Can’t decide which cruise to pick for honeymoon

I can’t decide which cruise to pick for our honeymoon. Both cruises are the same date (August 2019) and almost same price.

The first one is on Regal. It’s 11 days. Starts in Berlin -> Estonia -> Russia -> Finland -> Sweden -> Denmark -> Norway ends in Germany.

The second one is on the Crown. It’s 12 days. Starts in Paris -> England -> Guernsey -> Cork -> Dublin -> Belfast -> Glasgow -> Kirkwall -> Inverness -> Edinburgh -> back to Paris.

I like all the locations and everything is new to us. We are planning on doing Paris and Amsterdam after the cruise no matter the itinerary.

I’m wondering if Regal would be a better ship since it’s newer? But the Crown is going into drydock soon.

Opinions?

Those are both great itineraries, and they're both great ships. We've sailed both the Crown (several times) and the Regal. That is a tough choice. If you love spending time on a traditional Promenade deck, go with the Crown. If you like a great buffet, go with the Regal. Probably not extremely helpful, but a couple minor things to consider, LOL.

I don't know that you can really go wrong with either choice. Hopefully someone else will be more helpful.

Both cruises are very port intensive so ship differences may be less of a factor. Regal will have the better casual dining alternatives--but also 500+ more fellow passengers getting on and off at each port.

Both cruises offer multiple choices of turnaround ports--and you are looking at the less conventional ones at both. Le Havre is twice as far away from Paris as Southampton is from the London area airports. Warnemunde also a good three hours from Berlin where in Copenhagen the ship is a short ride from the airport. Plenty of easy train connections to/from Paris or Amsterdam from London or Copenhagen.

As for itineraries I may be a little biased as my one cruise that called in Hamburg confirmed my feelings toward Germany (I shall not return). So one day I will find a Baltic cruise with no calls there as St Petersburg remains a once-in-a-lifetime goal. And may be the port that makes it a better honeymoon cruise for you. I have done a British Isles cruise and your itinerary is fine though four calls in Scotland may result in a bit of deja vu. I realize you have a specific time frame but I would seek out one of the sailings that includes Liverpool.

For your honeymoon go with the newest the Royal. Has more room and I think more things to do than the Crown. Do it up large, fancy and memorable. Congratulations on your wedding.

Both cruises are very port intensive so ship differences may be less of a factor. Regal will have the better casual dining alternatives--but also 500+ more fellow passengers getting on and off at each port.

 

Both cruises offer multiple choices of turnaround ports--and you are looking at the less conventional ones at both. Le Havre is twice as far away from Paris as Southampton is from the London area airports. Warnemunde also a good three hours from Berlin where in Copenhagen the ship is a short ride from the airport. Plenty of easy train connections to/from Paris or Amsterdam from London or Copenhagen.

 

As for itineraries I may be a little biased as my one cruise that called in Hamburg confirmed my feelings toward Germany (I shall not return). So one day I will find a Baltic cruise with no calls there as St Petersburg remains a once-in-a-lifetime goal. And may be the port that makes it a better honeymoon cruise for you. I have done a British Isles cruise and your itinerary is fine though four calls in Scotland may result in a bit of deja vu. I realize you have a specific time frame but I would seek out one of the sailings that includes Liverpool.

We can’t really change the date so it’s one of these cruises. I didn’t think about the starting ports being unconvential. The reason we were picking Paris as a starting point is because I really wanted to spend more than a day there. If we changed this cruise to start in England we could do Amsterdam the weekend before, although I’m not sure how easy it is to get to those places? And I’d probably have to give up spending more time in Paris. If we changed the other cruise to start in Copenhagen we could do Paris and Amsterdam before the cruise and I feel like it would be easier to get from Amsterdam to Copenhagen?

We did the British Isles itinerary on the Caribbean Princess for our honeymoon in 2013 and to date it remains one of favorite cruises... We had nearly the same itinerary, roundtrip from Southampton, but hit all of the same ports. It is really port intensive, but you see and experience such amazing sites and cities. I did a semi-live from: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1858392 that included information about the ports and the excursions that we did... In all honesty, I don't think you can go wrong with Scotland for a honeymoon.

