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

[DeloreanGirl]

For those of you with Mariano Manfuso as your captain -- he loves checking out his nails. ;) :p

 

[margord]

We are on the same cruise on July 8. Thak you so much for taking the time to do this review. All I can say is WOW! What a great job.

 

Marilee

[nostalgiaguru]

Hi there! One of our cruisers (nostalgiaguru) is a big Celebrity fan.

 

We didn't do the London Eye because I heard there were huge lines for it and the weather was questionable. We weren't sure how much time we would have. BUT! If I were to go back to London I will absolutely without a doubt go on the Eye (with fast track tickets, of course)!

 

Glenn, I really loved Celebrity, we used them in Alaska last year (2011). They are owned by Royal Caribbean and are considered their premium line. Their food and entertainment was the best, lots of fresh made to order stations on the buffet, hand-dipped ice cream, and self-serve drinks. And, they're the only cruise line I've been on where the unlimited soda card is worth it - you can use it for cans of soft drink.

 

I've also noticed they have some of the best prices for Med cruises at the moment, depending on what you want.

 

As is now obvious from Emily's travelogue, the British Isles cruise on Princess was incrediible. I will say that although we only did two Princess tours, they have the best tour guides I've ever run into. In Liverpool, the guide was a childhood close friend of Ringo Starr, and in Paris, our guide knew the masterpieces and sculptures in the Louve like she was in her living room.

Edited June 20, 2012 by nostalgiaguru

[paddingtonbear]

Emily

If you go to London again, or for others who are going to go, the railway offers a buy 2 tickets for the price of 1 deal on most of the attractions/entry fees in London. You save an incredible amount doing this and all for the cost of the tube ticket you will buy anyway. There is lots of info on Trip Advisor.

 

We did a few of the london walks (walks dot com) and for 8GBP they were fantastic. Especially the London Tour which took you from Westminster to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards and the changing of the horse guards and then on to Picadilly and Trafalgar Square. That walk finished right in front of a pret-a-manger which we also found fantastic every day for lunch.

 

We didn't do the london eye either although we had half price tickets. The weather was great but we had heard mixed reports and we just didn't have time for it in 5 days. We took the river cruise all the way to Greenwich instead (half price).

Edited June 20, 2012 by paddingtonbear

[DeloreanGirl]

 

We did a few of the london walks (walks dot com) and for 8GBP they were fantastic. Especially the London Tour which took you from Westminster to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards and the changing of the horse guards and then on to Picadilly and Trafalgar Square. That walk finished right in front of a pret-a-manger which we also found fantastic every day for lunch.

).

 

Wow, this sounds right up my alley! I will definitely make a mental note of this for next time. :cool:

[TM]

What a wonderful review. This cruise is on our bucket list for next August, 2013. Looking at your pictures makes what to go right now!!! We will be down loading this whole review for reference.

 

I loved the way you wrote your story, I agree you really need to work for Princess, you could sell anything!!

 

Thanks for taking the time to post this.:):):)

[JanetAlice]

2.) Video.... hmmm.... I want to say yes because I'm obsessive about hunting down stuff like that and your screen name sounds very familiar...

 

Here you go.

[bphman]

As we prepare for our July 8th British Isles cruise, I thoroughly enjoyed your travelogue. I have to put you up there with the Preismans who have been a good CC source for cruises of similar tastes to ours. I applaud you tireless energy to do such a detailed review. We are taking the easy route and doing mostly Princess excursions. We are meeting friends who live in Belfast who will show us around.

 

It was reassuring to see that you had such high regard for the Park Plaza Victoria where we, too, will be spending 2 nights. I looked at the HOHO bus but decided to go with a Premium UK all day tour which seemed reasonable in that they include all of the admissions which can add up. I found a discount coupon on line for them which helped but a little difficult to redeem. I am also looking into the Duck Tour. We have done them in several cities and find them to be a lot of fun. I tried to get theater tickets but most of the good shows were sold out so I think we will wing it.

