Live - Emerald Princess - July 8-20 British Isles

[Tiki_Koro]

On 8/6/2022 at 11:42 PM, alibabacruisers said:

Thank you for letting us know what you are going through and appreciate all your time and effort to share your experiences with all of us!

 

You're welcome! 

 

19 hours ago, Malleykatt said:

We are on count down as we will be boarding on the 13th Aug. Really enjoying your report and seeing what's in store for us. We haven't been to Scotland or Ireland before even though we're "locals" haha. Packing starts tomorrow.

 

You are in for a treat! I will try to finish before you depart. Have a great trip!

 

16 hours ago, SomewhereGirl said:

Oh oh, I'm afraid of what's coming.  When you get to that point, was the laundry open 24 hours?  How long were the wash and dry cycles?  

 

The laundry facilities were supposed to close at 10pm. That was enforced the first time I did laundry, but not the second time. I cannot recall exactly the length, but I think the washer took about 30 minutes and the dryer about 45 minutes. 

[Tiki_Koro]

I almost forgot the Patter for Day Eight - At Sea.

 

 

 

[caribill]

2 hours ago, Tiki_Koro said:

CruisMy main objection with the bathroom was the stench that built up during the duration of the cruise. We did not notice it the first few days, but by the halfway point, it was bad and got worse each day. The issue was with the toilet. We kept the lid down to keep the smell contained, but whenever I lifted the lid, the fumes knocked me over! I

 

 

Did you report this to your cabin steward or the passenger services desk?

 

I would think Princess would have worked on this problem once they were aware of it.

[SomewhereGirl]

7 hours ago, Tiki_Koro said:

The laundry facilities were supposed to close at 10pm. That was enforced the first time I did laundry, but not the second time. I cannot recall exactly the length, but I think the washer took about 30 minutes and the dryer about 45 minutes. 

I may try really early morning but because of your review I will be packing some Tide sink packs and really big (huge) thick Ziplock bag to wash tops and underthings.  And seek out tokens early in the cruise.  I think I've read on CC that guest services has tokens.  I'll find out.

[georgiacat]

Another time to do laundry is during the traditional dinner time when lots of people will be eating.  It the machines are busy, try another floor.  the worst time is a sea day.

 

Do keep your eye on the time.  If your machine stops, and you are not there; sometimes others move your clothes.  I do not stay in the laundry, but I try to arrive 5 or more minutes before shut off time.

[geoherb]

On 8/6/2022 at 10:33 PM, Tiki_Koro said:

 

I also would have spent more time at Guinness. If you don't mind, could you share the recipe for the brownies? That sounds delicious! 

 

 

It's toward the end of this page of recipes I developed for my herb society when hops was the herb of the year:

https://herbsociety.tripod.com/recipeshops.htm

[Tiki_Koro]

Day Nine - Inverness

 

We were initially planning to do the May 9 itinerary, just my parents and me, but when my brother decided to join us, we switched to the July 8 trip to accommodate his summer vacation schedule. Once we knew we were traveling later in the summer, one of the first ideas we thought of was trying to catch a Highland games while in Scotland. To our good fortune, the 200th Inverness Highland Games was to take place the day we were in Inverness! We planned to take the train from Invergordon to Inverness, but after researching the train timetable and talking to a travel guide on the ship, we decided it would be easiest and most reliable to book the Inverness On Your Own excursion through Princess. This excursion was simply a roundtrip coach from the port in Invergordon to Inverness. 

 

After breakfast, we headed to the Princess Theater and checked in for our excursion. We had not done any prior excursions through Princess, so this was the first time we had to meet in the theater and exit the ship as a group. Thankfully, the ship was docked at the port, so there was no need to wait for a tender boat. 

 

 

 

There were four coaches waiting to take us, and we were given a sticker with the number "20" on it to identify that we were to ride on coach #20. The bus ride took about 45 minutes to get from Invergordon to Inverness, and we were let out by Inverness Cathedral. From there, it was a short 10-minute walk along the River Ness to get to Bught Park where the Highland Games took place.

