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LIVE: Caribbean Princess, British Isles, Aug. 17, 2017


geoherb
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I read a review from last year that went to Orkney. It sounded great.

 

Iced tea is not normally served in England. When I lived in London, I'd order a cup of hot tea and cups of ice to brew my own. Iced tea is still served on the ship, of course. But it's made from concentrated syrup and isn't too good. I used to drink it, but now my doctor limits my caffeine. I get one cup of green tea in the morning and switch over to decaf and herbal teas the rest of the day. I make decaf iced tea at the buffet drink stations.

 

Matt said he'd be on this ship for another couple of cruises before moving to the Royal. I'm glad he's getting promoted. He was a fun trivia host. We caught a bit of the Yes/No game tonight and enjoyed him there as well. He did not say what his contract on it would be through. I'll try to remember to ask when I see him again.

 

One thing we learned tonight is definitely don't get a taxi to take you from London to Southampton as our tablemates did. It was over 200 pounds. Somehow they managed to get in a tour of the Tower of London before leaving for the cruise. They had flown in Wednesday morning, changing planes three times to get there--Albuquerque to L.A., to Phoenix, to Atlanta, to Heathrow.

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I read a review from last year that went to Orkney. It sounded great.

 

 

 

Iced tea is not normally served in England. When I lived in London, I'd order a cup of hot tea and cups of ice to brew my own. Iced tea is still served on the ship, of course. But it's made from concentrated syrup and isn't too good. I used to drink it, but now my doctor limits my caffeine. I get one cup of green tea in the morning and switch over to decaf and herbal teas the rest of the day. I make decaf iced tea at the buffet drink stations.

 

 

 

Matt said he'd be on this ship for another couple of cruises before moving to the Royal. I'm glad he's getting promoted. He was a fun trivia host. We caught a bit of the Yes/No game tonight and enjoyed him there as well. He did not say what his contract on it would be through. I'll try to remember to ask when I see him again.

 

 

 

One thing we learned tonight is definitely don't get a taxi to take you from London to Southampton as our tablemates did. It was over 200 pounds. Somehow they managed to get in a tour of the Tower of London before leaving for the cruise. They had flown in Wednesday morning, changing planes three times to get there--Albuquerque to L.A., to Phoenix, to Atlanta, to Heathrow.

 

 

 

Thank you for the Matt34 response. I am interested in how long he will be on the Royal. Looking to book another cruise.

 

 

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I was up early to walk. The gym was open at 6:30 when I got there. Official opening time is 6. The treadmills were officially off limits until 8, but several passengers ignored the signs. I can't do that. I'm glad our cabin isn't right under the gym. I walked around inside the Promenade Deck. Yesterday afternoon, they had closed off the outside Promenade Deck purportedly due to high winds. The ship is rocking a lot more now, but it's no longer closed. I stayed inside, though, because of the chilly weather out.

 

They delivered Patters sometime during the night. Our revised schedule for Cobh (Cork) is an arrival at 11:30 a.m. and all-aboard at 9:30 p.m.

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Geoherb: I haven't seen the question addressed regarding the BOGO drink special from 3-4 pm on the CB. Can you confirm it is still being offered, and if so, which lounge? Many thanks!

 

Tom & Fran

I haven't seen it publicized. I'll try to remember to ask.

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Geoherb,

Thank for the tea info. Like you I can't have much caffeine and I also don't like the ice tea that is ready made. I will have one drink of caffeine a day and then I do like you do and make the decaf ice tea. In the dinning room on our last couple of cruises our waiter had the decaf tea ready for me with ice at night.

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Love Matt34 and would love to do another cruise with him. I believe is moving to the Royal in September, but how long will he be on that ship? I would so appreciate this info if possible.

 

 

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Matt told us he would be on the Royal until at least May. I don't think he knows his assignment after that yet.

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I was up early to walk. The gym was open at 6:30 when I got there. Official opening time is 6. The treadmills were officially off limits until 8, but several passengers ignored the signs. I can't do that. I'm glad our cabin isn't right under the gym. I walked around inside the Promenade Deck. Yesterday afternoon, they had closed off the outside Promenade Deck purportedly due to high winds. The ship is rocking a lot more now, but it's no longer closed. I stayed inside, though, because of the chilly weather out.

