Review British Isles - Caribbean Princess

REVIEW OF CARIBBEAN PRINCESS BRITISH ISLES CRUISE JUNE / JULY 2016

About us:

We are a couple in our mid 50s, and have done about 20 cruises. We’ve done many with Princess (others are with P&O but also tried Celebrity x2 and NCL x1 – never again), with our last Princess cruise being 4 years ago. We were elite for the first time on this cruise – yeah! and thanks to folks on these boards, I’d got a good idea of the ‘goodies’ we could expect as elite.

We’ve been to many of the places the cruise went to as we live in England, but there were two things on my ‘to do’ list for this cruise – Titanic Museum in Belfast and to see Nessie at Loch Ness.

I’ve tried to section my review off so you don’t have to read the bits that don’t interest you. I’ll apologise now as I’ve gone on and on a bit more than I meant to and it’s longgggg…….

PRE-CRUISE:

After nearly missing a cruise 2 years ago when we got stuck behind a serious accident on the way to Southampton and were delayed for HOURS, we prefer to go the day before after John has finished work, and stay overnight. We chose a Pre-cruise Package with Hilton Hotel at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton overlooking the cricket pitch.

Just for interest - when I tried to find out the cost this package on a Saturday (website said to ring them for the price), I was told that “there is no one available at the weekend” to give me a price! Well forgive me for expecting that a hotel would know its prices and thinking that the hotel trade was open 7 days a week!

The package included room & breakfast, car parking for the duration of the cruise, and taxis to and from the hotel and port, and the cost (when I eventually found out), was a reasonable deal.

As I have an allergy to feathers, I rang in the morning to request non-feather bedding. When we got into the room, I knew instantly that they hadn’t done this. John put the bedding outside the door (otherwise I couldn’t have been in the room) while I rang reception. The phone was picked up then instantly put down, which I find very rude, so I went to reception to complain. When I got back to the lifts, they were ALL out of order so I had to walk up four floors.

So feather beddings Vs walking up 4 floors = me out of breath!

Breakfast was OK but not up the usual Hilton standard, but was adequate for what we needed. The evening before the receptionist asked what time we wanted the taxi booked for the next day, and it arrived at 11.15, earlier than we’d booked. No problem though, as we had to be out of the room by 11am and we were ready and sitting in reception. The trip took us about half an hour to get to the ship, and this is when our ‘elite status’ kicked in.

It was about 11.45 at this point, and the check-in room was already quite busy, although I noticed that some folks were already going through security. We showed our ‘preferred boarding pass’ and were directed through a non-existent queue and straight to a check in desk. We were checked in, through security and on board the ship in 15 minutes!! Wow – we’ve never been that quick before and I doubt we will ever again, so I enjoyed it while it lasted.

BOARDING THE SHIP:

Oh how I so miss the loud “ding” that we used to get when we had to put our cruise card in the machine for the first time! I loved that sound and knew then that my cruise had begun. Now it’s more of a quiet ‘beep’ from the hand held scanner. Instead of feeling like royalty boarding with the ‘ding’, I felt more like cargo being ‘bleeped’. That’s progress for you.

Went straight to our cabin to drop off the carry ons, and no surprises there as we’d done similar ships before, so knew what we were getting cabin wise. We’d chosen C deck balcony mid-ship, starboard side, and noticed (though it took me a few days as I was on ‘cruise time’) that this ship still had the different colour carpets (blue and red stripe) for port and starboard sides by the cabins. Yippee! No more going to the wrong side when coming out of the lift.

CABIN:

Just as a precaution, I always now have a pack of anti-bacterial wipes. So out they came with instructions to John to do the main cabin, while I did the bathroom and wardrobe area, and door handles. Next thing – check under the bed. Another job for John. You’d be amazed what you find under cruise ship beds – pair of men’s dress shoes; a full case of belongings; dust…….

The balcony was a shock though. Having chosen C deck for the large balcony, the state of it was awful. Furniture piled together with the arms of the chairs “peeling”. This is the only was I can describe it – looked like the top coat had peeled off in many places, making it look really shabby. We had 2 reclining chairs, 2 foot stools and a good size table, which was in the a worse state than the chairs. The floor was such a mess that I though they’d had a party on it and forgotten to clean up! There were all sorts of “bits” on the balcony floor, mainly an orange colour. Very strange. Still, I figured that the chairs would look better with a pool towel on them, but hey ho, no pool towels in the cabin. This was new. Maybe a way to cut down on washing? I got them from the pool area the next day, and also got an extra one to put on the footstool to make it more comfy. We also “hid” them at the end of the day, just in case the steward decided to recycle them in the wash.

Our steward appeared – they just seem to instinctively know when we get in the cabin – and introduced himself. I had my written list ready, although it wasn’t long:

• No feather bedding – despite telling Princess about my allergy, there were feather pillows in the cabin which John promptly moved when we got in the room.

• Change shower curtain – I now always look at the curtain as they don’t routinely change them between guests. Although this one wasn’t too grubby, it was still damp from the last folks, and so asked for a clean one. This makes me feel better.

• Bathrobes – although I appreciate they won’t usually be ready until the next day.

• Ice bucket.

• Extra bar of soap (to keep in the shower).

See - not too long a list.

I didn’t find the mattress comfortable the first night (I have a back problem), and mentioned to the steward the next morning when I saw him if it would be possible to have an “egg crate”. They don’t seem to do these any more, but he said he’d see what he could find. The following morning I felt that I’d slept better and my back pain wasn’t as bad as the night before, and that was thanks to our steward, who asked me if I was OK with the mattress topper he’d put on for me. I’d not expected him to find anything, and I would have managed without, but he was a star, and was always asking how I’d slept and if I needed anything else.

Our steward was absolutely lovely during our cruise. He always came over and spoke to us when we saw him in the corridor, and he got used to our hours. He also did a better job than many of our previous stewards. I was beginning to wonder, as on our past 5 cruises, our steward had been just adequate at best, and sloppy at worst, so my faith was restored. We are tidy folks anyway so he didn’t have much to do, but he looked after us very well.

I noticed when he introduced himself he specifically stated that he would be servicing our cabin twice a day. As he knew we’d cruised before (as he knew we were elite), I thought that was a bit of a strange thing to say, and wondered if it was in response to some cruise lines going down to once a day? Our bath robes were in the bathroom when we returned from muster (wow - another first), and he always checked with us that our cabin was OK and asked if we needed anything else. He seemed really eager to please, and it was our pleasure having him as our steward.

