Day 5: Ketchikan

We had the BEST day today!  Part of it was being in sunny (this afternoon) Ketchikan, which is always a real treat.  Part of it was our beautiful sail away right around sunset at 9:30pm. And a lot of it is that we are now settled and very content with our dining situation. We are people who like looking forward to the same private table and waiters every evening, and are willing to go to dinner promptly at 5pm to get that.  It’s huge part of cruising for us.  

Even better, I made it to breakfast in Botticelli for the first time this cruise. The menu format has changed slightly from when we cruised last fall on the Regal, but the options appear to be the same. From this point forward, I’ll just be posting pics of the specials, which do change daily, and not the rest of the menu. (I simply had smoked salmon and fruit, so no pics of that, either). 

It was largely overcast in Ketchikan this morning, with clearing expected throughout the day, so after breakfast we decamped to Skywalkers, where we had a Verizon signal and could also watch the arrival of the Coral Princess at Berth 1 and a small HAL ship at Berth 2. The Ruby was at Berth 3 and the Caribbean Princess was already at Berth 4 when we arrived. It’s summer in Alaska!

As expected, I had no trouble uploading pics to my blog posts using Verizon, which might mean that Princess is, for some reason, blocking blogger photo uploads. If that’s the case, it’s disappointing to pay $495 for WiFi and be restricted while influencers can post hundreds of selfies to the Gram showing off their cruise attire. I may talk with the internet person on  board to see if I can learn anything. Or maybe I’ll just take the easy route and upload pics when I can. As I told a friend a couple of days ago, when I was blogging to let Mom know we were safe and doing well, I disciplined myself into posting every night. Now I’m a lot more laid back. 

The snow on the mountains above Ketchikan was beautiful. 

We stopped into the buffet for the first time and had a few nibbles before we left the ship. The furniture was new since I was last on the Ruby, but the rest of the layout looked familiar. We’ve probably sailed two full years (more for G) on the Ruby and its twin sister ship the Emerald, so the ship is extremely familiar but it felt completely different during our three months in the South Pacific and Australia than it does here in Alaska. 

And, before I again forget to mention it (because I’ve been meaning to for three days), there has been HUGE improvement in the smoke pouring out of the casino. When I was on the ship in 2022 (for four miserable days…), I was appalled at the smoke from the casino in the Piazza and mid ship elevators. It choked the breath right out of me. I had last been on the ship in Australia where the inside of the ship is a non smoking area, and wasn’t expecting that. Frankly, it made me a little reluctant to book this cruise (but, again, this itinerary…). I don’t know what has changed, but something has. Casino smoke has not been an issue at all thus far. Knock on wood (en craps table) that it lasts. 

The sun was out in force when we finally walked off the ship about noon. I had one goal in mind, to find salmon jerky, and G is always in search of Mountain Dew. We quickly accomplished both errands, walked around a bit more (we had forgotten our National parks pass on the ship and didn’t bother to walk back to the ship to retrieve it, so we skipped the Discovery Center) and finally made our way back to a bar on the water by Berth 3 when we found some medical staff and officers from the Coral Princess doing some light celebrating and were swept up in their fun. 

For the record, it was about 61F, and I wore a fleece jacket, my new Goretex jacket (finally a new one after 24 years!) and had my wool headband around my neck in case I needed it over my ears (I didn’t). 

We returned to the ship in time for the PES Lounge, where they had candied ginger in the little buffet. Candied ginger!  What I would have given for some of that a day or two ago!  They do a really extensive nibbly display in the PES Lounge on the Ruby and it is one of G’s favorite things on the ship. He generally gets a glass of wine and I get a Perrier and happiness reigns.

It’s nice to be met with big smiles from Errol and Haifa when we arrive at our table (!) in Michelangelo. I don’t think I mentioned yesterday that the couple at the table for two next to us knew G from his Ruby Princess cruises in 2022. He had been in the top three on one of those cruises and invited them to be his guests for the Captains Circle party. What are the odds of being seated next to them three years later? 

Actually, higher than you’d think. There appear to be a LOT of people on the Ruby who just do these cruises over and over again because they want to cruise but they don’t want to fly. I always felt at a bit of a disadvantage because we have to fly to every cruise, but, in a way, that’s an advantage, because, as a result, our options are limitless. 

