Caribbean Princess British Isles May 20th

[boykin]

This is a copy of my post on the europe forum.

Just returned from Caribbean Princess British Isles cruise May 20-June 1st. I've never written a review but felt that some thoughts on the many ports will hopefully help others in their planning. Please bare with me as I'm still jet lagged from yesterday.

 

This was a family cruise for our family of 4 including our 2 college age daughter and son. We traveled to London via British Airways and stayed at the Conrad St James using Hilton points for several days.

LONDON: The Conrad St James is conveniently located near Westminster and Big Ben also a walkable distance to Covent Gardens where we ate both nights (Balthazar) We used the Big Bus HOHO bus which was fantastic. One thing to keep in mind is to look for their own bus stop signs which we didn't do the first day ( I blame that on lack of sleep). Remember the traffic in London is horrible if you are using the bus to get to point A to point B by a certain time. The water taxi to London Tower was a nice change, but we didn't have time to ride the London Eye, (Thank goodness).

There is a Rolling Stones exhibit at Saatchi Gallery by Sloan Square, I highly recommend it! We took the subway to Victoria Station and afterwards walked through Eaton Square (Where the beautiful people live) to catch the hoho bus. Our final day we used Smiths for airports to take us from London to Hilton Aeges Bowl Southampton via Windsor Castle. Thoroughly enjoyed Windsor Castle, btw the Queen was there!

 

GUERNSEY: Listen up people, this is the most important thing I'm going to say on this post. PLease take motion sickness medicine if it the water looks the least bit rough. The captain told us the weather would worsen throughout the day so going over on the tender we look medicine just in case it was bad coming back. We walked around the adorable town and gardens even though is was a misty rain. We decided to head back to avoid the long lines. The water was indeed rough and after being tossed around like rag dolls we finally made it to the ship. However, the waves banged the tender against the ship so hard only one person could get out of their seat at a time with the crews assistance. Several were seen getting sick on the tender! I don't mean to deter anyone from going because Guernsey is a lovely town, I've read the book and couldn't wait to see it, just be aware if the weather looks iffy.

COBH: Arrived on Sunday so most everything was closed in the morning. We walked up the hill to attend a true Irish Catholic Mass, afterwards we took the train to Cork and walked into town center and ate at SOB (Son of a Bun) Burgers. Quaint craft beer and burger joint with probably the best burger we had on the trip. We didn't do Blarney Castle bc I wanted to save up and do the longer excursions in Scotland with the kids.

 

DUBLIN: Our plan was to take a taxi into town and use the HOHO bus to go to Trinity and Guinness. The line for taxis was about 30 minutes so a group of college age kids along with us started walking to town. About 5 minutes into the walk taxis started showing up so we flagged one down. I know this sounds bad, kinda like we broke in line, but it wasn't the intent we we started walking. We asked the taxi driver where the best pub was and he directed us to the Brazen Head, oldest pub in Europe. Who doesn't want to drink a beer where the vikings did in 1197.

We went Trinity and Book of Kells, stop by Guinness but decided not to go in and then wandered around Temple Bar area. We technically could have done all this without the bus bc we only rode on it for about 30 minutes, the pub crawl took up most of our time. JK

LIVERPOOL: Booked a 3 hour tour with Ian at Liverpool Beatles Tours and it was fantastic. He met us at the pier, drove us by the liverpool Cathedral and then the complete Beatles tour. We arrived at most of the stops before the other tours so plenty of time to take pics and had the rest of the day on our own. We asked Ian to drop us off at the Cathedral and then walked to albert docks for lunch. Another great day and great weather.

BELFAST: This is where I probably messed up bc everyone said that Belfast Tours was great and we did everything on our own. Took a taxi to Titanic Museum and beat the crowds then took a taxi to Belfast Castle. The Castle was free but a big disappointment. Great views but nothting else to see which is probably why it's free. The taxi driver recommended that we go to the oldest pub across from Europa Hotel, The crown liquor saloon. It wasn't anything special but we wanted something to eat and to get free wifi. BTW, most ports have cafes where you can get wifi, starbucks has the best connection!

GLASGOW: We booked with Discover Scotland Tours for a full day tour of Highland Lochs, Glens and Castles. Stuart Little, (No joke) was our guide and it was an amazing day. The drive is around the lochs and up and down the mountains so take medicine if you get car sick. It didn't bother me but one person felt icky by late afternoon. We stopped for pictures around several lochs, toured Inveraray Castle and stopped by Drovers Inn for a beer. I highly recommend this tour. BTW our men (not Downton Abbey fans) decided to stay in town and eat lunch while the girls did the castle and gardens tour.