Our luggage came really early and I’d unpacked everything by about 2.15pm. Never had such early luggage before. Muster was as usual, with a talk and them a demo of how to put on the life jacked and a practice. It never fails to amuse me that despite repeated messages telling folks NOT to wear their life jacket until told to do so and NOT to let the straps dangle on the floor, there are ALWAYS some folks who take absolutely no notice as this clearly doesn’t apply to them. Maybe the fella who tripped over his dangling strap as he came into our muster station and almost fell flat on his nose would take some notice next time!

Over the cruise, my cabin card failed to open the door intermittently a number of times. They changed the card at reception, but as I hadn’t had it near to my camera, phone or anything else that could affect the magnetic strip, its baffling why it failed.

The cabin itself was generally quiet with not that much foot traffic (or at least not noisy traffic), despite being mid ship. We had a card left in the cabin one evening asking us to keep our balcony door shut the next day as they were doing some work on the balconies. Didn’t happen though, and never saw anyone on the balcony and the furniture hadn’t been moved at all. I was hoping that they would notice the rubbish on the balcony floor (which appeared to have fallen from decks above) and remove it, or that they were changing the naff balcony furniture for something nicer that didn’t look as though it was from the tip, but no such luck.

The toilet also failed to flush one evening when we returned from dinner. I’d overheard a man say the same thing to his to his steward a couple of days into the cruise, so were aware they had had some issues. John rang reception and within 5 minutes, an engineer was outside our door. After prodding and probing (and doing whatever engineers do), we heard a “YEEESSSSS!!!!”, and figured that he’d sorted the problem. He came in to flush our loo a couple of times and went away a happy man having done a grand job. John remarked that after that, our toilet flushed better than it had done when we boarded. Not sure what “better” meant as I couldn’t tell any difference, but as John is an engineer too, he obviously has a keen ear for these things.

It was the British Isles so we are well used to the very changeable and rainy weather that we are renowned for. Saying that, we managed to have 2 days of sitting out on the balcony and I even had to go in one afternoon as I was too hot! John is made of sterner stuff and braved out the sun and heat, although I did remind him later when he was looking a bit “lobsterish” that he hadn’t put the sun cream on!

Something I did notice on numerous occasions, was that there were food smells on our balcony. John thought they were from the vent around Sabatinis and / or from the outdoor food places on deck 15, depending which way the wind was blowing. The smells for me weren’t very pleasant – one day it smelt strongly of boiled onions – but as we didn’t get to use the balcony everyday due to the weather, it didn’t bother us that much. It would have bothered me a lot if we’d used the balcony as we do in the Caribbean though.

FOOD:

Now to one of the most important aspects of a cruise. There’s a saying……..

”arrive as a passenger and leave as cargo”!

Buffet:

We’re certainly not early morning people unless we have something specific to get up early for, so we generally went to breakfast when many folks were probably thinking of lunch. The choice was ok for breakfast, although the one day we were early and went to the Café Caribe as there was more chance of getting a seat there, they only had a limited selection compared to the main buffet in Horizon Court. We both ended up going to the main area to get what we wanted. At least I was walking off a few of the calories I was putting on by the longer walk!

One morning I had a boiled egg, but when I asked for an egg cup, I was met with very strange looks and a “no madam we don’t have them”. That surprised me as I didn’t think that egg cups were just a British thing, but maybe they are?? I only had the egg once, as it just wasn’t the same without knocking the top off it in the egg cup. The ‘toastie soldiers’ also weren’t up to muster, as the bread was so crispy that two of them went AWOL as I was buttering them!

We didn’t bother with lunch most days (as we’d just had breakfast), but went up around 2.30 or 3pm for a snack. I suppose it serves me right for not reading the info, as I expected afternoon tea scones would be available at 3pm, but they weren’t until 3.30. One day we made the 3.30 time (by fluke rather than judgement), and they weren’t worth waiting for anyway, as nothing special.

It appeared that what was available at 2.30 was what had been on at lunchtime, and I wasn’t over keen on the sandwiches on offer. They were just too “fancy” for my taste and had things in them that I don’t like or don’t eat, and the day I tried a ham salad one, it was horrible. Tasted like the cheapest ham possible had been used. There were quite a few hot dishes available, but I didn’t want too much as didn’t want to spoil my dinner. A couple of days I had a slice of pizza, which was nice. Kept away from the hot dogs and burgers though, as John once got food poisoning on a cruise from an undercooked hot dog, and just the thought of one now makes me nauseous!

On our last Princess cruise, we “lived in” the IC in the afternoon, coming back from port and calling in for a snack was our routine. I don’t know why, but we didn’t feel the same about it this time. They didn’t seem to have such nice offerings as they’d had before, which was soooo good for me as I wasn’t tempted too often. They had the usual salads etc which looked good. It was reassuring to see that Princess are consistent and had the same type of staff on at the IC – maybe it’s me, but they have always seemed surly and miserable. Never once have I got a smile from any of them. It’s just something that I’d noticed previously and was still evident, at least the few times I went there.

Evening Dining:

We chose anytime dining as we prefer a table for two and generally go to dinner between 7 and 7.30ish. The Coral dining room (deck 6) was used as ‘early early’ fixed dining until 7.15pm, when the anytimers could then be let in. The Island dining room (deck 5) opened for anytime dining earlier.

Both John and I have a food allergy (potentially life threatening), and we’d informed Princess beforehand.

Our first evening we went to the Coral at around 7.20pm and there was a queue. We noticed over the cruise that a number of larger tables didn’t leave the restaurant until around 7.45pm, which meant that they’d been in dinner over 2 hours, and maybe a contributing factor to folks having to wait.

This first evening we were given a pager, and waited around 10 or 15 minutes, which was fine. I was quite surprised though that the queue was so long on the first night. We were given a table for two not far from the doors. We told our waiters that we had an allergy and what it was, and the Head Waiter came over later with the following days menus for us to choose from.

An interesting aside here is how Princess compares to P&O’s handling of food allergy. On Princess, we were only given the evening menu (not lunch menu) for the following day and NOT the desserts menu, which I found odd as it’s often here where my allergy fruit is sometimes “hidden” in sauces etc. P&O offered us both lunchtime and evening full menus and we could choose something from the lunchtime menu for evening if we wished (but have never done). Its no biggie though not being offered the lunch menu, as we’d often only just had breakfast so wouldn’t be eating again so soon.

So in all honesty, I would feel safer on P&O with evening dining, mainly as thye include the desserts menu, although we are careful though and aware of what we eat. If we’re not sure we don’t eat it, so it wasn’t a problem for us, unless something is well hidden or well disguised.

