sunshine nana

Thanks for the replies. One reason for taking the land part with Princess rather than the train on our own is the problem right now with the train stations being overwhelmed with people trying to get to Germany etc. from war torn areas. The price seems reasonable and we did do one bus tour (WWII) from Paris to Bavaria which was ok except for one hotel that was dirty. Also, none of the hotels had a/c. I wish I could find out which hotels Princess uses. Anyone?

We are looking at a land trip (Budapest to Copenhagen) with a cruise from Copenhagen to St. Petersburg. Has anyone done this? We have been thinking about a Danube River cruise from Budapest to Vienna to Prague, but the river has been too low to travel and the river cruises are expensive especially if they end up being a bus trip.We have done the Baltic cruise and loved it and have wanted to go again. This seemed like a good way of combining both, but there is little information. It is on the Regal for next spring and summer. I am wondering how the hotels are and also if the food on land and excursions on land are included in the price. Can anyone help? Thanks

We have decided to try taking the train from Budapest to Vienna to Nurenburg to Prague and maybe on to Amsterdam and Paris. It seems that the cost would be close to the river cruise and we would have no buses! DH is a train buff and we could go with just a large carryon each. We would have all hotels and trains booked in advance. We would get breakfast at each hotel and would just have a snack for lunch and a nice dinner with wine. We would book our own excursions if necessary in the cities.

As to spring or fall: We were on a WWII bus tour in June of 2013 that included a cruise on the Rhine one day. We were the first boat to be able to go for weeks because of flooding. All in all, after 12 cruises on Princess, Celebrity and even NCL, many in Europe, the river cruises seem expensive and too iffy. We have read of rafting, not being able to see anything from the balcony or window other than another ship. Add that to the high price and we have to laugh at "sailing thru the harrrrrrt" of Europe with not another boat in sight.Does anyone agree? Has anyone done the train trip?

I don't carry my phone or a tablet, but I was putting my card in the side pouch of my vintage Vera handbag when we left the ship. It has a magnet. On board, I carry it in a small shoulder bag with no magnet. I had to get a new card three times before I figured it out. We were on the Royal. I will not take that bag again.

When we have traditional, I go to the dining room as soon as we board and wait in line to see the host there. I tell him where I want to be seated at a table for two and he puts it into the computer.

To get back to the OP's original point. If you're not really excited about a cruise, it is hard to do all the planning etc. and a good idea to cancel. Having said that, I was not thrilled about our Panama Canal cruise (DH really wanted to go), but I ended up really enjoying it mainly because we left Western NY in February and had a wonderful 10 sunny warm days on the cruise. We did the Princess round trip partial from Fort Lauderdale, so there was no long plane trip which I dread. It was a wonderful break from our horrible winter and I did enjoy the excursions more than I thought I would.

We just returned from our second UK cruise on Princess. First was 2011. Loved both of them. First time, we went in June and it rained a little almost every day, but with right jackets, we didn't miss a thing. This second time, we went to Cobh and Liverpool, not Wales. The weather was better. Only rained one day and that was a sea day. We spent a couple of days in London both times and weather there was perfect. I would suggest Overland Tours for Normandy-best excursion ever.The Princess Beatles tour in Liverpool was also good. One really nice addition was the local bands that would play bagpipes on the dock before sailaway at many ports.

Are you sure there is still a "bonus" added on when you reach 40,000 points? There was when I first got the card, but then I was told they did away with it.

We spent a lovely 2 nights in London this past July. We stayed at the Hilton at LHR with points, took the tube into the city and it was great. Wonderful cool weather, very helpful people. We are WWII buffs and had already seen the usual tourist sights, so we visited the Imperial War museum the first day. It was free admission and very nice. The second day, we took the tube into London and then a train out to Bletchley Park to see the Enigma Museum. It was also a great experience. We took a Princess transfer from LHR to the port. We just put our bags on a push cart at the hotel and met the transfer bus. The only glitch was that we were told we had to be at terminal 3 and actually, Princess picked up also at terminal 4 where the Hilton is. Live and learn. Don't write off London in the summer.

