Trip Report - July 18 - August 1, 2015 Ocean Princess to Scotland, Iceland & Norway

[wismergirl]

Enjoyed your review. I was on the Ocean August 9.

 

We booked a British Isles cruise originally but then the Iceland & Norway cruise came out in March (the original itinerary was to the Baltics) so we switched. Was the weather nice when you were on OP?

[wismergirl]

July 18, 2015 – Canterbury to Dover (Day of Embarkation)

 

Don't know why image disappeared...

 

...the Enterprise office right opposite the port.

 

...Yay! So excited to get on the ship!

 

Don't know why the image didn't show up, here it is again...

[wismergirl]

 

...Our bags arrived as we entered our mini-suite #8010 after lunch.

 

 

 

Sorry, posted the same 2 pictures! Here is the correct picture: unpacking with 2 big suitcases on the bed, 1 carry-on on coffee table, 1 carry-on + 2 backpacks on the couch. I don't want to put dirty suitcases directly on bedsheet so the Princess unpacking mat was perfect! I also brought a few sheets of thin disposable table cloth to line the drawers & shelves before I put my clothes in. Just throw out the liners at the end of the cruise & it's more hygienic for myself and the next guest.

[cormike1]

What was the reason you booked with Princess? You don't seem too happy with a lot of what you experienced so I wonder why you didn't choose another cruise line. Your usual choices are not Princess....just wondering!

[baggal]

What was the reason you booked with Princess? You don't seem too happy with a lot of what you experienced so I wonder why you didn't choose another cruise line. Your usual choices are not Princess....just wondering!

 

I agree, I'm not a Princess cheerleader and don't want to hijack a thread where someone is taking the time and effort to write such a detailed review, but...I think its unfair to compare any mass market line like Princess to Crystal.

[msmoger]

I'm enjoying the pictures and look forward to your reviews of the ports. Just wondering though, did you research the Ocean Princess?

 

We sailed on her last year (loved it by the way) and will be sailing on her sister the Pacific Princess next year. I had no illusions that this would be a particularly lively cruise as compared to the larger ships. 14 day itineraries tend to attract a more mature demographic and the small ships in effect magnify this given there aren't nearly as many bells and whistles.

 

As far as food is concerned, I thought the MDR and Specialty Restaurant food was very good for a mass market cruise line.

 

You're elite on Princess but based on your signature I assume it's been a number of years since you've sailed with them.

 

Anyway, I'm not trying to be confrontational and certainly everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I genuinely do look forward to the rest of your review. The photos are great. :D

[wismergirl]

July 19, 2015 – At sea

 

DH & I booked a massage & facial (Traveller’s Special) at 8 am & it was really relaxing. We basically continued our sweet dreams in the treatment rooms. I made use of the 10-20-30 promotion (1st treatment a 10% discount, 2nd treatment a 20% discount & 3rd treatment a 30% discount) & did 3 treatments: Traveller Special (facial & massage), hair treatment (totally worth it as my hair condition is now so much better) & another facial. The discounts were applicable even with the daily specials. Then we went to the Tahitian Lounge for the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet event in which I was the organizer.

 

It was great to see so many officials who came to support us and introduced themselves to us, including the Captain, the Cruise Director, the Hotel Manager & the Customer Relations Manager.

 

It was wonderful to be able to meet with the CC friends that we had been chatting online for months before the cruise. We were also able to finalize a lot of private tour details. It was really easy to be the organizer as I just had to email Princess, gave them the number of people attending, suggested a date/time & asked for a venue. I then had to advertise the event on CC, and made name tags with everybody’s screen name and actual name on, plus the national flags of the countries we were visiting. Of course you can just get the blank sticky labels & have everybody write their own names on. It's just a cruise memento to each CC friend, including some blank ones with just the design, for those who never posted but viewed our postings (there were some who attended just because they knew!!) What a great way to spend the first sea day!

 

Here are DH’s and my tags so you can see both sides. Tags are printed double sided. To be precise, the flag labelled England is actually the Union Jack (UK).