We felt that the waiters we’d had on the first evening were ‘on the ball’, pleasant but not over familiar, and certainly efficient and observant. So the following evening when we went to the Coral dining room, we got there at 7.15 and asked if possible, for a table in their section – they had 4 tables for two so we hoped we had a chance of getting one, which we did. After that, I rang each day and requested the table we would like, and although I was told that they could put the request in, but it was up to the staff whether we actually got that table. The door staff and Head Waiter got used to us though and so we had no problem getting the same table.

Never before have we made reservations for anytime dining, as when I tried previously I was informed that they could only take bookings between set times before 6.45 and after 8pm, which didn’t work for us. It made us feel “safer” too knowing that the waiters were aware of our food allergies.

Two days when I tried to ring the dine line to reserve the table, I kept getting a recorded message saying they were open 9am-5pm, and no one picking up the phone. After almost 20 minutes of trying, I rang reception who put me through. Same happened the following day, so I rang reception straight away this time who commented that there had been a problem but they thought it was fixed. Obviously not! It was fixed by the next day though. Towards the end of the cruise, the lady on the booking line got use to my request and recognized my voice, and told me my name and what I wanted without asking my cabin number.

Now I need to comment on the food itself - a subjective subject at the best of times. I know I’m a bit “awkward” when it comes to food, as I don’t like spicy stuff and I don’t eat fish. The only meats I eat are beef, chicken and turkey, although John is a bit more adventurous and will pork and lamb.

I found that the food was generally good to very. Not brilliant, but there was enough of it, and some dishes were much better than others. I had one or two very good main meals (one beef and one chicken), and had one appalling chicken dish. I opted for “fried chicken and fries with coleslaw”. Sadly the fried chicken didn’t meet the Trade Descriptions Act - 95% batter and 5% chicken (if I was lucky). Searching for the meat in the fried stuff felt like an ongoing challenge, until I gave up and ate the fries and what was a very nice homemade coleslaw. Even the waiter was disgusted with my plate and made a comment that it should never have been sent out like that (he also reported it to the Head Waiter). We then had situation where the lovely waiter tried to get me a different dish and I was insisting it was fine and I wasn’t going to starve! I should have had the plain chicken from the ‘always available’ – serves me right for being daring!

Now I come to the best part - desserts. Well my favourite is crème brulee – almost worth just booking a Princess cruise for as it’s “always available”. Or it was until I chomped my way through most of their stock I’m sure! The waiter asked me each evening what I wanted, until I didn’t bother answering him except with a smile, as he knew what my answer would be. EXCEPT one evening when they had on a Love chocolate special dessert and I was torn. When he took my order, I said I was undecided between the choc and the crème brulee but would have the choc special. He was obviously in auto mode, as he when he brought the desserts, I got crème brulee. When I said I’d ordered the chocolate special he apologised and went to take the crème brulee away, which was when my reflexes worked faster than they’ve done for ages, by grabbing the crème brulee back saying ‘it’s OK I’ll have that as well’! My mouth ran away with me before my brain was in gear.

Actually, I ended up giving the Love choc dessert to John as it was far too sweet for me and dare I say “too chocolaty”, so I was so glad I had my back up favourite. Our waiter also brought us a couple of extra desserts to try between us without us asking, and after John had asked for ice cream with his dessert a couple of times, he automatically brought him ice cream every evening.

So what can I say about the crème brulee, other than I’ve had withdrawl symptoms since I got home (M&S one isn’t a patch on the Princess ones). I did find though that they differed each day and so I started giving marks out of 10; the best being day 3 and day 10 and the worst on day 2 and day 9. One was more like crème caramel than brulee, but I had to eat them all, as it would have been rude not to have done, as the chefs had worked so hard making them just for me.

PORTS OF CALL:

We’d been to many of the places before and John had lived and worked in Glasgow for a year, so I’d seen quite a bit of that city and area.

Guernsey (Tender):

I’ve been to Guernsey a couple of times on previous cruises, and have also spent a week there some years ago, as well as a couple of visits to Sark and Herm. We weren’t in a hurry to get off and decided to let those who wanted to be off early first, so wandered down to the dining room to collect a ticket around 11.15am. I’d heard that elite folks got “priority tendering”, but I didn’t know how it worked but assumed that the staff would know. So we showed our cruise cards (black so they can’t miss them) when we went into the dining room, expecting the staff to tell us what we needed to do, but they just gave us a ticket and said that there was a ‘bit of a wait’. When asked, they said “about 20 minutes”. Well that was a big fib!

We waited over an hour before we were called to the tender. We’d noticed that the P&O Britannia was also in port, and we figured that they were having to share the tender dock, which was absolutely correct, as they informed us only after we’d been waiting ages. We eventually made it to the town, and had then only about an hour or so before we had to return. Guernsey had a craft / food market on which was nice, and the weather was kind to us.

You can get the local bus that goes around the island for £1. Bargain! One bus goes clockwise and the other anticlockwise, so try to get seats on the correct side to see the scenery / coast. We’d looked into this bus trip but as the ship was leaving at 3pm and we had to leave time to get back on the tender, it would have meant getting the early bus if we also wanted to look around the town stalls. As we’d done Guernsey before we didn’t bother this time, but if you’ve not been here, I’d suggest getting up early and getting the early bus rather than an expensive tour. Also be aware that they have £1 notes (as opposed to coins) which can only be used in the Channel Islands, so don’t get stuck with any when you get back on board, unless you are planning to return.

The queue to get the return tender was soooooo loonnngggggg. We queued for an hour and consequently the ship didn’t leave on schedule. Instead of 3pm, it left at 4.15pm. Thinking about it, we didn’t leave ANY port at the scheduled time and we were always late.

Cobh:

Last port of call for the Titanic, and somewhere I wanted to see. A very small town but with a lovely Cathedral, where I lit some candles for loved ones (which I like to do I churches I visit). Cobh itself had a nice train station and one or two museums (Titanic themed) and a memorial garden, but that was about it. We walked past (or through) one or two walking tours, but I think that most folks ventured further afield to Cork.

Dublin:

We’ve been here a couple of times before and decided to stay on the ship. The weather wasn’t so good either (rain), so we didn’t feel as though we missed out on anything. There was a shuttle from the ship though for those who wanted to go into the city.