 

 

Along the walk, we came upon a hospice, but my dad thought this sign was put up just for him!

 

 

The gates opened at 11am, while the opening ceremony did not start until noon. There were four lines to enter, and we were early enough to be the first in our line. I was surprised by how small the event space was. It felt about the size of a small county fair. According to the website (www.invernesshighlandgames.com), about 7,000 were in attendance. There was plenty of open space to move about, with food trucks, amusement rides and inflatable bounce houses for the kids, tents, stages, and an arena for the heavy competitions.

 

Before heading to the opening ceremony, we stopped by the tent housing the clan exhibits.

 

 

 

 

The solo piping competition had already begun, so we stopped by and watched a performance. Around the park were other bagpipers practicing. We really got our fill of bagpipes throughout the day!

 

 

 

We then went to the arena to get a good seat for the opening ceremony. The ceremony began with the marching of pipes and drums.

 

 

The Games Chieftan and Inverness Provost were joined by special guests Tom and Luke Stoltman, the World's Strongest Brothers. The Provost is the one in the middle!

 

 

The ceremony concluded with the regional dance finalists dancing a traditional Highland Fling. 

 

 

 

Following the opening ceremony, the heavy competitions began with the hammer throw.

 

 

 

 

Next was the weight throw. We really wanted to see the caber toss and the stonemason's stone challenge, but those took place after we had to leave to catch the bus.

 

 

Unfortunately, we were supposed to be back to board our bus at 3:15pm, which left us with only a couple of hours to take in everything. We walked around and saw the youth dancing competition and some live music before heading back to the cathedral.

 

 

 

 

 

Attending the Inverness Highland Games was a highlight of our trip! It was fun to experience a local event, even if our time was limited. When we were ready to board our bus, we noticed only three buses were lined up. Bus #20 was not there! There was some commotion between the other bus drivers and the attendants helping us board the buses. I am not sure what happened, but a different bus arrived to pick the rest of us up. Still, we were back to the ship in plenty of time. There was a long line to board the ship because all of the buses arrived at once, but we got through the line in about twelve minutes.

 

 

While waiting in line, we noticed some of the Princess crew were painting the hull of the ship. 

 

 

We had dinner in the Da Vinci dining room, and it was Italian Night. I had the prosciutto and melon, Italian chopped salad, spaghetti and meatballs, and chocolate souffle. Once again, the pasta was very good! The whole meal was delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner, I returned to my room and enjoyed watching the wake of the ship from our balcony for a bit before heading to Speakeasy for a cigar. The water was so still and smooth except for the wake!

 

 

Our room attendant left disembarkation information with our Princess Patter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RNRcruisers]

How fun to see the Highland Festival in Inverness! Love it!

 

[Tiki_Koro]

Day Ten - Edinburgh

 

Edinburgh is one of my favorite European cities. I spent some time in Edinburgh when I lived in London, and I brought my parents to Edinburgh on their first trip. This time, it was my brother's first trip, so we maximized the limited time we had by focusing on the Royal Mile. As this was the last day we had to ride a tender boat into port, we got an early start with room service breakfast and checked in for our boarding group at 8:22am. 9 minutes later, our group was called, and it was a 16-minute ride from the ship into South Queensferry.

 

 

 

 

We were greeted at the port by a bagpiper and drummer. 

 

 

I learned from @ROWSE report that the easiest way to get to Edinburgh from South Queensferry was the Lothian bus service that provides continuous shuttles from the port to Edinburgh all day long, leaving every 15-20 minutes. Tickets could be purchased on the bus with a credit card at 10 pounds roundtrip, although they tried to also sell us an upcharge ticket for a Hop On Hop Off bus tour. We declined the HOHO bus ticket because we wanted to stick to the Royal Mile. The trip from the port to Edinburgh was 18 minutes.

