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

[captain_hug99]

When we went to Paris years ago, a pick pocket attempted to get my husband’s wallet. Both of us marked him as a pickpocket as he stepped on the metro and he got a whole lot of elbow for his trouble. We also came across the “ring scam”. This one almost got my husband because it was so seemless. I just yelled at the lady in French. 
 

however, being aware of your surroundings and being skeptical of EVERYONE helps. Paris is like going to any other very large city. 
 

unless things have changed, I’m not sure if someone would be able to make it to the top of the Eiffel Tower with such a

limited time. We had timed reservations and it took us 90 minutes to get to the top. This was in March of 2018. 

[azbirdmom]

On 7/6/2023 at 9:09 AM, ssawjo said:

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.  

So true!  We did Normandy with Overlord tours yesterday and it was fantastic. Felt safe everywhere and it was a wonderful mix of D-day historic sites and then visits to the charming towns of Honfleur and Bayeux. 

[kttraveler]

47 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

So true!  We did Normandy with Overlord tours yesterday and it was fantastic. Felt safe everywhere and it was a wonderful mix of D-day historic sites and then visits to the charming towns of Honfleur and Bayeux. 

That is so great to hear! I'll be doing that in just a couple weeks.

[Scottygirl1]

14 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) 

 

Thank you for suggesting this, it's a tour I had overlooked!  I have been to Paris before and have seen most of the sights including going to the top of the Eiffel Tower however I've not cruises the Seine.  My partner has not been to Paris at all so it will be wonderful for him to at least get to visit.

[suzyed]

On 6/27/2023 at 8:12 AM, KarmaCruisers said:

We got in line at 10:50am and we kissed the stone at 12:38pm. 
The trek up the castle stairs wasn’t too bad, actually. (And I’m out of shape and overweight)

Now we make our way to Kinsale; where we’re going to get some lunch

The stairs are what we are most concerned about...we're out of shape and overweight too.  But DH likes to say that "round is a shape"!

[KarmaCruisers]

1 hour ago, suzyed said:

The stairs are what we are most concerned about...we're out of shape and overweight too.  But DH likes to say that "round is a shape"!

It’s such a slow moving line, that you don’t even take one step per minute, lol.

[maggieq]

@KarmaCruisers thanks so much for doing this live review. Thinking of doing this itinerary in 2025.  How did you find the ship?   Ncl are offering similar itineraries but on a very old ship.  We haven’t been on Princess since 2004 but thinking they would be a better option.  

[ssawjo]

13 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

So true!  We did Normandy with Overlord tours yesterday and it was fantastic. Felt safe everywhere and it was a wonderful mix of D-day historic sites and then visits to the charming towns of Honfleur and Bayeux. 

Stayed at the Lion d'Or Hotel in Bayeux.  Very quaint.  That is where Eisenhoward stayed.  Honfleur is also very nice but don't go on weekends, very crowded. I think very American should visit the D-day beaches in order to appreciate our soldiers' sacrifice and bravery and what America is all about.

[Lady Arwen]

27 minutes ago, ssawjo said:

Stayed at the Lion d'Or Hotel in Bayeux.  Very quaint.  That is where Eisenhoward stayed.  Honfleur is also very nice but don't go on weekends, very crowded. I think very American should visit the D-day beaches in order to appreciate our soldiers' sacrifice and bravery and what America is all about.

And, Canadian Juno beach Normandy, flanked on either side by the two British beaches.  Everyone seems to focus on just the American beaches, unless of course, you’re Canadian or European.

[ssawjo]

5 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

And, Canadian Juno beach Normandy, flanked on either side by the two British beaches.  Everyone seems to focus on just the American beaches, unless of course, you’re Canadian or European.

Agree with you.  While on a Seine River cruise we decided to visit the British/Canadian beaches since we had previously visited Omaha and Utah beaches.  We were the only Americans on the tour and are presence was surprising and appreciated by the mostly Canadians on the excursion.  The Canadian beach had an excellent visitor center and was a great visit.  Highly recommend a visit.  The British beaches, Sword and Gold, were not as developed for tourists but was an excellent visit.

[nini]

16 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

So true!  We did Normandy with Overlord tours yesterday and it was fantastic. Felt safe everywhere and it was a wonderful mix of D-day historic sites and then visits to the charming towns of Honfleur and Bayeux. 

 

We also toured with Overlord Tours in May 2022 and they were fantastic! However, the contempt for Americans was quite intense in Honfleur and Bayeux. We were quite taken aback, but encourage people to go with Overlord Tours.