Liverpool:

I love Liverpool and have been quite a few times, and I never get bored with it as there’s so much to see and do. We delayed getting off as it was absolutely pouring with rain, but I put up the brolley and off we went, calling into the first museum (which are free) to dry off a bit. We’d done this one before on the dock, but it was worth another visit. We then ventured into Liverpool One for a teeny bit of shopping (new pair or Sketchers for me), and then the rain stopped and we wandered down to the Albert Dock. Did another museum and walked around the dock, then trundled back to the ship.

The view leaving Liverpool was one I’ll remember. The sun was shining by this time on the Liver building and across the city (why couldn’t it have been shining in the morning?), and having the view sailing away from the city I thought was fab. I’ll be back.

Belfast:

I’d been to a couple of conferences with work over the years here and have stayed in the most bombed hotel in Belfast (The Europa), so at least I had better and safer accommodation this time. We really wanted to go to the Titanic museum, so we got up early (even our steward remarked that we were not usually up at that time) and got a taxi (cost around £6-7), which was available just off the ship.

We arrived at the Titanic museum just after 9am (yes we were up really early!) and went straight in. We didn’t book tickets in advance on-line, but they could have been pre-purchased at an ‘early-bird’ rate before 9.45am. They didn’t offer this rate though if you just walked in as we did, but hey ho, it’s not a problem.

We got around most of it before the crowds came (we saw lots of folks from Princess tours as they were wearing the numbered badges) and we didn’t have to queue for anything.

I found this Titanic experience brilliant. There were lots of interesting information and interactive parts, which brought it to life. I noticed a sort of theme park ride in the middle of it (with notices saying you were 20 minutes away…then 10 minutes…then 2 minutes…) but we walked straight up and got into a “car”. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a slowish tour through video and photos and commentary, and an interesting tour. Something a little different anyway.

We went down onto the slipway, where the positions of the lifeboats had been outlined on the floor, which I found a very humbling experience. Our last visit was to the Nomadic; the last Titanic tender lifeboat in existence that was used in Cherbourg. It has been restored very well to its former glory, and when we first went on board, a very knowledgeable and lovely lady gave us (yes just the two of us) a talk of the history of the boat, which she brought to life incredibly well. They’d also done a nice job of refurbishing it, and I could almost hear the people chatting who were on their way to the fateful ship.

We spent 5 hours at the Titanic museum which went so quickly. A interesting and thought provoking experience and I’m so glad we did it. What I really liked, was that after going through the Titanic history and the fateful day, they finished the “tour” on an ‘upnote’, with what Belfast was doing now. We could have easily come out feeling down and sad, but I felt we’d been uplifted at the end and feeling more positive. Very clever and well thought out.

The ship were offering a shuttle service into Belfast for $8 per person each way for those wanting to go into the city centre.

Greenock (for Glasgow):

Thanks to a recommendation from a review I read a couple of weeks before our cruise, I booked us on a tour with Invclyde Tourist Group on-line, choosing the Gourock tour. We were up again early this day (again our steward was surprised) and ready for our tour. The confirmation email said to look for someone in tartan! There were lots of folks in tartan, but the group had signs up and a table and even a waiting area, so they really couldn’t be missed. There were people who were booking for a tour there and then, and they were offering a number of tours over the day at different times and I think there were 3 choices of tour. So if they’re not fully booked on line, you could just walk up and get a place, although you may have to wait a couple of hours for a place.

The tours are free (yes free!) although donations are very well received and gladly given and our the 2 hour tour was excellent. We had a mini bus, driver and two tour guides (although one did most of the talking). They were so enthusiastic and knowledgeable and gave us a great tour to Lyle Hill, where we had great views of the Firth of Clyde with its associated history, the historic village of Inverkip and the marina, and the return drive was via the coast road passing Cloch Lighthouse, and a stop at the railway station to view its collection of posters. Even the weather held out for us and stayed dry until after we’d got back to the ship.

The town itself was disappointing. It was full of pound shops and charity shops, so we weren’t in town that long.

What I also found really nice was that at sailaway, there was a Scottish bagpipe band on the dock, along with some of the Inverclyde tour guides and staff, waving us off under their umbrellas. Oh the poor band must have been soaking wet, but carried on playing regardless. Such a lovely sail away.

Invergordon (for Inverness):

I’d been so looking forward to this port as I had a date with Nessie in the afternoon. But first, the morning was spent walking around the small but pretty town, which had on a couple of craft fairs. There were a number of murals on the ends of buildings in Invergordon, which were stunning.

There were local buses that could be boarded from the stops on the main high street to go into Inverness, but the buses that passed us were full to bursting, with many folks being left at the bus stop as no seats left (and no standing room). I wouldn’t have liked to have risked being left in Inverness trying to get back with the buses full again.

So to the afternoon….…Loch Ness has been on my ‘to do’ list for ages, so after doing some research and realizing just how far it was from the port (90 – 120 minutes), we decided to play safe and book a ship tour. The last thing I want is the stress of making it back to the ship on time or the ship leaving without me.

Our guide was excellent and informative and we had about one and half hours at Loch Ness and Urquahart Castle, which I didn’t think would be long enough, but it was. There were so many folks there though that trying to get around parts of the castle were impossible unless you wanted to queue and wait. Instead I preferred to gaze out across the loch on Nessie watch. Of course I saw him and no one else did, so I’m pretty chuffed with myself. The sun shone this afternoon and it was a lovely trip all in all, as we also toured through some pretty villages and countryside including Dingwall.

Another one ticked off my list then along with the Belfast Titanic museum and Cobh.

South Queensferry (for Edinburgh):

When we walked out on the balcony, we were met with a wonderful sight of the Forth Bridge. Seen it often in photos but being there was just great – and I didn’t think I’d get excited about a bridge (with the exception of the Sydney Harbour Bridge).

We didn’t fancy doing Edinburgh again as we’ve been a number of times, so we tendered (after most folks had got off and so didn’t have to wait or get a ticket) to the town. What a lovely place. We had a walk and had great views of the bridge, and a mooch in the local shops. The weather was dry in the morning, but the lady in the RNLI shop who said that the rain would come early afternoon was spot on – although I wish she hadn’t been. So our soggy selves made it back to the ship for some dry clothes and a rest. On the way back in the tender, we heard a couple of Americans moaning about the rain and the cold. Welcome to our British summer. How do you think we feel and we get it every year!

For those who wanted to go to Edinburgh, there were local shuttle buses near the pier for £10 return. Probably cheaper than the ship tour ones.

Last Sea Day:

They’d shown the latest Star Wars movie on MUTS one evening, but although I’m British and used to the cold (I’d taken 2 fleeces and a raincoat with me), I’m too much of a wimp to want to get frost bite watching a film.

