Good Morning Ruby Princess

For some odd reason I awake and I glance at the clock.  It is 5:30 am!  What the heck.  Then my next thought is I wonder if I can see the Ruby Princess coming in?

I quickly jump out of bed and low and behold there she is just sailing past. 

Five minutes later and I would of missed her.

It does not happen often that we stay at a place that we get to see the ships coming and going.  And even when we do we are sound asleep preferring it to seeing the pretty ship.

But it was cool seeing her come in and to realize this is the last time in a while that she will be docking here.

I do end up sleeping a bit more and when we both awake we are taking are sweet time.

We decide on a spot for breakfast close by.  Note the hotel has a nice breakfast buffet for $15 per person or an a la carte menu which we have enjoyed previously but want to head out into the community again today.

The hotel also offers a shuttle to the pier for $5 per person but we are going to walk as we are able to physically do it and all we have is carry on bags.  Personally I would skip the shuttle and take an Uber if I had to.

The hotel room is quite good.  The bed is devine!  In fact Bernie wants to take note of the brand and buy similar when we settle.  The room has an iron/board and a small coffee maker - but the cup I brewed was horrible. 

There are some downsides in the room and most have to do with the bathroom.  Where the tap on the sink for the hot water doesn't not stop turning, you have to position just right to have it shut off.  But that is minor and for the great price, and the great location, and the great bed it is certainly worth it.  And boy is it cheaper than Fort Lauderdale.

And We Are Off For A Short Trip

Decided a few weeks ago to do a re positioning cruise.  What is a re positioning cruise.  It is where the ship is moving from sailing in warmer climates during "our" winter up to the Alaska market.

We are boarding the Ruby on Tuesday for a three night cruise to Vancouver (home).

Price is great; however one way flights cost just as much as the cruise!

We are flying out today with Air Canada at 2:15 pm to LAX. 

We have a hotel reserved at the Crowne Plaza San Pedro.  We booked this hotel thru Hotwire for an amazing deal of $92 Canadian.  

We have stayed her numerous times and love the location and the ability to easily walk to the pier tomorrow.

Oh and Bernie got confirmation yesterday that he was chosen for the survey focus group that will take place on board Wednesday afternoon.  For this he will receive an on board credit of $50 and will take less than an hour.

So follow along as I will be blogging.

Los Angeles April 25

We slept like babies, we must have been really tired.  After taking our time to get ready we wander out of the hotel to the restaurant ….. on sixth.  I order the Chaquilles and Bernie gets the huevos ranchero.  HUGE plates and I could only eat about a third of my plate.  We should of split something.  

After breakfast we wander up to Gaffey to the Starbucks and sit and enjoy our drinks.  We make note of how darn cold it is.  Heck it is colder here than at home.  It is overcast and looks like it could rain (in fact is does start raining later in the afternoon).

Around noon we get back to the hotel and get our bags that we stored with the bell hop.  The hotel does have a shuttle, but I believe they now charge $5 for it and the walk is not that far so we head out on foot.  

We walk along the promenade to the ship.  It is the only ship in port and it looks rather quiet.  We arrive at 12:30 and we are on board at 12:45.  We had to fill out the health questionnaire.  Note they are still screening for the Ebola with the questions about where you have been in the last 21 days.  

We head up the escalator to the line to get our cruise cards.  We get to go in the priority but it really didn’t save much time as there really were no lines.  As soon as we have our cards we go thru the security screening which takes a bit of time.  We didn’t have any alcohol but if we did we would have been directed to the table right after the screening.

Boarding has already started but since we are elite we get to go right on.  Note they were giving out boarding numbers to those below Platinum.  As we were getting on they were calling group #10.  

As soon as we got on we went to our cabin which is P204, the second oceanview cabin on Plaza deck.  It is bigger than most insides, a little longer.  We do notice that the beds are in twin format and there is only one night stand that is a bit bigger than the normal one but smaller than two normal ones put together.  

Hmmm if the beds are put together how are we going to have each a nightstand.  After speaking to our cabin steward Qi, she says he can put it together but one side of the bed will be right against the wall.  Or she can turn the nightstand sideways (but we won’t have access to the drawers).  Which is what we say is fine with us, we don’t need to access the drawers.  It is only a seven day cruise and we don’t have that much stuff.  Plus we have a large window sill that can take things.