 

Princess also upgraded us from a G to an FF by moving us down 4 cabins. Our view has changed from that of one lifeboat to another. I can't believe they call that an upgrade. You really got lucky getting a balcony upgrade.

 

I look forward to reading the exploits of Emily and Mike in the future.

[DeloreanGirl]

As we prepare for our July 8th British Isles cruise, I thoroughly enjoyed your travelogue. I have to put you up there with the Preismans who have been a good CC source for cruises of similar tastes to ours. I applaud you tireless energy to do such a detailed review. We are taking the easy route and doing mostly Princess excursions. We are meeting friends who live in Belfast who will show us around.

 

It was reassuring to see that you had such high regard for the Park Plaza Victoria where we, too, will be spending 2 nights. I looked at the HOHO bus but decided to go with a Premium UK all day tour which seemed reasonable in that they include all of the admissions which can add up. I found a discount coupon on line for them which helped but a little difficult to redeem. I am also looking into the Duck Tour. We have done them in several cities and find them to be a lot of fun. I tried to get theater tickets but most of the good shows were sold out so I think we will wing it.

 

Princess also upgraded us from a G to an FF by moving us down 4 cabins. Our view has changed from that of one lifeboat to another. I can't believe they call that an upgrade. You really got lucky getting a balcony upgrade.

 

I look forward to reading the exploits of Emily and Mike in the future.

 

I hope you love Park Plaza Victoria as much as we did. I couldn't believe how close it was to everything. The hotel is very modern, the bathrooms are nice, and the bed is the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in, hands down. I left them stellar reviews.

 

Your trip is right around the corner -- enjoy!!

[4cats4me]

Thank you for the wonderful review. I loved it! Some friends approached us 3 days ago about doing a British Isles cruise. I never had the faintest interest in doing one until I saw your beautiful pictures. Husband and I are now reconsidering our previous postition about not wanting to go on one. So beautiful!

[Garfunkel]

Emily, I know it's been said a few times, but I'm from the UK (North West, about 1 hour's drive from Liverpool, a city which we LOVE) and I just wanted to say how wonderful your review has been. I've enjoyed every moment of it, and it's been great to see what someone from California thinks of our country on a first time visit. We're cruising to Hawaii in September and we're having 2 nights in LA before we sail, so like you, I've been doing loads of research before we go. We've been to New York and Clearwater, FL, and spent one day in SF (a place you've never been, ha ha), but LA is new to us. You're one up on us, we've never been to Ireland! We keep promising ourselves a weekend in Dublin or Belfast.

 

@bphman, regarding theatre tickets in London, if you go to the Leicester Square Box Office you can buy discount tickets on the day, although they may not have what you want. We just go and ask what good seats they have available. We'll be there the weekend of 14th July, hoping to get something then.

[newsier]

Hi there! One of our cruisers (nostalgiaguru) is a big Celebrity fan.

 

We didn't do the London Eye because I heard there were huge lines for it and the weather was questionable. We weren't sure how much time we would have. BUT! If I were to go back to London I will absolutely without a doubt go on the Eye (with fast track tickets, of course)!

 

You can't see everything with a short- short visit, we couldn't - so next year we head to Tower of London for a long visit.

 

As an FYI - I too was a little worried about long ques but I bought the Champaign Flight and walked on at our designated time - but - they do sell a Fast Trac ticket that allows you to skip a lot of the long line - I can tell you this - any wait is well worth it!

 

Someone mentioned the Duck Tour - Do it! Although not as eventful as the Duck Tour in Memphis where carp kept jumping into the duck (it got old after awhile), but the tour was good and fun and you'll wonder if the duck will make back up the ramp from the River Thames (It does)...........LOL

 

Enjoy Lomdon everyone.......

 

Glenn

[newsier]

Glenn, I really loved Celebrity, we used them in Alaska last year (2011). They are owned by Royal Caribbean and are considered their premium line. Their food and entertainment was the best, lots of fresh made to order stations on the buffet, hand-dipped ice cream, and self-serve drinks. And, they're the only cruise line I've been on where the unlimited soda card is worth it - you can use it for cans of soft drink.