Your daily weather report.

How’s that for Ketchikan weather?


Fish soup- very good

Of course

Panko breaded cod

It was pretty good, not especially memorable.

The sauce was excellent. 

We don’t order dessert, so I don’t usually even look at the menu, but got this from our neighbor. I’ll try to remember going forward. 

Vocalist Trenyce (sounds like Denise) did a Diana Ross/Whitney Houston tribute.

 It was a great performance!

After the Princess Theater show, we went up to Skywalkers for our 9pm sailway. Honestly, regardless of what else this cruise brings, I think that this may have been the best part. I can’t imagine topping the glow on the mountains surrounding Ketchikan as the sun set off the bow of the ship, and then seeing the huge moon slowly appear and rise higher in the sky that never turned completely dark as long as we stayed there. 

Taken through Skywalkers tinted glass…


…as was this one 

I finally braved the cold to step out behind Skywalkers and take this pic, and G let me back in that door that locks behind you if you leave

Day 4: At Sea

Today was the day it all started to gel for us. Thankfully. I knew it would, eventually, but am grateful we have 19 days remaining on this adventure. 

Our cabin location was still rough all night and this morning, but calmed down quite a bit after that. Still, it didn’t bother me as much. I was comfy in bed last night now that the bedding is straightened out, and so exhausted when I fell asleep that I slept until after 8am and woke feeling like a different person. 

G left right away for breakfast in Botticelli, but I was just queasy enough to skip it. Plus, today was the MTG luncheon (yes, we had a luncheon!) in Sabatini’s and I know enough to go hungry for optimal enjoyment. I futzed with trying to upload photos to the blog, but still had no luck. Hopefully I’ll be successful using wireless tomorrow in  Ketchikan. I certainly had no issue in San Francisco. 

Steward Nestor was so funny this morning when I left the cabin just after noon. “Good MORNING Mrs Fish”. Yeah, I get it. I’m a slacker. I’ll try to improve. 

Cutoff for today’s MTG was over 1000 days (sorry, that’s as close as I got right now), and, with over 1700 days we are the fifth most traveled, which means we were seated at the “second” table (there is a pecking order to this, in case you didn’t know), and Customer Services Director Luca was the officer seated with us at our table. He was harious, confiding that he had been a bit nervous…the more traveled the guests, the more complaints but there was nary a complaint at the table and we all had a wonderful time. 

I left my purse in Sabatini’s, but since it contained the treasure of one comb and two Wet Ones, I wasn’t too concerned. I guessed we’d be reunited at some point in time (and we were, tonight. It was with the Restaurant Manager in Sabatinis). 

By 3pm, the ocean motion had calmed enough that I was feeling ready to resume normal cruising. The weather today was officially cloudy but it looked pretty sunny to me, but quite chilly.  I had brought two fleece jackets and a fleece vest (bought recently at an end of season sale at Eddie Bauer) and have pretty much lived in some combination of them since we left San Francisco. This ship is cold, especially near the stairwells where the cold air pours in on Deck 15 and sinks like a rock. 

Though we had just finished eating, we went to afternoon tea in Botticelli at 3pm. Why?  I have no idea, but it was fun, and I’m not sure when we’ll have another chance. Then I made my first trip to lost and found for my purse at Guest Services (no luck), back to the Vista-less Lounge for PES Lounge, then (joy of joys) to the Michelangelo Dining Room for what we hoped (🤞🏼🙏🏼) would be our very own table for 2. Poor Restaurant Manager Alexander was being literally harangued by an unhappy guest (the dining situation on this ship is a mess), and when he finished and saw me he gave me a huge hug. I think he was just happy to see a familiar, friendly face. Well, friendly now. I was a little salty myself about our table-less state yesterday. 

We found out “our” table sat empty for two days, while we were begging for a table for two anywhere on the ship and were being told there wasn’t one available. This new system works no better than the previous system. It is all settled now (for us) but anyone who knows me knows that just because it’s working for us doesn’t mean I won’t admit it’s not working for everyone. It clearly isn’t. 

