OhioDogLover

To answer the questions posed:

1) Princess did offer a shuttle from the ship to downtown Dublin. I don't remember the details because we did not use the service. Our tour picked us up from the pier for an extra charge and we took a taxi back to the ship (for about 11euro) from Trinity College.

2) the internet. I was told that there was some issue on this cruise. No one was able to connect very well. To check in for return flights, we asked the Internet Cafe attendant to do it for us. (So did many people on the ship. There was a long line for help.) He seemed to be able to do it more easily than we could, although it took him about 10-15 minutes for each group. I tried to do some office work but was unable to do so. I finally gave up. Strange it was so very bad, given we could see the shore. My hope is that they improve/fix it.

Ohiodoglover

Part 2: The Cruise

A brief overview of the cruise

Pacific Princess is the smallest ship in the Princess fleet. It is a wonderful ship and I can't recommend it enough. My last two cruises were on the Regal and Royal. I thought service had gone down on those cruises. This one was old fashioned cruising at its best.

We had upgraded to a mini suite and it was the largest mini suite I have seen. There was room for a sofa, a table and chairs, a seat at the desk, more storage than we needed, and ample closet space. The bathroom was large and had a tub. It is a big step into the tub, so if you have mobility issues, it might pose a challenge.

Others in our group had interior and obstructed ocean view cabins. They were all great, large and well appointed. We all commented favorably on the beds which were vary comfortable.

There is one dining room, plus two specialty restaurants. There is no International Cafe, but you really don't miss it. The buffet was never all that crowded, and open most of the time for something or other. Room service was the fastest i've ever seen.

The food was much better than it has been on my last several Princess cruises. The service in the restaurant was very good, and the food always hot. We had three gluten free people in our group and they were always able to get what they wanted without much ado. We had dinner in the Grill one night and it was the same. Service and food were exceptional.

As it was a small ship, the staff got to know you. They remembered names, drinks, coffee preferences, etc. The service throughout the ship was outstanding. There is a laundromat on board, and room laundry service was fast and good.

The ship has two theater spaces, and the staff did a great job with the entertainment. Want the promenade deck experience with deck chairs, you get it on this ship.

PORTS

JERSEY

The first port was Jersey and we tendered into port. The tendering was quick and efficient. Jersey had some shopping and a Jersey museum, which we enjoyed for 10 pounds. We also sampled Cornish Pasties at a local bakery. It is a lovely place.

CAUTION: One of our party got money at a bank ATM. He didn't get British Pounds, but Jersey pounds, which we found out are not accepted anywhere else and nearly impossible to exchange. So, get your pounds elsewhere.

WALES

The second port was Milford Sound in Wales. Again, we tendered in. I could not find an independent tour for our group, so we took a ship's tour. We saw Carew Castle and Pembroke Castle. The guide was good, the tour interesting. It was quite good for a ship's tour. It was an all day tour.

DUBLIN

The shop docked at Dublin. We booked an independent walking tour which did not meet our expectations. However, we did hear a great deal about the Irish political situation. So, if politics is your cup of tea, it was great. Sadly, we missed most of the great literary history of Dublin. I would like to go back for the cultural aspects and to see Trinity Library, which we missed. We did see the post office site of the Easter Uprising, the potato famine statues, the courtyard of the castle and the outside of Christchurch. Dublin was crowded and the economic boom evident.

EDINBURGH

The highlight of the cruise was Edinburgh. As the ship is small, we were able to dock and not tender, and got about as close as you are going to get to Edinburgh. Nonetheless, getting into Edinburgh was an issue. There is a bus and train, or you can do what we did and get a taxi. Four of us luckily found a taxi driver who took us into Edinburgh for 40 pounds and picked us up and returned us to the port later that day. We toured Holyrood Place and the grounds, which I recommend. Again, get the audioguide. We skipped the castle, which was a mistake, but had a good day.

That evening, we all took the ship's Tattoo excursion. The ship did a good job of getting us fairly close to the castle. and we walked the last mile (it is uphill, if you have mobility issues that could be tough). The Tattoo was well worth the price of admission. We all enjoyed it a lot. Princess did a good job directing us back to the bus in the dark, and we were back on board about midnight. They did a great job.

