Ruby Princess Review Mexican Riviera March 21, 2015

[tserface]

Your review is so much fun. I love how excited you are about cruising. Reading it I feel like I'm on a cruise for the first time. Thanks for sharing your joy.

 

Tom

[Alexv500]

Alex, I am so enjoying your review. You sound very mature and intelligent for your age, good for you! I was on the Ruby a few weeks after you with the same itinerary. Like you, I loved the Ruby!

 

How lucky for you to take your first cruise at 16 years of age. I was 22 when I took my first cruise and that was back in 1974! I fell in love with cruising then and have never stopped. When I think of it, my first cruise might have been on the big, white steamship that use to go to Catalina from San Pedro. My mom and I made that trip often when I was just a child in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s.

 

I’m looking forward to more of your review and pictures. Grandma looks like a sweetheart!

 

 

Thank you so much that means a lot! :) Cruising is such an amazing way to travel, I love it! Already planning the next cruise, looks like we might be heading to the Caribbean for my graduation cruise next year! :D

[Alexv500]

I love your enthusiasm! I will never forget my first cruise. The Ruby is a beautiful ship and will never forget the 12 days on the Mediterranean we spent in 2012. I really look forward to the rest of your review as we will be on the Crown in December for the same cruise itinerary as yours. The Crown is a sister ship to the Ruby so we are really looking forward to it.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post this review

 

 

 

Dixon

 

 

Thanks! Ruby is an amazing ship, it will always have a special place in my heart, and I can't wait till the day I get to sail on her again! You will love this itinerary, I enjoyed all the ports, they were beautiful and I had an amazing time and I'm sure you will too on your cruise! If you have any questions feel free to ask! Enjoy the review! :D

[Alexv500]

Your review is so much fun. I love how excited you are about cruising. Reading it I feel like I'm on a cruise for the first time. Thanks for sharing your joy.

 

 

 

Tom

 

 

Thank you! I love cruising, it will always be my favorite method of traveling! I love being able to relive the amazing time I had through this review I am sharing with you all! :D

[ar1950]

Alexv500, we are really enjoying your review. Its great to hear things from a first-time cruiser of your age. Your infectious enthusiasm has us really looking forward to being on the Ruby again on our upcoming Alaska cruise. Looking forward to more review.... :cool:

Edited May 29, 2015 by ar1950

[AzJenn]

GREAT JOB SO FAR! Looking forward to reading more!

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for posting your review and pictures. It is really fun seeing a cruise through the eyes of a new cruiser.

[srpilo]

Good work :)

 

 

 

Loving your take on the Ruby

Srpilo

[Alexv500]

Thank you everyone for your kind comments! :) I'll probably post more of it later tonight! Gotta upload more pics, lots more to come! :D

Edited May 30, 2015 by Alexv500

[Alexv500]

First Sea Day

 

We awoke at around 7 am, very bright an early, but hey, we're on a cruise, I don't mind waking up early, I was eager to see what a day is like aboard the Ruby on the first sea day! Lots to do on this day (more like lots of relaxing LOL!) It was going to be a busy day here on this floating paradise, so off to breakfast in the Da Vinci dinning room we went! We arrived at the Da Vinci and we were asked if we wanted to share a table with other people, and I was like no, no thanks (I thought this would increase our chance of getting a window, but we didn't) So after we were seated, we were given our menus, and boy was there ALOT OF OPTIONS! I didn't even know what to get so I ordered: Pancakes, a Ham and Cheese Omelet, hashbrowns, and some bacon! (Holy cow I know, but no worries I didn't eat it all!!) My grandma ordered the same, and we both enjoyed our breakfast. To drink I had Apple Juice, and Gramz enjoyed some coffee! (They give a lot of bacon, so if you're a bacon lover, you will be on cloud 9!) I highly we recommend eating Breakfast in MDR at least once or twice while you're on a Princess cruise, it's very yummy and a nice way to start the day, besides you've paid for all this, so might as well enjoy all you can!!

