Live from the Ruby Princess on the Mediterranian Sea

[lchen818]

There is nothing wrong with the Princess excursions. It really depends on your personal preference. Being on a Princess excursion will guarantee that the ship will wait for you. I've been on a number of them and I've enjoyed them, too. However, I now prefer the flexibility and the much smaller group that a private or semi-private tours offer. They are usually cheaper also; but not always. But, it is not really about the costs. I like the personal attention and our private tour guides can customize the tour based on our interests and we can also change our itinerary on the fly. Our experience with our driver in Naples, was the only negative only I have ever had in at least 10 years on using private guides.

 

You WILL be spending a lot time in transit in Naples (if you plan to go to the Amalfi Coast), Rome (about a 90 minute drive each way), and Florence/Pisa (also about 90 minute drives).

 

There are a lot to see in each of the ports so you should do some detailed research as to where the excursions will visit (this means they will actually make a stop and not just a drive by). You should pick the ones that fit your preferences and physical ability. It can be overwhelming even in a much cooler weather.

 

As for the Princess Transfer, you should ask if they will take you directly to the ship. It is not worth the money if they don't. There are very inexpensive and simple to take buses that take passengers to Piazalle Roma, where the People Mover is. As I had mentioned, it is a long ways from the PM station to the actual luggage drop off near the far end of the ship. The free shuttle bus also only runs between 1PM to 6PM.

 

By the way, in case you are interested, there is a supermarket (Coop) at Piazalle Roma right at the line #1 vapporetto stop. They are opened until 8PM. We bought large bottles of water to bring on the ship because the water on the ship tasted a little nasty when it is warm (as when you bring it on your excursions). It has a lot of anti-bacterial stuff in it as a precaution. One lady from the Netherlands was making fun of me when she saw me with all that water. "You Americans are so spoiled with this water thing." Perhaps we are.

[lchen818]

Sorry to keep bothering but I have another question I can't seem to figure out.

 

The Hilton is one of the stops on the Alilaguna so we're planning on taking that without having to drag our luggage to far into the hotel.

 

I am confused about where the Alilaguna stop near the ship is though. Since the blue line lists the cruise dock as it's last stop, I had assumed that we would be able to get on it without having to drag our luggage too far. But Tom's guide says that the Alilaguna & Vaporetti can be caught at Piazalle Roma (1 mile away). So we'd have to walk with our luggage or use a 'People Mover'?

Is this true or is the Alilaguna stop close to where we will disembark? I'm hoping it's only the Vaporetti that are caught at Piazalle Roma.

 

Thanks again!

 

I am not 100% sure about the Alilaguna because I never took it. But I believe it actually stops at Tronchetto, which is on the far side of the dock (check it out using Googl Map) and you will still need to take the People Mover from there to the Statione Marittima, which is basically the same if you took a bus from the airport to Piazzale Roma, which may be cheaper. It may not look very far on the map; but there is no direct way to get from Tronchetto to where the ship is docked, which is right across the water from Tronchetto.

 

If you use Google Map, there are 2 ships docked. The one on the left that is slightly smaller is where Ruby was docked. You may see a spot labled, Alilaguna SR L, across the water further left. If you zoom all the way in, you may see a boat with a slim yellow hull and white top just above the 5 medium sized ferry boats. That is what a Alilaguna looks like.

 

The easiest but most expensive option may be to take a water taxi. But you also need to make sure they will take you to Statione Marritima and not Tronchetto, which I have heard some travellers have complained. We took a taxi to our hotel on the Grande Canal and it was actually kind of fun. We were able to stand up at the back of the taxi and took a lot of cool pictures.

[lchen818]

Slight correction. The drive to Rome from the port was about 50 minutes not 90.

[bcnvcanada]

Princess rep. will meet you at the baggage claim in Venice airport. take your cases to the ship, so the next time you will see them is in your cabin. You can put your carryon case in area under the bus. As for your disembarkment. You will put out your cases the night before and you will either clain at the port (will travel under bus) or at the airport. Yes, you can put your carryonn under the bus again. Enjoy your cruise.

[SSAA33]

San Marco in the evening sounds really nice! We'll be sure to go there after the rush.