 

After lunch it was my hair appointment (again it couldn’t be prebooked online!! Why??? Other spa treatments could be booked online but not hair). The port talk was SO BORING! Speaker’s tone was very monotonous though it’s very clear. My cruise notes that I made at home had more info & even better pictures. Then I had to get ready for the first formal night. Though there were only 3 photo stations, we took a lot of pictures. As elite guests we got double raffle tickets for taking formal portraits but we forgot to go to the draw the next evening, silly us! It’s OK, as I had better luck on the 2nd formal night. I won one of the 3 prizes – a photo frame. YAY!

 

Princess should offer guests to buy out their own photos as a package like RCI & Celebrity. We always came home with hundreds of cruise photos but the most valuable was the DVD with all our photos on. I need the files to make photobooks. Just to side track, out of about 10 photobook printing companies that we had used, as Canadians, we found these the best: Picaboo the most user-friendly & super fast delivery (less than 1 week from ordering to receiving) & Photobook Canada that has good printing quality & excellent customer service. I always purchase vouchers from websites like Groupons & Living Social that allow me to get 65% off. The best one I got from Picaboo was CA$40 for an 11” x 14” photobook with unlimited pages (up to 96 pages for that book size, more pages on smaller book sizes) + shipping (CA$10.99).

 

What a coincidence! There were heart-shaped strawberry mousse dessert to celebrate our anniversary in the dining room that night.

 

Attended the Production Show: What a Swell Party. It was OK but not as good as the latter one.

[wismergirl]

What was the reason you booked with Princess? You don't seem too happy with a lot of what you experienced so I wonder why you didn't choose another cruise line. Your usual choices are not Princess....just wondering!

 

Best Iceland itinerary! And the elite perks. Plus it's relatively cheaper than other cruise lines. This is to celebrate my anniversary so I don't really have a lot of choices on dates.

 

To be honest, Princess cruises were much higher in standards at the turn of the century. We tried to be "loyal", stayed in suites to earn double points, then switch to the other cruise lines to do the same. So now we are elite in Princess, Celebrity & Azamara, & Diamond in Royal Caribbean. Cruises that are 14-day or longer also get you double points, that's how we fast tracked. So when we stayed in a suite on 14 days+ cruises, it counted as 4 cruises in a regular cabin. Now all the cruise lines have changed their Rewards systems so I'm not sure if the above is still valid. However, with the expansion of the cruising markets, we are happy explore other cruise lines, especially on river cruises and in Asia & Australia.

[wismergirl]

I agree, I'm not a Princess cheerleader and don't want to hijack a thread where someone is taking the time and effort to write such a detailed review, but...I think its unfair to compare any mass market line like Princess to Crystal.

 

Many people think that Crystal is super expensive but it's not really. There are Crystal sailings in October and November 2015 that are less than $2000 per person, with tax, gratuities & drinks included in an Oceanview cabin. You just need a good travel agent to tell you when the deals are on, then you'll be able to try the luxury cruise line with just a fraction of the cost.

 

The cost of the Penthouse that I was on the Crystal Serenity in July 2014 was comparable to the mini suite that I was in on the Ocean this year. Though it was a 7-day itinerary but we got to stay overnight on the ship at Monte Carlo. Think of the hotel cost, the food, etc., the all-inclusives do charge you a lot but when you add up all the extras like specialty dining, drinks & tipping, they are not that unreasonable.

 

I did say in the first post that I found the cruise really relaxing and I enjoyed the scenery tremendously. Many apologies if I have offended the "loyal" Princess customers as I am just listing the pros and cons according to my own personal viewpoints.

 

My elite memberships are with the mass market cruise lines so I think I can give a fair opinion on the cruises that I went on.

 

I keep telling my students, one needs to broaden one's view by getting out of one's comfort zone, and be critical so one can keep improving to strive for something "better". It's "better" but not the best, because there is no room for you to improve if you have reached your best. I am just a life-time learner to focus on many details to upgrade myself. That's why genuine feedback and reviews are so important to help me move on. Thanks for helping me!

[wismergirl]

I'm enjoying the pictures and look forward to your reviews of the ports. Just wondering though, did you research the Ocean Princess?

 

We sailed on her last year (loved it by the way) and will be sailing on her sister the Pacific Princess next year. I had no illusions that this would be a particularly lively cruise as compared to the larger ships. 14 day itineraries tend to attract a more mature demographic and the small ships in effect magnify this given there aren't nearly as many bells and whistles.

