Just back from cruising around the Med

[rtyuiop]

Hi folks,

Just back from 21 days on the Ruby Princess around the Mediterranean, great trip - if anyone has any questions, ask away!

Danny

 

[Major]

What cruiseline did you go with and where did you start and finish? Which port did you like the most ?

 

[Simo]

What cruiseline did you go with and where did you start and finish? Which port did you like the most ?

Have you got any photo's

 

[rtyuiop]

Started in Venice, finished in Barcelona on Princess.. Port list was:

Venice
Dubrovnik
Corfu
Istanbul
Mykonos
Athens
Santorini
Rhodes
Kusadasi
Crete
Naples
Rome
Sicily
Malta
Florence/Pisa
Genoa
Monte Carlo
Barcelona

I do indeed have photos but it's going to take me a while before I have them sorted and edited! Will post some highlights when I have them .

Danny

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Whilst you were sea bound on this occasion - IYHO if you were to spend a week land based for a week in any of these ports which would you choose? And why?

From your vantage which port appeared to have most desirable beach life / facilities etc?

 

[knightman7]

Nice! How was Dubrovnik? Have been meaning to go there but never gotten around to it. Wife and I were on one of the sister ships, the Emerald Princess in the Caribbean not long ago. Loved it!

 

[rtyuiop]

Whilst you were sea bound on this occasion - IYHO if you were to spend a week land based for a week in any of these ports which would you choose? And why?

From your vantage which port appeared to have most desirable beach life / facilities etc?

I think I would split a week between Rome (because there's so many different things to see) and one of the greek islands (they're beautiful, relaxing, and have excellent food), with Barcelona and Florence/Tuscany a close second and third!

We didn't really get to any beaches, too many things to do everywhere, and too many good beaches here in QLD! But we saw some really lovely beaches on Crete and Mykonos - Crete having some quiet ones where I would have gone, and Mykonos a fair bit more crowded and sociable if that's your thing...

 

[rtyuiop]

Nice! How was Dubrovnik? Have been meaning to go there but never gotten around to it. Wife and I were on one of the sister ships, the Emerald Princess in the Caribbean not long ago. Loved it!

Dubrovnik is stunning. Not knowing much about it in advance it was one of the ports I was less excited about it, but I changed my tune even before we got there - just sailing in along the coast is stunning. The old town is pretty amazing - we pretty much spent the day walking the walls, then found our way through the town to one of the two Buza Bars, on the ocean side below the walls for some drinks. Excellent Croatian lemon beer .

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Thanks mate - am still looking for European beach dest for next July for a week - done the Greek Isles, done Italian coast, done Barcelona, still looking.

 

[rtyuiop]

I don't know what the beaches are like (I'm assuming they must be pretty decent!), but if the beaches are good, then maybe Malta? It was another surprise to us, lovely place!

 

[DaveB]

Thanks mate - am still looking for European beach dest for next July for a week - done the Greek Isles, done Italian coast, done Barcelona, still looking.

San Sebastian with the separate ocean (waves sort of) and bay beach is a must at some stage. The old town and numerous pinxtos or tapas bars are fabulous.

 

[knightman7]

Love San Sebastián! A bit of a head f*ck to get to lol

 

[DaveB]

Glad you enjoyed the trip and looking forward to your further reports. Was this your first cruise and if so, must say you are braver than me starting with such a longish trip. Did the cruise spend any nights in port at major sites?
Just booked our first proper cruise and initially aimed for 7 nights max before settling for 10 next August around the Baltic which includes 3 days in St Petersburg and two in Helsinki. Being just on the wrong side of 50, we are a tad nervous being used to setting our own pace when traveling.

 

[rtyuiop]

This was my first cruise, and I'm glad I turned out to like it or it would have been a problem!

No overnights at ports except for Venice the first night. Would have liked a few more, but I guess it costs the cruise lines a bit so they don't tend to do it... I don't remember many lines except Azamara doing it when we were looking at itineraries.

We were worried about not being able to set our own pace, but the only time it got a bit annoying was while on princess shore excursions - we tried to avoid them, but if we did it over again I would try even harder!

 

[rtyuiop]

Forgot I was planning to post some photos! I'll keep it to just the more obviously cruise-y:







Continued in next post...

 

[rtyuiop]

Few more here.

Cheers,

Danny

 

[mushypeas]

pretty excited, just booked Oasis of the Seas with Royal Caribbean for 5 nights.. our first cruise and apparently this ship is meant to be something special... hope i don't get cabin fever being cooped up on a boat.