[suzyed]

On 6/23/2023 at 10:50 AM, Lady Arwen said:

Following here, too!  Our turn in September, so looking forward to your report.  Thank you for taking us along on your UK adventure!

Our turn too at the end of September! Thanks from us too!

 

[suzyed]

On 6/25/2023 at 11:24 AM, KarmaCruisers said:

Captain Tim Stringer just came on the speaker and talked for a solid 10 minutes about saillaway haha

Honestly never heard a captain say so much..then again, never sailed with a captain who was English-first-language.

This will be our first time on the Regal....can't wait!

[kttraveler]

2 minutes ago, suzyed said:

This will be our first time on the Regal....can't wait!

It will be my second time and I love this ship, although I do miss having Skywalkers. That is such a quiet place during the day with an excellent view.

[suzyed]

On 6/27/2023 at 12:37 PM, nini said:

We really enjoyed our stop in Cobh. We did a private tour and went to the Blarney Castle and I had to visit the Woolery in short walking distance. If you spend 250 pounds there, they will ship for free to your home in the states. Yes, I did!

Good to know!

 

[suzyed]

On 6/27/2023 at 4:18 PM, Sulialto said:

Drink lots (LOTS!) of water - it will help your leg cramps😉

Have some pickle juice...that really helps too!

[azbirdmom]

3 hours ago, nini said:

 

We also toured with Overlord Tours in May 2022 and they were fantastic! However, the contempt for Americans was quite intense in Honfleur and Bayeux. We were quite taken aback, but encourage people to go with Overlord Tours.

Really?  We didn’t encounter any of that. 

[KarmaCruisers]

11 hours ago, maggieq said:

@KarmaCruisers thanks so much for doing this live review. Thinking of doing this itinerary in 2025.  How did you find the ship?   Ncl are offering similar itineraries but on a very old ship.  We haven’t been on Princess since 2004 but thinking they would be a better option.  

We liked it just like any other Royal class ship. Food options were great (Royal class has a GREAT buffet, for quite literally from 5am - 10pm)

a lot of people don’t like the Royal class because it doesn’t have a “promenade” to walk around on outside..but we like it because it’s a larger ship than the Grand class 

[nini]

5 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

Really?  We didn’t encounter any of that. 

Well, we did. A restaurant was very rude and the stores in in our last stop pretended they did not speak English to avoid a sale. We knew they spoke English with other customers.

[nini]

8 hours ago, kttraveler said:

It will be my second time and I love this ship, although I do miss having Skywalkers. That is such a quiet place during the day with an excellent view.

We also loved the Regal!

[Scottygirl1]

7 hours ago, nini said:

Well, we did. A restaurant was very rude and the stores in in our last stop pretended they did not speak English to avoid a sale. We knew they spoke English with other customers.

That is how it is in France (in our experience).  They never even try to understand you unless you speak in French.  I tried my best ... it was pretty funny, even funnier for my partner who tried to speak to greet them in Italian (we'd just left Italy).  

[kttraveler]

12 minutes ago, KarmaCruisers said:

We liked it just like any other Royal class ship. Food options were great (Royal class has a GREAT buffet, for quite literally from 5am - 10pm)

a lot of people don’t like the Royal class because it doesn’t have a “promenade” to walk around on outside..but we like it because it’s a larger ship than the Grand class 

I do miss the promenade but with so few ship days I will get in plenty of walking.

[senior lady]

11 hours ago, nini said:

Well, we did. A restaurant was very rude and the stores in in our last stop pretended they did not speak English to avoid a sale. We knew they spoke English with other customers.

what a silly statement to make.

[ssawjo]

22 hours ago, nini said:

 

We also toured with Overlord Tours in May 2022 and they were fantastic! However, the contempt for Americans was quite intense in Honfleur and Bayeux. We were quite taken aback, but encourage people to go with Overlord Tours.

That is very hard to believe.  In Paris, sure.  In Normandy, they fly the American flag along with their national flag.  I have a feeling you just didn't like France, or her people based on other comments.

[georgemoe]

On 7/7/2023 at 5:48 AM, Scottygirl1 said:

 

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

 

We are on the same sailing in August. We are not doing the bus to Paris or Normandy. We will most likely grab a Nomad car at the port and spend time in HonFleur. That's if we even get off the ship. We are hoping to do a Paris based river cruise in 2026 so we'll save a Normandy excursion for then.