Roll Call: Ruby Princess Grand Med, July 16-28, 2010

[mikran]

Looking forward to 12 amazing days sailing from Barcelona to Venice aboard Ruby Princess. Any others? Chime in and say hello. Let's see if we can get Princess to organize a hosted meet & greet.

 

Cheers! :)

[cruzingfam]

Nice to meet you Mikran. We are a family of 10 from San Diego, CA going on the Ruby Princess July 16th too, celebrating my folks 50th Anniversary. We have my folks, we are two couples in our 40's, 18, 19, & 21 year old, and a 9 year old. Since we are so many, we are going to try and arrange our own mini bus or tours which would be much cheaper than the ship's excursions (we do this often on cruises). So we'd love any tips from anyone on any of the ports or with tour operators, drivers, or guides that are great. Although we've been to some of the cities, we haven't necessarily done them on cruises, trying to get the one day whirlwind tour. Please stay in touch and we hope we can meet lots of Ruby buddies here on line before the cruise so we can swap info.

[mikran]

Ahoy cruzingfam - not sure if you realized you were posting in the Gay & Lesbian section, but either way, hope your large family group has a wonderful cruise.

 

Here are a few port tips we hope are helpful:

 

Barcelona - we LOVE this amazing city. The HOHO bus is your best bet pre-cruise. Do watch your belongings wherever you go in Europe, but especially in crowded spots like La Rambla and the Spanish Steps in Rome.

 

Rome - we're taking the private Princess train and doing this on our own. If you do this port on your own without cruiseline transport be sure to leave yourself plenty of time to get back to the ship as traffic is brutal and trains can be delayed (personal experience!). Personally we found the lengthy wait and walk through the Vatican museum and rush through the Sistine Chapel not worth it. St. Peters is amazing. We're going to find a nice piazza and have a leisurely lunch, a nice bottle of Italian wine and watch the world go by.

 

Naples - we've been to Sorrento/Capri before, so this cruise we're opting to boat it across the bay over to Positano for the day on our own. Capri is pretty but over-hyped, crowded and over-priced. If you decide to head to Pompei (which is amazing and very hot [no shade!]), split up at the entrance and interview guides (you definitely need one) separately to find the best guide/price before hiring one as a group as they vary widely.

 

Istanbul - another beautiful city. Whatever you do, don't miss the Grand Bazaar, and again watch your belongings.

 

Athens - we've been there before, so we're looking forward to returning to the Plaka area at the base of the Acropolis (definitely worth a look) for an authentic Greek lunch al fresco.

 

Venice - this will be our first visit, but everyone says that hiring a gondola is not the best way to go, and to walk around instead.

 

Only 56 days to sailing! :-)