Panama Canal on the Ruby Princess 2023 Christmas cruise-photo/ video journal by Bimmer09

[Bimmer09]

La Pranza-Buon Appetito! 

We are greeted and seated by Felix the manager of Sabatini's and are served well by Dennis from the Philippines. We are ready to eat once my Italian red and Carol's prosecco are here to assist in our choices of which there are many-except choice of soups which I love as a starter. The amuse bouche is brought to give us a nibble-a couple of arancini. A hit for me, a miss for Carol. I hadn't ever had them before.

 

Good bread and some oil and balsamic pairs well with some vino

 

 

Alway's a favorite starter for me-Vitello di Tornato. Sliced veal in a tuna sauce. A plate-licker!

 

 

Carol's tasty ribolita panzanella with shrimp

 

 

My fettuccini or something else that isn't spaghetti carbonara. Spaghetti should be the law!

 

 

Carol's pappardelle with beef ragu-deee-lishus!

 

Desserts? Don't mind if I do!

 

My tiramisu

 

 

Carol's Bluberry Pannacotta! Stylish.

 

A fine meal-on the house. Great service. The tall Christmas tree was swaying like the girl from Ipanema as the sea was treating us to a set of stairs apparently. It was only 9.30 after our leisurely relaxed dinner. We were too tired for a Welcome Show and not too tired for the inviting bed in our cabin. Day one over and much lies ahead!

[MisterMet]

On 1/1/2024 at 3:29 PM, Bimmer09 said:

Le Menu

For those of you unfamiliar with my Gentleman's Seafaring Journals, or Gerbils as AI would have it, I have a full range of delights in store There's always;

FOOD PORN. Each meal is photographed lovingly and the food is identified and critiqued.

SHIP PORN.  I roam each vessel and show you the rooms I get to. One might be your hideaway...

SKY PORN.   I was the guy you saw getting excited over a sunset or a cloud formation.

EXCURSION PORN. We are not "ship stayer-onners". We get off and go see something .

SHOW PORN. We go to the shows and watch comedians and karaoke singers

PHOTO PORN. I take lots of photos of where we are and what we are doing.

CANAL PORN. I was especially happy to see this canal and take photos of it.

VIDEO PORN. I spent a small fortune on a 4 K Sony camcorder and you are the first to see the pics/movies.

 

Everything is chronological. We'll get to the Ruby when we board. I will answer questions if asked  and comment freely Good Bad or Ugly on anything we experienced.

As always I am guided by the note keeping of the trustworthy Deck Chair Queen.

 

As always there is a cyber all you can drink fully stocked bar (top shelf-no crap). My prices don't change with the wind, like a Celebrity Drinks Package, but are free. You're welcome.

 

Norris

 

Along for the ride as always!

Trip

[Bimmer09]

Trip, bless me barnacles! Welcome.

Glad you could join us on this as I want you to see the canal especially! That's a few days away- we got on the ship on a Wednesday and I didn't see the canal until the Monday after. Hang in there.

I got a delivery of Paxlovid today and it's a 5 day course so I should be well out of the Covid weeds by Monday.

Good to have you aboard!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

 

and the only other ship I would see that day sailed right on by, "and it didn't really have to stop (song lyric? 1960s, guitar wizard) It kept right on going..."

 

An Oasis class, a marvelous game-changing feat of engineering. Not my cup of tea-"chacon a son gout"  each to his own taste-but I can see the appeal to a family or people who need a lot of entertainment or variety onboard.

As we are in a suite one of the great perks is a quiet breakfast in Sabatini's high on deck16.

That's next . 

[MisterMet]

33 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

Trip, bless me barnacles! Welcome.

Glad you could join us on this as I want you to see the canal especially! That's a few days away- we got on the ship on a Wednesday and I didn't see the canal until the Monday after. Hang in there.

I got a delivery of Paxlovid today and it's a 5 day course so I should be well out of the Covid weeds by Monday.

