Vacation Season Spring 2026 Begins!!!
After months of waiting, it’s finally time to jump on the Ruby Princess again. In order to get the vacation started, Lori and I spent one night at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa. The goal was to get everything we are taking for our sixteen days, sort through it and leave what really wasn’t necessary … in the car. Feeling a bit hungry, we went to Bistro Napa for a bite to eat. Actually, many bites to eat! We ordered just about every appetizer on the menu! I forgot to take a picture until we were well into demolishing the meal!
All my ducks in a row… I brought a regular sized suitcase and then a smaller one in case we went over the 50 pound maximum. The backpack has essentials needed immediately upon boarding. You know… things like door decorations and my laptop. The reusable grocery bag was for the items we packed on impulse but definitely did not need!
Dinner and repacking took a toll on Lori. Noticing it had been quiet for several minutes, I looked over to find my friend sound asleep…
True vacations don’t start until you order an airport cocktail! Our flight was at 1:30pm so we stuck with the “morning theme”… Mimosa’s!
Being St Paddy’s Day… I had to wear green!
We had a nice, quick flight from Reno to San Francisco. Smooth all the way… Our schedule is such that we will spend one night in San Francisco at Embassy Suites. We have a nice car picking us up at the hotel in the morning.
After checking in early, we prepared for the Embassy Suites Happy Hour. It’s always a nice perk… which this time we did not take advantage of because we were starving! Instead, we went to the “Taste” restaurant for tacos and lemon drops! Of course, even that could not go without a slight glitch. We only had a small table so I tried to balance my taco plate on the edge… it slowly (but surely) rolled off the lip and into the flat part of the table… and beyond. Half of the tacos ended up on the floor. Our very sweet waitress said, “Everything happens for a reason”. We still haven’t figured out what she meant by that! But she was gracious in handling the mess.
After dinner, we decided a jacuzzi was in order. After 9pm, no children are allowed, so it made for a relaxing time. The pool was a good temperature and the hot tub HOT.
Back in the room, dried off and ready for bed… it was once again time to reorganize! How on earth does everything keep getting disorganized? It seems like all I’ve been doing is packing and repacking the same suitcase because it’s not in the proper order. The funny part is that I packed a backpack with essentials for the three nights of hotel time prior to the cruise… so technically, I shouldn’t be in the suitcase. That hasn’t stopped me!!!
Odd picture, I realize… but a funny thing happened. Lori took the first shower and when it was my turn, I set my clothes on the floor. The sink and counter are outside the bathroom; the toilet has no seat so the only place to put my clothes was on the floor. Walking over to turn the water on, I didn’t notice that the shower head had slid down to a lower level on the pole. When I turned on the water, I got sprayed straight in the center of my face and beyond… drenching my clothes. It was a bit of a shock!
Compliments of Princess Cruises, Miguel picked us up in his shiny, black SUV. The 40 minute drive to the port was comfortable!
After navigating through the long security line, we made our way toward check-in. Up the escalator, we headed to pick up our medallions. That process was very fast. Then we easily walked right onto the ship. It was just about 10:45. Up to the pool deck (which happens to be the same floor as our cabin), we headed for the bar for our first cocktail. We couldn’t have better weather!
On a whim, I decided to check on the off chance our cabin was ready early. It was only a few steps away from the bar. Luck had it that the door was open and ready for us to enter! With my backpack full of decorations, I got the room ready… we were surprised to find a bottle of champagne, in addition to the Elite status bar set up. How nice to be settled two hours early! Our luggage arrived quickly also!
As we sailed away, we experienced strong gusts of winds! Still sunny and relatively warm, the wind did put a little nip in the air. Heading to the secret balcony, our vantage point was perfect!
Enjoying our perfect view of Alcatraz Island, the wind was starting to get to us. Realizing we had an equally great view from our cabin, we decided to walk down the hall and view the rest of the Sail Away in our sheltered location. Before leaving, we decided to plan a visit to Alcatraz upon our return in a couple of weeks.
Clear as can be! The San Francisco skyline was absolutely glorious! We have noticed several foreign speaking guests onboard. Though we are used to this site, I can only imagine how impressed those from other countries must be by this clear view of the city.
An impressive sail under the Golden Gate Bridge. Our Captain blew the horn the entire way under the bridge. We could hear lots of cheering! Having not eaten, we changed for dinner. Deciding to go on the casual side, we opted for the Salty Dog Gastropub. Self-described as “comfort food”, we enjoyed the pub style atmosphere. Being the first night, with more than usual first timers, this venue is a bit out of the way. In the coming days, it will be discovered but as for our dinner, we basically had the place to ourselves!
