and pizza and called it a night - final sleep aboard the Ruby. :(