Our cruise was Constellation. The 50 wedding guests were not all in suites, but many were. Also, the concierge was taking care of a Most Traveled couple who were very nice, but did receive a lot of attention. One of the problems was that we were in a CS not on deck 6 where the RS and PS are. The butler spent most of her time on that deck. The problem with Tuscan reservations did not come up until the next to the last night and we did not want to get ourselves upset at that point. We are very low key. I made all of the excursion reservations myself. I did call the butler when we had no toilet paper after the cabin was cleaned and she told me to "look in the cupboard". Of course I already had looked!

We did not have any meals except coffee delivered and were not demanding, but I did think the Michael's club concierge should not have left us without a specialty for the last two nights. Because Luminae was being constructed on the cruise, we had been told pre-cruise that our traditional MDR reservation for 6 had been changed to all specialty dining for the entire cruise. Then after we had made the specialty reservations, we were told they were canceled and it was too late to get in anywhere except Blu.

All this did not spoil our cruise by any means, but we did not tip Michael's concierge. And we did not book a high suite again to get Michael's.

For Dublin, Princess charges $8 per person each way. We walked to the Temple Bar ( it was a long walk!) and took a taxi back which was E16. If you share a taxi, that would save you money over the shuttle.

We tipped the bar staff, but the Concierge was so busy with a 50 person wedding party on our cruise that he really was not that helpful. We were not escorted to our suite and for disembarkation, we would have been better off walking ourselves off as he did not get back to escort us until the line was very long. The wedding reception was in Tuscan, so our reservation was canceled and he could not get us in any other specialty for the last two nights. We ended up in Blu where it was so crowded,we could not get good service. After that, we decided that having Michael's was not worth paying almost twice the price. So I would say, wait and see.

Hi Gracie, It's my day for people we have done excursions with on other tours! (see Cynbar re: UK above). We just did the UK cruise on the Royal, sister of Regal and ate in the Crown Grill. The food was very good, but we did not like the fact that the restaurant is not separated from the Wheelhouse Bar and the bar area was very noisy the night we were there. If you do eat there, ask for a table far from the bar.

Sabatini's on Royal had doors that closed it off from the piazza. Some have said the music still filters in, but I wish we had chosen to eat there. We like to have a quiet meal.

Since our cruise on the Equinox, we have not found a specialty restaurant that is as nice as the Tuscan or Murano. And that included Tuscan on Silly.

Hi Cynbar, We took this trip in July. It was great. There were shuttles in Dublin. I think it was $8 pp each way. We took a taxi back from The Temple Bar and it was 16E. There were a lot of taxis at Belfast. We were on a private tour of Giant's Causeway, so I didn't notice the shuttles.

As far as touring the Occupation Museum in Guernsey. It is a short walk to the bus stop and you can get a bus to the Museum for 1L pp each way. Just ask the driver to let you know when to get off. This is better and far less expensive than the ship's excursion. Also, you will need a lot more time to tour than the ship's excursion allows. We beat the tour bus and had the museum to ourselves for almost an hour. I also read the Potato Peel book.

I wrote a review, but they seem to have skipped right over our cruise and they are now posting reviews of the 8-1 cruise. Was that because of the noro virus? We did not get it mainly because we never go to the buffet. Here is my review:

Pros: We really like mini-suite for the extra space, couch and bathroom. But the main plus on the Royal is the thick curtains separating the bed area from the living area and balcony. It was great for when one person gets up early or stays up late. It really was light proof and somewhat sound proof. I wish all ships had this.

The itinerary was great. We loved the Occupation Museum in Guernsey, the Beatles tour in Liverpool and the castles, countryside and towns in N. Ireland, Ireland and Scotland. We did 3 private tours and 3 Princess and all were very good. We did Dublin and Guernsey on our own.

We found a MDR room table for two in a quiet corner of Symphony with a great waitstaff and booked it every night. We ate in the MDR for lunch when it was open and used Alfredos or the International Café for other lunches when we were on the ship. We had coffee room service and ate breakfast in the MDR if we had time. We bought a wine card and could take the bottles back to our cabin. We thought the wine was overpriced.

