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

[SSAA33]

Sabatini's breakfasts are only for Suite passengers. You can get breakfast from room service (limited menu), the horizon buffet, and the main dining room. Just a little tip: when you are in the buffet you can ask one of the servers at the buffet to have a specially made omelette made for you. Just tell them what ingredients you want and then you have to wait 5 minutes or so. Also, most ships including the Sapphire typically have a waffle station out on the deck where they typically serve pizza or hamburgers during the day.

 

On the Princess dinner menu you will see the evenings choices on the right side. These change each and every night and typically will include at least one seafood dish. On the left hand side of the menu down at the bottom are items you can get each and every night which include salmon and some other choices. These don't typically change and are there for those that might not find anything on the right side of the menu. Also, at the top, left side of the menu are Princess' pasta choices. They change these each evening. Princess is noted for their good pasta. I can attest to it:D. Try the fettuchine alfredo and ask them to put it in a cheese bowl. Also very good is the bowtie pasta with veal. Not sure what night that one is on there. But, definitely give the pastas on the left side of the menu a try at least one or two nights. If you like pasta I don't think you will be disappointed.

 

Thank you, Michelle!

Made to order omletes & fresh waffles are some of our favorite 'vacation breakfast' items :D

 

Good to know that they have daily seafood & pasta options. I had to google fettuchine alfredo in a cheese bowl after reading your post :) It looks amazing. Cannot wait to try it!

[caribill]

Thank you! Is it possible to see the MDR menu (for breakfast, lunch & dinner) before deciding whether we want to eat the particular meal there?

 

Yes, the menu for the next meal in a dining room will be posted outside each dining room after the previous meal is finished.

 

On some ships they will also display the dining room dinner menu in the buffet area.

[SSAA33]

Yes, the menu for the next meal in a dining room will be posted outside each dining room after the previous meal is finished.

 

On some ships they will also display the dining room dinner menu in the buffet area.

 

Thanks! That's perfect - it will also help us decide if/when we want to go to the specialty restaurants :)

[lovevacadays]

Thank you, Michelle!

Made to order omletes & fresh waffles are some of our favorite 'vacation breakfast' items :D

 

Good to know that they have daily seafood & pasta options. I had to google fettuchine alfredo in a cheese bowl after reading your post :) It looks amazing. Cannot wait to try it!

 

It is really good. If I remember right you only get it in a cheese bowl if you are doing it as a start to your regular menu and not if you have the Fettuchine Alfredo as your main course. Not sure why???

 

Sure hope Attila comes back and posts some more wonderful pictures of her trip.

[rdsqrl]

It is really good. If I remember right you only get it in a cheese bowl if you are doing it as a start to your regular menu and not if you have the Fettuchine Alfredo as your main course. Not sure why???

 

Sure hope Attila comes back and posts some more wonderful pictures of her trip.

Michelle, I think it's the other way 'round: cheese bowl with main; china bowl with appetizer portion.

[zulugirl]

Hi is there themed nights on the ruby princess? thanks

[Infi]

Attila, really enjoying this review and looking forward to more. Your photos, helpful tips, and writing style make it a pleasure to read. We did this itinerary in 2010 and repeated some of the ports just last month, and it has been fun reliving the visits through your review.

 

Michelle, I think it's the other way 'round: cheese bowl with main; china bowl with appetizer portion.

 

You can also get the parmesan bowl with the appetizer portion, but you do have to ask for it. Helpful if you don't want the whole entree portion but still enjoy the parmesan bowl :)

[SSAA33]

Thanks for all the additional info about the parmesan cheese bowl :) I will definitely ask for and order it whether it comes with the appetizer or entree! Will have to remember to take a picture to post here... :)

[AttilaTheFun]

Hi is there themed nights on the ruby princess? thanks

 

Sometimes the buffet has a theme at lunch or dinnertime, but didn't hear of any themed nights otherwise.

[AttilaTheFun]

Attila, really enjoying this review and looking forward to more. Your photos, helpful tips, and writing style make it a pleasure to read. We did this itinerary in 2010 and repeated some of the ports just last month, and it has been fun reliving the visits through your review.

 

That means a lot to me as I read your review backwards and forwards when preparing for our trip!

[lovevacadays]

Michelle, I think it's the other way 'round: cheese bowl with main; china bowl with appetizer portion.

 

Ok. Thanks. I couldn't remember for sure, just remembered my niece was disappointed in one scenario or the other when she ordered it.

[auburngirlie]

Attila! Don't leave us hanging! Would love to see the last of your trip review! :D

 

Quick questions: Did you tender into Mykonos or did you dock? Same question for Monte Carlo also????

 

Thank you so much! :)

[AttilaTheFun]

Attila! Don't leave us hanging! Would love to see the last of your trip review! :D

 

Quick questions: Did you tender into Mykonos or did you dock? Same question for Monte Carlo also????

 

Thank you so much! :)

 

Sorry, work has been very hectic. I hope to finish up the review someday.

 

We missed Mykonos completely due to high winds. We docked in Monte Carlo.

[VinTek]

Sorry, work has been very hectic. I hope to finish up the review someday.

 

We missed Mykonos completely due to high winds. We docked in Monte Carlo.

We were on the same itinerary May 18-30 and we docked in Mykonos. However, it is definitely possible that you'll wind up tendering. We tendered in Mykonos on the from the Grand Princess in 2008.

 

I was going to add this link as a supplement to the thread after Attila finished his review but since he's so busy at work, I'm adding it now. It's some of the photos I took during our trip. Since was traveling with a mobility challenged MIL, it doesn't include much of Athens, Ephesus or Mykonos, but it should give you folks some idea of what can see. I do have pics from those ports but they're from 2008 and not part of this album.

