Ruby Princess, Grand Mediterranean July 4-16 review (very long and detailed)

[Infi]

This is the first part of our trip report of our Grand Mediterranean cruise onboard the Ruby Princess. (As you can guess, it's still a work in progress.) As a trip report, this will definitely not be one of those report-card grade style reviews. If you’re into stories with lots of details, you’ll (hopefully!) enjoy this review. Cruise Critic helped me out so much with planning this cruise, so I’d like to pay back part of the favor by sharing our experiences in the ports of call and with the tour companies we used. If this review amuses, entertains, or helps out one other person (other than helping me to reminisce about our trip), I’m really glad. If you have any questions about the ship or any of the ports, please ask and I’ll be more than happy to answer them.

Ship: Ruby Princess, 7/4 – 7/16/10

Itinerary: Venice to Barcelona: Athens, Kusadasi, Istanbul, Mykonos, Naples, Rome, Florence/Pisa, Monte Carlo.

Part 1

 

I took this cruise with my daughter, my 53rd cruise and her 24th. We absolutely love cruising and this trip really confirmed exactly why cruising is our favorite vacation. Cruising is a fantastic way to see the Med. It gives the perfect taste of each of the cities, and leaves you with a wishlist of places to return to and explore in depth. As far as I’m concerned, the Grand Mediterranean itinerary Princess offers can’t be beat. Starting your cruise in Venice is wonderful, and the sailaway from the city is breathtaking and a real highlight of the trip. Ending your cruise in Barcelona is another treat: the city is full of personality and life, along with great architecture and sights. If you’re considering this itinerary, do it, and do it now.

 

 

Pre-cruise:

We flew to Europe about a week and a half before the cruise began. This allowed us plenty of time to get acclimated, explore another city, and get over the inevitable jetlag. We also experimented with No-Jetlag pills (an herbal remedy for jetlag) on our flight over, and they may as well be renamed No-Sleep pills. Did they live up to their promise of no jetlag? Surprisingly, yes. We arrived refreshed and ready for a new day, without any issues with the six hour time difference. However, the flight over was pretty miserable, as both of us were wide-eyed awake for most of it thanks to said pills. Even now, neither of us is quite sure how the pills work (keeping one awake to reset their internal clock is pretty counter-intuitive), but they did live up to their promise. Would I recommend them? Sure, if you’re narcoleptic.

I had wanted to spend time in Madrid prior to the cruise, so we spent about a week in the city before traveling on to Venice. We flew RT MIA-Madrid, adding on flights from Madrid to Venice, and then from Barcelona back to Madrid at the end of the cruise. Does it sound convoluted? You bet. Was it cheaper than being open-jaw tickets for both ends of the cruise? Absolutely. We were able to get flights on a European carrier (Iberia) for the other legs of the journey that were much cheaper than doing two one-way trips. The flight from Barcelona to Madrid is a real bargain, I think it was about $15pp. If your cruise ends or begins in Barcelona, a trip to Madrid is pretty worthwhile and more feasible than you’d think. Yes, European carriers are a world apart from US ones, and their luggage restrictions are much stricter, but I’m glad we planned our trip this way. I won’t bore you all with the details of our stay in Madrid. If anyone does have any questions about hotels or sights in Madrid, please feel free to ask, I’ll be happy to try my best.

 

 

We began our visit to Venice on July 1st. The Venice airport is small, easily manageable, and full of helpful signage. What’s a real pain is dragging your luggage down to the docks. It’s about a 10min walk under a narrow, covered sidewalk in about 90 degree heat. There are complimentary luggage carts available at the airport, but dragging them over the pavers en route to the docks is an unpleasant experience DD says she doesn’t want to repeat very soon. The water taxis and Alilaguna are located immediately at the docks.

I had considered going the private water taxi route, but it didn’t seem worth it, as our hotel was very close to St. Mark’s square and all of the public water transportation stops. I pre-purchased the Alilaguna tickets on the Alilaguna site. I believe they were €12pp, making them slightly cheaper than buying them in person. DD presented our confirmation to the ticket office on the docks, and (of course) they were unable to find our reservation. The man was very nice about it and gave us the tickets anyway.

