Live from the Ruby Princess on the Mediterranian Sea

[lchen818]

This is long report for our trip on the Ruby sailing from Venice to Barcelona. I am posting a report for what we have experienced so far as we are at sea today and I have some free time.

 

Venice

We flew to Venice from LAX on Lufthansa with a transfer in Frankfurt. The 747 was very old and we were stuck in the last row, which could not recline. The food was horrible. The trip was thankfully uneventful.

We took the water taxi straight to our hotel. It was a little on the expensive side at 100 Euros for the four of us plus luggage. However, we enjoyed the trip very much.

Our hotel was the Hotel Canal Grande. It was a Great hotel with superb service and beautifully appointed rooms.

We strolled out around the area and ate dinner at Pizzariea All’Anfora near the hotel. The highly rated pizzeria was disappointing. We have had much better Neapolitan pizzas in LA.

Day 2,

We ate an excellent continental breakfast with hot and fresh bread and croissants. We took the Vaporetto to St Mark’s square. At 9:30, there was no line at all at the Doge’s Palace. We joined the pre-booked Secret itinerary tour, which was interesting. Our tour guide was like an old Catholic school teacher with a very stern demeanor and voice.

We ate lunch at Restaurate Rossa Rossa about a 10 minute stroll from San Marco, which was highly rated by Tripadvisor and recommended by our hotel concierge. Once again, we were not impressed. The seafood did not taste very fresh. We then join a one-hour San Marco square tour, which included the Basilica, booked through Viator.com. The tour was not very interesting and the tour guide was difficult to understand through the wireless headset provided. The square itself was everything we had imagined: magnificent with a lot of people.

One warning to the future visitors, beware of the pigeons; do not stand under any eaves or overhangs where they may perch. I got bombed smack on the top of my head when I exited the Basilica. Not a very pleasant experience.

We simply strolled around, took our time, and made it to the Rialto Bridge before we retired back to our hotel for some rest before dinner.

Dinner tonight was at Restaurante Robit. We had a 7:30 reservation and the restaurant was away from most of the tourist crowds south west of the Piazzale Roma. We were the first people there. There were a number of parties attempted to walk in but were turned away because the place was fully booked for the evening. The food here was better than our previous lunches and dinners. We wandered around some more after dinner before we called it a night.

Day3,

We had another pleasant breakfast at the hotel before we head back to the Rialto Bridge for the Rialto markets. I had read somewhere that the fish market would be open on Mondays and the produce market would be closed; but, we found it to be the opposite. We checked out some beautiful local produce wishing we were staying longer so that we would get some of the produce. We wandered around aimlessly on purpose for a couple of hours more before we went back to the hotel to check out.

From our hotel, we dragged our luggage to the Vaporetto stop and took it to Piazzale Roma and found the People Mover station. The ships check-in time was at 1PM and when we arrived at the station around 12:45, there was a massive crowd. The People Mover ride was short but the Maritime station was quite a distance from the ship (I’d estimate about at least 1/3 of a mile to the tip of the ship and the luggage drop-off was at the far end). It seemed much closer because of the size of the ship. We found out later that there was actually a free Princess shuttle between the PM station and the ship between 1PM and 6PM. The Princess guide at the station was not very helpful for she never mentioned the shuttle when I inquired about the direct to the ship. After we dragged our heavy luggage to the drop-off, we discovered a large check-in crowd. The process was relatively fast, though. However, I’d recommend those who plan to go on a similar trip to simply check your bags at the hotel and enjoy Venice for the rest of the day and check in later in the evening to avoid the crowd.

We grabbed lunch at the Horizon Court before we headed back out to town for more wandering around. We stopped by the Coop supermarket by the Piazzale Roma water bus stops and got some water and local snacks to bring on board. I noticed that on our previous tours, there signs asking the passengers not to fill up their water bottles at the water dispensers at Horizon Court. I saw no such signs this time probably because there is a plastic guard around the nozzle to prevent the bottles from touching the nozzles.