Miracle sailing beside us, very nice ship, would love to sail on her one day before she leaves Long Beach!

 

After our walk on the Promenade deck, we headed up to the Lido where Grandma grabbed us some chairs and relaxed. While Gramz was relaxing up on Lido in those big comfy chairs, I decided to do some exploring of the ship and headed up to Deck 19, the highest deck on the ship! And this was one of favorite places to be, and a wonderful place to get some amazing pictures!

Isn't life on the Ruby stressful??

Next up: An afternoon at sea, Second Dinner, and Balloon drop party!!

[Alexv500]

First Sea Day Continued:

 

 

 

After spending a couple hours on Lido relaxing by the pool, we headed to the cabin and took a nap LOL! (Yes, you get tired of relaxing too ya know!) I never nap at home, so I knocked out in the cabin and so did my grandma! After a quick cat nap, we headed down the Piazza to see what was going on, and there was this drink mixing event going on where this skilled drink mixer guy was mixing all these drinks, and it was pretty cool even though I am not drinking ago yet! We relaxed in the Piazza and got some treats at the International Cafe! After that, while wandering around, I ran into my friend Marissa and I decided to take a walk around the Promenade and talked about the cruise and how amazing it was and all the fun we've been having onboard! Grandma was in the Piazza listening to "El Trio" which was a group a musicians singing Spanish songs, and since my grandma speaks Spanish, she highly enjoyed the daily Trio in the Piazza singing! Me and Marissa headed up to Deck 19 and watched the wake from up there and continued chatting! (It's super fun talking about cruises with someone who's an expert and has sailed so many times!) Before I knew it, it was 5:20 and I headed down to the Piazza and got my grandma so we could head to the cabin and get ready for our second dinner! We headed down to the Botticelli dinning room for our second dinner and Faye was so happy to see us again and quickly brought us our iced teas! (Little things like that make me so happy, now that's what you call great and friendly service!)

 

 

 

For Dinner I ordered some fruit appetizer, a delicious chilled Granny Smith apple soup, and for my main I got some grilled chicken w/ Fries! My grandma got all the same as well except for her main she tried the salmon! All the food was very good! Here come some food porn pics, sorry if I make your mouths water (there will be lots more food porn on this review so beware!!)

 

Chilled Granny Smith Chilled soup, very yummy!

 

 

 

http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/y348/Al300/Ruby%20Princess%20Cruise%20Pics/IMG_8235_zps17nyrokc.jpg' alt='IMG_8235_zps17nyrokc.jpg'> Here is the party going down in the Piazza!

 

Next up: Another Day at Sea aboard the Ruby Princess! Almost to Puerto Vallarta!

Edited May 30, 2015 by Alexv500

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Thank you everyone for your kind words! I'll be posting more today for you guys, it's so fun to share my vacation with you all and it helps me relieve that amazing week!

 

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us! Like you, I dreamed of going on cruises when I was a kid, but didn't actually get to go on one until I was an adult. Sorry that your grandfather wasn't still here to join you, but you are fortunate that your grandmother was able to go with you. Your will cherish the memories of that trip years from now. As another poster mentioned, your first cruise is always a special one!

[Alexv500]

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us! Like you, I dreamed of going on cruises when I was a kid, but didn't actually get to go on one until I was an adult. Sorry that your grandfather wasn't still here to join you, but you are fortunate that your grandmother was able to go with you. Your will cherish the memories of that trip years from now. As another poster mentioned, your first cruise is always a special one!

 

 

You're welcome and thank you! I really do miss him and wish he would've been on the cruise too, I know he would've loved it because he loved the ocean very much! This trip was amazing and I think about it everyday! We are already working on planning the next cruise, this time the Caribbean!! This cruise will always be special to me :)

[Sunflowertx]

What a wonderful review! You are doing a great job. Love your pictures. Can't wait to read more.:D

 

Gilda

[Colo Cruiser]

Yum love the salmon! Now I am hungry! :D

[cr8tiv1]

Thank you Alex for your refreshing perspective of a first time cruiser. Seems as though you are hooked. You will have to work and save extra hard so this can become a regular event in your life. Your enthusiasm is upbeat. Your English teacher must have taught you well.

