junglejane

@Malleykatt The taxi was about 27-28 GBP each way. If you want to go to Edinburgh Castle be sure to buy tickets ahead because they sell out. I’ve recently started watching Vera on the Britbox streaming service so I enjoyed the scenic bus ride up the coast of Northumbria.

@Malleykatt The tender process at Queensferry was normal. We didn't try to get off early so we missed the rush but it was pretty fast. The only tender process that was bad was in Dublin because we were far away and the water was very choppy so it took forever, especially coming back. Enjoy your cruise and I'm sure your aft stateroom will be just fine.

Just got off the Emerald a week ago and I too was very disappointed in the wine by the glass situation. I'm like your wife and like a buttery Chardonnay.

@ROWSE We have definitely struggled with jet lag. I think as we've gotten older it has taken us longer to reset our internal clocks after coming back from a trip like this. It has taken us a full week to get back to normal.

Itinerary: We did this same British Isles cruise in 2009 so the only port we hadn't done before was Newcastle. This cruise didn't have enough sea days! It was a brutal pace of intensive port visits. Not a restful vacation, but fun. Still next time we're going to look for an itinerary with more sea days. Also we had to tender at 3 ports. Here’s a list of what we did in port: Guernsey (tender): we booked a walking tour with Annette Henry tours. Annette had to bow out due to an injury but she provided an excellent replacement. Cork: we booked a private tour with a group from our Roll Call using Gerard Scott. We booked through Tours By Locals but I think you could book him directly. We went to Blarney Castle, had lunch in Kinsale (fish and chips at Dino’s), drove through Cork and stopped in Cobh at St. Colman’s Cathedral. Dublin (tender) - This port required a long tender ride and the return to the ship was on very rough seas, so they went extra slowly. We took the train from Dun Laoghaire to central Dublin and walked around. We followed some of Gerard Scott’s recommendations (from our Cork tour) and went to the National Museum of Ireland to see the “bog man” (actually several bog bodies) among other things. We also walked through Trinity College (skipped the Book of Kells) and went to the Epic: The Irish Emigration Museum, which was very interesting. We ate an ice cream at St. Stephen’s Green and walked along Grafton Street to window shop and people watch. Belfast: For this port we booked a tour to Giant’s Causeway with Odyssey Coach Tours. Much cheaper than the Princess tour and on a smaller bus (about 20 people). We beat the big buses to the causeway. We had a photo stop for the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, which was fine because we had been there before in 2009 and had a chance to walk across it. Once back in Belfast the driver dropped some of the passengers at the Titanic Museum (pre-booked) and took the rest of us to see the murals and then back to the ship. Liverpool: Here we had pre-booked a private taxi tour. DH is a Beatles history buff and had done this type of tour before. In addition to stops at home of Ringo and George, we had tickets to guided tours of the insides of the childhood homes of Lennon and McCartney, plus a guided visit to the original Casbah Club by Roag Best Jr., a nephew of Pete Best. On the bay back the driver stopped for a photo op at the football stadium. Truthfully we aren’t into soccer, but we took photos because we knew our friends back home would be impressed, lol. Greenock/Glasgow: For this port we organized a private tour with two other couples from our Roll Call. Our driver/guide was George Martin of Go Go Bus Scotland Tours. He picked us up at the cruise terminal and took us to Stirling Castle, where we had pre-booked tickets. George gave us a guided tour. Afterward we went to Aberfoyle and the Scottish Wool Center for lunch and to watch a sheep dog be trained, followed by picturesque stops in Loch Lomond including Balmaha and Duck Bay. South Queensferry/Edinburgh (tender): We’d been to Edinburgh before in 2009 and seen the castle, so this time we shared a taxi and went to Holyroodhouse Palace. Admission includes a good audioguide tour. From there we just took a leisurely walk up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle. We didn’t go in the castle but rather explored the area and found an outdoor cafe and had pizza for lunch. We took a taxi back to the dock. All in all it was not one of our more ambitious days but by this time we were starting to feel a bit worn out by all the touring. Newcastle: We originally planned to DIY for this port. I went to the port lecture and we were going to take the train to the city centre and see various sites. But around 9 pm the night before, DH was looking at the train website and realized that the line we needed to take was closed for repairs. Even the Princess rep who gave the port talk hadn’t realized that. So we checked on our Medallion app to see if there were any shore excursions for Newcastle still available. The tour to Bamburgh Castle and Landisfarne Priory was still open, so at 10 pm we booked it on our app. The meeting time for the tour was 7:30 am in the morning so I was skeptical that our tickets would arrive in time, but lo and behold around 6:30 am, the tickets were dropped off at our stateroom. We don’t normally like to take the Princess “big bus” excursions, but I have to say that this worked out well for us. Bamburgh is one of these privately owned castles that has been refurbished by its most recent owners plus opened up for tourists. The interior was interesting in an eclectic sort of way, but it was really the setting and views from the castle ramparts that were the most impressive. Landisfarne Priory was charming and of greater historical interest. Le Havre - Here we booked Tour 9B with Overlord Tours. Our tour bus had 16 people. Our driver/guide Yannick Sterke was excellent. He was knowledgeable, charming and enthusiastic. We visited Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery at Normandy. On the way back we stopped in Bayeux for lunch and saw the Bayeux Tapestry and we stopped again in Honfleur to walk around, shop, and visit. It was a nice way to end our cruise.

