British Isles May 22 cruise review

[mringenoldus]

DH and I (late 50's) booked this cruise over a year in advance - which is apparently too much time for me as I crept us up from an inside cabin to oceanview finally ending in a balcony :) We had an absolutely wonderful time! I know there is already a lot of discussion regarding the norovirus outbreak, so I am going to stick to the ship and ports.

 

Precruise

We flew in from Phoenix on Delta arriving early in the morning. We stayed at the Park Plaza Riverside (on the Thames) which was booked at a terrific Hotwire rate. All we had to do was cross the bridge and we were in the thick of things in Westminster. The only glitch was that immigration took 2 hours and our driver gave up on us appearing. Another driver kindly called the hotel for ours to return. On Sunday morning, we took the very comfortable National Express coach from Victoria Station to Southampton. Then it was a 5 minute cab ride to the ship.

 

We arrived at around 1:30 and were onboard in less than 15 minutes. Although we used the platinum express checkin, there wasn't much line at any counter at that time. We met up with many of the 180+ people from our roll call at sailaway for a little "preparty". What a great group!

 

Ship

We were in Caribe 303. This cabin is HA, but had been release to open booking just prior to the cruise. It is almost the perfect cabin - right near the elevators and laundry room. It is oversized due to being HA and the balcony is quite large. We were very comfortable throughout the trip.

 

Much has been said about the International Cafe - and it is just as great as people report. The location of the coffee bar and the cafe make the Piazza area a bustling place during the day. I think it was genius on the planner's part. I looked forward to a latte and a warm cookie every day when we returned from port. The food items, both meal and desserts, were terrific. The only charge was for 3 scoops of gelato ($1.50). The girls in their "cookies and milk" aprons walking around serving to people in the Piazza were adorable.

 

I didn't spend time in many areas of the ship on this cruise as we had so many port days. I thought the ship was pretty in a classic kind of Princess style.

 

I rarely note the cruise director, but on theis trip I felt that Ron Goodman's friendly graciousness added to the trip. We saw a Canadian comedian - DH liked him, I thought so-so. We had fun playing trivia on those days we were back in time, but one of the assistant staff seemed a little harsh. It's only a game, after all. We saw one of the big shows and thought it was good.

 

We ate in the MDR (anytime dining), the buffet and Crown Grill. The food in the Crown Grill was terrific. I usually don't splurge on specialty didning but I thought DH would enjoy a great steak...all 22 oz. of it! We and another terrific couple from the roll call ate together in the MDR. We began requesting Salvador's station as he spoiled us to death. He and the head waiter brought us several extra dinner items to enjoy - we felt like rock stars! Not sure what we did to deserve such service, but it was appreciated. The buffet was the same as we have experienced on most ships (with the exception of Oceania which has a superb buffet). We had no conmplaints.

 

Ports

Guensey - what a charming little island! More French than English really. After tendering, we walked to Castle Cornet. If you are there at noon, you can watch the firing of the cannon. Unfortunately, DH spent so much time in the fort's museums, I didn't make it to the German Occupation Museum or the Underground Hospital. I opted instead for a bus trip around the island and was honored to have the opportunity to chat with one of the peopel who as a child was evacuated during the war. It was like having the book come to life! Shame on Princess for charging $129 for what cost about 5 GBP. Just hop on the 7 or 7A bus for a pound - or take the #4 to the Occupation Museum and Hospital. I never would have met that wonderful woman on the ship tour!

 

Cobh - I was excited to visit as my grandmother emmigrated from this port. I really enjoy lovely little port towns, as opposed to big city ports. I had hoped to go on a tour of Spike Island, but it was not yet open. We were fortunate to join roll call members on the ecoach tour (which at $19 Euro cost 1/4 of the Princess excursion to the exact same places) After driving through Cork, we visited Blarney Castle. Since our tour arrived early the lines to kiss the Blarney Stone were short compared to an hour later. The Blarney Woolen Mill has many nice items. Then we went on to Kinsale - another nice little town, but not the craft area I had read it was.

 

Dublin - I can't say enough about how much fun we had on the Dublin City Bike tour. For $24 euro we had a four hour bike tour throughout the city. If I can do this ride - anybody can. Liam and Keegan are so knowledgable and friendly, they bring the city and its history to life.

 

Liverpool - we walked over to Albert Dock and spent time in the Martime and Slavery Museums. We had hoped to do the River explorer boat to Albert Dock and the u-boat, but since we parked in their space, the boat was cancelled that day. Once again, Princess sold expensive tours to places that were right at or near the pier. Although the dock area was extremely windy that day and I was afraid he would be blown over, I was stopped to chat with an elderly gentleman who told me of his war experience. Another priceless opportunity. For shoppers, Liverpool has an enormous pedestrian shopping area a few blocks from the pier.

 

Belfast - Arthur from Urban Adventures Limited arranged a black cab tour of both parts of the divided city followed by an awesome lunce at the John Hewitt Pub and then a walking tour with him of the city center...and only $50 GBP!! There was no additional charge for the bomb scare that made everyone about two hours late returning to the ship. The city provides a free shuttle to downtown Belfast.

