Just Keepin N Touch: Six! Sea Days on Ruby Princess

Leaving Sydney on Monday, Jan. 27, on the Ruby Princess

Our cabin was on level 8, and very handy to the promenade on level 7 where we walked outside and where the theater and several lounges were where we played games.

We had a window cabin and loved it. The bed was so comfortable and the pillows were the best I've ever had away from home.

Good food abounded on the Ruby Princess - curries, fresh fruit - especially the kiwi, and yummy desserts were some of our favorites. We enjoyed sitting beside the windows for most meals on the Lido Deck. We went just once to the dining room - and waited about 2 hours to be served the entire meal, so we gave up our table and never went back!

We walked a lot of laps and took a lot of beautiful sunset pictures over the course of the 12 days, especially the first half of the cruise before the rain set in.

The lounge where we played Seven Up on Super Bowl day at sea, thanks to a cancelled port - Akaroa. We cheered for all the good plays, as if it mattered to us.

7-Up fun

The Explorers Lounge, playing Play Nine

Linda was shocked to find this ammonite in the jewelry shop. The actual ammonite mine where they strip off all the top soil is across the river from their farm in Alberta, but the vein runs through their farm and that same company has a lease for ammonites on their farm. They have collected quite a few ammonites through the years and Linda has one just a big bigger than the one in this picture. It's the farm where she grew up and her brother now lives there and works it.

A yummy chocolate hazelnut dessert!

In the Princess Lounge waiting to be entertained. There was a lot of great music, two vocalists (Paul Holmes, Nik Page) and a couple of pianists (David Juneau and Jon Darsk), and a comedian (Dave Rave) that was great fun. We even bought a CD of the Australian pianist, Jon Darsk.

At our ukulele practice. Linda and Randy and I all took "lessons."

Walking laps around the 7th level promenade - 2.5 laps = 1 mile

Watching the Cirque du Soleil on the big screen

The food was wonderful - we especially enjoyed the large selection of fresh fruits that Randy loaded up on. You didn't want to be behind him on that part of the buffet!

An Irish band called Emerald Tide entertained us around the ship daily. This was half of the group.

the other half of Emerald Tide

The blond singer is also a professional Irish dancer

Emerald Tide, the first night we heard them

Karen and Linda listening to Emerald Tide from the steps in the Atrium

(PC: Susie) Watching a movie in our stateroom since we got booted out of the lounge where we'd been playing cards during a helicopter evacuation. Nobody was permitted out on the decks, or in their balcony staterooms, or on the lido deck, so the lower public areas got very crowded.

The Princess Lounge where we attended a recipe demonstration by the Chef and Maitre de that was hilarious. The Maitre de kept telling the Chef how his grandma made the recipe, which the Chef got very tired of hearing.