Second Day - Evening Activities on the Ruby Princess

Pre dinner drinks in Vines where Dana meets up with us. We really enjoyed catching up with her over a great glass of wine.

Tonight is Italian night.  Originally Dana was going to join us for dinner but ten minutes into the dinner she is paged to deal with the large corporate group's issues.  Again that large group is interfering with our voyage.

Daniel and Alla welcome us.  Today we open up a bottle of champagne we received.  That was the start!

For dinner I start with the eggplant Parmigan- a favorite of mine. However, it is overcooked and dry. The top is dark brown and crusty and very dry.  I take only a few bites and push it away.

The salad course is one of my favorites on board.  The spinach with pine nuts, cheese and bacon.  Oh my that is so good.  Should of ordered three of them and that as my meal.

Entree for me was the veal scallopini which was very flavourful but very chewy and tough.

The food tonight is really hit or miss.  Those of you who have followed my blog for years know we are not picky eaters but the food so far this trip is below standards we are use to and certainly below what Princess expects.

The one great thing is the service we receive from Daniel and Alla.

More champagne - more toasts - after dinner drinks - well you get the theme.  All this equals leaving the dining room later than we had planned.

Our goal tonight was to see the new production show -- Magic to Do, but our time with Daniel and Alla went long and the show started at 10 and it is now just after ten.  We peak in the theater but it is packed and I don't want to see only part of the it and don't want to disturb others by getting to available seats.  So we will have to try and see it on a different voyage. 

We stroll down the Promenade deck and head to Club Fusion where the band Nexus is playing.  This is one of the best party bands on Princess in our opinion.  We dance in Club Fusion until the band breaks at around 10;45.

Both of us still want to dance so we head up to Skywalkers!  A rare spot for us but we are in the mood for more.

Skywalkers is hopping.  I can't remember the last time the ship was this busy.  Guess the demographics warrant a good party/disco atmosphere up here.

I finally confirmed that Jan Schwartz (President of Princess) is on board.  I thought I had seen her but wasn't sure.  But it has now been confirmed.

After an hour of dancing we head back to the cabin all hot and sweaty and tired.  What a great night!

Day At Sea - Ruby Princess Repo

Oh I love these new beds and linens!  What an improvement.  I slept like a baby.  

There is the fitted sheet, a top sheet, then the duvet that has a cover on it and an envelope-type pocket at the top that the duvet goes in to.  It works but the duvet often comes out of the pocket.  It needs something to keep it in place, like ties or buttons.

A Canadian Customs form has been delivered to all the cabins.  Everyone needs to fill out the form before we arrive in Victoria.  We are to leave it in our cabin for our steward to retrieve.

We are up early enough to head to the dining room for breakfast.  Breakfast in the dining room is so much more civilized and we arrive just after 8.  The place fills up soon after we take a seat.  Our waiter gets slammed!  I feel bad for him.

Because of this breakfast took a long time - about an hour. But we are on vacation and enjoyed the time.  We got the fresh squeezed orange juice (including in the all inclusive drink package).

After breakfast we head to the Atrium to read.  The place is busy.  It is still relatively early and many come to the International Cafe for a quick breakfast.

We tried to reserve a future cruise deposit thru the Princess At Sea App but you can only get it in the currency you booked the cruise in.  So since we booked in Canadian Dollar we would have to get the deposit in Canadian.  We prefer to get a US Future Cruise Deposit, so we fill out the paper form and drop it in the box.  An email confirmation arrives the day - very efficient.

So what are our plans today!  Well not much!  But we have been invited to the bridge today.  Always a treat and we have never been on the Ruby's bridge.  

While on the bridge we saw a large pod of dolphins, jumping and playing right below us.  Of course I tried to get a shot but the camera on the phone just won't cut it.

Because we have the drink package we get a drink -- notice the theme.  Moscow Mule for me. 

It is 12:30 so we head for lunch but oh my the line to get into the dining room on deck 6 snakes all the way to the Purser's Desk.  Seems the dining room is full.  So we head to the Horizon Court.  

It is busy but not too bad.  Seems many haven't figure out the buffet yet.  No long lines but many items are running out.  Then to try and find a seat is hard, but we join another couple.

After a nice lunch we find a seat in Crooners to read and relax.  Life is good.

Well since we are so stressed - NOT - a nap is in order.  We crawl into the very comfortable bed and we are out!  We slept for over an hour.  Guess we needed it.

Shower, dress for dinner and drinks in Adagio is just what we need.  It is actually kind of busy up here.  I don't think I have ever seen it this busy - there are around 50 people here!  Share restaurant is right next door and since the large Corporate group is dining at all the specialty restaurants many here are heading that way soon.

I get a Sidecar Martini and of course a plate of olives.  It is perfect.

We make our way to the Atrium.  They are doing a champagne waterfall.  They are pouring the champagne and taking the pictures but there is no Captain's Welcome Aboard presentation though.

It is busy, packed actually - noisy too - and ship feels FULL.

Dinner is back in Daniel and Alla's section.  His section is full and they are busy.

We start with an appetizer.  Bernie gets the pate and loves it.  I had the crab and artichoke dip, which was good but found personally thin and runny.

I really wanted the Parmesan bowl with the Fettucini.  Sadly no parmesan bowl I am told.  Daniel apologizes and says they haven't done a bowl for a few sailings and isn't sure why.

My entree request was the Curtis Stone pork dish.  But I later saw the dish at the table beside us and it is way too fatty and change my request to the Pad Thai entree which was excellent.