Embarkation and disembarkation was easy and fast. We waited several hours to get all our luggage, but some was there quickly. All the meals were good.

Entertainment: The best show was the Beatles. We also enjoyed the local bands that played at sailaway. We were not impressed with the lip-singing singers or the solo acts. The classical quartet was good, but they should not have to play in bars where most people are talking really loudly. It ruined the concerts.

The staff was really overwhelmed when the virus hit. Some people were giving our steward a hard time, but we thought he was the best we had had in 12 cruises. He just did not have time to do all his regular work and keep up with the extra cleaning.

All in all, it was a great cruise, in our top 3 for sure. I'm not sure I would go on the Royal again, It was too large and the lack of a central stair was a real inconvenience. Many times, the elevators did not stop mid-ship and we would have to hurry to the front to use the stairs.

Any questions?

We just got off the Royal. I don't think the Wheelhouse would cause noise for decks above or below, but we did think the noise took away from our experience in the Crown Grill. They really need to put a wall between the bar area and the restaurant. We would not go to the Crown Grill again on the Royal.

We walked into Dublin (Temple Bar area). It took a long time. We took a taxi back to the ship and it was L16. The shuttle was $8 each one way. I really think Princess over prices the shuttles when a taxi is the same price. If we had found another couple to share the taxi, Princess would have been twice as expensive.

I agree that the person organizing the tour does not owe anyone a "hold". It's first come, first served. I have appreciated all those who have organized roll call excursions that we have taken on many cruises. We cooperate and don't make demands. I do like the idea of meeting before just to make sure everyone knows what is happening. We had one no show on our last cruise. We still had 3 couples, so it didn't make any difference, but I would not include that couple again.

We took the HoHo boat in 2009 and the line to pay in cash at Vasa was long, but the line for credit cards was very short. Look for it. We loved the HoHo boat. Loved the whole cruise (it was Princess)

I was given some points when I got the card, but my other card pays 2% cash back on every purchase, so I am canceling the Princess card after this last cruise where I did get OBC of $100. You need to look around at other cards before you make a decision.

We are going to be at LeHarve and would like a taxi to Honfour. How far is it? will there be taxis there? About how much will the fare be? Thanks

We loved Blu on Equinox in 2012, but on Silly in 2014, we had great food and service in traditional MDR early sitting. On 12 cruises on 3 different lines, we have NEVER had to sit with others and endure the "twenty questions". That is an outdated misconception that some of our friends still believe even though they have never been on a cruise.We have always been given a table for two in the MDR.

For us, the curtain around the bed at least in a Royal mini were worth it. Also, some minis have bigger balconies if you can get one of those. We won't go in less than a mini now after 3 balconies. We need the extra sitting area and table. We always have a light breakfast delivered early.

The parents might not be in the same cabin. On our 2011 Baltic cruise, there were several sets of parents in the same extended family where the parents were in the suites aft and all the kids were in two balcony rooms next to us on the side.The kids ranged from 7 or 8 to teens. The rammed all the time, even in the restaurants the first 2 nights. Then they all missed the ship the third day ( we watched as the ship pulled away as they were arriving too late) and it was very quiet. They had to fly to the next port, but they said the announcement was not in their language. I don't know if Princess paid for the flights. The next night they were on, I reported that young children were left alone in balcony cabins and that the teens were hanging out by the elevators making a ton of noise. It got better. After that, we took cruises while kids are in school.

Thanks for the review. We are going on the same cruise July 20. Hope we get such good weather. Just a note to anyone going to Guernsey (St.Peter Port) in the future. There is a great WWII museum on the island that was put together by a man after the Germans left suddenly at the end of the war. There is a bus from the center of town that will drop you off near the museum. Be sure to ask the driver which stop. We spent about an hour there, but will spend more time there this trip. The tender problem to get back was the same when we were there in 2011. It seems that Princess could solve it!