Good to have you aboard!

Norris

Norris

Sorry you have the crud again.  How many times now?  Pam and I always enjoy hearing of yours and Carol’s adventures.  We THINK we will be doing our first side by side this summer on Enchanted Princess (7 nt) to the Easter Caribbean and The Beyond (8 nt) to the ABCs.  Might ding one of them for a land vacation.  
 

We’ll be following along closely.  We hope that you and Carol will have a healthy and happy new year. Feel better my friend..

 

Trip

[Bimmer09]

A welcoming Felix seats us and drapes peach colored napkins over our laps. Nino is right behind with the water-"I'll have fountain water please" pointing to the two bubbling fountains outside on deck 16-"That's where I got it" said Nino (sharp wits, know their customer from last night) Dennis slides in for coffee orders-regular coffee and a Mimosa for me, a latte for Carol. Then comes the pastries from Kalina and Dennis returns to take the food order. Here's the food...

 

I had one of these yogurt/granola parfaits with raspberry swirls every day bar none

 

 

Carol's fruit plate. I told her she should eat the fresh mint-she had never tried it before. Her eyes lit up!

 

My scramble eggs, grilled tomato, bacon and sausage. Given notice they can have whatever you want-steak and eggs. No problem. They have often made corned beef hash for me. Not on the menu.

 

Carol's fresh toast with cinnamon apples

 

Food this good almost makes me wish I had a bigger appetite in the morning! LOL!

 

Quiet surroundings and calm attentive service eases us into a Caribbean tempo. 

[Bimmer09]

7 minutes ago, MisterMet said:

Norris

Sorry you have the crud again.  How many times now?  Pam and I always enjoy hearing of yours and Carol’s adventures.  We THINK we will be doing our first side by side this summer on Enchanted Princess (7 nt) to the Easter Caribbean and The Beyond (8 nt) to the ABCs.  Might ding one of them for a land vacation.  
 

We’ll be following along closely.  We hope that you and Carol will have a healthy and happy new year. Feel better my friend..

 

Trip

Trip I would hate to miss the Beyond to the ABCs. You read my Apex GSJ-impressive ship especially Eden and Gateway Destination (Home Runs).

We have pencilled in a HAL Rotterdam that hits Aruba on Christmas Day 2024. Would be our first HAL and are looking at an aft Neptune Suite.

Where would the land vacation potentially be?

Oh- 2nd Covid for me, both after cruises/flights/packed hotels

Norris

Edited January 5 by Bimmer09
Covid

[MisterMet]

36 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

Trip I would hate to miss the Beyond to the ABCs. You read my Apex GSJ-impressive ship especially Eden and Gateway Destination (Home Runs).

We have pencilled in a HAL Rotterdam that hits Aruba on Christmas Day 2024. Would be our first HAL and are looking at an aft Neptune Suite.

Where would the land vacation potentially be?

Oh- 2nd Covid for me, both after cruises/flights/packed hotels

Norris

Might go to see our former next door neighbors.  They moved back to Boise.  Might turn into a Yellowstone visit.  Pam is the ultimate arbiter.  So far I’ve been lucky only having C-19 once.  Guessing my turn in the barrel will come soon 😕😕

 

The HAL thing intrigues me.  What brought you to that?  Interested to hear.  Hi to Carol

Edited January 5 by MisterMet

[Bimmer09]

36 minutes ago, MisterMet said:

Might go to see our former next door neighbors.  They moved back to Boise.  Might turn into a Yellowstone visit.  Pam is the ultimate arbiter.  So far I’ve been lucky only having C-19 once.  Guessing my turn in the barrel will come soon 😕😕

 

The HAL thing intrigues me.  What brought you to that?  Interested to hear.  Hi to Carol

 Good question.

I read many of the cruise boards to keep in touch and because I am curious. We have already sailed 3 lines that we like (and will sail again). I am keen to add another while we are in cruise-mode.