 

As far as food is concerned, I thought the MDR and Specialty Restaurant food was very good for a mass market cruise line.

 

You're elite on Princess but based on your signature I assume it's been a number of years since you've sailed with them.

 

Anyway, I'm not trying to be confrontational and certainly everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I genuinely do look forward to the rest of your review. The photos are great. :D

 

I did tons of research before I sailed on the Ocean as it's my first small ship experience. That's why we chose to stay in a mini suite as we need something extra to help us enjoy while on a small ship. The extra space & the wide balcony did help a lot. Thanks to OP as both DH and I know that we should be able to survive river cruises on even smaller ships. OP just confirmed that we are not ready for ship excursions. In fact, I heard lots of complaints about the extremely over-charged excursions and the incompetence of some of the tour guides who could not even speak English properly.

 

I gave this cruise 4 out of 5 stars. As a teacher, I have to account for the missing last star, so I can't just focus on the good. Just look at the photos if you are not happy with the words. I took the cruise mainly because of the beautiful Iceland & Norway scenery, and the pictures proved that they did not disappoint me. The views were stunning!

[phabric]

We booked a British Isles cruise originally but then the Iceland & Norway cruise came out in March (the original itinerary was to the Baltics) so we switched. Was the weather nice when you were on OP?

 

We carried our raincoats and sweaters each day and never had to use them. We had great weather during the cruise. The only rain we had was August 14, Edinburgh, it stopped by late afternoon for the Tattoo than turned cold for the show. We spend 4 days in London with only 1 night of rain.

 

This was my second time on the Ocean. It is so easy to get around the small ship, loved the padded deck loungers on deck 5.

[wismergirl]

We carried our raincoats and sweaters each day and never had to use them. We had great weather during the cruise. The only rain we had was August 14, Edinburgh, it stopped by late afternoon for the Tattoo than turned cold for the show. We spend 4 days in London with only 1 night of rain.

 

This was my second time on the Ocean. It is so easy to get around the small ship, loved the padded deck loungers on deck 5.

 

Good weather made the cruise even more enjoyable. DH still complains about the waterfall pictures not good enough due to the lack of sunshine. I only used my umbrella 2 times, in Seydisfjordur & Bergen. Other days were mostly overcast or just drizzling.

 

Our waiter told us that they couldn't even dock at Grundarfjordur on the cruise before ours. For us, Grundarfjordur was the only completely sunny day in all 8 ports other than Dover.

[cormike1]

Thank you for answering my question about going with Princess. We only started ocean cruising about 5 years ago and started out with Princess. Like you, we have tried Celebrity, Carnival and Holland America because of the price and itinerary. We have enjoyed all of them and each has its pros and cons. I am really enjoying your posts and your pictures!

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your balanced review and great pictures.

[wismergirl]

Thank you for your balanced review and great pictures.

 

Thank you for answering my question about going with Princess. We only started ocean cruising about 5 years ago and started out with Princess. Like you, we have tried Celebrity, Carnival and Holland America because of the price and itinerary. We have enjoyed all of them and each has its pros and cons. I am really enjoying your posts and your pictures!

 

Glad you like them! More to follow.

[wismergirl]

July 20, 2015 - Scrabster, Scotland

 

9:30 – boarded tender 10:00 – picked up rental car 10:15 – visited Tourist Info Centre 10:40 – left Thurso Town Hall 11:10 – Castle of Mey with guided tour (no photography inside the building) 12:15 – left Castle 12:30 – John O’Groats 12:40 – Left John O’Groats 13:15 – Castle of Old Wick 14:25 – Grey Cairns of Camster 14:40 – drove back to Thurso 15:05 – returned car to William Dunnet’s office 15:10 – shuttle back to port 15:25 – tendering back to ship

 

As soon as we got off the tender at 9:45, we called the car company, William Dunnet & Co. to pick us up and they were at the dock in 15 minutes.

 

We just had to do the paperwork in the car (Ford KA - £35 per day).

 

The kind representative, John, let us follow his car to Thurso town centre so we could go to the tourist info centre in the Town Hall.

