Live from the Land of Princess

[lazydayz]

I have really enjoyed your live report.  While the first cruise made me want to try Princess, the second one made me reconsider that desire.  I believe it is the hotel director that sets the tone for the staff, and the one on the second ship seems to have failed Princess is setting up a warm and welcoming environment.

 

In any event, love your photos and your passion for traveling.  Hope you and your dad have a fine cruise to Alaska. 

[JGmf]

@YVRteacher I'd like to add to the deserved chorus of praise for your hard work and creativeness sharing your trip with us:   T H A N K   Y O U !

 

It's been a wonderful adventure for us too.

 

[Happy fool]

You know that feeling when a cruise comes to an end and it’s time to put your luggage out?  It seems too fast. Well I feel the same with the end of your cruise. 
 

Safe travels. Thank you for sharing this journey with us. 

[Thrak]

On 8/5/2024 at 2:01 PM, YVRteacher said:

@Eleanor Rigby 14 just when you say I’m bringing people together, I go and order pizza with pineapple. Few topics are more divisive than whether or not pineapple belongs on pizza. 

 

This is my favourite pizza. Cheese and pineapple.

 

 

 

[azbirdmom]

I'll add my thanks to you for sharing so much of your journey(s) with us.  You really captured every moment of your travels and your appreciation of all that was around you was apparent.  I do hope you will give Princess another try - you can't let those FCCs go to waste, right?  Safe travels home and I hope to follow along with your future cruises.

[wallyj]

8 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Well now I have a new flower to love! Thank you for sharing this.

Was it only last year that Princess stopped having a vase on every table in the MDR with this flower as it last many, many days as a cut flower.
 

@Eleanor Rigby 14, Princess became known for having this on board that I believe the flower also became known as ‘Princess lily’. Club class now Reserve class would have Dendrobium orchid spike instead.

[www3traveler]

I pray that your journey home goes smoothly.

 

I also pray that Dad was not impacted too much from all the smoke from all the wildfires.  My friend who is a B.C. Ferry Captain says there is lots of smoke mid Island where he lives and works.  Thunderstorms caused several new fires near where I live Sunday and Monday.

 

I hope you have a wonderful Jewel cruise.  I hope to be able to sail on The Jewel in early November.

 

Edited August 7 by www3traveler
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[Norwegianprincess]

11 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Thank you for sharing your photos and experiences on the Regal as well.  When and where is your next cruise?

My next planned cruise, and the only one planned so far, is the charter music cruise (Cayamo) that I have been going to almost every year since 2014. It’s usually on NCL’s Pearl, this time (early march 2025) we will be on the Gem. It’s a total blast, but a very different experience than an ordinary cruise. 
I would of course love to go on ordinary cruises as well, hope to be able to do so, however, the exchange rate between dollar an the norwegian currency is not in my favour these days. That, combined with beeing retired with lower income, is not a good combination. But I’ll keep on looking out for good deals. Would love to do an Alaska cruise in the future. 

[Tyskie]

@YVRteacher

Honfleur I've been told is "not to be missed".

Judging by your pictures, I'd agree. 

Loved the "doors, signs, flowers, cobblestones" (and more!)

 

Thank you for taking us along on your journey - enjoy your special and quality time with Dad - very important as you well know - hugs 🥰

[latebloomer56]

Wanted to thank you once again for two great reviews and absolutely wonderful photos. Started out reading because you were on the Island and we are booked on this ship next year. But you pulled me in with your style of the total review for both ships.

Have a safe journey home.

[BamaVol]

I feel like I’ve just finished a good book. And the sequel hasn’t been written yet. Very much looking forward to the next one.

[WisCruiser2]

@YVRteacher I'll chime in with my appreciation for your wonderful commentary and fantastic photos! I'm just sorry the Regal was rather disappointing after your Island experience. The Royal-class ships have their plusses and minuses, and as on any ship, the crew makes such a difference!

 

I'd posted before that you inspired me to book the round-trip Greenland cruise for next August (on the Island) so I may have to go back and read the first part of your journey before then!

 

Safe travels and smooth sailing!

[ceilidh1]

Sad that it's over...but happy you are coming home so we can relive it all in person!

[BabySarge]

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." (Marcel Proust) 

 

@YVRteacher thank you for being my new eyes.  Wishing you safe and stress-free travels home.