Now for the ship. The Ruby is identical to its sister ship the Crown Princess. The food is fairly good and the service is excellent as usual. In fact, I think we enjoyed the food on the ship more than Venice. However, I have noticed that the wait staff in the dining room seemed to have been reduced when compared with our previous cruises. The ice cream and lemonade are now free. The free coffee is stronger than it used to be, which is a good thing; I remember it used to be so diluted.

Be advised that if you plan to get a specialty coffee card, get it on the first day around Horizon Court on the Lido deck. If you get it from the coffee bar down by International Café, a 15% gratuity will automatically be included.

Day 3 and 4. The ship sailed at 9 AM. Our cabin was on the port side and was perfect for the sail-away as our balcony faced the San Marco square and had a great view of Venice from above. We spent the morning exploring the ship and the rest of the day just relaxing. Day 4 was our laundry day. It is amazing how much laundry the four of us created in 4 days. I’d recommend doing it early in the morning for a lot of people tried to do the laundry later in the day. Many people were also using the irons to prepare for the formal night.

By the way, when we booked the cruise, there were very few mini suites left and we ended up having a suite right across from the laundry room near the back of the ship. It turned out to be a blessing since it was very convenient to do the laundry and it was very close to the aft left for going up to the Lido deck. There were no excessive noise that I was concerned about.

Day 5. We docked in Pireaus at 8AM, an hour earlier than planned. Our private tour guide from Nikos was waiting for us by the terminal with a spanking new bright blue Mercedes van. Our driver George was great and whisked us to the Acropolis before the massive crowd from the cruise tours arrived. The only strategic error we made was to visit the Parthenon museum first. We spent an hour in the museum before headed up toward the Acropolis. The weather was exceptionally hot for early June (about 96F). There was a massive crowd by the time we got to the ticket booth and they temporarily closed the entrance by the time we got the tickets because there were too many people up there. We were angry at first; but, we realized it was clearly the right thing to do by the time we got in half an hour later (we were sweaty and frustrated by many of the people pushing each other around trying to get in). There was such a large crowd beyond the gate trying to climb up to the Acropolis, it could have been dangerous had there been a larger crowd; people could easily slip and fall. I’d recommend going up to the Acropolis first and leave about 45 minutes for walking down and visit the museum.

After the Acropolis, George took us to other attractions such at the Tomb of the Unknown soldiers guard changing, the Zeus Temple, the ancient market place, and some spot on top of a hill to get a great view of the city before we headed back to the port. We had a great Greek lunch at the bazaar near the ancient market place. We had some very good gyros and grill plates with huge portions and very reasonable prices. George was an excellent driver/guide. In addition to being very thorough and flexible he had ice-cold bottles of water for us when we got back in the van. I would highly recommend Nikos tour to others.

George got us back to port right on schedule. Our ship’s departure was delayed by about 45 minutes because one of the Princess tour buses was stuck in traffic. The ship wouldn’t have waited had the people not been on a Princess tour.

Day 6. We docked at 6:30 AM right on time even though we left port late the evening before. Our private guide, Bobu, and a driver from E-Ephesus dot com were waiting for us when we got off the ship at 7:15. The van we got today was a little older but it was adequate. He provided a very good background history of Turkey, Kusadasi and Ephesus. Bobus did a god job guiding us through Ephesus and the Terrace House. However, we did miss the Artemis Temple for some reason and he took us to a leather clothing “outlet” that was not on our itinerary, where they put on a small fashion show for us. Afterward, we were ushered into the showroom with some high-pressure sales persons. While the leather jackets and coats were fairly nice, we didn’t buy anything. I did come close to buying a nice jacket with a $1700 price tag. I wanted to pay $400 for it; but, they insisted $430 was the lowest price. I held my ground since I didn’t really need another leather jacket.

