Muster drill aboard the Ruby Princess: Location, location, location. Photo by Jackie Hutcherson

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 inaugural season and only its second voyage to the Caribbean. PD travel editor Jackie Hutcherson is on board and blogging at sea.

Internet access onboard the Ruby Princess is very good, but it’s pricey, so let me give you a quick wrapup of Day 1.

PLUSES
+ Uneventful flight: That’s the best kind, isn’t it? My husband and I took a 6 a.m. direct flight on American Airlines from St. Louis to Miami. I’ll let you figure out what time the alarm clock summoned. Seriously, it’s smart to take the first flight out and it’s a great way to keep the airline gods in your favor.

+ Take the bus: To get to the Ruby Princess, me and about 30 of my cruising companions took a shuttle north to Fort Lauderdale. The cost? $25. And don’t forget to tip your driver.

+ Food, glorious food: The buffet’s on and we haven’t even set sail. The afternoon chow crowd’s getting their first taste of cruise fare. It doesn’t disappoint. There are comfort foods of all kinds, and everyone’s buzzing around as if it’s the last meal of their lives.

+ Movies under the stars: In this case replace ’stars’ with ’sun’ which was a great way to kill time before our luggage arrived. We sat on the warm, sunny deck and watched a bit of Tina Fey’s “Baby Mama” on the big-screen near the Calypso Reef and pool before the ship had even set sail.

+ Must have caffeine: I guess this is pretty standard for all the cruise lines, but the unlimited soda package $29.75 (plus the required 15 percent tip) is better than being charged each time your order a Diet Coke. And you get a cool aluminum mug.

+ Muster drill: This gets a plus simply because of where it was held - inside in a bar (no drinks were served) instead of having all 3,000-plus passengers standing on deck wearing our orange lift vests. Did you know the life jackets now have little blinking lights in case you have to jump in? They do.

+ Best cruise deal so far: 3 scoops of gelato for $1.50. Try the Nutella flavor.

MINUSES
- Baggage fees: American charges $15 for your first bag and $25 for No. 2, payable at the ticket counter. My husband and I had a grand total of 3 bags, so that’s $55. Gentlemen, remember those fees when you’re getting ready to fly home for Thanksgiving with your significant other, who packed a really large suitcase, to your two smaller ones.

- Not suitable for framing: Ship photographers - I know they’re just doing their job - but why take a photo of me while I’m chewing my food at dinner? The idea is to get me to buy the photo, right?

- ‘Knowing me, knowing you’ - Mama Mia, but after 18 hours of traveling and whatnot, I was kaput and too tired to see some of the onboard entertainment, like the Abba tribute band, Abracadabra. I guess I was finally facing my ‘Waterloo.’

DAY 2 - Wonder what will be in store on Princess Cay, also known as Eleuthera in The Bahamas? Stay tuned and fingers crossed for continued good internet access.