British Isles Trip Review June 5 - June 17, 2013 (not quite a thesis, but long)

[Mrs Booboo]

After getting lots of great information from this board, I wanted to give back and do a review of our recent British Isles trip. I’m no DeloreanGirl, but hopefully you’ll find something helpful – we did some things that I haven’t seen in other British Isles reviews.

Three words sum it up – Best. Vacation. EVER.

 

First, some background – we’re Jodie (age 47) and Jim (age 49) from Dayton, Ohio. This cruise was to celebrate Jim’s 50th birthday (August) and our 25th anniversary (September). We chose to do it early simply because the price was cheaper this time of year. This is our 5th Princess cruise (yay – next time we’ll be Platinum!), but we’ve also done around 12 Carnival cruises (all Caribbean).

 

Day 1 - London

We left for London the afternoon of June 1st and arrived at 7:30 AM on June 2nd. We had booked our air using the Princess EzAir, which saved us around $1200. Everything went smoothly - except that on the flight from Atlanta to Heathrow, my seat wouldn’t recline, I couldn’t get sound for the movies, and then the in-seat thingy locked up completely, which meant I couldn’t turn my light on!

 

We breezed through immigration and customs and took the tube to the Whitechapel station. Our hotel was the new Holiday Inn Commercial Road, which was about a 10 minute walk from the tube. We chose it because we had some Holiday Inn points; we got the room for $140 for 2 nights. We were checked into the hotel and on our way to the British Museum by 10:00.

 

A tip about using the tube – I had good Google directions from the station to where we were going, but there are usually multiple exits and we didn’t always come out where my directions were expecting. The instructions will say something like “turn left on Holborn”. Depending on which exit you come out of, that could be the wrong direction, or you might not even see Holburn. So make sure you’ve got a good, detailed map for the area around any tube station you might be coming out of so you can get yourself oriented based on where you come out.

 

We got the audio guides and toodled around the British Museum using their 3-hour guide. Went across the street to The Museum Tavern for lunch (fish & chips, of course!) and a pint (our first of many).

 

Next we took the tube down to the London Bridge Underground Station and made our way over to the Old Operating Theatre and Herb Garrett. An interesting little museum, but probably a little pricey at 6.20 GBP per person. We then headed over to do The View from The Shard – I think if I had to do it again, I would choose the London Eye. Not too far away is The George Inn, so we head over for a pint and then take the tube back to the hotel.

 

Day 2 – London/Oxford

Started at the Victoria and Albert Museum following the guide in Rick Steve’s book (I had purchased it for my Kindle); about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Took the tube over to Hyde Park and followed a walking tour they have. The main thing I wanted to see was Princess Diana’s fountain; but have to say I was less than impressed with it. But the park overall is really nice; it helped that we had gorgeous weather.

 

Then it was onto one of the things I was really looking forward to – a trip to do the Mini Plant Oxford tour. I have a Mini Cooper named Gromit, so I wanted to see where and how he was made. We took the train from Paddington to Oxford (about $30 for both of us round trip), and then a bus down to the plant to catch the 6:00 PM tour. Our guide (a retired worker) took us all around the assembly line. If you have a Mini Cooper or interest in how things are made, I highly recommend this tour! After the tour, we had time to head over to the Turf Tavern (hard to find, but worth the effort) for a couple of pints. Only wish we had more time – Oxford seemed like it would be a nice place to spend the day.

 

Day 3 – London

Covered a lot of territory today – St. Bride’s Church, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Millennium Bridge, lunch and a pint at The Blackfriar, The Monument, Southwark Cathedral, and a walk across Tower Bridge. Back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and head over to Waterloo to catch the train to Southampton. We didn’t really have any problems except we took the 5:30 train, so it was pretty crowded. I wasn’t able to find cheap tickets; we paid around $115 for both of us. The downside to the train is that they aren’t really equipped to handle carryover luggage. So we had to just leave our bags in the vestibule by the bikes and hope no one got too irritated tripping over the tourists’ bags.

 

We had reservations for one night at the Ibis Southampton Centre. It, the Ibis Budget, and the Novotel are all right next to each other. If you’re staying at one of those, turn right out of the train station, take the steps up to Western Esplanade, cross the street, and the hotels are just down the hill.

