Having received a wealth of valuable info from Cruise Critic, I felt the need to provide my thoughts about the recent Ruby Princess Transatlantic cruise. I realize there have already been several reviews, but hope my perspective may assist others looking for info as they plan future cruises. Some preliminary thoughts: I have on multiple occasions on cruises had someone I had never met tell me that their absolute favorite cruise line is (the name doesn't matter) only to have within 24-48 hours someone else I had never met tell me that "one thing is for sure; they will never cruise on (the very same line mentioned by the first person). Conclusion is obvious that different people have different likes and dislikes and points of view. But I believe there is more to it. While some lines may have hairy chest and belly-flop competitions and some don't; some may emphasize fixed seating dining and some emphasize come when you want dining and many other differences, the various lines seem to have a lot of similarities as well. I believe that comparisons based on folks saying they have been on several cruise lines, or even several ships, can lead to a bit of apples and oranges comparisons unless you compare cruises (and cruise lines) sailing similar itineraries at similar times of the year on similar size ships with similar passenger demographics, etc. Even the very same ship sailing a 7-day Spring Break Caribbean cruise and an 18-day Fall Transatlantic cruise will be very different; have different quality food, etc. So comparing one cruise line based on short Caribbean cruises with another cruise line sailing longer Asian or European cruises is problematic, for example. The weather, the people we meet, any loss of luggage, the dinner companions, etc, etc, will all color anyone's review of any cruise ship or cruise line. The real question for me is whether or not a cruise is worth my time and money, not whether it is better or worse than some other cruise or cruise line.

I look at cruises (and any other vacations) in terms of whether or not my expectations have been met or have been exceeded. An important factor is to establish appropriate expectations in the first place. So I will review our Oct/Nov Ruby Princess Transatlantic cruise from the perspective of whether my expectations were met or exceeded. I hope that something I say will be useful to someone planning a cruise in the future.

Pre-Cruise: We flew into Venice several days early to better ensure we had time to see the things we wanted to see in Venice, plus get over any jet lag. The weather was great when we arrived and on the first few days of our stay. We loved Venice; had a great time. The weather deteriorated on the day we boarded the ship and was very bad the day the ship sailed, but we had already seen what we wanted to see, so we were not troubled by the weather. Those who arrived and went straight to the ship probably were somewhat disappointed that the weather hampered their sightseeing opportunities. For us, research was key to understanding things like People Mover, Vaporetto schedules, museum hours, how to get from airport to our hotel in Mestre, which restaurants were good, etc. Lesson is to always go a few days early or stay a few days after in Europe. Read more