 

I've also noticed they have some of the best prices for Med cruises at the moment, depending on what you want.

 

As is now obvious from Emily's travelogue, the British Isles cruise on Princess was incrediible. I will say that although we only did two Princess tours, they have the best tour guides I've ever run into. In Liverpool, the guide was a childhood close friend of Ringo Starr, and in Paris, our guide knew the masterpieces and sculptures in the Louve like she was in her living room.

 

Hi - thanks for the info. We do a TA then stay on for the British Isle cruise. We are long time Royal Caribbean cruisers and although we are not displeased with Royal, it's time for a change. We are very excited to sail X as I see where many of the experiences are different and we look forward to the change.

 

As far as tour guides, not sure at this point what tours we will take. On a TA back in 2008 in Cobh we took the Titanic Heritage Walk. We enjoyed it but we enjoy Titanic history. It's a walking tour given by an Irish Navy retired sailor. He was knowledgeable and had that Irish sense of humor. Lots and lots of walking - some uphill. When in Cobh next year - I believe we will walk around Cobh on our own a bit it is so neat, maybe we'll find that neighborhood pub his tour ended at - a true Irish Pub off the beaten tourist path. We have no interest in the Blarney Stone.

 

We are lucky in Liverpool. The person who runs the Liverpool information thread on CC is a personal friend - so we are covered there! Hahahaha

 

Take care and thanks again for the info.......

 

Glenn

[DeloreanGirl]

We're cruising to Hawaii in September and we're having 2 nights in LA before we sail, so like you, I've been doing loads of research before we go. We've been to New York and Clearwater, FL, and spent one day in SF (a place you've never been, ha ha), but LA is new to us. You're one up on us, we've never been to Ireland! We keep promising ourselves a weekend in Dublin or Belfast.

.

 

Let me know if you have any Los Angeles questions. Our city is pretty crazy but we do have some interesting stuff tucked away here and there. :o

[nostalgiaguru]

Emily, after re-reading your travelogue for the second time (yes, it's THAT good!), I realized why I love and recommend cruising so much. We had basically completely different experiences (except for Loch Ness, thanks to the tip I got from you), but yet we both come home thinking it was the best vacation of our lives. Cruising offers myriads of choice to please myriads of people.

 

I can't sleep past 630am regardless of what country I'm in and our touring reflected that. We found ourselves back on ship by 1pm several days. We made use of the spa most every day in some capacity, whether it be a massage, the pool , hot tub, the equipment, etc, and Princess does well in that regard (except for the almost constant sales pitch of some type).

 

You mentioned you didn't see the cruise director much, we actually felt like we saw him more often than any other ship we've been on - he was very entertaining, and we went to all of the shows, and the free galley tour and backstage tour they offered during the last At Sea day, as well as watching My Week with Marilyn. I noticed the guy on TV looked like the Cruise Director, but something was different. I brought this up at dinner one night, and one of my dinner buddies said it was his twin brother, the asst.? Not sure I believed this, but he seemed dead serious.

 

And the way I knew I was back home? - the moment I stepped off the plane in Cincinnati, my allergies returned and I started sneezing again. Oh well, on to Kentucky, home sweet home.

 

Again, thanks for writing this, for all of your travel tips, and we hope to see you again some day.

 

Greg

[Northern Light]

Triport - as JanetAlice mentioned, passports are often collected. As Emily mentioned, they were collected upon check-in and given back after Dublin. We were told that the Ireland authorities needed to review them.

 

I thought I would post with a suggestion. Jeff and I have colored copies of the primary page, which we had laminated at an office supply store. While our passports were with the purser, the laminated copies went with us in our money belts. Our passports stay in the safe (or with the purser in this case).

 

I thought I should mention one thing for others reading this review. As with Emily, I hope this helps as it caused Jeff and I a bit of alarm.

