12 Night British Isles Cruise Caribbean Princess Trip Report w/ Photos

[euro_101]

Here goes....

 

Feel free to ask any questions!

 

Background: 3 20/Early 30-somethings, all had cruised before (for myself - 3 Caribbean cruises on Celebrity – Reflection and Silhouette and 1 Baltic on Regal Princess).

 

Overall Impressions: a port intensive cruise - 6 port days in a row! It was exhausting. I definitely needed a vacation from this vacation. But I feel like I got a good overview of Ireland and Scotland. I do not feel the need to hurry back to either now. So I feel like it helped check off some boxes vs. the Baltic cruise was just the tip of the iceberg for every place (no Titanic reference intended). As far as the Caribbean Princess - not my favorite. Not terrible by any means, but I saw some cleanliness issues - again nothing major, but just stuff that made me go 'hmmmm' - especially compared to my other cruises (Regal, Celeb Silhouette, Celeb Reflection).

 

Demographics: the majority were older than us (seemed to be 50s +). It was what I expected, and didn’t mind at all. There were not a lot of children, which I also wanted and expected.

 

Ship: The Caribbean Princess. I liked the ship – I knew it was older and it looked more worn than the Regal but not in a bad/unkempt way. Just not as shiny. The only thing I didn't love were counter and wall stains (I wiped all our room surfaces, and the fact I removed so many stains w/o scrubbing just tells me they never bother to wipe the surfaces). I also wiped away one too many curly hairs on the surfaces. I travel > 50% of the year, so it's not as if I never see stuff like this, but I took exception to the number of times I saw this in our stateroom. I also didn't think the public bathrooms were as spotless compared to Regal and Celebrity - I would just see questionable random stains in places that should be wiped (toilet seat, by the main door handle). Would I consider it dirty? No. But I feel like I had high, if not unreasonable expectations coming from 3 other ships.

 

I loved loved loved the Serenity pool (we dubbed it the Buddha pool b/c of the statue). It was great to have that w/ the cooler temps. The Dining room was nice - but I still prefer the grandeur of the Celebrity 2 story. Same with the Piazza area - I prefer the open nature of the Celebrity ships.

 

The Aft Pool -

 

Great weather in Southampton -

 

Serenity Pool -

 

Caribbean Princess while tendering in Guernsey -

 

CP -

 

CP -

[euro_101]

Cabin: we chose D521 (mid) - our first inside cabin experience. I would not hesitate to do this again. With 3 people we had ample storage space - largely due to the closet size. The bed being pulled down from the wall was less obtrusive than the couch pull out on the balcony Regal. It was nice to not have light wake you up on the couple days we got to sleep in. Being a cooler climate we didn't use the balcony like we do on Caribbean cruises. The only con was not having a sense of what we were passing - so I am sure I missed out seeing some of the landscape and sunsets. We felt no motion except 1-2 night minor rocking. Overall a very smooth cruise. I liked the closet – we fit our 3 suitcases open there (2 large and 1 carry-on size). Ample hanging room. Loved the shelved closet. Bathroom layout was nice – I liked the counter space and shelves. I liked that the trash was open (no doors to touch). The shower was fine. They provide body wash and a combo shampoo/conditioner. I wanted a separate conditioner so I just picked one up in port. Aside from the cleanliness issue I stated above and a couple instances of gross stains on the towels (another pet peeve) - the room was fine. I would say housekeeping was not as great as on all our other cruises - took a couple days to start leaving 3 of all towels. Stingy with soap and tissues - actually no tissues initially - we had to ask, then ask for refill of that and hand soap. Not impressed - lackluster at best compared to other ships I have been on.

 

 

 

 

[euro_101]

Before I move on here are some more random photos from the ship

 

Captain's Champagne Toast

 

I couldn't pass up the reflection -

 

They brought on some folks who performed traditional Scottish music/dance -

 

The best sunset we had (maybe only 1-2 other nights you could see the sunset) - I took this through the MDR window...a bit dirty....wish I had run up to the deck.

 

Vines - free tapas or sushi w/ your wine -

 

Oil rigs from sailing in the North Sea -

[euro_101]

Afternoon Tea was nice - the scones were excellent -

 

Entrance to Skywalkers-

 

Baked Alaska -

[euro_101]

Pre-Cruise: I flew to Reykjavik Th eve. The cruise departed Tuesday. I stayed 2 nights in Iceland (F and Sa nights). I wanted to see someplace new since I had already been to London, so I decided on Iceland. It was amazing and I will be going back. Here is a quick summary of what I did -

 

* Blue Lagoon - amazing!!!! Just a great way to relax. The in water massage was good and unique.