Boarding the Alilaguna is an interesting experience, and one’s first taste of the waterbus life in Venice. You validate the tickets, and then enter a floating bus stop. DD christened them the “bus boxes”, and that’s what they really are – floating boxes on the water with open doors on either side for boarding the boats. They bob up and down like corks on the water, and feel like they’re barely attached to the dock. Inside the city of Venice, the vaporettos use a similar system. There’s a few benches inside the “bus boxes”, but at peak times, one is lucky to even find standing room only inside. We had to wait about twenty minutes before a boat arrived, which made for some interesting people watching. A poor old man and his luggage cart careened down the ramp into the “bus box” and nearly out the other end, and we watched a large group of tourists push and shove their way onto another Alilaguna boat.

The Alilaguna boats vary in size: some are significantly smaller than others (read: more crowded and less luggage space). The gold express line, for example, uses a comparatively smaller boat than the slower blue line, which we took. The attendants onboard each boat try to pack the luggage according to where the passengers will be getting off the boat, and they do make an effort to help anyone who might need an extra hand. All luggage is stored in huge piles at the front of the boat, where you board. I would have been worried about the safety of our bags, but they were so far buried underneath the pile that if someone wanted to steal them, it would have been far more trouble than it was worth. The rest of the boat looks exactly like a city bus: molded plastic seats, poles for standing passengers to hang onto, the whole nine yards. The main difference is the view out the windows, and what a view it is.

The trip to Venice took about 45min, but was relaxing and a good introduction to Venice and the surrounding islands. We got to see Lido, Murano, and some of the other islands from the water, which we would have missed had we chosen another method of transport.

 

 

Our hotel in Venice was the Hotel Monaco. Its location on the Grand Canal (directly across from the Santa Maria della Salute church), one block from St. Mark's square, and a stone's throw from the various Alilaguna and vaporetto stops cannot be beat. We requested a room with a view of the Grand Canal and were delighted that they honored our request. Our room had a perfect view of all the comings and goings on the canal, and we were able to watch the traffic at the gondola station right in front of the hotel (word of warning: getting into the gondolas is trickier than it looks – we saw so many people trip and almost fall that it was a little scary to watch). The hotel offers a limited complimentary continental breakfast (rolls, muffins, and juice/coffee) along with lunch and dinner at their terrace restaurant. The restaurant overlooks the Grand Canal, and it was absolutely wonderful to sit out there in the mornings, watching the boat traffic and even cruise ships sail by.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this hotel to other cruisers. In fact, a few days into our stay we discovered that we had unwittingly chosen one of the hotels Princess uses for its cruise packages. A Princess representative was stationed every day in the lobby, ostensibly to answer cruisers’ questions. After watching the rep sit there day after day twiddling her thumbs, DD stopped by to inquire about the availability of Princess transfers to the cruiseport. (Answer: no such thing exists – it’s the Alilaguna or water taxis, or nothing.) When the rep discovered we had booked the hotel independently and not through Princess, she dropped her voice to a whisper and confided that she “really shouldn’t even be talking with you right now, because you haven’t booked with Princess and I’m not allowed to speak to the independents.” Sheesh! Is the ridiculous cloak and dagger really necessary? If that’s how she acts with a Princess passenger, I’d hate to see what she might say to a normal hotel guest that unwittingly asked her a question. She graciously offered to share our “independent” information with the “official” Princess guests in the hotel, in case we wanted to share a water taxi. As far as we could tell, that was this woman’s only job: facilitating water taxi shares. If that’s all one gets after booking an overpriced hotel package with Princess, then it’s definitely not worth it, IMHO. :rolleyes: After her attitude, we decided to forego the water taxi again and go for the Alilaguna.

