Live from the Royal: June 26th, 2015--British Isles-- Move-over Offer Part 2

On another thread someone posted that the price for the 8x10 formal night photos increased by $10 to almost $35.

Are you seeing that on your cruise?

Your live thread is a pleasure to read. Glad you are enjoying your suite. :D

This report rocks! Thanks for taking us along..

Thanks for the make me happy list...

And I had to buy a whole box of 30, but thanks to socialized medicine (no political commentary here, please), the whole box cost a whopping 15 GBP!

I think you'll find that the cost has nothing to do with the National Health Service, but more that you are being over-charged in the US!

Tracie-Lynn, thanks so much for your wonderful Live From thread. Could you confirm whether the Royal docks in Dublin or in Dun Laoghair and what type of shuttle transportation, if any, is provided by Princess or whether public transportation is readily available? Apparently, docking in Dublin depends on the tides and schedules. Would also be interested to know if the schedule is changed to facilitate docking in Dublin. Many thanks,

Susan

June 29, 2015

Dublin, Ireland

Hi friends-

Good morning- I am a day late and a Euro short... I just want to sent a shout out to Bradley, my amazing husband, who is not on this cruise (holding down the fort with the millions of fur-babies at home). It is our 24th wedding anniversary. We have had a magical and charmed life together, and I am super excited to share another big bunch of years with my best friend. And just for point of clarification, Bradley is his "cruise name" (you know, like your "coffee name" at Starbucks-- the fake name you give just for the pure sadistic pleasure of watching the barista try to spell and pronounce it- mine is Esmerelda... could it possibly be anything else? Also, I highly encourage you post your coffee or cruise name. Should you have not evolved to the place in your life where you have not yet selected your secret identity- please, feel free to select one now). And go... BTW, Bradley- I love you with everything I am.

Now let me talk about docking. We did actually docked in Dublin. The advantages is that it is port side and requires no tender. The disadvantage is you dock later and it takes a really really long time to "park the boat", so we ported later, but in the end I think the advantage definitely goes to docking in Dublin. Of course, they can only do this when we are the only ship AND the decision is made just a few days in advance, so there is no way to know.

We booked again with Paddywagon Tours. The buses were right out front and super easy to find. We booked the tour to the Wicklow (??? aaaa- too lazy to look it up right now- sorry) and Dublin. The mountain and monastery were lovely and we had a nice little hike to a lake (almost). The buses park at a hotel that has wonderful facilities and snacks. It is an old property that has been beautifully maintained. If you opt for this tour, make sure you address your personal needs in the ladies rooms (if appropriate-- fellows, the does not apply to you- so cut it out!). You have to "flush up" and you will just have to visit to understand.

We moved on to Dublin and learned lots of interesting information about Ireland and their sheep, their license plates, beer, pub song (which we were encouraged to sing), and the history. As some of you may know, I teach (college) and consider myself a lifelong learner. Therefore, I love the historical lessons learned in travel, but I also really love the sociological and anthropological lessons as well. And the Irish love to talk. It is really a perfect blend of chatter with a historical perspective. And whilst I am not a fan of bus tours, I have really enjoyed this company. Some of the other passengers??? Not so much.

We have been sharing this tour with a large extended family from a small Caribbean country and they are the type who will mow you over to be first on the bus. In Dublin, my mom decided to join us, and when we were disembarking the ship, we had to be diverted to a different gangway that was more level. We were not even close to being late, but by the time we reached the bus, this fully able-bodied family (in workout gear) had commandeered the front 12 seats. I boarded before my mom to ask (well, beg) if anyone would be willing to move to allow my my mom to option of not having to negotiate the length of the bus. Not one person. No eye contact (yes, they speak English- native language), Nothing. Nada. Finally, this lovely couple from Canada, specifically Ottowa by way of Montreal, offered their seats which was four rows back. Even the driver was disgusted. Seriously, people. I have given up my super duper seat more times than I can count. I am fully able bodied. I am lucky. My mom, however, is not. So I will advocate hard for her. The reality is that at some time we will all need to advocate for someone who has some type of struggle. My best hope is that when we ask for help, we actually receive a response. OK. Rant over. Thank you for letting me vent this. It was a little like therapy. Where shall I send the check?

We moved on to Dublin where my mom and I shopped and had lunch. We ate at O'Brien's as it had sidewalk seating. We had a toasty (from this point forward, I shall call all my toasted sandwiches "toasty" and I will say it with a fabulous Irish or British accent- which I typically butcher until it eventually ends up sounding like a Northern German accent- heck. I don't know). and tomato soup and both were surprisingly delicious. Oh. and under 6 Euro. Bargain!! The ride back to the ship was fun. We passed an arena that was swarming with pre-teen and teenaged girls. I Googled the arena and found out that Taylor Swift is performing-- for two nights. How fun! And major bonus alert! Major bonus alert! Free wifi on the bus!!!!