Here's my feedback on our Emerald Princess British Isles cruise of 7/20/2022. I'll first post about the ship and then add a post about the itinerary. Princess EZ Air: First time using it and it worked fine. (So much easier/better than our upcoming experience with NCL Air.) We would do it again if the price was right because of the flexibility it gave us in terms of holding a reservation until we made final payment on the cruise. We booked business class tickets PHX-LHR on a BA/AA codeshare. When we booked, the price on EZAir was lower than on the AA/BA websites. By the time of the cruise, the price on the airline websites had doubled, so we were happy with our air booking. After final payment, we requested and got early ticketing so that we could select seats, then belatedly discovered that BA won’t let you pick seats for free in business class unless you have status with BA. But it all worked out fine. Suite Upsell: We originally booked a mini-suite on Emerald deck. On 6/7/22 we received an upsell offer to a penthouse suite - midship on Riviera deck -and decided to splurge. We loved the layout, location, and suite benefits especially Breakfast at Sabatini's and Club Class Dining. The only negative was that every night we'd hear thundering footsteps of kids running back and forth on Lido deck, playing tag or hide-and-seek etc. We probably wouldn't spend the money to book a suite outright, but getting them on an upsell is nice (if the price is worth it). We knew we'd be spending extra time in the cabin on this cruise due to Covid concerns, so it was nice to have the extra room. Embarkation/Disembarkation: Embarkation and disembarkation in Southampton were quick and easy. We had used the eMed proctored tests from our London hotel room to test 3 days prior to the cruise. On embarkation day, we showed up about noon and there was no wait. There were two lines, one for Green Lane and one for Blue Lane. I didn’t see any suite/elite/platinum lines or waiting areas, but there was no wait, so no reason to hunt for them. We had “Green Lane” status. We had uploaded our proof of vax and negative test results on the Medallion App and they had been “approved” the night before sailing. This process appears to be meaningless, because we were asked to show the paper copies of those documents at check-in. But everything happened very quickly. We purchased the Princess transfers to LHR for the end of the cruise. We got off the ship about 8:10-8:15 am. We claimed our luggage in the cruise terminal and headed for the buses. The buses have signs indicating which terminal they're going to, so we just got on a bus for T5. We sat on an idle bus for about 35 minutes, waiting for it to fill. Once the bus was full it took off and then it was about 90 minutes to Heathrow. We got to Heathrow by 11 am. Despite the horror stories in the news about Heathrow, we didn't have any significant problems in either direction. (Note: it certainly helped that we were flying business class so we could use priority access for checking our bags and going through security.) Food: This was our first experience with Club Class dining, which is nice due to the ability to just walk in when you want. It was easy to get a 2-top. The maître d’ and wait staff in Club Class were great. The pace of dining was quite a bit faster than in the old days of traditional dining. We were in and out in one hour. We were fine with that because we were conscious of Covid risk and didn’t want to linger in the dining room. But if not for Covid paranoia we would’ve requested they slow down the pace of delivery of the courses. While Club Class was nice, as with the other Suite perks, it’s not something we would book outright and would only consider if we got an upsell offer. One of the best suite perks is the opportunity to eat breakfast at Sabatini’s. On a lot of the early port days we couldn’t take the time to eat at Sabatini’s and just got room service. But whenever possible we ate breakfast at Sabatini’s and loved it. On the Emerald Princess it’s in the space that used to be Curtis Stone Share, and the windows have a lovely view aft. Frankly it was very uncrowded and we wondered where all the rest of the suite guests were and why they were missing out. Food of course is very subjective so these are just our