 

Day 4 – Southampton/Caribbean Princess

We walked over to the Sea City Museum (about 10 minutes from the hotel). Spent a couple of hours there; it had some very interesting Titanic info. Just down the street is the West Quay Shopping Centre, which is pretty much your basic American mall. I had to check out the Dreams Cupcakes place (I’m a bit of a cupcake freak) – yummy! We then stopped at the ASDA grocery store (on the same street as the mall) for some soda and snacks. Walk back to the hotel and catch a taxi to the pier (5.70 GBP, plus tip). We got there around 1:15, so it took us around 2 ½ hours to get checked in and unpack (yes, our bag beat us to our room).

 

About our room – we originally booked an inside room just because of the price. Just happened to check one day and they had some ocean view rooms for less than we paid for our inside, so we switched. We were in Lido 104 – this is one of the cabins at the very front of the boat, right next to the “secret” doors that lead out to the deck that is directly below the bridge. Some reviews I had read said this was a horrible cabin to have because it is directly below the fitness center, and the thumping of the treadmills was a real problem. We didn’t really think so, probably because we were up almost every day before the fitness center opened. We only heard it a couple of times in the late afternoon after getting back on the boat, but if you didn’t know you were below the fitness center, you might just think it was the boat making noise – it was fairly muffled. I wouldn’t hesitate to book it again – it was very quiet back in our little corner (no people standing in the halls talking or kids running past) and we could pop out onto the deck just about any time. There were a couple of times when they locked the doors to the deck because it was just too windy to be out there.

 

Ship Life, Food, and Miscellaneous

A general rundown on what we did on the ship, the food, and some other miscellaneous items. Our basic activity almost every night after getting back from port was to clean up, get dinner, get dessert, play trivia (if they were having it), maybe get a drink, and then go back to our cabin to download pictures to our laptop and journal the day.

 

Besides trivia, we didn’t really find a lot of other things to do in the evening. There was a juggler one night, and I only remember there being one comedian listed.

 

We only ate in the MDR two nights for two reasons: 1) we’re not really foodies, and 2) we were usually just too tired to make ourselves presentable for the MDR. The buffet was generally pretty good – I didn’t realize until a week in that most nights there is a “theme” (listed in the patter); I’m not sure “Princess Buffet” or “Welcome Aboard” are really themes. The only nights we had trouble were Bavarian night and Madras Curry night. We were surprised that on Bavarian night there was literally nothing non-German available.

 

We did have breakfast in the MDR twice – usually the waffles, pancakes, and eggs are better than in the buffet. The pizza and fries at the burger station are always a good go-to option. Pub lunch in the Crown Grill was very good.

 

Speaking of the Crown Grill, we did dinner there twice. $25 per person, but we thought it was worth it. We had the filet and lobster one night, and the shrimp and lobster the other night. You get 10 of the small lobster tails. Various potato and vegetable sides to choose from; they bring a huge portion out that you can share. Had the awesome 7-layer S’mores dessert both nights!

 

The International Café has really good desserts (I especially liked the cheesecake), a variety of sandwiches and sides during the day, and a nice variety of pastries in the morning (again, we didn’t find out until a week in that they had donuts and beignets!). The ice cream/popcorn place on the Lido deck has both soft serve and scooped ice cream; you can also get sauces like caramel and hot fudge and sprinkles!

 

One other thing to note about the Horizon Court/Café Caribe – there were a couple of mornings where we had trouble finding a table – since it was usually quite chilly, nobody was sitting outside. Might be less of an issue for July and August cruisers. Also, the buffet is not always in the same place every night – sometimes it was in the Horizon Court, sometimes in the Café’ Caribe. And it varied which side (port or starboard) was open.

 

Internet Café – I have to say I think the internet is way overpriced – we paid $99 for 200 minutes. Last year on the Carnival Breeze, we paid $29.99 for unlimited minutes. Luckily, we’ll be Platinum next time we do Princess and will get free internet minutes. In general, the speed was OK as long as you were patient with it.