Venice:

Venice is a beautiful city, but terribly crowded with tourists in the summertime. If you escape to the very back canals and outskirts of the city, you might avoid them, but they are really everywhere. Speaking of the back canals, you will see them – because you will get lost eventually. Getting lost in Venice is both inevitable and enjoyable. Taking a cruise along the Grand Canal is a great introduction to Venice: you get a good feel for the island, and a chance to see all of major bridges and some palaces along the way. If you have an ipod, download Rick Steves’ Grand Canal tour podcast - very informative.

When visiting Venice, I would highly recommend buying a museum pass on the Veniceconnect website. It was so convenient to breeze past the museum lines with our pass in hand, and we saved a decent amount versus buying all the museum tickets individually. We visited all of the museums in St. Mark’s square, along with the Doge’s Palace and Murano glass museum using this pass, and still had a few museums that we missed. Great value and we were so glad we took advantage of it.

We also pre-reserved a time to visit St. Mark’s basilica, which was another lifesaver. It costs about €1 to pre-reserve, but it was €1 well-spent. The line for the pre-reserved tickets was non-existent compared to the regular line when the church opened in the morning. If you plan to visit St. Mark’s, definitely try to visit when the mosaics are lit – I think it’s between 11:30am-12:30pm. The difference between that time and our early morning visit was like night and day! The natural lighting inside the church doesn’t do the mosaics justice; they really are stunning when lit in all their glory.

 

One of our other priorities in visiting Venice was making a trip out to Murano to see the glassblowing and the island itself. We both love glassblowing and DD collects Millefiori glass pendants, so it was a must for us. If you’re not into either glass art or glassblowing, I don’t really think it’s worth the trip. It takes about 45min (and €6pp) to get there via vaporetto. We went on a Saturday, which we thought would be a good idea, as Venice gets even more crowded (if that’s possible!) on the weekends. It was great to avoid the crowds in Venice; however, most of the glassblowing factories were closed in Murano. One step forward, one step back! We did find one open factory and sat in on one of their shows. Honestly, it was pretty bad. The “show” lasted about 10minutes, if that, and was basically a cattle call of herding tourists inside onto bleacher seats, watching them make a small glass horse, and herding the tourists back out into the gift shop area. I’ve seen better glassblowing in plenty of other cities, along with the Corning glass museum’s shows on Celebrity’s Solstice class. Later, we ventured toward the center of Murano and visited the glass museum, which was small but had an interesting collection of glass pieces and art. Murano itself is very colorful and much more laid back than Venice, and we spent an enjoyable afternoon strolling along the canals, shopping for glass, and having a nice lunch at a small café.

Embarkation day:

Excited to finally be boarding the ship (land travel is tough work!), we woke up early on July 4th. We headed downstairs for our final breakfast overlooking the Grand Canal. As a goodbye treat, we got to enjoy watching an MSC and Costa vessel sail past us, along with watching some birds attack an oblivious hotel guest’s muffin basket. (The birds in Venice – and pigeons elsewhere in Europe – are brutal scavengers who will stop at nothing until they get a crumb of your roll/sandwich/muffin/carb of your choice. They’re crafty creatures who make sure you’re completely involved in your meal before they strike. DD perfected the art of quickly hiding the bread basket under the table during our stay at the Monaco. Lesson: if you’ve got bread, hang on tight!) After breakfast, we finished packing our carry-on bags and headed downstairs to check out of the hotel. Apparently, we had the same idea as the rest of the free world, as the lobby was swarming with other Princess passengers checking in and out all at the same time. Such is the perk of inadvertently choosing a Princess hotel!

 

