Where do I start? I researched the different cruse lines and itineraries a long time before deciding on the Grand Mediterranean cruise on the Ruby Princess. I had sailed on Princess (the Crown) before and had no complaints. My other favorite cruise line is Norwegian, but I didn't like their Mediterranean itinerary. I booked a balcony stateroom on the starboard side (R605) which was the same one I had on the Crown earlier. It's convenient to eating being one deck below the buffets and close to the mid elevators to take me to the main dining rooms. We decided to book the May 28th cruise from Venice to Barcelona because we thought the weather would be a little cooler at that time. We planned for a couple of days pre-cruise in Venice (probably should have done 3) and a couple of days post-cruise in Paris, before flying home. After seeing some of the sites in Barcelona on the way to the airport post-cruise, we should have planned on a couple of days there as well.

In a nutshell, this was a wonderful cruise and I look forward to sailing on the Ruby again! I have absolutely no complaints about the food or the crew. There was food available somewhere around the clock, lots of options, and very tasty. We ate primarily in the Michelangelo dining room, but also frequented both the Horizon and Caribe buffets, the International Cafe, the Trident Grill (for hotdogs), Sabatini's ($20 service charge), and the Crown Grill ($25 service charge). We are early eaters and tried to be in the dining room when it opened. No problem getting a table for 2 by the window at that time.

The ship is practically new and is beautifully decorated! Always something going on in the Piazza. We only attended 2 shows at the Theater, but they were enjoyable, especially the Venice Chamber Orchestra the night we were on the ship in Venice. Our stateroom was comfortable and had plenty of room for our needs. After hanging up our clothes in the closet and putting clothes on the shelves, the luggage slipped out of the way under the bed. There are 3 US 115 volt outlets in the room, one in the bathroom, one on the desk, and another behind the TV. The TV worked great and had several news and movie channels. We never had a chance to watch a movie under the stars because after some of the excursions, we were too tired to stay up for a movie (we are in our mid to upper 60's). Read more