 

Glad your Grandma took you on this cruise. She must be someone very special.

[Alexv500]

Day 3: Second Day at Sea

 

We woke up at around 7:30 am today, and headed up to the Horizon court for breakfast. My grandma wanted to try out the buffet for breakfast, and they had a great selection of food. Everything you could want from Pancakes, bacon, hashbrowns, French Toast, and a selection of fruits. They also have this AMAZING omelet station where they make you a made to order omelet and I would get one everyday after this! (They're REALLY good!) And everyday I would also get a bowl of watermelon! (I LOVEEEE Watermelon, my favorite fruit) After breakfast we headed down to the Promenade for a walk and boy do the ocean views NEVER get old as you walk around the Promenade deck, we even sat down in the deck chairs and watched the ocean pass by! I could never get enough of this, and took many pictures from here!

You can see why I love watching this view!!

 

After our walk on the Promenade, we headed up to the Lido and I went swimming again and Gramz did some more relaxing and there was a movie playing too! It was awesome swimming and watching a movie at the same time, I was just swimming and relaxing in the lap of luxury, best way to sit back and enjoy life! I never did the teens club, which I should've but my grandma would've been so lost on this giant ship without me, and I wanted to explore and see all I can of the ship, maybe next cruise I'll do the teens club! After some swimming, I headed to the Horizon court for a snack between breakfast and lunch. We decided on trying lunch in the MDR today which began at noon in the Da Vinci dinning room today. You hardly actually even get hungry on these cruises because you are always eating! Sometimes my grandma would be like "Lets go see what they have right now at the buffet, JUST to see!" And next thing you know here we are walking out with some snacks LOL!

Next up: Lunch in the Da Vinci Dinning Room and Our First Formal Night!

[Colo Cruiser]

Next up: Lunch in the Da Vinci Dinning Room and Our First Formal Night!

 

 

 

What???? More food??? :D

[Alexv500]

Day 3 at Sea Continued: Lunch in the MDR and Formal Night!

 

We hung out on Lido for a while, watching a movie on the big screen and got some sun! The weather was amazing, and it kept getting warmer as we neared Mexico! Couldn't have asked for better weather, it was perfect! We saw a couple dolphins and we sailed south and it's amazing to see wild life so close!! After hanging out on Lido for a couple hours, we headed down to the cabin to change really quick out of our relaxing/swim clothes and headed down to the Da Vinci for lunch! At this point, I wasn't even that hungry but grandma was! We were seated at table for two, and these 2 ladies sat next to us and they were both from New York! One of these ladies had been on the Ruby when she did a Canadian cruise from NY in October I believe, so it was pretty cool how she was on Ruby again now that she's here on the West Coast! It amazes me how much all the Princess ships travel, the Ruby in particular just a year ago was sailing the Caribbean and now here she was in the Pacific going down to Mexico for the first time! I also love that Princess is based here in Southern California so they are always sending us great ships here. They were so kind to send us their former flagship, the beautiful Ruby and I am so happy to have such great Princess ships here on the West Coast, unlike other cruise lines who send us their oldest ships...not going to mention ANY in particular..LOL. But, GO PRINCESS!!

 

Anywho enough of my rant about ships on the West Coast, let's continue with my lunch in the MDR, shall we?

 

For Lunch there were lots of great options, such as sandwiches, salads, soups, and much more! I ordered a salad for a a starter, Mexican Albondigas Soup and then Chicken Parmesan w/ Fries! (I sure love my french fries don't I?) Grandma ordered the same things, since she was curious to try someone else's Albondigas and wanted to see if they make it better than her, omg! Tip: when you are with a hispanic relative and you make them try Mexican food in particular, they will ALWAYS say that they make it better!! That's why I never go to Mexican restaurants with any of my relatives!!

