Sunday, March 24, 2019. Embarkation Los Angeles for Roundtrip Hawaii Cruise

20190324-0408 Ruby Princess Los Angeles to Hawaii Round Trip Cruise

Sunday, March 24, 2019.  Embarkation in Los Angeles

It seems like we hardly had time to unpack and get our laundry done from our Regal Princess Caribbean cruise when we had to repack and head off for our next cruise.  We hadn’t originally planned it this way.  We had booked a 15 day Los Angeles to Hawaii cruise for October, but then we got a promotional email that knocked a thousand dollars off the price to do the same cruise in late March, so here we are.  We were surprised that there was no penalty of any sort for us to rebook it at the reduced price.  We did have to book our balcony on a guaranty, meaning we wouldn’t know exactly what balcony we would be in, but were paying for a BF category balcony, which is typically situated either at the bow or stern of the ship.  These areas are subject to more movement from swells and waves because they are further from the ship’s center of gravity, but we have not had troubles with sea sickness.  Just a few days before departure, we found out we were assigned stateroom A428, which is actually a significant upgrade because it is right at the center of the ship and is a category BA, which is the highest regular balcony.  There are also deluxe balconies with larger decks.  These are nice, and we have sailed in them before, but the regular balconies offer a better value for the money if you don’t plan on doing a lot of sunbathing on the deck, which we typically don’t.  

This itinerary leaves Los Angeles and crosses the Pacific to Hawaii.  It takes 4 full days at sea to get to the Hawaiian Islands.  Once we are there, we spend a full day at each of the Big Island (Hilo), Oahu (Honolulu), Maui (Lahaina)  and Kauai (Nawiliwili).  Then it’s another 5 full days at sea to return to Ensenada for the obligatory non-US port of call, and then back to Los Angeles.  

Departing from the West coast has its advantages for us.  We only have to get up at 5:30AM to get to Los Angeles in time to board the cruise ship.

Our trip begins with a ferry ride from Whidbey Island to Mukilteo.  Nice to have a ferry ride during daylight hours for a change.

We ended up flying Delta Airlines in Comfort Plus class, which is their version of premium economy.  You end up with similar leg room to first class, as well as snacks and alcoholic beverages, but sit 6 across, so you’re still shoulder to shoulder.  But we found that the amenities in Delta’s Comfort Plus were nicer than American Airline’s First Class, and at a significantly lower price.  We ended up with 4 little bottles of whiskey and rum to smuggle onto the Ruby Princess.  

The Princess transfers are really nice in that they eliminate all of the anxiety that is associated with getting from the airport to your ship on time, and they do treat us like Princesses.  Embarkation was seamless aside from having to take our bottle of wine out of our suitcase and putting it in our carry on backpacks.  We had no trouble smuggling the little liquor bottles in our back packs, which were loaded with cell phone charges and cables, so picking out the tiny bottle caps on X-ray must worth their trouble to flag them.  

The Ruby Princess does seem to show some of it’s age externally as there is more noticeable rust visible on the exterior.  However, Princess had done a good job of maintaining the interiors.  There are new carpets and the ship still looks very elegant and regal. While it is signicantly smaller than the Regal Princess, it is well appointed.  There have been upgrades to the poolside grill and pizza restaurants.  It’s funny that one suggestion I wrote on my Princess post cruise evaluation form for the Regal Princess Caribbean itinerary was to expand loaded fries offerings in the poolside grill, and sure enough, the Ruby Princess poolside grill offers loaded fries with cheese and bacon, or cheese and chili everyday.  You can also get a chili cheese dog any day.  The pizza counter also offers Stromboli and focaccias.  We explored those menus for lunch.  

We sat with a nice couple from Michigan for the muster drill who reported that it had warmed up to 15 degrees by the time they left for this trip.  They were looking forward to going back to Hawaii, having done this same itinerary about 3 years ago.  They are Platinum Captain’s Circle members like us, although after we finish this cruise, we move up to Elite status, which will get us free laundry and minibars, among other benefits.

The dining room is elegant and intimate, although it was busy.  We were surprised by the variety offered on the menu.  On most other Princess cruises we have done in the past, the left half of the menu has items that remain the same for the whole trip, while the right half has specials of the day.  Typically there are 3 or 4 choices for appetizers and main dishes.  This menu had 6-8 choices for appetizers and 6-8 choices for the main dishes, and the waiter said that the menus do change every day.  That makes it harder to decide which main dish to have at each meal, but that’s not a back thing.  It’s just different.  

We finished dinner in time to attend the 7PM Welcome aboard trivia.  We paired up with another couple who wandered in just before the game started.  They were from Colorado.  We made a decent showing scoring 15/20.  Two teams tied for first with 16 points.  We left before the tie breaker because we wanted to catch the Princess Theater production of Magic To Do,  which is another Stephen Schwartz number.  Ben really likes this show, which combines magic, puppetry and other stage effects with music from Stephen Schwartz musicals including Pippen, Wicked, Godspell and Pocahontas.  This production troupe is good, but not nearly as good looking or refined as the troupe on the Regal Princess.  There must be a pecking order for talent in the Princess line, and the Royal Class ships get first pick.  

We finished the night with the first music trivia, which was TV and Movie themes.  This time, we teamed up with two couples who had been sitting behind us.  It turns out that the women are sisters traveling with their husbands from Missouri.  It was fun playing with them, and we managed a solid win, out scoring second place by 5 points.  

There will be a lot of time changes on this cruise.  Tonight, our clocks go back an hour as we head west.  The weather was nice with a high in the upper 60’s today.  In the evening, temperatures outside dropped into the 50’s, so it’s cold out on deck.  There isn’t much wind, but there is a surprising amount of rocking and pitching by the ship due to the open ocean swells even in our midship cabin.  We’ll be rocked to sleep tonight.