¡Live! Regal 12 Night UK Cruise (6/25-7/7)

[kttraveler]

4 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

You should post this on your roll call board where others on your sailing would be interested in arranging a new excursion.  Good luck!

I posted there first. I'm not really looking to get a group together just recommendations for tours others have been on and I know a few people following this thread have already done these ports.

[Lady Arwen]

1 minute ago, kttraveler said:

I posted there first. I'm not really looking to get a group together just recommendations for tours others have been on and I know a few people following this thread have already done these ports.

Got it!  I hope you’re successful.  Have a great cruise!

[nini]

5 hours ago, kttraveler said:

I posted there first. I'm not really looking to get a group together just recommendations for tours others have been on and I know a few people following this thread have already done these ports.

It is more helpful to ask these questions on the British Isles board.

[kttraveler]

6 minutes ago, nini said:

It is more helpful to ask these questions on the British Isles board.

That I didn’t try. Thanks!

[KarmaCruisers]

Last sea day! (Next to the last DAY; womp womp)

slept innnnnn today (woke up at 1pm; haha…but in our defense, we lost an hour last night because of the time change to Paris time, so it was 1am before we got in bed)

Going to grab some lunch and then maybe take an “official” stroll around the ship (as this trip has been so busy we have gotten a chance to just leisurely stroll and look at the entire ship; as this is the first time we’re on her)

Tonight is Gala Dinner (steak and lobster!)

Then after dinner, sadly; will come the packing.

We’ve decided that we can probably do an interior room from now on (we’ve only done balconies up to this point), as we really didn’t ever go out on the balcony, other than like when we got up (to see the port) then when we were sailing away (again to see the port). Both of these could easily be accomplished from just going up to lido and looking around.

Although, if not interior, then definitely Deluxe Balcony (as we’d like to have the extra space for in-room eating). 
Unless the Grand Class ships have sofa’s in their regular balcony rooms (we’ve only sailed Royal class; which we love)

[azbirdmom]

We are on the ship too but it’s been so busy that I haven’t been out to Cruise Critic. Like others we found that we should have packed heavier clothes as it’s been much colder and definitely much rainier than we expected, especially in Edinburgh yesterday. But it’s been a fabulous cruise and we have loved everything we have seen. We’ve done a mix of Princess excursions, private tours, and exploring on our own. Fun but exhausting itinerary. 

[KarmaCruisers]

Ohh wow! This is new..I know before, if you wanted more than TWO orders of steak/lobster, (on Gala night in the MDR) you’d be charged…but NOW, if you want a SECOND steak/lobster, it’s $10! I can’t believe they’ve cut it back so far!! Luckily my wife hates seafood so I can get a second lobster-McNugget (called that because the “lobster” they give you has to be the smallest legally allowable warm water lobster…as cold water lobster minimum size is still GOOD size)

[KarmaCruisers]

Well Paris left a super bad taste in my mouth…

For starters when we were going to get off the bus at the Eiffel Tower, our tour guide said “Be careful; because you’re Americans you’ll be targeted by pickpockets…especially a group of young girls, look out for them”

So we take our pictures and head over to a small cafe close and sit down, just really wanting to get a snack..we decided to get some cokes and split a burger..

we ask for a couple cokes and the waiter says “Large?”..sure why not…

WRONG! EACH of those “large” sodas, were €22,50!!!! And then the burger was ALSO €22,50!!! Literally look at this soda..it was honest to get a little more than a liter…so obviously this is an American tourist scam, where you want to order a coke, expecting to pay around €5, and they say “a large right?” And you think nothing of it…OOPSIE!

so yeah, it’s quite obvious Paris says “American tourists, KEEP OUT!”

[kttraveler]

6 minutes ago, KarmaCruisers said:

Well Paris left a super bad taste in my mouth…

For starters when we were going to get off the bus at the Eiffel Tower, our tour guide said “Be careful; because you’re Americans you’ll be targeted by pickpockets…especially a group of young girls, look out for them”

So we take our pictures and head over to a small cafe close and sit down, just really wanting to get a snack..we decided to get some cokes and split a burger..

we ask for a couple cokes and the waiter says “Large?”..sure why not…

WRONG! EACH of those “large” sodas, were €22,50!!!! And then the burger was ALSO €22,50!!! Literally look at this soda..it was honest to get a little more than a liter…so obviously this is an American tourist scam, where you want to order a coke, expecting to pay around €5, and they say “a large right?” And you think nothing of it…OOPSIE!

so yeah, it’s quite obvious Paris says “American tourists, KEEP OUT!”

That large size is for sure for American tourists.

Edited July 6, 2023 by kttraveler
typo

[MJSailors]

@KarmaCruisers Besides the unexpected food bill, was there anything that impressed you in Paris, in a positive way?

How long were you in the city?

What sites did you see?

Would you recommend taking the trip from the pier to Paris or would you think a tour of a local town(Honfluer for example) would be a better use of time?

TYIA

MJ

[KarmaCruisers]

29 minutes ago, MJSailors said:

@KarmaCruisers Besides the unexpected food bill, was there anything that impressed you in Paris, in a positive way?

How long were you in the city?

What sites did you see?

Would you recommend taking the trip from the pier to Paris or would you think a tour of a local town(Honfluer for example) would be a better use of time?

TYIA

MJ

So, with this trip, is was literally a bus ride around Paris with a 1-hour stop at the Eiffel Tower.

We got to see the Arc De Triomphe, The Louvre, Notre Dame, and drove down Champs Elysse.

if I had it to do over again I’d of just went on my own (riding the train from Le Havre) to save money and reserve tickets to go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower…but I know another poster on here did that and he said his wife was attempted-mugged on the metro train (you’d have to take metro from the main train station, to get around the actual city of Paris)

Its odd because in NO OTHER ports did they warn us of pickpockets or did we even FEEL unsafe..and also; in all the other ports it felt like, as tourists, we were WANTED there.