Footnote – later when the bed is put together as a Queen the night stand is positioned so we can access the drawers. 

There is a wide space on one side (where stand is) and a narrow side on the other side.  So take note that P204 is a bit narrower (by about a foot) than the standard cabin.  

However it is longer with more space at the foot of the bed to the dresser than the standard cabin.

We ask for extra towels and a top sheet.  

The ship looks great.  It is strange coming back to this ship after being on the Royal for so long but we love this size.  

We get a coffee and run into Norma and Kim who are friends of Monika and Rick and just sailed to Hawaii with them. 

When we get back to our cabin our small bag is there so we unpack it.  The second bag took another four hours to arrive, but it did.

Not sure why but it seems often that Princess needs to change out their shower curtains more often.  Ours stinks of mold so we let our steward know and she brings us another one.  But later on when we enter the bathroom all I can smell is mold/mildew.  I lift up the shower curtain and see the black marks at the bottom and smell it and it is horrible.  

I am sure she just grabbed this shower curtain from another cabin that wasn’t in use.  It is so bad the smell I take the shower curtain down myself.  She promises us she will get us a fresh one, and she does right away.  It is a newly laundered one.

But other than that the cabin is great, we have our mini bar, we have ice.  The bed is very comfortable, we have a clean cabin, a big window with no obstruction and it appears to be very quiet.  

The Horizon Court is crazy busy, which is the norm on embarkation day.  But we are not hungry at all.  We wander around and it is busy with people inside cause the weather is not nice, in fact it is raining.  Guess sailaway is going to be inside.

We get a call from the dining room telling us that they are able to accommodate us at Mark’s station tonight for 8 pm. We are so excited to see Mark again.

Looking forward to a wonderful voyage.

Off to muster drill now, more later.

Quick Getaway - 7 Day California Coastal Repositioning

About five weeks ago a deal came thru on an email from Princess that we jumped on.  We booked the lowest inside and was assigned the highest inside right away.  Two weeks ago I saw that the price had dropped even more so I called our travel agent and she was able to get us an upgrade to an unobstructed ocean view at no cost.  

So even though final payment had happened it is always a good idea to watch fares and depending on circumstances your agent can go to bat for you to get you something. Don't expect it but if it comes your way enjoy.  It also helped that there were still many cabins available and they wanted to fill the ship.

We are boarding the beautiful Crown Princess again.  You may recall we have been on this ship quite a bit.  We did the 49 day South America trip on her, and we visited her a few times in Vancouver last summer on turn around day, as well as a trip on her last Sept.  

We had a few reasons for booking other than price.  Main one the crew, many of our Princess Family are on board and this is a wonderful way to see them.  The itinerary stops overnight in San Francisco and it gives us a chance to see local friends with the ship being our hotel.  Lastly we needed a few days off work so we can recharge our batteries.

We decided to work Friday and fly out of Vancouver one way (used points) to get to Los Angeles.  We arrive in LA just before 8 pm and will grab a shuttle (cost is usually $17) at the airport to get us to San Pedro and the Crowne Plaza.

Once again we used Priceline - name your own bid to get the hotel in San Pedro.  We got it for a great deal at $83 for the night.  

The next morning we will just walk to the pier (about a 15 min walk) and jump on board. 

This will be our 58th Cruise, with 53 of those with Princess.  
Stops on this itinerary are Catalina, San Francisco, Astoria (first time here) and Victoria before docking in Vancouver.

I have a few concerns about this as the ship is going into drydock at the end of this voyage (in Victoria) and past practices is that the ship starts some of the work on the sailing just prior to the dry dock.  I am trying to stay positive and fingers are crossed and stay tuned to see what impact there is to the passengers.

Follow along on my facebook page and twitter feed to see what is happening on board.

Too Good A Deal ?

I knew that this year would be a year we would struggle.

We had the cruises in Jan/Feb and then we knew our next cruise was not "technically" booked until late October.

Would we survive that long of a drought?  

Who are we kidding we knew we wouldn't.

