Ruby Princess British Isles Cruise: Detailed Review

[boaterette]

I am enjoying your review. Thank you.

[maggieq]

Hi Teresa

 

Thanks so much for doing this review. I am especially interested in your pre cruise. We are staying at a hotel close to heathrow 2 days before our quantum cruise. Was wondering what you thought we could see in central London during that time. I also heard the national express bus is a cheap option to Victoria station. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

Edited June 27, 2014 by maggieq

[Ferndale Girl]

You are doing great....can't wait for more!!

[caribill]

Hi Teresa

 

Thanks so much for doing this review. I am especially interested in your pre cruise. We are staying at a hotel close to heathrow 2 days before our quantum cruise. Was wondering what you thought we could see in central London during that time. I also heard the national express bus is a cheap option to Victoria station. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

Depends on your interests.

 

In just one day pre-cruise (staying near the airport) we had pre-booked tours of Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament as well as getting same day tickets to an evening play.

 

Another time we went to a mid-day concert and explored museums and also did the evening play.

[maggieq]

Depends on your interests.

 

In just one day pre-cruise (staying near the airport) we had pre-booked tours of Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament as well as getting same day tickets to an evening play.

 

Another time we went to a mid-day concert and explored museums and also did the evening play.

 

Thanks. Can you tell me who you booked the tours with and where you stayed?

[bconley351]

Theresa,

We're on the 08/15 sailing. I've organized a few privAte tours and need to come up with a meeting place. My largest group is 12. Any suggestions?

 

Lorraine

[Calgon1]

Thanks Teresa,

We're on this itinerary, on the Royal, in July next year ('15). Current planning is to arrive three days early. That will actually give us 2 1/2 days to play tourist. Marriott folks here too and will be using points. Any information, hints, tips, tricks and/or warnings you can provide will certainly be greatly appreciated!

[tourismtessy]

THANKS for all your feedback and questions everyone! It makes me smile to know that there are actually people showing up in my "class" to listen to me teach/preach and share :) I can't give too much input on "what to do for a day or 2 in London" pre cruise because we only had half a day. Because of that ENTIRELY TOO SHORT time frame, I thought the Hop On/Hop Off Bus Tour would be best. Because Hubby had never been and just wanted to see the highlights (physical landmarks of the city), this was the best option for us.

 

I decided on The Original Tour Bus Company after doing extensive research on all the different options for this type of tour. They seemed to be the one in business the longest and had the most positive reviews. I was not disappointed. They all cost about the same and provide pretty much the same product, its just a matter of personal choice. I also didn't want to pre-book and pre-pay just in case the weather or our bodies were feeling "under" the weather! Since I have been to London and Hubby didn't care as much, we left it open for same day booking and decision making. Because our day in London was immediately after getting off the Red Eye Flight, we weren't sure if we would be just exhausted and want to go to the Hotel and sleep. I knew I wouldn't--lol--but didn't need to make concrete plans regardless. Sometimes I like to just fly by the seat of my pants and make decisions SAME DAY for what we are going to do.

 

There is certainly enough to see and do in London to warrant a full week in this fabulous city and Hubby and I are definitely planning to go back and stay longer. It is really up to you on how much you want to spend and what you really want to see (indoor museums/theatre or mostly outdoor natural sights/parks). You can do both (a little bit of inside and outside, free and paid) and have a wonderful time. I always seek out the free stuff first and can be entirely happy just walking around a city for days enjoying the buildings, parks, and people. Because I am on a limited budget, I don't pay for anything I can get for free. I will go to the local Library, Free Museums and Parks before paying for a Exhibit or Garden. I have to be very frugal and I want to write and share about ways to travel BIG on a little budget.

 

If you have 2 days in London, you can do a LOT. Just research things that are interesting to you and narrow it down to your top 5 and go from there. Allow yourself flexibility in your schedule and adjust as necessary. The only thing you HAVE TO SEE is the #brightside! You will enjoy WHATEVER you decide to do, I am certain!

 

I chose our Hotel (Marriott) because we had a free night (due to our Loyalty membership and a bonus program) and the proximity to the Airport. It also had the free bus to and from Heathrow which is always something I look for (free and cheap public transportation). I can't give advice on anything I did not actually experience so I can't say anything about the National Express Bus. I have heard and read good things on here so thats the best I can do on that question.

