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

[cormike1]

I am loving your review Emily! My DH and I are trying to decide how to see the British Isles and I was telling him some of what you are writing. We might just decide to go this route instead of a bus trip. We tend to fall asleep on buses and miss stuff so a cruise might be in the cards next year. Keep writing please...you are cracking me up at some of your descriptions such as the Maitre D story....loved it.

[margord]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. We are on the July 8th sailing. I really appreciate your efforts and have thoroughly enjoyed reading about your adventures.

[desertminky]

We are sailing on the August 1st cruise and are so enjoying your posts! You should gather them all for a book - think of the fun you will have reading it years from now, all the good memories. I really appreciate your attention to detail. I had to laugh when I saw the binder part... I have a 2 inch binder that I am attempting to whittle down to 1". But we are gone for a month... so... I'll keep trying!

 

I look forward to tomorrow's post and hope you are getting over your jet lag. As another Californian I will be right with you at the end of August!

[miamichic]

I love your review!!! Thank you so much for taking the time

 

As a coincidence we just came back from Paris/Madrid and were looking to plan for next yr. We definitely want to see Ireland but when I read about having to rent a car i knew a cruise was for us! I googled Princess Caribbean British Isle review and your post came up!!!

 

I wanted to ask you a few questions:

 

Did you book the airfare through Princess? If no are you still allowed to book transfer from airport to ship?

 

I am looking at interior cabins should i book already approx 2K pp or worth waiting for a sale? (may 2013)

[DeloreanGirl]

I am loving your review Emily! My DH and I are trying to decide how to see the British Isles and I was telling him some of what you are writing. We might just decide to go this route instead of a bus trip. We tend to fall asleep on buses and miss stuff so a cruise might be in the cards next year. Keep writing please...you are cracking me up at some of your descriptions such as the Maitre D story....loved it.

Yes please, please, please do the cruise. I know it costs a bit more but it's so very worth it. We were so happy that at the end of the day we could come "home" to a free 5-star meal, turndown service, and a nice modern room. I didn't want to chance staying in a hotel where you had to share a bathroom or worry about electrical outlets. Princess did a great job of giving you three stops in each country.

 

We are sailing on the August 1st cruise and are so enjoying your posts! You should gather them all for a book - think of the fun you will have reading it years from now, all the good memories. I really appreciate your attention to detail. I had to laugh when I saw the binder part... I have a 2 inch binder that I am attempting to whittle down to 1". But we are gone for a month... so... I'll keep trying!

 

I look forward to tomorrow's post and hope you are getting over your jet lag. As another Californian I will be right with you at the end of August!

Hey, Palm Desert! My husband and I met there. (Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade, 2000). The local news crew interviewed us, lol. And yep, these stories as well as the photos are all going into a massive 12x12 Shutterfly album.

 

I love your review!!! Thank you so much for taking the time

 

As a coincidence we just came back from Paris/Madrid and were looking to plan for next yr. We definitely want to see Ireland but when I read about having to rent a car i knew a cruise was for us! I googled Princess Caribbean British Isle review and your post came up!!!

 

I wanted to ask you a few questions:

 

Did you book the airfare through Princess? If no are you still allowed to book transfer from airport to ship?

 

I am looking at interior cabins should i book already approx 2K pp or worth waiting for a sale? (may 2013)

 

I didn't book the airfare through Princess. I used Kayak to get the best price I could (and ughhhh the prices are steep). I wanted flexibility of leaving out of Ontario, CA instead of crazy LAX as well. So to answer your question, yes, you can still book the transfers even if you don't use their EZ Air. Just fill in your flight number on the Princess Cruise Personalizer page online and they will know when you've landed and that you're going on the bus.

 

As far as Interiors, the price started at $2k/pp a year out. Around November, they dropped to $1699/pp which is when I jumped on it and booked it. Hold out, and maybe they'll do that secretive "Veterens Day Sale" again. Then, I noticed that interiors dropped to $999 a month out. It's a big gamble waiting until the last minute, but those who did got their vacation at 50% off! Basically log into Princess.com every now and then and see if you notice any drops. That's pretty much how we did it. Right place at the right time.

Edited June 15, 2012 by DeloreanGirl

[JanetAlice]

I love reliving our Briitsh Iles cruise from last year. Great travelogue. Did you visit London post cruise?

[PathfinderEss]

Nice review.

[DeloreanGirl]

I love reliving our Briitsh Iles cruise from last year. Great travelogue. Did you visit London post cruise?

