Golden Review ~ 10 Day British Isles Cruise ~ Aug 10th

[Casshew]

Our room had a 2 double beds with fluffy feather duvets like the Golden, but the beds were not as comfortable as the ships. (we missed them) The bathroom had a rainfall shower (the showerhead is about 16 inches in diameter)

 

 

 

 

 

In London we saw Phantom of the Opera, Lion King, Mamma Mia & Mary Poppins.

 

I booked a 'Kids Tour' through guidelines tours and we had a nice guide named Pamela who picked us up at the Savoy and we did kid friendly things like Tower of London (100th Gift shop)

 

 

[Casshew]

 

 

Spooky London dungeons (lots of fun)

 

Madame Tussauds.

 

 

 

Our guide was allowed to tour group entrances and/or receive immediate entrance to venues even when there were huge line ups, it was well worth the 200 pounds for the day. Not only that but she would go and get the car and leave us still enjoying wherever we were and as soon as we walked out the door she would be there with the car, it made things go so much quicker.

 

Another good thing to do for kids and adults alike is the Natural History Museum (south Kensington Station) Dinosaurs, and all kinds of animals - even a blue whale hanging from the ceiling, a diamond exhibit, earthquake and volcano sections, we had a great time here.

 

Another recommendation is the Big Bus Company or Original double decker bus tours, the guide are really amusing and informative. Your ticket is good for 24 hours - so if you buy one at 5pm - it is valid until 5pm the next day, you can tour all the highlights of London and leave/join the bus as many times as you like on their several routes. you even get a boat cruise on the thames included.

[Casshew]

Speaking of the Thames, we did a cruise and were lucky enough to see this ship arriving and Tower Bridge started opening, right when we were under it... what a sight.

 

 

 

 

The London eye is a must do, you don't even feel it going around and we enjoyed it very much.

 

 

[Casshew]

You get some great views from up on theLondon Eye, especially on a nice clear day.

 

 

[Casshew]

Noel enjoyed horseback riding in Hyde Park - booked through http://www.hydeparkstables.com

 

 

 

 

In Hyde Park, Diana's memorial fountain

 

Buckingham Palace had a tour of the state apartments and a display of 80 of the Queen's gowns & jewelry (for her 80th birthday) we enjoyed this as well.

 

[Casshew]

Trafalgar Square

 

 

 

Food prices. London is INSANE, everything is expensive - (ie) I met a girlfriend of mine in London and we went to the American Bar in the Savoy for a drink. 30 pounds (60.00USD) for 2 drinks.

 

Anything from the room service at the Savoy was crazy (ie) 14 pounds (28USD) for a sandwich, 20 pounds for continental breakfast (coffee & pastry) We did eat from the room service once when we were exhausted after touring all day. The meal was probably the best thing I ate since I left home (better than anything on the cruise) but it was something like 140pounds (280 USD) when all was said and done (Lobster Salad & Curried chicken and a kids macaroni & cheese + drinks)

 

Noel enjoying Savoy room service

 

Tip - go to Tesco Express (they are everywhere) and get your muffins, fruit, soda, cereal & snacks for the room. We did this several times and had some nice meals. Tesco has some great choices in ready made foods.

 

Pizza Express has awesome food and is pretty reasonable.

 

McDonalds and Burger King are even more gross than home, don't go there.

[Casshew]

Tips for your British Isles Cruise experience

 

- Take half the clothes and double the money than you are planning.

 

- take a daylight flight if you can to avoid jet lag

 

- Arrive *at least* a full day earlier

 

- Do a post cruise stay if you can

 

- Be careful with private shore excursions - if your ship is late in port or misses a port you may lose your money. Know the rules.

 

- Dine early or late to avoid the crowds, we didn't have to wait for a table once and made no reservations (except Desert Rose)

 

- get a cabin on the port side to see/hear the pipers.

 

- Find your roll call - or start one, get to know the people you are sailing with, it really enriches the whole experience.

 

- Go to the Tattoo!! don't worry about the drive, get a book and chill out.

 

- London - be prepared to spend ridiculous amounts of money for any little thing. (ie) 3pounds for a coffee at starbucks (6.00 USD)

 

- be prepared to walk and walk and get lost - you'll need a map book, it really helps.

 

- take a private transfer to/from southampton and take advantage of those days for seeing the sights like stonehenge etc...

 

- Taking the tube is cheap but eats into your time, if you have to change trains it can take a long time to get from one platform to another. It is not as simple as it looks on the diagram so allow lots of travelling time to get somewhere.

 

We found that the black cabs cost on average 7 - 9 pounds and were so much faster than taking the tube (less walking too) so quite often we took the train one way and took the cab back. By the end of the week when we were getting short on time we were taking cabs all the time.

 

Wireless internet on the ship, if you are taking your laptop be prepared for slow slow slow service - and many times there was no signal or it just dropped off in the middle of doing something.

 

The internet cafe is much faster but there were times when many terminals were not working and there was a line up. 35 cents a minute was the rate.

 

- Bring a power strip, it was an amazing help - my one outlet was suddenly 7 outlets, perfect for my laptop, camera charger, cell charger, nintendo charger, portable DVD charger

 

I guess this concludes our report, if you have any questions I am happy to help. :)

[pollyanno]

that was absolutely delightful. thank you so much. :)

 

anno

[senior lady]

Wow!!!! what a great review. Makes me want to book for next yr. But sadly we're already booked on a 15 day hawaii cruise in April. Have to save this for our retirement in 2 yrs.:)

 

Only one question, did you and your daughter enjoy the cruise??? It sounds like you enjoyed the whole trip. There has been mixed reviews on the Golden.