 

Edinburgh is very walkable, but be prepared for stairs and inclines. From St. Andrew Square where we were dropped off, it was an easy walk to Princes Street to the Sir Walter Scott Monument, where the Old Town can be seen up above with the castle dominating on the right at the top of the hill. That was our first destination, so we proceeded to the first flight of stairs leading through a "close" (alleyway) that would get us to the Royal Mile. This morning was one of the only instances when we experienced rain on our trip, but fortunately the light rain cleared up before we got to the castle. 

 

 

 

 

When we got to Edinburgh Castle, we were surprised to find that the tickets were sold out for the day! Thankfully, I had pre-booked our tickets, so we had no trouble walking right in. The entrance to the castle was under scaffolding as they were setting up seating for the Military Tattoo that took place during August. 

 

 

 

 

The view from inside the castle overlooking Edinburgh was magnificent! 

 

 

 

 

Edinburgh Castle is largely a military site now, and we spent a couple of hours exploring the barracks, Scottish National War Memorial, St. Margaret's Chapel, and the Great Hall. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Margaret's Chapel is the oldest building in Edinburgh, from the early 12th century. Near the chapel is a dog graveyard!

 

 

 

After we finished our morning in the castle, we were ready to begin our tour down the Royal Mile. Once again, we used the Rick Steves Audio Walking Tour as our guide. 

 

 

 

 

Tucked in between these tall 17th and 18th-century tenement buildings are back alleys and side lanes that lead into quiet courtyards. 

 

 

We didn't do it this time, but there is a tourist attraction called Real Mary King's Close we did last time that goes underground into the section of the tenements where the impoverished "lived," if you can call it living. I recommend it for the first-time visitor to get a taste of how people existed when Edinburgh earned its name "Auld Reekie." Best to pre-book a ticket because the tours fill up fast. https://www.realmarykingsclose.com/

We paused our tour to turn down a street to find the Elephant House café and Greyfriars Kirkyard. The Elephant House is where J.K. Rowling wrote some of the Harry Potter series. We saw multiple Harry Potter walking tours throughout the city, and had we known ahead of time, we might have booked one of them. Rowling drew a lot of inspiration for the books from Edinburgh. Unfortunately, the Elephant House was under construction to repair from some fire damage.

 

 

 

The Greyfriars Kirkyard is the setting of the cute 19th-century true story of the Greyfriars Bobby, a Skye Terrier who spent 14 years guarding the grave of his owner. Disney made a film about it in 1961 that is available on Disney+. Before reaching the cemetery, there is a statue memorial of the dog, Old Jock, located on the street in front of the Greyfriars Bobby pub.

 

 

 

Next to the pub is the entrance to Greyfriars Kirkyard, and just inside the cemetery is the prominent gravesite of the dog.

 

 

 

The cemetery is also another Harry Potter fan site because it is here where Rowling found names such as Thomas Riddle and McGonagall on the tombstones that became characters in her books. Also, at the edge of the cemetery is a gate, and visible through the gate is George Heriot's School, the prep school that was the inspiration for Hogwarts.

 

 

Greyfriars is a nice place to walk around and get a sense of how creepy Edinburgh is. Think of Robert Louis Stevenson's story "The Body Snatcher" depicting the Burke and Hare murders. 

 

 

 

Speaking of Stevenson, we headed back to the Royal Mile and had lunch at Deacon Brodie's Tavern, which is themed after the real-life criminal who inspired Stevenson's "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." 

 

 

 

 

Deacon Brodie's was kitschy, but fun. I had the Toad in the Hole, which featured pork and haggis sausages. I've had straight-up haggis before (much more tolerable than black pudding!), but I much prefer it in the style of a sausage. We also FINALLY had sticky toffee pudding, a favorite from our last trip that, for no good reason, we simply had not ordered up to this point of our trip.

 

 

After lunch, we resumed our walking tour of the Royal Mile. Across the street from Deacon Brodie's is a statute of the modern philosopher David Hume. As in Glasgow, it was not uncommon to find statues with cones on their heads!