 

For Lorraine's question, I would say there are several places on the ship that you could pick. Depending on the time of day you are meeting up with your group. Inside choices are the Wine Bar in the Piazza (if it is during the morning or daytime), the Library or Wheelhouse Bar/lounge, and Club Fusion. These don't get too much traffic during the daytime (unless a special activity is going on). Outside choice would be on the Promenade Deck 7. Its one of my favorite places to "escape" everyone. Plenty of chairs and hardly a soul there. You could pick a certain door to meet outside and go from there.

 

Maggie Q- I LOVE the theatre and if we were going to be in London longer, I would have popped by one of the box offices to see what I could get for same day tickets. They often have discounts and specials on the day of performance (if not sold out) and you can then wait until the day to just see what comes up. I often find that the BEST plan for my travels is NO PLAN! I usually have an A, B, and C all ready to go and often end up doing D--the one I didn't even thing of--DUH!:o

 

I hope this helps everyone so far. Keep the questions and feedback coming! I may be gone from here a couple of days because I have several "work" features to get written AND outdoor home projects that are calling me this weekend. They are actually YELLING AT ME because I have neglected to do them for 2 years now. Can't turn a blind eye anymore-lol! I'll be back on Monday with my next installment: Just a Day in Paris.

[Woobstr112G]

I just started to read your postings. Great review so far......:):):)

 

Bob

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for making the adjustment to the type size, color and paragraphs!

 

Much better! ;)

[caribill]

Thanks. Can you tell me who you booked the tours with and where you stayed?

 

Buckingham Palace http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/the-state-rooms-buckingham-palace

 

Parliament http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/visiting-and-tours/tours-of-parliament/guided-tours-of-parliament/

 

These tours are not always available.

 

We stayed at the LHR Hilton as we had points to do so.

[sssteele]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful memories. We think it's a large part of any Adventure.

 

Joanie

[loma linda ca a & j]

last year we spent 4 weeks in england - 12 days on brit isles cruise -

began a review detailing our 5 days in london & 5 days in southampton -

once on the ship got sidetracked by life at home & stopped :eek:

 

am going to try to find it and bring it up - not sure if it was under

"princess" or "caribbean princess" - hope it helps a few of you

planning trip to england - we loved it sooooooo much we hope

to return in 2016 or 2017 & probably repeat the cruise plus go

to bath & north & south wales!! ;)

Edited June 28, 2014 by loma linda ca a & j

[hubofhockey]

Wow, this detailed review is eight days old and hasn't even gotten to the embarkation port in Southampton yet. I've heard of teases, but this is taking that to new lengths.

 

OP, seriously, I hope you enjoyed your cruise. We did this a couple of years ago on the Caribbean Princess. If I were advising anyone on this itinerary, it would be to do your own research on not rely too much on what others post because there are so many options for many ports. I loved the Beatles history and we focused on that in Liverpool. Other highlights for us include, Stirling Castle, Antrim Coast (including Giants Causeway and Rope bridge), Holyrood House Castle, Royal Yacht, D-Day sites in Normandy, and fun in Dublin including River Liffey cruise. I wish there were an overnight and two days in Edinburgh and easily would have sacrificed Guernsey (but I know they need that to avoid some tax), Cobh/Cork, and Inverness. We did our pre-cruise four days in Paris and believe that trying to see Paris on a three or four hour excursion from a cruise ship is somewhat of a waste.

[tourismtessy]

Wow, this detailed review is eight days old and hasn't even gotten to the embarkation port in Southampton yet. I've heard of teases, but this is taking that to new lengths.

.

 

Well, I'm not sure what happened to you but I left Southampton on my last entry and we are well out to sea now:-) Maybe you got left behind somehow! Seriously though, I have no intention of teasing and leading you all on. I just have lots of other writing on my plate besides the normal day to day stuff that steals our time. My intention was to write every day and post daily but my heart is always way ahead of my hand :-) I will try and do better but I'm not going to make any promises! I don't want to set myself up for failure and leave you feeling empty. Trying to build a business that will generate income is taking a higher priority than writing and sharing what I am passionate about but that doesn't pay the bills. Let's all try and play nice here and keep feedback constructive and positive. Since I don't know you and can't gauge your personality from a paragraph, I am not sure if you were just kind of poking fun or being serious. The "taking it to new lengths" actually did make me smile because those that actually KNOW ME, know that I cannot tell a short story. I am a rambler when I talk, and a wanderer when I travel. So that particular comment held more truth than you were aware of---LITERALLY! Either way, I don't want to be labeled a tease so I am going to focus on putting that little fire out;) Responding to these kind of comments only takes precious time away from what I really want to be writing and sharing here. Not going to get drug into that arena from this point on.