I watch a lot of videos from cruisers, having my own favorites, some professionals like Gary Bembridge and others who are folksy couples who like cruising (Cruising Canucks, Paul and Carol Brits) many more..

HAL has a lot of positive reviews and when ti comes to food many glowing ones. Stunning variety especially in Far East cuisine. Plus the Dutch food angle too. All the usual Anglo and European dishes.

 

The have 3 new ships within the past 5 years which caught my attention. We are already booked on the Nieuw Statendam in June 2025 for 14 days from Rotterdam to the Arctic Circle and back via Scotland.

That gets us back to Amsterdam for 4 days.

 

Their entertainment isn't as varied or traditional song/dance as Princess but they have a great piano bar, a BBKing Blues Club and a Rolling Stone Rock Room, some classical strings now and then and a state of the art 270 degree 4K screen set up for dance acts enhancement, lectures and presentations. They have a fantastic Crow's Nest with panorama windows looking over the bow and giant interactive screens for planning your destination visits. Plus the usual bars and eateries all over the place incl a very popular Dive In burgers bar, made a la minute.

 

Big Boon-each ship has a retractable roof over the pool. I'm tired of wearing a coat in the Caribbean.

 

Gorgeous decor, lots of art (Like X) comfy cabins, many Philippine staff. 150 years experience at sea.

In short -a lot that we like for less than Celebrity.

For Christmas we are booking a suite that has about 700 sq ft balcony space wrapping around the back and the side. Private restaurant for breakfast and dinner. Free booze and snacks in a concierge lounge-like Michael's on Celebrity.

 

It's a well-researched leap of faith just like we once did with Princess, then with X, then with Azamara.

YouTube is my friend.

Norris

Edited January 5 by Bimmer09
Text color

[MisterMet]

4 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

 Good question.

I read many of the cruise boards to keep in touch and because I am curious. We have already sailed 3 lines that we like (and will sail again). I am keen to add another while we are in cruise-mode.

I watch a lot of videos from cruisers, having my own favorites, some professionals like Gary Bembridge and others who are folksy couples who like cruising (Cruising Canucks, Paul and Carol Brits) many more..

HAL has a lot of positive reviews and when ti comes to food many glowing ones. Stunning variety especially in Far East cuisine. Plus the Dutch food angle too. All the usual Anglo and European dishes.

 

The have 3 new ships within the past 5 years which caught my attention. We are already booked on the Nieuw Statendam in June 2025 for 14 days from Rotterdam to the Arctic Circle and back via Scotland.

That gets us back to Amsterdam for 4 days.

 

Their entertainment isn't as varied or traditional song/dance as Princess but they have a great piano bar, a BBKing Blues Club and a Rolling Stone Rock Room, some classical strings now and then and a state of the art 270 degree 4K screen set up for dance acts enhancement, lectures and presentations. They have a fantastic Crow's Nest with panorama windows looking over the bow and giant interactive screens for planning your destination visits. Plus the usual bars and eateries all over the place incl a very popular Dive In burgers bar, made a la minute.

 

Big Boon-each ship has a retractable roof over the pool. I'm tired of wearing a coat in the Caribbean.

 

Gorgeous decor, lots of art (Like X) comfy cabins, many Philippine staff. 150 years experience at sea.

In short -a lot that we like for less than Celebrity.

For Christmas we are booking a suite that has about 700 sq ft balcony space wrapping around the back and the side. Private restaurant for breakfast and dinner. Free booze and snacks in a concierge lounge-like Michael's on Celebrity.

 

It's a well-researched leap of faith just like we once did with Princess, then with X, then with Azamara.

YouTube is my friend.

Norris

Thanks for the insight.  Pam has sailed with HAL many years ago.  Said the demographic wasn’t for her.  Now that we’re in that particular demographic, it might be time to try them (again in Pam’s case).  

