We were asleep early last night, shortly after 8pm, so naturally we spent between 3 and 6am this morning trying, not too successfully, to stay asleep. I realized last night that I had forgotten to pack a contacts lens case (I wear both contacts and glasses). I had a spare pair of (hard) contacts, so I combined those lenses into one side of that case, and put my current lenses in the other side (not an optimal situation) and made a note to find a case somewhere this morning.
G was determined to ride a Waymo, so I first accompanied him in one down to Pier 27, just to gaze at the beautiful Ruby Princess. It was already, at that early hour (8:30-ish) getting congested around there, so I quickly decided to Waymo over to Walgreens while G walked back to the hotel. I had just seen how the Waymo thing worked, and was expecting no issues. Well, I ordered one, the app said it would be there in 4 minutes, and when it showed up, it was literally around the corner on the next block, and I had 5 minutes to get there.
The app was giving me directions which way to walk to find the car, helpful notes like “Head west on Embarcadero” but there was traffic between me and Embarcadero, and which way was west? So there I was, with my wrecked knee and even more wrecked foot, limping my way across gridlocked crosswalks and trying to find MY Waymo, in amongst all the Waymo’s, using the app to honk the horn and change the color of the light on top as the timer counted down and down until - sorry- you missed your Waymo, and here’s a $5 penalty to compensate the car for its trouble. Grrrrr….
So I limped my way a block back from the Embarcadero, and snagged an Uber to Walgreens instead, and it was only then that I realized my plan of getting back to the Ruby with our luggage for check in by 10am was not going to happen. At Walgreens, it was a case of vacation logic, the only time in my life I would choose one contact lens case for $5 over 6 cases for $10. I arrived back at the hotel when G did, and we gathered up our luggage to leave. We had received a food and beverage credit for our stay at the Hotel Zoe, and had swung by the hotel bar last evening for G to imbibe, so I checked us out to make sure all the accounting was in order.
Meanwhile, G ordered an Uber this time, and it took nearly 30 minutes to arrive, as it had been caught up in cruise traffic on the Embarcadero too. It definitely was a bit of a cluster, so by the time we arrived about 10:45am, the line to enter the terminal was long. It appears the hold up was security, because once we got through that, things moved quickly. But it is a bit of an endurance contest, especially for people using walkers and wheelchairs, as there was one elevator in the terminal to get up to the security and check in level and even that line was long backed up outside the terminal. A man collapsed within eyesight while standing in line and that caused much excitement as EMTs were called and he was transported to the hospital. So sad to see that happen at any time, but especially to someone embarking on a cruise vacation .
The good news is that the weather was perfect, warm and sunny, but naturally felt colder right along the water. The wind coming off the bay is nothing to scoff at, and I put on my headband for part of the wait (wimpy ears) and had my jacket at the ready if needed. I never seem to talk as much about the embarkation process moreso than in San Francisco. It remains my least favorite anywhere we’ve been. But saying that, at noon we were being seated in the Botticelli Dining Room for that wonderful embarkation day lunch. Roasted veggies, salad (with the best balsamic dressing ever) and salmon. Now we’re cruising!
It was after 1pm by then, and cabins were available, so we found the cabin we had booked, and then cancelled, and then booked again. If it had not been available when we reconsidered, we wouldn’t have, and I fought hard to hold onto it through the recent series of complementary upgrades, checking as often as twice a day to make sure our “no upgrade” designation stuck. As soon as we entered the room, I was glad I had. It instantly felt like home, with its ample storage and floor space (with the beds set up as twins). While my husband enjoys the occasional balcony cabin, I am an inside girl all the way. In a balcony (or mini suite), I am inevitably on the side of the bed with about 15” of floor space between the bed and the wall in which to dress, put on shoes, and stumble through for middle of the night bathroom breaks. Sharing twice that space is much nicer.
I didn’t realize until I washed my hands that we had no towels save for one hand towel, and no washcloths. When our steward stopped by to introduce himself, he told us that there were laundry backups due to broken machines, and he hoped to have a complete set of towels to us by turndown. We unpacked our roll aboard, but were still waiting for our checked bags when we went out to the Terrace Deck and took in the beauty of San Francisco on a beautifully sunny day. We sailed about 4:15pm, and G got in line outside the Botticelli Dining Room to try to get us a table for two. We haven’t NOT had a table for two for at least 15 years.
Meanwhile, I wanted to watch as the Ruby Princess sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge. G’s seen that at least 15 more times than I have, and I’ve never seen it on such a beautiful weather day. I was asking a man next to me what a building was, and ended up with a private tour guide as he pointed out notable buildings and landmarks on both sides of the bay as we sailed. Lucky me!
Once we’d passed under the Golden Gate, I returned to our cabin, hoping my suitcase had been delivered so I could change out of the clothes I’d worn for two days, but no luck. We were at dinner looking as travel worn and weary as we felt. We also had no luck getting a private table, but were seated at a table for six in a quiet cove next to a window. The Restaurant Manager who knows us well said that he would keep trying. Meanwhile, our three table mates are most pleasant and our wait staff excellent so I’m not complaining.
I can’t believe I forgot to take photos of the menu, but I was the last one to arrive at the table and just wanted to get my order placed.
One of my favorite entrees, Alaskan stews (or, as waiter George called it, cioppino when in Italy)
We went to the Princess Theater show at 7:30pm (Vocalist Willis White), but that was as long as our evening lasted. It was bit of a relief to see our suitcases inside our cabin when we returned to it, and I quickly unpacked (so easy when you already know where everything goes) and was in bed shortly after. I wish I could say we slept well, but that is a story for tomorrow.
Early impressions are mixed, but I am chalking it up the busy-ness of the first day. The aft elevator situation is made more dire than usual because one is always out of service. I finally gave up trying to get down to deck 6 for dinner and walked down from Deck 14, definitely not what the doctor ordered. There are a lot of guests with ambulatory issues and DME which isn’t helping, and I’ve twice been on elevators when one person took it upon themselves to either push in, or yelled at the rest of us, or both. Frankly, based on today, I’d have to say the ship has some of the rudest people I’ve ever encountered on a cruise, but when I think about it, that’s not a surprise. Society in general has never been so rude. While photo filters are abounding, personal filters seem to be a thing of the past.
Tomorrow will be a better day.