* Stayed at the new Hilton Canopy for 1 night in Reykjavik. Ate dinner at the harbour and walked by Halligrimska.

* Day 2 we set off driving. I opted out of the traditional Golden Circle drive - instead doing - Skogafoss, Seljalandsfoss, Pingvellir. I loved the 2 waterfalls - walking behind Seljalandsfoss was amazing. Pingvellir was nice but hard to know exactly what we saw - I think a tour would have been nice here. It is still on my list to dive here at some point.

* For the 2nd night we stayed at Ion Luxury Adventure Hotel. It was a good place to relax after all the driving. I probably wouldn't do more than a night here.

 

Blue Lagoon -

 

Halligrimska -

 

Skogafoss -

 

Seljalandsfoss -

 

Icelandic Horses -

 

Ion views -

[Shogun]

Hi

 

Thanks for pics, did you watch the show in Greenock, what did you think of it,

 

yours Shogun

[euro_101]

On Sunday I flew to London and met my 2 friends there. Since I had already been to London I didn't feel the need to spend much time there. We spent 2 nights in London at the Hampton Inn Waterloo.

 

We saw the Changing of the Guard, had tea at Kensington Palace, and saw Big Ben, else just walked around.

 

 

Tea -

 

 

 

 

[euro_101]

Embarkation: easiest thing ever. Took the train from London Waterloo to Southampton. 1h30m. Easy. Arrived around 1130a. No security and check-in line. On board shortly after noon. Cabins were not ready but we decided to check and were able put our backpacks in the room (attendant said we could). We grabbed lunch at the buffet - ate outside. Our luggage arrived so we settled in/unpacked.

 

Dining:

MDR/Coral – 8p seating. We were seated in anytime, but had an 8p seating - since they botched our 815p confirmed dining. The solution was to give us a set table in anytime which worked fine. On the whole I enjoyed almost all of the meals - which I couldn't say on the past couple cruises.

 

Buffet/Horizon Bistro/Court: not bad at all. Never a fan of the crowded buffet. Didn’t seem each table had a designated server so 2-3 different people would keep asking if you wanted drinks - which as a bit annoying - esp. when you were mid bite.

 

Bars:

We enjoyed the 2 for $1s at Skywalkers and Club Fusion. Skywalkers was fun for dancing. Vines was lovely. Bars not on Celebrity level - missed my Martini and craft cocktail bars.

 

Dress: We wore Dresses every eve. We had 2 formal nights.

 

Activities/Entertainment: everything was really nice. Strong ship singers and dancers. The production shows were ok - some better than others - I feel like these are hit or miss. Regardless the talent was there. The acts they brought on were good - Chris Hamilton the piano player, Singer Alan Kavanaugh (apologize if butchering that spelling), Jo Little, a Whitney Houston tribute show, ventriloquist Kieran Powell. Even acts I thought would be bad, were fabulous and entertaining.

 

Spa/Fitness Center: did not use spa. Used the large room in fitness center when classes/seminars not in session. Even if a seminar was on, they let you stay in the back/sides to workout.

[euro_101]

Itinerary: in/out of Southampton. All ports were docked, except Guernsey and Edinburgh was tender.

 

Ports: (Listed in arrival order)

 

All the port times were shifted by about 15 minutes from the itinerary listed when booking.

 

Guernsey / Channel Islands 715a - 3p. Last tender 2p.

 

* On our own. Smooth tender process. 10min ride max.

* Most sights don't even open until 930a/10a.

* We hiked to Ferman Bay first since everything else was closed. Lovely views. Not too challenging but definitely ups and downs. About 1.5-2 miles each way.

* Castle Cornet was nice. Bigger than I expected. It was nice to wander and they had some interesting exhibits.

* Formal Night

 

Hiking -

 

Ferman -

 

Castle Cornet -

 

[euro_101]

Cobh 815a-6p

 

* Paddywagon tour. Reasonable price - no complaints - good tour guide.

* Docked at Ringaskiddy - a container port - different than intended. Princess provide a shuttle.

* Blarney Castle. To kiss the rock was a 2hr wait we were told but actually closer to 1hr. We just walked the grounds.

* Cobh Market. This was fine.

* Kinsale photo stop and then lunch in Kinsale. I wish we had grabbed food at the market so that we could have walked around the town.

 

Blarney -

 

 

 

Dublin 115p-11p

 

* On our own.

* Docked at Ocean Pier. Princess offered paid shuttle. We took a 20 euro cab to St. Patrick's. Bit of traffic.

* St. Patrick's - this was fine. Not the best cathedral we saw.

* Dublin Castle - didn't even go in as didn't look at great from the outside.