I found out it was going to be shown on the cabin TV on our last evening at 7.30pm but that was no good for me as that would have messed with my date with a crème brulee.

Hurrah!! Found out they were showing it on this sea day at 3pm in the Theatre, but as John wasn’t so keen, I went myself – along with quite a few others. Bagged myself a good spot on the end of a row and really enjoyed the film, although I hadn’t been prepared for a certain leading action being killed off. Missed the popcorn too, but went back to the cabin via the IC and collected a choc mousse, so that had to do.

Le Harve:

Again visited here before, so didn’t bother getting off. Ship offered a shuttle again at the usual $8pp each way if I remember correctly. So we sepnt the last day relaxing and packing, and a final evening saying goodbye to our great waiters and my crème brulee.

Southampton:

Arrived back in Southampton early the next morning, and the end of the cruise. We’d had to select a time to disembark, but the paper only offered hour slots (eg. 7am, 8am, 9am). We would have preferred booking 8.30 but this didn’t appear as an option, so we settled on 9am. When we got the schedule, there were times around 20 minutes apart, so we probably could have requested 8.30 if we’d wanted to, although that wasn’t given as an option or made clear. It wasn’t a big issue though, and we were called off around 8.45 anyway.

This is perhaps the best disembarkation I’ve experienced. There was no queuing to get off, no pushing or shoving, the luggage was very well labeled where to find it, and we kept our cruise cards (for some reason we’ve had to give back our P&O cards when disembarking). We rang the taxi to return us to pick our car up at the hotel, and they were really efficient and only kept us waiting about 5 minutes. So we were soon homeward bound, with a bag of washing (and a bag of clean clothes – you’d think I’d have got the hang of this packing lark by now) and lots of nice photos and memories, and some extra calories due to the repeated trying of crème brulee.

Dress Code:

Two formal nights and the rest smart casual. Well it was for most folks, while for a number of passengers it was casual for all 12 nights. This is the first time that I’ve seen a stripy polo shirt, chinos and t shirts as ‘formal’ wear.

We did see a number of men attempting to get into the dining room wearing shorts (both on formal and casual nights). They were sent away to change (which was very satisfying for those of us who adhere to the dress code), although shorts appeared to be allowed for ladies (and I’m not talking capris, cullottes or those on the knee), but short shorts.

It was lovely to “clothes watch” especially on formal nights, and some ladies wore lovely outfits.

Formal nights were Guernsey (day after leaving) and the first sea day on Saturday.

Miscellaneous Observations:

• The cabin TV showed that the ship was in the port of Southampton for the first 3 or 4 days, but also told us how far we had come from our last port of call, Le Harve – which we hadn’t even been to then. I can’t believe that no one in charge noticed this for many days.

• I used the library to borrow a number of books as John had commandeered MY kindle. Books didn’t have to be signed out – they trusted you to bring them back. We also left a number of books we’d bought especially for our cruise and hopefully our comrades on future cruises would enjoy them as much as we had. The choice wasn’t great in the library though, probably as most folks have their reading material on a kindle or ipad or other device.

• It was nice having an eclectic mix of passengers from different countries, and we had some lovely chats with a number of folks from over the pond. One day in the buffet, a Japanese lady put her bag on the table opposite us while she went for food, and I couldn’t help but have my eyes drawn to something sticking out of her bag. It was one of the white jugs that are used for the milk / cream at the drinks station in the buffet! I couldn’t quite believe what I’d seen at first, so I had more furtive glances, and it was definitely one of those. I’d read where some passengers had been filling up flasks of soup in the buffet to take on trips, but never thought I’d see this myself.

• John had pre-purchased a Princess 50th anniversary charm for my bracelet, and the there was a card in our cabin telling us to collect it from the boutique. That evening we took the card in after dinner. There were two members of staff behind the counter. Neither said hello or even acknowledged me. One just took the form from my hand and looked at it then said something to her colleague, who said to her that it was nothing to do with them. As the charms were on the counter, I said that it was to do with them and it also said to collect from there on the form. Again I was ignored as one them got on the phone, dialed a number but then put it down mid-dial. She said something else to her colleague which I didn’t hear, then got in a cupboard and handed me a small plastic bag, wrapped up to the size of a small pencil. She got me to sign the form I’d given her and that was that. What no box? No conversation? No manners? To say I was cross was an understatement and I think that the staff need some training on how to deal courteously with customers and basic communication skills would be a start.

• When we were in Invergordon around 8.40am, I heard “tapping” noise on pipes. Morse code perhaps? Was there someone in the Brigg trying to get out who’d eaten all of the crème brulees so that there were none left for me? Spookie…..

• A nice touch that I don’t remember Princess doing on previous cruises, is that they come round with juices and hot drinks at breakfast time. As we were often at breakfast after 10am, this service was reduced the later it got, and once or twice I ended up getting my own.

• I frequently observed folks filling up water bottles and flasks from the buffet. I’m aware that Princess ask us not to do this, but I also saw some staff helping people to do this, so I wish they’d make their mind up whether its acceptable or not.

• It was sometimes hard to find a table in the buffet, especially on sea days, but this is common on most ships. We could always find a table but we frequently ended up towards the back. At least I could use a few more calories walking to and fro.

• There were lovely strawberries and cherries at the buffet at breakfast for the first week or so. Then they disappeared – I think we’d scoffed them all.

• Bananas were in the buffet for the first few days, but then they also vanished. I heard someone ask for a banana and a member of staff went into the back and brought her one, so I also asked. The look on his face said it all – but he reluctantly went and got me a banana. I asked after that and always got one, but not sure why they were being ‘rationed” and by request only. Perhaps they were worried that people would eat them all like the cherries and the strawberries.

• Hurrah! First evening and it has to be Pina Colada ‘Soup’! Oh what memories that brought back when I saw it on the menu. And it was as delicious as ever. You can imagine my delight when later in the week they had strawberry ‘soup’ on the menu. This always used to be my favourite and one cruise I had 3! Of what a disappointment when it came. It had little strawberry taste due to so much ice. I even refused another one from the waiter and that would have been unheard of in the past. I’ll stick with the pina colada one in the future. So yummy.