[YVRteacher]

Back on board after a glorious day in Honfleur I checked in for my flight. The terminal at Heathrow had changed so I had to return to Guest Services and get a different colour luggage tag. This was quick and easy.

 

From my perspective disembarkation was smooth and efficient. Princess does an excellent job organizing departure groups and waiting spaces. We needed to be out of cabins by 8:00am so I got dressed and headed up to Horizon Court. Still full from last night’s cheese fries I just had some eggs and pineapple.   For the first time on this trip it was sit outside in the sun weather so I found a lounger and watched the clouds for an hour.

 

 

 

My meeting place was Concerto and when I arrived (15 minutes early) they had already called the group number.  It’s a bit of a hoof off the ship and through the terminal before arriving at the shuttle bus depot.  No customs needed. (On the ship I had to turn over my passport while we were in Ireland and got it back in Scotland. ) 

 

There was only one staff person from Princess shoreside directing all the people to all the different coaches. There were two coaches heading to Terminal 5: one was packed with 60 people and the second one had 9 people. That was a pleasant ride although all the people with coughs on the ship brought their germs right off the ship and onto the bus. I have decided that cruise lines need a “how to avoid spreading germs” section as part of the safety video. This could include covering your mouth when spewing, washing hands before eating in the buffet and staying in the cabin when your cough is so bad it sounds like a lung is going to come up and out. 

I have never seen so many sick passengers and crew as I did on the Regal.

 

My flight is at 5:15pm and I arrived at Heathrow at noon.  You can’t check luggage in until three hours before the flight. I thought my carry on would be too large since I used the expander to accommodate the year’s supply of Icelandic chocolate but the nice woman at the British Airways kiosk said it was fine. This meant I could go through security and wait in the main terminal. 

 

Security was the worst ever.  They were checking the millilitres on every single liquid container and made everyone take off all sweaters and belts. I beeped going through the metal detector and told the agent it was the underwire. He said “take your shoes off.” I asked why I had to take my shoes off when it was the bra that had beeped.

 

He said that was policy. If you beep you have to take your shoes off. It took an hour to get through that hard core baggage check. 

 

After going through security I had to sanitize my feet to get all the airport floor crud off.

 

I didn’t want to sit so walked and explored the over-priced shops. What is up with Fortnum and Mason? Who pays 60£ for 4 iced cookies? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At 2:00pm I found a cheddar ploughman vegetarian sandwich

and it came with a snack and drink so I tried my first Whotsit. Whotsits are now Yvonne approved!

 

 

Heathrow is a busy place.

[Mike A]

@YVRteacherThank you so much for the wonderful daily update of your two cruises. It was a must read every day and I will miss it. The pictures were magnificent, and I felt like I was traveling with you. 

On another note, I am a long-time lurker (since 2000) of both the Princess and NCL boards. it was great to see the posts from the NCL cruisers like @mking8288 alongside of the Princess regulars. I personally love both cruise lines and both have their strengths and weaknesses, even from one ship to another as you experienced. Have a great trip home. God speed and I look forward to the review of your next cruise. 

[voljeep]

3 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Back on board after a glorious day in Honfleur I checked in for my flight. The terminal at Heathrow had changed so I had to return to Guest Services and get a different colour luggage tag. This was quick and easy.

 

From my perspective disembarkation was smooth and efficient. Princess does an excellent job organizing departure groups and waiting spaces. We needed to be out of cabins by 8:00am so I got dressed and headed up to Horizon Court. Still full from last night’s cheese fries I just had some eggs and pineapple.   For the first time on this trip it was sit outside in the sun weather so I found a lounger and watched the clouds for an hour.

 

 

 

My meeting place was Concerto and when I arrived (15 minutes early) they had already called the group number.  It’s a bit of a hoof off the ship and through the terminal before arriving at the shuttle bus depot.  No customs needed. (On the ship I had to turn over my passport while we were in Ireland and got it back in Scotland. ) 

 

There was only one staff person from Princess shoreside directing all the people to all the different coaches. There were two coaches heading to Terminal 5: one was packed with 60 people and the second one had 9 people. That was a pleasant ride although all the people with coughs on the ship brought their germs right off the ship and onto the bus. I have decided that cruise lines need a “how to avoid spreading germs” section as part of the safety video. This could include covering your mouth when spewing, washing hands before eating in the buffet and staying in the cabin when your cough is so bad it sounds like a lung is going to come up and out. 

I have never seen so many sick passengers and crew as I did on the Regal.