We were dropped off at the bazaar by the dock by 11:45 AM. I thought our guide was OK. Not sure if the other tour guides would have been any better. I did hear many passengers who went on other private tours also were taken to leather outlets. One lady was very excited about getting a 50% discount on a leather coat. I didn’t have the heart to tell her about the discount I was offered.

Day 7. We docked in Istanbul at 8:00AM exactly, right on schedule. The weather today is much more comfortable with a high of 82F. We met Lale Kosagan, the owner of KSG Tours right outside of the terminal. We were fortunate enough to have Lale herself as our guide for the day. Lale was a terrific guide. She gave us very detailed and interesting history and background info on Istanbul and the sites we visited. The sites on our itinerary included the Blue Mosque (it was an impressive place but my son kept complaining about the smell of stinking feet because everyone was required to take their shoes off), the Hippodrome, the Topkapi Palace & Harem Sections (the Harem sections required an extra ticket to visit; it is definitely worth it), the St. (Hagia) Sophia, the Basilica (Underground) Cistern (my wife and daughter’s favorite site), and the Grand Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is massive and consisted on mainly jewelry stores, fake name brand leather and handbag stores, souvenir stores, and fake name brand clothing stores. It was a common practice for the store owner to jack up the prices sky high because they expected the tourists to haggle.

Don’t be afraid to offer below 20% of what they asked as a start. The 50% starting point mentioned in many guide books is outdated. We got sunglasses at 10 Euros when they asked for 55Euros at the beginning and a fake Hermes belt for US$30 when the asking price was $120.

Istanbul was a beautiful city with much ancient history, yet many parts of the city were very modern and clean. For those that plan to visit the town DIY, be aware that the ancient town center, where most of the attractions are, is further from the port than it looks and it is relatively hilly; It reminded me of San Francisco a lot. We also saw the trams/metros packed to capacity everywhere. We were in town on a Saturday, and I was told that it can be even more crowded on a weekday during rush hours.

We returned to the ship right on schedule at 5:00PM. Lale was a superb guide. She was very helpful and would help some of tour members haggle on request. I would highly recommend KSG and especially Lale herself.

Day 8. We were scheduled to be in port at noon today. Unfortunately, the captain announced at 10:30 AM that the Mykonos stop has been cancelled due to very rough seas and high winds. We could see swells at least 10 to 15 feet and some much higher. Luckily, the affect on the ship was not too severe. Due to safety concerns, the captain had no choice but to skip the port. The kids were very disappointed.

Regarding Internet access. The internet access on-board is very expensive and very slow. I was able to get a European MiFi device from one of my company’s European offices so it is able to roam in Europe. There was good signal on the ship from land and maritime cell services about 50% of the time when we were at sea and 100% of the time when we are docked. My Blackberry was able to get good connections fairly frequently while we were at sea.

 

I will post more at a later date when I get a chance.

[strummer]

Thanks for posting - info is great as we will be doing this route next year on the Royal princess.

Will def look into your private tour of Istanbul - it sounded like you did alot in Istanbul, was it exhausting? My parents will be with us and I don't want to tire them out!!

Looking forward to the next instalment, such a shame you missed Mykinos, we are looking forward to a beach day when we visit there :)

[lchen818]

Thanks for posting - info is great as we will be doing this route next year on the Royal princess.

Will def look into your private tour of Istanbul - it sounded like you did alot in Istanbul, was it exhausting? My parents will be with us and I don't want to tire them out!!

Looking forward to the next instalment, such a shame you missed Mykinos, we are looking forward to a beach day when we visit there :)

 

There was definitely a lot of walking. Not sure the elderlies would be able to make the whole itinerary. However, the nice thing about a private tour is that you can customize it anyway you like. Lale is very flexible.

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

Thanks for posting, have done this cruise a couple of times, just to much to see and do in one day in each port,

 

temp also got to us we were over 100 for a number of days,

 

have a great cruise and just keep drinking loads of water,

 

yours Shogun

[sunsetbeachgal]

Sorry about Mykynos...on our Greek Isles itin. About five years ago they had to skip Santorini due to high seas...so, we just had to take another Med cruise a few years later to get there...:)

 

Thanks for your report!