 

Yes! London was AMAZING! Can't wait to get to that part of the report. ;)

[vivavegas]

Really enjoyed your review! Thanks for sharing!:)

[vaughan]

Emily, you're very detailed and I can see that you enjoyed everything as we did with our daughter. Just to add about internet - you can buy minutes before you go and you get a free bonus of at least 20 minutes. Also with the buffet - the 2 Horizon port and starboard sides and the caribe - not always all 3 opened at same time and when they were some of the food and desserts were different.

[Cruzin-K]

I must add that Mike and I are huge (like….ridiculously huge) Titanic fans and I want to warn you that a lot of our photos throughout the trip have a constant Titanic theme. After all, Cobh, Liverpool, Southampton and Belfast were all HUGE Titanic ports. I say this because the Caribbean Princes s was berthed at 144. And Titanic was berthed at 146 which was right across from us. (Remember the movie? Where Jack won the poker hand and Rose got out of the car with her big hat? Yep, that was Southampton.) Spooky...

 

 

Oh, let me also note that Dan Styne was the cruise director. I’m glad the Patter told us, because I never saw him anywhere except an intro or two on our stateroom television when he emceed the beginning of a show.

 

Dan was the CD for my CB cruise as well - and he was one of the least visible Cruise Directors I've ever (not) seen. I was not impressed.

 

I am a huge Titanic buff as well. It started sometime before the 7th grade, which was when I had to do research on it for a term paper. I got an "A" :D I deliberately booked a cruise that would have me at sea on the night of April 14 this year (looking for icebergs in the Gulf of Mexico. LOL). The Jewel of the Seas had a very nice simple memorial service out on the helipad on the 15th, which was very moving. My next "dream cruise" will hopefully take me to Halifax which has a lot of Titanic history.

 

I am looking forward to the rest of your review, especially the Titanic ports :)

[DeloreanGirl]

Chapter 5: Visiting Ancestry in Cobh, Ireland! (Day 3)

 

Whatever eyelid wasn’t smooshed against the obnoxiously fluffy pillows opened and I noticed that the room was pitch black. I smacked the button on the travel clock to learn that it was only 4:40 a.m. Sandy was right, I had run on adrenaline and my not having taken the sleeping pill before going to bed left me wide-awake at the wrong time. Blast you, Pacific Standard Time!

 

I tossed. I turned. I ate a banana which I had swiped from the buffet for just this reason. My head was swirling with all of the new sights and sounds and experiences I had witnessed in my first few days. I stared at the ceiling until 6:30 a.m. in which I attempted to get up and watch the sun rise from the balcony. That didn’t get me too far since the sky was filled with a layer of silver clouds. I must have fallen back asleep because I was woken up a second time at 9:30 a.m. by our alarm clock.

 

We drew back the curtains and were greeted with a giant, green hillside and a prominent steeple. It was a beautiful welcoming to Cobh! From our balcony we could look down and see the train station, the new Titanic mural, and the entire charming little town.

 

We ate breakfast in the buffet (this would become a tradition as it was fast and plentiful) and headed back up to our room to get ready. The weather was brisk and very, very windy along the berth. We put on the appropriate clothes and I eagerly anticipated sightseeing as Cork County is where my family, the Sweeney’s (formerly MacSweeney’s), were from before heading to Boston and then onto California.

 

I took a picture of me in Cobh and sent it off to my dad, proud beyond all belief that I had this amazing opportunity to be in “our” city.

 

 

We headed down to the gangway where we were met with blustery winds. The poor Princess crew who were forced to stand there all day “beeping” people in and out were decked out in hats and thick parka jackets. We made our way directly into the Irish Heritage area where we read about Father Browne and how he captured some amazing pictures of Titanic before getting off the ship as told by a pastor (lucky, eh?) I really regret not going inside the emigration museum as it looked interesting.

 

The old train station is charmingly converted into a souvenir/café/tourist trap area. I say this in a good way as it was adorable and I could have spent a good amount of time here with some coffee and a pastry. I visited (read: raided) the gift shop and bought everything and anything that had my family name on it. I may or may not have also picked up two mugs and a hat. . .

From there, we walked all around Cobh. There is a Lusitania and Titanic memorial in town that Mike wanted to see. A field trip full of local schoolchildren was there and Mike was pleased to know that they’re keeping the current generation aware of such events. We climbed hillsides, narrow streets, anywhere we could go while visiting this peaceful ocean town. If I asked, “Where does this road go?” Mike would reply with, “Who cares, we’re taking it.”

