Hit the Road, Jack is taking a few days at sea aboard Princess Cruise Lines newest ship the Ruby Princess. This is the ship’s debut season and only its second voyage to the Caribbean. PD Travel editor Jackie Hutcherson is on board, with more than 3,000 other passengers, and blogging at sea.

LET’S DO SOME BACKTRACKING IN TIME TO TUESDAY’S SHORE EXCURSION IN OCHO RIOS, JAMAICA

PLUSES
Dunn’s River Falls: It rained all day Tuesday in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, but it didn’t matter. I have never been as soaked as I was climbing the giant rock staircase 600 feet up the falls. I can’t believe I did it. A big thank you goes out to Bob from Toronto and Tim from Fort Lauderdale for helping us make this amazing climb. Our group of 18 people started at the bottom of the falls - the beach - and we all held hands in a line as we took the climb, step by step. Our guides Joseph and Kevin were excellent; not one of us bit it at the falls. But my goodness were my ankles sore afterward; nothing that three ibuprofin couldn’t cure. Yes, we bought the $40 video. No, I don’t think you’ll be seeing it on the blog.

Shore excursion x3: We climbed Dunn’s River Falls and did the Mystic Mountain Jamaica bobsled ride and sky explorer chairlift ($64 children, $79 adults) as our three-fer shore excursion. Yes, it was wet, but we were already wringing from the falls, so did a little rain really matter? Oh, and if you think bringing an umbrella or rain poncho would have helped on the falls? Not so much. Wear a bathing suit. Carry nothing.

BTW, here’s a clip from travel reporter extraordinaire Tom Uhlenbrock’s recent trip to Dunn’s River Falls. How he climbed it with a video camera, I’ll never know. Maybe I owe him an extra day off for service above and beyond. Thoughts?

Hot water: Coming back to the Ruby Princess, soaked to the bone, made taking a simple hot shower one of the day’s highlight reel. Terrific water pressure.

Canopy or canape? The chairlift ride above the treetops gave us a chance to see some lush vegetation and amazing views of Ocho Rios and foggy mountaintops.

MINUSES
Roll the video - wait - not so fast: I had every intention of videotaping our ride on the Rainforest Jamaica Bobsled, but when I got into the ride and pushed ‘play’ the empty videotape icon appeared. It’s just as well, the ride was more like riding a bullet rollercoaster than a real Jamaican bobsled (note to self: Next time, really read the shore excursion descriptions). My bad.

Other options: If we had not taken the Mystic Mountain Bobsled & Falls shore excursion, other shore excursions that caught our eye include  Shaw Park Gardens, Beach and Dunn’s River Falls ($79)
and the Jamaica dog sled team ride ($159).

On deck: It’s Thursday and we’re in Cozumel. That must mean it’s time for the sweat lodge shore excursion.