The second day, our wonderful cab driver drove us to and from St. Andrews. The cost was 180 pounds for the four of us. If you are a golfer, it is a must see. Two of us are, and we got our picture on the famous 18th hole bridge. The town is quaint and presents a lovely walk along the cost. The driver took us back to the ship along the coast. A very nice day.

DISEMBARKATION

What a breeze. Few passengers makes for easy on, easy off. The transfer to the airport was seamless.

PLUSSES and MINUSES

If you don't need a huge ship, this is perfect. The only downside was the internet, which was really unusable. You had many amenities, nearly no lines, great service, terrific cabins, good food, etc. I would take this ship again.

We had one real day of rain in London, and a bit of drippiness in Edinburgh and St. Andrews. The weather was quite good all in all.

The seas were calm. I never even took out my sea bands. There was a bit of bumpiness one night, but that was it.

Most of cruise, you had lovely view of the shoreline.

OVERALL

I have come to prefer Celebrity, but this cruise made me rethink that. It was outstanding. I will look for more Pacific Princess cruises.

Ohiodoglover

We sailed on the Pacific Princess 8 day cruise out of Dover on August 2, 2018. This is my review of that cruise.

Background

We had a 9 person group, all of whom had sailed at least 5 times before on Princess and other lines. One of our group chose the cruise because of the itinerary and date. We had a bit of concern about the seas and the distance from the docking areas /tender areas to towns. The weather was absolutely perfect. For distance to things, please see below.

Precruise

Five of us had Princess EZ Air. It was anything but easy. We had trouble getting the flights booked, a reservation was lost, getting seat assignments was an ordeal, etc. As our designated call Princess person, I spent hours on the phone working on the air reservations. All in all, I will think twice before booking Princess air again. On the good news front, we got where we needed to be. The transfers out of the airport were also goofed up. They showed up with a van to fit 4 of us, but no room for the fifth. The Princess rep did call and get us another car, so all's well that ends well.

Three of our party did not take Princess air and arranged their own transfers via train from Heathrow. It's a long way, and they did fine, but I think the car transfers are the preferred way to go.

Hotel

We stayed at the Grange Tower Bridge Hotel. The rooms were just fine; the service, not so much. Arriving at the hotel about 11:00 am, the rooms were not ready. Prepared for that, we left for a while and returned three hours later. The rooms were finally ready about 4:00. Acceptable, but generally, my experience has been that you can get your hotel room earlier than the designated 3:00 check in time. Service throughout our stay was consistent.

On the plus side, the provided breakfast was fine, and the hotel was close the the Tower Bridge subway/tub station. We walked to the Tower of London easily.

Precruise activities

We had 5 days in London before our cruise. We tried to see as much as we could during those days. We all got Oyster cards, and used them throughout our stay. The tube is easy to use, the Oyster cards convenient and easy to top off to add money when necessary. If you reach a certain maximum per day, there is no charge for additional rides, and the Oyster Cards give you a fare discount. Getting our Oyster card 5 pound deposit back was easy as was getting our unused fare refunded. Oyster Cards are a plus.

Arriving on a Saturday, we did our first real sightseeing on Sunday. We took a Golden Tour bus tour of Windsor Castle, Salisbury, Stonehenge and Bath. It rained, the only really rainy day we had. Windsor was very crowded and we rushed through it. Really, we needed more time there. I had wanted to see Salisbury Cathedral and was not disappointed there. The Magna Carta was available and very interesting. Stone Henge was crowded but terrific. We had little time in Bath, but took a quick gander at the Roman Baths (not included in the tour price). The tour guide was disappointing. I would recommend that you spend at least half a day at Windsor. However, the tour provided transportation to four places we wanted to go and a box lunch. So, it was ok.

Monday, we went to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard. Extremely crowded, one could only see a part of the ceremony, even if you were an hour early, which we were. After lunch and some shopping, we toured Buckingham Palace which, as I understand it, is open about a month each year. That was a terrific tour. Get the audio guide.

That evening, we did a London Walks Jack the Ripper Tour. Those are 10 pounds and fantastic. I can't recommend them enough. We got some history of London, some Jack the Ripper, etc. A value for the money.