[paul929207]

Thanks for the review. Great info.

[granny49]

Thank you for your review. We are doing this exact cruise in August. Looking forward to the rest of your journey.

[srpilo]

Thanks for the updates

 

 

 

 

Srpilo

[lovevacadays]

Thanks for your review. Very interesting. I keep hearing wonderful things about Turkey so will most likely look at a cruise there some time in the future.

 

Looking forward to reading more about your cruise.

[erewhon]

Thank you for your informative review.

[vivavegas]

Nice review and great information! Thanks for sharing!:)

[5326jan]

There was definitely a lot of walking. Not sure the elderlies would be able to make the whole itinerary. However, the nice thing about a private tour is that you can customize it anyway you like. Lale is very flexible.

 

We used Kagen Kosagan, Lale's husband, he was also excellent. He told us that Lale is also an interior designer. Anyone interested in buying rugs, decor, etc would get a real gem in hiring Lale for double duty of tour guide/ shopping guide!:)

[caber]

Thanks for the interesting review so far. Good tips for the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.

 

It is always windy in Mykonos but we have never failed to get in. That is a pity.

 

Please look after the ship for us. We board on Saturday, when you get to Barcelona.:D

[lchen818]

Day 9 - Naples. We arrived in port at 7AM as scheduled even though we skipped Mykonos. Our driver, Mario, from AP Tours was there to meet us. We got an 8 person van this time. It was a bit cramped for the eight people in our group but it might have been a good thing because the roads along the Amalfi coast were extremely narrow. Our driver was a man with very few words. Hardly a word was spoken by him as we drove toward our first stop at Pompeii. I tried to get him to tell us a little about Naples, Pompeii, and the Amalfi coast but only a few words were offered. The traffic in Naples was horrendous and the traffic laws were seldom obeyed. It took about 25 minutes to get to Pompeii. A long the way we saw areas that looked like slums with sheet metal shacks as houses. When most people think of Italy, we think of the fashion, the super sports cars, and the rich history; slums would not be something that typically come to mind.

 

We got dropped off at the gate and were given 2 hours to visit the site. It turned out that there was some sort of power problem at the site so it was cash only and the audio guides were not available. It was another very hot day at over 95F. There were several tours available inside the site for 10 Euros a person for a group tour or about 110 Euros for a private tour; both were for 2 hours. We decided to skip it since the kids probably would get bored. Pompeii was much larger than we had expected and we were only able to see about 50% of the site before we had to return the gate. Our driver then started toward Rovello on the Amalfi coast. The 20 KM drive took over an hour because of the traffic near Pompeii and the extremely twisty mountain roads toward Rovello. I’d strongly suggest anyone who is prone to motion sickness to take precautions. Car sickness got the better of me after lunch making me very miserable.

 

We got to Rovello and walked around this lovely small village before we were taken to a local restaurant away from the tourist sites. I think it was called San Gianni. It had a terrace overlooking the Amalfi coast below. The food was actually quite good, the portions were large and the prices were quite reasonable. We finally tasted great pizzas in Italy.

 

Mario picked us up and we started toward Positano. As I had mentioned earlier, both my son and I fell victim to motion sickness because Mario was driving like a NY cab driver racing around the twisty mountain roads. We sped through the town of Amalfi. I finally had to ask him to pull over for 5 minutes so that we can recover a little. We stopped at a vista point overlooking Positano. We took some more pictures for 5 minutes and continued our drive. I guess it was a good thing that I asked Mario to stop for 5 minutes because we sped through the town of Positano and saw only a glimpse of it. It was another 45 minute drive to the town of Sorrento. We sped through the town and passed what looked like a very pretty and festive town center before we reached the ferry port. We opted for the 40-minute ferry ride back to Naples instead of going back through the twisty mountain roads and the insane traffic that might have taken us another 90 minutes. The ferry dock in Naples was right next to our ship. We had originally planned to walk over to Galleria Umberto I since we would have about 90 minutes left before we needed to board our ship. However, we were are too exhausted, mainly from the drive and heat and decided to call it a day and returned to the ship. I would not recommend AP Tours to anyone because it was no better than getting a taxi cab to drive you around. In fact, I believe an average cab driver in Naples would have provided more information.