Within a week of getting home from the Royal we started getting emails from Princess with amazing deals for West Coast Cruises.

They came almost daily and we were pulling our hair out trying to think, can we do something?  What could we do?  

Finally a deal for a 7 day Repositioning cruise came up on the Crown and we jumped.

We love the Crown and to get the opportunity to sail home was a definite perk.

So we booked.  $499 for an inside with stops in Catalina, San Francisco (overnight), Astoria (new port for us), and Victoria (all day).

We scooped up a flight with our air miles and the Crowne Plaza in San Pedro on Priceline for $85.  

So stay tuned for blog reports from that trip.

Thursday November 20, 2014 – Boarding the Golden Princess San Pedro

When we wake at around 8 am we both comment boy that air conditioner was loud and don’t recall the AC units being so loud at this hotel.  But I had ear plugs so that helped, Bernie has some too but he can’t remember where he packed them – the usual.

Bernie showers and dresses and heads down to the Enterprise office to return the car.  That was convenient as we were able to park right at the hotel in one of the car rental return spots.  The total cost of the car came to $30 for the day, that was a deal.

While he is gone I shower and dress and we both repack the bags – now why was it that the bags seem heavier and more full than when we arrived.  I know because we just shoved everything in them we we packed the last night.  We will do a better job when we get off the Golden to fly home.

We head downstairs with our bags and leave them with the concierge until we are ready to catch the shuttle to the pier at noon.  Yeah we are taking the shuttle to the ship, normally we would walk but both of us don’t feel like dragging the bags today.

We decide to just have breakfast at the hotel, they have a breakfast buffet that is $14 and is nowhere as good as the ship’s breakfast but will do, but it is just warm.  Next time if we go back we will order from the menu instead of the buffet.

Last night we found a Starbucks that is relatively close to the hotel, about a kilometer away.  Don’t know why we had never found it on earlier visits but those who know me know this is where my happy place is.  So we walk up 6^th street to Gaffney and turn right and the Starbucks is in the next block. 

We are back at the hotel around 11:40 and get our bags and the shuttle leaves about ten minutes later.  And of course the pier is so close we are there in five minutes.

You can see how close the Crowne Plaza is from the pier

For some reason I was expecting craziness at the pier.  You know a three day trip, lots of new cruisers, everyone wanting to get on right away.  But I was completely wrong.  In fact when we walked in there was maybe a dozen people filling out the health form – it is the longer one that has the Ebola questions and the agent there confirms you have filled it out correctly and initials it.  We head up the escalator and head to the Preferred Check in for Dolphin deck, again there is only one person in front of us. 

We hand over our passports, get our cruise cards and we are told that the rooms won’t be ready until 1 pm but we can drop off our carry on bags if we need to.  We go thru security and even that was quick, and many people are carrying on all their bags because of the shorter cruise length.

There is really no one waiting to get on board that I can see, but because we are Elite we are directed right onboard.  Pose for the Embarkation Picture and we are in our cabin on Dolphin Deck in 733 right away. 

Feels odd to have just gotten off the Grand that is the same size/similar ship but different too.  We can’t help but comment about the differences.  In fact our very first back to back was on the Grand then the Golden on two seven day Caribbean cruises way back in 2001.

I comment to Bernie about the narrower corridors… I took a pictures of each ship’s corridors and will put them up later to show everyone.  Yes the Grand has lovely wide corridors but they take away space from the closet for this.  Golden’s is narrower but has the bigger closet.

The ship is not full, in fact many cabins by us are empty…. And a lot of first time Princess Cruisers.  Which is great to see.  It is always fun watching them experience cruising for the first time.  Lots of younger people too.  What a great way to go away for the weekend with friends.  I think they are selling a lot of the All Inclusive Drink Packages!  I am just glad we are at the back of the ship in a corridor that is almost never passed by.  Lots of families too…. Lots of kids.

Our thoughts on the cabin:

Bernie, the couch is not comfortable at all and is not conducive to watching the bigger tv from.  He does not like the cupboards that are beside each of the beds cause they are useless big spaces, would have been better with drawers (which I know other ships in this class have).  