We met our new waitstaff, Errol and Haifa from the Philippines (they are soooooo good) and then, joy of joys, I saw that chicken korma was on the menu. Chicken korma!  It was a smaller portion without the toppings, but still…chicken korma!  Our dinner was a perfect storm of good fortune, and, to top it off, G brought me a single rose in a vase for the table to celebrate. Everyone asked if it was a special occasion, but, no. Just the start of 19 more days of blissful cruising. 

Chicken korma!

Steamed broccoli, well done. Yummmmmmmmm

Tonight’s Princess Theater show was Willis White, back again, this time with a Lionel Ritchie tribute act. We sat in the first row, and from that vantage point, Mr. White was mighty fine to watch. It was a great show, and we are especially impressed with the musicians in the show band. They are phenomenal. 

We closed out the evening walking along the Promenade Deck (bitingly cold but light out at nearly 9pm). There was plenty still going on around the ship that interested us, but bed and sleep sounded pretty good too. We move clocks back an hour tonight, and don’t arrive in Ketchikan tomorrow until 9:30am. I may even make it to breakfast for the first time this cruise. 

Day 3: At Sea

The first thing G said to me this morning?  “Waymo called. Their car is still driving around looking for you”, and I put dealing with that on the top of my list of things to do today. I used the app’s chat feature and was easily given a credit for the $5 penalty I was charged. I asked why this would have happened (a car went to place not near me) and their AI simply said they’re constantly trying to fix and improve.  Thank you for that. 

Sleep, the first night in a new place, is always a challenge, but, for me, the biggest challenge on a cruise is the bedding on Princess.  I knew that the weight of the comforter would be too much for “that” foot, and asked our steward for a blanket instead when he did our turndown service. We returned to find a MUTS blanket folded on top of the bed and the comforter still in place. I tried sleeping on top covered by the blanket but the blanket wasn’t long enough or warm enough so I did battle with the heavy comforter all night.  

G left to get breakfast (I believe he went to Botticelli, which is very convenient for our cabin location…provided you can walk down the stairs because the elevators back here are quite congested), but I wanted to shower first. Before he left the cabin, G said that our sink wasn’t draining and we needed to report it this morning but that wasn’t the only issue, I discovered. The shelf under the sink, and the floor under that was flooded, and the items I had placed on the shelf last night (in ziploc bags) were sitting in water.  Luckily, we had picked up two pool towels before returning to the cabin last night, not knowing for sure if we were going to have bath towels, and I used those to soak up the mess. But the shower was pure heaven, strong water pressure, lots of hot water and, of course, we are well used to both the shower size and the shower curtain. It felt great to lose the travel dirt. 

I decided to skip breakfast; there was a fair bit of movement in our cabin and I was feeling just a tiny bit green, and went directly to Skywalkers for our Cruise Critic meet and greet. I haven’t gone to one of these for years, but it has been a very large and active group online, and I wanted to put some faces to names. But with Skywalkers being even higher on the ship, I was really feeling the movement up there. Have I lost my sea legs? I fear I have.  Fortunately, these first two days of this itinerary as the Ruby quickly cruises her way north will almost certainly be the roughest ones we encounter (but we have friends taking their very first cruise on the ship later this summer, also to Alaska, and I made a mental note to remind them to come prepared). 

The meet and greet was well attended by cruisers and officers, and I was able to meet Cruise Raider and 4cats4me, who have been on the forum for years and years also. I even won a Cruise Critic coaster, so thanks for Cruise Critic and everyone who worked so hard to pull all this together. They were pros at it!

G found me up there (cruising with the Locate Shipmates function in the Medallion app is a game changer), and came with a lady in tow. And here I need to back up a bit.  Last night at dinner, we discovered that one of our tablemates, an older man, had been on the ship last cruise also, with his sister, who had too much difficulty with the rough seas because she used a walker, and she decided to cancel this next cruise and go home. So he was traveling alone this time, and G mentioned that he often travels solo, and if the man found himself in a situation where he needed help, to let us know.  He was quite tech savvy and immediately pulled out his phone and sent us a friend request so he could message us through the app. And when we were setting that up, G discovered another friend name already in his app, a woman whose name (Noni) he didn’t recognize but whose face he did. He *thought* he sailed with her on the Ruby a few years ago. 