 

For clothing, we did the layering thing and that worked out well. Highly recommend lightweight convertible pants that can dry quickly (like Columbia or Northface), waterproof shoes, and hooded rain jackets. We also had long underwear (thin, but warm, from Lands End) that we were glad we had on a couple of the days. Also, a fleece jacket, gloves and hats – it was chilly a couple of days, especially in the morning. We just had an extra backpack and layered up or down as needed.

 

We didn’t have any problems using our regular credit card (not a chip and pin).

 

Le Havre

We long ago abandoned taking ship excursions except in a rare situation, and this trip was no different. We wanted to go to the Normandy sites (my dad was on Omaha beach on D-Day), so we decided to rent a car. There is a company (Rent a Car) right inside the terminal. It was 90 Euros for a 4-door Fiat. And it really is called “Rent a Car”. We had brought our own Garmin with UK and France maps downloaded onto it. I would advise pre-booking since I think they bring the cars to the dock from somewhere else. A group of ten people just walked off the boat expecting to rent a van – the guy had 2 extra cars and that was it.

 

Got on the road around 8:20. We had decided to head to the furthest point first and work our way back. First stop was the German Cemetery – I don’t think tours generally stop here, so it was very nice and peaceful. Then on to Pointe du Hoc, a stop on Omaha Beach (where we got some sand - we collect little bottles from beaches we go to), the Normandy American Cemetery, and the Longues-ser-Mer Gun Battery. The Garmin was spot on with the directions. It was very nice driving through the French countryside and through some little villages. Even though it was the D-Day anniversary, I didn’t think any of these places seemed overly crowded.

 

We then headed over to Arromanches – now that was a different story as far as the crowds go! It was like a giant street party – roads closed, people everywhere, military vehicles and personnel on the beach below. We were on our way out when we lucked on a parking space. We went over to check out the remains of Port Winston (Mulberry Harbour) and stopped and chatted with a WWII vet.

 

We then started to head to Honfleur, but thought it would be too close on time, so we decided to skip it. Good thing we did because we ran into traffic around Caen, made some wrong turns (our fault, not Garmins) that cost us time, and it took forever to fill up at the petrol station.

 

As we were leaving the gas station, we got discombobulated because there were some funny underpasses that you could use to avoid traffic lights. It was at this point that the Garmin decided to die (TIP – Don’t forget to bring the power cord!!). Now we can’t even get back to the gas station and use the backup Google maps. We’re starting to panic since it’s about 6:45 and we’re supposed to be back on board by 7:30, and we can’t even see the ship (I was already mentally trying to figure out how we could get to Edinburgh).

We finally see the ship and a sign pointing to the cruise ship terminal and luckily there are more that get us straight to the dock right at 7:00. In spite of this, I’m glad we rented the car – it would have been fine if we had just had the power cord.

 

Driving was interesting. French drivers get a lot closer to you before they pass you. So it feels they are in your space a lot. We were on several toll roads. The tollbooths were interesting since we don’t speak French and tollbooth operators are not necessarily friendly in any country. We got an eye roll when we didn’t have exact change.

 

At Sea

We didn’t wake up until 9:00, so we just grab a small bite for breakfast at the buffet since we’re planning on doing the pub lunch in the Crown Grill. Played trivia and walked the decks to check out where everything was (which didn’t help – we were still making wrong turns and checking the map throughout the whole cruise). After lunch, we did a couple of loads of laundry ($2 for washer, $2 for dryer). Afternoon trivia and dinner at the buffet. We get back the hour we lost in Le Havre.

 

Edinburgh

We got up early since we wanted to catch one of the first tenders. We had to go to the Island Dining Room to get tender tickets, but it turned out there was no wait. After getting off the tender, we went to the left and caught a shuttle bus for 10 GBP each (round trip). We got dropped at Charlotte Square around 9:00. We make our way to Edinburgh Castle and are one of the first people in when they open the gates. We had purchased the Explorer Pass, which meant we got to bypass the ticket line and go right in.

 

Tip: If you're planning on visiting several Scotland castles (e.g., Edinburgh and Stirling) and sites on Orkney and doing it on your own (or if your guided tour doesn't include admission), check out the Explorer Pass (http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/explorer). You pay only once and then get free admission and beat the queues. We also got a souvenir “passport” that got stamped at each of the sites we went to (except Broch of Gurness where the stamp was broken). If you’re only going to Edinburgh, you should still purchase tickets online beforehand – the line was crazy long when they opened and even worse by the time we left a couple of hours later.