 

Greenock/Glasgow - we shared a 45 minute cab ride to Glasgow and then rode the HOHO. The cathedral/St. Mungo religious museum/Lord's Provandship area was the highlight of the visit. The People's museum was worth sitting in the beautiful glass conservatory and eating banoffee (apparently banana and toffee) sponge cake - yum! I would only take the other loop if interested in the University of Glasgow or when the museum and tall ship opens that direction.

 

Invergordon/Inverness - We loved the beauty of the Scottish Highlands! We again shared the cab in to meet our bus to the Jacobite boat tour. This is a very comfortable boat ride to a castle and an interesting museum on the Loch Ness monster tales. I booked the tour online at a bargain price.

 

South Queensferry/Edinburgh - I have two BIG tips for this port. DO NOT pay Princess $69 for the ride into Edinburgh - just turn left instead of right and hop on the "other" shuttle for $10 GBP RT. (Princess won't tell of this option). And be sure to buy the Edinburgh Castle admission tickets in advance online. You will sail pass the long lines waiting to buy. The Castle takes quite a bit of time. Then we headed down the Royal Mile to Holyrood, browsing in shops along the way. We were disappointed that Charles and Camilla were in residence so there was no Holyrood tour that day. This is a very long walking day, so be prepared with comfortable shoes!

 

Le Have/Normandy - We joined two other couples for a private D-Day area tour with Eric Le Doux-Turnbull. What an amazing memory for dates - times - places this man has!! After visiting St Mere Eglise, we had a take away lunch like only the French can do for 5.5 Euro. Then we were off to Utah and Omaha beaches as well as Ponte du Hoc. Eric tells the story like he was actually there. Because D-day was coming up, there were many costumed reenacters in town which I felt added to the atmosphere. The thousands of crosses in the American Cemetary can't help but move your soul. Ironically, today Omaha Beach is a lovely, happy place for families to spend the day.

 

Sadly, they did make us get off the ship! I was green with envy at those walking down the dock to board the Cunard ship for the crossing home. Our driver had us back to Heathrow in about 90 minutes. Except for the "making us get off" thing - we have no complaints about this cruise and appluad the staff for their efforts in keeping the virus under control.

[traveler525]

Thank you for your review! We are looking at this cruise for next year and love reading about your experiences!!

[mringenoldus]

Please feel free to ask if there are any specific questions I may not have touched on. Hope you get to go - it was a wonderful trip!

 

I did forget to mention that there were only 12 children (I don't think I ever saw them) on this trip. This is probably because school was just ending in most parts of the US. I take my grandson and nephews on many cruises, but I'm not sure that this would not be too many castles and cathedrals to hold their interest.

[senior lady]

thanks so much for your review. We'll be on the August cruise:D. the highlight of our trip will be the Edinburgh Tattoo.

what website did you pre-purchase your castle admission tickets from???

[Slugsta]

Thanks for this review. We are doing a very similar itinerary on Crown next week, so your comments are very helpful.

[Luvmyrotti]

Thanks for your lovely, informative review. Sounds like you had a great time!

[phabric]

Thanks for the review. We are visiting some of the ports on our 8 day Ireland & Scotland Interlude Aug 2012.

[Coolmama_1]

Thanks for the great review. We are thinking of doing a TA and taking Cunard home instead of flying. Glad to know it is fairly easy to do, providing we can line up the times ok.

[OnVacation11]

Thanks for a great review. We will be boarding the Crown in a few days... now it seems even closer.

[Nanatravel]

Thanks for the great review. We are thinking of doing a TA and taking Cunard home instead of flying. Glad to know it is fairly easy to do, providing we can line up the times ok.

 

Princess did offer a bus shuttle to the Cunard pier, once you were on board the ship. The distance would have been miles, so walking would not be a good option.

[timetravler]

I have one question. Was the bike tour in Dublin through Princess or a private tour? I always try to do bike rides in ports. Also thank you so much for a great review. So glad to not hear a lot of negativity on things that Princess can not control like a virus or bad weather.

[mringenoldus]

kpalmer7 - lucky you to be there during the Tattoo! My husband would have died and gone to heaven for that opportunity. They are erecting a new viewing area for the event. Here's the link for the tickets. You'll save yourself about an hour in line. http://www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk/index/plan/tickets.htm Adults are $15 GBP.

 

For those of you on next week - our friends Mary and Tony Madonia will be joining you. They book very recently and are having problems booking tours. I tried to encourage her to use the roll call to find others to join. Not only does this make the trip less expensive - it gives you a chance to meet great people. I hope your tenders can make it into Orkney Islands and Wales. I'm sorry you will miss Cobh because it was an absolutely lovely place.

 

If I missed something you would like to know about the ship or port, just ask! It can be hard to limit the information when writing a review :)

[sunshine nana]

Did you talk to anyone who went into Edinbourgh from Greenock/Glasgow? I promised DH we could go to St. Andrews from Queensferry because at that time Princess had an excursion called "edinbough on your own" from Greenock. Then they canceled it after we had made our plans for St. Andrews. I don't know if it's feasible to take the train to Edinbourgh, see the castle and get back to the ship in time from Greenock. Thanks for a great review!

