British Isles Trip Review w/Pics: A Thesis :)

Wow ... this original post is almost FIVE YEARS OLD. It's a total standout and I'm so glad it showed up in the trending queue. Highly recommended reading. Thanks DeloreanGirl! I'm doing a Princess TA British Isles on Thursday. I've been flummoxed trying to decide what to pack to wear. Hot and cold were my prevailing influences, but wet has now joined them based on your report. Thanks!

 

 

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Just some info on our weather. It only rains in the UK when people visit..😜😜😜

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newport dave, that is a funny replly.

Did a UK cruise a couple of years ago,her description of Cobh was spot on, also their visit to Titanic quarter was so familiar, as we also went everywhere they went, surprised that when visiting Invergordon never mentioned all the murals on the ends of the buildings, overall a brilliant description of their travels.

Part I: Introduction

 

It’s funny, I’ve been mentally "writing" this trip report in my head over the last few weeks. I’ve daydreamed about how I would point out helpful little details and small snippets of advice for future cruisers. And today I finally sat down at the computer, coffee in hand, three days after arriving home with post-cruise-dizziness, and I am blankly staring at my white computer screen. There’s so much to digest after coming off a two-week "trip of a lifetime." The sights, the smells, the sounds, the people, the weather, the experiences – it’s so wonderfully overwhelming that all I can do is try my best to put it into words and photos.

 

I have to warn you, my trip reports are long. As in, you’d better go turn off the phones and pop some popcorn long. I thrive off of trying to help people with minute details, and I hope some of what I type will be able to help you or someone you know plan and enjoy a successful British Isles vacation. Prior trip reports I have written (especially for the DIS Disney Cruise Line boards) are in story format instead of "liked/didn’t like" format. Reading "I hated the coffee but loved Cork" in others trip reports didn’t help me at all, so I figured I’d go big or go home.

 

Do you want the short version? Here it is:

1.) The ship was great.

2.) The ports were great.

3.) The vacation was incredible.

4.) Yes, I have scanned Patters

 

Do you want the long version? Do you have a cup of tea? Are you comfy?

 

Here goes . . .

 

My husband and I had agreed years and years ago that, if we could spin a globe and put our finger on one area to visit, it would be Ireland and Scotland. Having sailed with Princess before nearly 10 years ago (and hating it and swearing we’d never cruise again -- boy did that change) we received a packet in the mail with their current destinations. I don’t work for Princess (but I do live in Santa Clarita and would love to) and I must say that Princess is truly the only cruise line that will give you a 100% British Isles experience. I commend them for their amazing UK itinerary that other lines have yet to touch.

 

I did a lot of research on land-based vacations while making this decision but we aren’t the type that like being stuck on buses or forced to take a certain route or to stay in a place we’re not familiar with alongside people we’re not familiar with. We’ve been on five cruises with various lines and absolutely love the element of cruising and the ability to visit various ports in one swoop. Friends of ours who had visited Scotland and London were incredibly helpful and I ended up with a small stack of books from them covering the countries as well as Tube maps, castle & pub recommendations and even their leftover British pounds to spend. Christmas morning brought rain jackets, sweaters, and souvenir picture frames from my parents for the upcoming voyage. Every person we talked to gave us great bits of advice, all which came in very handy when we ended up in each country.

 

Having been a fan of CruiseCritic.com and using it for years with prior cruises, I hopped onto the Caribbean Princess Roll Call to see if some equally obsessed early planner like myself had started a thread 13 months prior to sailing. Luckily, there wasn’t one, so I joyfully created the May 26th board (all in caps, which they converted to lower caps, grrrr...) and waited to see who would join us on this exciting voyage!

 

As the months rolled by, people trickled onto the message board. Summer was mostly quiet, as was the Fall, but once the holidays came and went, our little group grew and grew. I had the pleasure of having other members help with the responsibilities of the Meet & Greet and soon enough we had an eagerly excited team of cruisers ready to distribute name tags, introduce everyone, and coordinate private tours and transportation when the time came to meet face-to-face. I expected 40, maybe 50, people to join the Roll Call. When all was said and done, we ended up having nearly 170 people! It was amazing!

 

When January rolled around, it became very real.

"Oh crap, I’ve been planning this trip and now it’s 2012 and I actually have to go on it..."