Elite status:

I’d done my homework and thanks to the folks on here and their experience, I’d got a good idea what we would be ‘entitled’ to as first time elite. I think that John was very impressed with me as I rang room service to change our alcohol mini bar for diet soda and bottled water. “You can’t do that” he was muttering under his breath. Oh yes I can – my cruise critic friends say so. I never saw anyone from room service though, as they were changed when we were at muster. We kept the two bottles of lager, as I thought they’d be nice on a hot day on the balcony. Unfortunately I realized towards the end of the cruise that we weren’t going to get the hot weather on the balcony (the rain and dark clouds were a bit of a give away), so room service changed these too when we were out in port.

We didn’t use any of the other elite privileges: No laundry. NO internet (I want to live without emails and the web when I’m cruising). NO wine tasting. No afternoon tea in cabin. NO preferential tender position (which would have been nice but I wouldn’t have felt comfortable doing this anyway even though it would have been nice in Guernsey).

Of course I made sure that everyone noticed my black elite card by flashing it about as much as I could. Only joking!! I did manage to get a nice elite pin badge though, and as I always take a teddy bear back pack on holiday with me, he wears the badge.

So my final thoughts…apart from I’ve gone on FAR TOO LONG – sorry. Both John and I really enjoyed our cruise, although the Caribbean Princess is beginning to show her a age a bit. Met some lovely staff and fellow passengers, had some good meals, read 5 books and came back relaxed and rested. More importantly, John also came back rested and ready to face work again.

Hope that you find my ramblings useful and if you enjoy reading my review, it’ll be worth me writing it.

Happy cruising to you all.

Thank you for your review. I'm going on the same cruise August 2017, so I'm reading everything about it to get ready. I'm already familiar with the ship, but your comments on the ports were helpful.

You definitely could have used the priority tender boarding. You did not need to go to the dining room to pick up a ticket - you go directly to the tender loading area. When you get to the loading area, you get in the back of the line - you don't push past anyone else already in line there. As long as you do it properly - and don't push past anyone already in line at the tender boarding area, there is no reason to be uncomfortable doing this. If you don't tell them, no one else in line will know if you are showing up with a ticket from the dining room or if you are elite or in a suite and bypassing the dining room.

Excellent review...thank you.

 

You definitely could have used the priority tender boarding. You did not need to go to the dining room to pick up a ticket - you go directly to the tender loading area.

Thanks for the very detailed review.

An interesting aside here is how Princess compares to P&O’s handling of food allergy. On Princess, we were only given the evening menu (not lunch menu) for the following day and NOT the desserts menu, which I found odd as it’s often here where my allergy fruit is sometimes “hidden” in sauces etc. P&O offered us both lunchtime and evening full menus and we could choose something from the lunchtime menu for evening if we wished (but have never done).

Thanks for your review and the effort you put into it.

As far as the menus, we were on the Caribbean Princess in May and each evening the headwaiter did bring the next day's dinner menu including desserts and, if the dining room would be open for lunch, the lunch menu. Of course since there were only two sea days on this itinerary, that only happened for those two days.

Next time, if you are not brought all of the menus, ask for them.

(Tender):

I’d heard that elite folks got “priority tendering”, but I didn’t know how it worked but assumed that the staff would know. So we showed our cruise cards (black so they can’t miss them) when we went into the dining room, expecting the staff to tell us what we needed to do, but they just gave us a ticket and said that there was a ‘bit of a wait’.

The way it works is that you go to where the tenders are being loaded and get on the end of the line that exists there. You will then be on the next tender that leaves.

If there is a high number of elites on board, you will be notified (either by a note to your cabin or in the Patter) that you will need to go to the dining room to get tender tickets, but they will give preference to elites when they do this.

Belfast:

 

Titanic museum... Our last visit was to the Nomadic; the last Titanic tender lifeboat in existence that was used in Cherbourg. It has been restored very well to its former glory, and when we first went on board, a very knowledgeable and lovely lady gave us (yes just the two of us) a talk of the history of the boat, which she brought to life incredibly well. They’d also done a nice job of refurbishing it, and I could almost hear the people chatting who were on their way to the fateful ship.

I believe the Nomadic was a tender that brought passengers and their luggage to the ship and was not a lifeboat that was kept on the ship.

We also enjoyed the Titanic Museum and spent even more time than you did there.

Wow Excellent review!!! Thank You.

Tony

Excellent review.

Keith

Yes Caribill you are absolutely right. Slip of the keyboard and my brain. The Nomadic was a tender to the ship from shore only. Goodness knows why I wrote lifeboat!! I blame it being after midnight when I finished writing the review.

Thanks for your kind comments folks.

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Hi Homelessbear

thanks for posting

Forth Rail Bridge is impressive, world heritage site, soon to have a viewing platform visitor centre etc will make an amazing place to view the ship from,

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/queensferry/forthrailbridge/

so question is when are you coming back to go to Kirkwall,

yours Shogun

ps from local Ivergordon sign,

Nessie is always spotted day after cruise ship passengers leave

Back a week now from Around the British Isles. We would like to extend a note of gratitude to SHOGUN for all the insightful tips and suggestions throughout the itinerary. Of all the posts, SHOGUN probably was most realistic and helpful with "dead-on-the-money" notes that really made a difference.

Thanks again SHOGUN and wishing you many happy voyages in your future!

Hi Saltwater1974

Ahhhhh, thankyou you are most welcome, the only question for you is when are youcoming back,

you have missed some interesting weather

yesterday 29 degrees full sun, over night 20 degrees, today floods, thunder, lightening and just silly amounts of rain. must be summer time.

yours Shogun

Thanks for posting your detailed review. The British Isles itinerary is on our wish list for sometime after we retire.

Thank you for your very detailed review. We will be doing this cruise next year and appreciate the insight you have provided.

Thanks for the review. We will be boarding the CB next month for the same cruise followed by a TA back to NYC.

Thanks for your replies. Glad you found my review useful. I enjoyed writing it.

Happy cruising.

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We did the 12-day Caribbean Princess British Isles cruise from July 7-19. We chose this cruise because of the large number of port days (9) and the small number of sea days (2). Every port had something unique and interesting to do. Our party of three saved over $1000 in shore excursion fees by not booking with Princess but instead using public transportation to access the same attractions that are offered by the Princess shore excursions desk. For example, in Kirkwall, Scotland one can visit the Skara Brae prehistoric village for $20 on your own, including admission and bus ticket, versus $119 to visit the same sites through Princess. Refer to our individual port reviews below for details on how this can be done.

Some reviewers on this forum have described the Caribbean Princess as an old worn-out ship ready for the scrap yard. I disagree. This was our third cruise on the Caribbean Princess this year and we experienced no quality of service issues on any of them. The ship is 12 years old and may be showing a few signs of age, but it is well-maintained.

