TrojanGal

I’m booked on the Regal Princess, May 20 sailing, British Isles. Princess just sent me an email saying the 2nd formal night is a white and gold party and feel free to wear white and gold attire, “Love Boat” party in the piazza celebration.

We are going to take the EuroStar train from London St. Pancras to Paris and stay in Paris 5 nights post cruise. Since Paris has a lot to see and do, we didn’t want to be sitting in a coach the whole time from Le Havre port to the city and not get to even scratch the surface of Paris so we opted to add on the nights there post cruise. I don’t think we will ever get to France again so a one day port of call in Le Havre/Paris felt rushed. We’re going to do the Normandy excursion instead (we’re on Princess). Again, don’t think we’ll get to France again so we’re going to suck it up and pack our patience for a very long excursion day to Normandy.

Has anyone done the Princess coach transfer from Southampton port to London Victoria Station? June 1 disembarkation day we're taking the EuroStar from London St. Pancras to Paris and I'm trying to figure out what departure time to book that train. Anyone have experience with this and what time we get on the coach at the port and about how long it takes to get to Victoria Station? Google Maps says 1 hr 40 min. Appreciate any insight !

The last two times I had Covid (not on a cruise but at home) OTC meds did not work for me except a nighttime med like Nyquil to help me sleep better. My symptoms were all sinus and fatigue, no cough. For me, extra tissues like the travel Kleenex packs are a must. When we travel we bring Pedialyte electrolyte powder travel packs and add to water. I live in Maui and our stores don’t carry these so I ordered on Amazon. These are great for electrolyte replacement and hydration. Especially for long flights and illnesses.

Our May 2023 cruise on Princess will arrive in Southampton and we plan to spend several days post cruise in Paris. Hoping to take the train from Southampton Central and eventually get to Paris. Not sure where we would need to change trains. Also looking for advice on taking the train from/near Heathrow Airport to Southampton, pre-cruise. Any guidance is appreciated !

Anyone aware if the Regal Princess has metal cabin walls? I’m wanting to buy magnetic hooks to hang extra items.

@TravelLizzy - we did a Scenic cruise on the Danube in June - did a pre-cruise in Prague for 3 nights. Prague was amazing. Scenic had a city walking tour scheduled for us one day in Prague. They also had transportation pickup at the Prague airport to the Scenic booked hotel. The actual cruise started in Nuremberg, ended in Budapest and we did 2 extra nights post cruise in Budapest at the Marriott which was arranged by Scenic. Our trip had been canceled 3 times because of the pandemic so we were so happy it actually happened and had a wonderful time. Originally we were booked on the Scenic Crystal but due to low water levels they started us on the Opal in Nuremberg. Then there were rumors on board that we would have to switch ships again a few days in. The cruise director kept trying to tamp down these rumors but when we got back to the ship from the LONG excursion in Saltzberg, the luggage mats were on the bed so we did in fact have to change ships the next day from Opal to Crystal that we originally should have been on. The ship changed ended up not being a big deal since we were going on an excursion anyway and by the time we returned and had lunch on board, the rooms were ready earlier than expected. I’m glad we got to experience both ships but the Opal had better cabin bathrooms - newer and a bit more storage space. My only complaint is Scenic had issues with their customer service during the pandemic. Would not return calls or emails and we were concerned if they would even be in business. They held our money hostage for two years so that was scary. We had a TA who helped us though and had a direct line to Scenic. So I’d say overall their corporate customer service was pretty poor. I can’t hold this against the onboard staff - they all were great. Where Scenic shined was taking care of guests from the moment we got off the plane we had a greeter outside of l baggage claim to the moment we got to our departing airport - they were always making sure we got from point A to point B. Everything was very organized. The excursions are all included in your cruise fare and you pick the activity level that is comfortable for you. Some excursions were easy biking, or hike to Buda Hill in Budapest for example, so those were the active excursions or if you are more of a museum or palace person, those were choices as well. Guided city walking tours too. They sure kept us busy though and the day we were in Vienna my husband and I were exhausted from being on the go and decided not to do the excursion that day, but after dinner they scheduled for us to take coaches into Vienna for a private classical music concert with 2 opera singers and a ballet dancer in a beautiful palace. So they really made everything special for guests. The coaches were clean and comfortable. The breakfast and lunch buffets were great and one day when we returned from Nuremberg, the chef had a Bavarian lunch for us with local sausages, cheeses, sauerkraut, pretzels, local beer. This was my favorite meal of the cruise. The dinners were really underwhelming and since we had the ship change and experienced two different chef’s food, I still was underwhelmed. Maybe they are still trying to get their routine going from being closed down for so long. Not sure. They had a nice wine selection with lunch and dinners which paired well with the food. All your alcohol (spirits, wine, beer) are included with the cruise fare all day long, not just during meals. The cabins have a mini bar that they replenish daily which was nice to have a cold coke in the room after a hot day. I would definitely cruise with Scenic again but we are doing an ocean cruise with Princess around the UK next year so probably won’t do another river cruise until 2024.

We are also staying in a Scenic booked hotel, in Prague. I have no idea how we get from the airport to the hotel even though Scenic is supposed to provide transportation. My TA was able to get the hotel name from Scenic just in case they drop the ball at the airport. These days I just have to pack my patience and hope for the best. We booked this trip in 2019 and it has been canceled 3 times. We are really looking forward to traveling international again!

Scenic cruisers - when did you receive your final cruise documents? The land portion of our Gems of the Danube cruise starts June 24. We haven’t received anything from Scenic yet via email or mail.