Ruby Princess Review

A Wonderful Time with Princess Cruises and Ruby Princess

Review for the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on Ruby Princess
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Colonel Jason
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Sep 2011

This was my 7th cruise. My motto is "the newer, the bigger, the better" and some of my previous ships include RCCL's Freedom of the Seas, Cunard's Queen Mary 2, Holland America's Eurodam , Celebrity's Equinox and NCL's Epic. I've wanted to try Ruby Princess since it hit the seas in 2008 and I was happy to finally get the chance.

This particular cruise sails Venice-Barcelona and Barcelona-Venice all Summer long with some amazing ports in between. We decided to do the Venice-Barcelona cruise because, as we are from Canada, getting to and from Venice and their port is a little more complicated than getting to and from Barcelona and their port so we thought we'd deal with the challenging stuff at the beginning rather than the end of our cruise. Also, we wondered if spending a night on the ship in Venice when the cruise was essentially over might be a wee bit anti-climactic. In hindsight, although we don't regret our decision, I imagine sailing into the Venice harbour would probably be more breathtaking than sailing out of it!

Embarkation was a breeze - it was efficient and quick. You are allowed to go straight to your cabin upon boarding. While Princess says embarkation begins at 1 PM I noted many people on board before then and, in fact, the Princess Patter (i.e. the daily schedule that's delivered to your stateroom every evening) had activities starting as early as 11 AM. Those boarding in Venice, however, should take note that it is not entirely clear how to get to the port. For those arriving directly from the airport, a taxi can be taken and for those arriving directly from the train station, you need only walk a short distance. For those who spend a day or so in Venice before the cruise, it can be tricky. I know now, however, that you have only 2 options. One option is take a public water taxi and get off at the port or train station and simply walk to the People Mover. However, if walking over cobblestone roads and getting in and out of crowded boats with your luggage is a challenge for you, the second option is to hire a private water taxi that will take you right to the ship - while much more relaxing, this method is also pricey at about 60 to 80 Euros (it'd be great for a group of people as you could share the cost). Princess does have a shuttle that goes between St. Mark's Square and the ship (it's $15 return) but this is ONLY for those who have already boarded - you can't use this to get to the ship to embark with your luggage...although many try!

Cabin Review

Cabin AC

We had a mini suite and it was excellent. The layout was very functional - large bathroom, large closet and lots of storage space, big desk, nice living room area and big balcony. Only drawback is that the decor is rather bland!

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