 

Everything worked out great with our delay into Cobh. We played trivia in the morning and tied with another team. Both teams got wine bottle stoppers for every member. We had time to get a light lunch in the buffet before the ship docked. Our eCoach tour bus was waiting for us. Our driver/guide was terrific. We went to Blarney Castle first. We got to bypass all the people waiting to buy tickets and go in the group entrance and straight up to the castle. Our total time to make it up to kiss the Blarney Stone and back down was 50 minutes. That left us around 90 minutes to explore the gardens. We did not make it over to the shops at the mills. After a drive through Cork, we stopped briefly at a fort overlooking Kinsale before heading down to the town for around 90 minutes. It's a quaint little town. We split an order of fish and chips and also had an ice cream cone. The tour guide got us back to the ship in time for dinner.

 

Matt34 is joining the Royal on December 10 and staying until the last week of May. I still haven't found out about BOGO drinks.

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I got some euros and British pounds from my local bank before leaving. It's been convenient to have a little bit of cash. Most places take credit cards. I haven't had to use an ATM yet. I've been paying cash for small amounts and using my credit card for larger ones.

 

One of the neat things about our tour from Cobh was reconnecting with a couple we first me five years ago in Alaska. They were on our cruise bus, but I did not spot them until we were waiting in line at Blarney Castle. Catching up with them made the time see to pass more quickly. The husband and I both kissed the stone. DH and the wife passed. She got good video of him and me kissing the rock. I got a good photo of him doing so. DH did not get a good photo of me, and neither did the professional photographer. But that's OK. I'll have the memory without the photo.

 

Ian Cooper, an Australian violinist, was the featured performer in the Princess Theater. There were only two shows last night, one at 8:15 and one at 10:15. They had an overflow broadcast of the first show in the Explorers Lounge. The theater was packed for the second show as well. DH went just a couple of minutes late and stood at the back of the theater. I was watching us sail away from Cobh with our Canadian tablemates and missed the first 15 minutes. After a few minutes of watching the show standing up, however, some folks left and we sat for the last half hour. He's a good fiddle player. The Patter advertised it classical, Gypsy, country, and Irish music. The Caribbean Princess band backed him up: pianist, guitar player and bass guitar player, trombonist, trumpet player, and woodwind player. They all got turns at solos throughout the show. I enjoyed most of it, although sometimes the songs dragged on a little too long. The background screen images on the LCD screen behind them could also be distracting.

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Our cabin steward dropped off a schedule for the suite, Elite, and Platinum event from 5 to 7 each evening in Skywalkers. The new $6.50 drink menu is in effect with all drinks available each evening. The food action station order is salsa with chips, shrimp fountain, wheel of stilton, carpaccio wrapped crissini, marinated goat's cheese, smoked salmon, then repeating. It's closed for the Captain's Circle Party on our day at sea following Greenock (Glasgow).

 

Thanks for the information geoherb. Curious to know more about what you posted that I have quoted above. When you say all the drinks on the menu are charged $6.50 per drink, that's a change from previous policy. We were told it was just "the drink of the day" that was at the $6.50 price. So, if all are at that price, this is a better situation......but still not great unless they are also showing Chairman of the Board and Cosmos on the menu list. If it is still all those Foo-Foo Umbrella drinks, that is a non-starter.

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I got some euros and British pounds from my local bank before leaving. It's been convenient to have a little bit of cash. Most places take credit cards. I haven't had to use an ATM yet. I've been paying cash for small amounts and using my credit card for larger ones.

 

One of the neat things about our tour from Cobh was reconnecting with a couple we first me five years ago in Alaska. They were on our cruise bus, but I did not spot them until we were waiting in line at Blarney Castle. Catching up with them made the time see to pass more quickly. The husband and I both kissed the stone. DH and the wife passed. She got good video of him and me kissing the rock. I got a good photo of him doing so. DH did not get a good photo of me, and neither did the professional photographer. But that's OK. I'll have the memory without the photo.

 

Ian Cooper, an Australian violinist, was the featured performer in the Princess Theater. There were only two shows last night, one at 8:15 and one at 10:15. They had an overflow broadcast of the first show in the Explorers Lounge. The theater was packed for the second show as well. DH went just a couple of minutes late and stood at the back of the theater. I was watching us sail away from Cobh with our Canadian tablemates and missed the first 15 minutes. After a few minutes of watching the show standing up, however, some folks left and we sat for the last half hour. He's a good fiddle player. The Patter advertised it classical, Gypsy, country, and Irish music. The Caribbean Princess band backed him up: pianist, guitar player and bass guitar player, trombonist, trumpet player, and woodwind player. They all got turns at solos throughout the show. I enjoyed most of it, although sometimes the songs dragged on a little too long. The background screen images on the LCD screen behind them could also be distracting.

 

Sounds like another great day on your cruise.....:):):)

 

Bob

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Sunday August 20: Dublin

 

Our laundry came back yesterday evening. I sent out just three shirts, underwear, and socks. The cost would have been $19.25. I'm glad we got it back the next evening instead of having to wait a lot longer as I've read sometimes happens. (Our worst case was a two-day wait on a Caribbean cruise.) I sent out a few more pieces today.