 

 

On the corner across from Hume is the site of the last public execution. 

 

 

 

Next on our tour was the courtyard of St. Giles. St. Giles' Cathedral is the most important church of the Church of Scotland, and it is where the Scottish Reformer John Knox preached. We did not go inside St. Giles this time, but it is worth a visit to see the memorials, similar to Westminster Abbey in London. Next to St. Giles we saw a coned statue of Adam Smith.

 

 

 

All along the Royal Mile, we were entertained by various street performers. Just a tip, they expect to be tipped! They even have Square readers to accept credit cards, so not having cash is no longer an excuse!

 

 

 

We continued down the Royal Mile hoping to stop at Cadenhead's Whisky Shop. Cadenhead's is unique because they have casks of whisky in the shop from which they will fill bottles without filtration or dilution. I have a few bottles from previous trips that I treasure and pull out for a sip on special occasions. I was hoping to purchase a bottle to take back as a gift for my boss, but... Cadenhead's is closed on Sundays! 

 

 

The Royal Mile ends at the the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is Queen Elizabeth's residence for about one week a year when she visits Edinburgh. 

 

 

Across the street from the Palace is the ugly, modern Scottish Parliament Building. I am sure it has its admirers, but I have never heard someone describe the building as anything but ugly!

 

 

From this end of the Royal Mile, we had a good view of Calton Hill on one side and Arthur's Seat on the other. 

 

 

 

We miscalculated how far we were from St. Andrew's Square where we needed to pick up the shuttle back to the ship. On the map, it did not look that far, but it was a long walk that we could have done without. Had we known better, we would have taken a taxi. The bus ride back took 26 minutes with traffic. We arrived at the port at 5:02pm and waited in a line that looked long but only took 12 minutes to board a tender boat.

 

 

My mother and brother skipped dinner to do laundry, while my dad and I had dinner in the Da Vinci Dining Room. I had the twice-baked goat cheese soufflé, cobb salad, and beef tenderloin. It was very good, but the highlight was dessert. We had sea salted caramel pot de crème on our Alaska cruise and loved it so much that we asked for the recipe! I was told by our server that it was not the same dessert (the Alaska dessert was a recipe by Curtis Stone), but it was still good. He even sent a couple to our rooms via room service for my mother and brother.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the following day being our second day at sea, I intended on spending a late evening in the casino, but after dinner I got sucked into a movie my brother was watching in our room and decided to stay in for the night. Here is the day's Patter:

 

 

 

 

[Tiki_Koro]

Cruise Day Eleven - Second Day At Sea

 

Our second day at sea was a little disorienting because the ship switched to French time (Central European Summer Time) a day early to get us acclimated to the time change before our arrival in Le Havre, but our phones and devices remained on British Summer Time, which was an hour earlier. That meant we lost an hour of sleep, and if we wanted to make it to the Da Vinci Dining Room for breakfast by 9am, we had to be there before 8am according to our phones (this was especially tricky on our disembarkation day, but I will cover that later). 

 

We all slept in and did breakfast on our own. I made it to Da Vinci in time for breakfast, and then I headed to the Princess Theater for an Enrichment Presentation on the Dunkirk Evacuations. The lecture briefly covered D-Day and the Normandy Landings before focusing on Dunkirk and the Little Ships that helped evacuate the British and French a few years earlier. This was my first Enrichment Presentation, but they had been taking place all throughout the cruise in preparation for each port. Some of these lectures were available to watch again on demand on the television in our stateroom. 

 

 

After the lecture, it was already time for lunch! I was not that hungry, but the rest of my family did not have much for breakfast. We had a leisurely lunch in the Da Vinci Dining Room, and the theme was Pub Lunch.

 

 

After a heavy lunch, we had no plans and decided to head to the Piazza to digest. The kids program was in the Piazza doing an egg toss competition. Each child or team of children had 20 minutes to create a contraption that would hold a raw egg. They would then go to the third floor of the Piazza and drop their contraption. If their egg broke, they were out of the competition. If their egg did not break, they were in the competition for first prize. 

