Golden Princess British Isles

[whatsnext]

I'm taking my swimsuit, that'll guarantee a laugh or two for everyone else! I'm taking a 10 year old. It'll just be the 2 of us (let's just say I'm over 50 and leave it at that), but I'm a little apprehensive. This is our first REAL vacation since recently becoming a widow and I'm not sure if 10 days are going to be tolerable. As to the excursion, SugarFreeSheila, I looked at that one and decided to take a castle tour. I can shop anywhere, but there aren't many castles in TN.

[STLart]

Hi,

 

My husband and I are going on the B2B, July 1st and 11th cruises. We are wondering if anyone who is on the same cruise has made private arrangements for Kirkwall? I just wrote a tour agency and am waiting to hear from them. We are interested in going to the mystical places [like Skara

Brae, etc.] and visiting art studios, if possible. Is anyone else interested in joining us?

 

Shoni

[SugarFreeSheila]

The reason I personally am into shopping in the ports of call is not due to the shopping per se ... but chances are, said area is in the "town centre" and that's where the fascinating people are! That's where the real culture lies; hearing the beautiful accents, seeing where the locals (not just the tourists ... thinking of St. Thomas) shop and spend their days, eating their food, and so much more. While I love the idea of visiting the unique castles and looking at the majestic Irish, Welsh, and Scottish art, this might involve being isolated from the locals and having to hang out with a bunch of Americans and maybe a few local tour guides. (I adore other Americans, but I see you every day at home!) For me, art is essential - but comes second to the people. I'll probably spend half the ports of call where I exclusively sightsee.

 

We're getting closer, everybody! Just 2 weeks and 2 days ...

[moescruise]

Hi,

 

My husband and I are going on the B2B, July 1st and 11th cruises. We are wondering if anyone who is on the same cruise has made private arrangements for Kirkwall? I just wrote a tour agency and am waiting to hear from them. We are interested in going to the mystical places [like Skara

Brae, etc.] and visiting art studios, if possible. Is anyone else interested in joining us?

 

Shoni

 

dear Shoni,

my wife and i are on the july 1st british isles cruise. we are taking the princess bird watching tour in kirkwall so we can't join you. we are looking for people to join some private minibus tours in dublin and edinburgh. they would be more tailored and economical than princess. if you or anyone are interested please let us know. the minibus can handle up to 16. price goes down with more people.

thanks,

moescruise

[STLart]

dear Shoni,

my wife and i are on the july 1st british isles cruise. we are taking the princess bird watching tour in kirkwall so we can't join you. we are looking for people to join some private minibus tours in dublin and edinburgh. they would be more tailored and economical than princess. if you or anyone are interested please let us know. the minibus can handle up to 16. price goes down with more people.

thanks,

moescruise

 

Hi,

 

It's good to hear from another b2b cruiser. There are alot of people on the July 11th thread, but non except for us [that I know of] on the July 1st leg.

Have you checked out the July 11th 'roll call'. There is alot of information there, and opportunities to share tours on the second leg.

 

Thank you for the offer of the minibus - I think we'll pass, as we'll probably take the hop on/off buses in each place and maybe a taxi into the suburbs.

 

Shoni

[Suitedreamer]

Hi,

 

It's good to hear from another b2b cruiser. There are alot of people on the July 11th thread, but non except for us [that I know of] on the July 1st leg.

Have you checked out the July 11th 'roll call'. There is alot of information there, and opportunities to share tours on the second leg.

 

Thank you for the offer of the minibus - I think we'll pass, as we'll probably take the hop on/off buses in each place and maybe a taxi into the suburbs.

 

Shoni

 

Shoni - we are also b2br's (7/1 & 7/11 cruises). I have been following the roll-calls for those 2 groups and have joined in. On the 7/1 cruise Roo (Nancy) is the point person and has kept track of everybody as they join and then e-mails us the info so we can "know" each other. She is doing an excellant job. Just thought I'd let you know about that. Sally

[Roo]

G'day - I'm going to put in my 2 cents here! Hi everyone - I have offered to collect and e-mail back to all of us going on July 1st to the British Isles. (See original posting by Roger Dodger under Roll Calls). We have over a dozen couples so far on our list and would welcome you as well (e-mail me at ermmfm@rogers.com ). We have all been watching carefully the postings by the current British Isle cruisers and wondering, especially for those ports that are tendered, whether or not to look in to local guides (always better IMHO!)

 

I guess we are all waiting for someone to bite the bullet and let us know what tour they are organizing so we can (all) jump on the same bandwagon (as long as there is a reasonable cancellation policy for the tendered ports).

 

The Minibus tour that the current cruisers took sounds great - we would join in if someone wanted to begin to organize. Sooooooooo...if you wish, please contact me with any particulars you wish (name, location, age, favorite sports team etc.) and you will hear back from me! Cheers!

[STLart]

Hi Nancy,

 

In the cities we will be taking the hop on/off buses. For Holyhead, we arranged a tour with fred@busybus.co.uk - you can see if he has more spaces available. Check out their website www.busybus.co.uk . The full day tour to Skara Brae, Caenarfon, etc. was only 30GBP/pp. The private tours in Kirkwall seem to be quite booked - we are going with www.allfivesenses.com and having a tour tailored to our interests [mysticism/art].

 

'Hope this helps you.

Shoni

 

PS: Are we all meeting anywhere on the ship upon embarkation?

[STLart]

Thanks for the info Sally, I already contacted Rodger Dodger. See you in 4 weeks!

Shoni

[Casshew]

I am booking the Golden Princess for July 11, 2006 and I am learing a lot from you guys... I never considered excursions done privately. It seems like a good option - sometimes I feel like we are cattle being herded along on the regular cruiseline excursions.

 

Looking forward to reading all your reviews when you sail this year.

[calikak]

Hi all-we are just back from the 5/22 sailing and as you might have read, we missed our stops in Kirkwall and Holyhead due to rough weather (both are tender ports, but we really missed Kirkwall because we would have had to sail through Force 10 winds to get there in time). So, if you're planning independent excursions, be aware of your tour operator's cancellation policy upfront. We knew ahead of time about cancellation policies (one had no refund, the other is refunding all but 7.50 per person) and were OK with not getting full refunds, but I know others on other sailings didn't know this in advance and were very disappointed not to get their money back when they were forced to miss the port. FYI, the three tender ports on our sailing were Kirkwall, Holyhead and South Queensferry, the rest had us docking in container ship areas. I wouldn't imagine that they have to cancel South Queensferry very much, since it's in an estuary and fairly sheltered, but I've heard that calls at Holyhead are often cancelled due to weather. Still, we saved so much money on our Belfast tour over the Princess excursions to the same places that it more than covered our costs for our missed tours in Kirkwall and Holyhead. :)