Ruby Princess Review
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What a whirlwind! We sailed the Ruby Princess September 25 to October 7, 2011 from Venice to Civitavecchia, with stops in Croatia, Greece and Turkey along the way. This itinerary is not for you if you like sea days - there was only one! We wanted to see as much as possible, so consequently we were out all day, every day, on tour. This didn't leave time for much else. So, it didn't really feel like a cruise. We spent more time off the ship than on it, using the Ruby more like a floating hotel that deposited us somewhere new each morning. This was our eighth Princess cruise, and altogether I've sailed fifteen times.
Although we'd never flown internationally to begin a cruise, we reached Venice without incident and boarded the ship easily. We utilized the Princess transfer from the airport, which makes things very convenient. We were booked in a balcony cabin on Caribe deck amidships. We'd previously sailed on the Emerald Princess, the Ruby's sister, so we knew our way around and felt right at home. However, there was a period of adjustment. Our most recent cruise was on the Royal Princess, which has since been retired and which carried a far lighter passenger load. Although the larger ships are able to offer more choices in almost every category of amenity, I missed the small ship ambience.
There is no way other than a cruise to cover as much travel territory in as short a time. Our cruise began with an overnight stay in Venice, followed by calls in Dubrovnik, Croatia, Corfu, Katakolon, Mykonos and Piraeus in Greece, Kusadasi in Turkey, then back to Greece for Rhodes and Santorini, followed by our welcome day at sea. The final call was Naples, Italy with disembarkation the next day in Civitavecchia on Friday, October 7 - the start of the Columbus Day holiday weekend back home, which allowed us a three-night post-cruise stay in Rome to wrap things up with bang. Come to this itinerary well rested! It was a grind, with a lot of walking and hill-climbing. Each day we were up early for a tour, out all day and returned to the ship just in time for all-aboard. That left time only for a shower, dinner and to get ready for the next day.