And now for the fun part of our story: dragging your luggage through Venice. Rolling luggage (and packing light) are musts in Venice. Just don’t drag your luggage over the bridges too carelessly, because (as DD discovered) that’s really rough on the wheels. She left her heart (and suitcase wheel coverings) in Venice. Re: overpacking, try this: as you’re packing, try to envision dragging that extra suitcase or two over several bridges in 90 degree heat and crowds. This should quickly cure one of any desire to overpack. Although our hotel was very close to the Alilaguna and vaporetto stops, there was still one small bridge separating the two. If you can find a hotel here that doesn’t involve crossing a bridge to reach it, I’d love to hear about it. After making it over the bridge, we celebrated for a moment. Then we redeemed our pre-booked Alilaguna tickets (€6.50pp, one way) at the ticket booth and waited for the next boat. Service is identical to the airport Alilagunas: luggage is stacked at the front of the boat. Their website mentions extra charges for additional luggage etc. but I never saw anyone connecting the luggage to the passengers, so I assume they’re not too vigilant about that. The Alilaguna boats that day were very crowded. Several ships were visiting, and their passengers were using the Alilaguna as transportation between the port and St. Mark’s. (Princess uses their own private chartered vaporetto.) Some of those cruise passengers could have used a lesson or two in manners, as they pushed, shoved, and elbowed their way onto the boat ahead of everyone else. After the melee to board the boat, it was good to sit back and relax for the twenty minute ride to the port. When you finally reach the cruiseport, you’ll know it, as the boat will begin bobbing around like a cork. I’ve sailed through hurricanes and really high seas, but this was a unique experience. Imagine about a dozen boats, small and large, from water taxis to vaporettos going back and forth constantly with little regard for the other traffic. The wake and waves are something else!

 

Ah, the Venice cruiseport. There are so many words I could use to describe it, and I’m not sure any of them is complimentary. The Alilaguna stop is smack dab in the middle of the port. Once you disembark, you’re essentially on your own, as there is no signage or personnel to direct you where to go. There is, however, plenty of signage and shuttles to take you to Piazzale Roma, so if that’s one of your goals, then you’re all set. We dragged our luggage to the front of the lengthy terminals and were able to snag a luggage cart. There, we encountered what I can only describe as Princess’ A-Squad. We had to speak with five Princess representatives before one was able to tell us where to go to check-in and what to do with our luggage. The first two reps laughed at us and walked away when we asked about check-in, the third said she would find out and come back (she never did), the fourth could not speak English, and the fifth finally was able to explain where to go. At the risk of sounding like an “ugly American”, I was pretty disappointed that Princess would put reps that couldn’t speak basic English in such an important place in the check-in process. I understand that not everyone in a foreign country will speak English, but I would hope that reps for an American-based cruiseline would have a decent command of the language. Laughing at a customer who’s trying to do something as basic as check-in (and potentially forming their first impression of a cruiseline in the process) is downright unacceptable.

DD was able to drag the luggage cart across the street to a large tent that housed the haphazard luggage loading for four of the ships in port. She said the luggage handlers spoke more English than some of the Princess reps, as they assured her that the disorganized pile our suitcases ended up in was going to “Princess, si, Princess!” Next up was the very long walk to the terminal, then up the escalator and finally inside to the welcome air conditioning. The Princess reps inside were much more competent than their outdoor counterparts, and check-in was quick and easy.

Priority boarding seems like it is non-existent in Venice: there was no separate seating area for platinum/elite or pre-boarding. There was limited seating in general, in fact. We boarded quickly after check-in. Security at the metal detectors made some nationalities surrender their passports then and there, but not US citizens. Just when you thought your journey in the heat outside was over, there was another good five minute walk outdoors under a covered metal walkway to reach the ship. Stepping onboard for the first time and hearing the “ping” of your cruisecard is one of the most welcome sounds in the world. After our marathon through Venice and the cruiseport, that “ping” sounded better than it ever has. At last, we were onboard. On the way to the cabin, DD marveled at the size of the elevators – after a week in Europe with its limited and tiny elevators, these seemed like royal palaces.

 

Our cabin, C312, was in a wonderful location, adjacent to the forward elevators and next door to the laundry room. This was our first experience with doing laundry onboard, and having such quick access to the always-busy laundry room was great. Our one complaint about the cabin was that it was located right next door to a crew hallway, and during most of the first and final nights onboard, we heard a lot of noise as luggage was being delivered. This was a wheelchair accessible cabin, which we chose due to a mobility issue. We greatly appreciated the extra space in the room, along with the convenient access to the elevators. Some of the differences we found were that there were actual cabinets for closets, instead of the open space closets found in the normal cabins. The nightstands were wider, with four drawers in each (instead of two), and of course, the bathroom was considerably larger to accommodate a wheelchair. There was also no storage shelf underneath the sink, and less shelving next to the mirror.

