Disembarkation Day

Hello from the Ruby Princess in the morning and not the Ruby Princess in the evening. The embarkation schedule was ahead of schedule so I went straight from my cabin up to deck 16 to take my pictures and then straight to deck 7 to disembark. 

It was such a gorgeous morning in San Francisco
I just didn’t want to leave.

I took the Princess shuttle to the airport (less hassle than having to convince a taxi driver to take the scooter) and was at the airport in good time. A sleepy Sunday morning in San Francisco made for light traffic but the airport was a zoo. 

My flight wasn’t until early afternoon so I stopped by a restaurant in terminal 2 for a breakfast burrito. Eggs and bacon and potatoes and refried beans and salsa. It was delicious (and huge) so I took the leftovers with me. 

Yummy

By early afternoon when my plane should have left the gate things were looking like this. 

Still no plane

Thanks to mechanical issues my flight was very much delayed but the flight was a quick one and had me landing before dark.

Still snow in the mountains

Lucky Peak State Park outside Boise

And thankfully my daughter and son-in-law picked me up from the airport and took me out for an early Mother’s Day dinner. This restaurant had us cooking our own food at the table. 

Too much food

Now it’s back to work for a few weeks creating sewing patterns for DebsDaysDesigns before Alaska calls. That’s where I’ll be celebrating one of those big birthdays ending in 0. I won’t blog during those cruises as they won’t be solo trips but if I get to go it alone again, I will.  

Thanks for joining me for this adventure, and happy sailing - and sewing!

Sea Day

Hello from the last sea day as we make our way back to San Francisco.

This post almost didn’t happen. It’s the first time in this month-long trip where I almost forgot to write about the day. Usually I take notes on my phone throughout the day so I have something to write about at night but somehow I totally forgot about it today.

Being the last sea day it was time to pack so it was a busy one trying to fit everything in the one medium sized suitcase. I had to even unzip and expand the suitcase for the first time in years. Over the course of these three separate cruises I picked up a lot of extra things. Bags of coffee and Japanese Kit Kats from Hawaii, magnets for my daughter, extra bottles of water, a nice beach bag (along with many other gifts) from the casino. 

It was cold outside so after packing I decided to make it a movie day in the cabin.

The sunshine was deceiving. It was cold!

It wasn’t until pre-dinner drink time that I decided to venture out. Along with tonight’s lemon drop martini I also had some chicken canapés and some tiny little desserts.

But I also couldn’t get away without going to my private dining room one last time. And that’s where I remembered about needing to write a blog post.

The water is deceiving too. It is choppy!

We have gale force winds on our way tonight so we’ve been warned to be super careful, even in our cabins. The door of my safe is already slamming against the closet door so it looks like I’m getting this written just in time. 

Up tomorrow, we’re back in San Francisco. See you there for my disembarkation day.

Sea Day

Hello from what started out as a dreary sea day on the Ruby Princess. 

A wet breakfast view

After a very unsatisfying breakfast (burned bacon, horrible service) I headed up to Skywalkers on deck 18 to sit and watch the ocean (and the weather). It was closed for a private event so I went down to the promenade deck on 7 to cut across to the front of the ship.

Fresh air is always preferable to inside air but brrr

I planned on just heading back to my cabin but the first elevator that opened was going down. I hopped in it, decided to go to the casino, and won a $900+ jackpot in about five minutes time. I immediately cashed out and went straight back to the cabin. 

I spent the rest of the day in the cabin watching movies before my pre dinner drinks. Thankfully ravioli and mini cheesecake were available because three lemon drop martinis plus one special secret drink made by the bartender required food. 

 

That much alcohol also required fresh air. While I don’t care about the movie Dune, with the sun coming out there was no better place than outside to sober up. 

Tonight was formal night and I had no intention of going to the dining room so I went to the buffet and picked up sautéed shrimp and rice. And where did I eat it? At my own private outdoor dining area.

Not one other person out there.
Just the way I like it.

On the way back to the cabin I picked up some popcorn to eat while I finished watching my movie and pizza to put in the fridge for tomorrow’s breakfast. (Love me some cold pizza.)

Someone may or may not have had a bite
before they put it in the Ziploc bag in the fridge.

When I got back to the cabin I had more gifts from the casino, sunglasses and a beach towel.

 

The casino comps on Princess cruises are worth talking about so I’ll visit that subject in its own post. 

It’s our last sea day tomorrow, so I’ll see you then!

Vancouver, Canada

Hello from the most gorgeous day in Vancouver! No matter which direction I turned it was just spectacular.

Hey, we’ve stayed in the Pan Pacific Hotel!

Got to watch sea planes taking off and landing

Adhering to my take back-my-own-schedule schedule I skipped my typical morning breakfast inside and went to the buffet. And enjoyed eating it at the back of the ship outside.

The view from my breakfast table

Just like for dinner last night, breakfast
was in my own private outside dining area.

Pictures and a short video filmed from the ship are as close as I got to the city today. Thankfully we’ve been here many times before on days as nice as this.

With my front tire needing a NASCAR style tires-only pitstop I had no choice but to stay on board.

It’s this spot I’m most worried about

It was a great day spent just sitting in a lounge chair in the warm sunshine. And once evening hit, dinner of beef stew over mashed potatoes from the buffet was eaten at my private outdoor dining area. 

I stayed until the sun started dropping behind the sails of Canada Place before heading in. 

Now we’re up with two sea days in a row as we make our way back to San Francisco. See you tomorrow.

Seattle, Washington

Hello from Seattle! It was a cool and cloudy start to the day.

Princess home ports at Pier 91 which requires a taxi to get to the city but were so lucky to have docked at Pier 66, close to the city. 

Like, right there

It was a long day in port so I was able to wait until later in the day to go out.

Hot dog lunch by the pool before heading out

As I sat eating the hot dog in the warm Seattle sun I more closely inspected my front tire. I left home knowing it was bald and I’d be needing to replace it once I returned from this trip. But the rough pavement throughout this month long adventure has been wearing it past the bald stage and into the hang-on-just-a-few-more-days stage.

The oh sh** stage

I still have some required scootering (all around the ship) and more required to get home (San Francisco cruise port, two airports) so I can’t take any chances of it completely going when I’m out and about on the streets of Seattle. I’ve been here dozens of times already (and have written about many of the visits on the blog) so I stayed onboard enjoying the sunshine and an empty ship. 

Ferris wheel, Mariners baseball park, and Mt. Rainer? 
Been there, done that.

Pike Place Market and nearby parks and the waterfront?
Yep, there too. 

Space Needle? Yup, all the way to the top. 

It really was a glorious day to stay on board. I made my way to my pre-dinner drinks, and switched things up this time and went with a mai tai.

I skipped the dining room and went to the buffet. I picked up some pork, garlic rice, and a little ham and cheese pocket kind of thing. It was delicious.

A view like this made it even better.

I had the whole back of the ship to myself.

Tomorrow we’ll be in Vancouver, Canada. See you there!