 

 

There were some very creative contraptions of varying degrees of success, but the ones that were most successful involved a type of parachute. About 5 or 6 teams made it to the final round, but the winner was chosen simply by loudness of applause in a popularity contest. I hope the prize wasn't much because that did not seem fair!

 

This evening was our second and final formal night, so we returned to our rooms to rest and get ready for the evening. I watched from our balcony for a while as we sailed by fields of wind turbines. They came out of nowhere and stretched as far as I could see!

 

 

 

Our dinner was a late seating at 8pm, so my parents and I decided to attend the first showing of the evening's theatrical production in the Princess Theater. I was ready early enough to head down to Vines for a glass of wine before the show. On the way down, my inner Elf came out as I took a ride on the elevator! Needless to say, I was not about to have my first drink of the day!

 

 

The show for the evening was DISCO - Blame It On The Boogie. It was a cute montage of disco music that was very well-performed. It lasted about a half hour.

 

 

The captain announced earlier in the day that we would be sailing past the White Cliffs of Dover around 6pm, but he then announced it would be closer to 7pm. I did not want to miss it, so I kept my map app opened on my phone to see where we were positioned. As of the time we sat for dinner, my map app showed we still had not reached Dover. Unfortunately, due to the poor WiFi, the app was not updating properly. After dinner, our location on the map jumped from east of Dover to west of Dover, and we had missed it! My advice to future cruisers is to listen to the captain and plan to sit out on the deck during that timeframe if you want to be sure to see the Cliffs. 

 

Dinner was elevated for formal night. I had escargot, wedge salad, lobster tail, and chocolate pistachio dome. It was all very good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We may have missed the Cliffs, but we did not miss the sunset!

 

 

In the Piazza, an after-dinner dance party broke out. 

 

 

My parents and I headed to the Explorers Lounge for an Elton John tribute show featuring the performer who did a similar concert a few nights prior in the Princess Theater. I missed his show in the theater, so I was glad to catch him in the lounge. He was very good at both singing and playing the piano like Elton John!

 

 

It was a late night, but I promised one of my new friends I met in Speakeasy that I would hit the blackjack table with her. I am not much of a gambler and had never played blackjack in a casino before. She assured me that a cruise casino is way friendlier than what I would find in a hotel. We played the teaching table meant for beginners, and the dealers and other players were very friendly and helpful. I lost $30, but I had a lot of fun losing it!

 

Here is the day's Patter:

 

 

[Tiki_Koro]

Cruise Day Twelve - Normandy

 

We booked the Normandy Landing Beaches excursion through Princess. There were four time options: 7:30am, 8am, 8:30am, and 9am. The only time available when we booked was 9am. However, when we received our tickets on the first day of the cruise, the tickets said to check in at the Michelangelo Dining Room by 8am. This seemed odd to have us check in an hour early. We ordered room service for breakfast and headed down to Michelangelo. My parents went a few minutes ahead of my brother and me, but we thought we had plenty of time. We arrived just after 8am to find they were about to board our bus! We were on the bus leaving the port by 8:20am. I never found out why the bus left earlier than the 9am excursion time, but I wonder if maybe they consolidated the buses. 

 

Our tour guide was a sweet lady named Helen. She was from Greece, but she had lived most of her life in Normandy. She even used to work at the American Cemetery, which gave her an insider's perspective to the cemetery. Our first stop was to be the cemetery, and it was about a 2-hour drive to get there. We stopped about an hour into the drive for a restroom break and to purchase some snacks. For this, we were all grateful. Also, a heatwave was making its way across Europe. It was to be in the mid-90s Fahrenheit in Normandy and all the way to 106 degrees Fahrenheit in Paris! Thankfully, the bus was comfortable and had air-conditioning. It was not full, so many of us had two seats to ourselves. Along the way, we passed a few chateaus. 