 

All in all, I felt we over very rushed the whole day and saw and learned very little. We spent 5 hours in the van driving around instead of visiting the sites. If I were to do it again, I would just take the ferry to Sorrento and spend some time there. It seemed like a very Italian Riviera town and I would have enjoyed seeing it in detail. I would have then returned to Naples and spend some time getting to know Naples. It was a real shame that we were in Naples and we never some any part of it. I would probably skip Pompeii unless I was really into the archeology and ruins. It didn’t seem that different from Athen’s or Ephesus’s ruins. If anyone who plan to take a drive to the Amalfi coast, I’d make sure to ask the driver make several vista stops along the way and try to plan for no more than one town – either Positano, Sorrento or Amalfi in that order of preference.

 

Day 10 - Rome. We arrived in the port of Civitevecchia at around 6 AM, about an hour ahead of schedule. It was to be another hot and humid day. There were at least 4 large cruise ships in town today so it was expected to be very crowded everywhere. Our driver Nick (or Big Nick as he sometimes referred to himself) from Romeinlimo was waiting for us right off the ship. Nick was very talkative and energetic right off the bat so it looked like it was going to be a much improved experience today. Nick whisked us off in a mini-bus to Rome, which took about 50 minutes. The traffic was pretty bad but according to Nick, it was much better than normal. Nick reordered our itinerary for the day in an attempt to avoid the crowds and he did a great job because he seemed to always able to get us to the attractions, restaurant, restrooms, etc. just slightly ahead of the massive crowds. As our driver drove us around Rome, he gave us historical and background information on the various points of interest. We first stopped at the Pantheon. Due to the time constraint, we didn’t go into the Pantheon and only took photos outside. Also included in our itinerary were the Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain, the Coliseum, the Circus Maximus, the Capital hill with the view of the Roman forum and Palatine Hill. Having prepaid the tickets for the Coliseum online, we were able to bypass the seemingly never ending line and went straight in. 40 minutes was just enough for us to roam around the Coliseum and took a bunch of photos.

 

Nick recommended and took us to a very nice restaurant near the Vatican City for lunch. The food was fabulous and the prices was very reasonable – 20 Euros each with an antipasta (many selections), a pizza, and 2 pastas plus bottle water and red and white wines. The ravioli was the best I have ever had.

 

We were off to the Vatican after lunch. Our private guide, Patricia met us at the entrance to the Vatican museum. It was a very hot and humid day and it was even worse inside the museum because, with the exception of the Sistine Chapel and the St. Peter’s Basilica, there was no air conditioning. With the insane crowd, it was simply brutal in there. Patricia did her best to give us some good information while we were jostled by the mob of people from the cruise ship tours. The opulence of the Basilica was just mind-boggling. Nick met us right outside the exit and started us back toward the port after a quick stop at a nearby gift shop and restroom stop. Once again, Nick got us there just a little before a massive crowd from the cruise ship tours followed. The drive back to the ship took about 75 minutes.

 

We all thought Nick gave us a very good tour of Rome. While it was fairly rushed due to our time constraint, we all thought it was a good overview of the city.

