Finally Posting - 2013 Ocean Princess British Isles Recap and Photos

[ontheweb]

We're not doing Tenby for the shopping.

 

DW is the world's finest elementary art teacher, so we are interested in the craft of the spoon making. She is also a swimmer, so since we read there are beaches in Tenby, we are hoping she can get a swim in there.

 

There was an interesting thread in the Britain section in which I asked about changing facilities in Tenby, and I was told by a native of Wales that they use large towels "to hide their modesty".

[Steph27]

Ontheweb - Tenby sounds like a great place to do a little shopping and visit the seashore. Your DW should also enjoy the love spoons. I hope you have a great cruise. Please post a member review when you come back.

 

Now on to the remainder of our voyage on the Ocean Princess.

 

Disembarkation:

 

We arrived in Dover very early, I think it was around 2:30 am and docked closer to 5:00 am. We walked off the ship with our luggage.

 

Following disembarkation in Dover we took at taxi to the Dover Priory station and after just a few stops arrived at Ashford International station. We had a bit of a wait here but here but finally boarded the Eurostar to Paris. We spent 2nights in Paris. We have been to Paris before so saw some other areas we had missed on previous visits. On our second day in Paris we took the train to Vernon and then a short ride to Monet’s Giverny Garden. We visited Normandy in 2012 but this was our first time at the Giverny Garden. It was an overcast day but the garden and pond were still gorgeous. On our last day in Paris we visited the famous Paris Flea market and then spent the afternoon in the Marais. It was a wonderful visit.

 

http://www.27thousandwaves.com/2013/08/disembark-dover-and-off-to-paris.html

 

Below are some photos of our time in Paris.

 

Eurostar to Paris

 

 

Dinner at Frenchie in Paris

 

 

Les Plumes Hotel

 

 

Monet Garden Giverny

 

 

 

Giverny Garden

 

 

Eiffel Tower

 

 

I have some other posts on the blog for Cologne, Germany and our AirBerlin flight to Florida. If you want to read about it you can access the blog at http://www.27thousandwaves.com

[loma linda ca a & j]

luv luv luv the photos esp of giverny & eiffel !!!!

2 of my fav places in the world !!:D

thoroughly enjoyed your recap !!;)

[Steph27]

Loma Linda ca a & j- I am glad you enjoyed the recap and photos. I remember your British Isles review on cc from last summer. I found the information very interesting and useful.

 

Below is a final recap and thoughts on the cruise on the Ocean Princess.

 

Overall we were very pleased with our cruise on the Ocean Princess. We enjoyed the small ship size and ambiance. Our balcony stateroom 7100 was very cozy with dark woods and blue upholstery. Areas on the ship that were lacking were the entertainment and food. First, the entertainment. There were no enrichment lectures with the exception of 2 port overviews on Edinburgh and Dublin. As lectures and enrichment is something we have enjoyed on other cruises we were disappointed but on such a short cruise it wasn’t a huge deal. The other negative was the evening entertainment which we found weak. A bad comedian and average performers really weren’t our thing. As far as the food, we really enjoyed breakfast and lunch on the Ocean Princess. No complaints there. We had less luck at dinner and preferred the food in the main dining room over both specialty restaurants. In the main dining room we had a table for 2 which worked wonderfully with the traditional seating. Our waiters were excellent and very hard working. However, the food was average to good on most nights. With this cruise being port intensive we were able to eat in port on several days which we enjoyed. Overall the 8 day British Isles cruise suited us perfectly and we would definitely sail on the Ocean Princess again given a great itinerary and reasonable cruise fare.

 

Here is the link to the highlights posted on my blog with photos.

http://www.27thousandwaves.com/2013/09/triumph-of-itinerary-recap-of-british.html

[Kewz1]

Thank you for your report!

 

We are considering doing the British Isles cruise on the OP next August. It's a slightly different itinerary but your posts made me very excited.

 

Thanks again!

 

Kristen

[loma linda ca a & j]

Loma Linda ca a & j- I am glad you enjoyed the recap and photos.

I remember your British Isles review on cc from last summer. I found the information very interesting and useful.

 

l

 

wish i had finished writing my review - left off after getting on the ship -

got sidetracked this year, going on a few cruises, planning lots more, family birthdays,

graduations, laughlin trip, genealogy jamboree, etc. so never got back to finish !! :eek:

 

but do want to repeat the cruise plus land trip to go to bath, lake district, & wales ! ;)

Edited June 16, 2014 by loma linda ca a & j