 

My flight is at 5:15pm and I arrived at Heathrow at noon.  You can’t check luggage in until three hours before the flight. I thought my carry on would be too large since I used the expander to accommodate the year’s supply of Icelandic chocolate but the nice woman at the British Airways kiosk said it was fine. This meant I could go through security and wait in the main terminal. 

 

Security was the worst ever.  They were checking the millilitres on every single liquid container and made everyone take off all sweaters and belts. I beeped going through the metal detector and told the agent it was the underwire. He said “take your shoes off.” I asked why I had to take my shoes off when it was the bra that had beeped.

 

He said that was policy. If you beep you have to take your shoes off. It took an hour to get through that hard core baggage check. 

 

After going through security I had to sanitize my feet to get all the airport floor crud off.

 

I didn’t want to sit so walked and explored the over-priced shops. What is up with Fortnum and Mason? Who pays 60£ for 4 iced cookies? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At 2:00pm I found a cheddar ploughman vegetarian sandwich

and it came with a snack and drink so I tried my first Whotsit. Whotsits are now Yvonne approved!

 

 

Heathrow is a busy place.

will you be doing a cliffs notes recap of all your experiences on the cruise - good and bad?  just a narrative ?

[YVRteacher]

7 minutes ago, voljeep said:

will you be doing a cliffs notes recap of all your experiences on the cruise - good and bad?  just a narrative ?

Yes, I’ll be doing a recap as well as a comparison between the two ships and a comparison between NCL and Princess.

[NikiPinkston]

Yvonne, DH and I have been dealing with illness and you have been the sunshine in my every day for the past few weeks. You are incredibly talented and I’m so grateful to have been brought along on your journey. Your narrative and photos of Honfleur are magnificent. I love that you bounced back from the bad patches and shared them with us, as well. Warm wishes for a safe journey home and a wonderful cruise spending time with your dad. Niki

[Muckyduckway]

37 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

I asked why I had to take my shoes off when it was the bra that had beeped.

 

I bought a bra just for air travel - since travelling with it I have rarely been stopped by the groper gang and a side benefit is the extra comfort on the plane. However, I do hope that running is not in my airport future!

 

 

Edited August 7 by Muckyduckway

[TheGuys16]

Loved reading your cruise report!  Thanks for bringing us along.  I wonder if the increased security has anything to do with the unrest in England.  I am flying to London on Monday, so I guess I will find out.  Good luck on the Jewel!

[Travelicious]

On 8/4/2024 at 5:59 AM, YVRteacher said:

Wednesday we return to Southampton for disembarkation and I fly home that evening.

 

 

Oh no!  I'm just now getting to this part, and you are probably already in flight.

[TinyG]

On 7/31/2024 at 4:21 PM, YVRteacher said:

I started to see people walking with a few items in hand
a jug of milk

a loaf of bread

a bag of red peppers

a stick of pepperoni 

 

and I knew a store was close

 

I found it and went inside. This was before I had read the posts from @ceilidh1 and @Muckyduckway!

 

 

 

 

This mustard section is not up to the standard set by Wales.

Oh Double Deckers are delectable!

 

Inescapable, they are

 

 

 

What do you think this pineapple did to get such a bad reputation?

 

I SEE my favorite chips...crisps...Kettle Balsamic Vinegar!!! I get as many bags as I can carry home in my carry on bag. One time on British Airways business class. My hubby went to the snack bar and brought me some bags to me...Happy Wife, Happy flight!

[Eleanor Rigby 14]

Let me know if you agree with me or not. If Yvonne ever retires from teaching I’d love to see her as a TV travel program host, in a show something similar to “Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy”. The only difference…Yvonne would visit many different countries and not only taste various foods and drinks but also show the audience a lot of local color with flowers, dogs, cats, doors, candies, menus, stores, etc.

[treesah]

7 minutes ago, Eleanor Rigby 14 said:

Let me know if you agree with me or not. If Yvonne ever retires from teaching I’d love to see her as a TV travel program host, in a show something similar to “Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy”. The only difference…Yvonne would visit many different countries and not only taste various foods and drinks but also show the audience a lot of local color with flowers, dogs, cats, doors, candies, menus, stores, etc.

Better yet, she should organize a cruise and invite all of us along.  

Hope Yvonne had a non-turbulent flight home and that she's safe and sound. 

Teacher, I'll miss my daily fix.