My partner and I are on our 26th and 25th cruise respectively and had previously sailed on the Ruby Princess three times, all in the Caribbean. When we saw her itinerary for the summer, we started planning our vacation. Fortunately, we were able to get the same cabin we had the other three times, a roomy cabin on the Lido Deck.

We flew from Miami to Rome three days early and stayed in a nice, very reasonable, and convenient boutique hotel (Hotel Caprice) near the U.S. Embassy. Our reservation also included breakfast daily. We toured on our own and went to the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and the Vatican to do some shopping. On our last trip to Rome, we had toured the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel.

We booked flights through Princess EZ Air and also took the transfers from Princess. Princess had a city pick-up at the Crowne Plaza and we did not need to return to the airport. We took a cab from our hotel to the Crown Plaza in Rome to catch the Princess bus to the port. Princess Representatives were waiting and immediately took our luggage. The coach bus arrived a short time later and we had a nice ride to the ship (from Rome 1-1 1/2 hours). The luggage arrived in our cabin 45 minutes after we arrived; the ship embarkation was fast and easy. The Princess Representatives were courteous and efficient. We highly recommend the ship's transfers both ways, as we did hear a few horror stories from several people taking the train from Termini station in Rome and then had to walk to the ship, as the Port busses were overcrowded, as other ships were in port. It was the best money we spent on the transfers. Read more