 

In order to do that, I will leave this "page" for now and head offline to write about our day in Paris. I planned to take the weekend off from writing THIS review and focus on the many other tasks at hand but I am a SUPER Woman and I love a challenge. Thanks for giving me the nudge I needed to get this review DONE so I can help those that are in need and move on to other assignments:cool:

[March Babe]

Buckingham Palace http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/the-state-rooms-buckingham-palace

 

Parliament http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/visiting-and-tours/tours-of-parliament/guided-tours-of-parliament/

 

These tours are not always available.

 

We stayed at the LHR Hilton as we had points to do so.

 

 

Did you find this Hilton property centrally located and convenient? We are planning on going to London pre cruise in 2015 and are considering this hotel. We also would use points and have Diamond status. Thanks.

[tourismtessy]

Since Hubby and I have never been to this city before, it was at the top of our “MUST DO” list. Booking the shore excursion with Princess just made sense because of the travel time from Le Havre and not wanting to be stressed about missing the boat. We chose the Full Day Paris Trip that included lunch and Notre Dame.

 

The bus ride into Paris was lovely. Beautiful green rolling hills and farm animals dotted the landscape. Our Tour Guide passed out maps of the city and gave some random facts about Paris. We stopped at a Gas Station with Convenience Store and restrooms about an hour into the ride. There were a few other buses from Princess there and it was of course, very crowded. If you wanted to buy snacks or souvenirs here, you certainly could. We were here for about 20 minutes before getting back on the road again.

 

Once we got to the city, our first stop was a square where we were able to get off the bus for about 10 minutes and take pics of the Eiffel Tower. I am used to having to take pics on the fly AND fast, so this was not a problem for me. Took a couple pics for strangers, had a couple taken of us, and then I ran to get a little closer and get a few more shots. The weather was kind of gray but at least it wasn't raining!

 

 

After this stop we drove through the city, down the Avenue des Champs Elysees, and past some of the main city landmarks. I was just literally snapping pics out my window so I could look later to SEE where I actually was. This is not my preferred way to see a city. I like to explore on my own, and on my feet! However, due to our limited time here, it was the best option to just sort of get a taste of Paris. After driving through the main part of the city, we went to the Restaurant for lunch. I was underwhelmed with the meal. It was basically a boneless chicken breast, potatoes, salad and bread. For dessert we had a very plain apple tart. It was dry and almost tasteless. Once again, not impressed. Wine did come with the meal but neither Hubby or I drink it. The folks that were wine drinkers said it was “just ok”. It started raining right as we went in to eat and the rain actually was pretty cooperative by doing most of it during our lunch. After lunch it was on to Notre Dame.

 

We were dropped off right next to the beautiful Cathedral and our Tour Guide said, “If you want to go shopping or inside Notre Dame, it is your choice. The line to go in will take at least 45 minutes to an hour and you need to be back at the bus in an hour and 10 minutes”. I felt like I had been punched in the gut! We had purposely selected this excursion because of the Notre Dame portion. Not having time to go inside was just a huge letdown. I knew that the odds of getting inside within the hour and then having any time to see anything at all, was slim to none. I didn’t want to “waste” our hour standing in line and not even get in. I was under the impression that the cost of this tour included going inside Notre Dame. Didn’t happen. We made the best of an unfortunate situation and just walked around while I took a ton of pictures. The Cathedral is truly beautiful on the outside so I’m sure that the inside is spectacular. But, you can't prove that by me :p I couldn’t allow myself to dwell on what we WEREN’T getting to see and chose to focus on what I was seeing. I had no plans to go shopping and spend money on souvenirs. The pictures I take ARE my memories and they don’t cost me anything. AND they don’t take up room in my luggage! The weather was also starting to clear up and we enjoyed our little bit of time here just walking around. I was able to get a couple great #sweetheartselfies of Hubby and I and that was fun! There was a cute little park right across the street that had a sign with “Free WiFi” so Hubby tried to connect on his phone. No luck there. We were just going to do a quick CHECK IN so we could have a ping of our location on Facebook. Another #epicfail!