INVERGORDON: We booked THE Dunrobin Castle tour with Gavin at Invergordon Tours and he is HILARIOUS! Just a side note, his company does several tours but he only does Dunrobin and not Loch Ness. We stopped several times for pictures along the way to Falls of Shin, No salmon where seen bc it's too early in the season but it was still a nice stop. Dunrobin Caste was incredible along with the falconry show. Another stop in a small town to eat lunch, wifi and shopping. Another amazing tour with amazing weather!

 

EDINBURGH: Husband and son had a 11:15 tee time on the castle course at St. Andrews so they booked a private transfer to St. Andrews and took the train back to Queensferry. This was one of my son's favorite spots, amazing golf and amazing weather. My daughter and I planned to take the train to Edinburgh but the trains were delayed so we took the shuttle and were dropped off at Charlottes Square. We then walked to the castle and arrived by 9:45. if you intend to visit the Castle, PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY! When we left the line was sooooo long!. We walked down the Royal Mile, stopeed at starbucks for wifi and then ate lunch at Ciao Roma on south Bridge street. Yummy! We heard Princess Street had great shopping but were disappointed that it was more H and M, Urban outfitters, TOPShop etc... Nice views of the city but felt more like NYC then Edinburgh. Tender to and from Queensferry was very efficient.

 

LE HAVRE: BC of the strikes we waited till the last minute to decide what to do. We felt like taking the train to Paris would be an adventure but everyone warned us of the strikes so we decided to take the bus to HonFleur. We woke up to pouring rain, and once off the ship were told the bus to HonFleur doesn't run until lunchtime so we decided to take a taxi to town center. We arrived at 10 am and absolutely nothing was open except one or two cafes to get coffee. I guess we missed the memo about nothing opening until lunchtime. We went back to the ship and enjoyed the spa and a 3 hour monopoly game.

 

Disembarkation was very fast and easy!

 

Final thoughts:

*Weather was amazing

*Everyone, and I mean everyone was nice and hospitable. You learn so much from not only the tour guides but from the taxi drivers also.

* Don't be afraid to book tours on your own and don't feel like you need 8 hour tours everyday.

 

 

 

I didn't include info about the ship bc I felt like the ports where more important. A few thoughts about the ship:

Embarkation and departure were very effectient. Tender operations were also very organized.

The food was ok, not anything special and I would say the least favorable nights were Edinburgh and Invergordon if you are looking for a night to go to one of the specialty restaurants. Food in Horizon was good and staff was very pleasant.

We only attended one show in the theatre which was Beatles night and that was very fun. I heard lots of complaints about the crowds and lack of seats in the theatre.

The casino is closed for several days when going around Scotland due to UK laws.

Trivia is well attended as always!

DJ in disco is good along with the afternoon musicians in the piazza area.

Vines Wine Bar has cheese and crackers and sushi available upon request at no charge.

We didn't use room service but attended afternoon tea, lunch in dining room, pizza and burger bar by pool. All were very good. The lines for pub lunch at Crown Grill are long on sea days so plan accordingly.

If you have a balcony you can get blankets from the pool deck to use in your stateroom and return at the end of the cruise. These are nice to use when sitting on the balcony.

Don't miss leaving Corh, the town has a nice send off and scenery is incredible.

And yes people watch the MUTS at night in the cold, including me. It's kinda fun being bundled up outside watching the big screen. I only lasted an hour, haha!

If you have specific questions, I'll be happy to answer if I can.

[iwannacruz]

I enjoyed your review. We will also be going on the British Isles cruise on June 24, and I had a question about how dressed up you need to be on the 2 formal nights. I am a platinum Carnival cruiser and have never cruised on Princess. On Carnival formal nights I usually wear dress slacks, along with a long sleeve dress shirt and a tie. Is this formal enough for the main dining room at the 8:15 seating, or will I also need a jacket or suit. Did you notice if any other men were allowed into the main dining room without a jacket/suit?

[1965]

Boykin-Really enjoyed your review. What book about Guernsey did you read?

 

Iwannacruz-You will be fine for formal night. We've taken 6 cruises with Princess. On formal nights you'll see tuxes. You'll also see men dressed in slacks, collared shirt, tie, no tie, jacket, no jacket. It has never been a problem for my husband to be dressed less than actually formal. Enjoy your cruise. We love Princess. It's our favorite. Carnival was our favorite for several years, but Princess does it better, IMHO. :)

[boykin]

The book is "The Guernsey Literary and potato peel pie society" It's a quick read and a wonderful story about life in Guernsey during the war.