If your intention is to disembark the ship at Le Harve, you will not get your passport back after Dublin. The purser will keep it and the French authorities need to review it. Unfortunately, this was not communicated well to us...so when the room steward was delivering passports after Dublin, she asked if we had our passports already..."uh, no". She didn't know where they were....we didn't think highly of that...but our room steward wasn't very with it at all. Anyway, off to the pursers desk right away, who told us that our passports were being retained for the French authorities and we will have instructions on when to pick them up the day before reaching Le Havre.

 

So in Liverpool, Northern Ireland and Scotland, as we usually do on any intinerary, we carried around our laminated copies in our money belts. The yellow tags that Emily spoke of...they were in the safe.

 

We ended up picking our passports up the morning of disembarkation at the Crown Grill, and then proceeded off the ship in Le Harve.

 

Hi back, Emily and Mike! Ultimate Ships Tour...tons of fun!

 

Melissa

 

We always have a copy of each other's passports with us when we are on a cruise but one should also carry other photo ID like a driver's license since the ship often hangs on to one's passport. A word of warning though if you are in a foreign country and decide to leave your passports in a hotel safe. My DS and BIL were in Christchurch, NZ, last year when the earthquake happened. Thankfully, they were out on a tour but unfortunately were not allowed to return to their hotel. They were taken by military aircraft to Wellington where the Cdn Consulate was in order to start the process of getting special papers in order to leave the country. Their passport copies were worthless as identification as they could have been counterfeit according to the authorities. So, the bottom line is to always make sure you have picture ID with you and even passports when possible. Since they weren't allowed back into the hotel to collect their belongings, it was many months later before everything was shipped back to them (at considerable expense) and, of course, they had to apply for replacement passports.

 

S :)

 

What a wonderful review!

 

Your creative and humorous style of writing with the great photos has provided helpful information. We are planning to do this same itinerary next year, so I have copied this thread and put it in my binder.

 

This quote from Pat Conroy is one of my favorites...

Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.

 

Thanks for taking us along on your journey!

 

I love this quote...it's so very, very true. Thanks for posting it as it will surely end up in my scrapbook and maybe even framed and hung on the wall.

 

S :)

 

To Maureen (Mrs. Moho)..thank you very much for posting the YouTube video so I got to hear the music when we left Liverpool. I always watch when we leave but missed this one for some reason. A GF caught the image of our ship via port cam as we left this port and I could see we were on the wrong side and probably indoors. Enjoy your upcoming cruise. Would you mind sending me your email address: sandy@yahoo dot ca

 

To Emily....this thesis has been a real pleasure to read and I thank you for taking the time to write it and posting it here for all of us to enjoy. I just keep reliving this cruise over and over and would give anything to be back on-board enjoying the ports all over again. While we did different things that you, it was very helpful (and fun) to hear of your experiences which we will keep in mind for another trip back. Your photos are wonderful.

 

We only did a few Princess excursions but were most impressed with our amazing tour guides. I truly wish you had taken the Princess tour to get you into Honfleur. Our tour guide was typically French but was full of information and our drive to this charming town was wonderful with the bus slowing considerably and often pausing so we could take photos along the way. We did not stay with the guide when we arrived in Honfleur so we could take in as much of the area as possible and do it at our own speed. However, our path kept crossing with the ship's tour so we picked up bits and pieces along the way. DH and I ended our day by sharing a delicious crepe, sitting outside and enjoying the view. Of particular interest to Canadians, this is where Samuel de Champlain set off to discover Quebec City.

 

As everyone has already mentioned, Emily, you are an excellent story teller and it was a pleasure to meet you and Mike. I hope many more cruises are in your future and look forward to reading those reports too.

 

I would also recommend that cruisers try to spend some time in London either pre or post cruise. You won't regret it.

 

Sandy :)

[loma linda ca a & j]

as sandy mentioned above, we have found the guides to be exceptional on both princess and carnival - many are trained & educated in the history, art, architecture, culture, etc. which is what we really appreciate

however, we have also enjoyed many CC private tours & had excellent guides also !!

cannot recall any excursion we did not enjoy to the fullest !!

re honfleur, it is a charming place - some of my ancestors were with champlain - my dad's 4 grandparents were from quebec - i did not learn this till i was 40 in 1982 when beginning my family genealogy - have since been to quebec 3 times and france twice - with my fr can gen group in burbank - have tried 5 times to learn french - just can't do it - but have never had a problem with anyone in either place - perhaps, i am just a lucky person !!:)

 

hope some of you who are thinking about BI cruise will join us on 5/12/13 and or 5/24/13 !!;)

p.s. thank you again emily and all others who are giving such good advice - BI is jim's heritage !!!!