 

 

We arrived at the American Cemetery around 10:45am and had 2 full hours to spend at the cemetery. We began with Helen giving us a tour. She pointed out how the crosses were laid out and told a few stories.

 

 

 

 

 

At one point, a veteran in our group asked if he could have a moment to place an American flag at one of the graves. We all joined him in the impromptu ceremony.

 

 

 

One of the stories Helen told us was the story of the Niland brothers. They were four brothers who were in four different units. Two survived the war, but for a time it was believed that only one survived. The two who died are buried in the cemetery. Helen was working at the cemetery the day Steven Spielberg visited and was first told the story. This was the inspiration for "Saving Private Ryan."

 

 

 

The cemetery overlooks Omaha Beach. 

 

 

 

 

We had time to briefly look around the museum, but not enough time to take it in. 

 

 

 

 

Visiting the American Cemetery was a sober reminder of the costs of freedom and the sacrifice these brave men and women were willing to make. I only hope my generation would be up for the challenge if such a time called for it. On a lighter note, my brother and I were amused by the number of times we overheard a tourist ask one of the security guards, "Where is the gift shop?" Even though the cemetery has a small, museum-like exhibit, there is no gift shop. 

 

Helen told us to be back on the bus by 12:45pm sharp. She wanted to stop at Omaha Beach before heading to Gold Beach for lunch, and we needed to be at lunch by 2pm. Well, all but two of our group made it by 12:45pm. After waiting 15 minutes, Helen got worried and called the ship to see if anyone had reported maybe a sickness or other incident from our group. Then, the two people arrived at the bus and explained that they thought we were leaving at 1:45pm, not 12:45pm; they thought they were early and planned to wait for the rest of us in the air-conditioned bus! This set us back and required Helen contacting our lunch location to let them know we were running late.

 

Even though we were running late, Helen still had us stop and get out at Omaha Beach. There is a sculpture memorial on the beach and flags for the various nationalities who died on the beach. The beach is controversial these days, for it is treated as a holiday spot for beachgoers rather than a solemn memorial. Helen prepared us for this by telling us the story of a lady on one of her tours who cried when she saw it because her grandfather had died on the beach. Helen explained to her that her grandfather and others died on the beach so that folks today could be free to enjoy it. Helen said that cheered the lady up, but when we saw it, we did not buy that explanation. Even though I can understand some of the beach remaining open to beachgoers, at least the memorial could be kept distinct and respectful. Instead, folks were using the sculptures for shade and for picnics.

 

 

 

 

 

We next headed to Gold Beach for our lunch in Arromanches. Lunch was at a brasserie in the Hotel de Normandie. When we sat down at our table, a salad and a bottle of red table wine (Syrah/Merlot blend) were waiting for us. The salad had boiled eggs, prosciutto, soft cheese, and a baguette. Also at our place setting was what appeared to be a glass of rosé wine. It was actually a kir! How French! After the salad plates were cleared, a large platter for each table filled with roasted chicken with mushroom cream sauce and scalloped potatoes with bacon was served family style. We were not expecting such a meal, and it was a wonderful treat. 

 

 

 

After lunch, we spent the rest of our day at the Arromanches D-Day Museum. This museum was the first D-Day museum built in Normandy. We began by watching a film on D-Day and on the construction of Port Winston, an artificial harbour built off the beach in Arromanches for bringing in cargo during the Allied Invasion.

 

 

 

 

 

Outside of the museum is a piece of the pontoon road that went out into the harbour. 

 

 

 

The museum was fascinating, and we had plenty of time to see everything and to do a little shopping in the gift shops across the street. 

 

 

As we left Arromanches, we could see the remnants of Port Winston out in the water.