 

Day 11 – Pisa and Florence. We arrive in the port of Livorno early again. The ship was ready for disembarkation at 6:40AM. Our driver Jean (or may be his name was Jean-Marie) from Romeinlimo was waiting for us by the gangway. One of the tour group members (there were 8 of us) mentioned that she had had Jean as a driver before and he was the best. Jean certainly did not disappoint. He was very thorough in his explanations of the various attractions and his was a very smooth driver. We made a short stop at Pisa after a 25 minute drive and took some photos. It was then a 90 minute drive to Florence. Jean took us through some lovely luxurious residential area to a vista point atop a hillside overlooking Florence that was a great vantage point for photos. Then it was on to various sites such as the Church of Santa Croce, the Duomo and Baptistery, and Accademia Gallery before lunch. I had called in advance to reserve an entry time to the Accademia. Jean went to the ticket window and got the tickets for us while we observed the long lines. We had to wait in line for about 15 minutes before Jean arranged for us to skip the rest of the line and got in to the air-conditioned gallery. The statue of David was definitely amazing to behold. It was more magnificent I had imagined. 40 minutes was about enough time for a quick visit. Jean then took us to a indoor market where we had a quick but good lunch. After lunch, it was time to visit the Ponte Vecchio, the Pitti Palace, and the Piazza of Michelangelo before Jean took us to what he considered the best Gelato in Florence. It was pretty good, but I am not really a gelato guy – I like the colder and harder ice cream. We returned to the ship at 5:00 PM sharp as planned. Jean was an excellent guide and, again, I would highly recommend Romeinlimo.

 

We leave Italy for Monaco this evening. All in all, it has been a fairly rushed visit to Italy because the ports were far from the attractions and we spent a lot time getting to and from the attractions. There are just so much more to be seen. We definitely plan to return to places like the Amalfi Coast and Florence in the future for a longer and more focused visit.

 

More to follow at a later date.

[caribill]

Day 9 - Naples. We drove toward our first stop at Pompeii.

We got dropped off at the gate and were given 2 hours to visit the site.

 

In arranging visits to Pompeii, always book so that the visit includes a private guide. Just as you had a private guide to the Vatican Museum to enhance your experience there, you woulde have leared much more about Pompeii with such a guide.

 

 

Day 11 – Pisa and Florence. I had called in advance to reserve an entry time to the Accademia. Jean went to the ticket window and got the tickets for us while we observed the long lines.

 

Booking in advance for a Florence museum as you did is a must. We once were in Florence during "free museum week" and the line for the Uffizi Museum was all the way around the block. We never would have been able to see the museum without our pre-booked tickets.

 

 

 

Thanks again for your very throrough, interesting, and informative reports on this cruise.

[srpilo]

Continued stellar updates

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks once again

Srpilo

[PathfinderEss]

Great review, thanks for posting.

[shepcookie]

I love reading your review. I did the cruise last August and LOVED it. I really want to do it again as there is so much to see and do. Reading your review is helping me relive it all over again. Thanks.

[lchen818]

Day 12 – Monte-Carlo. The ship docked at 7:00AM and we met our driver, Jean-Marc from Dream Tours, right off the ship at 7:30. There didn’t seem to be as many people going on tours today. In retrospect, I think those people who decided to stay around town really missed out a lot.

Jean-Marc first took for a quick drive on the F1 circuit route. Unfortunately, parts of the route were blocked due to a concert from the previous evening. We then stopped by the famous casino and took some photos while all the stores around were still closed. The good thing was the streets were very quiet without the massive crowd that would show up later in the day.

The town of Ezs was next on our itinerary. Jean-Marc suggested a brief stop at the Fragonard perfume factory for a free tour. The men in the group all cringed at first; but, Jean-Marc told us that nothing is really open anywhere else so we reluctantly agreed. But, the factory and the tour turned out to be very interesting and we bought a lot of items including perfume, soaps, and au de toilet, etc. Even the men each bought at least one item. The various fragrant were very nice and the prices were exceptionally good.

After the perfume factory, we headed to the medieval town of Eze, which was a favorite place of Walt Disney. One could see some of the inspirations that Walt Disney got for Disneyland. Eze was a very quaint little town.

