British Isles Cruise

[CherryG]

We haven't sailed with Princess before, but have cruised many times.  We are thinking of doing the British Isles cruise with Princess.  Has anyone done this and what were your opinions of it. We normally cruise with Holland America, and they are smaller ships.  We are seniors (young seniors😂), and wonder if a larger ship is going to be too confusing and too many people.  Thoughts from anyone who has cruised with HA and the differences we can expect.  Thanks in advance.

[Denmal]

We completed the british isles on the crown princess this year amd loved it.  It was 12 days from/to  Southhampton. Very port intensive. Great service.

Also did a few days in London at the Tower Hotel.   Crown is not too big.

 

[mamkmm2]

1 hour ago, Denmal said:

We completed the british isles on the crown princess this year amd loved it.  It was 12 days from/to  Southhampton. Very port intensive. Great service.

Also did a few days in London at the Tower Hotel.   Crown is not too big.

 

 

The Caribbean Princess was our UK ship.  As Denmal said, it is very port intensive.  I think we had one sea day.  You are in port and off the ship so much I don't think your primary concern should be the size of the ship.  

 

MedallionClass ships have maps to help you find yourself if you get lost in every stair well and almost ever deck.  If you do get lost the first day or two that  should help.

[voljeep]

the size of the ship is VERY IMPORTANT in the timeliness in getting off the ship in the morning ... or so a neighbor stated when she took the Regal (Royal?) on that cruise ...

[Bogof1]

We did the British isles on the Royal last year and can say it was probably one of the best cruises we did. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Any questions pls ask.

[nukesubsailor]

We did the 12 day British Isles cruise on the Royal Princess in 2015 and loved the ship and the itinerary.  It was tiring as there were excursions we took in every port and many more that we did not have time to do.  So, in 2017 we did back to back British Isles 12 day cruises aboard the Caribbean Princess and loved that ship also.  The itinerary of each segment was different by one port----Liverpool on one segment and Kirkwall on the other segment.

I would recommend doing back to back cruises as you can then take almost all the excursions you want and only have to suffer the cost and length of flights to London and back home once.

 

[geoherb]

We took the British Isles itinerary that offered an overnight stop in Dublin two years ago. The tradeoff is that it did not go to Liverpool. But I'm glad we had the two days there. Whatever you do you need to plan on several days before or after the cruise in England. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

22 hours ago, CherryG said:

We are thinking of doing the British Isles cruise with Princess.  Has anyone done this and what were your opinions of it. 

 

We just did this cruise earlier this year (May 2019) on the Crown Princess.  Had an amazing time!  To date, this has been the longest cruise we had done, and were a bit apprehensive but our concerns were unfounded.  There was not one singe port that we felt was lacking in any way.  We were with a larger group of family and friends which certainly contributed to the fun.  The numerous ports *can* be a bit demanding, but just don't party all night!  Get a good night's sleep and you should be able to fully enjoy what each port has to offer.  Good luck and I hope you enjoy it!

 

As far as the size of the ship is concerned, it will take you a couple of days to get fully acclimated to where things are, but it will come.  BTW, we are "young seniors" as well.

[seacruise9]

Hi, 

 

We did the 12-day British Isles cruise on the Crown Princess from September 10-22, 2019 and had a wonderful time. The itinerary is fairly hectic (nine ports and only two seas) but the ports are excellent. Our itinerary featured the stop at Liverpool, which was one of our favorite ports. We did a shore excursion in every port and saw an amazing amount of sites.

 

I highly recommend this cruise.

 

Chuck

[5fathom]

We have been on 49 cruises and the British  Isles was one of our favorites. We did this on the Golden and stayed on board for the 12 day Western Europe portion. Equally delightful. You will find, unless things changed,  you will be docking primarily in industrial areas. Shuttle services  into towns is excellent.

[NHPixidust]

We also just sailed on the Crown Princess this past September for the British Isles cruise and although extremely hectic and tiring, I would do it again in a heartbeat.  This was a bucket list cruise for me, and it did not disappoint.

We had a few days in London, and a few days in Southampton before the cruise.  (Don't overlook Southampton as a place to explore before the cruise.  We loved it!!!)

After the cruise we spent the night at one of the hotels adjacent to the airport so we weren't rushing around that last day.

We loved the Crown as well as the itinerary!

[Diver2014]

We're also former Holland America cruisers, (although we were on HAL just a month ago in Alaska).  We did the British Isles cruise on the Crown Princess in May, 2019.  Best shore excursion cruise ever!!!!  It was our second time on Crown Princess, which is not my favorite Princess ship but being in a different British Isles port each day was the whole purpose of the cruise for us.  Absolutely one of our favorite cruises.  We had issues with our cabin (things not working) which soured me on the ship itself but the itinerary definitely made up for that.

[Tak8]

I was on the Caribbean Princess in May 17.  Really enjoyed the British Isles cruise that included an overnight in Dublin.  With so many ports, I didn't get to do that much on the ship.

 

I have taken 2 Holland cruises. I think you will find many similarities.  Princess has more of a night life.  I find that Princess ships have a good design.  Generally easy to get around and haven't felt crowded on the larger ships.

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

19 hours ago, Diver2014 said:

  We did the British Isles cruise on the Crown Princess in May, 2019. 

 

I'm pretty sure we were on the same cruise... I recognize your board name.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I've done 2 British Isles cruises and have been there many many times on land vacations as well.  Princess does a great job on this itinerary IMO and I personally like them MUCH better than HAL's smaller ships who, for me, seem a bit slow and behind-the-times.  I really despise having to be served in the buffet the way HAL does.  

The best advice I can give is to join your roll call ASAP after booking so you can join as many private tours as possible.  This will make a major difference in how much enjoyment and experience you get out of the itinerary.  The really good private tour guides can book up about 8 months prior.  I think this itinerary is a great way to see the UK and it's still one of my all-time favorites! 

Edited November 6, 2019 by DrivesLikeMario
typo

[Diver2014]

3 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

 

I'm pretty sure we were on the same cruise... I recognize your board name.

 

yep, I think so.