[phabric]

kpalmer7 - lucky you to be there during the Tattoo! My husband would have died and gone to heaven for that opportunity. They are erecting a new viewing area for the event. Here's the link for the tickets. You'll save yourself about an hour in line. http://www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk/index/plan/tickets.htm Adults are $15 GBP.

 

Thanks for the website. Did you hand in the email ticket at the entrance or did you have to go into another line to exchange the ticket?

 

In Edinburgh, we are there all day and early the next morning. We plan on seeing the castle, do the HOHO bus and do the Edinburgh Tattoo with Princess.

 

Our cruise on the Ocean Princess next year, docks at Edinburgh (Rosyth). I am wondering, if there will be a shuttle like you had to take us into the city? I wonder how far it is to the city?

 

In Dublin, was there a shuttle or did people take a taxi into the city or walk? We plan on taking the HOHO bus.

 

Glasgow (Greenock), you took a taxi. What was the cost? Did you pick it up at the dock or did you prebook it? Did you tell the taxi, that you wanted to do the HOHO bus so he could drop you off at a HOHO stop?

 

In St Peter, was it easy to find the 7 or 7A bus to do the island tour or #4?

[BillNY]

Thanks for a great review. We are on the July 16th sailing, and enjoyed the "sneak preview". We are also staying at the Park Plaza Riverside pre-cruise, as we also got a terrific rate. I'm glad to hear that walking across the bridge was easy and convenient. What was your overall impression of the hotel?

[TrnrMom]

Great review, Maureen. You did a few things we didn't. The bike ride sounds like fun.

 

Dublin - shared taxi for six was 18€. We had to ask them to find one for us. Most hold 4. It is a long unpleasant walk thru a heavy truck and railroad track area, but DH wanted to do it. The convention center is about half way so it's possible to get a cab there.

[go fish 44]

Great review. We just got off the Grand and we had many of the same ports and we to used Eric for Normandy tour and we did the Canadian Sites with him and it was like he had been there during the war, he trully is an amazing man. We woulkd highly recomend Eric also.

 

Sue

[DrivesLikeMario]

Awesome review with great tour insight. Thank you so much! I saved your tour info. for when I'm finally able to take this cruise. It's #1 on my To Do List!

[srpilo]

Wonderful review..

 

 

 

 

Good work & Thanks !

Srpilo

[screamingreen]

kpalmer7 - lucky you to be there during the Tattoo! My husband would have died and gone to heaven for that opportunity. They are erecting a new viewing area for the event. Here's the link for the tickets. You'll save yourself about an hour in line. http://www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk/index/plan/tickets.htm Adults are $15 GBP.

 

For those of you on next week - our friends Mary and Tony Madonia will be joining you. They book very recently and are having problems booking tours. I tried to encourage her to use the roll call to find others to join. Not only does this make the trip less expensive - it gives you a chance to meet great people. I hope your tenders can make it into Orkney Islands and Wales. I'm sorry you will miss Cobh because it was an absolutely lovely place.

 

If I missed something you would like to know about the ship or port, just ask! It can be hard to limit the information when writing a review :)

What about the weather at this time of year? We were thinking of this itinerary for next summer, 'cause . . . well you know, we live in Mesa, AZ too, but the Olympics is scheduled for July-Aug. 2012. We have pictures of my son in Dublin in April in snow & that's not my idea of a vacation!

[mringenoldus]

London and LaHarve were about 70 degrees, but the other ports were in the mid- 50's. I dressed like our winter weather. An Eddie Bauer type wind/waterproof jacket is a must.

[sailaway5]

London and LaHarve were about 70 degrees, but the other ports were in the mid- 50's. I dressed like our winter weather. An Eddie Bauer type wind/waterproof jacket is a must.

 

Thank you so much for your hints.. This will help prepare us for our future cruise to the British Isles.

[DeloreanGirl]

Thank you for the review! We are going next May and I'm excited to see all the 2011 reviews coming in for this itinerary!

 

(Shhhh....but I'm also glad there are others who aren't forking out the Princess prices when busses and trains are 80% cheaper!)

 

Glad you had a great time! :)

[stunnedinva]

Thank you for the review! We are going next May and I'm excited to see all the 2011 reviews coming in for this itinerary!

 

(Shhhh....but I'm also glad there are others who aren't forking out the Princess prices when busses and trains are 80% cheaper!)

 

Glad you had a great time! :)

 

And in a couple of the ports, I could've used my earmuffs, which I had in my hand and didn't put into my suitcase. :rolleyes:

[Nanatravel]

I agree with Susan. I did bring a Polartec hat but forgot it in the cabin on the days I could have used it. I definitely used my lined gloves, which I just left in my coat pocket. My Nautica jacket was the best buy I have made in years @$39: zip out wool lining with nylon full sleeves, cinched sleeves, inside tie at waist and it had a hood. Wearing it over a blazer or light dress jacket or sweater was perfect.