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My First Cruise on Princess
Jan. 22nd, 2017 05:26 pmI got back to Vegas yesterday afternoon. Last Tuesday, one of my cousins and I flew to Los Angeles to board the Ruby Princess for a four night cruise heading to Santa Barbara, CA and Ensenada, Baja, Mexico. I'm a veteran cruiser, but all my previous trips had been on Norwegian.
Getting to the ship was painless; the cruise representative met us at baggage claim and since we were the last arrivals expected, the bus (very comfortable) drove us directly to San Pedro, Port of Los Angeles. The Ruby was a bit smaller than I was used to, but very nicely appointed. The cabins were a good size as was our balcony. We had our lifeboat drill and then the party started as we sailed away to the sounds of a dance band named Fusion.
Then, it got interesting. We were a little confused because the itinerary we had didn't jibe with what we saw in our "Welcome Aboard!" packet. After about an hour, the Captain announced that due to an incoming storm, we would be visiting Ensenada on Thursday instead of Friday, thus cancelling our day at sea and that we would be returning to LA on Friday, though disembarkation would still be Saturday. That would have been fine except...
It rained off and on in Santa Barbara. Usually when I travel, I check to see what the weather will be. For whatever bizarre reason, this time I only checked to see what the average temps and weather are at the ports we were going to visit. It was much wetter and cooler than normal. I didn't get off the ship.
It poured in Ensenada. I didn't get off the ship. The really cool thing here though, was that there were dozens of sea lions all around us; on the rocks, the docks, the buoys making sea lion noises and being quite entertaining. Additionally, that night's dinner featured escargot as an appetizer and a lobster and king prawn dinner with asparagus and potatoes that was outstanding. Sadly, my cousin, who had been fighting off a cold since the day before we left, stayed in bed sick as a dog the entire day and missed everything, including that wonderful dinner.
I ended up sitting at a sharing table with some fantastic people including a woman named Ruth who, God willing, will be 95 next month! This was her third cruise in five months and she's going on another in March. I told her I definitely want to be her when I grow up.
We left Ensenada and when I awoke the next morning, we were docked back in LA and it was pouring rain, though it was a tad warmer than it had been the days before. I did not get off the ship.
I know it must sound as if I had a terrible time, but I had a wonderful time! I gambled in the casino, I met fascinating people, I saw sea lions in the wild (!) for the first time, we played trivia games, I saw "Florence Foster Jenkins" and "Jason Bourne," two very different, but very entertaining films, danced in the clubs and had a six course meal in Curtis Stone's restaurant "Share." On top of all that, I had an unlimited beverage package that included beer, wine, cocktails, bottled water, specialty coffees and teas so what was not to like?
A word about "Share." The food was devine. The first course was charcuterie consisting of proscuitto, garlic dusted Hungarian salami, green olives and cornichons; the second course I had prawns with mixed greens, radishes with parmesan crisps, third course was pork ravioli topped with crumbled chicharrones in a lemongrass sauce, fourth course was a lobster tail poached in butter with diced vegetable, fifth course was a duck leg confit with white beans and the final course was a chocolate cream with vanilla bean ice cream. Had to go dancing after that fabulous dinner!
I will definitely give Princess another go as they had no control over the weather. If you're wondering where are the pictures, I forgot my charging cord so my phone died. I didn't care; I knew I was going to be offline and my cousin did take pictures that she said she would send me, so if she does, I will post some.
Today, as I write this, it is pouring here in the desert. I am not getting off the ship.
Getting to the ship was painless; the cruise representative met us at baggage claim and since we were the last arrivals expected, the bus (very comfortable) drove us directly to San Pedro, Port of Los Angeles. The Ruby was a bit smaller than I was used to, but very nicely appointed. The cabins were a good size as was our balcony. We had our lifeboat drill and then the party started as we sailed away to the sounds of a dance band named Fusion.
Then, it got interesting. We were a little confused because the itinerary we had didn't jibe with what we saw in our "Welcome Aboard!" packet. After about an hour, the Captain announced that due to an incoming storm, we would be visiting Ensenada on Thursday instead of Friday, thus cancelling our day at sea and that we would be returning to LA on Friday, though disembarkation would still be Saturday. That would have been fine except...
It rained off and on in Santa Barbara. Usually when I travel, I check to see what the weather will be. For whatever bizarre reason, this time I only checked to see what the average temps and weather are at the ports we were going to visit. It was much wetter and cooler than normal. I didn't get off the ship.
It poured in Ensenada. I didn't get off the ship. The really cool thing here though, was that there were dozens of sea lions all around us; on the rocks, the docks, the buoys making sea lion noises and being quite entertaining. Additionally, that night's dinner featured escargot as an appetizer and a lobster and king prawn dinner with asparagus and potatoes that was outstanding. Sadly, my cousin, who had been fighting off a cold since the day before we left, stayed in bed sick as a dog the entire day and missed everything, including that wonderful dinner.
I ended up sitting at a sharing table with some fantastic people including a woman named Ruth who, God willing, will be 95 next month! This was her third cruise in five months and she's going on another in March. I told her I definitely want to be her when I grow up.
We left Ensenada and when I awoke the next morning, we were docked back in LA and it was pouring rain, though it was a tad warmer than it had been the days before. I did not get off the ship.
I know it must sound as if I had a terrible time, but I had a wonderful time! I gambled in the casino, I met fascinating people, I saw sea lions in the wild (!) for the first time, we played trivia games, I saw "Florence Foster Jenkins" and "Jason Bourne," two very different, but very entertaining films, danced in the clubs and had a six course meal in Curtis Stone's restaurant "Share." On top of all that, I had an unlimited beverage package that included beer, wine, cocktails, bottled water, specialty coffees and teas so what was not to like?
A word about "Share." The food was devine. The first course was charcuterie consisting of proscuitto, garlic dusted Hungarian salami, green olives and cornichons; the second course I had prawns with mixed greens, radishes with parmesan crisps, third course was pork ravioli topped with crumbled chicharrones in a lemongrass sauce, fourth course was a lobster tail poached in butter with diced vegetable, fifth course was a duck leg confit with white beans and the final course was a chocolate cream with vanilla bean ice cream. Had to go dancing after that fabulous dinner!
I will definitely give Princess another go as they had no control over the weather. If you're wondering where are the pictures, I forgot my charging cord so my phone died. I didn't care; I knew I was going to be offline and my cousin did take pictures that she said she would send me, so if she does, I will post some.
Today, as I write this, it is pouring here in the desert. I am not getting off the ship.