[Walt fan]

Looky who popped up into my emails this evening! I completely forgot about your Christmas cruise; Merry Christmas and Happy 2024 to you and Carol. I am so sorry you caught Covid again Norris; but I am hoping you are 100% from your bout with pneumonia; here's to feeling better quickly. Thank you for this GSJ! Following along with a glass of wine each night, such a treat. I would really like to get to Panama one day, my dad served there during WWII. Love your pics so far!

 

[MacMadame]

10 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

The ship was sailing at 19 knots and it was dark and all lit up and indoors where everyone would now be was dazzling and crowded with happy families and couples and solos ready to flex the Princess Plus muscles and-live a little, live their best lives. 

One of them was enjoying a class of Cabernet Sauvignon in the excellent but easily-packed Vines wine bar.

 

 

I later moved over to the International Cafe which is unusually generous in its hours of operation- you can't complain about 24/7!! They have some drinkable Italian coffee now-Lavazza, not Illy but it's a step up from the nonsense they once served. Was it Folgers or Nescafe?

 

Next up our first dinner at sea....

 

What camera is that?

 

 

[PrincessDano]

Another GSJ yeah !  Hope you’re feeling better Norris and I will be happily be reading along.

 

Diane 

[Marvy Mare]

I’m sure the Paxlovid will do the trick for you. Worked for us. I’m looking forward to the Panama Canal portion of your cruise. We sail part way through it on our 2025 Beyond ABC Panama Cruise. Someone added a note to my roll call about a bad experience with a Panama Celebrity shore excursion. I’m hoping your experience will be better. 

[Bimmer09]

8 hours ago, MacMadame said:

 

What camera is that?

 

 

Hi, it's a Canon 6D MKII seen with a 24-70mm L lens. I've had it since summer 2017. I use it for everything except the food shots where I use an iPhone SE.

Hope you like the pics!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

3 hours ago, Marvy Mare said:

I’m sure the Paxlovid will do the trick for you. Worked for us. I’m looking forward to the Panama Canal portion of your cruise. We sail part way through it on our 2025 Beyond ABC Panama Cruise. Someone added a note to my roll call about a bad experience with a Panama Celebrity shore excursion. I’m hoping your experience will be better. 

Maris I have already seen a lessening of the coughing and chills and aching limbs after one day of Paxlovid.

Carol had been interested in doing excursions when the ship is waiting in Gate lake  in the planning stage many months ago but I was dead against it. In reality that worked and we had an MDR lunch and a relaxing ship with 1300 pax ashore. We picked them up later a few miles away (took us 8 minutes to get there!) in Colon, where you can get off the ship for 3 to 4 hours. I spoke to a couple of people who had done excursions and they were regretting the heat, a total of 3 hours on a bumpy bus and 2 hours on a jungly open boat (heat/mosquitos).

They wish they had stayed on the ship. 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

7 hours ago, PrincessDano said:

Another GSJ yeah !  Hope you’re feeling better Norris and I will be happily be reading along.

 

Diane 

Already improving PrincessDano, your Royal Highness. Good to see you back in a GSJ!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

A handy handout regarding taking excursions at the canal

 

[Bimmer09]

Lest I forget (which I often do) I have the Princess Patters from our cruise. Here is day 1 and then 2 to get you up to speed...

 

Day 2

[Bimmer09]

The connection with the sea. One should enjoy the Promenade Decks on these Grand Class ships while they can as you won't get views like this on most modern builds. This is also, at night, our shortcut between the Princess Theater and Club Fusion where the Voice of the Ocean try-outs are and where we saw two of the funniest ever comedians. We laughed more on this ship than any in recent memory and we saw a third-a Comic Magician in Explorers Lounge. Names will be revealed as we go.

And while we are at it ladies and gentlemen let's give a big hand to the beautifully furnished rooms that the Ruby left the shipyard with 15 years ago. Don't tell me they're dated unless you yourself live in a steel and glass box heated by solar panels with Swarovski crystals to walk up. Glitz and glam is short lived, character and form live on-look at German towns vs Dubai for environments to live in. Does Germany look dated? Hell yeah!! That's the whole point!