I always get cold feet before big trips. I get so giddy over planning them that I completely forget that I have to hop on a plane and actually travel to them. On top of that, this trip was so huge that I completely let it take over my life for those months by planning every detail of every port day. From taxis to trains to excursions to currency to buses to hotels to walking routes. Which castles, monuments, cities, roads, and streets to visit? What gear to take, the language barriers, the hotel ratings, the food menus and time difference.

 

In the months before leaving for the trip, it felt like there was a slew of "things going wrong". First, a British Airways flight to London had the emergency "we are going to crash" warning mistakenly go off mid-flight. Then the American Airlines (our airline) pilot went crazy. Then the Heathrow Customs & Immigration debacle made headlines and everyone was freaking out over the 3-hour waiting time at Customs. I had no idea about the Queen’s Jubliee until the last moment and feared that London crowds would be overwhelming. And then the left rear propulsion engine broke on Caribbean Princess, leaving two weeks of cruises in the dust and passengers losing their minds. A Brit told me that the seas in the UK are rough and to prepare myself for motion sickness. A friend of mine so eloquently stated, "Things are all going wrong now so that, by the time you get there, they will all be resolved and perfect."

 

Did all this obsessive planning help me? Sure.

Did I take a day off from work to hide under the covers second-guessing my insane reasoning for traveling this far? Yep.

Did it all work out in the long run? Absolutely.

My husband, God bless him, knows that I am a plan-a-holic and was nice enough to step back and let me be a whirling dervish for months on end. The chap simply stepped on the plane and "showed up".

 

It was the trip of a lifetime, and I can assure you that no question on the Princess or British Isles message board is too silly, too repetitive, or not important enough. The folks on these boards are helpful beyond all belief (I’m looking at you, John Bull, TowncarT, Mrs. Moho and Shogun) and I couldn’t have had such a successful vacation without everyone’s input. :D

 

Next chapter: Packing, Prepping & Perspiring

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Can't wait for the next chapter. Good review!

Can't wait for the next chapter. Good review!

This is a five year old review. Not sure you'll see any more chapters.

Did a UK cruise a couple of years ago,her description of Cobh was spot on, also their visit to Titanic quarter was so familiar, as we also went everywhere they went, surprised that when visiting Invergordon never mentioned all the murals on the ends of the buildings, overall a brilliant description of their travels.

Thank you so much! Still kicking myself for not taking the train into Cork. It's on my to-do list for the next attempt!

Didn't see much of Invergordon since we took the Princess coach straight into Inverness (beautiful scenery along the way!) to catch the Jacobite tour for Loch Ness.

Only posting this here because I know I'll need these links in the future to the "chapters" and it's easier than scrolling through 33 (wow!) pages to find each day:

Introduction: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=34145061&postcount=1

Packing & Prepping: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=34145821&postcount=5

Room, Ship, Food: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=34152891&postcount=32

Guernsey: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=34161015&postcount=49

Cobh: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=34165678&postcount=62

Dublin: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=34173025&postcount=69

Liverpool: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=34173025&postcount=69

Belfast: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=34184664&postcount=111

Greenock: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=34185163&postcount=115

Inverness/Loch Ness: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=34187442&postcount=120

Edinburgh: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=34199591&postcount=130

LeHavre: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=34210574&postcount=150

Disembarkation & London: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=34213025&postcount=154

Can't wait for the next chapter. Good review!

We were thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis close to putting down a deposit for the 2018 British Isles sailing. But, yesterday, we disembarked Ruby Princess after a 7-day Coastal with our 3-year-old and realized how difficult it is to sail with a toddler. We're exhausted! I'm keeping a sliver of hope alive that by 4.5 years old (spring/summer of next year) he'll be manageable enough to attempt a long cruise again. If so, I'm definitely eyeing British Isles again! The 50% price drop in February for it was severely tempting!!

Been referencing your excellent review since we put down our deposit for 9/10/17 BI. What a great review! Thanks for all the help you didn't even know you provided! ✌️

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Thank you for this detailed, inspiring review. So many good tips!

This will be extremely helpful as we are going on this cruise in May!

Just some info on our weather. It only rains in the UK when people visit..😜😜😜

 

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Newport Dave, 60 years ago today we arrived in Canada from Wattsville. (You must know where that is.)

We went back three years later to live . It rained every single day. And so you are correct. ;)

Although we had brought all of our belongings back to Machen, the weather was too much for my parents so they took us back to Canada again.