 

It's coming to the west coast this fall for the Mexican cruises. It'll be nice to have a "grand" class ship on the west coast

[JLC@SD]

I enjoyed your review and what a unique way to do it....mostly with photos. Thanks for sharing them and for taking the time to tell your story.

 

We enjoyed meeting and talking with you on the cruise and hope to run into you again....:) Certainly we will see you around the CC Boards.....:)

[Casshew]

 

Only one question, did you and your daughter enjoy the cruise??? It sounds like you enjoyed the whole trip. There has been mixed reviews on the Golden.

 

She had a great time and was sad to leave the ship, several times in London she said she wished she was still on the cruise. She had no interest in the kids clubs at all, she just wanted to do her own thing and hang out with me - which was fine.

 

Have a great Hawaiian cruise!

[lkmamom]

What an absolutely wonderful review!!! Your pictures were just wonderful, you must be a professional. Your daughter is just gorgeous, I am sure that she will always have fond memories of this trip. We did a partial British Isles cruise on the Golden last summer, so I really enjoyed your pictures. I wish that we would have stayed in London more. I was thinking about you because I knew that you had been planning for this trip for a very long time. I am so glad that you just missed all of the craziness in Heathrow!!

I will save a lot of your information because we really want to go back someday and this time see a little more of London. Thanks again for sharing such a wonderful review, I loved every part of it!!

Linda

[spongerob]

Great review, Cass! I'm glad you enjoyed your trip.

 

I saw your comment about daylight flights to avoid jet lag. Interesting idea, maybe we'll try it next time.

[phabric]

With all your gift shops stops, what did your daughter buy.

[Casshew]

What didn't she buy is more to the point. Books, postcards, little figurines (ie) loch ness monster, highland bulls... jewelry, thimbles, erasers, pencils, key chains, tee shirts, - we have a whole duffle back that I had to check in, filled with her stuff :)

[Spikesgirl]

Have to ask though, Casshew, what song did they pipe you away with? We were piped away at nearly every port in Aus/NZ and the last song was always "Amazing Grace" - this was a little disconcerting to us as we usually play that at funerals. At least it wasn't "Nearer my god to thee" I guess.:D

 

I truly loved the pictures from Urquhart Castle as that's my grandmother's family. I used to listen to my dad talk about going back to claim the family castle (he left Aberdeen when he was three), but he never made it. It's nice to know that it's open and you can wander freely through it. thinkI'll pass on making any claims to it though - couldn't afford the upkeep:eek:

 

What a wonderful way to tantilize those of us doing the trip in the future as well as sharing with everyone who already went. Thanks especially for the word of wisdom at the end. The prices were pretty crazy -eff! And, hey, let's hear it for blood sausage! (how my mom actually ate the stuff is beyond me).

 

Again, thanks and cheers!

 

Charlie

[mii]

Casshew what a great review and fantastic pics. Thanks for sharing.

 

Marilyn

[TorontoTL]

What an absolutely great review.. Wonderful pictures and details about the ports and the ship. Thanks for taking what must have been a great deal of time to post it. That should be a must read for those doing that intinerary.

[Bestbubba]

Casshew, thank you for that wonderful review - it was a pleasure to read!

 

We live in London and cruise everywhere BUT the UK. It always made us laugh when we read about people doing British Isles cruises - just couldn't understand the attraction. (What's that they say about familiarity?). Anyway last August we picked up a great bargain (to be honest, they were almost giving it away!) Golden Princess, Western Med, British Isles and over to New York. When we told friends where we were going we said "loads of places we don't want to see followed by 6 glorious sea days and New York" How wrong can you be! It was one of our best cruises ever. We were "re-introduced" to our own country and loved every minute of it. Like you we did the Tattoo, just the highlight of the whole trip. Your wonderful review bought back so many magical memories! Thank you:)

 

Sue

[dottiedef]

What were you playing in the casino to win so much money????

[TexasMom2]

What a fabulous review and great tips for those sailing the British Isles. And what a great cultural and historical experience for your daughter, something she will always remember.

 

I have to repeat Dottie's question...what did you play when you walked out of the casino a winner?

[Casshew]

Hi again, thanks for the kind comments I am glad you are enjoying our photos.

 

As for the Casino! Well I was playing slots and I won on a few machines... my biggest win was on the 'Wheel of Fortune' Dollar machine, several big wins within a short period of time 125.00 x 3, 300.00 & 400.00 :D

 

The pipers played for a long while, entertaining the passengers lined up to reboard the ship, it was a gorgeous evening in Invergordon and I recall hearing Amazing Grace and Scotland the Brave - but they played many songs.

[TXTraveler76]

Hi Cass,

 

Wonderful review! Really enjoyed seeing your pictures and being able to relive our great cruise. It was so nice meeting you and Noel and hope we get to sail again with each other soon. Noel is quite a young lady and lots of fun. I know she will treasure this cruise and their memories for her life time.

 

Jacki

[Casshew]

Thanks Jacki, she wants to cruise again with you - keeps asking about it.

[smoothdancer]

I am curious about the mini suite picture that you posted. It looked to me like you had twins beds( I could only see one though).... Am I looking at the picture right, and if so could you of had that converted to a Queen.

 

We will be in a mini in December, a guarantee, and I am hoping that all the twins can convert.

 

Thank you!