Guernsey: St Peter Port is a quiet village straight out of the 19th century. Most of the attractions in town are within walking distance but be prepared for steep hills. We walked to an old fort on the bluff south of town and to Victor Hugo's house in town.

Cobh (Cork): We opted to visit Blarney Castle on our own instead of using the Princess excursion. There is a rail station entrance 100 feet from where you get off the ship. A return ticket to Cork costs 9.70 euros and the trains run every 30 to 60 minutes. Upon exiting the station in Cork, walk west (left) about six blocks turning left at the second traffic light. Walk two blocks and cross the River Lee to the Cork bus station on the right side of the street. A return ticket to Blarney on the #215 bus costs 7.50 euros. Buses run every 30 minutes. Admission to the castle costs 13 euros but we got a flier at the train station that gave us a 10% discount. If you are over 60 you can get in for 11 euros. If you have your heart set on kissing the Blarney Stone be aware that there can be a long wait to do so. When we arrived at 10:30 the queue was already 90 minutes long. If you booked a tour with Princess you might spend your whole time in line and still not get to kiss the stone, because the tour operator only provides 60 minutes for the castle visit. Using public transportation gives you more flexibility with your schedule.

Dublin: The ship docks at Ocean Pier which is in an industrial area about 2 miles from the city center. Princess offers a shuttle bus for $8 each way but we opted to walk instead. There are sidewalks the entire way. We had lunch at Leo Burdock Fish & Chips, the oldest fish and chip shop in Dublin (1913), located one block south of Christ Church Cathedral. It is a little hole in the wall place that does takeaway only and there is usually a long line of customers outside. Be aware - the portions are huge!

Belfast: The ship docked in an industrial area on the east side of the harbor near the airport, about four miles from the city center. Contributors to this forum have described a free shuttle to the city center provided by the Belfast Port Authority, but the only shuttle available to us was the one provided by Princess for $8 each way. We took the shuttle and then walked to the Titanic Belfast Experience, about a 30-minute walk from the city center. Basic admission price is 17.50 pounds (12.50 for seniors). Many towns have cashed in on the Titanic craze by opening a Titanic museum (even Branson, Missouri has one). The one in Belfast is by far the best of the lot. It is located in the former shipyard where the Titanic was assembled and the exhibits focus as much on the building of the ship as they do on its sinking. It was well worth our time spent. Princess offers an excursion to the museum for $90 per person. Our cost by doing it on our own was about $30.

Greenock (Glasgow): Princess offers a "Glasgow on your Own" excursion for $80. We opted to use the Scotrail train for far less. The Greenock West rail station is about a 20-minute walk from where the ship docks. A return ticket to Glasgow is 10.50 pounds, or if you depart after 9 AM it is only 7.10 pounds. The train drops you off at Glasgow Central rail station in the center of the city.

Kirkwall: The most popular destination in Kirkwall is the Skara Brae historical site, a 5000-year-old prehistoric village that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Princess offers a tour of Skara Brae for $120 but we opted to get a better excursion for only $20. The local port authority operates free shuttle buses from the pier into town. The buses drop you off at the visitor center which is adjacent to the city bus station. At the bus station you can buy a day pass for 8.30 pounds on the #T11 bus which is essentially a hop-on-hop-off service that starts at 10 AM. The bus route is designed for tourists and the bus spends 1 hour and 25 minutes at Skara Brae before continuing on to the Ring of Brodgar, a prehistoric ring of stones, where you are allowed 30 minutes to walk around. The Princess tour does not allow you to get off the bus at the Ring of Brodgar. The bus then continues back to Kirkwall arriving at 1:30. Admission to Skara Brae is 7.10 pounds (5.70 for seniors). There is no charge for the Ring of Brodgar. Our total cost was about $20, compared to $120 if you book a Princess tour. The disadvantage of doing it on your own like we did is that you are forced to wait in long lines to buy your bus ticket and park ticket.

Invergordon: We took the Cawdor Castle tour through Princess for $85 per person. The castle is very ornate and the grounds are pretty.

For those who want to visit Inverness there is a bus stop on the main street near the pier in Invergordon. A return ticket to Inverness will cost you 10.70 pounds, versus $50 for the "Inverness on your Own" tour through Princess.

Edinburgh: We were planning to take the train into Edinburgh (4.60 pounds for an off-peak return ticket) from the Dalmeny station, a 15-minute walk from the pier, but were warned that due to a rail strike the schedules were limited that day. Instead we got on a locally provided shuttle for 10 pounds per person round trip. (Princess offers an "Edinburgh on your Own" trip for $60). Be aware that the local shuttle drops you off at Charlotte Square which is a mile from the main points of interest along the Royal Mile in town. If you take the the train it brings you into Waverly Station which is only two blocks from the Royal Mile.

Le Havre: We did the Paris on your Own" tour through Princess for $129. The drop off point is on the Cours de la Reine which is centrally located to the main attractions. Given our limited time in Paris, this was the best option for us and allowed us to walk to both Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower.

Thanks for the review. We were on the ship for a B2B in March out of Bayport - sad that it left and is not coming back. We found the ship to be in good condition. They were replacing the carpet in the HC late at night on our first week and replacing the midship doors on the lido deck so maintenance is an ongoing effort. We will be on the ship again next month. I looked at our itinerary and the day between Greenock and Invergordon is a sea day so no Kirkwall :(. You did not mention Liverpool where we are stopping - have to do the Beatles tour of course!

Belfast: The ship docked in an industrial area on the east side of the harbor near the airport, about four miles from the city center. Contributors to this forum have described a free shuttle to the city center provided by the Belfast Port Authority, but the only shuttle available to us was the one provided by Princess for $8 each way.

The shuttle used to be free, but the Port Authority had budget problems and the "free" was eliminated.

Thank you for this thorough review!

HomelessBear; thank you for posting a great review. Looks like you had a great time; on a side note. When your cabin key does not work right away or you keep getting a bad signal; this normally means the batteries need to be changed in the door. The keys in most hotels and cruise ships run on an electronic code; the metal piece of the door where the key goes in; is operated by batteries. When someone has a hard time getting in day after day; its time for housekeeping or maint to change out the batteries.

I realized you said you picked up some pool towels by the pool. Was the pool open during your sailing? Did anyone go in? I would have thought it was too cold.

thanks to everyone who contributed really great information here......we'll certainly make use of it at the end of August on our 29 day cruise on the Carib. P.

Thanks for a very detailed review of your cruise. Very helpful!

