Three Nickles take on the British Isles. And a little bit of France.

[moresun]

Enjoying your review, thank you for taking the time to share!

[bnickle]

Just for information Cork and Dublin are not in England but in Ireland a totally different country and Guernsey is part of the British Isles and also not England.

 

 

You’re right!

[bnickle]

I'm really liking your review.

Just one thing - Cork and Dublin are both in Ireland, not England. We are a completely different country!!

 

 

LOL...as posted earlier...I had written up the reviews individually and titled and filed them under England to keep them together until I could post them. My bad, and my “save” heading will be altered for the rest of my posts.

[King Neptune]

Did you say you were using Euros?

[bnickle]

England - Liverpool

Liverpool is in our top 5 cities of Places We Would Live If We Won The Powerball. We’ve been several times, as Greg is a ginormous LFC supporter, and we’ve been to games twice at Anfield. Originally, since we had been to Liverpool before, and probably will be coming back again, I had booked an all day excursion on a tour that went down into Wales. Greg was heartbroken; Anfield just finished the first phase of a decade long planned renovation, and we had all gotten him a stone with his name on it and it’s placed in the sidewalk at Anfield stadium, and he wanted Kate to see it. So, goodbye Wales, hello, Anfield.

We docked pretty promptly, and Kate and Greg headed off of the ship immediately to catch a cab to the stadium for the 10:00 tour. I stayed behind, as my knee had swollen up and I needed to ice it. The cab ride to Anfield took about 10 minutes and cost £7. The cabbie was very friendly, and happy to tell Greg and Kate what a mess the US is in. A word about the dialect here: there is a unique dialect local to Liverpool called the “Scouser” accent. It has developed over centuries from the combination of British, Scot, Irish, and Welsh dialects blending together in a different voice all it’s own. It’s lovely and fun to listen to, but can be tricky to discern at first. Back to the cabbie. He was nice, and Greg said he finally seemed kind of sheepish and apologized for going on so. They had a fun and lively chat, and the cabbie gave Greg his card and told him to call him when he and Kate were ready to leave.

At the Anfield office, picking up the prepaid tickets, Greg commented to the clerk that he would only need two of the tickets printed, as one of the group couldn’t make it. She said, of course! Let me just refund the cost of that one ticket. With no prompting or even expectation of that. It was generous and very nice to make that offer.

Greg and Kate very much enjoyed the tour. The changes to Anfield have improved it greatly, and Greg was thrilled to show Kate his name stone. In our family, when we refer to it we always say it in the voice of the aliens in the claw game in Toy Story: “The STOOONNNEEEEEE”. They got to sit in The Kop. They got to see the dressing room with all the kits neatly hung in the lockers. They got to touch the Anfield sign. Greg was in heaven. After giving the gift shop a very nice token of our appreciation they called their cab buddy and he came to collect them. He took them on a short quick tour of Liverpool, not charging them for it, and showed off his beautiful home city, before turning the meter on to bring them to the ship.

An interesting sidebar about Liverpool: during the American Civil War, the South was supplied with arms by Britain. Weaponry was traded for cotton and tobacco, and the supply line ran from Liverpool to Charleston. The South had big plans to establish several European embassies after they won the war, and built their first embassy in Liverpool. The seal placed at the door, proclaiming it the Embassy of the CSA still stands, but the building is, I believe, a storehouse now. Spoiler: that whole thing did not turn out as planned. We had seen it before, but the cabbie drove them by it and Kate got to see it. So there’s a little US - Liverpool connection. Sort of.

Greg and Kate came back aboard to store their loot, and whisked me off to a nearby restaurant we really like called Las Iquanas. It specializes in presenting food from the cuisines of Central and South American cultures, and is just wonderful every time we eat there. If you want to stick closer to the ship, there’s a great place down at Albert Dock called Revolutions that offers an upscale Pub experience, and has really good fish and chips. Afterwards, back to the ship, on to the Enclave to soak my knee, and kind of a low key night hanging out.

 

I cannot stress enough that we simply love Liverpool. It has a fun and vibrant energy and has a lot of new to compliment the old. It’s really not just about the Beatles; you can get your Sgt. Pepper on, or you can do any of several other things that you’ll enjoy as much!

[bnickle]

Did you say you were using Euros?

 

 

In Cork, Dublin, and in France, yes. We exchanged before coming on the trip, but there are places to exchange all over, plus an ATM on board the ship.

[bnickle]

Really enjoying reading your review. I’m looking forward to the next instalment.

 

Thank You! Hope you get some inspiration!

[bnickle]

Thank you ! We are on the next one - June 18th and excited to read on what you think of all the ports .

It will be our first time on Princess.

Hope the weather stays with you !:)

Karen

 

You are seriously going to love it! Being so port intensive, we haven’t spent a lot of time doing ship stuff, but the offerings are pretty cool. We just signed up to do a wine tasting on Wednesday, the first of our two sea days.

[bnickle]

Enjoyed your review. I have done the British Isles Cruise 2x.

 

We are loving it so much we’re talking about doing the Grand British Isles tour when Greg retires in two years.`

[bnickle]

Thank you for the detailed review of your cruise. My DW and I are booked on this cruise in August 2019 for our 35th wedding anniversary. Looking forward to hearing about the remaining ports of call and disembarkation.

 

Paul

 

Our 28th anniversary was in Dublin. I cannot think of a better way to have spent it. I will never forget sitting in that pub listening to local musicians. I hope your trip is as wonderful as ours has been.

[bnickle]

It's great to read your review!! We'll be boarding on the 30th :)

 

Have a wonderful time! The Royal is really nice, the staff is really friendly, and we are having a blast!