 

 

My initial plan was to visit Cork city, but we liked the quaintness of Cobh so much that we hung out there. Normally it is a 15-minute train ride into Cork Kent Station and the train is right smack there next to the ship. I believe tickets are only a few euro's. From Cork, we were going to take the #224 bus 9 miles out to Blarney but we decided to stick to this particular area. If I were to do it over again, I would go out to Blarney first (and the Woollen Mills, oh my!) and then hit Cobh on the way back.

 

 

We visited the official White Star Line building. This would be where passengers would have bought their tickets and waited to board Titanic before she departed one last time and sunk four days later. Could you imagine? We visited the inside but there was a large field trip group beginning their tour so we figured we’d come back later. It was really incredible for us to be visiting this building as it is in a few important historical pictures.

 

 

We wandered and enjoyed the cool, fresh air (and boy was it fresh – much enjoyed after coming from L.A.!) and took the ocean path back to the ship. It was neat to walk through the residential area. The houses in this area are just beautiful. It’s so peaceful and quiet in those hills.

 

Once back on the ship, we visited the coffee area on Deck 5 in the Piazza and I had my very first cappuccino. Can you believe I’ve never had a cappuccino before?! They made it perfectly and a waitress offered to carry it to the table. At this point, they were coming by with “warm milk & cookies”.

 

{Excuse me while I go wipe the drool off my keyboard ...}

 

As I was saying, sometime around 3pm-4pm they come around the Piazza with freshly baked warm chocolate cookies and milk. Oh lordy. It was so good. I think at this point we also grabbed a delectable peanut butter & chocolate thingy-in-a-cup from the International Café right next door. All of these incredibly healthy foods combined left me in sheer bliss. I even tossed some leftover frothy mousse into the cappuccino – no lie.

 

I noticed that a local dance troupe was going to perform authentic Irish dancing in the theater that afternoon. We decided it would be fun to see that. We’re huge Riverdance fans and have seen Riverdance twice. The five teenage girls (and one adorable 7-year-old girl) that performed were very good! They did “a few reels and jigs” and the pipe player was excellent. It was a great way to cap off our first day in Ireland.

 

As the ship was ready to sail away, townspeople gathered at the pier. All of the schoolchildren hung out by the famous Annie Moore statue with their disposable cameras and cute little uniforms. Couples appeared from the hillsides and walked down to the docks. Families brought their children. And then, a band appeared! They played a few tunes, including “Over The Rainbow”. Joining them were five ladies dressed in early 1900’s attire. It was really sweet. If you watched our camcorder footage, my husband repeatedly goes back to zooming in on a particular blonde. It cracks me up!

 

As the side thrusters engaged, the ship slowly slithered sideways (say that three times fast!) until we had cleared the dock and started pushing forward. We passed by the houses in their various bright colors. The Cobh steeple stood proudly at the center of town. I couldn’t take enough pictures. As we chugged alongside the town, the Captain blew the deep, rumlbing horn a few times. It echoed between the foggy hillsides.

 

As we were sailing towards the open ocean, this man appeared near the bow. You have to understand that it got REALLY cold at this point and Mike and I were bundled up in fleeces and hats while shivering. The man sauntered across the top of the Bridge in nothing but a robe. It had to be a good 45-50 degrees and he was standing there in the frigid air, calm as can be! Whoever you are, sir, you made me chuckle!

 

 

Be sure to hang out either side of the deck while sailing away from Cobh, but mostly the port side. There, you will sail by some great coastline and a lighthouse. It was at this point that I had my official “OMG I’m In Ireland” moment…

 

 

Yes, it truly does look like a calendar photo in real life. Pinch me!

Dinner that night was equally delicious as the night before. I got veal, and I know my husband got some form of seafood because I’m pretty sure he ordered 11 straight nights of seafood. I’m assuming we caught up on a movie after that, as the bedroom TV was playing a few selections of fun flicks we hadn’t seen back home yet.

 

To view all of my Cobh photos, you can visit: http://s1173.photobucket.com/albums/r584/deloreangrl/British%20Isles%202012%20-%20Cobh/

For all of the Princess Patters, including Cobh/Cork, you can visit: http://photobucket.com/princesspattersbritishisles

 

Movies Under The Stars = "Breakfast At Tiffany’s" and "Midnight In Paris"

Theater: Comedy Showtime with comedian Lenny Windsor

 

 

 

Next Chapter: Lost In the Streets of Dublin! (Day 4)

Edited June 15, 2012 by DeloreanGirl

[nostalgiaguru]

wow, Emily, excellent travelogue. If I had known you were so good at this, I would have tried to have been more clever at Loch Ness!