 

Our steward, Emilio, appeared shortly after we arrived to introduce himself and collect our passports. We had been expecting this, thanks to CC, and turned them in and received our receipts. I really felt badly for others who hadn’t been expecting the passport collection, like our first-time cruiser tablemates, and had no other ID to take ashore with them and feared leaving the port area because of this. It would be nice if Princess let passengers know if passports would be collected on their itinerary, so people could make photocopies or bring along other forms of ID. Princess also provided vouchers (one per person) for their vaporetto shuttle service to St. Mark’s. A charge of $15 is deducted from your shipboard account for the tickets. If you don’t want the tickets, there was three day window (until Athens night) where you could return them to Passenger Services and receive a credit back to your account. If you're taking a Princess shore excursion, the tickets are unnecessary, as the trip is already included in the tour price (unless you return from Venice on your own, not with the tour). All of this info is written clearly on the tickets, and there were plenty of reminders about the deadline to return them to Passenger Services.

Speaking of our cabin steward – Emilio was really fantastic. He always greeted us by name, quickly accomplished our requests to separate the beds and fit them with eggcrates, and was very friendly and helpful throughout the cruise.

Our terrible experiences in the port and the heat outside cemented our decision to stay aboard the ship and not return to Venice. Instead, we headed up to the Horizon Court to grab some lunch. I am not the biggest fan of the Horizon Court – in fact, I really dislike it and buffets in general – but it was actually bearable for lunch on embarkation day. It was easy to find a seat, the buffet area wasn’t too crowded, and the buffet stewards were pretty visible. The food still needs a lot of work, however – LOL. ;) We reasoned this kinder, gentler, Horizon Court was probably due to the fact that most people were boarding later than usual due to the overnight and late flights arriving. Special dessert in the HC today? Red, white, and blue cupcakes – Happy Fourth of July!

We spent the rest of our afternoon roaming the ship getting the usual errands accomplished. First stop: Da Vinci dining room to check on our table reservations. For the last few years, we have been cruising at Christmas, and on all of those cruises, the line to check dining reservations is interminable, stretching through the Piazza from the time the MDR doors open. We mis-read the time and showed up a little late, cursing our error and expecting that huge line. There was not a soul to be seen anywhere near the dining room. I guess the Christmas cruises are the only ones that have real issues with table assignments. Our assignment of traditional dining at 6:15pm was as promised, and we were at a table for 6. And now, I would like to briefly say my piece about traditional vs. anytime. I know on the Med cruises everyone says to skip traditional and that anytime is the only way to go. We are card-carrying traditional lovers and I even contemplated switching to anytime due to the port-intensive itinerary and all of the warnings on CC. I’m really glad I didn’t. Yes, the Med is port-intensive and the days are long. But, we found that our private tours always had us back to the ship with plenty of time to get ready for dinner. We never found ourselves in a rush and enjoyed our set dining time and meeting up with our tablemates each night and discussing our days. If you know you like traditional and you want to do it in the Med, go for it. You can always officially switch to anytime if things don’t work out.

We had sailed on the Ruby at Christmas, and had visited both Sabatini’s and the Crown Grill on that cruise. We really loved the Crown Grill, but Sabatini’s was a disappointment compared to our previous visits there. They had removed some of our favorites from the menu, and we didn’t feel the appetizer courses were as good as we remembered. So, this cruise we just made reservations for the Crown Grill on the evening we were in Rome (aka Chef’s dinner night).