I love going back, and if it rains, that makes me feel like you are "Keeping a Welcome".

We are taking the September 10-October 27 British Isles trip and Transatlantic.

Thank you for this detailed, inspiring review. So many good tips!

This will be extremely helpful as we are going on this cruise in May!

Ditto. Doing British Isles in September.

Thanks OP for this useful review!

Newport Dave, 60 years ago today we arrived in Canada from Wattsville. (You must know where that is.)

We went back three years later to live . It rained every single day. And so you are correct. ;)

Although we had brought all of our belongings back to Machen, the weather was too much for my parents so they took us back to Canada again.

I love going back, and if it rains, that makes me feel like you are "Keeping a Welcome".

We are taking the September 10-October 27 British Isles trip and Transatlantic.

Worked in Wattsville for awhile, and don't live far from Machen. The Maenllwyd Inn is a good pub in Machen to visit. Good food and beer.

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Gosh what a great read! We're sailing the British Isles this summer on the Royal and this is one of the best reviews. Emily will you and your new family be joining us? Thanks for taking the time to share your vacation experience and tips!

Gosh what a great read! We're sailing the British Isles this summer on the Royal and this is one of the best reviews. Emily will you and your new family be joining us? Thanks for taking the time to share your vacation experience and tips!

Boy do I wish! We have two 3-night cruises coming up this year and a 8-night in January of next year with friends. The British Isles cruise remains, to this day, the BEST vacation of our lives and we would love to re-create it someday with our son! I'm so envious that you get to sail on Royal! What a gorgeous ship!

Posting so it will be in my subscribed.

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We communicated on here a few years ago before and after our BI cruise in 2014 ! Each time I get an email notice I go back and see if I missed any thing so now wondering if you Emily returned to BI with your son this year ! We would love to return to all the itinerary again but next year we're going to sweden to see where my maternalgrandparents

Lived before they sailed to America in the 1880s - I was their youngest grandchild born in 1942.

Good day everyone! Dear Wife and I will be joining the Royal at the end of Aug for the British Isles cruise then. I've been leery of doing anything in the UK for a long time (with no real discernible reason!). At least up until we went to London 5 years ago (immediately prior to getting on the maiden voyage of the Royal). I changed my mind rather quickly. Doing much more of the British Isles has long been a desire of DW and now, with my own more informed view, when this opportunity came along, I was totally on-board (perhaps a rather bad dad-joke).;p

Looking very much forward to this (and recently upgraded to Club Class!) and have REALLY enjoyed reading so many other great been-there done-that reviews.

If anyone so desires, please follow along with us at our blog.

We communicated on here a few years ago before and after our BI cruise in 2014 ! Each time I get an email notice I go back and see if I missed any thing so now wondering if you Emily returned to BI with your son this year ! We would love to return to all the itinerary again but next year we're going to sweden to see where my maternalgrandparents

Lived before they sailed to America in the 1880s - I was their youngest grandchild born in 1942.

Hi! How are you!? Oh man do I wish I could go back to my FAVORITE itinerary, the British Isles! We'll get there! My son is almost 5 and just started kindergarten yesterday. He's been on two 3-night Disney cruises out of San Diego, a 7-night Pacific Coastal on Ruby Princess, and we have a 8-night western caribbean with friends scheduled for January on Adventure of the Seas/RCCL. Can't wait! Unfortunately he got Noro on the last day of the Disney cruise (that was a fun drive home!)

I will 100% do the British Isles cruise again, though! Maybe 2020! NCL has a great itinerary that includes a little bit of Norway and Iceland and England. Will absolutely post an update on here if we book through Princess again. Still to this day, 13 cruises later, my favorite vacation! I recently enlarged a photo of a lighthouse I took from top deck sailing away from Cobh and framed it in my bathroom. And I still have Union Jack pillows all over the house. Anglophile at heart!!!

This is more than 8 years old.

This is more than 8 years old.

And isn’t it great that someone resurrected it!

Not only entertaining, but much of the information is still relevant.

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This report opened my eyes to a future destination. Thanks!

I smile when another comment pops up on your thread. Reminds me of my own very favorite cruise, British Isles on the Ruby. 2014. Glorious. Thanks again, DeLoreanGirl.

This is more than 8 years old.

Just passed the 6 year mark. And nobody is more surprised than myself!