Live from the Ruby Princess…April 14-30 from Galveston to San Francisco

[PandaBear62]

Pre-cruise

We booked a Panama Canal cruise last year, leaving from San Francisco. There is little I enjoy more than driving across or sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge. However, that cruise was cancelled by Princess and we had to choose another. We might have chosen to do an entirely different cruise, but were sailing with a group, so we decided to choose a cruise that starts in Galveston and ends in San Francisco. We won’t enjoy the sail away under the bridge, but will be almost home when we end the cruise and that is certainly nice. Coming from CA, the other advantage is there are multiple airlines we can fly non stop to Houston. We chose to fly in early (arriving Tuesday for a Friday sailing) because I have cousins in Houston and it gives us a chance to visit. We had an uneventful flight to Houston, collected out luggage and were off. We enjoyed our time in Houston and I especially appreciated that we drove to College Station and visited the George HW Bush Presidential Library. I’m a history buff and my goal is to visit all the Presidential Libraries. 

 

Friday

We took a private car service car from Galveston Saltwater moms Moms. I accidentally gave her the wrong address…..my cousin's old house. Luckily they were only a couple of miles apart and she quickly arrived. Kat was delightful and pointed out sites of interest along the way. We hit very little traffic except around Katy and had an in energy drive to Galveston. 

We had a 12pm boarding time but the port was very quiet and no one was checking arrival times. We quickly went through security and boarded the ship with essentially no waiting. I had been told that our cruise would have about 2000 passengers. We went upstairs to the Lido deck and both had a slice of pizza. I like their pizza, it’s very thin with a thicker crust around the edge….it’s exactly what I prefer. We went to the spa and took a price list of services and then I went up to Adiago…..it was empty, which was exactly what I needed. I am retired but have gone back to work part time for a school. I’m a speech pathologist who case manages for a school site. So I did my parent meeting online and then met up with my husband. We went back to the spa and I booked some services and then we headed to the room to unpack. 

 

While I am traveling with some former work colleagues, we aren’t doing everything together. Our friends were resting longer, so we went to dinner and asked for a shared table. We had delightful table mates and enjoyed the conversation. 

 

I had the seared garlic prawns, green vegetable risotto and vanilla cream brûlée. Dh had the seared mahi mahi and cheesecake (don’t remember his appetizer). He thought the mahi mahi was quite good and the cheesecake was, well cheesecake. Not fantastic, not bad, just cheesecake. I liked the shrimp. The risotto was okay. Not horrible but not that good. I had a glass of old vine Zinfandel that was not in the plus package ($17) so paid the up charge. It was quite good and I will likely have it again.

 

 

After dinner we went to the One Hits wonder trivia and then then the comedian. He wasfine. Not super funny all the time, but I did enjoy some of his bits and he was also not off color or crude and I was happy for that. Dh thought he was funnier than I did, LOL. 

 

 

There are 1969 guests per the cruise director on the ship. This demographic definitely skews older….dh and I joked we’re youngsters in this cruise.

 

After the show we headed back to the room. I stopped at the pool bar for my nightly amaretto. One thing I like about Princess…I can have a double amaretto. We watched an episode of Love Boat before going to sleep. 

 

 

[tompeter]

Great start!

[PandaBear62]

Saturday

I had a bad night last night (I have terrible insomnia) so got up later than I’d like and made my way to the spa for my manicure appointment. It was a lovely experience and my nails look great. I am unfortunately a mail picker and she was able to make even my nails look good.

 

I headed to the International Cafe for lunch. This is my favorite place to eat for lunch. I love the sandwiches that are offered. We sailed on the Ruby last summer and on that trip there were also little salads as offerings. I am hoping I’ll see some of those in days to come. My sandwich was a prosciutto sandwich but they had many other lovely options. Really this is a great option!

 

I then went to the thermal spa and read and dozed. After I checked out the Sanctuary. It was empty….no one there but staff. It’s $20 per morning or afternoon and $60 all day through the Panama Canal
 

 

 

I think we may book for the canal crossing. I read we should be on the left side of the ship so we can see Panama City as well…I hope that’s accurate!

 It has been beautiful out….warm and humid. The Sanctuary would be nice for the canal I think because it will give you some protection from the sun and it’s quite close to the adults only pool. 

 

The Princess app is not working today. We wanted to change one excursion in Costa Rica and staff at guest services had to note our change and told us they would change it once they had access. I often book our own excursions and don’t go through the cruise line, but I do have an exception. When we have to travel long distances with little wiggle room for time, I use the ships excursions. Many of our port days are short and involve a lot of travel. So all of our excursions are though Princess.

 

This is what we’re doing:
 

 

 

 

I also considered upgrading to Princess Premier but decided against it. It would be $620 for the 2 of us. We have one speciality dinner planned. Even if we have a second dinner and I have upgraded wine at dinner, we’d still be quite behind dollar wise. 

 

We made our way to Vines. After a couple of misses, I tried the Petite Syrah by Spellbound and enjoyed it. It has the added benefit of being in the Plus package.  Dh had gone to the acupuncture presentation and decided to make an appointment for his shoulder. I am glad he’s trying this. He always encourages me to do different spa treatments or to get something at the shops and doesn’t care about the expense. I’m glad he’s doing something for himself. 
 