personal opinions. But overall, we think a lot of the food at dinner is quite bland. The desserts often look much more impressive than they taste. We ate dinner at Crown Grill on embarkation night and Sabatini's one night. Sabatini's was only open for dinner on 2 nights on our 12 day cruise, and on those nights Crown Grill was closed. Apparently they don't have enough staff, especially cooks, to operate both simultaneously. Crown Grill was fine but the food at Sabatini's was quite poor. Not at all up to past standards and more like Olive Garden quality. The service at Sabatini’s was excellent but (unlike breakfast) the dinner food at Sabatini's was not, in our opinion. Service: The staff were excellent, from our room steward to the dining staff etc. Can’t say enough good things about the staff and we gave out all 10/10’s to the staff on the post cruise survey. Internet: This was our one big complaint when we filled out the post cruise survey. The internet sucks. You can send an email or text but that's about it. You cannot upload or download anything, or stream, and loading webpages is very slow. It's definitely not what they advertise. Masking/Covid/Quarantine Issues: When we boarded, we were given a letter that said due to recent Covid outbreaks, mask wearing would be mandatory indoors when not actively eating or drinking or in your own stateroom. They especially encouraged masks in elevators, tenders, buses etc. There was NO enforcement, which was fine with us. We wore masks but had no interest in public confrontations between staff and pax. We were actually pleasantly surprised at the percent of people who wore their masks in the elevators. Of course no one was wearing masks in the bars or lounges or restaurants! We are nervous about Covid risk so we never went to the bars or lounges. Our stateroom was mid-ship on the port side of Riviera deck, so the quarantine cabins on Aloha deck were directly below us. We tried walking downstairs to that area on Aloha deck and saw that the fire doors were closed off to those cabins from mid-ship forward. At sailaway each day we would peer over our balcony and note how many people were visible on the balconies just below us. Those balconies definitely started to fill up and by the end of the cruise it looked like there were people in each one. Medallion App: I had a lot of problems with the App at first where it would seem to log me out or say I hadn’t paid for the cruise. After 2 days of frustration, I finally figured out something I’ve seen others post: once onboard, it helps if you log in with your room # instead of trying to use your username and password. It’ll ask you to verify your birthdate. But once I did that it worked much better. Plus Drink Package: This was our first time having a drink package. DH doesn’t drink alcohol, and usually we would trade the elite minibar set up in for a coffee card. But on this cruise we got an attractive price from our TA on a bundle that included the plus drink package. Mostly I just like a couple glasses of wine with dinner, and I noticed that my wine selection was very limited. The only wines by the glass for the Plus Package were listed under the category “Bin.” Just a generic chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, merlot, cabernet etc. Beringer Chardonnay, which I don’t consider a premier wine, was listed under the premier package and I would’ve had to pay an upcharge for that. I was surprised by the lack of options for wines by the glass in the dining room. I don’t feel like the drink package is a good option for us unless it works out due to some promotion and/or bundle. Entertainment: Due to the combination of the very port intensive schedule and our own Covid nervousness, we didn’t participate in a lot of entertainment. The only production show we saw was Rock Opera, which we enjoyed. We liked Craig Richard and saw both of his shows plus his enrichment talk about his climbing accident. We also liked Chris Bliss, the comedian/juggler. His humor was perhaps more aimed at the Americans than the Brits. Especially with his second show, I thought he was quite funny in a dark sort of way, but the audience didn’t seem to warm to him. I thought Chris Bliss was much funnier than the other 2 comedians. They relied on more physical humor.