 

 

The bus ride back was not particularly pleasant, for about halfway into the ride the air conditioner went out! We stopped along the side of the road for the bus driver to see if he could figure out the problem, but ultimately the AC unit was overworked keeping the bus cool in the midst of the heatwave. As if riding in a hot bus was not bad enough, some of the passengers got cranky and were being rude towards Helen. Things like, "Come on, let's go!" were being yelled while she explained the situation to us over the microphone. It was a long hour back to the port, and we were all ready to get off the bus. Helen was a joy to be with and did not deserve the attitude from some members of our group. Despite the hot bus, the day was powerful, memorable, and fun.

 

We did not feel like sitting down for a 2-hour multi-course dinner, so we skipped our Da Vinci dinner seating. We watched the ship sail out of port from our balcony before heading to the buffet. Le Havre is a commercial port, and it is not particularly beautiful on the inside. The beachfront portion of the port was nice, though. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner, we went back to our rooms to pack. The disembarkation information said we needed to sit all of our luggage except for what we needed the next morning outside our stateroom doors before going to bed. We had color-coded and numbered tags that corresponded with our disembarkation group. Our group was Light Blue 1, and we were to be the first group to disembark at 7:30am. After packing, I returned to the casino to try and win back my $30 from the night before. Instead, I lost another $20 and called it quits!

 

Before I went to bed, I had to figure out how to set my alarm. I wanted to get up at 5:30am so that I would have enough time to eat breakfast at the buffet (there was no room service on disembarkation day). Should I set the alarm for 5:30am and hope my phone changes time zones, or should I set it for 4:30am in case my phone did not change time zones? I decided to err on the safe side, set it for 4:30am, and put it in airplane mode with no WiFi, cellular data, or Bluetooth. Did it work? Stay tuned to my final report!

 

Here is the day's Patter:

 

 

[Tiki_Koro]

Cruise Day Thirteen - Disembarkation and Flight Home

 

I apologize in advance for no pictures in this report. It was a hectic day, and photographing it was not a priority! 

 

On my last report, I ended with a sort of cliffhanger on whether my phone would wake me up at 4:30am or 5:30am. We gained an hour crossing the time zone from Le Havre to Southampton, and I was afraid that setting my alarm in Central European Summer Time at 5:30am would translate to 4:30am when we crossed into British Summer Time. That is how the calendar on my phone works, but I did not know if that is how the alarm clock on my phone would work. I tried to control it the best I could by turning my phone to airplane mode and turning off cellular data, WiFi, and Bluetooth connectivity. I was hoping my phone would stay in Central European Summer Time and that I would be awakened at 5:30am, even though my alarm was set for 4:30am. Alas, my phone still adjusted to the new time zone but kept the same wake-up time, so my alarm went off at 4:30am! 

 

Tired but unable to go back to sleep, I took advantage of the extra time and had one last cup of tea on our balcony. We were all up and ready with plenty of time to get breakfast at the buffet. We booked our flight through Princess, and Princess was responsible for getting us to Heathrow from Southampton in time to catch our flight. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 1:30pm, so we were in the first group to disembark the ship. Our group, Light Blue 1, was to disembark at 7:30am, but they let us off early at 7:20am. Once we were off the ship, we walked through the terminal to where our luggage was waiting in the Light Blue 1 section. We grabbed our luggage and were directed to the bus. The whole process of disembarkation was smooth and took about 15 minutes.

 

The ride to Heathrow was supposed to take 60-90 minutes, but due to traffic and roadwork, it took over 2 hours! Our bus driver was aware of the roadwork and had planned an alternate route off the main highway. Still, we arrived over 3 hours before our flight was to depart. This is when the nightmare began! What I am about to explain may not be as surprising today given the amount of news coverage regarding the chaos at Heathrow, but at the time, it was totally unexpected by us.

 

We received an email on July 13 (Belfast day) from British Airways explaining the new restrictions on flights out of Heathrow. Heathrow began imposing a daily 100,000 passenger limit, and this would require British Airways and other airlines to cancel some flights. I did a little research and found that this was mostly going to affect flights within Europe, so we did not think much of it.