 

We got back on the bus and headed through the city to go back to the Port. The sky finally got real pretty and as we went over a bridge I was able to snap a few bus shots of the Eiffel Tower again. THAT was the highlight for me! Beautiful blue sky and the bridge in the foreground made up for the Notre Dame Fail. I was now a Happy Girl and settled back to enjoy the ride back to Le Havre.

 

***SIDEBAR: I found out later from another passenger on the same tour but a different bus, that their Tour Guide actually brought them into Notre Dame via a separate line (for pre paid visitors). This stirred my feelings of disappointment back up and I made time later during the cruise to offer feedback at the Shore Excursion Desk. The Crew Member that helped me was needless to say, NOT very helpful. And when I say "not very" helpful, I mean AT ALL. I told him what transpired with our Tour Guide (not bringing us in and telling us we could go wait in the line if we wanted). I then shared how another passenger on the same tour but a different bus was actually walked into Notre Dame via a different and shorter line. Their guide stayed with them inside and provided information throughout. His response to this was "What is the name of the passenger you talked to?" I told him I didn’t know them, just had a random conversation in the gift shop onboard and we were sharing about our day in Paris. They said they were on the same excursion, just a different bus (We were on Red Bus #1 and they were on #2). He (Shore Excursion Rep) said that the Tour does not state that you will go inside so basically TOO BAD. Not even an apology or acknowledgment of my concern. I told him that they may want to make some clarifying statement on the Excursion information stating something like “there may be time to go into Notre Dame, however, it is not guaranteed.” Since there was no such verbiage AND it was a tour that cost a LOT of money and included Notre Dame, I made the mistake of assuming that it INCLUDED Notre Dame. Yeah, I already know what it means :-) I just felt better communication—specific to the Notre Dame portion—would be nice. I wanted to prevent others from having the same disappointment. Everyone on our bus thought the same thing I did—that we would go IN. They all shared the disappointment but I was the only one that actually took time to give feedback at the Shore Excursion Desk (according to the Rep that was—-well, was NOT helping me). That made me the bad guy in this scenario. I seriously felt like I was being interrogated and walked away with my head held in shame. After taking time to let them know of a discrepancy and inconsistency in a Tour that we paid dearly for. I wasn't looking to receive anything from Princess but definitely the Customer Service Response was inadequate. I spent money (and then my time) in hopes of receiving what I paid for and came away feeling worse than if I had just not given the feedback. As a former Customer Service Rep, I always seek to provide feedback that is useful and constructive. I wasn't complaining, just giving facts about the Tour. Anyway, bygones. Just a fair warning to those thinking about paying the hefty price for this particular excursion. The food—not worth it. Notre Dame—maybe you will get inside, maybe not. The rest of the day and excursion went seamless and all in all, a good day. Just not GREAT! You can take what I experienced and hopefully use it to help you decide if you are stuck between a couple choices.

 

I'm still struggling with attaching photos to my post here. I can't upload via the "insert image" link because it asks for an http address for the file. I'm not sure why it does this for a photo file (I use iPhoto). I tried to upload via "attachment" which is what I have done on a couple posts so far, and it gave me an ERROR response this time (after I selected 5 individual files and then hit UPLOAD). I get frustrated with computer technicalities because it is NOT my strength. I really want to share more of my pics and have them be full size but I am failing this assignment :confused:

 

If anybody has the time and patience to try and guide me through (via written instructions), I would LOVE YOU for it. I'm sure all the readers would too! Just don't call me stupid. I'm already a Tease and that would just make me a STUPID tease. Not gonna help my self esteem issues OR enhance your reading experience here :D

 

 

Edited June 29, 2014 by tourismtessy

[tourismtessy]

Since I am not a quitter and I strive to give my best ALWAYS, I am going to play around with trying to attach a link to my Joyful Journeyist Facebook page. I have 2 albums loaded over there (so far) from this trip. The Ship and our day in London. It is easy for me to load pics there so I am going to get busy on the rest of our cruise so at least people can find them over in Facebook land! Here goes nothing:

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.477846705692293.1073741834.219749854835314&type=3

 

I am going to hit submit and then go back to this post and see if it actually included the link. Fingers crossed

[tourismtessy]

FINALLY I have something positive happening here! The link attachment worked and I loaded the pics from Paris over on Facebook.