No dessert for us.  We order 2 Sicilian Kiss drinks.  But when we get them we see it is not made the the liquerus we usually get.  Guess now with Sabatinis gone - this was a featured drink there - some bartenders don't know it.  But it tastes good so we keep it.   Daniel brings us a lovely cheese plate - not the usual menu cheese plate but a large plate with fruit, cheese, crackers - yummy.

We surprise Daniel with a Chubaka mask - he loves Chubaka! Plus it is May the 4 - aka - May the force.

Oh I forgot to mention we ran into Dana (the F&B Director). She is shocked to see us.  We catch up with her.  We find out she is now married!  How exciting. She looks great and seems very happy.  We make plans for tomorrow to catch up.

Around 10 pm we are both full and we wander the ship. The comedian is on, but we have seen him before. Rootberry is performing but we've seen them many times too. Hmm maybe we need to change lines to see some new acts.

The buffet theme tonight is the German theme.

They are also doing a Chef's Table tonight - might be for the Corporate group.

The Salty Dog Pub is packed too.

My favorite scene today was a family of vie playing Monopoly out by Explorers Lounge.  How often do families get to spend time together like this.

There is no Zumba. In fact there is much fewer daytime activities.

First Evening on Board Ruby

Start with Wine in Vines

After a busy day and afternoon full of many activities we quickly wash up and dress for dinner for 7:45 in Da Vinci dining room.  We know that this dining room has traditional first seating at 5:30 and then it opens up to Anytime Dining at 7:30.  

We pop by the dining room on deck 5 and it is almost a riot type atmosphere.  With a combination of a few large groups (lots of families), some very large groups (the head honchos from Carnival Corp. Including Jan Schwartz - a group of around 300) and a lot of newer cruisers this is the first encounter of unhappy travellers.

The hostess announces that Da Vinci has just opened to Anytime Diners.  And after a few minutes the line dissipates.  

We are directed to our table in Daniel Guevara's section right in the back... I am crouched down behind the Head Waiter leading us and when I appear in front of Daniel he is totally shocked. Totally Shocked!  

He is almost speachless.  We get to meet his wonderful assistant Alla, and right away we embrace her as part of our Princess Family.

It is perfect timing for Daniel as he had a really hard last cruise, he had even posted on Facebook how much he was missing his family too.  So we are glad we were able to be there for him.  We loved that he introduced us to around ten other waiters near him as his Canadian Family.  Even his other two tables who were obviously wondering "who the heck are these people" Daniel told them about us and how many times we have sailed together.

my pork dish

seafood stew

we shared the dessert but only a few bites

For dinner we kept it simple.  I had the pork dish, which was just okay, but Bernie had the Curtis Stone offering of Seafood Stew which Bernie raved about.  Note:  On the Royal there were three Curtis Stone dishes each night.  The same three dishes every day.  On the Ruby it changed nightly and only one dish was offered. 

played a trick on Alla

We gave Daniel a Canadian t-shirt and card and he got all emotional.  Ahhh we love him. 

After dinner we went to bed.  We were tired and it was a long day.

We are number four most travelled passengers on this voyage.  Because of the shorter itinerary we are given a letter stating that in lieu of a Most Travelled Luncheon/Cocktail Party we can have a free dinner for two at either the Crown Grill, Crab Shack or Salty Dog. However when we call the reservation line we are told all the specialty restaurants have been prebooked because of the large Corporate group.  The only time we can take is 9 pm which we decline.  We considered bringing this issue up with the Captain Circle Host and or Customer Service Director but we figured we would just ignore as we are disappointed but we will survive.


My observations so far on the Ruby Princess.

• Crown Grill has gone up in price from $25 to $29
• Crab Shack has gone up for $20 to $29
• The Ruby has the new bedding, and so far I have to say it sure looks comfortable and we no longer have to ask for a top sheet as there is one there already then the duvet duvet then the duvet cover.
• This four day voyage is not offering the buy one get one for a dollar.
• All Captain Circle members got a free drink coupon in lieu of a Captain Circle Party.
• Great demographics on the ship.  Lots of younger couples, families of multi generations, children, and lots of newer cruisers too.
• The Captain is Craig Street.  We have sailed with him a few times and remember when he had gotten moved up to Captain on the Star.  Our friends Bruce and Sharon know him well.
• Maitre D'Hotel is Silvio Zampleri.  We ran into Silvio on deck 5 as we made our way to the dining room.  Hugs, kisses and then taken by the had to our dining room.  Oh what a joy to see him again.  We of course had some Purdy's chocolates for him.  But he is from Abbotsford British Columbia so he knows Purdy's very well.  Trust me he was run off his feet this voyage with all the Corporate Executives on board.
• Dana Ionescu is the Food and Beverage Director.  We hope to catch up with her too.  We originally met her on the Caribbean Princess a few years ago.  She was Customer Services Director then.  I am proud to see she is F&B now and being put in charge of another department.  I am sure her next step will be Hotel General Manager.
• The 4 day is doing the Voice of the Ocean.  I am surprised and not sure if they will do the actual end show or not.
• Production shows this trip are:  Colours of the World, Magic to Do.  Comedian Steve Caouette.
• Team Rootberry, a great duo that I have enjoyed many times and even have a video on my Youtube channel.  Click her to view. 

Well we certainly got our monies worth with the drink package today.  We are not drunk, but we are feeling good. We are trying to drink lots of water too.  Oh and it helped me crash after a long day.