 

btw, as a Starbucks drinker, concerning the coffee, I thought the morning coffee was absolutely terrible, but the coffee served at the evening meals was top notch. Not sure why the difference - the morning actually tasted like instant to me.

 

And agreed, the internet dude was a jerk, easily the most negative Princess employee on the cruise - acted like he wanted to be somewhere else and that all others were idiots! You could also get the 20 minutes free on board if you sign up the first day.

 

Oh, I don't think you would be able to live in London - I hear they surf on the left side of the ocean!

Edited June 15, 2012 by nostalgiaguru

[lauralou2]

Just thought I would say a word about the WEATHER in the UK it's totally unpredictable my American brother in law used to say if you don't like the weather in England wait a minute and that sums it up , in March i was walking the coastal footpath in N Devon in a T shirt and march is meant to be winter see what i mean . So my advice pack a little of everything :)

[cibaygirls]

I am LOVING this review. Just sad that I have hit the current end; I guess I will be forced to get some work done. I have been having an irrational fear that "big brother" at work is monitoring my internet usage and will soon be questioning why I spend so much time on cruise critic, when I should be doing work:p well reading your review, I just don't care if I get caught; it is enthralling.. the trip, your use of language, the details.. can't wait for more

 

In exactly 1 year from yesterday my DH and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary and we wanted to do a non-Caribbean type cruise.. I think you have my mind made up and we are only in day what 3?? :D

 

Dana

[DeloreanGirl]

Dan was the CD for my CB cruise as well - and he was one of the least visible Cruise Directors I've ever (not) seen. I was not impressed.

 

I am a huge Titanic buff as well. It started sometime before the 7th grade, which was when I had to do research on it for a term paper. I got an "A" :D I deliberately booked a cruise that would have me at sea on the night of April 14 this year (looking for icebergs in the Gulf of Mexico. LOL). The Jewel of the Seas had a very nice simple memorial service out on the helipad on the 15th, which was very moving. My next "dream cruise" will hopefully take me to Halifax which has a lot of Titanic history.

 

I am looking forward to the rest of your review, especially the Titanic ports :)

 

Glad to hear I wasn't nuts for not being too thrilled with Dan Styne. If you like Titanic stuff, oh boy, you'll get an earful once we get to Belfast...

 

wow, Emily, excellent travelogue. If I had known you were so good at this, I would have tried to have been more clever at Loch Ness!

 

btw, as a Starbucks drinker, concerning the coffee, I thought the morning coffee was absolutely terrible, but the coffee served at the evening meals was top notch. Not sure why the difference - the morning actually tasted like instant to me.

 

And agreed, the internet dude was a jerk, easily the most negative Princess employee on the cruise - acted like he wanted to be somewhere else and that all others were idiots! You could also get the 20 minutes free on board if you sign up the first day.

 

Oh, I don't think you would be able to live in London - I hear they surf on the left side of the ocean!

 

Something tells me the Internet guy will get quite a few bad remarks. The Brits that were waiting in line with me were polite to him despite disliking him but if you threw a New Yorker or Jersey person at him, they'd go head to head I bet!

 

I am LOVING this review. Just sad that I have hit the current end; I guess I will be forced to get some work done. I have been having an irrational fear that "big brother" at work is monitoring my internet usage and will soon be questioning why I spend so much time on cruise critic, when I should be doing work:p well reading your review, I just don't care if I get caught; it is enthralling.. the trip, your use of language, the details.. can't wait for more

 

In exactly 1 year from yesterday my DH and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary and we wanted to do a non-Caribbean type cruise.. I think you have my mind made up and we are only in day what 3?? :D

 

Dana

 

I'm trying to get work done and write it and I can't believe it's taken me this long! There's so much to sort through and break down day by day. I'm just now mailing out souvenir's to family and friends. Such a whirlwind week back at home. And from someone who has done a couple Caribbean cruises, I must say that a departure from that was kind of nice. It's a different feel being on a ship when you're not getting tan or drinking Pina Coladas, but we felt like we got to see SO MUCH of the British Isles by doing it through a ship. If you have any interest whatsoever in these countries it is absoultely worth it. Plus the whole everyone-speaks-English part makes it feel not as foreign, even though you're learning a ton about culture. :)

[bobandalice]

Bringing back fantastic memories for us. We were on the Crown last August for the exact same itinerary! Even though you pack a lot in 12 days, it's certainly worth it. Northern Ireland is probably the most beautiful place we have ever seen.

