Ruby Princess Jun 11-23 Grand Mediterranean review/tips with pictures

[AttilaTheFun]

What about purchasing the tickets directly on the Alilaguna site? Looking up my dates on Veniceconnected there's no discount offered for the tickets. Would it better to just order from Alilaguna then?

 

If there's no discount offered through either site, I don't think it matters where you purchase them.

[lovevacadays]

Agreed on Croatia! I saw a picture of Dubrovnik in an email last year that was so beautiful that I'm now dreaming of a cruise that stops there!

 

I met one of the Sapphire's officers a few years ago and he was from Croatia. He mentioned to me how beautiful the country was and since then I've watched a few travel shows featuring Croatia. It does look beautiful and interesting. I'm not sure if Princess sails there but about this time next year I'll be looking at 2014 cruises and we shall see.:)

[SSAA33]

If there's no discount offered through either site, I don't think it matters where you purchase them.

 

Ok! I'm guessing veniceconnected so we get it together with the Doge palace tickets (unless we end up purchasing the Secret Itineraries tour for Doge)

[pkt1976]

I met one of the Sapphire's officers a few years ago and he was from Croatia. He mentioned to me how beautiful the country was and since then I've watched a few travel shows featuring Croatia. It does look beautiful and interesting. I'm not sure if Princess sails there but about this time next year I'll be looking at 2014 cruises and we shall see.:)

 

There is because I'm one one :D There is a 12 day on the Crown that goes to Dubrovnik next month that I'm on. It does look beautiful, I can't wait to see it.

[AttilaTheFun]

With regards to being charged in USD on the credit card - I thought most credit cards charge foreign transaction fees (even if the charge is in USD) if the merchant is located overseas? I recently booked my flight with Turkish Airlines (confirmed I was being charged in USD to avoid the foreign trans fee) but still got the fee :( When I asked my cc company, they said it was based on where the merchant is located.

 

If I had known, I would've used my Capital One card that never charges foreign transaction fees (no annual fee either!).

 

Sorry, you're right - there probably would be a foreign transaction fee, even if charged in USD in Turkey. I used our Cap One credit card though, which doesn't have foreign transaction fees.

[SSAA33]

Sorry, you're right - there probably would be a foreign transaction fee, even if charged in USD in Turkey. I used our Cap One credit card though, which doesn't have foreign transaction fees.

 

Thank God for Capital One =D I feel so much better having it for our trip this time.. It's nice to be able to charge an expensive spontaneous purchase w/o worrying about the 3%.

[SSAA33]

From your experiences (I understand you've been to Rome a couple of times?), 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.

[AttilaTheFun]

From your experiences (I understand you've been to Rome a couple of times?), 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.

 

No - just buy your tickets at the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill ticket booth. It's a much shorter line and the ticket is good for both the Roman Forum (which I thought was worth seeing, as long as you take a free audioguide with you) and the Colosseum. After we visited the Roman Forum, we entered the Colosseum and were awe-struck by how long the line was when people could have taken a short walk over to the Roman Forum ticket booth to save 30+ minutes in line! Hope that helps!

[AttilaTheFun]

Here's a good map of the area - if you get off at the Circo Massimo metro stop near the bottom of the map, you just walk up Via di San Gregorio until you get to the sideways T cutout, about halfway between the metro stop and the Colosseum. That's where the Palatine Hill/Roman Forum ticket booth is located. You can get your ticket and decide whether you want to see Palatine Hill/Roman Forum or go directly to the Colosseum. There's a special line on the left at the Colosseum entrance where you can skip the line because you've already got your ticket - handy!

 

[SSAA33]

Thanks! That's really helpful.. Saved the map!

 

For some reason my husband made our itinerary to get of at the Coloseo metro stop, walk to Roman Forum and then walk back to the Colosseum.. he must not have realized that Circo Massimo is a little closer to the Forum. Good thing I asked you.

 

Do you remember approximately how much time you spent at each - the Roman Forum & the Colosseum? I do want to see the Forum but make sure I save enough time for the Colosseum.