Dinner was great. I had the corn chowder, a wedge salad (Bradley- NOT DelFriscos- not even close), and macaroni and cheese with bacon (what can I say, I eat like a five year old). It was very good. I am on a mac and cheese with bacon kick these days, so if my co-workers are reading along... this was creamy, but not well integrated. Ha. We also had the Norman Love coconut dessert. It was very good, but not my favorite, and I am not really sure why. Have I mentioned how much I love the raspberry one?????

We went to see Colors of the World in the Princess Theater. I love this show. Not for the singing. Not for the song selection. Certainly not for the dancing. I love the set. Remember, I am a five year old. This is such a twinkly, lovely set. I was with my brother and SIL. It is always great to hear his perspective on production shows. I learned all about lighting and set design. I am also learning why the musicians do what they do.

On our way back to the room, we stopped in Princess Live to hear Ken Pye lecture about the early years in the formation of the Beatles. He was funny and engaging and it was such a short hour. After the show, Susan and I had hot chocolate and Steven may have found a slightly more grown up bevvie.

Ahhhh... another wonderful day abroad! Yay!

Thank you for traveling along!

Tracie-Lynn :) :)

I love your reviews of the cruise. I am going on July 20, (20 days away) and I am vicariously cruising with you. Hopefully my trip will be as much fun. KEEP IT UP.

Did Princess have a $(you pay) shuttle into Dublin? What was the cost?

We used a taxi into Dublin and it was 15E each way in 2013.

Excellent!! :)

Tracie, what a fun report. I commend you for being such a great advocate for your Mom. I'm with you on the tour bus situation-- bus is fine. It's some of the passengers with no manners that annoy big time.

We're almost booked on the British Isles cruise in June 2016. Six of our cruising friends have already booked it and we're holding off until we get an FCC on our next cruise.

Following your adventures. Spare no details.

June 30, 2015

Liverpool/ North Wales

Yay! A brand new day! A new country!

We booked with Busy Bus tours to go to Conway Castle in North Wales. I initially thought I might have made a mistake (in missing Liverpool), but no regrets! I am loving this company. We are on a bus again (this time, sans mom, but my Canadian friends are on board- love them!) The driver and guide (both named Mike-- is this like Aussies named Bruce???--- Oops, am I in trouble now?) have games and chatter and jokes. We have learned there is a 3:1 ratio of sheep to humans in Wales. Nine million sheep. 3 million Welsh. I guess if we add that up we will have 12 million creatures (yep. that was pretty straightforward- No Common Core math here). We have learned about Black Sheep and why they are protected creatures.

We learned a bit about the Welsh language and how it has absolutely no link to English. The town with the longest name is actually in Wales and it is: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Say that three times fast. (and, no, the four consecutive L's are not an error.) It translates to The Church of the Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the fierce whirlpool and the Church of Tysillio by the red cave. Geez, I am exhausted just typing it. Then, we sang a song that taught us how to say it and no matter how hard I tried, I just can't get it. And to complicate an already complex word, every other syllable ends in a guttural stop. I really think that drinking a big old glass of milk may be a requirement to correct pronunciation. Either that or you just say whatever, and fake it! Epic fail.

With our Busy Bus tour, we traveled to the Snowdon Mountains and to Conway as well. I opted not to see the castle, but walked around the town and bought some art glass (which I collect). The prices were pretty reasonable for a tourist town, and I am sad that I only had one hour to spend here. I would have loved to "walk the wall" but we were discouraged to do so, as it takes longer than the allotted amount of time.

We also visited an aqueduct. The best part of this stop was walking on the bridge over a lovely valley and river. The aqueduct was amazing as you can rent a long boat as a hotel and float around for a bit. I am hoping to come back here to do exactly that-- enabling me to float in the air.

The dinner menu tonight is one of my least favorite. About the only thing that I like is the pad Thai, and even that is just barely passible. Not sure what I am going to do, but I am absolutely certain that I will not starve. I just might be an Alfredo's night. The tough part is that I am getting a bit hungry...

I also need to exercise some discipline and go to bed early. This is hands down the most port- intensive cruise that I have ever been on and I am exhausted. We have two more ports before we get our first of two sea days. This is one of the times that you have to mitigate the number of posts against your personal energy level, because it is very easy to see how you can overdo it. This is just my motherly warning section of the blog. Take it or leave it.

We are back on the ship, and I have sent my mom to dinner with my BB and SIL, ordering room service for myself. I should be in bed by 8 pm.