 

I will remember to buy our Doge Palace tickets soon. Did you use veniceconnected to purchase them? This seems like a good site to purchase our Alilaguna tix (from cruise to hotel & hotel to airport) in advance too.

 

That is a shame about Venice cuisine being nothing spectacular since Venice is the one Italian city where we will have time for leisurely meals :( Will definitely try the cicchetti. I'm hoping we can find a good affordable seafood place too.

 

We are planning on walking around Las Ramblas in BCN for a couple of hours. We've been to Barcelona before so we're flying in the morning of the cruise. I'll keep an eye out for this gelato place, while I'm on the hunt for cafe con leche :)

[SSAA33]

Sorry to hear that you had to drag your luggage! Hopefully the shuttle + PM will help us get to the Alilaguna without too much of a hassle.

[caribill]

We will be using Princess transfers from Marco Polo airport in Venice. Can anyone give me a rundown of what to expect ie. bus to PM then shuttle? The bus will bring you to the check-in building at the port. You will need to walk from the check-in building to the ship which should be under five minutes.

 

also, we are doing a debark tour in Barcelona with the ultimate destination being the airport. Do they take ALL your suitcases the nite before or can you bring a small carryon with you on the bus tour so you have a place to put your night things? You SHOULD have a carryon to hold the items you need for the last night on board. Just remember to repack liquids and other items that do not meet security requirements into your baggage that will be checked at the airport.

 

Thank you in advance for any info.

 

see above in red

[lchen818]

San Marco in the evening sounds really nice! We'll be sure to go there after the rush.

 

I will remember to buy our Doge Palace tickets soon. Did you use veniceconnected to purchase them? This seems like a good site to purchase our Alilaguna tix (from cruise to hotel & hotel to airport) in advance too.

 

That is a shame about Venice cuisine being nothing spectacular since Venice is the one Italian city where we will have time for leisurely meals :( Will definitely try the cicchetti. I'm hoping we can find a good affordable seafood place too.

 

We are planning on walking around Las Ramblas in BCN for a couple of hours. We've been to Barcelona before so we're flying in the morning of the cruise. I'll keep an eye out for this gelato place, while I'm on the hunt for cafe con leche :)

 

We got our tickets for the secret itinerary tour at the Doge's Palace thru Vivatickets (http://www.vivaticket.it/index.php?nvpg[evento]&id_evento=409912&idt=566&wms_op=museiCivici&SiteVersion=1&change_language=1) . It was a pretty interesting tour that a regular visitor would not be able to experience.

[2Canucks]

We will be on the Ruby in Sept for a B2B and we are enjoying the info you are sharing with us! :D

 

Question...

 

Did you by chance walk to the Rialto Bridge from St Mark's Square?

 

This is our 1st time in Venice and we plan to take the Princess shuttle to St Mark's Square and then walk to the Rialto Bridge and the Market. Can you share the "easiest" route to do this?

 

Thank You in advance for any info you can share with us concerning the above question.

 

Pat :)

[lchen818]

We will be on the Ruby in Sept for a B2B and we are enjoying the info you are sharing with us! :D

 

Question...

 

Did you by chance walk to the Rialto Bridge from St Mark's Square?

 

This is our 1st time in Venice and we plan to take the Princess shuttle to St Mark's Square and then walk to the Rialto Bridge and the Market. Can you share the "easiest" route to do this?

 

Thank You in advance for any info you can share with us concerning the above question.

 

Pat :)

 

Yes,we did walk from San Marco to the Rialto Bridge. It's not a long walk at all; but, I couldn't tell you exactly how to get there if i tried. There are many tiny alleys that will lead you there. Just follow the yellow pointer signs through out the area that will point you to Rialto, San Marco, and Piazzale Roma. It's not a big deal even if you come to one of the deadend streets; that's part of the charm of the place.

[Matcodixon]

Yes,we did walk from San Marco to the Rialto Bridge. It's not a long walk at all; but, I couldn't tell you exactly how to get there if i tried. There are many tiny alleys that will lead you there. Just follow the yellow pointer signs through out the area that will point you to Rialto, San Marco, and Piazzale Roma. It's not a big deal even if you come to one of the deadend streets; that's part of the charm of the place.