He loves the mattresses.  Lots of storage and shelves to put things.  The three closets are big, the one cupboard though has two rods, but the upper road is useless cause there is not enough clearance to the next rod.  He makes note that the toilet seat lid does not stay up if he has to pee because of the handle… but of course this only affects men.

Vickie’s thoughts:  it is quiet, love the long desk area and big mirror.  The steward says he can put the two twin beds into a Queen Bed configuration but there is not a lot of clearance, but we decide to keep it as two twins.  The bathroom is large and adequate for our needs.  The Door to the cabin is on the side, when the room service attendant came by she actually opened the bathroom door to exit instead of the cabin door.

There is no full length mirror anywhere.  For someone in a wheelchair they would not see below their head.  

The closet has two rods for hanging but the top one is useless cause anything you hang on it hangs well below the bottom rod.

Also there are two hooks on the bathroom door at a reasonable height for someone in a wheelchair.  But are totally useless if you are average height.  You certainly can't hang your robe on it cause it drags.

The grates in the floor in the bathroom are excellent drains and work wonderfully.  Although we notice an odd odor and it smells like sewer smells and we have to keep the cabin door all the time to keep the smell contained.

Muster Drill happens and we had to bring our life jackets here too.  Vista Lounge is our Muster Station but it is not even full.  After the drill we hear an announcement that many people did not attend the drill and they must attend another one. 

We are leaving late it appears for some late arrivals.  When we finally pull away it is totally dark out.

We are dining tonight at the Crown Grill for a change. 

Oh forgot to mention that the Golden has the new internet pages with the Patter and menus and on board account etc.

Nov 19 – Disembarking the Grand

Amazingly we slept in… well if 7 am is sleeping in.  I wake cause I can hear the thrusters positioning us into the harbor and then berth.

There is another ship in port but a smaller one.

We shower and then pack up the last few items into our carry on roller bag (why is it so darn heavy).  We decide to head up to the Horizon Court for our breakfast.  It is busy there at 8 am – considering disembarkation seemed to start on schedule just after 7 am.  We get a table in the aft area with another couple who are from Washington.  They too love to travel and we talk travelling and advice and we exchange information so we can keep in touch.  Their experience in Europe could be very handy for us next  year.

After breakfast we are trying to decide where we can go and hide out until they call our disembarkation color which is yellow 1 (10 am).  We at first head to deck 15 aft to the cushioned lounge area but after about 15 minutes the aroma of smoke coming from the port side is just too much.  Normally this is not an issue cause when the ship is moving the air flows but I guess cause we are docked it is annoying.

I decide I need a latte and Bernie heads to the Vista Lounge (Platinum/Elite/Suite Disembarkation Lounge).  I sit in the International Café and sip my drink and relax.  But boy can’t believe the crowds and a lot of people don’t seem to know where to go or want to get off now even though it is not their time.  My thought is that there are many new cruisers who just are not aware of the procedure.

In fact they made an announcement that people should head to a public area and then proceed to their disembarkation lounge just prior to their time.  Also that they need to be in their appropriate lounge to know when to get off.

When I arrive in the Vista Lounge at around 9:40 it is still busy but really it is only crazy packed right near the entrance.  I see Bernie off to the right side with lots of empty space around him. We sit and wait and we are called off at just before 10 am.

We exit via the aft gangway on deck 7 to the port building where we are directed to the Non US citizen line.  We found that it moves rather quickly.  We are surprised at how many questions the customs agent has for us.  Certainly a lot more than we normally get.  Wants to know why we cruise so much, where are we going, why are we getting on another ship.   Wants to know why we don’t have a stamp in our passports for when we entered the US on Nov 5.  We tell him we used our Nexus Card not our passports to enter.  Oh… so you shop a lot in the US then cause you have a Nexus Card.  No we like to travel and having a Nexus Card expedites this.  Anyways he stamps our passports and we are on our way.

We have a room booked at the Crowne Plaza San Pedro for the night that we booked thru Hot Wire for $90.  We have stayed here numerous times and like its location.

We decide to walk to the hotel (note they have a shuttle but for us it is not far and we can easily manage our bags).  When we arrive at around 11 am we figure we will have to store our bags but no the front desk has a room for us.  Nice!

We drop off our bags and then we head downstairs to rent our car from Enterprise.