We did the 12-day Caribbean Princess British Isles cruise from July 7-19. We chose this cruise because of the large number of port days (9) and the small number of sea days (2). Every port had something unique and interesting to do. Our party of three saved over $1000 in shore excursion fees by not booking with Princess but instead using public transportation to access the same attractions that are offered by the Princess shore excursions desk. For example, in Kirkwall, Scotland one can visit the Skara Brae prehistoric village for $20 on your own, including admission and bus ticket, versus $119 to visit the same sites through Princess. Refer to our individual port reviews below for details on how this can be done.

 

Some reviewers on this forum have described the Caribbean Princess as an old worn-out ship ready for the scrap yard. I disagree. This was our third cruise on the Caribbean Princess this year and we experienced no quality of service issues on any of them. The ship is 12 years old and may be showing a few signs of age, but it is well-maintained.

 

Guernsey: St Peter Port is a quiet village straight out of the 19th century. Most of the attractions in town are within walking distance but be prepared for steep hills. We walked to an old fort on the bluff south of town and to Victor Hugo's house in town.

 

Cobh (Cork): We opted to visit Blarney Castle on our own instead of using the Princess excursion. There is a rail station entrance 100 feet from where you get off the ship. A return ticket to Cork costs 9.70 euros and the trains run every 30 to 60 minutes. Upon exiting the station in Cork, walk west (left) about six blocks turning left at the second traffic light. Walk two blocks and cross the River Lee to the Cork bus station on the right side of the street. A return ticket to Blarney on the #215 bus costs 7.50 euros. Buses run every 30 minutes. Admission to the castle costs 13 euros but we got a flier at the train station that gave us a 10% discount. If you are over 60 you can get in for 11 euros. If you have your heart set on kissing the Blarney Stone be aware that there can be a long wait to do so. When we arrived at 10:30 the queue was already 90 minutes long. If you booked a tour with Princess you might spend your whole time in line and still not get to kiss the stone, because the tour operator only provides 60 minutes for the castle visit. Using public transportation gives you more flexibility with your schedule.

 

Dublin: The ship docks at Ocean Pier which is in an industrial area about 2 miles from the city center. Princess offers a shuttle bus for $8 each way but we opted to walk instead. There are sidewalks the entire way. We had lunch at Leo Burdock Fish & Chips, the oldest fish and chip shop in Dublin (1913), located one block south of Christ Church Cathedral. It is a little hole in the wall place that does takeaway only and there is usually a long line of customers outside. Be aware - the portions are huge!

 

Belfast: The ship docked in an industrial area on the east side of the harbor near the airport, about four miles from the city center. Contributors to this forum have described a free shuttle to the city center provided by the Belfast Port Authority, but the only shuttle available to us was the one provided by Princess for $8 each way. We took the shuttle and then walked to the Titanic Belfast Experience, about a 30-minute walk from the city center. Basic admission price is 17.50 pounds (12.50 for seniors). Many towns have cashed in on the Titanic craze by opening a Titanic museum (even Branson, Missouri has one). The one in Belfast is by far the best of the lot. It is located in the former shipyard where the Titanic was assembled and the exhibits focus as much on the building of the ship as they do on its sinking. It was well worth our time spent. Princess offers an excursion to the museum for $90 per person. Our cost by doing it on our own was about $30.

 

Greenock (Glasgow): Princess offers a "Glasgow on your Own" excursion for $80. We opted to use the Scotrail train for far less. The Greenock West rail station is about a 20-minute walk from where the ship docks. A return ticket to Glasgow is 10.50 pounds, or if you depart after 9 AM it is only 7.10 pounds. The train drops you off at Glasgow Central rail station in the center of the city.

 

Kirkwall: The most popular destination in Kirkwall is the Skara Brae historical site, a 5000-year-old prehistoric village that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Princess offers a tour of Skara Brae for $120 but we opted to get a better excursion for only $20. The local port authority operates free shuttle buses from the pier into town. The buses drop you off at the visitor center which is adjacent to the city bus station. At the bus station you can buy a day pass for 8.30 pounds on the #T11 bus which is essentially a hop-on-hop-off service that starts at 10 AM. The bus route is designed for tourists and the bus spends 1 hour and 25 minutes at Skara Brae before continuing on to the Ring of Brodgar, a prehistoric ring of stones, where you are allowed 30 minutes to walk around. The Princess tour does not allow you to get off the bus at the Ring of Brodgar. The bus then continues back to Kirkwall arriving at 1:30. Admission to Skara Brae is 7.10 pounds (5.70 for seniors). There is no charge for the Ring of Brodgar. Our total cost was about $20, compared to $120 if you book a Princess tour. The disadvantage of doing it on your own like we did is that you are forced to wait in long lines to buy your bus ticket and park ticket.

 

Invergordon: We took the Cawdor Castle tour through Princess for $85 per person. The castle is very ornate and the grounds are pretty.

For those who want to visit Inverness there is a bus stop on the main street near the pier in Invergordon. A return ticket to Inverness will cost you 10.70 pounds, versus $50 for the "Inverness on your Own" tour through Princess.

 

Edinburgh: We were planning to take the train into Edinburgh (4.60 pounds for an off-peak return ticket) from the Dalmeny station, a 15-minute walk from the pier, but were warned that due to a rail strike the schedules were limited that day. Instead we got on a locally provided shuttle for 10 pounds per person round trip. (Princess offers an "Edinburgh on your Own" trip for $60). Be aware that the local shuttle drops you off at Charlotte Square which is a mile from the main points of interest along the Royal Mile in town. If you take the the train it brings you into Waverly Station which is only two blocks from the Royal Mile.

 

Le Havre: We did the Paris on your Own" tour through Princess for $129. The drop off point is on the Cours de la Reine which is centrally located to the main attractions. Given our limited time in Paris, this was the best option for us and allowed us to walk to both Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower.

Please let me know how long the disembarkation took. Trying to arrange for a taxi back to airport and do not what time to tell them.

Thanks

Thanks for your kind comments. Glad my review was useful for others.

AF-1 - John's cruise card never failed once (and we tried it every time mine failed) so it was probably more something to do with mine??

I realized you said you picked up some pool towels by the pool. Was the pool open during your sailing? Did anyone go in? I would have thought it was too cold.

It was a bit "cool" most days but we British are a hardly lot! Saying that, I didn't see anyone in the pools but didn't go up there very often. There were lots of pool towels though on the carts by the pools.

Happy cruising everyone. I'm still looking back with such great cruise memories and photos! :)