[mommasaurus]

Thanks! That's really helpful.. Saved the map!

 

For some reason my husband made our itinerary to get of at the Coloseo metro stop, walk to Roman Forum and then walk back to the Colosseum.. he must not have realized that Circo Massimo is a little closer to the Forum. Good thing I asked you.

 

Do you remember approximately how much time you spent at each - the Roman Forum & the Colosseum? I do want to see the Forum but make sure I save enough time for the Colosseum.

 

We have done this before and also started at Circus Maximus and then continued on to Palantine hill and the Forum. We also purchased our tickets at the Forum. The line was short and it was also a combined ticket for the Colosseum. One thing that we did that saved us time and money was that we did not rent the audio equipment. If you rent their audio guide you need to return it back to the Forum entrance and then cross over to the Colosseum. I downloaded Rick Steve's audio tours onto our ipod and we listened to those for the Forum and the Colosseum. They were excellent and free.

[LexusJade]

Wow looks amazing! Thanks for sharing!

[AttilaTheFun]

Thanks! That's really helpful.. Saved the map!

 

For some reason my husband made our itinerary to get of at the Coloseo metro stop, walk to Roman Forum and then walk back to the Colosseum.. he must not have realized that Circo Massimo is a little closer to the Forum. Good thing I asked you.

 

Do you remember approximately how much time you spent at each - the Roman Forum & the Colosseum? I do want to see the Forum but make sure I save enough time for the Colosseum.

 

We spent around an hour at the Roman Forum and didn't visit Palatine Hill. For the Colosseum, we hadn't even planned going in because everyone I've talked to said it's not worth it, but since we already had the combined ticket, we just walked around for 15 minutes and took some pictures.

 

I agree with mommasaurus on downloading free Rick Steves audio guides and using those. We used his for the Roman Forum and it was very interesting, although we couldn't find a couple of the sights. We didn't use the Colosseum one as we just did a quick walk-through.

[SSAA33]

We spent around an hour at the Roman Forum and didn't visit Palatine Hill. For the Colosseum, we hadn't even planned going in because everyone I've talked to said it's not worth it, but since we already had the combined ticket, we just walked around for 15 minutes and took some pictures.

 

I agree with mommasaurus on downloading free Rick Steves audio guides and using those. We used his for the Roman Forum and it was very interesting, although we couldn't find a couple of the sights. We didn't use the Colosseum one as we just did a quick walk-through.

 

Thanks, Attila & Mommasaurus!

 

Where can I download the Rick Steves audio guides?

 

I'm wondering if I should buy the tickets online incase a lot of other Colosseum visitors have the same idea to buy their tickets at the Forum.. hmmm...

[AttilaTheFun]

Thanks, Attila & Mommasaurus!

 

Where can I download the Rick Steves audio guides?

 

I'm wondering if I should buy the tickets online incase a lot of other Colosseum visitors have the same idea to buy their tickets at the Forum.. hmmm...

 

Just search for Rick Steves in iTunes. They come up under Podcasts, I think.

 

Trust me, if people haven't figured out buying their tickets at the Forum after this many years, they won't figure it out by the time you travel. Most people don't research ahead of time and just follow the crowd.

[mommasaurus]

Just search for Rick Steves in iTunes. They come up under Podcasts, I think.

 

Trust me, if people haven't figured out buying their tickets at the Forum after this many years, they won't figure it out by the time you travel. Most people don't research ahead of time and just follow the crowd.

 

Just go to the app store icon on your ipod and type in Rick Steve's audio Europe. From there just choose which tours you want to download. We leave on the Ruby Princess from Venice in 15 days!! We are very excited and I have already downloaded all the audio tours. FYI, when listening to the audio tour there is a map icon at the bottom left corner, just press and you can easily follow along and get your bearings. We use a splitter and one ipod but you could each have your own.

 

AtillaTheFun- Thanks for all the great info you have provided about our cruise. Do you know if there are shuttle buses from the People Mover to the luggage drop area at the port when embarking?

[AttilaTheFun]

We leave on the Ruby Princess from Venice in 15 days!!

