caribbean princess brit isles 6/29/13 w/pre & post stays

[loma linda ca a & j]

thursday we stayed in southampton cuz day before spencer

had strongly recommended going to the sea city museum &

tudor house so we agreed to see him on friday for salisbury

 

we had previously planned on going to bath but are going there

in 2015 for perhaps another brit isles cruise - the land portion

will include wales which we missed this time

 

some of you eager beavers in good shape would probably have

walked about today but we took 3 different cab drivers -

not with spencer as these were just short runs - from hotel to museum,

museum to tudor house, & tudor house to hotel

 

we are so glad we were able to see/hear the 2012 titantic exhibits

at sea city museum as we knew we would NOT be able to see either

of the titantic museum buildings in belfast or liverpool as we had other

tours planned - we sat in the wood paneled hall where the post

sinking hearings were conducted - it is actually in the sea city museum -

we listened to several actors voices of the witnesses testimonies -

sorta made us shiver hearing them - seemed so eerie :eek:

 

one room had a large map of southampton painted on the floor

w/ a red dot on each house/hotel/apartment which had lost someone

to the sinking - that was also very touching !:o

across from st michael's church, the tudor house is NOT to be missed -

marvelous exhibits of the previous owners over many centuries -

some of guides dressed in costume - the gardens are gorgeous

and on back side of the property remains a portion of the ancient walled city

friday spencer picked us up - first asking us if we wanted him to wait

a few hours and bring us back from salisbury cathedral - he said not to hurry -

just call him (when we did, he was lying in the grand grassy area just relaxing

after working all week) - forget what it cost but we were more than happy

so we would not have a long bus ride & would get back earlier to start packing up

 

on the way we drove by stonehenge - there was a lot of construction going on -

so we did NOT get out - but jim snapped a photo so we could prove we had

actually seen it from a distance

approaching salisbury cathedral we saw the tallest spire in england at 404 feet -

as rick steves writes, it is a wonder to behold ! another magnificent day

of history & architecture - little chapels w/in, monuments, tombs, and in the charter house -

one of 4 original copies of the magna carta from 1215 ! wow wow wow ~~~~

 

each of the cities - winchester, portsmouth, & salisbury - would be fun/fascinating

places to spend a few days but alas we only had several hours & were delighted to see what we did !

guess what ?? we are just about 18 hours away from boarding the caribbean princess !!:D

Edited August 22, 2013 by loma linda ca a & j

[librarylady19]

we had originally booked thru luna simone's email - our ground floor room # 2

about a year before for 2 different dates - for may, then august, then, in october

changed for the final date of wed june 19 - mon june 24 - 5 nights at 125 pounds -

total 625 which was $964.50

 

every communication/questions with them were handled w/ total efficiency &

in a friendly manner - we enjoyed meeting the twin brothers/owners, one son,

& entire staff all of whom treated us so well - our room was waiting for us !

 

i believe the whole 4 story + basement breakfast room has been renovated -

at least what we saw - the basement and ground floor - were all freshly painted

w/ crown moulding, new ceiling fans, squeaky clean beautiful tile in our bathroom

w/ crystal clear glass door, new toilet, sink, fixtures, et.c

 

after getting settled in our room, we took short nap, enjoyed an italian beer

& dinner at the nearby corner - sole mio - for $62.70

 

then, walked across street from our hotel to catch the bus 24 for 2

or 3 pounds & rode it all the way to the end - passing victoria station,

westminster cathedral & abbey, parliament, downing st, trafalgar square,

leicester sq, to hampstead heath, where we got off and waited for a few

minutes for a return bus to our stop in front of hotel steps -

this bus runs 24 hours a day and comes every 10 or 15 minutes or less !

pubs on numerous corners w/lots of people standing outside w/wine beer drinks -

chatting away - lots of lovely hanging flower baskets everywhere -

we decided we would wait for the pubs as we were more than

ready for our first good nights sleep in london

breakfast is served by the twins each morning between 7 & 830 consisting of eggs,

tomato, beans, bacon (which is like canadian ham), toast, jellies, orange juice

which is what jim ate every day- i chose just the ham, fruit yogurt, banana, toast,