 

 

[FrankieJayIII]

I am appreciating your journey and your menu postings and all of the things you are showing us!  This is excellent.   We are going on Ruby to Alaska and this brings me joy to see the possibilities of how ours will be.

 

THANK YOU!

[PandaBear62]

 

 

We met up with our friends for dinner. 

Menus for Saturday:

 

 

 

I had the caprese salad. The tomatoes weren’t really great, which is typical for April and I wish there was more balsamic, but it’s still a favorite of mine. The strip sirloin and accompaniments were good. Wasn’t that crazy about dessert options so had some ice cream wigh caramel and whipped cream which I enjoyed. I am not really a chocolate eater but I love vanilla and caramel.

 

After dinner all 7 of use went to music trivia. My small group of 3 did pretty well and ended up in second place with a score of 31/40. The winning team had 32. It was fun!

 

We then went to the yes/no game. I’d never seen it before and it was a hoot. The rest of the group headed to their rooms but dh and I headed to the show. I should add, I was doing this for my husband. I wasn’t really interested. 

 

 

I really enjoyed the show, even though I wasn’t expecting to do so. 

 

We stopped at the casino bar and got our nightcaps and headed back to the room. 

 

The app was finally working by tonight, in some capacity. But you still can’t access your account or dining and the shore excursions tab is funky. I’m hoping it works tomorrow! Good night. 

 

[travelin.sisters]

thank you for sharing your journey with this lovely live 

[nemaihne]

Thank you so much for your write up! I love playing the home game and your writing is fun to read.

 

Can you tell me a little more about Ruby's thermal spa? I have been having the darndest time getting details on hers.

[happy42cruise]

Thank you for posting this. We are on the Ruby in May to Alaska so looking forward to seeing the menus you have. My husband tried the acupuncture on Royal in January and he said it seemed to help his knee pain. Hope it helps your husband. Have a wonderful cruise!

[Honolulu Blue]

@PandaBear62 Thanks for sharing this report!  I was on the Ruby just before you.  I had a great cruise, but it was radically different than this one.  And I'm glad we didn't totally trash the ship. 😁

 

I'm sure you'll have a good time.  Go out there and have fun!!!

[PandaBear62]

7 hours ago, nemaihne said:

Thank you so much for your write up! I love playing the home game and your writing is fun to read.

 

Can you tell me a little more about Ruby's thermal spa? I have been having the darndest time getting details on hers.

The thermal spa is rather small. I went in yesterday and this morning so far. A couple people in yesterday and this morning (9:45) I am peacefully by myself. 
 

No water feature but the adult pool and spa is right outside the the main spa. 
 

pictures for you. I’m doing each steam room in a separate post each so I don’t get mixed up!

 

 

[PandaBear62]

 

 

 

[PandaBear62]

 

 

 

 

It was so steamy the last picture is blurry!

[PandaBear62]

 

 

 

[PandaBear62]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PandaBear62]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PandaBear62]

7 hours ago, nemaihne said:

Thank you so much for your write up! I love playing the home game and your writing is fun to read.

 

Can you tell me a little more about Ruby's thermal spa? I have been having the darndest time getting details on hers.

so there are 4 steam rooms/saunas. Two are rather large, two are smaller. 5 ceramic heated loungers. The cost for our cruise is $299. We have SO many sea days and so few port days it seemed worth it to me. On a cruise that’s more port intensive, I don’t typically purchase but for this one, definitely yes.

[FrankieJayIII]

well that sealed the deal for me. won't be doing that.  lol 

[texswamper]

9 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

@PandaBear62 Thanks for sharing this report!  I was on the Ruby just before you.  I had a great cruise, but it was radically different than this one.  And I'm glad we didn't totally trash the ship. 😁

 

I'm sure you'll have a good time.  Go out there and have fun!!!

When she posted that there are only 1969 guests I was so wishing that I was on that sailing!  We were on 1/8/23 and had 2900 but a lovely week and decided to return in February.  Sadly the first week we were on 2/26, was the week that the norovirus reared its ugly head but we had less than 50 kids onboard.  Unfortunately, for our b2b we were forced to disembark for 4.5 hours while the ship was sanitized and the week of 3/5 had over 370 kids!  We had never been on a Princess cruise with that many and decided that we would never cruise in March or April going forward lol.  The 1969 guests sounds wonderful!  🙂

[CruisinCadie]

Thanks for doing this blog.  We will be on a partial transit Panama Canal cruise on the Ruby in November.  We're sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale so our ports will be different but I'm looking forward to reading about the ship and your experiences.  

 

Kathy

[FrankieJayIII]

update- OP is having a wonderful day and hasn't had a chance to post.  we look forward to the exciting blog update!

[nemaihne]

Panda, you are amazing!
Thank you so much for doing that! I hope your trip is great and I can't wait to read about it.

[PandaBear62]

15 hours ago, FrankieJayIII said:

update- OP is having a wonderful day and hasn't had a chance to post.  we look forward to the exciting blog update!