 

AtillaTheFun- Thanks for all the great info you have provided about our cruise. Do you know if there are shuttle buses from the People Mover to the luggage drop area at the port when embarking?

 

Have a fabulous sailing! I will try to add Istanbul tips this weekend, but wasn't sure if anyone was still reading!

 

There were not shuttle buses to the People Mover when embarking in Venice. I think this is mainly because Princess wants you to use their shuttle service, but they posted signs directing you back to the Princess dock from the People Mover, so that was much appreciated. However, if you spot a free Princess shuttle returning to the luggage drop-off point, you can see if the driver will drop you off at the People Mover. That's what we did and we left him some tip money.

 

The walk was maybe 10 minutes and straight-forward. You can see the ship and the People Mover easily, so very little chance of getting lost.

[akeasley]

Thanks for posting your review on the Ruby and for the pics. Have enjoyed reading them!

[BratDet]

Printed it out!!

 

Thank you for taking the time to share so much!

 

Bernadette

[crusdiva]

Agreed on Croatia! I saw a picture of Dubrovnik in an email last year that was so beautiful that I'm now dreaming of a cruise that stops there!

 

There is because I'm one one :D There is a 12 day on the Crown that goes to Dubrovnik next month that I'm on. It does look beautiful, I can't wait to see it.

 

I agree, you must see Dubrovnik! We sailed the Greek Isles on the Ruby last fall and it included a stop there. It was absolutely amazing, one of my favorite places ever.

[SSAA33]

Just go to the app store icon on your ipod and type in Rick Steve's audio Europe. From there just choose which tours you want to download. We leave on the Ruby Princess from Venice in 15 days!! We are very excited and I have already downloaded all the audio tours. FYI, when listening to the audio tour there is a map icon at the bottom left corner, just press and you can easily follow along and get your bearings. We use a splitter and one ipod but you could each have your own.

 

AtillaTheFun- Thanks for all the great info you have provided about our cruise. Do you know if there are shuttle buses from the People Mover to the luggage drop area at the port when embarking?

 

 

Perfect..Thanks! About to look it up on my iPhone right now :) For some reason I thought I'd have to DL from a different site to get the free ones.

[SSAA33]

Sorry I keep coming back with a million questions.. First time cruiser-confusion lol

 

Can you access your cabin & luggage right after check-in? We're flying into BCN the same morning and want to go straight to the port to get rid of our luggage. I would like to be able to go into our room to switch to a smaller purse and stuff before heading out into Barcelona for a couple of hours.

[caribill]

Sorry I keep coming back with a million questions.. First time cruiser-confusion lol

 

Can you access your cabin & luggage right after check-in? We're flying into BCN the same morning and want to go straight to the port to get rid of our luggage. I would like to be able to go into our room to switch to a smaller purse and stuff before heading out into Barcelona for a couple of hours.

 

You can go to your room immediately upon boarding. Luggage may take several hours to get to the cabin.

 

Can you pull out the smaller purse from your luggage before handing it over to Princess?

[SSAA33]

You can go to your room immediately upon boarding. Luggage may take several hours to get to the cabin.

 

Can you pull out the smaller purse from your luggage before handing it over to Princess?

 

Thanks!! The small one will easily fit in my regular lol so I can stick it in there. Glad I asked here :)

 

If we have access to the room right away that will work out perfectly - just didn't want to be stuck carrying my big bag around the city.

 

I'm assuming we'll have access to the in-room safe right away too?

 

Do people put locks on the luggage that's being handed over to the porters? Not sure if those bags spend time sitting around outside or if they're reasonably safe? And what's the recommended tip for the porters?

[caribill]

I'm assuming we'll have access to the in-room safe right away too? Yes

 

Do people put locks on the luggage that's being handed over to the porters? Most people do.

 

Not sure if those bags spend time sitting around outside or if they're reasonably safe? They will be brought to a staging area relatively quickly so they can be x-rayed and then brought to the ship.

 

And what's the recommended tip for the porters? $2 to $5 or the equivalent in Euros should be fine.

 

see above in red