& juice - gave us a great start before going on our daily bus rides

thursday we walked down the street to pimlico station - the last stop for the bus 24 -

walked down the ramp - bought our 7 day bus/tube passes for $55.49 each -

rode the tube (for the only time ! cuz the bus was so convenient !) to westminster stop

 

walked a short distance to churchill war rooms where we spent a few hours intrigued

by all the exhibits, of churchill's life, and audios & videos, describing the underground

night life that so many endured during the 6 years of bombing - before leaving we ate

a delicious pastry in their cafe chatting w/ a charming elderly couple from scotland

who had been young teenagers during ww11

 

we boarded 24 bus rode awhile checking all the places we were going to stop in

next few days - realized it was time to eat - chose the historic clarence pub -

had beer and fish & chips - for $59.00

 

( getting these prices from my credit card bills which are for US $$)

 

Really enjoying your review of London. We are headed there in 2 months on a land-only trip to London (5 nights) and Belgium (5 nights) - DH is an avid homebrewer so this is his dream beer pilgrimage:) we plan to do more than visit pubs and breweries though so I appreciate your London tips. I definitely need to shop for some good walking shoes!!

Edited August 24, 2013 by librarylady19

[loma linda ca a & j]

Really enjoying your review of London. We are headed there in 2 months on a land-only trip to London (5 nights) and Belgium (5 nights) - DH is an avid homebrewer so this is his dream beer pilgrimage:) we plan to do more than visit pubs and breweries though so I appreciate your London tips. I definitely need to shop for some good walking shoes!!

sandi,

you are going to absolutely love london & belgium

(which is on our list for 2016) -

your DH will love all the pubs in almost every block

so you can pop in and out between the sights !

i have problem feet (the bulging bunion with toes pointing sideways

from years of wearing pointy shoes & heels a long time ago !!:eek:)

so have been wearing all leather tops sas shoes for last 17 + years -

they have the flat soles so your toes lay out - with inserts on the black w/ shoelaces

(old lady looking ones) which i use when i know i am going to be walking around the city

or on tours - and black or beige sandals the rest of time - even at home -

they are not attractive or cutsie - are expensive but last a few years -

the main plus is no matter that the rest of me may ache BUT NEVER my feet !!!!

have a wonderful time !!:)

Edited August 24, 2013 by loma linda ca a & j

[loma linda ca a & j]

we've had out of town company - also this week have to package everything

for a termite tenting so do NOT know when i'm going to board carib princess

on june 29 in this review !;)

 

in meantime, hope people are finding this review as it keeps slipping

to 3rd page !!!:eek:

Edited August 25, 2013 by loma linda ca a & j

[loma linda ca a & j]

just realized i misspelled titanic a few times !!:eek:

[loma linda ca a & j]

had to go to page 10 to find this - have had a busy time

w/ family but NOT tenting until another 2 weeks -

so will try to board the ship soon !!;)

[loma linda ca a & j]

actually, part 4

 

after another scrumptious breakfast, we said our goodbyes to all the staff in

the dining room & lobby, and rolled our luggage outside the front door at about

11:30 for our last short taxi ride with spencer who knew exactly where our ship

was docked as he had been over there since 7am taking passengers to their hotels

 

we hugged spencer goodbye after he unloaded the 2 large rolling suitcases

w/ our princess baggage tags identifying our cabin # which a porter whisked away -

as i limped along to the entrance door, a princess rep asked if i would like a wheelchair

so wheeeeeee a rep then rolled me to the check in desk line - to receive our little deck map

& cruise cards & then to the elevator door - at this point i literally hopped out of the chair with glee

as i was soooooo excited to almost be able to reveal a secret i had been keeping from jim for several weeks

 

on princess we have always booked an inside cabin - had chosen R403 - a sideways cabin

which i thought would be great cuz the desk which i use for my stuff would be on my side

of the bed instead of being across from the end of bed which jim always had to squeeze

by to get from his side to the bathroom or door when i sat there

 

well, in mid may i had noticed the prices had really been reduced so i emailed our TA

to see if we could get on board credit for some of the difference - she talked

to a rep who said they could NOT do that BUT did give us a balcony - R610 -

directly across from the laundry room - yea !!;) in case, you're wondering,

it was completely soundproof and we never heard any noise from it !!