 

The string of good weather we've enjoyed for the past week ended today. It drizzled and rained all day long in Dublin. The forecast is for more showers tomorrow. The ship docked around 10. We played morning trivia with the U.S. Air Force couple and won with 17 points out of 20. We then caught a quick bite in the buffet before heading out into dreary Dublin. I'm not sure if it's the overcast day, but I found navigating difficult. But we managed to find our way to the castle to do the self-guided tour of it. We then walked past the two cathedrals. We missed the evensong service at the Catholic one by about 45 minutes. We did not wait around for it to open up to tourists again. We went to the National Gallery instead and enjoyed seeing the art there. Then it was back to the ship. The free shuttle buses are great. We'll catch an earlier one in the morning and then buy HoHo passes to get farther around Dublin. Even with DH's improved ankle, walking from Merrion Square to Guinness might be too much.

 

We enjoyed the Gaels Afloat show before dinner. The theater was three-quarters full. They were a group of four instrumentalists (two who also sang) with three dancers. They did a nice show, going from rousing numbers to slower ballads and back. There were two young women dancers and an older man. All three were good, but I'd loved to have seen a larger group. Also the stage in the theater wasn't great because the lights blocked their footwork somewhat. It would be nice if Princess could have raised the stage some.

 

Dinner in the dining room was open seating. We still went to our regular table, although we ran into our tablemates on the way and they let us know they had already eaten. They were going to the later show. They steered us away from a couple of dishes. I tried the Curtis Stone special: Chilean sea bass with mussels and clams. I needed something green, so I ordered a side of brussels sprouts that accompanied the lamb shank. We both had key lime pie for dessert. DH also had the chocolate cookie with ice cream and hot fudge. I had my pie with a side of pina colada ice cream. The pie was better.

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All eight drinks are available at the Skywalkers event each day for the special price of $6.50. I haven't looked at a drink menu to see how much of a savings that is. They are boulevardier, Mayan mule, floradora, port lemonade, Bacardi limon mojito, cherry blossom garden, deep sea martini, and Tito's fresh mint lemondrop. There's another thread here on Cruise Critic about what's in the drinks. DH had the last one. It was a strong drink. We have not tried the others. I'm limited as to how much alcohol I can drink, and he started a new medicine that he can't drink at all with.

 

There are two dispensers--one with body wash and one with shampoo (supposedly with conditioner included with the shampoo). There's no longer separate conditioner except for those receiving the suite amenities.

 

We were never told fully what the technical problem was after leaving Guernsey. I think the propulsion problem kept us from being able to make up the time. But we ended up with the full time we were supposed to get, just four hours later. Our tablemates, for instance, had their excursion turn from including a stop for lunch to having a stop for dinner. But otherwise, I can't tell that the ship isn't moving as fast as it did when we were on it December.

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All eight drinks are available at the Skywalkers event each day for the special price of $6.50. I haven't looked at a drink menu to see how much of a savings that is. They are boulevardier, Mayan mule, floradora, port lemonade, Bacardi limon mojito, cherry blossom garden, deep sea martini, and Tito's fresh mint lemondrop. There's another thread here on Cruise Critic about what's in the drinks. DH had the last one. It was a strong drink. We have not tried the others. I'm limited as to how much alcohol I can drink, and he started a new medicine that he can't drink at all with.

 

There are two dispensers--one with body wash and one with shampoo (supposedly with conditioner included with the shampoo). There's no longer separate conditioner except for those receiving the suite amenities.

 

We were never told fully what the technical problem was after leaving Guernsey. I think the propulsion problem kept us from being able to make up the time. But we ended up with the full time we were supposed to get, just four hours later. Our tablemates, for instance, had their excursion turn from including a stop for lunch to having a stop for dinner. But otherwise, I can't tell that the ship isn't moving as fast as it did when we were on it December.

Hi,

You have another follower. Thanks for posting. We'll be on the Sept. 10 transatlantic cruise.

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Sunday August 20: Dublin

 

Our laundry came back yesterday evening. I sent out just three shirts, underwear, and socks. The cost would have been $19.25. I'm glad we got it back the next evening instead of having to wait a lot longer as I've read sometimes happens. (Our worst case was a two-day wait on a Caribbean cruise.) I sent out a few more pieces today.