 

We got the audio guides and again followed the guide in Rick Steve’s book. We spent about 2 ½ hours there. We then started down the Royal Mile, walking past St. Giles Cathedral and eventually making our way to a wee pub called Captain’s Bar. After that, it’s on to The Halfway House, The Hebrides, and finally The Rose & Crown (very near to the shuttle bus pickup). We enjoyed just walking around the city since it was such a beautiful day. We catch the 4:00 bus to South Queensferry and have time for a couple of more pints at The Anchor Inn, The Ferry Tap, and the Hawes Inn. Caught the tender at 6:15.

 

Invergordon/Inverness

Today was one of the days I was really looking forward to. We got off the boat at 8:00 to collect our rental car from Ken’s Garage. They had a little booth right by the terminal and our car was waiting for us. On the road by 8:30. We head down to Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness. It was very overcast, but that somehow seemed appropriate in this location. We arrived around 9:20 (they open at 9:30), so we mostly beat the hordes of tour buses. Walked around the grounds for about 1 ½ hours. Next we head to the Black Isle Brewery – this is a small, independent brewery that brews organic beer. We take the short tour with tasting at the end.

 

Next we head up to Dunrobin Castle, arriving around 1:30. Just enough time to walk around the gardens before the falconry show at 2:00. This was one of the highlights of the cruise. We knew we were in for more than we expected when the falconer was feeding a rabbit to one of the falcons before the show. There were 3 kinds of falcons and one owl. The professional resident Falconer demonstrated and explained the different hunting methods used by owls, hawks and falcons in a series of flying demonstrations. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. The birds fly overhead and close enough to touch you. After that, we did a quick tour of the castle interior. Dunrobin is more of a large manor house than a castle, but the interior is very nice. And the gardens are amazing. On our drive back to the ship, we make a quick stop at Dornoch Beach and steal a little sand.

 

Orkney

By far, our favorite port of the cruise. If you think things like Stonehenge are cool, this is the island for you.

 

We caught the first shuttle bus into town to collect our rental car from WR Tullock. We had to wait about 20 minutes to get the car, but we’re on the road around 9:00. Our first stop is the Broch of Gurness, near the top of the mainland. From there, we make our way over to St. Magnus Church and the Earl’s Palace in Birsay. There is a very nice restroom near the Earl’s Palace, very clean and hot and cold running water. After that was the Brough of Birsay. It wasn’t low tide, so we couldn’t cross the causeway over to see the remains of Pictish and Norse settlements.

 

Then we stopped at a quaint little jewelry gallery/workshop that I had found on the web. It’s called Fluke Jewelry and it features marine and wildlife jewelry. One of the things that set his jewelry apart is that he makes flukes (tails) specific to the species (whales and dolphins). I got a necklace and earrings with the Minke whale fluke and a dolphin fluke necklace for my sister.

 

Next up is the Orkney Brewery – we don’t have time for the tour, but we scored some cool souvenirs and a couple of bottles of beer that we can drink on the ship later. Then it’s on to Skara Brae – it’s very impressive but smaller than I was expecting. Lastly we visit the Ring of Brodgar and the Standing Stones of Stenness.

 

Put gas in the rental car, drop it off and then walk over to St. Magnus Cathedral and the Bishop and Earl’s Palace (very cool). We have just enough time for a pint at a little café near the cathedral and catch the bus back to the ship around 5:00. By the way – the shuttle bus drops you right at the Visitor’s Center and it’s about a 10 minute walk to the cathedral.

 

We just loved having the car and driving around the island – seeing all the sheep and farmers at work. I think we’ll have to visit again sometime; we covered a lot, but still didn’t get to see everything we wanted to.

 

Sea Day

Had breakfast in the MDR, played the morning trivia, pub lunch in the Crown Grill, a load of laundry, and afternoon trivia. It’s formal night and we have reservations in the Crown Grill. As I said before, this was really good and I though worth the price.