 

when we walked down the long hall to our cabin between 12:30 and 1,

our luggage was already waiting outside the door - i was shaking with

excitement as i let jim open the door - right away he noticed the sliding door

& i yelled SURPRISE !!! he could not believe i kept the secret for 5 weeks :)

 

we immediately unpacked & set up our spaces for the 12 nights stay -

asked our room steward jorge for extra pillows and an egg crate - yes the beds

are hard & the pillows are lumpy - 2 twin duvets instead of the 1 provided

not needed until that night - jorge was excellent throughout the cruise -

we asked for little else during the week - every time we saw him he knew

our names and asked how we enjoyed our tours of the day, etc.

 

while we were unpacking, jim had taken our 2 bags of laundry from the 10 days

pre cruise to the laundry - within 90 minutes everything was clean and put away -

we used it again for another 10 days of laundry on the sea day before le havre

when we packed up everything as we arrived back in southampton the day after le havre

 

we did not want to eat lunch in the horizon court as we had that big breakfast

and knew we would be eating a marvelous meal at our 6 pm fixed dinner in the

palm dining room so we went to the international cafe to buy our coffee cards -

love their lattes and frappes - for a snack & then decided to take a short nap

after sitting on the balcony for a few minutes - chocolate covered strawberries

had been delivered to our room from our TA

 

after the quick muster drill at 430 ?, we went to skywalkers to have drink special

of the day & meet ed & connie from our cc group - he was in charge of the M & G

and i had filled out 120 peel off name tags from staples - he had added several more

names in the 2 weeks we had been away from the computer

 

we had had lunch with them and 2 other so calif couples - larry & laura & harry & janet -

at macaroni grill back in march - had planned several private shore excursions with them -

it was so nice to at least know 6 people out of the few thousand on board

 

by 6 we were starving & took the aft elevator to the palm where we met & enjoyed

our 6 dining companions every night - graham & cynthia early 60s from england,

venus & her mother sonia from arizona, & an adorable couple 90 who grad from

van nuys h s in 1942 - the year i was born - they are both widowed, have their own homes,

go out each saturday to dinner & dance, and take cruises together - they had a lot more energy

than jim & i cuz they danced every evening until 11 or so while we were usually in bed by 9 -

do not know exactly what they did during the day - perhaps, they stayed on board and napped :confused:

 

anyway, none of them had heard of cruise critic so i gave them the info for future trips

as they were quite fascinated each evening as we described our private excursions w/ cc members

 

do not remember what we ate each night except to say that i chose a fish dish every night -

jim will eat salmon but usually chooses roast beef, steak, pork roast, chicken -

he thinks he is eating fish cuz he gets shrimp cocktail almost every time -

i usually select a cold soup - like the special appetizers i.e. a silver dollar size crab cake -

sometimes we order salad depending what else we are eating -

for dessert they had creme brulee every night which i devoured several times -

also the different flavors of ice cream - i cannot eat the rich cakes & soufles

after all the other food - just way too much at one sitting !!

 

some people complain that the food quality has gone down - i have enjoyed

just about everything i have selected on both princess & carnival -

perhaps, i am just so happy to have such a varied selection

served to me at every meal or maybe i am just not that picky :p

 

we went to the welcome show in the princess theater - sat up 2nd or 3rd row

in the handicapped section so we did not have to climb down & back up quite as many steps

 

do not remember if casino was open that first night but we were tired

& wanted to be ready for our tender to guernsey the next day

 

Edited September 5, 2013 by loma linda ca a & j

[fue-fue]

Enjoying reading your reports & looking forward to reading more

[loma linda ca a & j]

Enjoying reading your reports & looking forward to reading more

thanks sue !!:) there's more to come -

am trying to write it before i forget the details !!:eek:

[melody hounddog]

Great to know that you enjoyed the food! We have always loved the food on Princess. I too like all the choices, and we aren't picky eaters either.

