Live from the Ruby Princess - Jan 23-27

[WendyG]

Good morning from 45 minutes away from docking at Puerta Maya Pie (per the shopping spotlight flyer)

 

The patter is very light today, good thing we decided to book the Coba ruins tour with the ship (doesn’t happen often that we do a ship tour) it should be a nice day, they say partly cloudy and 75 degrees.

 

The commodore came to the M&G (that I totally forgot about and was an hour late to) and most everyone was gone but he did tell mention that he is getting off the ship on Monday with us and will be on vacation until March 6th. We have:

304 elite

578 gold

312 ruby

669 platinum

 

Tonight is the ultimate deck party, they have Liars Club which interestingly enough is written as “Who’s the Cuckoo” in the patter. I haven’t seen it called this before. That is always fun so we will go. The only other thing on the agenda tonight is Landon Swank in the Princess Theatre who they wrote under his name that he is the highest placing illusionist in the history of America’s Got Talent.

Off to get ready for our all day tour….

[timetravler]

Is that the little poodle named "Honey"? A hearing dog?

If so yes, we did meet him and Honey is an amazingly well behaved dog, very sweet.

Yes that's the one. I think the dog has been on like 16 cruises by now. BTW if you find them not very welcoming, remember he does not hear you. If he is not with his mom, then that may be the reason they weren't very friendly, or in a hurry to get somewhere.

Anyways don't be afraid to ask question about the dog, but only if his mom is there or you know sign language.

One question that is always asked is where does the dog do her business. Answer, she is trained to do it on wee wee pads which they put in the shower. They take care of all the dogs needs

[WendyG]

Good afternoon on our last day as we head home. It’s been a fabulous long weekend. :)

 

I am sure all the snowbirds are quite happy with our weather, nothing but blue skies, calm seas, and temperatures in the mid 7o’s. The pool is packed!

For anyone thinking of doing the Coba Ruins tour, if you do, please make sure you do NOT get the tour guide Saul. He started out nice and ended up terrible, we wasted our whole day for nothing, all 33 people on our tour were unhappy. I did talk with other people on the other bus and their tour guide was fabulous, so I’m not saying don’t go, I’m saying don’t go with Saul!

 

Only one other complaint is that we have the worst cabin steward we have ever had. On our last cruise on the Royal we had an exceptional one, but this one is the exact opposite. One day he doesn’t empty the garbage in the bathroom, the next day he forgets the one in the living room, forgot our wine glasses all but on the first day when I asked for some everyday (this is the ONLY thing we ever ask for from our steward so it’s not like we had a list of demands) and we didn’t get our patters until the morning. Last night I walked down the hall and asked another steward if they were still printing them, nope, he had a stack and gave me one. Our room was normally cleaned at 11 am (we leave at 7) and we always leave the refresh room sign so they know we are gone. He leaves dirty plates on the desk, he has not once wiped down the balcony rail, the list goes on. I normally don’t complain, but this will make our comment card because you would think that people in a suite who normally pay top dollar (not in this case on the promo cruise) but I would think they would put their very best room stewards in charge of the suites.

 

That’s all for the complaints, this has been a wonderful cruise with wonderful people. I was a little concerned what the demographics would be on these shorter cruises (think carnival booze cruises) but this has been great, just like a regular 7 day or longer with great food, good entertainment, and wonderful people.

 

So, we saw Honey (the service dog poodle) and there is another one named Dolly who went to the Coba Ruins yesterday, they are both very cute.

 

The Liars Club was not Liars club which is probably why they named it something else LOL it was similar, just the three panelists telling you what they did for a living before the cruise, you had to guess which one was telling the truth. Landon Swank was good too, it was a nice evening and I’ve been so busy I have not made it to the casino. Perhaps today...

 

We won trivia this morning (14 wins on this cruise which amazes me!) and we are off to the Yes/No game (to watch, not play). We visited the Thermal Suite for the first time which was relaxing, and we have trivia this afternoon. Tonight is Broadway Ballroom in the Princess Theatre, the Marriage Match Game show, and Beatles Mania with Atomic.

 

I did inquire about Nicola the Maitre D that someone had asked? Anyway they said he will be on until May, not sure of the exact date but if I have the time to go to Botticelli at 6 pm tonight, I will ask him.

[compozer]

Wendy,

enjoying your posts.

 

I think the suite service has gone down hill the past few years. With exception to the one we had on the Star (GS) last spring. We would just think about something and the doorbell would ring and there was Russell with it.

 

I'm hoping we get a good one next week.

 

Take care,

Sandy

[Northender]

Wendy, thanks. I am enjoying your review very much.

We will board the Ruby in April and looking forward to that.

 

I did see London Swank on AGT and, yes, he was very good. I hope he is still there come April.:D

[san diego sue]

On our recent cruise on Sapphire, our room steward for suite also not very good. Took forever before he cleaned. We would leave at 8:00am, come back

at noon, and they were in the middle of cleaning. He had a trainee with him, and both were bad. One night, he didn't leave wash clothes or hand towels. Removed the dirty ones however. They never cleaned anything on the balcony. If I went outside to sit on lounge chair, got salt residue on my clothes. So, I always wiped first. It was that way when we first boarded so I know it was never cleaned.