 

Just saw that there is a trip this August that is now priced at about 12 hundred LESS than we paid last year. Hmmmm....maybe a return? August was great, because of the Tattoo. What an AWESOME show. Thanks for helping us relive the excitement!

 

Alice and Bob

[Cruzin-K]

Glad to hear I wasn't nuts for not being too thrilled with Dan Styne. If you like Titanic stuff, oh boy, you'll get an earful once we get to Belfast...

 

I'm looking forward to it.

 

I got to see a fabulous exhibit of Titanic artifacts a couple years ago in Melbourne, Australia. I think it was a traveling exhibit, and was only there a few months and then moved on to someplace else. I felt very fortunate to be there at the right time.

 

 

I'm trying to get work done and write it and I can't believe it's taken me this long! There's so much to sort through and break down day by day. I'm just now mailing out souvenir's to family and friends. Such a whirlwind week back at home. And from someone who has done a couple Caribbean cruises, I must say that a departure from that was kind of nice. It's a different feel being on a ship when you're not getting tan or drinking Pina Coladas, but we felt like we got to see SO MUCH of the British Isles by doing it through a ship. If you have any interest whatsoever in these countries it is absoultely worth it. Plus the whole everyone-speaks-English part makes it feel not as foreign, even though you're learning a ton about culture. :)

 

I felt the same last summer on my first Med cruise. All my other cruises had been typical tropical beach vacations, but the Med was totally different. There was so much more sightseeing, and so many more photos taken. Most of my Caribbean cruises fit in one scrapbook each (7 day cruises). My 12 night Med cruise took up three books, and I still had to leave out a lot of photos.

[DeloreanGirl]

Chapter 6: Lost in The Streets of Dublin. (Day 4)

 

When I was in the sixth grade, our teacher asked us to do an oral report on our ancestry. Each kid had to pick the country they were from (or one of many) and speak about it. I was thrilled to pick Ireland and I gave a 10-minute speech on Dublin. However, during those ten minutes I called it “doo-blin” repeatedly and my teacher never once corrected me (thanks a bunch, Mr. Bacer). So to be able to actually visit a place which I had only read about in books was incredibly meaningful to me!

 

One of the handfuls of funny memories from this day was that we woke up monstrously late. I remember rolling over and looking at the clock and it said 11:20 a.m.

 

“OHMYGOD! OH! OH CRAP! Get up, get up, get up!”

 

It wasn’t that we were late for a tour or anything important like that. We were spazzing out because of something completely different -- the breakfast buffet closed at 11:30 a.m!

 

It was a view that I can’t even describe: Two people, furiously sticking their legs into jeans and hopping like drunken sack-race contestants trying to throw on sweatshirts and quickly brush their hair while trying not to bump into walls and doorways.

 

I kid you not, it’s probably a good 1/8th of a mile walk to the buffet from our room. The ship is roughly 955 feet long, and I’m going to guesstimate (yes, that’s a word in my vocabulary) that it’s a good 700-foot janut from our room at the bow all the way down the hallway to the aft elevators.

 

“The Shining”, much?

 

Then, it’s up five decks to Deck 15 but each deck has two sets of stairs so you’re really hoofing up ten sections of stairs. We took the elevator this time and made it there before they closed “the gates”.

 

Which, while we’re on the topic, let’s talk about the buffet:

In the twelve full days I was onboard, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out the whole Horizon Court vs. Café Caribe thing. Are they two different places? Is one smaller? I was so turned around at all times that I could never figure out what side of the boat we were on. Thank goodness they had signs out every day saying “Horizon Court Food Line Open: This Way” with an arrow or I would have completely lost my mind. I’m taking a guess that they open both Horizon Court and Café Caribe during peak dining hours since you had to find a seat somewhere.

 

{Observation:} The plates in the buffet are hot. Not out-of-the-dishwasher-at-home hot, a bit more like sandblasted-with-fire hot. There were a few days where I literally carried the edge handles of the plate with my fingernails because it was so hot. (This must be why Caribbean Princess scored 100 on her sanitary inspection last month!) Luckily, you can slide the plate along the counter near the food, but I will admit that if you saw chunks of iceberg lettuce strewn about or a dribble of soup on the counters – it was me.