Also (probably not a big surprise) but NO signage in France is in English AT ALL, so if you don’t understand French or are handy with Google Translate; you may be up a creek.

Edited July 6, 2023 by KarmaCruisers

[ssawjo]

54 minutes ago, KarmaCruisers said:

So, with this trip, is was literally a bus ride around Paris with a 1-hour stop at the Eiffel Tower.

We got to see the Arc De Triomphe, The Louvre, Notre Dame, and drove down Champs Elysse.

if I had it to do over again I’d of just went on my own (riding the train from Le Havre) to save money and reserve tickets to go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower…but I know another poster on here did that and he said his wife was attempted-mugged on the metro train (you’d have to take metro from the main train station, to get around the actual city of Paris)

Its odd because in NO OTHER ports did they warn us of pickpockets or did we even FEEL unsafe..and also; in all the other ports it felt like, as tourists, we were WANTED there.

Also (probably not a big surprise) but NO signage in France is in English AT ALL, so if you don’t understand French or are handy with Google Translate; you may be up a creek.

Other parts of France are not like that.  The towns in Normandy still like Americans.  Even other French hate Parisians.  You've been there, no reason to return to Paris.  

[Scottygirl1]

There are many European cities where you are warned about pickpockets, not just Paris. You need to be super aware of any pricing while there too, as you can see on your menu the price was listed and for sure I would have said no thank you to that.  One hint for anyone else visiting Paris (or any large tourist area) is to watch as many Youtube videos about this where you are warned of all the scams, safety etc.  

 

My partner hasn't been to Paris but we are not doing this excursion mainly due to the long bus ride there and back - how bad did you find that aspect?

[Jadn13]

France is in a bit of an upheaval now, anyone planning to go should be mindful. 

[Scottygirl1]

Regarding your trip to Paris, did your tour include lunch?  I've read it's pretty bad food?  Overall would you recommend this or the other trip offered, Paris on your Own?  We are still deciding for next month's cruise.

[KarmaCruisers]

The bus ride wasn’t bad..it was 2.5 hours each way; with a stop at a large service station (think truck stop, in the states). The food was about as expected for a princess excursion..

Starter - Deviled Eggs

Main - Chicken Thigh with rice

Dessert - Some sort of marshmallow crème thing.

[Scottygirl1]

2 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

The bus ride wasn’t bad..it was 2.5 hours each way; with a stop at a large service station (think truck stop, in the states). The food was about as expected for a princess excursion..

Starter - Deviled Eggs

Main - Chicken Thigh with rice

Dessert - Some sort of marshmallow crème thing.

 

Thanks, I think we'll give it a miss and maybe try to get to Paris another time on another trip.

[ricka47]

3 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

The bus ride wasn’t bad..it was 2.5 hours each way; with a stop at a large service station (think truck stop, in the states). The food was about as expected for a princess excursion..

Starter - Deviled Eggs

Main - Chicken Thigh with rice

Dessert - Some sort of marshmallow crème thing.

We're on this one as well in a few weeks but are now having second thoughts. Other than the expensive snack, did you see enough to make it worth the trip?

Edited July 7, 2023 by ricka47

[KarmaCruisers]

39 minutes ago, ricka47 said:

We're on this one as well in a few weeks but are now having second thoughts. Other than the expensive snack, did you see enough to make it worth the trip?

I mean; I thought we’d be walking around more (the ticket literally said “must be able to walk long distances”) but it was like 100% bus ride.

for $225 a pop; I don’t think it was worth it. Honestly if it was just me, I would have no qualms about riding the train/metro. (Someone pickpockets me, they’ll pull back knubs) If you’re going with a spouse who’s pretty street-smart. Then same..just ride the train and metro.

I really wanted to get out at Arc De Triomphe and take good photos and also would have like to have had time to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

The train is only €50 each (round-trip) and a metro day pass is €7…so €57 each; where we spent €220 each!

[kttraveler]

It does sound very expensive and a short changing of a major tourist destination. Paris seems like it would be worth more than a drive by. I would also worry about being a pier runner going so far from the ship on my own though. Tough decisions if Paris is high on your to do list.

[Jadn13]

2 hours ago, ricka47 said:

We're on this one as well in a few weeks but are now having second thoughts. Other than the expensive snack, did you see enough to make it worth the trip?

The Paris drive and Seine river cruise is fantastic. I have taken this Princess tour twice and you get to see EVERYTHING! My photos from the cruise were beautiful and lunch on the boat was good. (Not Hijacking, I just don’t want people to miss out) 

[ricka47]

The city tour and cruise look good; maybe we should have booked it originally. It shows as sold out for our 7/19 cruise.

[KarmaCruisers]

Don’t get me wrong; if you’re somehow mobility limited, the drive through Paris is great as it hits all the major sites…it’s just a “sampler” though

[ricka47]

8 minutes ago, KarmaCruisers said:

Don’t get me wrong; if you’re somehow mobility limited, the drive through Paris is great as it hits all the major sites…it’s just a “sampler” though

Right - I guess the name "Best of Paris" lets us know that it is a sampler. As long as we know that going in, we'll be fine with seeing a extra few sites on our last day - thanks!

[irishgirl]

I’m glad to hear you liked the Paris Drive and Seine River Cruise because I’ve booked it for our September 5th cruise.

6 hours ago, Jadn13 said:

The Paris drive and Seine river cruise is fantastic. I have taken this Princess tour twice and you get to see EVERYTHING! My photos from the cruise were beautiful and lunch on the boat was good. (Not Hijacking, I just don’t want people to miss out)