Nice was a short drive later. Jean-Marc recommended that we don’t spend too much time there and visit our next destination instead. There was apparently nothing too exciting in Nice in comparison to the other towns nearby. We did stop by a couple of vista points for photos and we were all satisfied with that.

Our farthest point of visit was the medieval town of St. Paul de Vence. It is sort of like Eze but a little larger with more art galleries due to its history with the various artists. There are many interesting shops. We stopped in on a fabulous cookie and candy store, called La Cure Gourmande, where we bought about 3 lbs worth of some of the most delicious but also most expensive cookies ever. We had just enough time left for a quick espresso and delicious croissants at the entrance of the town before we headed back to Monaco.

Our last stop was the Royal Palace of Monaco. By the time we got there, there was a massive crowd from the various cruise ships. We spent about 30 minutes checking out the area around the palace. We didn’t go into the palace due to our time constraint; but, none of us were really interested in seeing the inside anyways. We also got a great view of the port from the palace. It took only 5 minutes to get back to our ship from there. Jean-Marc dropped us off right at the ship at 1:30 PM.

I must say, after our experience in Naples, I was very skeptical about our itinerary for today since there was so much on it with so little time. Amazingly, Jean-Marc managed to take us to all the locations without making us feel a single bit rushed. Jean-Marc was a great guide and one of the best drivers we've had on this trip. It was one of the shorter shore excursions but it was definitely one of the best we had.

It is packing night tonight for we will be disembarking in Barcelona tomorrow. We don't anything specifically planned for Barcelona. We are looking to just hang around for 2 days and wander around. I will post for info on disembarking and Barcelona later.

[TracieABD]

Great review!:)

[4cats4me]

I'm really enjoying your review, particularly your honesty regarding some of the attractions. This is an extremely beneficial review for when we decide to

embark on this itinerary.

[auburngirlie]

Thank you SO VERY MUCH for your informative and thorough review! A few quick questions regarding the ship (as I will be joining her in September.) Did ya'll go to any shows? Were they worth seeing? Do you remember about what time the first day onboard that the muster drill was? Is it on day 2 since we are docked overnight in Venice? Did you eat at any of the specialty restaurants, and were they worth the extra $? Did you bring wine onboard at each port and if you did, did you have any trouble doing so--yes, I know this question is addressed ad nauseum but I wanted to know the ship's attitude at the present time. :-)

 

Again, thank you again for all your invaluable information! Enjoy Barcelona and have a safe trip home.

[auburngirlie]

Thank you SO VERY MUCH for your informative and thorough review! A few quick questions regarding the ship (as I will be joining her in September.) Did ya'll go to any shows? Were they worth seeing? Do you remember about what time the first day onboard that the muster drill was? Is it on day 2 since we are docked overnight in Venice? Did you eat at any of the specialty restaurants, and were they worth the extra $? Did you bring wine onboard at each port and if you did, did you have any trouble doing so--yes, I know this question is addressed ad nauseum but I wanted to know the ship's attitude at the present time. :-)

 

Again, thank you again for all your invaluable information! Enjoy Barcelona and have a safe trip home.

 

I have answered one of my questions already thanks to another cc member's posting of the daily patter--the muster drill is at 6:00PM on day 1. :rolleyes:

[trilobite2]

In what thread did you find the patters posted? I've been looking but can't seem to find it.:(

[Grammyluvs]

Have enjoyed reliving your Med. cruise. We did this exact tour in July, 2010. I would add to take water bottles filled with ice as it is hot, hot,hot. I enjoyed Pompeii and Ephesus. While the ruins were similar, the stories were very different. We did all Princess tours, and really have never felt rushed or crowded. We had wonderful guides with headsets on a lot of the tours that worked great and we also bypassed all the lines. At the Vatican, we went right in to the museum, Sistene chapel and Basilica. I know Princess tours gets a lot of criticism, but our group had no complaints. While they might have been priced higher, the security of being on a Princess sponsored tour was comforting for those of us less traveled.