[bnickle]

Wow this is one of the best reviews I have read on CC in a long time! :-)

Can't wait to read the rest. We are doing this itinerary next summer.

 

Well that was kind! Thank you! Glad you’re enjoying it! I am really enjoying living it!

[bnickle]

What a lovely review. I'm glad to hear you're having such a wonderful time.

 

I completely understand about the tour that was too long and not well planned - lunch at 3pm? That's not good.

 

We once had a tour that was supposed to end with taking a water taxi back to the ship - the tour ended just after 3pm (for most - though if you walked fast you may have ended before 3pm). The water taxi went every hour on the hour - except for 4pm (no water taxi until 5pm). So it was about 3:10 and we were told we'd have to wait until 5pm for the water taxi to return to the ship - oh, but don't worry - here's a bar you can wait in. :rolleyes:.

 

It should have been an open bar. And Chris Hemsworth bartending might have made it worth it.

[jones721]

Enjoying reading your review and sailing on this itinerary in July (my fifth around the British Isles cruise!). Can I ask how much it was for the Enclave for the 12 nights? I bought it in 2015 when the Royal sailed this route and think it waas around $229?? Also, how much is a daily pass - $30?? Enjoy your time in the thallassotherapy pool, saunas, heated beds... :-)

 

Thanks!

Tracey

[bnickle]

Enjoying reading your review and sailing on this itinerary in July (my fifth around the British Isles cruise!). Can I ask how much it was for the Enclave for the 12 nights? I bought it in 2015 when the Royal sailed this route and think it waas around $229?? Also, how much is a daily pass - $30?? Enjoy your time in the thallassotherapy pool, saunas, heated beds... :-)

 

Thanks!

Tracey

 

You are my spirit animal. Ok, here’s the skinny on the Enclave, at least what we were charged. It was listed as 199.00 for twelve days, but we booked it on a sail away day special for 149.00. Also, my husband was not interested in the duration pass, but when he asked he was told that there were no daily passes. I am not sure we got the right info on that but he wasn’t interested in looking into it further. OMG...the therapy pool. It’s just all perfect and relaxing.

[tammyinsea]

Thank you so much for your review! We will be joining the Royal on 6/30 for the British Isles. I'm looking forward to it!!

[MamaStite]

I love your writing style..so fun and detailed. You are a pleasure to read!! Cannot wait as I am on the Royal 6/30. We get 2 days in Dublin - that is why I chose that date. I am really interested to hear what you do in Invergorton/Inverness and Greenock/Glasgow. Those are the ports I am stressing about booking something or doing DIY. Again thank you for such a brilliantly written journal of your trip...I look forward to your next installment!!!

[jagsfan]

I love all the detail. This review is full of nuggets.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[bnickle]

Thank you so much for your review! We will be joining the Royal on 6/30 for the British Isles. I'm looking forward to it!!

 

I hope you love your trip as much as we love ours!

[bnickle]

I love your writing style..so fun and detailed. You are a pleasure to read!! Cannot wait as I am on the Royal 6/30. We get 2 days in Dublin - that is why I chose that date. I am really interested to hear what you do in Invergorton/Inverness and Greenock/Glasgow. Those are the ports I am stressing about booking something or doing DIY. Again thank you for such a brilliantly written journal of your trip...I look forward to your next installment!!!

 

Today is our Greenock/Glasgow stop, and we are part of a private tour, and the same for Inverness in three days. I will let you know how it all goes!

[caribill]

In Cork, Dublin, and in France, yes. We exchanged before coming on the trip, but there are places to exchange all over, plus an ATM on board the ship.

 

Unless things have changed, the only ATMs on the ship dispense US $.

 

There is a currency exchange machine that you can insert those US $ (or several other currencies) and obtain Euros. However, you cannot use a bank credit/debit card with this machine. By the way, the exchange rate is very poor plus there is a transaction fee when using the currency exchange machine.

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your review. I'm looking forward to reading about the rest of your cruise. We did the British isles cruise last August, except ours had an overnight in Dublin and did not go to Liverpool. I guess we'll have to plan another visit.

 

We also did the eCoach excursion to Blarney and Kinsale. The company won my affection by adjusting our excursion when the ship was several hours late getting to Cobh. We ran into friends from a previous cruise while in line to kiss the Blarney Stone. Talking with them made the wait not seem as long. We enjoyed walking through the gardens afterward and never made it to the shops.

[Worldtraveler 4727]

Wonderful! Following

[jones721]

You are my spirit animal. Ok, here’s the skinny on the Enclave, at least what we were charged. It was listed as 199.00 for twelve days, but we booked it on a sail away day special for 149.00. Also, my husband was not interested in the duration pass, but when he asked he was told that there were no daily passes. I am not sure we got the right info on that but he wasn’t interested in looking into it further. OMG...the therapy pool. It’s just all perfect and relaxing.

 

Oh my goodness - I know that I paid $229 three years ago on same ship/same itinerary. I thought it would have gone up so will definitely be heading to spa on boarding to see if they are doing any sail away specials!!!!! Even $199 is cheaper than before. I thought I might have to just 'pay by the day' but now... :-) Fingers crossed.

 

How hot is the water in the thallassotherapy pool? Britannia (P&O's sister ship) is just right but I found Royal to be very hot (a bit too uncomforatble). Was unable to stay in for long.

 

 

My favourite place. Glad you are posting live 'cos we have had very little information from Royal around the British Isles so far this year.:):) Enjoy!

 

 

Tracey

[CCFC]

You appear to be heading into a bit of a storm going round the top of Scotland, safe trip, we get on her on Monday and cant wait.