Tuesday, we walked over to the Tower of London. Spending half a day, we couldn't possibly do it justice, but it was great. I recommend seeing the Crown Jewels first. Don't miss the White Tower with the armour display. Next was Westminster Abbey, another don't miss. The line was about an hour long, and it was hot, but what an interesting place. Following that, we snuck in the Churchill War rooms, another must see if you are a WWII history fan. TIP: Book this one on line in advance it you can. Due to the size, they limit the number admitted at any one time. You could easily spend most the day here.

Wednesday, we split up. Some of us went over to the Hyde Park area. Some of us went through Kensington Palace, with a brief stop at Marks and Spencer for shopping. Kensington had a Princess Di clothes display. There was a lot of history about William and Mary of Orange. Interesting place. That afternoon, we did another London Walks tour, this one was Harry Potter. It was even better than the Jack the Ripper tour. The guide gave us a great history of the financial district of London, as well as involving the kids in the Harry Potter stories.

London Walks offers more tours and if you book more than two they offer a discount. I can't recommend them enough.

The CRUISE

Embarkation

Thursday, we transferred to the ship. The transfer was seamless. Embarkation was easy. We had priority boarding but did not need it. There were so few passengers on the ship, it is very small, that we got there and got on quickly.

We have used EZ Air periodically through the years and overall it was fine. At least, until this most recent cruise. This one has been a terrible experience. After a great deal of research, we ended up booking EZAir to London and back to Ohio. I was the coordinator for our group of 5. I have spent interminable amounts of time on hold, been told more than once that one of our party did not have tickets when she did, and argued with them when they did not ticket our return tickets until I called and insisted that they do so - less than 30 days before our trip. I contacted each airline and got seat assignments. For the one flight originating in the USA, that was simple except that the Princess tickets made it impossible to get the seats on line. The other 3 required time on hold with the airlines and fees to boot to get your usual coach seat. I'm not talking anything special, just coach seats. For some reason, the online seat selection process would not work for these tickets. The alternative was to wait until we got the airport. I'm willing to do that for a short flight in the states, but not for an international flight.

WHY? I don't know. Some of it is EZ Air. When I asked the LAST in a line of Princess reps why this was so difficult this time, she said, call the customer service line and complain if you want. I.e. "I don't care." Don't even get me started on the airlines these days. The only airlines who appear to give a darn anymore are Southwest (which we are not flying) and Air Canada (which we are). At least the Air Canada rep was nice after I was on hold for half an hour. It still cost me $30 each for coach seats from London to Toronto.

I guess the process has just become very difficult.

Next time, I don't know what I will do. I feel as if i should try to do something different. This was ridiculous.

Ohiodoglover

Thanks for the blog. I am following along and enjoying it immensely.

Ohiodoglover

Love your review.

Thank you for posting.

Ohiodoglover

My vote is the Hyatt Place. Have also stayed in Springfield Suites, which is fine, Courtyard Marriott (I thought that one has gone downhill a bit), Sheraton, also just fine.

IMHO, sometimes reviews paint a worse picture of things than reality.

Ohiodoglover

Loving your review. Took this cruise in Dec 2015 the other way (from Sydney to Aukland). We also stayed at the Hilton and agree that its convenience makes it a great idea for pre or post cruise. We did more time in Sydney than Aukland, so didn't get to do all you did there.

NZ is a lovely place to visit. I'm glad you had such a good time.

Also agree that it is wonderful cruise.

Ohiodoglover

Thanks for your "Live from". Having never been to that part of the world, I am enjoying learning about it. Maybe some day Il will try it. Meantime, at least you are warm. Wow, is it cold here!

Enjoy.

Ohiodoglover

I'm following along. Good luck on the last leg of the flight. Can't wait to hear about Singapore.

Ohodoglover

Ah, but at least there is no snow. :)

That does not sound good. My feeling is that you can usually just shrug and go on to the next thing, but this is a fairly substantial list of problems. in my experience, very unlike Princess to be like this. I wonder why?

Ohiodoglover

Thanks for the review. It was fun to travel along!

Ohiodoglover

Thanks for taking us along with you.

Ohiodoglover

Niagara Falls, my favorite place on earth.

Have a great time.