 

Greenock

We get off the boat around 7:30 and find our way to the Tontine Hotel to pick up our rental car. We arrive at 8:00 (the time we had reserved the car for), only to be told the cars wouldn’t be there until around 9:00. Car gets there around 8:50 and we’re on our way around 9:00. Since we’re an hour behind, we decide to cut out driving up to the Loch Lomond area and head straight to Doune Castle, arriving around 10:30. This is the castle where parts of Monty Python and The Holy Grail were filmed. It was a very cool castle and not crowded since this is not on any of the ship excursions. This castle is also included as part of the Explorer Pass. We spend about an hour here and then head up to Stirling Castle. I thought this would be really crowded, but it wasn’t bad at all. We tour around for about a couple of hours and then stop at the nearby Portcullis pub for a pint.

 

On our way back to the ship, we stop in the quaint little village of Buchlyvie. We visit the pottery shop (I bought a very nice little vase) and get a pint at The Buchlyvie Inn. Very interesting talking to the locals who were there.

 

We head back into Greenock, gas the car, and drop it at the hotel. Stop at the Hole in the Wa’ pub and then walk back to the boat. On just before 5:30.

 

Belfast

Off the boat at 8:00; we had a tour booked with Odyssey Tours. Our first stop was Dunluce Castle for about 15 minutes and then on to the Giant’s Causeway. When we got off the bus, the weather looked fine so we left our raincoats on the bus. BIG mistake. It started to sprinkle about halfway down the walk to the causeway and then really starts raining when we get there. We venture out onto the rocks, but they are really slippery, so we just snap a couple of pictures and get off. There is really no place to wait it out, so we head back up and split a pint at The Nook.

 

Next is the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. We decide to just walk up (0.6 miles) to see it; it costs 5.60 GBP if you want to walk across it. It’s not as long as I thought it would be. Then we head into Ballycastle for lunch; most of us go to the recommended Central Bar. We then drive the coastal route back to Belfast and get a short tour around town.

 

Dublin

Off the boat at 8:00 and catch the first shuttle into town ($16 per person, round trip, takes about 20 minutes). We make our way over to Trinity College and are 5th and 6th in line for the Book of Kells. Even though it doesn’t open until 9:30, I think we were better off waiting the hour now. Most other things weren’t open either and the line after we finished was verrrrry long. We then visit the Long Library Room upstairs, where there is an awesome number of some of the oldest books. We’re done around 10:30.

 

We pre-purchased tickets for the Hop-On Hop-Off bus, so we head over to Stop 8 (the stop right by Trinity College was very crowded) and ride it to the Guinness factory. We spend a couple of hours touring the place; it was very interesting. You get a free pint in the Gravity Bar at the top where there are awesome views of Dublin. We got some cool souvenirs at the shop (I could have spend a bunch of Euros here!)

 

Next stop is St. Patrick’s Cathedral (we walked vs. taking the Hoho bus, since we would have had to ride the bus for about an hour before it made its way back to St. Patrick’s). Walk by Christ Church Cathedral for some pictures and then head over to The Porterhouse for lunch and a couple of pints. We make our way over to The Dawson Lounge (a very wee pub) and split a Guinness. Then it’s on to the Duke Dublin for a Beamish and Kilkenny. Almost time for the last shuttle back (5:00), so we head over to Kildare St. and have a couple of pints at The Blarney Inn (right around the corner; we’re able to sit outside and watch the people walk by). We’re on the last bus back.

 

Due to winds and tidal conditions, we weren’t able to leave port and had to stay in Dublin until midnight. As a result, we wouldn’t arrive in Cobh until about 12pm the next day. They did allow people to go back into town and be back on board by 11:00, but we decided against it since the weather was iffy at best.

 

We had a tour scheduled for Cork with eCoach, and we weren’t sure what would happen with it; I figured some of the other people on our tour would probably email the company to let them know what was going on. We would just check our email in the morning and see if they’re cancelling or just revising the tour.

 

Cobh/Cork

The trip down to Cobh was very rocky. We get up and have breakfast in the MDR. Check our email – our tour to Blarney Castle is still on, but we have to skip the lunch stop in Kinsale. We’re at Blarney Castle from 12:30 – 2:30. We of course do the touristy thing and make the climb to kiss the Blarney Stone. The wait wasn’t too bad; about 45 minutes. After that we walked the grounds around the castle and walked around the Rock Close; a very pretty garden area with things like the Witches Kitchen and Wishing Steps. It’s a difficult choice, it is a long wait to kiss the blarney stone, time you could spend walking the grounds. On the other hand once you get to top of the castle it is kind of fun and exciting to kiss the stone, even if the whole experience is kind of cheesy and reminded my husband of the Santa scene from “A Christmas Story”.

