Ruby Princess, British Isles, 7/22/14, Review with Pictures

[cougaraz]

We (myself and DW) are booked on the 22 July sailing of Ruby Princess for the British Isles itinerary. I am going to go ahead and start my review thread to capture our final preparations and travel from home to embarkation.

 

Background: We are both 36, a CPA and a military officer, no kids, but one very spoiled dog! This will be our our 7th cruise together, all on Princess, although each of us have cruised other lines, just not together. We are a fairly experienced team of travelers, both together and independently. Good food, good drink, conversation, adventure and history are high on our list of priorities.

 

The Plan: We were originally looking at a transatlantic on Cunard coupled with some travel time in the UK either pre or post cruise. However, the alignment of dates, options and cost drove us to look for other options. The British Isles itinerary appealed to us because of the variety of ports and focus on a smaller geographic area.

 

So, having settled on the cruise, we turned our attention to pre-cruise planning. We opted to do our touring before the cruise to take advantage of a few days and nights to recover from the time change. So, we will depart from home on Friday 18 July, take a car service to Boston and fly from Logan to Heathrow. Upon arrival in London, we are going to take a coach to Oxford and spend a few days seeing the sights and sampling the local beer. Tuesday morning 22 July, we will be taking a car to Southampton for embarkation.

Technology: I expect we will be posting lots of photos from two cameras, two cell phones and processed through a laptop and an iPad. The cameras are a Fujifilm XP-70 and Canon SD780 IS Elph, the cell phones are Samsung Galaxy S4 and a Samsung Note 2.

 

I will try to get updates out as we make our way through the trip. Should get the first notes on our packing and final preps out as we work through the next 12 days counting down to departure.

[Colo Cruiser]

Bon Voyage!

[seacrystal]

. . . . I will try to get updates out as we make our way through the trip. Should get the first notes on our packing and final preps out as we work through the next 12 days counting down to departure.

 

Thanks for the heads up on this. I really look forward to your insight. We will be doing this cruise next year and any help in planning will be much appreciated!

 

Have a wonderful cruise!:D:D

[granny49]

Looking forward to your review. We are doing this cruise next year. Interested in any tours that you have done.

[Grammyluvs]

This cruise and a cruise to Norway are both in my bucket list....looking forward to your review.

[KirkNC]

Look forward to your report.

[Kewz1]

Can't wait to hear about your trip!

 

Safe travels!

Kristen

[JanaJohn]

We (myself and DW) are booked on the 22 July sailing of Ruby Princess for the British Isles itinerary.

Thanks for taking the time to post a review. I hope to see you at the Meet & Greet on the 23rd.

[Keith1010]

You are off to a great start.

 

Keith

[bconley351]

Please ask if it is allowed to bring a bottle of whiskey back from the Jameson Experience. We are fine with it being held until the end of the cruise. We're also going to Glenlevit on a private tour and want to bring back a bottle of that.

Thanks!

[cougaraz]

I apologize that this thread got rolling and then I didn't post for a week! My work tends to be cyclical and this past week has been the busiest of the cycle. However, things are calming down and our preparations are well underway. I plan on working a full week this week and head to the airport quite quickly after work. The plan is to lay out all of my clothes and shoes for the travel day before I go to work, roll home, jump out of my uniform, quick shower and into the car service to the airport.

 

Packing and Luggage: Several years ago, we invested in Briggs&Riley luggage, it is very expensive, but exceptionally well made and they have a no-questions asked lifetime warranty. DW and I will each take one large rolling duffle (the tops are soft side with firm bottoms that can collapse for easy cabin storage). In addition, we will take a soft sided toiletry bag to share and a duffle with our shoes (they are so bulky). We are both planning to take a back pack, mine is a 5.11 brand and DW's is a North Face.

 

Clothing Plan: My plan is to wear one pair of casual pants and pack four additional pairs. I will take a selection of t-shirts, performance fabric for day wear and white cotton for evenings. I am planning on five long-sleeve casual shirts and a couple of polos to give me daytime options. For evening wear I have packed my formal dress uniform and will take two additional pairs of dress pants, three dress shirts and a selection of ties. I will wear one pair of casual walking boots, pack my dress shoes, formal shoes and am considering an additional pair of casual shoes (we will see). For cool and inclement weather I am taking a fleece pull-over and a light rain jacket. Obviously, I plan to have some laundry done. I am also packing a roll of bubble wrap and a homemade duct tape roll because I plan to purchase some whiskey to bring home and want to have protection available.

 

Will get some photos going shortly.

[cougaraz]

I am probably going to use Tapatalk as my primary posting medium during the trip since it allows me to use my iPad or cell phone and makes adding photos a snap. Just completed my first WiFi photo transfer from my new Fuji XP70. Online comments had indicated challenges, but it was cake.

 

 

The third member of our family, Winston, is unimpressed with the packing efforts.

 

 

There is plenty to do, but the evening is too nice not to take a break and enjoy a beer on the deck!

[rdsqrl]

Aw, Winston is just adorable! He's probably sulking because he has to stay home. I hope he has a babysitter who will spoil him rotten to make up for being left behind.

[TracieABD]

Looking forward to more...!

[cougaraz]

Organization is underway. A few pictures of the staging area and our bags. Threw in a pair of shoes for some scale.

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2014 by cougaraz

[speedyjane]

We look forward to your review. We will be doing this cruise at the end of August, and I'm interested in finding out about the availability of public or private shuttles at the ports. We're looking to do Edinburgh and Dublin on our own I have seen conflicting info on my CC searches.

Thanks and enjoy your trip.

Anita

[cougaraz]

So, travel isn't all glamour and adventure. Had to make pill pockets for Winston before he heads to the boarder's tomorrow. 24 hours from now we will be at the airport eagerly awaiting boarding.

[rdsqrl]

More Winston photos would be gratefully appreciated!

[cougaraz]

 

I aim to please.

[rdsqrl]

Thank you. He's adorable!!

[cougaraz]

All preparations are complete, checklists are correct and complete, car arrives in five minutes.

[cdngrl]

so exciting! bon voyage and I look forward to more.

[HRPro]

Have a great cruise--will be following along since we'll be on this cruise next year on the Royal.

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Have a safe flight!

 

We are on this trip next month..... will be following avidly! :D

[cougaraz]

I promise more 'review' once we get to the ship, for now, more of an update on our journey. Our car picked us up just before four and the trip up to Boston Logan took a little over two hours. Not really bad for a Friday evening. Check in for BA Club World was a snap, security was painless and we made our way to the lounge. The BA lounge in Logan is small, but much better than a typical American lounge. Plenty of serve yourself drinks and snacks. Also, since the flight is sort short, they offer dinner for Club World and First Class in the lounge, that means when you board, you can get right to the business of sleeping. See you on the other side of the pond tomorrow!