 

Wendy glad you are having a fun packed cruise.

[geoherb]

Our cabin steward on the Ruby last month wasn't very good. We were in an obstructed view cabin. We'd put the card in our key slot to ask for him to freshen the room around 8 each morning. Many days he did not get around to do so until after lunch. I wish we had the cabin steward who serviced the cabins near ours. He was always pleasant and seemed to be on the ball.

[Phyljim]

Good afternoon on our last day as we head home. It’s been a fabulous long weekend. :)

 

Only one other complaint is that we have the worst cabin steward we have ever had. On our last cruise on the Royal we had an exceptional one, but this one is the exact opposite. One day he doesn’t empty the garbage in the bathroom, the next day he forgets the one in the living room, forgot our wine glasses all but on the first day when I asked for some everyday (this is the ONLY thing we ever ask for from our steward so it’s not like we had a list of demands) and we didn’t get our patters until the morning. Last night I walked down the hall and asked another steward if they were still printing them, nope, he had a stack and gave me one. Our room was normally cleaned at 11 am (we leave at 7) and we always leave the refresh room sign so they know we are gone. He leaves dirty plates on the desk, he has not once wiped down the balcony rail, the list goes on. I normally don’t complain, but this will make our comment card because you would think that people in a suite who normally pay top dollar (not in this case on the promo cruise) but I would think they would put their very best room stewards in charge of the suites.

 

 

Wendy, I think we had the same steward as you. On 1/9 we were in 409, and we had Edham--or something like that. He told us it was his first time as a cabin steward, just finished the accommodations school. I was also surprised they would assign him as a suite steward. English was very poor, and my Philippian is non existent. Communications were a problem. For our second cruise on the 13th, we had to move....but was just next door, 411 I think. Ricardo was the room steward, things were much different.

[baronessk]

We are in Ob. View E612 in Feb. I hope we have a good Steward. I had the worst ever a few years ago on the Island. Then over Christmas we were in a mini-suite mid ship Dolphin and Michael was the BEST ever! Seems there should be a rating system and those that don't make it, back to training.....

 

Yes, I did try to speak to the "Mom" of Honey a few times. My SD is also trained to use wee pads and his longest flight was from Singapore to Frankfurt (13+ hours) and I would just place a wee pad on the floor of the lavatory in 1st class. Then down the bin. Most people don't even know he's on the flight. There are places on ships designated for dogs to do their business. I did overhear Honey's mom tell another passenger that Honey has her own "crew" ID. Good for them!!!

Edited January 26, 2014 by baronessk

[landnsea]

Do you mean you 'found' a coffee card lying around the ship or was it one you had purchased and 'forgotten' about? If it was one that you found lying around the ship, surely you should have handed it in?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Surely you don't believe just because you are on a Princess Cruise Ship, you are not surrounded by Lieing Dishonest People ?

[more cruises]

Is there a lobster night in the dining room on the Ruby short cruises?

 

and I am interested in Cozumel-- what pier did you dock at and what side was facing the dock?

 

 

On the last two calls they stopped at the Royal Caribbean pier the first time and the pier just south the next time. Both times the starboard side faced the land.

[WendyG]

Good evening,

 

Well, I have 36 minutes left and Ron never even used his so I decided to post one last time.

 

For the person interested in the MaîtreD, I ended up going to the wine tasting this afternoon at 3 (who turns down free wine?) :) I saw him there and asked him. He said he is scheduled to do the crossing and that will be his last cruise until July. He is getting off in Southampton.

 

We had a fun time in trivia, we thought 17 was a winner until one guy who was playing by himself, got 19. I was impressed!

 

The most traveled passengers on this cruise are a couple from Palm City Florida, 1048 days. There are many B2B passengers, it was so nice to meet so many people who had no idea about the promo until they boarded. What a nice surprise for them.

 

We saw Landon Swank performing in the piazza this afternoon, we went to the multimedia trivia which we won (woohoo a bottle of champagne) and then the marriage show. Always entertaining. We just popped in to the 1015 broadway show, don’t care for the singers onboard so we left.

 

We had a chance to speak with Frenchie today (deputy cruise director) and she is such a sweetheart. I even saw my favorite bartender from the Sept cruise tonight, all in all a great short cruise with so many lovely crew members.

 

I just filled out my room service slip for tomorrow, will miss Sabatinis (wish they would extend it to disembarkation day!) and off the ship and to work I go (with a stop at home to say hi to my kitties)

 

Great cruise, great people, for all you future cruisers, you’re going to love the Ruby :D

Edited January 27, 2014 by WendyG

[baronessk]

The wine tasting is free?