[gkkapp]

Emily-

 

We were on the cruise before yours. I've enjoyed reading your review but I wish you had gone to Paris as planned. I did read some of your posts before the cruise and knew you were keen to go.

 

We took the Princess tour, "Paris on Your Own". The ride to Paris was not that bad, lots of nice scenery. We were with another couple and the four of us made a plan beforehand. We had 4 hours and we saw everything we planned on seeing and then some. The bus drove down the Champs Elysee past the Arc de Triomphe so we got a good view of it. We were let off at Place de la Concorde and we grabbed a taxi (yes, they will take 4 people!) to Notre Dame Cathedral. Walked around taking pix, went inside (crowded but worth it) and then had a quick lunch at a sidewalk cafe (on the "bucket list" of things to do). We then began walking back to the Place de la Concorde. The walk took us along the Seine to the Louvre. I even had time to look for and buy a small oil painting from a sidewalk vendor. We did not go into the Louvre but we did see the famous glass pyramid. Again, lots of photos. Next we walked through the Tuileries Gardens. It was a beautiful day and all of Paris seemed to be in the gardens. We arrived back at the bus pick-up point with time to spare. All day we could see the Eiffel Tower from a distance but to our surprise the bus drove right passed it on the way out with a slow down for pix.

 

It was a lot of walking but well worth it. The four of us are between 66 and 70 and in good shape so this may not work for everyone. You could take a taxi to the area you want to see and then a taxi back to the pick-up point.

 

I'm writing this to encourage others to do Paris even if it is only for 4 hours. Who knows if you will get there again. Enjoy it while you can!!! Here's a link to our photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/gkappesser/BritishIslesCruiseMay2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCNyG_4OT786O8wE&feat=email

<<<Karen>>>

[nostalgiaguru]

I'm writing this to encourage others to do Paris even if it is only for 4 hours. Who knows if you will get there again. Enjoy it while you can!!!

<<<Karen>>>

 

I agree - Paris was our favorite day of the whole cruise!

[DeloreanGirl]

I noticed the guy on TV looked like the Cruise Director, but something was different. I brought this up at dinner one night, and one of my dinner buddies said it was his twin brother, the asst.? Not sure I believed this, but he seemed dead serious.

 

I looked up someone with the last name "Styne" on IMDB.com for that movie and couldn't find anyone.

 

Side note: We just watched the new Sherlock Holmes movie and it was FANTASTIC! If you want to see a gorgeous re-creation of 1800's London and Paris, try watching it. It is, stylistically, the most beautiful film I've ever seen. (And I'm married to a film student, lol)

Edited June 20, 2012 by DeloreanGirl

[Northern Light]

as sandy mentioned above, we have found the guides to be exceptional on both princess and carnival - many are trained & educated in the history, art, architecture, culture, etc. which is what we really appreciate

however, we have also enjoyed many CC private tours & had excellent guides also !!

cannot recall any excursion we did not enjoy to the fullest !!

re honfleur, it is a charming place - some of my ancestors were with champlain - my dad's 4 grandparents were from quebec - i did not learn this till i was 40 in 1982 when beginning my family genealogy - have since been to quebec 3 times and france twice - with my fr can gen group in burbank - have tried 5 times to learn french - just can't do it - but have never had a problem with anyone in either place - perhaps, i am just a lucky person !!:)

 

hope some of you who are thinking about BI cruise will join us on 5/12/13 and or 5/24/13 !!;)

p.s. thank you again emily and all others who are giving such good advice - BI is jim's heritage !!!!

