Our family of four (teen daugher and pre-teen son) just returned from the 12 day Eastern Mediterranean on the Ruby Princess, Venice to Rome. Overall, it was excellent but mainly because of the itinerary. The weather was unseasonably hot, but nothing Princess can do about that -- just make sure to wear lots of sunscreen and drink a lot of water. As for each area:

Embarkation - excellent. We selected the Princess transfer so as to not have to worry about it ourselves while seriously jet lagged, we got on a bus with many others and were checked into the stateroom just a little over an hour after landing, which is awesome.

Cabin - we had a mini-suite with balcony, one double bed for my husband and I, the couch pulled out into a bed for our daughter and they pulled down a bed from the ceiling for our son, with a ladder, which he totally loved. It was roomy enough, and I can't imagine ever going on a cruise without a balcony. The bathroom was significantly larger than bathrooms we have had in the mini-suites on Royal Caribbean, and we had a large closet, so high marks here as well. Read more