[WendyG]

Wendy, I think we had the same steward as you. On 1/9 we were in 409, and we had Edham--or something like that. He told us it was his first time as a cabin steward, just finished the accommodations school. I was also surprised they would assign him as a suite steward. English was very poor, and my Philippian is non existent. Communications were a problem. For our second cruise on the 13th, we had to move....but was just next door, 411 I think. Ricardo was the room steward, things were much different.

 

Yep, that's him, Edmar. :)

[WendyG]

The wine tasting is free?

 

Complimentary for Elite passengers. :)

[riclop]

Enjoy your cruise.

[WendyG]

So as my card is scanned I'm told to be escorted to cbp. Lucky me I made the list for custom border control. :( Good thing was skipping to the front of the long line (only two agents working this morning) the bad is a stranger leafing thru your dirty clothes. He was nice though :)

The embassy suite shuttle was waiting when we got off. Glad we parked there.

 

Just spoke to a lady who sat next to a travel agent in the casino last night and the ta did not know about the promo. WOW! Glad she isn't my ta!

 

Happy travels to all embarking today...hope you have great weather like we did :)

 

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Forums mobile app

[jpj39]

Do you mean you 'found' a coffee card lying around the ship or was it one you had purchased and 'forgotten' about? If it was one that you found lying around the ship, surely you should have handed it in?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

why would you think so evil?

 

She Probably had a coffee card from left over from a prior cruise.

[Dorset Cruiser]

why would you think so evil?

 

She Probably had a coffee card from left over from a prior cruise.

 

Evil? What's evil about asking a question? There are constant posts about the correct way to treat the coffee cards. I just asked if the OP had 'found' it (her expression, not mine), ie. picked it up from the floor maybe, in which case the correct thing to do is to hand it in - 'finders is definitely not keepers' in an adult world. Or was it a coffee card she 'found' in her belongings that she had forgotten about. I note there has been no response from the OP, so who knows :rolleyes:

[geoherb]

Just spoke to a lady who sat next to a travel agent in the casino last night and the ta did not know about the promo. WOW! Glad she isn't my ta!

That's nothing. We sailed on b2b cruises last month over Christmas and Boxing Day. Lee Childers promised on the Wake Show that those of us on the Boxing Day cruise would receive the credit as well. So apparently even the ship's cruise director did not know the details about the credit offer.

 

Thanks for posting all the updates to this thread. It's been great living vicariously.

Edited January 27, 2014 by geoherb

[WendyG]

Evil? What's evil about asking a question? There are constant posts about the correct way to treat the coffee cards. I just asked if the OP had 'found' it (her expression, not mine), ie. picked it up from the floor maybe, in which case the correct thing to do is to hand it in - 'finders is definitely not keepers' in an adult world. Or was it a coffee card she 'found' in her belongings that she had forgotten about. I note there has been no response from the OP, so who knows :rolleyes:

 

To answer your question: I found it on the floor in the international cafe as I was walking off the ship. I got a coffee to go and was wheeling out my carryon and it was on the floor. I didn't even think to turn it in to lost and found, I was leaving! It had one punch. I do feel bad for the person that lost it but I seriously doubt they would have gone to lost and found the morning of disembarking. They probably didn't even know they lost it....probably fell out of a pocket.

Guess I'm evil for keeping it. :(

 

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Forums mobile app

[Dorset Cruiser]

To answer your question: I found it on the floor in the international cafe as I was walking off the ship. I got a coffee to go and was wheeling out my carryon and it was on the floor. I didn't even think to turn it in to lost and found, I was leaving! It had one punch. I do feel bad for the person that lost it but I seriously doubt they would have gone to lost and found the morning of disembarking. They probably didn't even know they lost it....probably fell out of a pocket.

Guess I'm evil for keeping it. :(

 

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Forums mobile app

 

Would never say you were EVIL for keeping it, although I think I would probably have handed it in to the attendant at the IC, just as I don't think I was EVIL for asking the question. I know I got slated on here for having the nerve to say I used a card which was purchased on a previous cruise for getting free brewed coffee and hot chocolate - eek, how dare I ;)

[caribill]

To answer your question: I found it on the floor in the international cafe as I was walking off the ship. I got a coffee to go and was wheeling out my carryon and it was on the floor. I didn't even think to turn it in to lost and found, I was leaving! It had one punch. I do feel bad for the person that lost it but I seriously doubt they would have gone to lost and found the morning of disembarking. They probably didn't even know they lost it....probably fell out of a pocket.

 

 

Since there is no identification of an owner on a coffee card, there is essentially zero chance the actual owner could be located, even if this happened the first day of a cruise.

[Griller]

Speaking personally I don't value coffee cards much as I have a bucket load of them from exchanging the Elite minibar, and a recent large number of back to back cruises but they are worth $30 plus each to someone who had to buy it.

If I had found $30 in bills on the floor during a cruise I would have handed it in, even though they also bear no distinguishing marks...............

 

but in the full flood of the horror of debarkation day who knows what one would do? One can become irrational.