 

Good job he was with us as DH couldn’t figure out that he had to “lift” the gear changing stick to go in reverse. Could you imagine what we had to do if we didn’t know how to reverse in the middle of nowhere after we parked against a wall? Just having the sheep and cairns beside the road wouldn’t be helpful enough!

 

We first drove to the Castle of Mey, the Queen Mother’s summer residence. This was the original entrance to the castle.

 

It was about 15 miles east of Thurso and 6 miles west of John O’Groats.

[wismergirl]

The Queen Mother would spend 6 weeks in the Castle of Mey every year from 1952 to 1996. The castle was not big but the garden was beautiful. How could she walk up and down those spiral staircases in uneven stone? She must have been amazingly healthy and fit!

 

We then drove to John O’Groats, located on Britain’s northeastern tip.

 

It is a popular tourist photo stop as one end of the longest distance between 2 inhabited British points, with Land’s End in Cornwall on the southwestern tip. DH & I went to Land’s End in the 1980’s so we were very happy to visit the other end of the road, where the First & Last House in Scotland was built.

 

We then went to the Old Wick Castle.

 

The cliff was really steep.

 

DH wanted to look at cairns so we drove north on A99 to the Grey Cairns of Camster near Lybster. This is the Round Cairn.

 

After we returned the car to William Dunnet Co. in the town of Thurso, we were driven back to the port right away. Excellent service! The tender was really empty.

 

As we skipped lunch, we went to the dining room for an afternoon tea (3:30 - 4:30). I loved their scones!

[msmoger]

This is Great!! I really appreciate your effort.

 

Thanks!!

[brazilgirl]

Looking forward to more! Thanks for the review!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cormike1]

We were in Land's End last September so it was neat to see your pictures of the other end. It looked like a pretty town also!

[wismergirl]

We were in Land's End last September so it was neat to see your pictures of the other end. It looked like a pretty town also!

 

Haha! The pictures look good but I wouldn't even call it a town. We spent only 10 minutes there as there were only a tourist info centre, the waiting room for the ferries, the signpost saying John O'Groats, the nice looking guesthouse and a parking lot. DH said it's already much improved than 40 years ago as there was only the sign post at that time.

[Keith1010]

Very nice trip report and photos.

 

Keith

[calikid50]

Thanks for the great review and pics!

[Northender]

Enjoying this review immensely.:):)

[wismergirl]

July 21, 2015 – Lerwick, Scotland

 

10:00 – picked up rental car already parked at the port; 10:15 – visited Tourist Info in town centre & walked around; 11:35 – arrived at Jarlshof; 12:30 – drove to Sumburgh Head; 12:40 – 1st encounter with puffins; 12:50 – drove to Hoswick; 13:20 – arrived at Hoswick Visitor Centre; 13:50 – left Hoswick; 14:15 – visited Scalloway Museum & Castle; 14:50 – Shetland Ponies Farm; 15:25 – walked around in town centre; 15:40 – Fort Charlotte; 16:05 – drove back to Port; 16:15 – afternoon tea at the MDR

 

The entry to Port Lerwick (Holmsgarth Pier, about 20 min walk to the town centre) was not very interesting because it’s a very industrial port. All we could see was the grey sky with lots of containers.

 

When we looked out from our balcony, we didn’t even realize that our rental car was already there. It's extremely convenient for pick up & drop off.

 

We got off the ship at 9:45, called the car company, Bolts Car Hire (Avis’ affiliate) to pick us up. They said the car (Kia Picanto - £48 per day)was already at the port and their staff was on the way. Wow! He did arrive in less than 5 minutes. Honestly, the car rental service in Scotland impressed me tremendously! I would rate both companies 10+ out of 10!

 

We headed to the Tourist Centre in town and found that parking at Victoria Pier Carpark was very cheap, only £0.50 per hour. We were lucky to have some 50p coins with us. The pay-&-display ticket machine wouldn’t accept any bills or credit card.

 

Victoria Pier Carpark was right across the Tourist Centre on Esplanade.

 

You could see the carpark from the Tourist Centre.

 

We also found out that Princess shuttle stopped closeby, beside the “Welcome to Shetland” sign on Esplanade. I didn’t know if it’s free or not.