 

An unexpected bonus of sailing the same ship in a six month time period is that we got to see a lot of familiar faces in the crew. I know a lot of people on CC have their favorite staff members and look forward to cruising with them, but we’re still pretty new to Princess and not quite there yet. So this experience (at least on Princess) was completely new to us. Now, it’s one thing when a passenger sees a crew member they recognize. But what meant the most was when crew members would approach us to welcome us back. Some of them even remembered the exact cruise we had been on. I was both surprised and very impressed with their ability to remember people when they see so many thousands of people week in and week out. One of the waiters greeted us with a welcome back and “how was your land excursion? And how are the cat, the dog, and the garden?” Too cute! DD was pleasantly surprised (and a little embarrassed) when the manager of the International Café recognized her and greeted her with “You were on here before. I remember you from Christmas time. You really like the chocolate croissants.” Wow, what a memory. If you’re on the Ruby soon, be sure to drop by the IC in the mornings – Antonio is a real gem. Overall, I was very impressed with the Ruby crew – they really made us feel at home.

 

DD spent the rest of the afternoon exploring and watching the other ships sail away while we stayed in port. This was our first experience with an overnight, and it made for a very different-feeling embarkation day. We felt more relaxed and the ship itself was much less crowded. DD, ship crazy extraordinaire, was especially excited to watch HAL’s Nieuw Amsterdam sail away on her inaugural voyage. In fact, I think she may have more photos of the Nieuw Amsterdam than the Ruby.

Meanwhile, I made my first foray into the jungle that is the laundry room. I had figured that most people would be off exploring Venice, not doing laundry. Boy, was I wrong. As for the laundry room – yikes! The level of selfishness and inconsiderate behavior (hogging dryers, throwing out others’ clothes, it goes on and on) that goes on in there is pretty shocking. I did meet plenty of nice people in the laundry room (who knew, it’s a good place to meet people!) but it’s usually those that aren’t there that are the real problems. Enough said. After doing laundry twice onboard ship, all I can say is that the perk I’m most anticipating at elite is the complimentary laundry service.

 

After the harrowing laundry room initiation, we headed downstairs for traditional dining at 6:15pm. I have never seen a more empty dining room in my life – wow. Only two of our tablemates were there, two lovely older ladies from York, England on their first cruise. They had a Princess gondola ride shore excursion at 7:45pm, so they ate a very quick entrée for dinner before leaving to meet up with their group. Tonight’s Princess dinner was a welcome change from the usual sailaway dinner that we’re used to: the barbecued salmon and potato and cheese gnocchi were especially delicious. Try not to fall for the oreo crusted peanut butter chocolate pie on the dessert menu – the name sounds much more appetizing than it actually tastes.

Our waitstaff, Pra-on and Samdeep, were efficient and much less hurried than the waitstaff usually is on embarkation night. Most of the staff was enjoying the much-deserved break, and had plenty of time to chat and interact with the passengers. I still think Princess spreads their waitstaff a little too thin in the MDR. For the most part, the staff is professional enough to not let it show too much, but you really appreciate it when they’re not so rushed and busy.

 

Despite the overnight in port, the entertainment offered tonight was no more limited than usual. Instead of the typical Welcome Aboard show, there were two performances by the Venetian chamber orchestra. Not the typical entertainment Princess offers, but it was a real treat. The orchestra was excellent and I’m very happy we had the opportunity to see them, thanks to our overnight.

After the show, we discovered that the outdoor decks had been closed off due to severe thunderstorms outside. I was under the impression that it doesn’t rain much in the Med during summer, so to see this huge lightning and thunderstorm was jarring. Lightning really lit up the sky and the thunder kept rolling. I was relieved we had chosen to stay onboard and not ventured back out into Venice. We later heard from our tablemates and others that not only was the gondola excursion canceled, but the Princess vaporetto service was stopped for awhile during the storm. Our tablemates were stranded in the rain at the Doge’s Palace – how awful! Even if you’re sailing the Med in summer, bring an umbrella. It might not get much use (you hope!) but it’s much better than getting stuck without one.

Later that night, the cruise staff also put on a small Fourth of July party in Club Fusion. Either everyone was jetlagged or still stranded in Venice, because it wasn’t too well-attended. Most of the lounges were decorated with red, white, and blue, which was a nice touch on this European cruise. The party, along with a Venetian thunderstorm, marked the end of our Fourth of July abroad and we headed back to our cabin for the night.