 

For some reason, I seem to recall that you were on our roll call for the Star Princess transAtlantic (or the Baltic portion) two years ago in May and had to cancel, unfortunately. Am I correct?

 

Emily-

 

We were on the cruise before yours. I've enjoyed reading your review but I wish you had gone to Paris as planned. I did read some of your posts before the cruise and knew you were keen to go.

 

We took the Princess tour, "Paris on Your Own". The ride to Paris was not that bad, lots of nice scenery. We were with another couple and the four of us made a plan beforehand. We had 4 hours and we saw everything we planned on seeing and then some. The bus drove down the Champs Elysee past the Arc de Triomphe so we got a good view of it. We were let off at Place de la Concorde and we grabbed a taxi (yes, they will take 4 people!) to Notre Dame Cathedral. Walked around taking pix, went inside (crowded but worth it) and then had a quick lunch at a sidewalk cafe (on the "bucket list" of things to do). We then began walking back to the Place de la Concorde. The walk took us along the Seine to the Louvre. I even had time to look for and buy a small oil painting from a sidewalk vendor. We did not go into the Louvre but we did see the famous glass pyramid. Again, lots of photos. Next we walked through the Tuileries Gardens. It was a beautiful day and all of Paris seemed to be in the gardens. We arrived back at the bus pick-up point with time to spare. All day we could see the Eiffel Tower from a distance but to our surprise the bus drove right passed it on the way out with a slow down for pix.

 

It was a lot of walking but well worth it. The four of us are between 66 and 70 and in good shape so this may not work for everyone. You could take a taxi to the area you want to see and then a taxi back to the pick-up point.

 

I'm writing this to encourage others to do Paris even if it is only for 4 hours. Who knows if you will get there again. Enjoy it while you can!!! Here's a link to our photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/gkappesser/BritishIslesCruiseMay2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCNyG_4OT786O8wE&feat=email

<<<Karen>>>

 

I totally agree with you. We took the On your Own Princess tour into Paris a couple of years ago and have never regretted it. I did not find the bus in long at all but was filled with anticipation as I enjoyed the countryside. I would rather have the memory of a few hours in this city than to have never been there at all. Hopefully, that will soon change and we'll go back.

 

Sandy :)

[nostalgiaguru]

I looked up someone with the last name "Styne" on IMDB.com for that movie and couldn't find anyone.

 

Side note: We just watched the new Sherlock Holmes movie and it was FANTASTIC! If you want to see a gorgeous re-creation of London and Paris, try watching it. It is, stylistically, the most beautiful film I've ever seen. (And I'm married to a film student, lol)

 

I see I have led you astray with one of my KY run-on sentences - I was referring to the TV in our stateroom each morning on channel 21 where they give us the highlights of the day

[kqcallahan]

We took the Princess tour, "Paris on Your Own".

<<<Karen>>>

 

THANK YOU! I have been looking for months for someone who has said they did this. How were the taxis prices? Were they a lot? We know it's not a lot of time but I can't be that close and not walk and visit the places I wanna go :)

 

Thanks

[gkkapp]

kqcallahan-

 

We think the taxi was about 10euros, maybe a bit more but not much. They charge an extra 3euros for the forth person. There is a large, fancy hotel on one side of the Place de la Concorde. We walked over there and stood where the taxis pull up. One let a fare out and we asked if he would take the 4 of us. He said no problem and off we went. Maybe we were lucky but it just didn't seem that hard to do. DH took French in high school and did remember enough to ask in French. The driver seemed to understand some English, though. Writing down where you want to go and showing it to the driver may be another way to do it. Also, planning makes all the difference. You can't see everything so pick your top choices. We gave up a boat ride on the Seine as too time consuming but for others this maybe just the thing. Do what makes you happy.

 

<<<Karen>>>

[DeloreanGirl]

I see I have led you astray with one of my KY run-on sentences - I was referring to the TV in our stateroom each morning on channel 21 where they give us the highlights of the day

 

Oh! The Wake Show. Gotcha!

 

We only really saw the assistant Cruise Director. The sarcastic one with the Ken doll fluffy hair. :D