 

I always found the food in the buffet to be good. Yes, your plate looks like a culinary version of a Jackson Pollack painting; what with the English sausage and American mac n’ cheese and Indian curry chicken and Asian potstickers next to the Italian pasta and Mexican flan. But hey, where else would you be able to sample anything you liked without paying for it? At least you could try a dish and know if you liked it or not.

 

I remember on other cruise lines how much of a mad cattle fight it was to get seats at the buffet. We never really had an issue with finding a table on this trip but I think that’s because we ate at really odd hours around the masses and we sat at smaller tables for two. I would like to commend Princess for having an entire long booth with multiple tables for two along it.

There are crew members waiting at the exit (I never remember entrances and exits on other ships, it was always a fend-for-yourself situation) and these crew members are incredibly sweet and will offer to carry your food for you to your table. I learned that this is a comfort issue and not a glutton issue and I know that there were people that relied on the staff to find them a table and carry their plates.

 

I should also note that there are more than enough servers to meet your needs in the Horizon Court and Café Caribe. It almost seems like they have nothing to do most of the time which I guess is sort of a blessing since you get fairly quick service. They hang out and wait for someone to sit down, then they come up and ask if you would like anything from the bar ($$) or some coffee/tea/juice/water. We mostly drank water and iced tea. Sometimes one will take your drink order and another one will come up and ask the same, not knowing you were already taken care of. When you are done eating, someone will take your plate from you with a smile (oh, how I wish this happened at home). All in all, the service in the buffet area was quite good.

 

Regarding filling up water from the water station:

It wasn’t until the end of the cruise that I saw two ladies walk up with their water bottles to the drink station in the server’s area of the buffet. They filled up their water bottle with the cold ice water. Why didn’t I think of this?! Is it against a rule? I know they don’t like it because of cross-contaimation reasons but I wish I had thought to fill up the plastic cups they provide with cold water and then dump it into my bottle to take on land. Instead, we just bought the tall $3.50 water bottle three times during our cruise. <smacks forehead>

 

As for the buffet desserts: I really hope you all like frothy chocolate mousse because this ingredient will be used approximately 642 different ways throughout the cruise. Frothy chocolate mousse in a cup! Frothy chocolate mouse on a tart! Frothy chocolate mousse with berries! Frothy chocolate mousse with tiramisu! Froth chocolate mousse in a triangle with ladyfingers! You get the jist. Six days into the cruise, Mike bought a dark chocolate Cadbury bar on land because, lord help him, he was all frothy chocolate mousse’d out.

 

I will say that they did also have a nice little selection of other dessert “things”. I call them “things” because I forget the cute names they add to them so as not to call them “that lemon thing” or “that one tart with a strawberry” or “let’s put out the same muffin but one day call it banana and the next day call it pumpkin”.

 

Mike and I were notorious for playing a daily game called, “Who Gets The Dessert Sampler?” One of us would walk back to the buffet after finishing lunch and would put one of each of the little desserts on a plate. Then we’d each grab a fork and take a bite out of each dessert (to make sure it wasn’t poison, of course) and also to see which ones we liked. It was rare that we disliked a dessert. There were one or two bread-like things that were bland or dry, but the rest were passable. I should also add that chocolate cookies (most likely the same ones served warm with milk downstairs) were always available and were a good backup.

 

Anyway…..

 

After having whirled through the breakfast buffet and getting our backpack and maps ready, we headed down to Deck 5 where we walked off the ship to the beautiful (and I use beautiful in a sarcastic way) parking lot and working port that is Dublin. Story goes that it is $8/per person each way for a Princess bus ride into town. (Where do you pay for this? Inside? On the bus?) I had heard that splitting a cab fare was cheaper. Luckily, there is an area with cabs (a.k.a. regular cars) right there next to the Princess buses waiting for large groups or couples.

 

{Tip:} The route from the ship to the outer edge town is not walkable. Well, let me rephrase that… I’m sure in some way it is (I saw one brave couple try it) but I wouldn’t advise it. I’d clock it at a good 2+ miles.

 

We flagged down a nice cab driver and asked him to take us straight to Trinity College as the HOHO bus that I pre-purchased online (dublinsightseeing.ie) would take us the rest of the way. The cabbie was incredibly friendly and sweet.

 

“You’re from California, eh? ‘Yer governor was the Terminator!” Yep, there you go.