[JimAOk1945]

Thanks for your review. I enjoyed reading it and appreciate the information. A British Isles cruise is on my wife's bucket list.

 

Are you planning to add pictures to this review?

Edited June 3, 2016 by JimAOk1945

[BM64]

Thank you for the review, I know it will be very helpful for us in planning for our upcoming trip.

[Zou Bisou Bisou]

I enjoyed your review. We will also be going on the British Isles cruise on June 24, and I had a question about how dressed up you need to be on the 2 formal nights. I am a platinum Carnival cruiser and have never cruised on Princess. On Carnival formal nights I usually wear dress slacks, along with a long sleeve dress shirt and a tie. Is this formal enough for the main dining room at the 8:15 seating, or will I also need a jacket or suit. Did you notice if any other men were allowed into the main dining room without a jacket/suit?

 

Yes, that is fine for formal night.

[tml1230]

thanks for a great review and advice! i took notes, as we will be on the CP in August…i am going on amazon next to look for the book you mentioned…

as frequent visitors to France ,and Paris in particular, i am sorry you missed what would have been a really special day.

only advice i would offer is that taking a train to Paris own your own from the port…even on a perfect day…is a HUGE risk…we don't look forward to the long ships tour "on your own" bus ride to Paris…but we do it every time to make sure we don't miss the ships departure. its worth it for 6 hours in Paris.

again thanks for sharing.

[BM64]

What nights were Edinburgh and Invergordon on your cruise? We may want to book the speciality restaurants for those nights. Thank you again for all the helpful information.

[PatriciaF]

Thank you for your review. We are on the August 24th cruise.

 

Was there smooth sailing except to/from Guernsey?

 

We had also planned to DIY Dublin with the Dublin Day Pass that includes the HOHO--should we just walk/cab around Dublin and skip the pass?

 

Thanks!

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Guernsey being a tender port with no sheltered harbour means that any wind

 

results in an interesting tender ride, often this port is missed which is a pity

 

because it has much to offer.

 

 

yours Shogun

[boykin]

I believe invergordon and Edinburgh were days 9 and 10.

 

Smooth sailing except when going from Edinburgh to LeHavre, the bridge report indicated 7-12 foot seas. Looked rough but didn't really feel anything, I guess due to the size of the ship.

 

Regarding Dublin I would look to see what others say. We were fine walking around from Trinity to Guinness, brazen head and temple bar area. The traffic is bad so waiting for the hoho bus took awhile.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[mamkmm2]

Thank you for making the effort to write such a timely review.

[Zou Bisou Bisou]

thanks for a great review and advice! i took notes, as we will be on the CP in August…i am going on amazon next to look for the book you mentioned…

as frequent visitors to France ,and Paris in particular, i am sorry you missed what would have been a really special day.

only advice i would offer is that taking a train to Paris own your own from the port…even on a perfect day…is a HUGE risk…we don't look forward to the long ships tour "on your own" bus ride to Paris…but we do it every time to make sure we don't miss the ships departure. its worth it for 6 hours in Paris.

again thanks for sharing.

 

Be careful when you have a long day excursion and the bus/car ride is long. Traffic gets backed up. On one excursion in Italy the bus had a mechanical problem, they sent another bus as quickly as possible but we were definately delayed. In 2013 we were delayed coming back to the ship from Rome and of course the ship waited for us and wow, we left that port really quick after we boarded. Once while leaving Le Havre we kept hearing the same names called on the intercom. Then we left port. The waiter in Chops said 5 people didn't make it back. Had they been on Royal sponsered excursions the ship would have waited. In Amsterdamn our excursion on the canal boat actually got stopped by the police for a ticket....yes, lol. With traffic backed up going back to the ship we thought we would miss the sailing but they waited, we were on an RCL excursion. For the long haul excursions, be careful, they don't always wait if you book on your own.

Edited June 4, 2016 by Zou Bisou Bisou

[Killington]

Which nights were formal?

 

Thanks, Frances

[boykin]

Formal nights were Guernsey and second sea day

[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

[Natiev]

A sport jacket with shirt and tie will be more than adequate for formal night, unless, of course, you prefer a suit or a tux. There appear to actually be no requirements as I saw people walking around in shorts-- which, don't get me wrong-- I DON'T recommend. Nevertheless, dress seems to run the gamut.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for sharing this report with us.

Keith