 

 

Coming in the next installment: Two relaxing days at sea (and a Venice sailaway), Athens, and Kusadasi.

[Francine]

I can't wait to read your next installment. We are doing the opposite itinerary on September 26 and then staying on, bringing Ruby back to Ft. Lauderdale. I am really enjoying your insight.

Thanks so much.

Fran

[danuty]

Infi,

 

Thank you for your wonderful narrative..looking forward to reading your future chapters!

 

Francine,

 

We will be on the same B2B. I'm hoping sure we'll be meeting up during the 28 days.

 

Diane

[danuty]

Infi,

 

Thank you for the wonderful narrative...looking forward to your future chapters!

 

Francine,

 

We are on the same B2B ..hopefully we'll meet during the 28 days!

Diane

[kath00]

Wow, this is FANTASTIC!!! Thank you so much for your wonderful review so far. I can't wait to hear more. Katherine (wishing to be in Europe in 2012).

[need2travel]

I can't wait for the next installment. :)

[shepcookie]

Thanks for the information. I'm booked on this cruise next year. It's still a long way off, but these reviews are giving me a lot of ideas and information that will help me plan.

 

I did have one question about embarkation. What time did you get to the port?

 

Thanks.

 

Tammy

[Colo Cruiser]

Great start to your review.

[rdsqrl]

This is a wonderful review! I feel like I'm right there with you, and can't wait for the rest!

[gargoyle999]

Excellent information! We have booked the Ruby for it's 18 day transatlantic cruise for Oct '11 which starts in Venice. Having never been on the Ruby or in Venice (we plan to arrive 4 days early), it's really helpful to read such detailed comments!

 

I'll be subscribing to this thread for future reference! :)

[PhillyCruiser]

It's a pleasure to read your detailed review. I was on the Ruby for the cruise before yours. We arrived in Venice around 11:30 P.M. on July 3rd. We sailed right past your hotel. San Marco was lit up beautifully at night, and it was breathtaking to be on deck as we glided past.

 

The next morning, July 4th, we sadly disembarked around 8:00 A.M., took the People Mover to Piazzale Roma, and eased our luggage over 2 bridges to our hotel. We never realized how hot it was in Venice until we had to walk with our luggage. Wow! It was H O T.

 

When we finally arrived at our hotel, our rooms were not yet ready. They were full of future cruisers. We waited in the air-conditioned lobby until they came downstairs with their luggage. Watching them load their huge amounts of luggage into the small elevator of our hotel was actually quite comical! Many of the people who checked out were heading to the Ruby. How we envied them!!!

 

That night, we were having dinner when the thunderstorm broke. That storm went on, and on, and on. So did our dinner!

 

Our only regret was that we were too tired to get up early enough the next morning to see the Ruby leave Venice. Originally I wanted to position myself on the Zattere (an esplanade along the canal the Ruby sails down when she leaves the Maritime Station) with my video camera, and I wanted to wave to everyone on board. But I snored through your departure. I'm so sorry I did...

 

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your cruise.

 

Joan

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

Thanks for taking the time to provide such detailed info about your cruise. We are doing the Barcelona to Venice cruise in Sept 2011 so I am anxiously awaiting your reviews of the ports. Please let us know who you booked your tours with.

[TorontoTL]

I love reading your reviews Infi! Keep it coming.

[Infi]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all your kind words about the review. I'm still writing the next part, but I thought I'd add some photos to the review in the meantime.

 

To all those who are sailing this cruise soon or in the future: I'm very jealous! Get plenty of rest before, because this cruise will wear you out. It's so worth it, though. You're in for a wonderful cruise.

 

Shepcookie: we arrived at the port about 11am. Inside the terminal, embarkation was very uncrowded because people had such a large window of time to board the ship.

 

rdsqrl: Thank you so much. A compliment from one of the wittiest posters on CC (IMHO) means a lot.