Ohiodoglover

Welcome to CC! I agree that you should get a tour company to help you see Rome. A few years ago, we took my Mom, who was in a wheel chair at the time, on a tour of the Vatican Museum. (We have been to Rome before, and my Dad wanted to see the Sistine Chapel again so we spent a whole port day at the Vatican - easy to do, of course. There is so much there.) We told the tour company before we went, and they made arrangements at the Vatican to get her around more easily. There are back ways around, special elevators, etc.. It was so nice that they made the trip available for her. We used Through Eternity, but I am certain Rome in Limo and other similar companies will do exactly the same thing.

You don't have to limit it to the Vatican, of course, but that was our experience.

IMHO the must sees include the Vatican Museum, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, at least drive by the Forum (that might be tough for you to walk through), a general drive through Rome to see the Spanish steps, Bernini fountains, etc., and my personal favorite, the little church with the Moses by Michelangelo in it. (St. Peter in Chains).

Rome is such an interesting city. have a wonderful time.

Ohiodoglover

great review.

Thank you,

Ohiodoglover

We went there three times. It was fun. The experience and the food varied, depending on the night. Generally, we thought it was pretty good and we enjoyed it. We had to watch the number of dishes, because it was just too much. Our favorites were the lava crab, spring rolls, fillet, Indian food and the desserts. We enjoyed most of the other things we tried. We always went in with an open mind, which helps.

Ohiodoglover

I am Elite and Celebrity and nearly Elite on Princess. (one more, I think) I have always cruised based upon itinerary and price. I agree with Cruise Raider. While I like Princess a lot, I think that the product has suffered recently. (I have a Princess cruise booked, so that should tell you my feelings about the product generally.) I always told DH and that I thought Celebrity was just a better all around. After cruising Aqua, he agreed. Everything (except the pizza and sometimes the entertainment) is just a bit better on Celebrity. I think the entertainment has improved on Celebrity recently.

We never saw the benefit of Concierge and tried to cruise Aqua. It is more expensive, but we always really liked it. We played the watch the price game once, and got Aqua for the cost of a balcony. We never looked back from that. DH was tall and really liked the showers. We both thought Blu was terrific. I don't like hassle on vacation and cruising Aqua took care of that for us.

I think you'll like Celebrity but all cruises are great, aren't they?

Ohiodoglover

We really enjoyed Solstice. I agree with what was said above. Discovering new things is always fun, especially on a cruise ship. Try the martini bar, which is always fun. I also agree with signing onto the roll call. You can meet some very nice people. We always got an internet package bec DH worked a bit every day, and I worked a bit from time to time.

Have a great cruise.

Ohiodoglover

In my opinion, the Freedom Trail is a must. Also, I suggest you go see Peggy's Cove, which is a very lovely place. If you are a hockey fan, the Nova Scotia sport (no s) museum is fun in Halifax (you get to see Crosby's famous dryer). We couldn't get up to Cape Breton the first time we took a similar cruise, but got there the second time. The (Alexander Graham) Bell museum is fascinating. We thought that was a real hidden gem.

Ohiodoglover

Enjoying your posts. Thank you for taking us along with you.

Ohiodoglover

We just booked the Crown for February 2018. I was wondering if about the condition of the ship. We sailed on her a few years ago and enjoyed the trip, but am curious. We were spoiled by sailing on Regal this past February.

Thanks

Ohiodoglover

We were also on the Regal and disembarked yesterday. All in all, it was a very good cruise. The service was, for the most part, outstanding. We found the food to be improved over what we had a experienced on Princess a couple of years ago. The entertainment was fun. Main areas weren't too crowded except for the Princess Theater during shows. It could be hard to get a seat. You need to be quite early.

Embarkation and debarkation were just fine.

The only complaint we had was the service in the Symphony dining room. We had a group of 10 and being seated was very difficult for anytime dining. So, we tried to get a standing reservation each night. We had trouble getting that, but they finally gave it to us at 5:45pm. That wasn't optimal, but it was either that or 7:45 pm. Food service was slow and the assistant waiter didn't like one of the people in our party, so frequently would not serve him and even took his food back to the kitchen a couple of times. I found this shocking, as I had never seen this before.

Overall, it was a really fun cruise. I would recommend it to others.

Ohiodoglover

Terrific and thanks for posting.

Ohiodoglover