* Trinity College - we took the student led tour then saw the Book of Kells. Line was long but took about 20min. The book didn't wow me - but the Long Room did.

* Guinness Storehouse - we had pre-booked a tour. It was well presented. I loved the Guinness.

* Arthur's Pub for dinner - nothing special - it was close to Guinness.

* Temple Bar for an Irish Coffee and to listen to some live Irish music.

 

St. Patrick's

 

Trinity -

 

Guinness -

[euro_101]

Guinness -

 

 

Temple Bar -

 

Liverpool 815a-9p:

 

* Did on our own. Walked off the ship.

* Beatles Story - really well done.

* Liverpool Cathedral. Nice! Good views from the top.

* Merseyside Maritime Museum. Free. Good - nice to learn about the Lusitania.

* Beatles Celebration show on board the ship. I thought it was good. My friend said it wasn't as good as Rain - but good sampling none the less.

 

 

 

[euro_101]

View from Liverpool Cathedral -

 

 

Belfast 1145a-930p:

 

* On our own. Took a cab to Titanic exhibit. 7 pounds. Paid shuttle available too.

* Belfast Castle - 10 pounds cab there and back. Nice, but not a must see.

* Fibber Magee pub for music.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 8, 2016 by euro_101
Needed to amend title

[euro_101]

Greenock 715p-6p:

 

* Discover Scotland tour. Would recommend.

* Loch Lomond/Luss stop.

* Trossachs National Park drive through. No stops. Beautiful scenery.

* Callander for lunch

* Doune Castle stop

* Stirling Castle. Some people pre-booked. Ticket line wasn't too long.

* Glasgow drive through. No stops.

 

Loch Lomond -

 

 

Doune Castle -

 

Stirling Castle -

 

 

[travelbug615]

Loved all your photos!

Were either of the pools heated? We will be sailing on this ship in a month and hope to be able to swim a bit.

 

Thanks for taking the effort to post an informative review :)

[euro_101]

Next was a sea day - we sailed by the Isle of Skye.

 

Invergordon 715a-6p:

 

* Invergordon Tours. Would recommend.

* Cruise on Loch Ness. Lovely views.

* Urquhart Castle

* Culloden Battlefield

* Clava Carins

* Cawdor Castle - interior was ok. Gardens were beautiful though.

 

Sailing on Loch Ness -

 

 

 

Urquhart -

 

[euro_101]

Culloden Battlefield -

 

 

Clava Carins -

 

[euro_101]

Cawdor Castle -

 

 

 

 

 

[euro_101]

Edinburgh 715a-6p:

 

* On our own. Breakfast at 6a. First in line for tender at 630a. 725a pushed off from tender. 740a arrival. 5 GBP for local shuttle each way. Last departure 430p.

* Edinburgh Castle. So glad we did this first thing when they opened. Crazy lines later.

* Scotch Whiskey Experience. Interesting tour!

* Calton HIll - great city views and of Arthur's seat. Takes about 10min to walk up - if you don't have time for Arthur's Seat it is a good alternative.

* Palace of Holyroodhouse

 

Tender -

 

Castle -

 

View from Castle -

 

Whiskey Tour -

 

View from Calton -

[euro_101]

Palace -

 

 

Sailaway -

 

[euro_101]

Le Havre 7a-8p

 

* Princess D-Day tour. Expensive! But we opted in to this since we were going so far away from the port. Thankfully we had onboard credit.

* Drove by Juno Beach

* Arromanches for Museum and artificial port

* Lunch at La Ferme de la Ranconniere

* La Pointe du Hoc

* Omaha Beach

* American Cemetery

* All in all very interesting - I think a guided tour is a must for this (unless you are a history buff) to help the history come to life and fully realize what you are seeing.

 

Arromanches -

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch stop -

[euro_101]

 

 

 

 

 

[euro_101]

American Cemetery -

 

 

 

 

 

[euro_101]

Disembarkation: smooth disembark. No immigration. just grabbed luggage. Cab to Southampton Central. Took a train to Salisbury, stored our bags at Cat Tavern, and took a cab (30 GBP) to Stonehenge. I enjoyed it. I liked that we walked to the stones (you walk through pretty farm land) then bused back.

To get back to Salisbury we took a 10 GBP shuttle back to Salisbury. It was not direct. A cab would have been better.

 

Train to Waterloo. We stayed at the Hampton Inn Waterloo again. I flew out the next day and got an unexpected upgrade :)

 

Stonehenge -

 

 

 

Salisbury -

 

Flight Home -

[islandatsea]

Thanks for the excellent pictures and review.

[Lucky TGO]

Wow what GREAT pictures!!! They made me feel like I was there. Thank You so much.

Tony