[chickalo]

Thanks VinTek for sharing you pictures, they were beautiful. I am hoping to do this itinerary in September 2014.

[teacherplus]

AttilaTheFun said "If you're looking for good, affordable gelato, we liked La Boutique del Gelato, which is a tiny store, but sells a giant scoop of gelato for about 1.5 euros. There's no semblance of a line, so once you've made up your mind on flavor, just go ahead and order it. We split a 2-scoop cone and it was gigantic - wish we had taken a picture!"

 

I love gelato! Do you remember where this shop was? Thank you.

[VinTek]

Thanks VinTek for sharing you pictures, they were beautiful. I am hoping to do this itinerary in September 2014.

 

Thanks for the kind words Judy. I was refraining from posting pics from my 2008 trip because I didn't want to hijack Attila's review (it's such a great review), but since he didn't post this weekend, I'll post that link here now. It contains pics of Athens, Ephesus and Delos (from the Mykonos port), and Herculaneum. You'll also find some pics of some ports not on this particular itinerary, as we were on the Greek Islands cruise, not the Grand Mediterranean cruise, in 2008.

[PathfinderEss]

Sounds like you had a wonderful cruise, thanks for taking the time to post a review.

[SSAA33]

Great pictures VinTek! From your first link, were some of your Venice pictures taken from the ship during sail away (or in)? Loved the perspective you captured. I will make sure I am on the deck when we sail into Venice.

[VinTek]

Great pictures VinTek! From your first link, were some of your Venice pictures taken from the ship during sail away (or in)? Loved the perspective you captured. I will make sure I am on the deck when we sail into Venice.

 

Thanks for the kind words!

 

Sail away. We were fortunate that in May, they were still departing at 8AM. My understanding that they're currently departing at 1AM due to tidal conditions. It was a slow and leisurely departure, with plenty of time to ahead and try to figure out where you want to be positioned.

 

Not sure how the lighting will be like when you sail in. Just remember not to enjoy the experience! The photos for helping to preserve memories; make sure the the experience itself is memorable. Have a great time!

[SSAA33]

Thanks for the kind words!

 

Sail away. We were fortunate that in May, they were still departing at 8AM. My understanding that they're currently departing at 1AM due to tidal conditions. It was a slow and leisurely departure, with plenty of time to ahead and try to figure out where you want to be positioned.

 

Not sure how the lighting will be like when you sail in. Just remember not to enjoy the experience! The photos for helping to preserve memories; make sure the the experience itself is memorable. Have a great time!

 

Thank you!

We'll be sailing in around 1 PM so we should be wide awake by that time and have good lighting :)

I hope we can get a Grand Canal facing room at the Hilton so we can watch her sail away on Sunday 9/16 too!

You're right - sometimes trying to get the perfect picture takes away from enjoying the experience in the moment! I will definitely remind myself of that the whole trip :)

[bling19572010]

Awesome review! I do have a question for you....

On my Mother's Bucket List she want to cruise the MED; do you recommoned this for anyone in a wheelchair? Is it really hard and frustrating to get around the ports? Thank you.

[VinTek]

Awesome review! I do have a question for you....

On my Mother's Bucket List she want to cruise the MED; do you recommoned this for anyone in a wheelchair? Is it really hard and frustrating to get around the ports? Thank you.

Hi. Just reminder that this is Attila's review, not mine. I only posted some links to my pics of the Mediterranean as a supplement to his review. I definitely don't want to hijack his thread.

 

With regard to your mother, is she wheelchair-bound full time? Can she walk a few steps on/off a bus with assistance? This can make big difference. Both my MIL and my co-worker's mother could do this so if your mom can do this, I can speak to it. But she can't walk those few steps, I don't have the experience to give any advice about this.

[bling19572010]

Hi. Just reminder that this is Attila's review, not mine. I only posted some links to my pics of the Mediterranean as a supplement to his review. I definitely don't want to hijack his thread.

 

With regard to your mother, is she wheelchair-bound full time? Can she walk a few steps on/off a bus with assistance? This can make big difference. Both my MIL and my co-worker's mother could do this so if your mom can do this, I can speak to it. But she can't walk those few steps, I don't have the experience to give any advice about this.

 

 

She call walk a few steps with a walker but she cannot climb up and down steps/stairs.

[VinTek]

She call walk a few steps with a walker but she cannot climb up and down steps/stairs.

I'd put her on the wheelchair accessible tours from the ship for the ports where you aren't going to stay the whole day. These would include Kusadasi, Athens and Monte Carlo. Those tend to be scenic drives and you don't get to see as much, but you take what you can get.

 

Mykonos would probably be a no-go for her.

 

I'd try to book private tours for Istanbul, Naples, Florence and Rome. They have vans that accommodate wheelchair storage but typically she would have to take 1 step up into the van and 1 step down out of the van. If she can do that with assistance, she should be alright. The other nice thing about the private tours was that I could ensure that my 2 mobility challenged ladies would be back at the ship by 5PM, enough time freshen up for dinner, then see a show or go to bed early to be rested enough for another long day of touring the next day.

 

My wife and I had been to the Med before (which is why I have pics from 2008) so our 2012 trip was designed expressly to accommodate my MIL's infirmities. If you can afford it, and you're willing forgo some of the sights yourself (you're bound to miss some stuff because the tour would have to shorter and slower) in order to fulfill your mother's wish, then I urge you to do it. You can always go back for more intense trip some other time but memories you'll have of making your mother happy would be more priceless than the memories of any of the sights you'll see.