This gets you a bracing walk in the sea air and occasionally a face-full of spray-and it's dated! Hooray!!

 

[clutchcurrier]

When we were on our Ruby Cruise first part of November, Gary and I would often sit on this deck and listen to the sea and enjoy the atmosphere.  Very calming and enjoyable.

[Bimmer09]

I'm going through my day. Had my breakfast, a walk on deck and now that it was 5 O'clock somewhere and the sun was over the yardarm or behind a cloud it was time for a cooling beverage. While passing through the Piazza I hear a man yelling. I stopped to see if someone was being attacked or was arguing but it was just a loud man yelling loudly into a microphone which as you know makes voices louder. I came to call him  Old Yeller.  He had somehow  got a job as Assistant Cruise Director. His name was and probably still is Alejandro. The cruise Director was an energetic young woman called Natalie whose voice I would become too familiar with over her love of PA announcements. There was a noon report from the bridge which I expect. Usually Officer of the Watch which was mostly an English woman.

 

Up to Tradewinds on Deck 16, using the forward elevators. You have to walk past the Spa ladies as there is just one door open to the deck on Starboard side.

 

                       Instant refreshment from the Netherlands, a land that I suddenly love.

My relaxation and dreamy voyage into Nirvana was shattered by the voice of Old Yeller. He was leading some pool games that had been left over from the Carnival Playbook. "Make some NOISE!" (his catchphrase) yelled he, as he guided the two teams fighting over how quick you could push a ball using just your chin to the end of the pool, turn and come back. 

There was also a battle of which team could carry the most pool water without a bucket. You could have cut the tension with a spoon!

 

 

The sun was out and it was warming up. A nice Caribbean steel band from Barbados or such would be nice about now when the yelling stops. Caribbean Band on a ship in the Caribbean?- perhaps something from the past?

I can dream.

 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

Already it is time for lunch and thanks to our Medallion Wi-Fi, Carol and I can arrange to meet at Da Vinci.

MDRs only open on sea days for lunch (plus Canal day) and Da Vinci is the one chosen for this task. Deck 6 midships.

I'll introduce some of the names that you'll see a lot at mealtimes....

man at  extreme left=1 photobomber, 2 waiter who will appear in video later, 3pixie called Elvie who has no off switch and is a hoot, 4 Rizza our actual Assistant Waiter and 5 Kevin who is good for a laugh. All from Philippines. All laugh their heads off freely.

 

NEXT UP   .."another fine lunch you've gotten me into"

( I take an anti smoking drug called Chantix that when it kicks in (just now) I fall asleep within minutes-i.e it is nap time)

 

[Bimmer09]

Sea day lunch December 21 bound for Falmouth

Thai spring rolls with a spicy peanut sauce for me

 

Seafood salad for Carol was a $20 upcharge. She loved it.

 

 

My lobster roll was a $14.99 upcharge. Bread was a bit stale so after a while I dug out the lobster and the yummy crisp celery. Potato chips ended up in a trashcan in the kitchen I imagine. Swing and a miss.

 

 

My double chocolate tart was rich in flavor and had a pretty presentation. Nice job!

 

 

Carol loved her chocolate ice cream

 

Tonight as you see from the Patter is a Formal Night. I gave up bringing a suit so it will be black shirt with a colorful tie. Carol has some formal-esque duds. The photographers will be out in force.

Time for a relaxing nap!

[MacMadame]

4 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

Hi, it's a Canon 6D MKII seen with a 24-70mm L lens. I've had it since summer 2017. I use it for everything except the food shots where I use an iPhone SE.

Hope you like the pics!

Norris

Oh, that's one of the two cameras I've narrowed down my choice to. (I want an ILC for our Panama Canal cruise in 2025.) I'd ask you all sorts of questions but I don't want to derail your review thread. I have one here where I ask about what kind of camera to bring if you want to talk shop.