[MarlboroBell]

Yay! You're back! I've had this page on constant reload waiting on tenterhooks for your next instalment... looking forward to more!

[loma linda ca a & j]

forgot to mention that we brought an extension cord for jim's cpac machine

(& special plug ins for the england hotels) & pre ordered a bottle of distilled water

on our cruise profile which was in the room for us when we boarded -

so after a fairly pleasant sleep, we were ready for IC for our morning lattes &

2 croissants which is what we ate each port day & saved the horizon court

for 2 sea days when we would have more time to choose & eat at leisure

we boarded the tender about 9 or so - from the dock it is a nice stroll up the boardwalk

to the main street which is lined w/ restaurants & shops - some were closed as it was sunday morning -

we noticed lots of vendors set up as it was a food & wine festival - i spotted an ice cream truck

w/ picture of cows - there were benches lining the walkway - i chose one, drank an ice cream shake

& licked my fabulous ice cream cone (have i mentioned i love ice cream ?? :p)

while jim went to see what the vendors were selling -

he brought back some delicious cheese samples - later wished we had bought some

 

the day was overcast & a tad chilly even for us so after buying postcards & magnets

of the guernsey cows we decided we did not want to wait in long line to board the last

tender at 1pm so we returned to the ship about 12:30 or so - the view from the tender

of the cliffs & quaint buildings including the castle cornet is really beautiful -

guernsey is a lovely place & if we had more time - maybe next time -

it would be fun to go to victor hugo's house, the little chapel, the german occupation

museum & hospital etc. & take the bus which goes around the island

 

we took showers & dressed for formal night & the m & g which was scheduled from 4 to 5

in the explorer's lounge - ed had invited officers & the captain, who did attend & welcomed us -

i laid out the name tags on the bar counter - only about 30 did NOT show up so we figured about

90 attended & stayed for over an hour which we felt was quite successful !!

 

some of us had placed our $$, pounds, euros in envelopes w/ our names for various tours

so it was convenient to meet the leaders at that time - we had already been told when to

meet each day for the individual tours - our group vans were usually the first ones out of

the ports & to the busy destinations while the princess buses took a bit longer to get there

 

it was lots of fun putting all the faces to the cc names & actual first names

(had put both on the tags) after nearly a year of posts on cc

knowing that we would be spending time w/ them at several ports

 

after dinner we spent some time in the casino playing my favorite machine -

quick something - exact name escapes me right now -

while jim played a little texas hold em at the automated (no live dealer) poker table -

there were very few poker players on this cruise (unlike our 3 carnival caribbean cruises

in nov 2011 which had lots of young european travelers who enjoyed talking to us

about california while playing every night !)

coming up next - cork & cobh[/b]

Edited September 5, 2013 by loma linda ca a & j

[loma linda ca a & j]

Yay! You're back! I've had this page on constant reload waiting on tenterhooks for your next instalment... looking forward to more!

thank you for letting me know !:) so happy people are reading it !!

what trips do you have planned ??

 

p.s. my parents were first generation born in mass in 1896 & 1906 -

dad was fr can & mom was swedish - most all my cousins still live in the boston area -

i love it there so much & have gone back after organizing 3 reunions -

i'm the family historian for the erickson descendants plus lot of collateral lines -

mostly irish & some italian !!

Edited September 5, 2013 by loma linda ca a & j

[loma linda ca a & j]

going to visit grandkids this weekend

so shall resume this review next week !;)

[phabric]

I have enjoyed reading your reviews.

 

We did the August 16 British Isles cruise.