 

He did a really good job. He pointed out landmarks and where to shop and how to not get lost (hint, hint) and offered his services to “rent” him for the day which we had to decline. He dropped us off right at the front of Trinity College. I believe it was 12 euros for the trip there, so I guess we broke even with the Princess bus cost in the long run, but at least we got witty Irish banter and a direct stop in front of the college! He said that cabs were fighting over cruise ship passengers to go out to the Irish countryside since it was a 90-minute ride and lucrative for them. Apparently cabs would pull around the corner and duke it out (ah, the Irish) and some companies would swindle passengers over other companies. Crazy! Apparently the police had to come straighten it all out, though you never saw this from the ship.

 

Trinity College is a do-not-miss sight in Dublin if you are exploring the city. Not to have a blonde moment, but it’s as if these kids all go to school in what looks like the White House. No big deal, just thousands of years of history and architecture and charm and monuments.

 

The college grounds are fascinating. I saw one of the student tours (as in a tour led by a student) in progress. I would assume these would be helpful as I felt guilty that I didn’t know what I was looking at most of the time – but it was beautiful! A co-worker back home gave me money and said, “Get me a souvenir shirt from any University”. Well, this would be the one! They have a very tiny gift store with a few shirts to pick from along with some snacks. The Book of Kells is the highlight here, and we didn’t have our timing right so the line was incredibly long.

{Tip} I heard that if you go after 1 p.m. the line is considerably shorter.

 

From there, we looked at the HOHO map and noticed that St. Patrick’s Cathedral was close by. This is when my husband muttered the words that would change our entire day: “Wait, honey, it’s right here. We don’t need the HOHO bus. It’s totally walkable!”

 

I’m doing a collective sigh just thinking about it.

 

We used the HOHO bus map plus the blue paper map that Princess hands out with the nightly Patters and headed into further the city of Dublin. We walked for a few minutes until we bumped into a beautiful church. It was Christchurch Cathedral, one of the stops on the HOHO tour.

 

“Wow, it really isn’t that far apart. Maybe he’s right. Darn, I shouldn’t have pre-paid for that bus. Maybe when we see one we’ll still hop on just for fun.” I thought.

 

We stopped and took a few pictures of Christchurch Cathedral, the first major cathedral visit of our trip.

 

From there, Mike looked at the map and dutifully noted that St. Patrick’s Cathedral (another must-see of the day) was “right around the corner”. Since when is anything “right around the corner” when people use that term? It never truly is around the corner.

 

We walked and walked and I started to see the spires that make up the top of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Hurray! We made it! I was so thankful at this moment that I had bought a bottle of water at Christchurch (so much for that refillable Brita bottle idea).

 

St. Patrick’s Cathedral is quite a sight. I actually thought it was THE crème de la crème cathedral until I figured out that there’s a St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York along with many other cities. Regardless, we were in Ireland. And anything Irish with the title “St. Patrick” had to be meaningful.

 

 

 

And I’m throwing this picture in because it involves a lovey couple + pigeons + park benches. So Europe!

 

We walked around St. Patrick’s Cathedral and through the gardens. The next must-see stop on my husband’s newfangled walking tour was the Guinness Storehouse Museum. This was the highlight of my day. According to the cartoon drawing on the map (which I sure somewhere clearly read “not to scale”) was a picture of the brewery. A mere 15+ minutes away by foot, we thought.

 

I don’t even know where to go at this point, because it was all such a blur. We followed some sort of boulevard that my husband swore “paralelled the other road”. But unlike Los Angeles where streets are either north/south or east/west, these roads had no rhyme or reason to them. They swerved and veered and circled and winded through the city. There was no “grid”. It was at this point that I realized that I hand’t seen a green HOHO bus in the last hour. It was like knowing you were drifting out to sea because you could no longer see clouds or seagulls…

 

Halfway through the day, we knew we were “misplaced” in the city and had to backtrack to find the city center. I explained to Mike that the Guinness Storehouse was a tall building that had a glass rooftop where you could look out to the city. At one point, I saw a tall building with glass and shouted, “There it is!” only to realize after walking a mile towards it that it was another apartment building.

 

At this point we were tired, cranky, thirsty and ready to call it a day. My husband technically hates Guinness so I guess he wouldn’t have been thrilled with drinking it or learning all about it. The whole trying-to-start-a-family thing left me unable to consume alcohol in the first place. So we decided to call it a day and trek back to the main part of town to hail a cab.

