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

[SSAA33]

No one pays attention to (or remembers) what people wear from day to day. You could wear the same outfit both days with no problem.

 

Probably true :)

[BratDet]

ya could wear the same clothes both nights...

 

The second formal night was also the same night as the previous

 

cruisers cocktail party...

 

.but I swear there wasn't alcohol in my drinks...hahahaha

 

I packed gowns..but only cause they were lighter than my dresses...

 

and I FELT like wearing them....

 

 

Bernadette

[SSAA33]

^ Thanks Bernadette

 

So I emailed VeniceConnected about luggage allowance on the Alilaguna boats before purchasing and they said that each passenger is allowed 2 pieces and must purchase tickets for additional items.

 

Do you (or anyone else) happen to remember how many items you brought on? We will probably have less than 4 bags but I'm not sure if bookbags and stuff count as luggage items too.

[Cruise Junky]

^ Thanks Bernadette

 

So I emailed VeniceConnected about luggage allowance on the Alilaguna boats before purchasing and they said that each passenger is allowed 2 pieces and must purchase tickets for additional items.

 

Do you (or anyone else) happen to remember how many items you brought on? We will probably have less than 4 bags but I'm not sure if bookbags and stuff count as luggage items too.

 

We had one big one each, one carry on each and I had my purse when we did it. No issues at all.

[AttilaTheFun]

^ Thanks Bernadette

 

So I emailed VeniceConnected about luggage allowance on the Alilaguna boats before purchasing and they said that each passenger is allowed 2 pieces and must purchase tickets for additional items.

 

Do you (or anyone else) happen to remember how many items you brought on? We will probably have less than 4 bags but I'm not sure if bookbags and stuff count as luggage items too.

 

Luggage counts as suitcases - personal items like backpacks and purses that you can keep on your lap and not pile up with the suitcases don't count.

[SSAA33]

We had one big one each, one carry on each and I had my purse when we did it. No issues at all.

 

Thanks! Really hope we don't have issues either.. having to buy an additional ticket for the luggage would be ridiculous - especially on the ride to the airport for 15 euros each!

[SSAA33]

Luggage counts as suitcases - personal items like backpacks and purses that you can keep on your lap and not pile up with the suitcases don't count.

 

 

Thanks!! That's what I was hoping - we shouldn't have more than 4 suitcases (incld carry-on's).

 

About to buy the Alilaguna and Doge's Palace afternoon-only tickets now :)

[sallybrown2012]

Thanks so much for this trip report and the detailed info and super pictures. We are considering taking this trip next summer and this information is invaluable (and really fun to read).

[lovevacadays]

Thanks for finishing your Istanbul review. I loved reading it.

 

I hope you have more to come......:):):)

[Infi]

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

 

Wow, I had no idea my old review was still out there and alive and kicking! Glad to hear it helped you in your planning. Between CC and your Rick Steves' book, it sounds like you made the most of your cruise and really had a fantastic time. :)

 

This picture of a lamp store that my sister took is one of my favorites and is now my desktop picture at work

 

 

Thanks for finishing the section on Istanbul. I enjoyed seeing photos of the Spice Market and Underground Cistern, as we didn't make it there on our visit. And I agree, I love this photo of the lanterns. Gorgeous shot!

[AttilaTheFun]

We were scheduled to stop in Mykonos around lunchtime, but about a half hour before this time, the Captain came on to announce that it was too rough to tender or dock in Mykonos. He mentioned that 2 other ships that were scheduled to call on Mykonos that day had also skipped the port due to high winds, so it was pretty bad. We were very disappointed as Mykonos is one of those places you always see in cruise brochures and we were looking forward to relaxing beach day, but we made the best of it and had a relaxing pool/tanning day instead!

 

We took some pictures as we sailed by the land, so not sure if any of these are actually Mykonos.

