Caribbean Princess British Isles Review

[TouringTom]

After a short drive where Bridgette continued to tell us about the first few days of the D-Day invasion, we pulled into the American Cemetery. Bridgette told us that this land actually belongs to the United States and is maintained by the USA. It was a gift from the French. The area is exactly as it should be. There are beautiful views of the sea and it’s very quiet and peaceful. The memorials are tasteful and informative and there is an air of respect throughout. What I really liked was there is no gift shop or commercial enterprise of any kind. Bridgette had handouts of where various graves were (Teddy Roosevelt Junior, soldiers from easy company (Band of Brothers), the brothers that inspired the Private Ryan movie and others). We walked through the grave area and ended up at a beautiful small chapel built at the far end. If you go ensure you go inside and check out the ceiling. Magnificent. There is a visitor center on the grounds also. As we were there for only about 45 minutes, we chose to walk the grounds rather than go through the visitor center. Our friends Jim and June went through the visitor center, which they described as quite extensive. 45 minutes was no quite enough time to go through the entire thing, but they seemed to be satisfied with what they did manage to see.

 

We then drove over to Pont Du Hoc, which was the site where the Rangers scaled cliffs to ultimately destroy six large German guns that threatened the fleet. This effort was featured in The Longest Day, which I recommend you watch again before visiting the area. Bridgette explained that the Rangers initially went to the wrong cliff in the fog of war and then realized the error. The delay cost them dearly. They had prearranged signals that had to be sent at a certain time to trigger the deployment of reserve troops. The delay caused them to miss the opportunity to send those signals so no reinforcements were sent for a few days. Once again Bridgette’s knowledge really helped us understand what these men went through for our freedom.

 

When the Rangers reached the top of the cliffs there were Germans but no guns. Turns out the guns were so valuable the Germans didn’t want to risk them and had hidden them in nearby fields after one had been destroyed during the pre invasion bombings. The Rangers fought the Germans and then followed wheel ruts and found the guns and destroyed them. Bridgette helped us ponder what would have happened if those guns had been in place and able to unleash their shells on the invading fleet. The Rangers lost over 100 men on the effort but were able to accomplish the mission.

 

Pont Du Hoc has several bunkers, some destroyed and some intact. We were able to go inside and see the view of the area from a German perspective. The largest bunker had a kitchen, living quarters, sleeping quarters and a large lookout slot. We also saw tunnels that connected the bunkers together so they could go from one to the other without being exposed.

 

We then went to lunch in the village of Ste Mare Eglise. This is the town also featured in The Longest Day where Private John Steele and his fellow paratroopers were dropped erroneously over the village on 5 and 6 June 1944. Unfortunately for John and his comrades there was a fire in the village (possibly due to incendiary bombs) which was being put out by a fire brigade of locals supervised by a large number of German soldiers. Private Steele ended up dangling from his parachute on the church in the middle of the town. He hung there for two hours pretending to be dead until finally the Germans took him prisoner. The café we ate at was across a small square from the church that has a model of John Steele hanging there to this day. AJ was able to buy some t-shirts at a museum across the street so he was happy.

 

Photos:

1. American Cemetery

2. View from the cliffs of Pont Du Hoc that the Rangers scaled under fire

3. Time capsule to be opened on June 6 2044 at American Cemetery

4. Memorial on Pont Du Hoc

5. German view out of the bunker via the "slit"

[TouringTom]

We then drove to Utah beach. What a difference from Omaha. This beach is actively used by tourists and was much more commercial. They took a former German communications bunker and turned it into an Internet café (appropriate I suppose). There was a static display of an American tank symbolically bursting through the German tank wall that had been built all through this area. We walked on the beach at low tide and could see the difference from the high tide we’d witnessed earlier in the day. We also learned that there are markers from there (and Omaha) all the way to Belgium showing the route the allies took (highlighted in Band of Brothers). These markers are placed every kilometer and have the name and rank of one of the soldiers who gave his life on the campaign. Bridgette explained that the first one is at KM0 (Omahah) and KM00 (Utah) and they meet up and become one line all the way to the site of the Battle of the Bulge. It is quite a tribute. Our fellow passenger Greg had the idea of collecting sand from Utah. He gave a baggie full to AJ who now has it in a container on his shelf. As a history buff I’d expect him to keep that for years to come (Thanks Greg!).