 

LOL, I purchases a map from Amazon and after looking at it, I am not sure that even it will help! Talk about confusing streets, walkways etc.. :rolleyes:

 

Good news is that it is not a large city at all and there are some major landmarks. You cannot get in too much trouble. It's quite impossible to get really lost on an Island that small!

[caribill]

We got our tickets for the secret itinerary tour at the Doge's Palace thru Vivatickets (http://www.vivaticket.it/index.php?nvpg[evento]&id_evento=409912&idt=566&wms_op=museiCivici&SiteVersion=1&change_language=1) . It was a pretty interesting tour that a regular visitor would not be able to experience.

 

I second recommending this tour. After you take the tour, you can wander the rest of the Palace on your own.

 

For another unusual experience, reserve in advance a tour of the clock tower in St, Mark's Square.

[SSAA33]

The tour might be a good idea for us (we don't know much about the palace). Good thing I haven't purchased my tix on Veniceconnected yet. Do happen to remember how much it was?

[Doug6388]

see above in red

 

to:caribill

vintek

ichen818

bcnvcanada (north van?)

thank you all for your comments to doug6388 to answer recent post...i feel more confident and once again thank CC for its valued advice...count down begins!

[lchen818]

The tour might be a good idea for us (we don't know much about the palace). Good thing I haven't purchased my tix on Veniceconnected yet. Do happen to remember how much it was?

 

Sorry, I don't really remember how much I paid. You should be able to see the price if you go to Vivatickets.

[lchen818]

I second recommending this tour. After you take the tour, you can wander the rest of the Palace on your own.

 

For another unusual experience, reserve in advance a tour of the clock tower in St, Mark's Square.

 

 

One caution regarding the Campanile (the clock tower), the bells toll at the top of each hour and can be deafening if you are up there. Some people actually like the experience....

[caribill]

One caution regarding the Campanile (the clock tower), the bells toll at the top of each hour and can be deafening if you are up there. Some people actually like the experience....

 

They time the tours at the clock tower so you are not at the top when the bells chime.

 

The Campanile is not the clock tower. It is the bell tower for the church.

[SSAA33]

Sorry, I don't really remember how much I paid. You should be able to see the price if you go to Vivatickets.

 

No problem! I was just confused because when I click on the link you provided, it says 16E. But when I try to go through Museums->Special Itinerarys->Secret Itin Eng on the Viva Tickets site, it says 20.50E. I guess I'll try to purchase through the cheaper link :)

[SSAA33]

They time the tours at the clock tower so you are not at the top when the bells chime.

 

The Campanile is not the clock tower. It is the bell tower for the church.

 

Is there any way to purchase Campanile tickets online? I can't find it on VivaTicket or Veniceconnected.com..

[caribill]

Is there any way to purchase Campanile tickets online? I can't find it on VivaTicket or Veniceconnected.com..

 

A google search did not find a way either.

[lchen818]

Is there any way to purchase Campanile tickets online? I can't find it on VivaTicket or Veniceconnected.com..

 

I don't think you need to pre-purchase the ticket. We didn't go up the tower but I saw only a short line for purchasing the ticket for the elevator ride to the top. I was told the key was to go early or go late to avoid the crowd.

[SSAA33]

A google search did not find a way either.

 

Thanks for looking!

[SSAA33]

I don't think you need to pre-purchase the ticket. We didn't go up the tower but I saw only a short line for purchasing the ticket for the elevator ride to the top. I was told the key was to go early or go late to avoid the crowd.

 

Gotcha! We'll probably be swinging by St. Mark's Square a few times while we're in Venice.. I guess we'll go up whenever the line is shortest :)

[SSAA33]

Do you recommend buying tickets for the Colosseum in advance? If you did this - what site did you use? We will obviously be on a tight schedule..so trying to avoid long lines.

[lchen818]

Do you recommend buying tickets for the Colosseum in advance? If you did this - what site did you use? We will obviously be on a tight schedule..so trying to avoid long lines.

 

Absolutely. You will be standing in a long line under the hot sun for quite some time otherwise. We bought our tickets at http://www.ticketclic.it/Gb/HTML/musei/colosseo.cfm, which was recommended by RomeinLimo. It includes the entry to the Palatium Museum and the Forum, which we didn't have time to visit.