I've also been on the Crown - most recently 2 years ago. It has a great selection of lounges and spaces to go and relax. While I haven't been on the Royal and the Regal, I have been told there are not as many lounges and the flow of the ship can seem a little weird. This comes from seasoned Princess cruisers, so who knows? Lots of people love the Royal and Regal.

In terms of the Crown going into drydock soon, if this doesn't happen before your cruise, do not let this dissuade you. The ships are kept in fantastic condition and should no way impact your enjoyment of your cruise.

Getting around Europe, to the cities you have mentioned, can be relatively simple. All should be connected by train (with the exception of Copenhagen) and if needed, you can travel via air.

Good luck and best wishes!

As a honeymoon couple, I think you'll appreciate the Regal more. Both itineraries are excellent though and the CP does have some neat food venues now but I really think you'll appreciate the Regal more. Best wishes!

I have done the Baltic itinerary and did England on my own (2 different times). I loved the Baltic cruise. It was so different. I also have to say that I am not sure I would do Russia on my own whereas England (and the rest) is something you could do as an extended land tour some other time.

I think I’m leaning more towards the British Isles cruise. It looks like getting to the Paris port isn’t really practical so we’d have to start in Southampton. That leaves on a Monday and ends on a Saturday. I can only take two weeks off from work. I really wanted to spend time in Paris. Do you think it would be doable to fly to Paris and then take that fast train to England Monday morning to catch the cruise then?

We also were considering doing that flight that stops in Iceland on the way to your destination, that could maybe be an option for that weekend instead? Our plan is to fly out Friday night after work, just not sure where we should go. Since the boat ends on a Saturday we can spend one day in London before flying home Sunday.

I think I’m leaning more towards the British Isles cruise. It looks like getting to the Paris port isn’t really practical so we’d have to start in Southampton. That leaves on a Monday and ends on a Saturday. I can only take two weeks off from work. I really wanted to spend time in Paris. Do you think it would be doable to fly to Paris and then take that fast train to England Monday morning to catch the cruise then?

 

We also were considering doing that flight that stops in Iceland on the way to your destination, that could maybe be an option for that weekend instead? Our plan is to fly out Friday night after work, just not sure where we should go. Since the boat ends on a Saturday we can spend one day in London before flying home Sunday.

I personally would not leave Paris and take the train to catch the ship on the same day.....too many things can go wrong and you could miss the boat.

Spent the first weekend in London....forget Iceland on the way....you will have Saturday and Sunday nights in London (remember that the time changes and flying overnight will affect you), and head to the ship on Monday morning.

At the end of the cruise, I would either overnight in Southampton, or somewhere between there and London, enjoy that day, and then head to the airport for your flight home....if you head to downtown London the day that you get off the ship, I don't think you will have much time to do anything. Somewhere inbetween, closer to the airport might be more enjoyable.

The Eurostar train between London and Paris (and vice versa) is faster than the flight between the two cities when you include the travel time to/from the airport. The train travels between St. Pancras station in London and Gare du Nord in Paris. Both are in the middle of their respective city. I have always decided which city to fly into based on cost as there are sometimes sales into one city or the other. Whatever you decide, have fun.

I did the British Isles cruise on the Caribbean Princess last May. While the ship is important, both lean more toward port importance. I loved the British Isles cruise from South Hampton and would pick that one. Staying in Paris will be a great addition. Congrats and Good luck with your decision.

Having flown to Copenhagen via Iceland ( Reykjavik), if I were to do it again, I would book a direct flight to Copenhagen. In Reykjavic you are dropped off way out and bused to the terminal then back again to your plane and up stairs. No jet ways. I am not sure how far the airport is from Reykjavik but very remote area for the airport. I can't speak for the two ships since I haven't been on them so would rely on others suggestions there.

We feel that the Regal is a way nicer ship!

Congratulations on your Honeymoon cruise! Back in the stone age when I got married cruising wasn't an option. Actually, not very much was an option. My pay (before taxes, etc.) was $13.20 per day or a whopping $66 per week. :eek:

I have to agree with others that either ship will work well for you. If you are looking to book a balcony please be aware that the balconies on Regal are much smaller than those on Crown. It may not matter to you but it is something to think about.

If booking a balcony on the Crown and on a honeymoon, be sure it's fully covered.

If booking a balcony on the Crown and on a honeymoon, be sure it's fully covered.

Where on the ship would be best for this?

