As I mentioned, Steve, Trevor, and I just got back from a 7-day cruise aboard on the Ruby Princess. This was our second time on the Ruby. In 2014, we sailed from Canada to New England as a group of 10. This time, four of us sailed along the California coast. Our fourth was CJ, Trevor's friend from high school.
California Coast Cruise - Ruby Princess
On Thursday, September 10 the four of us drove to the ferry terminal in Vallejo, excited to get to San Francisco to board the Ruby Princess. Driving into SF on a weekday morning is a giant pain and parking there for a week is expensive, so taking the ferry is a great option. We weren't the only ones who thought so, as there were at least 30 others on the ferry taking the same cruise.
We had a pleasant, 1-hour ride to the Ferry Building in San Francisco.
It's 1.3 miles from the Ferry Building to Pier 35, where we boarded the ship. We took a leisurely stroll, enjoying the public art along the way. It was a beautiful day.
Normally, the Ruby boards out of Pier 27, which is closer to the Ferry Building and far better equipped to handle crowds. Boarding did not go nearly as smoothly as it usually does on a Princess ship, but eventually we made it aboard.
Steve and I had a balcony cabin (B-335) on Deck 11.
Trevor and CJ were directly across the hall in an interior cabin (B-337).
We had a delicious lunch, took care of our safety/muster responsibilities, and then spent time exploring the ship and enjoying the Bay views.
There's Alcatraz!
Shuffleboard and cornhole are right there too.
I love the new menus at the bars that put zero proof and nonalcoholic drinks front and center! That is such a smart and thoughtful improvement. The other side of the menu has the alcoholic drinks. I can't have alcohol because of my cancer medicine, so I really appreciate when there are fun mocktail options.
By the time we were ready for sailaway, San Francisco's famous fog (Karl) had rolled in.
We sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge with the foghorn blasting.
We had a fantastic dinner, then enjoyed some of the evening activities, including trivia and a game show called Strike Out. They played a song and put two dates up on the screen. Everyone moved to one side of the room or the other based on when they think the song came out. The people with the correct answer stayed for the next round; the ones on the wrong side had to sit down. It was HARD, especially for the songs that came out 20+ years before I was born. I did do pretty well with the songs from the 80's and 90's.
Each time they got a winner, they started a new game and brought everyone back to play. On the very last round of the very last game, I stood alone on one side of the room. I thought Baby Got Back had come out in 1992; the other remaining contestants all thought it was 1994. I won (exciting!) and enjoyed my Princess-branded prizes for the rest of the week.
Friday, September 11 was a sea day. I'm a really early riser, so I had the buffet mostly to myself to eat, relax, and do my Duolingo.
I went to a port lecture, walked multiple laps around the Promenade deck, and enjoyed the ocean views.
Steve and I filled the rest of the day with good food, reading, and relaxing.
The boys went swimming, then joined us for trivia. Our host was Prince, who is from St. Vincent and the Grenadines! I had to introduce myself and tell him about my connection to his beautiful country.
After dinner, we went to the champagne waterfall....
... then played cards and enjoyed live music.
We were all really excited for our first port. Steve and Trevor had both been there before (separately) but I'd never visited and it had been on my bucket list for a long time. It would be CJ's first visit as well. Tomorrow I'll tell you where we went and everything we did.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I moderate comments, so you will not see yours appear right away. Please check back if you had a question; I promise to answer it as soon as I see it. Thank you for taking the time to comment!