 

We somehow spotted the River Liffey and followed it back to the bustling city. Dublin is a very busy city. I can see why most tours went out to the countryside in this port. Having come from a big city, it was the opposite of what I was looking for but I’m still very glad we got to see Trinity College and both cathedrals. That made the journey into town worth it. But if I had the opportunity to go into Dublin again, I might pass (unless someone drives me straight to the Guinness Storehouse!)

 

We found a cab on one of the busy side streets and rode it back to the ship. Oddly, the fare was a few euros less than the ride out (around 9 euros). The cabbie was sweet and told us to have a lovely rest of trip. We were ever so thankful to be back on the ship and spent the rest of the evening eating another fabulous dinner in the Main Dining Room and catching up on more fun TV movies.

 

To view all of my Dublin photos, you can visit: http://photobucket.com/dublinireland2012

For all of the Princess Patters, including Dublin, you can visit:http://photobucket.com/princesspattersbritishisles

 

Movies Under The Stars = “Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol” (great movie in my opinion) and “I Don’t Know How She Does It” (Sarah Jessica Parker chick-flick).

Theater: Ventriloquist: Gareth Oliver. (Didn’t get to see this one. Plus ventriloquists are kinda creepy.)

 

 

 

Next Chapter: Liverpool: The City That Completely Surprised Us! (Day 5)

Edited June 15, 2012 by DeloreanGirl

[caribill]

 

 

Regarding filling up water from the water station:

It wasn’t until the end of the cruise that I saw two ladies walk up with their water bottles to the drink station in the server’s area of the buffet. They filled up their water bottle with the cold ice water. Why didn’t I think of this?! Is it against a rule? I know they don’t like it because of cross-contaimation reasons but I wish I had thought to fill up the plastic cups they provide with cold water and then dump it into my bottle to take on land. Instead, we just bought the tall $3.50 water bottle three times during our cruise. <smacks forehead>

 

The rule is not to fill up your personal bottles directly from the spigot for, as you said, health reasons.

 

Filling up cups as you suggested and then transferring the water to your bottle is the correct way.

[Mrs Moho]

Still luvin' it Emily :) Can't wait for the next Chapter 7 - day 5!!!

 

Re the drinking water - for next time - you can drink the water from the taps in your bathroom. We take small plastic water bottles with us, fill them up from the water in the bathroom - from the taps:D, keep them in the fridge then fill our metal water bottles as and when we need them, make sure re-fill plastic bottles, keep in fridge ready for the next day. Again, Dave's year's of experience at sea saves us $$$$'s on bottled water when on a ship - and we're still here to tell the story:D

 

Maureen

[WeBeGone]

This cruise is on our bucket list and I am LOVING your review. :)

[DeloreanGirl]

Still luvin' it Emily :) Can't wait for the next Chapter 7 - day 5!!!

 

Re the drinking water - for next time - you can drink the water from the taps in your bathroom. We take small plastic water bottles with us, fill them up from the water in the bathroom - from the taps:D, keep them in the fridge then fill our metal water bottles as and when we need them, make sure re-fill plastic bottles, keep in fridge ready for the next day. Again, Dave's year's of experience at sea saves us $$$$'s on bottled water when on a ship - and we're still here to tell the story:D

 

Maureen

 

This is totally why I got the Brita bottle with filter. I was going to fill it up from the sink and put it in the fridge. For some ridiculous reason I either would forget to do this, or just get lazy. :( I made up for it by pretty much only drinking water at dinners and lunches.

 

Ah, Liverpool. Can't wait to start the story...

Edited June 15, 2012 by DeloreanGirl

[Mrs Moho]

I made up for it by pretty much only drinking water at dinners and lunches.

 

You go girl!!! :D:D that's what we like to see, people getting their money's worth

 

Dave is desperately trying to download the videos of you leaving Liverpool from my phone onto You Tube - will let you know when they're on

 

Maureen

Edited June 15, 2012 by Mrs Moho

[DeloreanGirl]

You go girl!!! :D:D that's what we like to see, people getting their money's worth

 

Dave is desperately trying to download the videos of you leaving Liverpool from my phone onto You Tube - will let you know when they're on

 

Maureen

 

Yes, once I learned that you actually have to pay for water in Europe, I downed as much as I could onboard! :D

 

Let me know if the video gets uploaded, I would love to see it! I think my screen name on YouTube is "deloreangrl" but you can post it here, too. :)