 

 

 

 

 

[AttilaTheFun]

Having stopped in Naples on our May cruise, we already saw Pompeii and were looking for somewhere else to see. We initially considered the Amalfi Coast, but read that it was too hard to DIY and we didn’t want to hire a driver this time around, so we settled on visiting Sorrento instead. However, I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to visit Sorrento unless you wanted to use their fake beaches because we just didn’t find enough to do in this tiny town to justify the effort to get there. The island of Capri is another option, but the necessary modes of transportation sounded a bit expensive.

 

For those of you who haven’t been, Naples is the among the worst cities in the world. It’s dirty, noisy, crowded, and generally has very few redeeming qualities. Cruise ships really only stop in Naples for passengers to visit Pompeii, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast.

 

When we arrived at the port, we walked all the way out to the main road to find a taxi (the ones that pull into the port area are looking to drive you on day tours) to take us to the Naples train station. We actually found a very nice driver who helped us cross the street to the station due to high traffic. He might be the only nice thing I’ve ever encountered in Naples! The taxi ride was about 12 euros.

 

We took the Circumvesuviana train line from Naples (NAPOLI GARIBALDI - STAZIONE CENTRALE F.S. on their website) to Sorrento, which was a little over an hour ride and 4 euros per person each way. These trains are not air-conditioned at all, but with the windows open, it was bearable. The Circumvesuviana is also notorious for pick-pockets, so we always made sure to keep our PacSafe bag on our body and in front of us. We were lucky enough to find seats on the train over and back as the train got fairly crowded.

 

When you get off in Sorrento, you’re greeted by some beautiful purple flowers.

 

 

 

Sorrento is tiny and has lots of flowers everywhere and tourist trap shops that sell trinkets, mini pottery, and limoncello (this whole region sells limoncello).

 

 

 

 

For a light lunch, we stopped at a restaurant to split a pizza and we ran into a Norwegian Cruise Line tour group that was also dining here. The pizza was okay and about 8 euros. The restaurant also had “air-conditioned!” on their doors, but definitely was not inside.

 

 

 

There were a few cute restaurants with outdoor seating as well.

 

 

 

 

We stopped in a gelato store that Rick Steves had recommended after our lunch and tried some of their gelato, which was good. They had the largest number of gelato options I had seen before and these gigantic meringues as well.

 

[AttilaTheFun]

Now to these “fake beaches” I mentioned… My sister researched Sorrento and Monte Carlo as I had enough on my plate planning the other ports, but she missed that Sorrento has a couple piers and a “beach” on the water. If we had known, we might have brought our bathing suits and spent some more time there. It looked like a cute area.

 

 

 

 

 

I couldn’t find anything about how much it costs to use these places, but the name of one of them was Marameo beach. Their website says the ticket covers a sun bed, towel, and entertainment.

 

Another beautiful picture of the coast.

 

 

 

Everything in Sorrento looked very nice and was incredibly well-maintained, but there just wasn’t much to “do” outside of shopping for tourist trinkets. We did end up buying small bottles of limoncello in funky-shaped bottle for about 3 euros each as presents.

 

 

Here are some more pictures of Sorrento

 

 

 

 

 

[Tickled2Trvl]

This is one of the best tours I have ever enjoyed from my living room. Thank you very much for sharing all the info and the photos are wonderful. is there more to come?

[sully108]

Any thing else to add ?

[AttilaTheFun]

I'd like to eventually add Rome because my friends are going in November. We stayed on the ship for Livorno/Florence, so nothing to report there. I'm away this weekend and cruising the weekend after that though, so bear with me if there's another lapse before I finish up :)

[sully108]

I'd like to eventually add Rome because my friends are going in November. We stayed on the ship for Livorno/Florence, so nothing to report there. I'm away this weekend and cruising the weekend after that though, so bear with me if there's another lapse before I finish up :)

 

Well I hope you come back and finish at least Rome .. your review was so great, and I "wrote down" so many of your tips. I would love to add your thoughts on Rome to my notes.

My partner and I are spending 2+ days in Rome in July 2013 before we cruise on the Royal Princess.

We are using your review as an "outline" for our trip.

 

Thanks .. and have a great time in Bermuda .. :)

[AttilaTheFun]

Well I hope you come back and finish at least Rome .. your review was so great, and I "wrote down" so many of your tips. I would love to add your thoughts on Rome to my notes.

My partner and I are spending 2+ days in Rome in July 2013 before we cruise on the Royal Princess.

We are using your review as an "outline" for our trip.

 

Thanks .. and have a great time in Bermuda .. :)

 

Thank you. I appreciate the kind words and the reinforcement that someone is still reading my babbling at this point ;)

[oncruisecontrol]

Thank you. I appreciate the kind words and the reinforcement that someone is still reading my babbling at this point ;)

You may call it babbling;), but if that's what your review is composed of, then your babbling is very good. I have really enjoyed your review.

Very well done. Thank you for posting it.

[gambee]

Gorgeous pictures, thanks for sharing.

[searoses]

your review is terrific....the sorrento pics convinced me to do a beach day

[Woobstr112G]

Now to these “fake beaches” I mentioned… My sister researched Sorrento and Monte Carlo as I had enough on my plate planning the other ports, but she missed that Sorrento has a couple piers and a “beach” on the water. If we had known, we might have brought our bathing suits and spent some more time there. It looked like a cute area.

 

 

 

 

 

I couldn’t find anything about how much it costs to use these places, but the name of one of them was Marameo beach. Their website says the ticket covers a sun bed, towel, and entertainment.

 

Another beautiful picture of the coast.

 

 

 

Everything in Sorrento looked very nice and was incredibly well-maintained, but there just wasn’t much to “do” outside of shopping for tourist trinkets. We did end up buying small bottles of limoncello in funky-shaped bottle for about 3 euros each as presents.

 

 

Here are some more pictures of Sorrento

 

 

 

 

 

 

These pictures make me feel as if were 11 months ago and Imwas here. Thanks for sharing.....

 

Bob

 

 

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[Bostonjetset]

After the Hagia Sophia, we proceeded to the Underground Cistern, which a friend had told me about. The signs don’t do a great job of explaining the cistern, but basically it was a forgotten underground reservoir with beautiful columns and is surprisingly large. The entrance is not very obvious and the entrance fee was 10-20 TL, sorry can’t remember the exact amount.

 

Unassuming building is the entrance to the Underground Cistern

 

 

 

 

Look for this sign on the building

 

 

 

 

After paying, you walk down a long series of steps and into the cistern. Surprisingly, the first area you enter is filled with tourist trap stuff like a model of some Turkish amusement park and a photo opp with people dressed like “ancient” Turks. We also found there were no brochures on the cistern available in English – annoying. However, the experience after that is very cool – you just wander around and admire the columns, with a couple notable areas like the green column and the Medusa heads. Note that the floor is pretty wet and can be slippery. My sister wore flip flops that day and almost fell multiple times, so ended up walking very slowly and holding the railing the entire time. It was a very unique site and I highly recommend it to anyone.

 

It’s a bit hard to take good pictures with a normal camera as the lighting is very low in the Underground Cistern, but here are a few.

 

 

A view from the top of the stairs (you can see the photo op people in the lower-right corner)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The upside-down Medusa head

 

 

 

WONDERFUL REVIEW! Turkey is on my must-see list!

These cisterns look like what was shown in 007's From Russia With Love. Such a fabulous place to spend an afternoon!

[strummer]

Thank you for your great review - would love to hear about Rome and Barcelona though ;)

We are doing basically this route back to front this year so loving the hints and tips.

[kalyn]

What a wonderful review, I am leaving for Rome next week and will be visiting several of the same ports on my Greek Island tours. I thought I had everything planned and after reading your review I have made a few adjustments to my plans. Thank you for a fantastic review.

 

 

 

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