I was on the 7/20-8/1 Emerald cruise. I'll post my own comments separately but I totally agree with many of your comments especially regarding the internet, tendering in Dublin and the entertainment offerings.

We flew into and out of Heathrow for our 7/20-8/1 cruise and had no problems. Some delay getting the bags but nothing major.

It was pretty smooth. We left the ship about 8:15 am, claimed our luggage and boarded a Princess bus. The buses had signs indicating what terminal they were headed to, so we got on one for T5. It took about 35-40 minutes to load the bus. They waited until the bus was full to leave. It took about 90 minutes to get to Heathrow and I’d estimate we got there about 11:00 am.

Interesting. Are you sure Princess EZAir is a consolidator? I admit I don't know the answer, but my guess is that it's more of an in house travel agency that may work with consolidators but also may work directly with airlines. I tried searching the question and just came up with this one post:

Here's an article discussing BA business class seat selection fees. It says seat reservations are not free at time of booking. "The only exceptions are if you (or someone in your party) hold Executive Club Silver or Gold status or one world equivalent – or if you have a fully flexible ticket. Bronze cardholders can select seats for free seven days before departure. Some people also get the fee waived as part of a corporate deal with their employer." So I don't think it would make any difference if you had booked directly with BA unless you got a fully flexible ticket. It also says that with the new Club Suite configuration, there really are no bad seats. That's consistent with my impression from our flights last month. https://www.headforpoints.com/2021/11/30/cost-british-airways-business-class-seat-reservation/ . Did you try looking on Seatguru? When I looked at our flight on Seatguru the seat map was consistent with the layout on our plane.

Do you have any status at all on BA? I had the lowest status (Bronze) due to having flown one round trip on BA in the spring. That was enough for me to be able to pick seats a week ahead.

We used Princess EZ Air for our 7/20 British Isles cruise. We booked business class seats round trip PHX-LHR as an AA/BA codeshare, because DH is trying to move up a level on AA status. We requested early ticketing on the mistaken assumption that would allow us to pick seats. Then we discovered what you already know, that BA charges business class customers for seat selection. I have Bronze status on BA which entitled me to pick seats for free one week prior. So we waited and were able to get two window locations, one in front of the other. All the middle pairs were taken. (Airbus A350.) We were able to do it on the BA website. All in all we had a satisfactory experience with Princess EZ Air. And despite the horror stories in the news about Heathrow, we didn't have any significant issues.

They only do this if you are not doing a deviation. If you are doing a deviation, you are on your own. Edited to add that maybe if you book a hotel through NCL they would? Not sure about that but definitely you are on your own if doing a deviation and booking your own hotel, which is our situation.

We have 3 couples in our group on the 9/2 Boston-Quebec cruise. We are on separate reservations and come from different cities, but we've all been booked out of Montreal by NCL Air. We belatedly read the "fine print" which explicitly says: "Guests embarking or disembarking in Quebec City may be reserved on flights arriving or departing from Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) to ensure the most convenient schedule." https://www.ncl.com/air-service-standards Keep in mind that if you are doing a deviation then you are on your own to get to or from the Montreal airport. In the thread that was linked to above, suggestions were made to use the Orleans Express bus or ViaRail train.

Yes I was worried because our excursion was leaving before the shorex desk was due to open. At 6:00 am I checked at passenger services and they gave me a printout of my account and said to just show that to prove we had booked. But by the time I got back to my stateroom the tickets had shown up.

I'm talking about last minute booking while onboard the ship. Newcastle was our second to last port, and I booked the shore excursion late the night before Newcastle. Booking ahead of time on the personalizer is of course the best way to be sure you get what you want. But once you are onboard, you can book shore excursions on your Medallion app or on the stateroom TV. They had a sign up at the Shore Excursion desk that says something like: "Don't want to wait in line? Book on the app!" The think it was the Journey View section, but whatever it was was easy to find once I went looking for it.