Truth!!

 

Sunday 

The app seems to be working correctly now with no issues, which is nice. After multiple nights of terrible sleep, I did okay last night so was up at a reasonable time. I misread my time for the pedicure so went to the thermal spa to read. A very nice error! 

 

Spa service price list:

 

Dh went to the gym to use the treadmill and then we met up to go to the Sanctuary. I saw it yesterday and it was empty. I guess that’s typical when the ship isn’t so crowded. 

 

We decided to try and book for the canal day. It’s $60 for the day (regularly $40 on a sea day). It is warm and humid and dh is a (former) redhead who needs to be careful in the sun, so this seemed a good idea, as it’s covered (he’s already had numerous pre-cancerous skin lesions removed). Unfortunately all the loungers in the covered section were taken so we didn’t do it. We did put ourselves on the waitlist but certainly aren’t optimistic. So we’ll try and get up quite early to get our preferred loungers. Disappointed but not a biggie. I really should have know better. 

 

Lunch was at the grill by the pool. For me, the veggie tacos, fries, a heineken and a bottle of water. Dh had some kind of hamburger. I left to go to my friends Cabo and see if we could add her to our excursion in Cabo. The shore excursion desk was, of course, closed. Open 9-12 and 3-6. We sat by the international cafe. My friend had a sandwich and I drank some water. The ended up going shopping and I joined dh in Vines. After finishing my water I had a glass of Prosecco. They have a red wine I like as well but it seemed heavy for an afternoon drink. I asked for the sweeter of the two offered. I’m kind of a funny wine drinker in that I don’t really like white wine and no sweet reds (unless it’s a port) but I like sweeter sparkling wine. 

 

Our friends eventually joined us and we played scrabble as one of the crew activities. There was a group playing where one woman was so incredibly rude to the activities crew member one of our group when over and told her to be nice, that the staff was working really hard for everyone. Not surprisingly, she told my friend to go away but I was proud of him. Because truth is the staff is awesome on the ship.

 

My girlfriend and I went to shore excursions to try and add her to our excursion in Cabo. We got the last spot!  
 

We then headed back to our rooms to relax a bit and get ready for the formal night. 

 

Our group did 5:30 reservations. We skew a little older than me….I will be 61 on the cruise but our group goes up to mid 70’s. So they like the 5:30 dinner to see the 7:30 show. Then some people do more after the show and some go to their rooms. 

 

We had dinner and again, it was quite good. 

 

 

 

I sometimes find the dining room to be not that great, but I’ve actually been relatively happy with the choices I’ve made. 

 

We walked over to the the water and my goodness, it was packed! Like almost full. The show was called “Stardust” and it was music of the 50’s. It was a a typical cruise ship show. We then went to our rooms to dress down and met at Adiago to play cards, which we did until midnight. On our Alaskan cruise last summer, this was are absolute favorite bar and the bartenders were the best. Last night not so much. I tried to order a drink at 9:45 and was told the bar was closed. Okay, whatever. But then about 15 minutes later we were brought our drinks. The Princess Patter actually said it was open to 10:30. Maybe the staff was new? Because when I ordered my drink she didn’t seem to know what is was. Whatever it was, we had a fun evening. 

[PandaBear62]

Monday

I finally had a decent nights sleep (no fault of the bed or the cruise….I have terrible insomnia). We were back to the room last night around midnight and after reading for awhile, I was asleep by about 1. I woke up about 9:15. Dh left earlier, he tried acupuncture! His left shoulder has been difficult and he can’t raise his arm more than shoulder height. I was leaving the room when he came in and he was now able to reach his arm all the way up. So he was happy. Of course, he was also sold some supplements. (He has a hard time saying “no” sometimes”). I’m sure they were pricey, but honestly, if they help, that would be great!

 

I should add, I also use the spa. I booked the thermal spa ($300 for the cruise) and a fire and ice manicure and pedicure. They aren’t cheap, but really, the staff are very good. I typically get a manicure or pedicure when I sail and I have never had a bad one. I’m planning to add a facial or massage as well. 

 

I went to the International cafe. I eat lots of breakfasts and lunches here.

Here’s an example of breakfast:

 

I had a plain croissant and latte.

 

The coffee menu:

 

Here’s  lunch from the other day:

 

 

 

So I’m sitting being lazy and as soon as I finish this, I’m going to read a bit. 

 

More later.

[PandaBear62]

Late to the party, but here are the patters from yesterday. 
 

 

 

[FrankieJayIII]

all of your pictures are great.   I didn't really like the MDR menu you shared from the other night and I wouldn't know what to order that night.    What did you order?

 

Looking forward to Stardust...  we have about 30-40 days left until we are on this ship, the ruby. 

 

I imagine, generally speaking, what I am seeing now is what will be on the cruise we are going on, a few changes of course with the Alaska itinerary.   

 

What snacks/food have you tried at the IC.   What about your DH...   

 

Glad to hear that acupuncture is working; I have a bad lower back and would be interested in seeing how this service could help me. 

 

What is your favorite drink at Adaigo?