There was a past passenger deal going on where inside cabins were going for $399/pp. Outside cabins were sold out, but balconies were going for $599/pp...which was what I booked; even though I could have saved $200/pp by staying inside, it is a treat to have your own balcony, especially at that price. That particular sailing also offered $25/pp onboard credit, plus I had an extra $50 of onboard credit saved in my Captain's Circle account, which made it even a better deal. Booking last minute can save a lot of money, but this is usually offset by high airfare prices and if you can get away at short notice. However, I used award miles for airfare, and had already warned my superiors 8 months ago that I was planning on taking off Thanksgiving week, so it all worked out. Fortunately I booked when I did, as the cruise was sold out that same afternoon.
I splurged and got some first class award tickets to Ft. Lauderdale. Last minute airfare was pricey, and the mileage cost to redeem first class tickets were on par with paying cash for coach, so it wasn't a terrible deal. The flight was on Delta (gasp! not United!), which I hadn't flown in quite some time. Babe and I took the red-eye a little past midnight on Sunday, with a transfer in Detroit, which was a scenic way to get to Ft. Lauderdale. It was either that or take a more direct transfer and arrive in Ft. Lauderdale 4 hours early to wait at the airport or stand in line in the cruise terminal. You'd know from reading my blogs that I'd rather be on an airplane for a few extra hours! Plus, we got to have breakfast served on the 2nd leg.
Each seat had its own individual entertainment monitors; to make a selection, it was recommended to tap the screen lightly with the tip of your finger as to not jab the seat in front. We didn't have anyone behind us, but I'd be annoyed if the person behind me kept pushing the screen hard and nudging my seat back as I was trying to get some sleep on the red-eye.
The seats were dated and beat up. There were individual bottles of Dasani water that you could keep even when taking off, so that was a plus.
On the leg between Detroit and Ft. Lauderdale, we got breakfast. On United, the flight attendants would place real tablecloths on your tray table; on Delta, paper placemats were used. There was just one choice for breakfast; a continental breakfast of raisin bran, yogurt and a croissant. United would usually offer a hot or cold option. A consolation on Delta was the snack basket that was passed out a hour later, packed with items like chips, bananas, Rice Krispies treats, and Twix. I thoroughly enjoyed that Twix bar.
The plane arrived earlier than scheduled into Ft. Lauderdale, so we opted to wait at the airport for another hour as it was better to sit down there than to stand in line waiting to get on the ship. The taxi ride to the cruise terminal was non-eventful, and cost $16 total with tip. Since I booked last minute, I wasn't able to print out any luggage tags, but the luggage handlers had tags to put on your bags as long as you knew your room number. I actually preferred those tags than the "print-at-home" ones, as I don't trust the paper tags to stay on the bags, especially with all the handling to get them on the ship.
There still was a line to get in, but it was moving after 15 minutes. The lines were divided based on what deck your cabin was located in; we got in line for Riviera. I noticed a "Preferred Check-In" line, but I wasn't sure if I qualified. Sure enough, I read online later that I could've used that line! You just need to be Platinum status or better on Princess. The line moved quickly anyway.
Our balcony cabin was a standard sized room with a king bed configuration and the usual tiny bathroom (small enough to sit on the toilet and brush your teeth at the same time!). The view from the balcony wasn't pretty as we were still docked, and it was drizzling.
We head up to the buffet to grab some grub. I wasn't impressed with the offerings. The best thing they had was some deep-fried scallops! I ended up having to dine on a hot dog and fries from the grill. I hoped that the food would improve over the course of the cruise.
Having a balcony was nice as we could enjoy sail-away in the privacy of our own cabin and avoid the servers trying to hawk souvenir drinks for $20. Our balcony was pretty private as no one could see down on us, like how we could see into other balconies.
We were so tired and jet lagged that we slept through dinner. I woke up and was hungry for food (what else is new?) but Babe was still asleep, so I went up one floor to the Lido deck to peruse the buffet and pizza offerings. The buffet looked really good! Why wasn't this food there during lunch? There was prime rib, shrimp cocktail, smoked salmon. I didn't want to eat by myself at the buffet, so I ended up taking a slice of cheese pizza back to the cabin.
The next day, Ruby Princess docked at Princess Cays, which was Princess' private island in the Bahamas. We tendered in and had lunch. The food was served buffet-style, and was BBQ-themed (burgers, dogs, ribs, chicken). It wasn't anything special, but there were good cookies and plenty of fresh fruit.
We found some lounge chairs under palm trees and settled in, listening to iPod and reading Kindle. It was very relaxing. There were some air-conditioned bungalows that you could rent for $199, holding 6 people maximum. Such a steep price for 6.5 hours of use, but they were sold out! They were cute, very Caribbean.
The last tender was to leave around 3:30pm, but the line was so long that Babe and I decided to hang out until it dissipated. We ended up on the last boat out...we and 50 other folks closed the island! It offered a good opportunity to get a picture of the boat and also of the island with the colorful bungalows, and no people.
We decided to have dinner at one of the "alternative" restaurants, called Sabatini's. There was a $20 cover charge per person, but it was totally worth it. The ambiance of the restaurant was romantic, the food was delicious and the service was top-notch.
Breadsticks and a basket of foccacia were served, along with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette for dipping. The foccacia was good, but I didn't want to fill up on bread.
If you order a bottle of wine and don't finish it that meal, they will store it for you to be served at a later meal anywhere on the ship. Just mention where your bottle was last, and they will find it. This Pinot noir was pretty tasty.
The way the food is served at Sabatini's, you just have to choose an entree (and dessert afterward) off the vast menu. That is because you get served all of the appetizers and pasta selections! You could also have a soup and a salad, but I wanted to save room for the main course.
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| My favorite cold appetizers were the proscuitto and melon, and the sardines |
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| Not a fan of the artichoke hearts |
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| The flan and crab cake were my favorite hot appetizers |
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| Babe ordered the tomato soup |
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| Fresh-made pasta, yum! Truffle ravioli was the bomb |
For the main course, Babe ordered the lobster tail in lobster sauce. Two tails were on the plate! It doesn't look very pretty here as the server had just removed the shells...but it was oh so tasty.
I had the Chilean sea bass, which was cooked perfectly, though I didn't care for the thick herbed crust.
For dessert, I got the white chocolate mousse, and Babe got the tiramisu. The mousse was so good. We overheard one of the servers telling a diner to try the white chocolate "mouse", as in "rodent", haha! The tiramisu was decent, but not as delectable as the one we had at Secrets back in Feburary.
The meal was so good that we made reservations here for the last night of the cruise.
That night, there were auditions for "Princess Pop Idol", a karaoke event. I decided to compete after listening to the first two contestants, singing "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan. There were 9 contenders; 3 of us were selected to sing in the finale, and I was one of them, yay! The finale was to be on the last night of the cruise.
Tomorrow is a day at sea, and formal night, finally stepping foot into the main dining room. Hope the food doesn't disappoint...
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