Just got back from the Emerald Princess British Isles cruise 7/20-8/1. I discovered that you can book a last minute shore excursion on your Medallion app (subject to availability of course). And by last minute I mean we did it after 10 pm the night before. I thought I'd share this if others aren't aware of the possibility. Not something to count on, but good to know for procrastinators or those, like us, whose best laid plans to awry. We normally don't do Princess shore excursions, prefering private excursions or DIY. For Newcastle, we planned to take the metro to the city centre to see the castle, cathedral and surrounding area and possibly some other stops. I attended the onboard shore talk where the Princess rep mentioned this option, the cost of a one day ticket, and how to get to the metro station. So all sounded good until about 9 pm the night before when DH was looking at the metro website and realized that the metro line we would want to use was closed for maintenance! The shorex desk had closed at 7 pm so I thought we were going to have to take taxis everywhere. But then I realized that there were still some shore excursions open on the app. So at 10:15 pm we booked the shore excursion to Bamburgh Castle and Landisfarne Priory. The excursion was scheduled for 7:30 am and I was worried about getting our tickets but they showed up at our door at 6:30 am. This is one situation where the Medallion app proved very useful to us.

I meant to say that on disembarkation day for our cruise, Sabatini's opened at 6:00 am for breakfast, not 6:30 am.

Just off the Emerald and went to breakfast at Sabatini's whenever we didn't have to get off the ship extra early. They opened at 7:30 am most days, so if we had to be off at 8:00 am we did room service. But on the LeHavre day they opened at 6:30 am and on disembarkation day they opened at 6:30 am. I was amazed at how few people were taking advantage of breakfast at Sabatini's. When we went there were usually only 2 or 3 other tables going, sometimes just one other.

Just got off the Emerald on 8/1 in Southampton. Internet was very slow throughout. Enough to send a text or email but definitely not enough to upload photos or stream anything.

If you are using NCL Air, be aware that they will route you out of Montreal, and if you’re staying overnight in Quebec you will be on your own to get to the Montreal airport.

We realized belatedly that we never closely read the terms and conditions of the air arrangements. They do say that West to East flights will be red eyes “for your convenience” (LOL) and that cruises ending in Quebec will have flights from Montreal. So we should’ve been forewarned if we had paid closer attention. If we had not done the deviation but had flown out on disembarkation day, they would’ve shuttled us to the Montreal airport, but because we did the deviation we are on our own to get to Montreal. This is a lesson learned the hard way.

First time on NCL and first time using NCL Air. We booked with a BOGO Air promo and added 2 day air deviations on both ends. Cruise is Boston to Quebec. Finally received our flight notifications for our 9/2 cruise. I knew they wouldn't be the most ideal flights but still I was a bit shocked. Flying to Boston they have us on a redeye PHX-ORD-BOS. Coming back they have us on a nonstop, but flying out of Montreal, and because we're doing the post-cruise 2 day deviation we are on our own to get from Quebec to Montreal (for a 9 am flight). We're considering our options. In some ways the inbound redeye bothers us the most, but if we no showed for that segment would NCL cancel the return air reservation? My SIL has already called NCL and talked to several representatives, and they won't budge on changing any of the flights.

On the topic of masks, I’m onboard now on the 7/20 sailing. When we boarded, we were given a letter that says that on the prior cruise (OP’s cruise) they “identified some Covid19 cases amongst our guests and crew members, who were all mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic. . . . Out of an abundance of caution, we will be requiring guests on board to wear face masks while indoors at all times, except when eating or drinking or in their own staterooms. Masks must also be worn while outdoors if you are in large gatherings or if physical distance cannot be maintained. We highly recommend wearing masks while ashore on tours, particularly when indoors, or public transportation or in crowded areas. “ I’d upload a screenshot of the letter except that like the OP, I am finding the onboard internet to be very, very slow. Now having quoted the letter, I have not seen any staff member challenge a passenger who is maskless. On the other hand, I’ve been impressed by the percentage of passengers who are wearing masks in public areas, especially elevators and tenders.