 

We drive into Cork and get a driving tour of the city – personally, I would have liked more time at Blarney to explore more of the grounds or more time in Cobh. You just can’t see too much when you’re in a bus. Head back to Cobh with a short stop at St. Coleman’s Cathedral – it was absolutely amazing; the prettiest church of the trip.

 

Guernsey

We head down to the Island Dining room to get our tender tickets; we’re on the 4th tender out and get on Guernsey around 11:15.

 

I have to agree with another reviewer that we weren’t all that impressed with Guernsey – got the feeling that they really just didn’t want us on their little island.

 

We headed up to Castle Cornet and were there in time for the noon day cannon – that was pretty cool. We walk around for a while and then decide to catch the #71 bus to The Little Chapel. One hint if you are there at the time of the cannon. You can watch the cannon from the main courtyard or you can go upstairs, just past the Lambert’s garden. If you watch from the main courtyard you are at the same level and to the side of the cannon. If you go up to the wall past Lambert’s garden you are behind and above the cannon, this might be a better view of the soldier firing the cannon.

 

They were having a Father’s Day Marathon and other events that closed down the main street by the harbor. Due to this, the bus stops were relocated down the street; I didn’t have a problem with that, but what I found unfathomable was that the bus kiosk was closed too! We were planning on getting tickets at the kiosk because I had forgotten to save back some change for the bus. We take our chances on the bus driver maybe having change.

 

There were two people at the #71 stop who were asking about whether or not it was the right bus to take to the Underground Hospital. We didn’t know for sure, so we said just ask the bus driver. When they got on, the bus driver was less than helpful – he acted like they had asked him the stupidest question and gave a very non-committal answer instead of simply saying “Yes, this is the bus to the Underground Hospital, I’ll tell you when it’s time to get off the bus.” A local woman, the same one who helped us get on the bus (see below) was more helpful than the bus driver and she barely spoke English. In the end the bus makes a stop with a big sign “German Underground Hospital” and the driver announces “German Hospital”.

 

Well then it’s our turn – I ask him if he has change for my 20 pound note – he says no (and not in a nice way), but he could give us a change ticket that we could reimburse at the bus kiosk any time in the next week…um, how do we do this if the kiosk is closed today? A nice lady (from Latvia) who must have had some kind of pass paid for our tickets, she said “Costs little, only 50p”. So we gave her our only pound coin in return. Well, that gets us on the bus, but what about when we get off at the Little Chapel and have to get back on? I didn’t think there was anything else out there (turns out there was a gift shop, but we were too slow in realizing it), so we decided to just ride the bus all the way around back to town. What really irked me was that on the way back, some people (maybe locals?) got on the bus and gave the driver a 20 pound note and he made change (in notes, not just coins) for them! I don’t know how he suddenly had change because all the people I had seen get on at the various stops either had correct change or some kind of a pass. It didn’t seem it was a big loss to not see the Little Chapel, but the whole experience left a bad taste in our mouth.

 

We head over to the Ship & Crown for lunch and a couple of pints. Service at the Ship & Crown was indifferent at best. We know not to expect American style table service, but this was simply poor service. The landlord clearly wanted his waitresses to serve people, but their skills or hearts were not up to the task. We walked around town for a little bit, but as everybody knows by now, almost all the shops are closed on Sunday. Luckily, the pubs are open, so we stop for a pint at the Albion House and at the White Hart. Head back to the tender and catch the last one to the boat.

 

Note that if you buy anything here, make sure you ask for change in “English” cash rather than “Guernsey” cash. When my husband asked for English change at the Albion House he got a sigh and an eye roll, but we think the bartender gave us wrong change since we ended up with an extra 20 pounds at the end of the day.

 

We had dinner in the Crown Grill again tonight. Played one last round of trivia, packed, and used up our remaining internet minutes. Have to be up at 5:00am to catch the transfer bus to Heathrow.