 

After Utah Bridgette had one more surprise for us. She took us to a private farm area that back on D-Day was a rallying point for paratroopers. Overlord Tours had special permission from the owners to go on the land. Bridgette had photographs from a soldier named Forest Guth who had smuggled a camera in. She told stories about how the farm was manned by 70 Germans. When they saw 16 paratroopers coming up the road they figured there were many more right behind them (there weren’t). 20 of the 70 ran away and the rest engaged the Americans in a gun battle. The Americans won and eventually used the farm as lodging. It was very interesting to see the photos and hear the stories. We also learned about the famous hedgerows that gave the Allies fits when trying to move inland. Once I saw them I had a much clearer understanding of the problem facing the invading forces.

 

Our final stop was the village of Angoville au Plain. Bridgette told us about medics Robert E. Wright and Kenneth J. Moore who treated American and German

wounded on D-Day in the small church in the center of the village. This church was built around the same time as the Battle of Hastings (1066) and is worth seeing in it’s own right. Bloodstains are still evident on the wooden pews where these medics treated wounded soldiers. A cracked floor tile shows where an unexploded bomb came through the roof and luckily didn’t detonate.

 

Bridgette then told us that Bob Wright had come back to the village in 1999 as part of a group of veterans on a tour of Normandy churches with the tour guide Rick Steves. He didn’t immediately recognize the village but when he saw the church he knew where he was. He explained it to the local people helping the tour and the next thing he new the village had turned out to greet him. He had saved a young boy who had been orphaned that day. That boy, now a middle-aged man, still lived in the village and the two were reunited. Bridgette showed us photographs and really helped make the story come alive.

 

Two hours back and our tour was complete. We really enjoyed Overlord Tours and were obviously able to see much more than we would have on the ship’s tour at a lower cost. I highly recommend this company to anyone interested in touring the Normandy beaches (they will customize it so you see the areas that are of the most interest to you).

 

The ship leaves Le Havre a little later than the other ports so we didn’t have much time. We finished packing our suitcases and then went to our final dinner on board and then to bed in preparation for our trip home the next day.

 

Photos:

1.John Steele hanging from the church in Ste. Mere Eglise

2. Bridgette explaining the scenario at the Farmhouse

3. Kilometer 00 marker on Utah

4. Family on Utah beach

5. Church window honoring the paratroopers in Angoville. Church is where Bob Wright set up his first aid station

[TouringTom]

July 23rd – Disembarkation and the trip home

Disembarkation day is never our favorite. The primary reason, of course, is it means our time aboard ship is over. But also because historically on these days we have always felt like cattle going through a chute as we’re being processed off the ship. I’m happy to tell you that Princess does disembarkation right. We were given a colored card with a number on it. This told us that we needed to meet in the Islands dining room at 8:30AM, which was much later than on previous cruises. This allowed us to grab a nice breakfast in the buffet before heading down. Once we got into Islands we waited a few minutes and were then escorted off the ship. We found our bags right away. We then breezed through customs and immigration. Once we were through we showed our colored card and were directed straight to our Princess transfer. The bus was clean and comfortable and soon we were on our way to Heathrow. This bus took us right to our terminal at Heathrow which quite a timesaver.

 

Once at Heathrow we were a little confused on the procedure. Turns out if you are flying United from Terminal four (and maybe all terminals and airlines?) you aren’t allowed to check in until 2.5 hours prior to your flight. Therefore the area in front of the check-in counters was fairly hectic and disorganized. Once our time came up we checked in easily and headed to our gate. We found our flight was delayed but spent the time shopping through several nice airport shops. Finally we boarded and had a pleasant flight to Houston.

 

Upon arrival in Houston we quickly figured out that AJ and I were going to have a tight connection. We hurried down to baggage claim and then took the bags through customs. After that we rechecked them and thought we were going to make our flight! Wrong. Rounding the corner we found another security checkpoint. For some reason they have you leave the secure area (which appears to be an easy thing to fix) and so you have to go back through the screening process before you can enter the domestic terminal. That line was at least 45 minutes long and ensured we were not going to make our flight home. I checked the phone and found an email from United that said we had already been booked on the next flight which was the same flight Kathy and Emily were booked on. All seemed well until we got to the gate and found that the later flight was also delayed. We ended up getting to Denver after 1 AM. The real victim was Sarah who had come to the airport to pick us up. She thought we were landing at 8:30PM but it was not to be. We did end up home safe and sound and that’s the most important thing.