Belfast tomorrow!

Thanks for sailing along!

Tracie-Lynn :) :)

Happy Anniversary Bradley and Esmerelda! :D ;)

Glad to here your cruise is going well.

The bus drivers should block the first row of seats and ask for those with physical limitations to board first, just like the airlines.

Hi Tracie-Lynn,

Hope you have a good day tomorrow in Belfast! We are having great weather! :) If you take one of the Princess tours with disabled mini-coach, my friend Issey will be your tour guide. You are in for a treat! :) She has a Belfast tour in the morning, and one to the Glens of Antrim in the afternoon. I have told her about your blog here!

I'm so sorry you forgot your contacts/glasses; I hope you can get some replacements.

 

On our ta last fall I forgot sunglasses, and I have very sensitive eyes. I like clip-ons because they're quick to take on/off. I had a terrible time finding them in Southampton, but I did get a pair that I wasn't fond of. On our hoho tour in Bergen we searched at every stop, and I finally went into an eye glass store. I found a really nice lightweight clip one that I really like. However, they cost $75! The ones I forgot were from Walmart--$10. You can bet I don't just toss them in my purse like my Walmart ones.

 

We'll be looking for more details of your trip.

Before our Hawaiian cruise I decided I needed some better shades. I bought a pair of Ray Bans (not cheap!) without telling my wife. Of course I "cleverly" left the bag and receipt lying on the bed... My wife said I totally fail in sneakiness. :) Ah, well. It's not like she wouldn't have noticed anyway. The last time I had bought Ray Ban glasses they were still made by Bausch & Lomb and cost me around $65 - $70. It was quite a shock to see what they cost these days! Don't feel bad about paying $75 for your shades if they are good ones. They are soooooooooooooooo worth having.

I

Before our Hawaiian cruise I decided I needed some better shades. I bought a pair of Ray Bans (not cheap!) without telling my wife. Of course I "cleverly" left the bag and receipt lying on the bed... My wife said I totally fail in sneakiness. :) Ah, well. It's not like she wouldn't have noticed anyway. The last time I had bought Ray Ban glasses they were still made by Bausch & Lomb and cost me around $65 - $70. It was quite a shock to see what they cost these days! Don't feel bad about paying $75 for your shades if they are good ones. They are soooooooooooooooo worth having.

I

Very true! They are the best sunglasses I've ever owned, but for that price I definitely take good care of them. I don't regret buying them for one minute.

TRACIE!!!

So glad you're back! I so enjoyed your "live from" on Royal previously this year that you inspired me to do my own! Now I'm once again living vicariously through you as you navigate the British Isles.

Loving your review!

Natalie

PS...I also eat like a 5 year old

Lovely sunset sailing from Liverpool to Belfast .......

Beautiful sunset. :)

... by the time we reached the bus, this fully able-bodied family (in workout gear) had commandeered the front 12 seats. I boarded before my mom to ask (well, beg) if anyone would be willing to move to allow my my mom to option of not having to negotiate the length of the bus. Not one person. No eye contact (yes, they speak English- native language), Nothing. Nada.

I'm surprised the tour company didn't have reserved seating signs on the front row. My only experience with this is Alaska last year, but all the buses we took reserved the front rows for those mobility challenged.

By the way, just love your live from. I look forward to your cruising - almost as much as my own - just to read the postings.

Sue

I'm really enjoying your live blog! I'll be doing the 8-night BI cruise in August.

I have also travelled with my mom who has mobility issues. It can be a challenge but it's worth it.

Hope you had a good night's rest!

Kristen

Hi Tracie-Lynn,

 

Hope you have a good day tomorrow in Belfast! We are having great weather! :) If you take one of the Princess tours with disabled mini-coach, my friend Issey will be your tour guide. You are in for a treat! :) She has a Belfast tour in the morning, and one to the Glens of Antrim in the afternoon. I have told her about your blog here!

Thank you. My mom opted not to join us for this shore ex. We are on another Paddywagon tour to the Giants Causeway and city tour of Belfast.

TRACIE!!!

So glad you're back! I so enjoyed your "live from" on Royal previously this year that you inspired me to do my own! Now I'm once again living vicariously through you as you navigate the British Isles.

 

Loving your review!

 

Natalie

 

PS...I also eat like a 5 year old

Hey Nat! Thank you for your kind words. I was just thinking about you... I thought of sleeping on the balcony last night!:eek: Ha!

When is your next cruise?

Tracie-Lynn

Lovely sunset sailing from Liverpool to Belfast .......

It was lovey in person too. Love this!

Tracie,

could you explain why black sheep are protected?

I googled that unpronounceable city and the song (or at least a song) is on You Tube. Very cute.