 

Southampton

Debarkation was very smooth. We used the Princess bus transfers. The bus driver expected traffic but there was not too much. We’re checked in and through security for our 12:20pm flight at Heathrow by 10:30am.

 

I would do this itinerary again in a heartbeat – there is so much more we would like to do!

 

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Any questions, fire away!

[capriccio]

Thank you for your informative post! We can't wait for our British Isles cruise in mid-August.

[Keith1010]

Excellent information.

 

Keith

[rolandeart]

Good info. We are set to go on Ocean Princess in August of 2014, and sail around the UK. We are hitting Wales too. But the highlight will be the Tattoo at Edinburgh. Only been on Princess once before - on a transatlantic. We mainly cruise Royal one bad Carnival and a dull Celebrity. We miss the UK. fell inlove with it years ago.

[paul929207]

Wow. What a review. Thanks for taking the time.

[suspaul]

Thanks! We'll be on this same cruise, July 11. The info and reading your thoughts made it 'real' and gave such great information and tips. This is our first cruise with Princess tho we have done several river cruises in Europe and look forward to it.

Thanks again.

[ar1950]

After reading your review, Woobstr112G's review, Ooh Bother's review and Delorean Lady's review (and I know I read a couple of others, just don't remember the names--sorry) we are ready to make plans for this cruise!! Thanks and glad to hear that there are so many pubs along the way!;)

 

Loved it.

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for the review. I was surprised that you didn't like or enjoy Guernsey since we (and everyone we spoke to or on our roll call) had the opposite experience. We absolutely loved it and found it fascinating. We did a book club just for our roll call reading the "Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" and meeting at afternoon tea one day. We had about 15-20 people come and had a very lively discussion. Everyone seemed to have loved Guernsey and could relate what they saw to what happened in the book.

[ricki]

Thanks for the review. I was surprised that you didn't like or enjoy Guernsey since we (and everyone we spoke to or on our roll call) had the opposite experience. We absolutely loved it and found it fascinating. We did a book club just for our roll call reading the "Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" and meeting at afternoon tea one day. We had about 15-20 people come and had a very lively discussion. Everyone seemed to have loved Guernsey and could relate what they saw to what happened in the book.

 

We are on the July 29 Cruise on Ocean, and after reading "The e Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society," it's the port I'm most looking forward to!

 

Thank you for your review!

 

Ricki

[pshaze]

 

Edinburgh

We got up early since we wanted to catch one of the first tenders. We had to go to the Island Dining Room to get tender tickets, but it turned out there was no wait. After getting off the tender, we went to the left and caught a shuttle bus for 10 GBP each (round trip). We got dropped at Charlotte Square around 9:00. We make our way to Edinburgh Castle and are one of the first people in when they open the gates. We had purchased the Explorer Pass, which meant we got to bypass the ticket line and go right in.

 

 

 

Mrs. Booboo,

 

Was the shuttle bus you took a Princess Shuttle or one from the town? If from the town were there signs?

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the most excellent review. Glad you had a good time on your cruise.:)

[Gig103]

Thanks for sharing! I enjoyed following along, and can relate to the French Tollbooth personnel (having a similar experience on my honeymoon).

[Chloe1500]

Interesting reading! We were on the same cruise the week before, but we had a very different experience in Guernsey (one of our favorite ports). Glad to hear you had good weather in London. It was quite cold (but no rain) for us pre-cruise. The Guiness in Dublin was really good, wasn't it?

[dforeigner]

Thanks for taking time to write a review.

[1particularharbor]

I would like to get more info about your cabin. We have this cabin booked for a future cruise. I wanted to know more about the layout of the cabin. I have seen a few pictures but not sure how the storage and the door to the hall or what the door is at the very end of the room opposite of the window.

 

I enjoyed your review ..and just ordered the book that was referenced by another poster..

 

We are interested in renting a car and going to Normandy too ..as my Dad was there on D-day too.

 

You provided some great references for contacts for renting cars..thanks so much for a great review.