 

Looking back on this trip we feel like it was one of the best vacations we ever had. We had a wonderful time in London and then cruised around the British Isles in our floating hotel. We were able to catch on to some amazing tours including Annette Henry in Guernsey, Pat Stone (Orkney Aspects) in Kirkwall and Overlord Tours in Normandy. We were tired but felt blessed to be able to take such an awesome vacation.

 

I hope you enjoyed this review of the cruise. We enjoyed ourselves and recommend this cruise to anyone with an interest in the area. Have fun!

Dennis, Kathy, Emily and AJ

[Uniall]

I am sure glad you're enjoying it. Sorry I've been busy this week but will finish up today with three posts. Thanks for reading.;)

 

Tom

 

I will use every one of your reports in planning my excursions.

John

[TouringTom]

Tom

 

I will use every one of your reports in planning my excursions.

John

 

I hope it helps. Have fun on the cruise!

[Hawaiian Mongoose]

Tom,

 

Thanks so much for the thorough coverage of the whole trip. What a great help for us and so many other CC members too. We hope to do the same itinerary next year twice on the Ruby Princess. Right now I have so many questions for you that I can't put them in any good order.

 

Hopefully, I'll get my thoughts organized and post some questions soon.

 

Thanks again for a wonderful collection of information.

 

Patric

[caroline491]

Tom

 

I will use every one of your reports in planning my excursions.

John

Thanks Tom great help in deciding what to see and do.

[TouringTom]

Glad you liked it. Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[rubrrick]

Glad you liked it. Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

 

Sent from my phone using Forums

 

 

Tom, WOW, thank you for sharing your wonderful experience with all of us at Cruise Critic.

 

You have done some of this before, and some for the first time.

 

We have experienced Ireland 4 times now, Scotland 3 times, and the UK......seems like home. You have written of some things that we have never experienced, and want to see.

 

You didn't have enough time on Guernsey..........we spent 4 days there, with another day on Sark, and could not soak enough in. The Germans built an underground hospital on the island, and the only thing that it did was to allow the wounded to die faster, as the Germans discovered after a fashion.

 

It turns out that sunlight heals everything faster, and the underground hospital only allowed everything to keep festering.

 

You accomplished so much in a couple of areas that we have not seen, like Belfast.

 

You talk about Glendalough, and that is where we have stayed on 3 different occasions. Twice, we have left the ship at Cobh, and have a rental car that we take to Dublin, once thru the center of the county up into the Wicklows, and once on the coast, via Waterford, and then up into the start of the Wicklows to Glendalough, where we have two favorites overnight hotels, and 2 different lovely pubs.

 

Thank you for such an informative blog. I look forward to following you on new experiences, where ever they may take you!!:)

 

Rick

[ToonaGal]

Hi Touring Tom,

I just joined Cruise Critic and fumbling my way around I found your post! My husband and I will be on the Ruby Princess British Isle cruise leaving on May 23rd and I am in the preparing stage. Your post was exciting to see. I will look forward to your future entries as well. We know about the expense over there. We had planned to go early and do some time in London but it was WAY to expensive for us. So we are just going from Heathrow to the ship. Seeing the beaches at Normandy is on my husband's bucket list. We are old enough to remember when it was cheap over there. We did a lot of traveling when we were young but have never cruised there before. This is only our 2nd cruise. We did Alaska on the Diamond Princess last August. I really appreciate all your input!

Thanks!

Kassy

[ToonaGal]

Hi Touring Tom,

I just joined Cruise Critic and fumbling my way around I found your post! My husband and I will be on the Ruby Princess British Isle cruise leaving on May 23rd and I am in the preparing stage. Your post was exciting to see. I will look forward to your future entries as well. We know about the expense over there. We had planned to go early and do some time in London but it was WAY to expensive for us. So we are just going from Heathrow to the ship. Seeing the beaches at Normandy is on my husband's bucket list. We are old enough to remember when it was cheap over there. We did a lot of traveling when we were young but have never cruised there before. This is only our 2nd cruise. We did Alaska on the Diamond Princess last August. I really appreciate all your input!

Thanks!

Kassy

[TouringTom]

I am glad you found some tidbits from our travels last summer. Enjoy your cruise. We loved it and I'm sure you will as well

[Amesley]

Thank you Touring Tom. This is the most comprehensive information I have come across on the British Isles cruise. I deeply appreciate the detailed work that you have provided for all fellow cruisers. My trip is coming up on May 23rd and I cannot wait to see your words turns into the real landscape.

[loma linda ca a & j]

yes this british isles cruise is one of the best !!!:)

 

we want to do it again !! perhaps in 2016 !!;)