All Aboard Ruby Princess! — Dueling Time Zones

Oct 17

Oct 17 All Aboard Ruby Princess!

All checked out of our hotel… five ladies, lots of luggage all loaded into my car, we are ready to head to Pier 27! Thank goodness we opted for the Subaru Ascent because it held all of our things (and we had a lot!). The plan… drop everyone off at the pier with the luggage. Jess comes with me to park at the prearranged, prepaid lot. Then we meet back at the pier and board!

One small wrinkle… after dropping everyone off, both Jess and I tried multiple apps for directions. They were difficult to understand. We FINALLY made it to the lot. When we pulled in, I showed my reservation to the guy working there. He asked how long I was parking, I said, “Eleven days… Oct 15-26”. He took some notes and then, with a confused look on his face, he asked what day we were returning. I told him Saturday, October 26. He proceeds to inform us that the lot is not open on Saturdays… we asked about Sunday. He tells us it isn’t open until Monday morning at 9am! Uh oh…. Three of us HAVE to work Saturday night so we definitely need the car.

This lot had been booked on the first day reservations opened… six months ago. All the other lots cost $500=$900!!! After a bit of discussion, our nice lot attendant figured out since I have a remote unlock, he could lock my car manually and I can unlock it when I get there. He will bring the car up before he leaves on Friday… to a place that we can easily exit the property. Now we have to hope and pray that he actually remembers. I’ll have to find a way to make contact to remind him of our plan!!!

The time has finally arrived! We, possibly… have the car debacle figured out and it is boarding time. We made it pretty quickly through the check-in process. Technically, Roxanne and I should have sailed through the green line. Wanting to help the others, we joined them in the Blue line. Doing this, forced us to go through the whole check-in process. As it turned out, the Princess system criss-crossed our passport information. We had traded identities haha. Laural had a birth certificate, so that info had to be hand entered. Jess and Lori didn’t have Medallions waiting because the Princess agent didn’t understand that we don’t have home mail delivery in Tahoe. They were given old school key cards until their Medallions are processed. Whew! All that and we made it! Up the gangway, we go!!!!

Our timing was perfect… as we approached the area where our medallion are scanned, the security guard sent us to a shorter line. The door was near an entirely different area, away from the crowds. This enabled us to go straight up to the pool deck. On our way, we stopped for a photo of the “Port of San Francsico” sign!!! We are officially onboard!

Cruise time has begun! We bellied up to the bar… ordered cocktails, coffees and pizza. I was able to eat a tomoto-less, gluten-free pizza. It was delicious! It’s only the beginning but we’ve already had plenty of laughs. Good for the soul…

Predictable me… I am such a weirdo. Of course I had to bring special napkins for us!

The sunshine felt amazing… gentle breezes… wow! What a spectacular day. Jess and I walked to the railing to look at the sights around us. I’ve got to admit… she made me feel so good! She looked at me and said something to the effect of: I get it… I see why you do this. We had only been on the ship a short time but she already felt the calm. It is such a great getaway. No responsibilities… the staff pampers. I always worry bringing new cruisers but both Lori and Jess are loving it! Yay!!!

Such a festive atmosphere on the first day… we haven’t even sailed yet and it’s already fun. Music, drinks, dancing…. We have a fun cruise director, so he lead the crowd to all the popular dance songs~ Can you tell how ready we are for time off?!?!

Docked in the heart of San Francisco, we have a perfect view of the Embarcadero and Financial District. Last night we saw Coit Tower from our room, today we see it from the top deck of our ship. My favorite ports are those that have views and easy access to the city upon arrival. Some ports are in industrial locations that require a shuttle to the outskirts of the nearest town. San Francisco is docked on one of the most popular tourist spots.

Laural has not yet purchased her drink package. We have to wait until after sail away. I was able to go to the bar and purchase a drink on my package. Departure time is nearing… our journey is about to begin!

It’s my favorite time! Cabins are ready… hopefully, our luggage will be delivered fairly early. Having planned ahead, my cabin decorations are packed in Roxanne’s bag. You see, the zipper broke on the bag I usually carry. My laptop, napkins and decor items are easily accessible. Before we head to our cabins, one last photo…

Fun time! Roxanne has been recruited to help me decorate the doors. Each door has a mixture of “Girl’s Cruise”, Halloween and Mexico themed magnets. The colorful, swirlies hanging from the ceiling make it so much easier to find each other’s cabins when returning. Most find it silly when it first gets decorated, but it’s always appreciated after realizing what a good marker it is at the end of every night!

Booking “Guarantee Cabins” is a little cheaper than selecting your own cabin. We chose this option. With a “guaranteed balcony”, Princess makes the cabin assignment selection based on availability close to the sail date. We are guaranteed to be in a balcony category at the very least, but it could potentially be an upgraded category. Our reservations were made months apart, but our cabin assignments came out pretty early. It turns out, Jess and Lori ended up directly below us! We are on the Lido deck (15). Jess and Lori are on Riviera, one deck down… directly below us. We can talk to each other from our balconies!

As we left the port, Ruby Princess made her way around Alcatraz. Seeing it from every angle was amazing! With fog settling in, the city had a soft cap of white partially hiding the tall buildings of the Financial District. As we came around the back side of the island, the wind picked up!

How beautiful! Approaching the Golden Gate was surreal. We see it in photos. We see it from the side and as we drive across it. However, it is an entirely unique experience traveling beneath this monstrous span of architectural engineering. Thankfully, the fog lifted just enough that we could see parts of the bridge. Prior to our departure, the fog was completely socked in!

Jessica got a great shot… the Golden Gate Bridge right above our heads! Interesting that I’ve sailed this route a few times, but have never been awake or paying attention to this part of the trip. The city lights have caught my attention… THIS was impressive!

As you can see… we were in a wind tunnel!!! It was a challenge just to hold the camera (phone) without it blowing from our hands! Walking against it was a workout!