[phabric]

Thanks so much for taking the time to tell us your thoughts and experiences on your trip! It's always great to see what others see and do while on vacation, especially when we're planning on doing a similar trip next year. We're waiting to buy Future Cruise Credits on our upcoming October cruise so we can book the British Isles cruise for next July. We'll spend my wife's 64th birthday in Liverpool. A GREAT treat for a huge Beatles fan! As she reminded me....."When I'm 64!!!"

 

We were on the August 16 British Isles cruise that stopped at Liverpool. We used http://www.pooloflifetours.com for a Beatle tour. We had a great tour and would highly recommend them. We were able to see many places that the Princess tour only passed by.

[loma linda ca a & j]

We were on the August 16 British Isles cruise that stopped at Liverpool. We used www.pooloflifetours.com for a Beatle tour. We had a great tour and would highly recommend them. We were able to see many places that the Princess tour only passed by.

wasn't that a great cruise plus you probably did the tattoo ???

 

next week will be giving the details of our beatles day -

every day was wonderful but that was one of our most fav days !!:D

[phabric]

We were on the August 16 cruise. Yes, we had a private 16 passenger coach with a tour from Glasgow to Edinburgh for the Tattoo.

 

We had a car pre cruise and stopped at Winchester on our way to Portsmouth for 2 nights before staying at the Premier Inn West Quay the night before our cruise.

 

We are planning on doing the 7 day Norwegian Fjords out of Southampton August 2014. We have not decided to rent a car (husband has no problem driving, it is me being nervous passenger) for 5 days or take the train/bus, like you.

 

We have been to London many times so not going there this time. We had a 3 stop bus tour (Bath, Windsor, Stonehenge) so would like to spend more time at Windsor and see again. Portsmouth did the Royal Naval Museum and drove around in the New Forrest area.

 

Did you find the train schedule easy to read? Had you pre book tickets or had you plan on getting tickets on the day?

 

You mentioned buses, were these regular bus or National Express from one town to another? If regular bus, where did you get the information about the timetable and where they went?

Edited September 8, 2013 by phabric

[loma linda ca a & j]

We were on the August 16 cruise. Yes, we had a private 16 passenger coach with a tour from Glasgow to Edinburgh for the Tattoo.

 

We had a car pre cruise and stopped at Winchester on our way to Portsmouth for 2 nights before staying at the Premier Inn West Quay the night before our cruise.

 

We are planning on doing the 7 day Norwegian Fjords out of Southampton August 2014. We have not decided to rent a car (husband has no problem driving, it is me being nervous passenger) for 5 days or take the train/bus, like you.

 

We have been to London many times so not going there this time. We had a 3 stop bus tour (Bath, Windsor, Stonehenge) so would like to spend more time at Windsor and see again. Portsmouth did the Royal Naval Museum and drove around in the New Forrest area.

 

Did you find the train schedule easy to read? Had you pre book tickets or had you plan on getting tickets on the day?

 

You mentioned buses, were these regular bus or National Express from one town to another? If regular bus, where did you get the information about the timetable and where they went?

great that you are returning next year so you can spend time

revisiting what you missed ! if possible go to the new mary rose museum in portsmouth -

that is truly amazing what they have done there !!!

 

re the train, we never used it as we had hired private car drivers,

taxis to & local buses back from winchester & portsmouth -

i think in winchester at tourist office, we were told the bus left

for southampton at a certain time each hour - in portsmouth, the bus

park was a block away w/schedules posted behind the benches

i believe train station was right near bus park also -

for people w/ no mobility issues, the train would quickly

get you to most places easily !

 

we just want to go back - we loved it so much !!!;)

Edited September 9, 2013 by loma linda ca a & j

[phabric]

Thank you for the information.

 

We have seen the Mary Rose a few years ago and this time with the new museum. The Royal Naval Museum is well worth seeing for the second time. I enjoyed the boat ride that was included.

 

We stayed at the Holiday Inn that is attached to the big shopping mall. The Royal Naval Museum was a short distance after walking through the shopping mall and we passed where the National Express Coach stops.