 

The string of good weather we've enjoyed for the past week ended today. It drizzled and rained all day long in Dublin. The forecast is for more showers tomorrow. The ship docked around 10. We played morning trivia with the U.S. Air Force couple and won with 17 points out of 20. We then caught a quick bite in the buffet before heading out into dreary Dublin. I'm not sure if it's the overcast day, but I found navigating difficult. But we managed to find our way to the castle to do the self-guided tour of it. We then walked past the two cathedrals. We missed the evensong service at the Catholic one by about 45 minutes. We did not wait around for it to open up to tourists again. We went to the National Gallery instead and enjoyed seeing the art there. Then it was back to the ship. The free shuttle buses are great. We'll catch an earlier one in the morning and then buy HoHo passes to get farther around Dublin. Even with DH's improved ankle, walking from Merrion Square to Guinness might be too much.

 

We enjoyed the Gaels Afloat show before dinner. The theater was three-quarters full. They were a group of four instrumentalists (two who also sang) with three dancers. They did a nice show, going from rousing numbers to slower ballads and back. There were two young women dancers and an older man. All three were good, but I'd loved to have seen a larger group. Also the stage in the theater wasn't great because the lights blocked their footwork somewhat. It would be nice if Princess could have raised the stage some.

 

Dinner in the dining room was open seating. We still went to our regular table, although we ran into our tablemates on the way and they let us know they had already eaten. They were going to the later show. They steered us away from a couple of dishes. I tried the Curtis Stone special: Chilean sea bass with mussels and clams. I needed something green, so I ordered a side of brussels sprouts that accompanied the lamb shank. We both had key lime pie for dessert. DH also had the chocolate cookie with ice cream and hot fudge. I had my pie with a side of pina colada ice cream. The pie was better.

I tired the exact same dish on the Pacific Princess back in May. I actually thought it was quite good.....:):):)

 

Bob

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Thursday, August17

 

All aboard! We left our hotel around 10:30 and made it to the pier around 11. Checking in was a breeze. Within 15 minutes we were sitting in the Elite lounge. They had a nice table with small pastries and coffee, tea, orange juice and water available while we waited. It took about a half an hour before they started letting us in. When we arrived, about two dozen passengers were in the lounge. Another two dozen showed up during that half hour. Security screening came right before boarding. They did not even mention our bottles of wine. DH had one in his backpack and I had the other in mine. Perhaps they do if one person is carrying more than one bottle.

 

They were making announcements in the terminal that rooms were not ready, but we went ahead directly to our cabin on the Lido Deck. It’s a spacious inside cabin compared to the tiny outside one we had on our last cruise on the Caribbean Princess (P201). I’ll be using the stairs for the whole cruise. DH is taking the elevator. We went down to the Coral Dining Room for lunch. The menu has shrunk. There were two appetizer choices (smoked salmon with crayfish salad andfettuccini alfredo), two entrée choices (trout amandine and slices of beef tenderloin), although the fettuccini could be ordered as a main course as well, and one dessert (chocolate-hazelnut soufflé). We both had the salmon and trout for our appetizers and main courses. DH ordered the soufflé and I ordered a fruit plate. Our waitress said she would have to check to see if it was available, and it was.

 

Our luggage was waiting for us after lunch. We have about two hours until muster drill.

 

Here is a list of the ship’s officers: Mario Ciruzzi, captain; Peter Hollinson, hotel general manager; Marahscalh Stanton, entertainment director; Michael Reitano, cruise director; Cara Winter, food and beverage manager; Thomas Ulrich, executive chef; and Angelo Balbiani, maître d’. I’ve left off some of the ones listed in the Patter such as engineering officers. Let me know if there’s a particular person/position.

 

 

Entertainment this cruise includes: guitar comic Chas Burnett; instrumentalist Ian Cooper; jugglerSteven Ragatz; vocalist Paul Baker; vocalist Celena Bridge; tribute act “Beatles Celebration”; production shows “Piano Man,” “Broadway Ballroom,” “Bravo,” and “Born to Be Wild”; Dublin folkloric show “Gaels Afloat”; Greenock folkloric show “The Music Scotland Show.” MUTS movies: “Arrival,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Founder,” “A Dog’s Purpose,” “Ghost in a Shell,” “Kong: Skull Island,” “The Great Wall,” “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” “Going in Style,” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.”

 

DH is walking OK. Buckingham Palace was not too much since it was a relaxed pace. I've been typing in Word and saving as a text format, then opening in Notepad. This time I copied directly from Word. Please forgive any run-on words. I don't know why Word and Cruise Critic don't get along better. I'll go back to Notepad from now on. It has glitches, too, but doesn't try to leave out spaces.

 

So enjoying your posts. We are sailing on Caribbean Princess on October 7. A 14 day cruise to Southern and Eastern Caribbean.

Betty and Chuck

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