I highly enjoyed all the food, it was DELICIOUS! and the waiters were super nice and attentive! We even were seated near a window, so it was nice watching the ocean pass by as we enjoyed our meal!

Mexican Albondigas Soup, I really liked it and told my grandma she needs to make it like this!!

Chicken Parmesan w/ French Fries, yummm!

 

After Lunch, I was stuffed up! So I decided to go for a walk on Promenade while my grandma listened to some music and chatted with her friends she met earlier in the cruise in the Piazza! While Grandma was chatting it up, I went an explored some more and took more picture and filmed around the ship as well. Walking around the ship was a good exercise, and I used to stairs A LOT! I went from deck 7 to 15 using the stairs because I did not have the patience to wait for those dang elevators that take AGESSS to show up! I only used the stairs when I was on my own, when I was with Grandma, I would take the elevator with her.

 

A couple hours passed by and I was up on deck 19, it was around 4:45 PM and I realized we would have to start getting ready for dinner, it was our first formal night tonight! I hung up for a little while longer on deck 19 and took this awesome picture!

http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/y348/Al300/Ruby%20Princess%20Cruise%20Pics/Day%203%20at%20sea/SAM_0206_zps9twkyuet.jpg' alt='SAM_0206_zps9twkyuet.jpg'>Almost Sunset!

 

After my adventures of exploring, I headed down to the Piazza, and told my grandma we needed to get ready for dinner! We went back to our cabin and I went to the Laundromat to iron my clothes, and luckily there was just one other kid ironing, I expected everyone would be ironing their clothes for evening! I showered and got ready for formal night!

Next up: Our First Formal Night!!

[Alexv500]

Thank you everyone for your comments! Glad you are enjoying the review, it's super fun sharing my cruise with you all! And soooo sorry Colo Cruiser, wait till you see the steak from the last night!

[Alexv500]

Our First Formal Night!

After an hour of getting ready (my grandma took the longest, not me!) It was time to head down to the Botticelli for our formal dinner, all fancied up!

We arrived at our table and noticed how great the waiters all looked, they were dressed all fancy too and they looked great! For Dinner we both had chicken and I forgot the rest, but I have pictures so I will post those in a separate post since I can only post 6 at a time *sad face*

Oops I don't know why there's a random white spot on my grandmas nose LOL but I think it was the lighting, and my phone is weird like that..

http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/y348/Al300/Ruby%20Princess%20Cruise%20Pics/Day%203%20at%20sea/IMG_8252_zpsjtjsiqhi.jpg' alt='IMG_8252_zpsjtjsiqhi.jpg'>Enjoying a great Movie Under the Stars!!

Next up: Our First Port of Call: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!

[Alexv500]

Formal night dinner before I forget to post these food pics for you all!

Very Yummy desert!

http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/y348/Al300/Ruby%20Princess%20Cruise%20Pics/Day%203%20at%20sea/SAM_0211_zps4aphi67p.jpg' alt='SAM_0211_zps4aphi67p.jpg'>Main Course, delicious chicken!

[partybarbie]

Thanks again for taking the time to post all of the pictures and commentary. I can't wait to read about your day in PV.:)

[TorontoTL]

Wonderful photo review Alex. I'm so glad that you and your grandmother are having a well deserved cruise.

[Matcodixon]

Great photos and am looking forward to your additional posts.

 

On your next cruise perhaps you can sign up for the "ultimate ship tour"

I took this on the Ruby during our Mediterranean cruise and it was amazing. We went below the normal decks to see the inner workings of the ship as well as behind the scenes at the theater, into the laundry, print shop, kitchen, medical center, engine control room and finally the bridge. I am sure that you would really enjoy it.

 

Looking forward to your port reviews.