[1particularharbor]

Thanks for sharing the book ...I just ordered for my Kindle :) Did your group do a tour together on Guernsey ..I would like more info on the "book club" for your roll call too or a link to more info ..thanks

 

Thanks for the review. I was surprised that you didn't like or enjoy Guernsey since we (and everyone we spoke to or on our roll call) had the opposite experience. We absolutely loved it and found it fascinating. We did a book club just for our roll call reading the "Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" and meeting at afternoon tea one day. We had about 15-20 people come and had a very lively discussion. Everyone seemed to have loved Guernsey and could relate what they saw to what happened in the book.

[majortom10]

The shuttle bus to Edinburgh from South Queensferry is situated right by the end of the pier where the tender drops you off and it is a private company charging £10pp return or you could walk left when hitting the road and then turn right up a footpath and 120 steps and catch the train to Edinburgh at a cost of £4-60pp return.

[westendgirl]

Thanks for the review. I was surprised that you didn't like or enjoy Guernsey since we (and everyone we spoke to or on our roll call) had the opposite experience. We absolutely loved it and found it fascinating. We did a book club just for our roll call reading the "Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" and meeting at afternoon tea one day. We had about 15-20 people come and had a very lively discussion. Everyone seemed to have loved Guernsey and could relate what they saw to what happened in the book.

 

Pam - I read this book and highly recommend it to anyone visiting Guernsey. It gives so much insight to what the citizens endured during the WWII German occupation. Guernsey is definitely a port I'd love to visit.

 

Mrs. Booboo - Your review was very thoughtful and thorough. Thank you for taking the time to do it! (I'd say your only 'booboo' was not having change for a 20 ;))

[Mrs Booboo]

For the L104 room, when you walk in, immediately to your left is the bathroom door. Straight ahead are the storage closets (1 single door w/shelves and 2 double door hanging). On that same wall are the refrigerator with TV on top, and then 2 chairs and a small table. On the opposite wall are the bed, nightstands and desk.

 

So the window is directly opposite of the bathroom door. If you do a search for L104, you'll find lots of posts - some including pictures of the cabin.

 

As far as Guernsey goes, maybe we just had an off day with the marathon and other activities going on that affected the seafront; plus I think maybe the vibe would be completely different on a day other than Sunday.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I really enjoyed your detailed review. Thanks! I've bookmarked it for someday when we take this cruise. I loved all your DIY sightseeing.

[CruiseKing]

The shuttle bus to Edinburgh from South Queensferry is situated right by the end of the pier where the tender drops you off and it is a private company charging £10pp return or you could walk left when hitting the road and then turn right up a footpath and 120 steps and catch the train to Edinburgh at a cost of £4-60pp return.

Also just back from this cruise. Your best bet is a taxi. Find a group of six. We walked up and just joined 4 others. Cost was 5 pounds per couple. No waiting for a bus to fill up.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Great review and DIY tour info, now I want to add this to my bucket list:p:D

[buddymum]

Also just back from this cruise. Your best bet is a taxi. Find a group of six. We walked up and just joined 4 others. Cost was 5 pounds per couple. No waiting for a bus to fill up.

 

we were aloso on this cruise. We took the train to Edinburgh - the 120 steps were fairly easy to climb( this is from a 67 year old!)and the train journey was quicker.

One thing no one has mentioned is the fact that the ship was given a send off by pipe and drum bands at 3 of the Scottish ports plus a brass band send off at cobh, absoloutely magic!

[1particularharbor]

Thanks so much for the info on the cabin :) Your review makes our upcoming cruise sound fantastic!! :):)

 

For the L104 room, when you walk in, immediately to your left is the bathroom door. Straight ahead are the storage closets (1 single door w/shelves and 2 double door hanging). On that same wall are the refrigerator with TV on top, and then 2 chairs and a small table. On the opposite wall are the bed, nightstands and desk.

 

So the window is directly opposite of the bathroom door. If you do a search for L104, you'll find lots of posts - some including pictures of the cabin.

 

As far as Guernsey goes, maybe we just had an off day with the marathon and other activities going on that affected the seafront; plus I think maybe the vibe would be completely different on a day other than Sunday.

[Victorious8]

Thank you for the information! I know it is obnoxious but did you have any trouble/hear of any trouble bringing on anything more than one bottle per person at embarktion or in ports? Thanks! I am in London now and ready to board Saturday!!!