I was looking into the train system in Paris and it looks like there is a train from Paris to Le Havre. Has anyone taken this? Is it easy to navigate? I really want to spend a lot of time in Paris and I think the easiest way to do this would be to start the cruise out of Le Havre.

I was looking into the train system in Paris and it looks like there is a train from Paris to Le Havre. Has anyone taken this? Is it easy to navigate? I really want to spend a lot of time in Paris and I think the easiest way to do this would be to start the cruise out of Le Havre.

We investigated this and I believe the train is a straight shot from Paris to Le Harve (meaning you don't have to change trains). Once in Le Harve, you can easily grab a taxi to the port.

Just be aware of a couple of things:

the trains could be delayed by worker's strikes... it happens and can really screw up your plans

the ship could (and this happened to my in-laws last year when they did a British Isles cruise) end up missing Le Harve. They were diverted to Bruge instead - I can't remember why (either weather or the port was closed due to a strike).

If you make arrangements to get on the ship in Le Harve, and the ship is diverted to another port, I don't know if your arrangements would transfer to the next port. I'm sure someone at Princess can answer that question for you.

Good luck!

If booking a balcony on the Crown and on a honeymoon, be sure it's fully covered.

Personally I would prefer the half-covered and much larger Caribe deck balconies on Crown. I love those extra-large balconies.

FSU Girl

It is very doable to go Paris To Southampton by rail in a morning - though allowing a bit longer would be wise.

Eurostar takes 2 hrs. 15 min. Paris to London St.Pancras & has 90 - 95% arrival time within 15 mins. of scheduled time.

Speeds up to 300 km/hr [186mph].

Cross London by taxi to Waterloo & take any Southampton train.

Several each hour & it takes 1 & a quarter to 1 & half hrs.

Taxi from Southampton Central to the SHIP.

For all world rail info see - The Man in Seat 61.

I went on a cruise for my honeymoon back in the 70's.

Unfortunately the TA booked a bunk cabin!?

Consequently I no longer trust travel agents very much.

We investigated this and I believe the train is a straight shot from Paris to Le Harve (meaning you don't have to change trains). Once in Le Harve, you can easily grab a taxi to the port.

 

Just be aware of a couple of things:

 

the trains could be delayed by worker's strikes... it happens and can really screw up your plans

the ship could (and this happened to my in-laws last year when they did a British Isles cruise) end up missing Le Harve. They were diverted to Bruge instead - I can't remember why (either weather or the port was closed due to a strike).

 

If you make arrangements to get on the ship in Le Harve, and the ship is diverted to another port, I don't know if your arrangements would transfer to the next port. I'm sure someone at Princess can answer that question for you.

 

Good luck!

Paris sure does seem to have a lot of worker strikes. I think that would make me really nervous since we wouldn’t have a backup for transportation.

I found another cruise that we might do instead. It’s the transatlantic on the Regal going back to the US. I’ve never done one before, so I’m not sure how I feel about so many sea days. Is there enough to do on the ship to not get bored?

This one starts in Copenhagen goes to Kristiansand Norway, Glasgow, Dublin, Cork and Halifax Canada and ends in NYC. The timing of it would still allow us to only take two weeks off and we could do a broadway show in NYC before flying home the next day

I found another cruise that we might do instead. It’s the transatlantic on the Regal going back to the US. I’ve never done one before, so I’m not sure how I feel about so many sea days. Is there enough to do on the ship to not get bored?

 

This one starts in Copenhagen goes to Kristiansand Norway, Glasgow, Dublin, Cork and Halifax Canada and ends in NYC. The timing of it would still allow us to only take two weeks off and we could do a broadway show in NYC before flying home the next day

We really enjoyed our transatlantic cruise like this one. But the crowd tends to be a bit older and you do have 5 consecutive days at sea. We enjoy those sea days, but it's mainly for relaxation as opposed to lots of activities.

Good luck on your decision and congrats on your wedding.

P.S. Does Florida State still have a football team?? ;);)

Paris sure does seem to have a lot of worker strikes. I think that would make me really nervous since we wouldn’t have a backup for transportation.

Yep.....this for sure.

I would never count on getting from Paris to London in one day via the train when going on a cruise...it probably would work out but it's too often that the strikes in France could make it not work for you....and that's no way to start a nice trip like this one.