Edited September 9, 2013 by phabric

[paulhants]

Did you find the train schedule easy to read? Had you pre book tickets or had you plan on getting tickets on the day?

 

You mentioned buses, were these regular bus or National Express from one town to another? If regular bus, where did you get the information about the timetable and where they went?

 

I was born in Portsmouth, and now live just outside the city, and I work in Winchester - so happy to help with transport questions if you have any

[loma linda ca a & j]

I was born in Portsmouth, and now live just outside the city, and I work in Winchester - so happy to help with transport questions if you have any

thank you !! it's people like you, john bull, cotswold eagle, etc.

who have helped so many of us traveling to england !!

loved winchester cath & the old pub !!!;)

[phabric]

I was born in Portsmouth, and now live just outside the city, and I work in Winchester - so happy to help with transport questions if you have any

 

I am planning for next August.

 

We have spend about 2 weeks in London over the past few weeks so will not be going there.

 

This year we had a car, we spend a day & half at Portsmouth shopping mall, Royal Naval Museum and that tall building and drove around the New Forrest area and saw the Car Museum. We stopped in Winchester for a few hours.

 

We can get a car for about 27 GBP per day so would probably cheaper by car than other transportation. We plan on using either Portsmouth or Southampton as base and travel out each day for 5 days. What else is there to see in the area?

Edited September 11, 2013 by phabric

[paulhants]

I am planning for next August.

 

We have spend about 2 weeks in London over the past few weeks so will not be going there.

 

This year we had a car, we spend a day & half at Portsmouth shopping mall, Royal Naval Museum and that tall building and drove around the New Forrest area and saw the Car Museum. We stopped in Winchester for a few hours.

 

We can get a car for about 27 GBP per day so would probably cheaper by car than other transportation. We plan on using either Portsmouth or Southampton as base and travel out each day for 5 days. What else is there to see in the area?

 

There’s plenty to see and do in the area, and I guess there should be something of interest to everyone.

 

Do you have particular interests – historic buildings, military history, shopping, entertainment?

 

If you liked Winchester, you’d also like Salisbury and Chichester – both are historic market towns with impressive cathedrals. Both are within an hours drive. Of the two, Chichester is my favourite.

 

A little further east along the coast, you’ll find Arundel Castle – an impressive castle overlooking the small town. http://www.arundelcastle.org/

 

If you are interested in military history, the D-Day Museum and Overlord Embroidery is worth a visit in Portsmouth. http://www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/

 

For fans of literature, the Charles Dickens birthplace/museum is in Portsmouth http://www.charlesdickensbirthplace.co.uk/

 

Southampton’s (relatively) new Sea City, as already mentioned, is worth a visit http://seacitymuseum.co.uk/

 

The National Trust is a charity that preserves historic buildings and land for the nation. They have some lovely properties within easy reach of Portsmouth and Southampton. A few worth a mention are:

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mottisfont/

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/vyne/

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/petworth-house/

 

If you plan to visit several National Trust Properties, it may save you a few dollars by becoming a Royal Oak member, as you’ll then get free entry to the properties. http://www.royal-oak.org/join/

 

If you like animals/wildlife, Marwell Zoo is close by – it’s in a woodland park setting, and specialises in animal conservation http://www.marwell.org.uk/

 

A little further away (within an hour and a half drive), you’ll find Longleat – a historic house and safari park http://www.longleat.co.uk/

 

If you’d like to see a show, Southampton has a lovely theatre that hosts a great selection of shows, including touring versions of West End productions http://www.mayflower.org.uk/

 

If you enjoy walking and countryside, there are some lovely country parks in Hampshire http://www3.hants.gov.uk/countryside/countryside-service/country-parks.htm

 

As you can see, there’s quite a variety of things to see and do, close to Portsmouth and Southampton – and that’s just a taste of what’s on offer, I could go on :)

 

If you have a particular interest, let me know and I’ll happily suggest relevant places/attractions.

I’m also happy to answer questions on any of these places.

[phabric]

Thank you for the great information. I will copy this thread.