This morning when he was at breakfast, she found him and they were able to reunite. He had met her at a Cruise Critic meet and greet and ultimately asked her to join him at an MTG luncheon on a cruise in Hawaii in March 2022. So I was able to meet her, and we had a fun time chatting and promised to get together again in the cruise.  Bottom line:  we never knew that the Medallion app matched you up with people you may have met on an earlier cruise, so take a look at that and see if any old friends are on board.

We went directly from there to get in line for lunch at the Botticelli Dining Room. Lines, we’ve got ‘em on this ship.  When we stepped off the elevator on Deck 6, the lobby was packed full and people were lined up the stairs up to Deck 7 waiting for the dining room to open, and, once again, people were sniping about line cutters and, really, I was just trying to find a corner to wait in because people get so rude. But once the dining room opened, things started moving and it didn’t take long until we were seated at a table for two. But, seriously….chill people!

Summer rolls

Salmon poke bowl

Always, always…collard greens?  Or was this spinach.?  I think the latter. 

Lunch at the bouncy back of the ship is where things began to feel quite bad, and I returned to the cabin (also on the back of the ship) and did exactly the wrong thing.  I laid down (and covered up best I could with that MUTS blanket) and wished I was anywhere else for a few hours. G came and went, ultimately ending up at the military get together in the Wheelhouse Bar, and we made plans to meet at the Platinum, Elite and Suite Lounge, being held this cruise in the Vista-less Lounge (you can see why we wanted this “back of the ship” location). But as I laid in bed, I knew there was no way I’d be getting dressed for formal night tonight. I thought that I’d at least go to the PES Lounge and get some ginger ale and crackers. 

G left to go to Botticelli for dinner, and ran into trouble.  It seems that table we thought we had last night was not our table after all, that there are no assigned tables, and that in Botticelli you get a dining time but not a specific table, but all those empty tables for two?  Well, those tables are assigned, and that is when he reached the end of his patience, walked down to Michelangelo and saw a Restaurant Manager friend who totally took care of him and now we have a table for two there tonight at 5pm.  Oy vey, this has all been much harder than it needs to me. What do people who don’t have Restaurant Manager friends do?  I guess they’re the ones waiting in the line outside of DaVinci that stretches long and wide back to the casino. If you haven’t cruised other cruise lines and aren’t aware, it doesn’t have to be this way. At all. Carnival, despite its lowly reputation, handles dinner reservations like rock stars. 

And it also prompts me to go into the Medallion app and reserve dining immediately for cruises going out two years that we may not even take, just to eliminate this issue. I’ve always been reluctant to tie up a table until we made final payment (even though Elites can do that) because it didn’t seem quite fair, but we’re not anxious to go through this again either. I miss the old days of meeting with the Maitre d’ like something out of The Godfather, seeing him write something on his large seating map and walking away with a table number and a time. 

G knows the drill, the took menu pics in my absence

G said he lasted about ten minutes into the illusionist’s performance in the Princess Theater, but when they rolled out the card tricks, he moved on. Meanwhile, I was so so so happy to return to the cabin with a real blanket on the bed, the heavy comforter disappeared somewhere, towels in the bathroom, a dry floor and a quick draining sink. Let’s get this party started (and calm the seas, please). 

Tomorrow will be a better day!

Oh, and I keep forgetting to mention that we are sailing on a standard fare this cruise. I am no longer drinking alcohol, and have reduced even decaf coffee to one cup a day. I did dry January (easy to do after all the drinking on the Regal Princess), and just kept it going with two exceptions since then (can’t miss the prickly pear margaritas at El Charro in Tucson!). We knew from the Regal transatlantic that drinks started to lose their allure after day 7 or 8, and that even G would cut back his consumption after that. We just couldn’t justify a drink package for 22 nights. G is ordering drinks one at a time and I purchased a 4 device MedallionNet package for $495 to share between us. Is the fact that it’s not hyperspeed MedallionNet the reason I can’t post pics right now?  Not sure, but it will work out eventually. As I said, G is streaming video at night with no issue. In fact, I woke up to him watching a morning news report out of Dallas.  I wasn’t certain, in those fuzzy first moments of the day, but it sure sounded like I was hearing a traffic report as soon as I opened my eyes. I was. 😆

Day 2: Embarkation day on the Ruby Princess

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.