 

The night before, my parents and brother were able to check in online with ease. When I attempted to check in, however, I received a message that additional information was needed and that I would need to show my passport to an agent at the airport. The line to check in was quite long, but we had over 3 hours and were not worried. We waited about 45 minutes to speak to a British Airways agent. She pulled up my ticket and got on the phone. Then, she told me that the flight was overbooked, and I did not have a seat! She said it was unusual that the rest of my travel party would have seats but not me. I would need to go to the standby line at 12pm and see if any seats opened up. In the event there were no seats on that flight, the next flight would not be until the following day. British Airways would put me up in a hotel overnight. I was grateful that at least it was not my parents or brother who would have to negotiate a night in London alone, and I was reminded of the G.K. Chesterton quote, "An adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered," as I thought about where I would go first on my night on the town!

 

My parents and brother got in line for security, and I went to the standby line. The standby line was very long with people in similar situations, so I got in line before 12pm. By 12pm, it still had not moved! I spoke with a British Airways agent who was walking up and down the line asking each of us about our situation, and when I told her mine, she was surprised to hear that I was separated from my travel party. She got her manager involved, who then took me back to the check-in desk where I had previously spoken to an agent. The manager explained the matter to another agent, who looked up my ticket and told her I had no seat. The agent said the best I could do would be to check at the gate.

 

So, the manager passed me off to another manager who walked me to the security agent who was checking people's tickets and passports. This was about the halfway point in the security line. The manager told the security agent that I needed to bypass the security line to get to the gate, but the security agent said all she could do was let me in at that point to wait in line to get through security. It was 12:30pm at that time; one hour from when we were to depart. My parents and brother were still waiting in the first half of the line and saw me skip in front of them! The British Airways manager wished me luck and thanked me for being so calm.

 

It took an hour to get through the rest of security because, at that time, only one metal detector was open for all of the security lines that were merging together. That was when it hit me why Heathrow was capping the number of passengers - they were so short-staffed that they could not process people fast enough to catch their flights. Once through security, I still had to go down a level and catch the underground train to the terminal. Ever hopeful that the plane was delayed, I persisted and arrived to find out that our plane was, indeed, delayed because there was another plane in our terminal getting ready to leave. 

 

I spoke with an agent at the gate, and he pulled up my ticket. He found me a seat! My parents and brother then arrived, out of breath, and we had a joyful reunion. We were hoping to grab something to eat before boarding, but we did not have time. Our boarding group was the last to board, and as we walked back to our seats, I saw over a dozen empty seats that did not get filled. Much to my delight, my seat was next to two empty seats, so I was able to sprawl out for the flight!

 

As we approached Orlando, the captain told everyone that there was a storm over Orlando preventing us from landing. He circled Orlando for a half hour, but he said he did not have enough fuel to continue waiting. We had to make an emergency landing in Tampa to refuel. That took about an hour, and then we flew back to Orlando. Overall, we were 3 hours late landing, but at that point we were just glad to be back home. All of our bags arrived, and our ride was waiting to pick us up. But for the mess at Heathrow, it was not a bad flight. 

 

For those who stuck with me through the end, thank you for your patience! I hope everyone enjoyed following along as much as I enjoyed putting these reports together. 

 

 

[durangokid]

So glad you all got home safely - and on the same flight.  That would totally freak me out.  We will be doing this September 5 ,2023 so I am avidly following all British Isle threads.  Thank you for all the wonderful pictures!

[alibabacruisers]

Thank you for taking us along and I am sorry you had to experience all that in the end, but glad you arrived home safely.

 

[redtop101]

Thank you so much for taking us along on your adventurous journey. As an ex-Brit living in Canada I throughly enjoyed living vicariously through you, your brother and your parents. I must say, that even though my wife and I lived in the UK for 30 years or so, we never got to experience anywhere near as much of the UK that you guys did. Your photos were fantastic and thank you all for taking us along for the ride with you. 

 

 

 

 

your

[cruisequeen4ever]

Thank you for seeing it through; it was an outstanding report!