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.489335567876740.1073741836.219749854835314&type=3&uploaded=42

 

Here is the link to the London Pics:

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.487553724721591.1073741835.219749854835314&type=3

[shredie]

So sorry you didn't get into Notre Dame. You must go back to Paris. There is no way to the city justice in one day. I saw some videos on Youtube about Notre Dame. Maybe that would at least give you a glimpse. We have been to Paris a number of times, and I just go in the worshiper's entrance (which I am there to do anyway.) Sounds like you had a bad tour guide. I had one of those once in Pompeii--showed us just about nothing.

[JimAOk1945]

We enjoyed a wonderful complimentary FULL breakfast at the Marriott before going back to the Airport to pick up our Princess Cruise Transfer to the Ship.

 

Question: You had to go back to the airport to get your Princess Cruise Transfer? Were they not able to pick you up at your hotel?

[whatcruiseisnext]

Did you find this Hilton property centrally located and convenient? We are planning on going to London pre cruise in 2015 and are considering this hotel. We also would use points and have Diamond status. Thanks.

 

 

We are doing the British Isles next June and are looking for a Heathrow hotel. I checked this one out but the reviews on Tripadvisor are extremely poor.

[insidecabin]

All cruise lines run the Le Havre for Paris scam.

 

This stop never used to be on the round Britain cruises but I guess the US take up is much better with the "Paris" port.

 

You should be very annoyed you were conned

 

if you look at the princess web site shore ex.

 

It starts with the missleading

 

Paris/Normandy (Le Havre), France

 

http://www.princess.com/excursion/exlistfordestination.page?portid=LEH&t=R&exType=S

 

for your tour(if it was this one.

http://www.princess.com/excursion/exDetails.do?t=R&exType=S&tourCode=LEH-100

 

which includes

Inside visit of Notre Dame Cathedral

Details:

Transport type:Walking

Transport Capacity (Normal Use):45

Time at site:01:15 Inside Visit :Yes

Total number of steps:1

Wheelchair accessible?:Yes Handicap

Free Time at Site (minutes):20 Shopping available?:Yes

Currency accepted:EUR

Photo/Video restrictions?:No

 

you were supposed to have a 25min guided tour inside

Edited June 29, 2014 by insidecabin

[hubofhockey]

Sorry, looks like my post about the review not getting started was removed. I meant no harm.

 

I agree that it's unfortunate cruise lines lead passengers to believe Le Havre is Paris. The best way to see Paris with this itinerary is to begin your vacation by flying to Paris and spending a few days there. When the cruise begins, just take the two hour Eurostar train from Paris to London, before making the transfer to Southampton. Sorry to hear about your tour and hope you get to Paris and get into the Notre Dame, but also enjoy the city at night, take an elevator up the Eiffel Tower, see the Louvre, the Orsay, Montmartre, cruise on the Seine, see the Opera building, and even get to Versailles.

 

The Princess British Isles itinerary is decent, but not as a means to see Paris. Also, I believed the best port was Edinburgh and that deserves more than the few hours you get with this itinerary. They could dump Cobh and Inverness and spend days elsewhere. We still enjoyed the cruise. There is plenty to see on it. I also believe that these cruises give you a taste or just a glimpse of these cities and ports and leave it up to you to decide whether to invest more time on a future land trip. It sounds like you are excited from your trip and enjoyed it. We leave in a week for the St Petersburg and Baltic itinerary. My lesson learned from British Isles is that these port intensive longer Princess itineraries have hits and misses. I'm hoping for more Edinburghs and less Cobhs and Invernesses.

 

Oh, I hoped you liked the Ruby. It's our favorite Princess ship.

 

Looking forward to more of your review.

[maggieq]

We are doing the British Isles next June and are looking for a Heathrow hotel. I checked this one out but the reviews on Tripadvisor are extremely poor.

 

I think some were using points for the marriott and hilton. I am looking at the Sofitel. It's in line with the price of the better hilton

Edited June 29, 2014 by maggieq