 

PhillyCruiser: I loved reading about your experiences on the Ruby cruise before ours. We had wondered when the Ruby came into Venice, and were watching for her on the 3rd. I'm surprised to hear it was so late at night! I feel your pain about dragging the luggage through Venice. You never hear anything about the nitty gritty of getting to the port etc. in Venice, but it's tough work! I'm sorry to hear you missed the Ruby sailaway the next day, but at least you got to see the sail in on your cruise.

 

D&N luv to travel: We booked private tours with AthensbyTaxi, Ekol travel (Kusadasi & Istanbul), and Rome in Limo (Naples, Rome, Florence/Pisa). Monte Carlo and Mykonos we explored on our own.

 

TorontoTL: Thanks! I'm glad someone enjoys my wordy reviews.

 

Walkway to the airport docks:

 

One of those infamous Alilaguna "bus boxes".

 

Onboard the Alilaguna:

 

Half of our hotel room at the Monaco:

 

The other half:

 

Venetian traffic jam below our window:

[Infi]

St. Mark's Basilica:

 

Lit mosaics inside:

 

Doge's Palace courtyard:

 

Building along canal in Murano:

 

 

 

One of the canals in Murano:

 

Along the waterfront in Venice:

[Clutterlady]

Great pictures and can't wait for the rest of your review.....thank you:)

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for starting your review. Sounds like it was a great start to the cruise. Thanks also for those pictures of Venice. DW & I stayed at the Monaco in 2008. Loved being so close to the Square and right across the street from Harry's.....:):):) Sorry you had such a hard time getting from the airport to the dock. We took a princess bus shuttle that dropped us off right at the ship. Can't wait to see the rest of your review.

 

Bob

[Janey]

I loved reading your review, we were on this cruise too. We were in C320 (really liked the huge balcony) and Emilio was our steward, he was excellent. We loved the cruise are going on the Star P next year round the Greek Islands. Ruby isn't doing that cruise next year. We were right in the middle of that thunderstorm in Venice and were stranded on the shuttle boat for an hour as it couldn't dock next to Ruby due to high winds. We eventually docked and ran to the ship in the pouring rain, soaked to the skin. Not a good start. Also got soaked in Istanbul. Looking forward to your part II.

[AZCruiseGirl85]

AWESOME review, I'm anxiously awaiting your next post. I am cruising the same boat and itinerary in about 20 days and can't wait!

 

All the more details/photos the better!

 

-Abby

[Jeff_R]

^^We are on the same cruise in a couple weeks...cant wait to read more.

 

Any more pics regarding the cruiseport itself? Seems like the people mover doesn't really do much, and the Alilaguna is a question mark for us.

Any idea where the Alilaguna drops you off at the cruiseport?

 

We are thinking a watertaxi for the 7 of us is worth the money (125E split 7 ways isn't bad).

[shepcookie]

Thanks for the information on when you boarded.

 

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

 

Tammy

[Francine]

Diane,

I think we are doing the private tour with you out of Florence. We are really looking forward to meeting you and everyone on our wonderful roll call.

Fran

[tdmamerica]

Infi

Found your post very interesting but have one question.....you mention the gathering of passports once you were on the ship. Can you explain what that is all about. I would appreciate your input.:)

[Infi]

Thanks everyone for your feedback on the photos. I'm afraid I can't answer any questions right now because I'm in a bit of rush and headed out the door. I will be back tomorrow. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to completely finish the next part of the review. I did finish about half of it, and will post that part and some pictures of the port area right now because someone was interested in seeing it. Enjoy!

 

Arriving at the Venice cruiseport via Alilaguna - check out the waves! The small dock between the Ruby and Costa Serena is the Princess vaporetto dock:

 

Alilaguna dock inside port (the terminal is to the left and back):

 

Area at front of terminal (the luggage drop-off is to the right and across the street):

 

Well-organized luggage drop-off tent:

 

Walk to terminal:

 

Once inside the terminal, up the escalator (Princess to the right, Costa on left):

[Infi]

Terminal (the main seating area):

 

Walk to the ship:

 

Gangway:

 

View of walkway from the ship, and the Princess vaporetto:

 

Our cabin, C312:

 

Some 4th of July decorations in Club Fusion: