LIVE From the Ruby Princess - Our European Adventure - July 4th to 16th

[Kimmer17]

Kim and Joe’s European adventure is officially underway. Kim suggested I post daily updates not only for our family and friends at home in Toronto, who are likely counting the seconds until our next update (note: not actually that likely), but for the masses reading on the habitually enticing Cruise Critic Message Boards. I will personally be surprised if more than two people read this, but Kim insists that there are people out there in cyberspace who will appreciate hearing about our experiences…so….here it goes.

 

My vote is to skip right by the whole flight from Toronto to Venice. Both of us hate the whole flying experience, and this one was effective in getting us from A to B, but that’s about it. We flew Air France from Toronto to Paris (7 hours….great service….the food was…food; no more or no less…space was non existent, couldn’t really see the screens for the movies…couldn’t sleep anyways). With only 2 hours between flights, we had a bit of a panic as the immigration counters were closed in the Paris airport, as someone had left a bag somewhere. I think we were one of about 500 people standing in line for half an hour, panicking that we would all miss our flights. Needless to say, we got through, and caught our flight to Venice with 20 minutes to spare.

 

Embarkation in Venice was a snap. What incredible service from all of the Princess Staff, right from the airport, onto the shuttle to the ship, check in and so forth. It certainly was welcome from us after the better part of 13 hours of travel. From the time we landed to the time we got into our room was just over an hour. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

 

Our first impressions of the ship were spectacular. To give our loyal readers some perspective on our travel history…this is our first time in Europe, and our first cruise. We have been together for almost 20 years, and never been away together on any significant trip. We’ve been counting the days down for this since we booked at Christmas.

 

After checking out the room, which has ample space for the two of us (we’re in R311…Balcony Room), we headed down for the buffet, as we hadn’t really eaten a decent meal in a while. The buffet was just what we needed. We booked two chairs for the week at the Sanctuary, which looks awesome btw, and headed up to the room for a wee bit of a nap. Our bags arrived mid-nap, which was perfect.

 

Rested and showered, we took the Water Taxi into Venice. To be honest, of all the amazing places we are looking forward to seeing, Venice was not on the top of my list. After spending our evening there tonight, that opinion has changed greatly. With thunder and lightning making its way into the city, we started walking. I wish I could tell you where we went, but I have no clue. Kim and I like to go off the beaten path, and do our best not to get the typical touristy experience. We’ll see how successful we are at that this trip. After walking through the beautiful streets and alleys of Venice, we spotted a restaurant that looked like our cup of tea, although our choice was expedited by the start of the downpour. We sat outside, but under cover, while we had a glorious Italian meal over the next two and half hours. What a great way to start our first day in Europe. As we slowly walked our way back towards St. Mark’s Square, with the storm now passed, we spotted an open gondola at one of the bridges. Our man, Nicholas, took us on a great 40 minute trip through the side canals of Venice(100 Euros), chatting and singing. With the calm outside after the huge storm, it was the perfect way to end our night. We headed back to the boat, had a drink up at Skywalker’s, checked out the boat a little more, and here we sit, wide awake at 2:00 AM.

 

We leave port in 6 hours, and want to be up to hoot and holler, so bed is calling. All in all a great first day on our European Adventure. Please feel free to ask about anything, and I’ll certainly do my best to find out, or answer your questions. Ciao from Venice.

[lovevacadays]

Thanks for posting. I'm looking forward to reading about your adventure. Sounds like a wonderful first day!

[cactusrose]

Thank you for doing this live from thread. We will be on the Ruby next year so will be following along with your adventures very closely.

 

I think you will be surprised at the response. Probably a few more than two people will be reading and responding to this.

[lovevacadays]

Yep, already two in about 20 minutes.

[Colo Cruiser]

Sounds like an excellent start to your cruise on the fantastic Ruby Princess.

Thanks for taking the time to post live! :)

 

If you see the excellent Maitre'D Generoso and or asst Godwin, please say Hi from Keith/Tamie.

[Pia1913]

Sounds like an excellent start to your cruise on the fantastic Ruby Princess.

Thanks for taking the time to post live! :)

 

If you see the excellent Maitre'D Generoso and or asst Godwin, please say Hi from Keith/Tamie.

 

And from Pia and Mike too, but in our case it would be Generoso, Rui and Roger.

[rdsqrl]

Sounds like an absolutely perfect way to start off your first trip to Europe! I'm so looking forward to reading about your adventure.

[Jeniceves]

Can't wait to hear more..we're on the Princess in Barcelona the day you disembark (July 16). We have been planning this trip for 2 years, celebrating my husband's retirement (at age 58). Have a great cruise! If you are doing any excursions through Princess, I would love to hear about them as we are booked on several!

[ActiveTraveler]

Do you like the mattress? There is a thread about the mattresses being way too hard if you like them soft, which I do, on Princess ships. I was wondering if the Ruby also has uncomfortable mattresses since she is the youngest Princess ship.

[Not an Essex Girl]

Thanks for doing this report

 

We are on the Ruby on the 28th July - we too start in venice.

 

will look forward to reading about your experiences.

 

If you do meet Goodwin - he is great.

 

And we have done the sanctuary before and we too thorughly enjoyed it there

 

Did you get beds booked in the sanctuary easily for the whole cruise.?

 

Hope the weather stays good for you

 

 

 

Tina

[spongerob]

I'll be following along too. This cruise is on next year's wish list for us.

[mycruz]

Wow! What a wonderful way to start your cruise!

 

I'll also be following you, my hope is to one day take the Med cruise but have to convince someone else that this is a good idea!

 

Mary

 

Cactusrose, which Ruby trip will you be doing? We are booked on the Ruby in March.

[Flyer]

Don't even believe you will only have 2 readers to your post. We lived in Italy for 2 1/2 years a long time ago and we're booked on the Ruby from Barcelona next May. So, have a great trip and post all you can. I'll be reading it all. Thanks for starting the thread.

[crows nest club]

Thanks for the 'Live From' report. We shall be looking forward to reading your postings. We are on the Ruby on the 28 July. We juist love the ship and also the cruise we are doing i.e. Greek Isles.

 

I wonder if you could let us know who the Cruise Director and The Assistant Cruise Director is. Also is Captain Yeomans still 'dirving the ship@. We do hope so.

 

Many thanks for any information and have a wonderful cruise and great weather.

[ActiveTraveler]

Forget the bed question now; that was silly of me. What I really want to know is do you think Venice is a good embarkation port considering the difficulty in carrying luggage in the city with steps at every corner? Did you have to pay too much to have your luggage transferred to the ship? One factor in deciding if I should embark in Venice is getting all luggage on and off the ship without paying too much for the service.

[Anubi]

Thanks for posting. That trip from Toronto is a bitch isn't it? We're doing the October transatlantic next year so anything you have to say about Venice is welcome.

 

Have a great cruise!!

[CruzinNoony]

Oh, goody, another "live from"! These keep me going between cruises! Thank you for taking the time to do it!:)

[DrJohn999]

Thank you for this! We're embarking in August on Ruby and will follow your posts with great anticipation!

 

-- John

[suenruss]

I look forward to following your adventure - we're on the Ruby Sept 14th Venice to Barcelona, and although we've done a similar cruise before any new info helps the anticipation. Have a great time. :)

[Cruisin Nana2]

Am really looking forward to reliving our 2009 cruise thru your posts. We too were on the Ruby for a cruise in the Med last year. Best vacation of my life. Enjoy, enjoy enjoy.

 

Barb

[caribill]

Forget the bed question now; that was silly of me. What I really want to know is do you think Venice is a good embarkation port considering the difficulty in carrying luggage in the city with steps at every corner? Did you have to pay too much to have your luggage transferred to the ship? One factor in deciding if I should embark in Venice is getting all luggage on and off the ship without paying too much for the service.

 

 

Are you talking about staying in a hotel before the cruise or flying in and going straight to the cruise ship?

 

First need to realize that the Piazzelle Roma is not too far from the pier and there is transportation available from there to the port area

 

If you are flying in and going straight to the ship, you can

a) Take the Princess transfer

b) Take a cab

c) Take a public bus to Piazzale Roma and cab or skyway. Only on this option would you need to handle luggage much.

 

If you are in a hotel that is at Piazzale Roma, then you can take a cab or the skyway to the pier

 

If you are at a hotel on the mainland, you can take a train to Venice, walk across the new bridge to Piazzale Toma and then take a cab or the skyway.

 

If you are at a hotel in Venice, you can check with the hotel to see if they have a transfer service you can use to get from hotel to ship.

[s11vyy]

How wonderful for everyone to share your experience.....Thank you.

 

We are on the Ruby in August in a cabin very close to yours but nearer midship.

 

Have heard the noise from Lido deck can be annoying, what is your experience of this?

[BLS]

Venice is my absolute favorite City in the World!

Sailing out is magical so say the least.

Exploring the City is a must. Expect to get "lost". (easy to find you way back, just look for the San Marco or Rialto signs)

[Northender]

Like another poster said, some of us live for the "live from" threads.:)

You have picked a great ship, the crew is fantastic.

 

Enjoy and I look forward to reading more, more, more:D

[illiniwahoo]

My parents as well as 6 other family members are on the ship with you. I'm so jealous! Have a great trip!!!!!