Ruby Princess, British Isles, 7/22/14, Review with Pictures

[napunani]

We just booked 2015 May British Isle cruise so looking forward to you blog.

Please include Oxford/pier transfer details! Thanks!

[cougaraz]

Hotel WiFi was slow this morning, so here are some pictures from yesterday.

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And some from today, including our visit to Blenheim Palace.

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[speedyjane]

Wonderful pictures! Thanks for posting.

[greenbank1958]

Hope you all enjoy your cruise!

we are sailing on Ruby in December back to back Caribbean!:)

so we will be visiting her at Liverpool pier head on Saturday 26th.

 

As we only live 30mins drive. enjoy my city. :)

[jimfg3]

GREAT pictures, could you include captions?

[cougaraz]

So, yesterday we went on a day trip to Blenheim Palace, which was very well worth it. We took the S3 bus from central Oxford and it dropped us right at the gates of the palace grounds. We were even able to buy our tickets on the bus for a 30% discount bringing them to about 16£. The palace is absolutely gorgeous and a good portion is open to visitors. The current Duke still lives there, so a portion is private apartments. The food in the cafe was very good, all made on site. We also walked the grounds in the afternoon, this time of year they were especially lush and green.

 

In the evening, we returned to Oxford via the bus and went out for a walk, found a few pubs and eventually some dinner. Today, we are headed to Southampton. We have a car reserved to take us from the hotel and drop us pier side.

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A quick half at the Lamb and Flag!

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On to the Eagle and Child or Bird and Baby if you prefer.

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There was a cider festival on at the Four Candles. On the left is Boxing Dog and on the right starts within H, but we can't remember its name.

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Great sunset view of Radcliffe Camera.

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Finally, on to the Bear for a pint of Scholar and some pub food. Hard to believe folks were drinking here two and half centuries before Columbus left for the New World.

[cougaraz]

Here are a few shots of our room at The Royal Oxford Hotel. It was very clean, well maintained and ideally located. From the front door a ten minute walk covered all of the major central area, pubs and shopping were all close by. The AC was cold and the water was hot. It wasn't fancy, but we felt it was a good value, with friendly staff and comfortable beds. DW says to mention good hair dryer, but no laundry facilities.

 

 

[Tosara21]

Really enjoying your review and photos, it's been a few years since I last visited Oxford and the surrounding area.

Judging by the pub signs it looks like you are happy to experience the old British pastime of "Pub Crawling".

More please.

[terrierjohn]

Great cruise preview and some excellent photos of pub signs.

You may not be aware that The Four Candles one probably refers to an extremely funny sketch from the hugely popular 2 Ronnies TV show from the 80's, where one managed to confuse the other while trying to buy Fork handles, (handles for forks).

[Mrs Moho]

Great pictures!!

 

Just to let you know when you arrive in Liverpool on Saturday it is going to be a very busy, busy day, we have 'The Giants' walking around the city. Great experience if you can get to see it, here's a link to it, so beware - Liverpool Town Centre is going to be very busy and there will be quite a lot of road closures, but despite all of tht - ENJOY our lovely city :D:) Another tip: Look up at some of the buildings while you're walking round, some beautiful buildings and architecture that so many miss.

 

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/liverpool-giants-2014-route-times-7442501

[Darcy15]

Looks like you're enjoying our pubs :D

 

You've certainly picked great weather for your trip too :)

[CCFC]

The Wetherspoon Pub Sign (they are a relatively new brand of pub in England and tend to re-use old buildings with an ironic name related to its past so that one will have been an ironmongers previously. There is also a pub in Southampton that does good food called the Standing Order which used to be a bank etc) is a reference to a comedy show we had in the UK called the "Two Ronnies", 4 candles explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz2-ukrd2VQ possibly one of their finest clips.

 

A lot of irony so it might not travel well over the pond :D

[cougaraz]

A very good embarkation and sail away day yesterday. We awoke very excited and walked directly across the street from our hotel to the Jam Factory for a bite of breakfast. I have to say, it looked wonderful, but both the food and coffee were a disappointment. Our car service picked us up promptly at ten and we headed for Southampton. The drive was scenic and totally uneventful. Between the driver's iPhone and my Samsung Galaxy S4, there was more than enough GPS. Both the driver and I had anticipated significant traffic, but it didn't materialize. We pulled straight into the receiving area where porters were waiting. The porter helped unload our bags for the car and they were off to the ship. There was no crowd to speak of, it appeared that all disembarking passengers were gone from the terminal.

 

Once inside, we were able to walk directly to the check in desk. As suite passengers, we were in the priority line, but there was no line in the standard line either. This was at 1130. After a quick check in process, we headed for security. There were two bays and no differentiation for priority or not. Security was tighter than most cruise security I have seen, very much what you would see at a US airport minus the full body scans. Security was the scene of the day's only drama, as a passenger in front of us was very displeased with the process, especially taking off his shoes. He was speaking in Italian, so I didn't understand the words, but the message was very clear. Even so, we were through in just minutes and into the waiting area. We barely had time to use the restroom before our group was called. From hotel to stepping on board was one hour and fourth eight minutes, from arrival at the terminal to on board was less than twenty.

 

We dropped our bags in the room (more room details later) and headed for the dining room for lunch. I give cruise critic credit because I didn't know it was ever open until I read it here. Food is very subjective, but I think myself a fair judge of quality and execution, personal taste is, of course, much harder to account for. DW and I both had the shrimp and avocado appetizer, split some salumi and both had a cheese ravioli with creamy tomato sauce. The ravioli were great, soft pillowy bundles of rich ricotta and spinach in a mild sauce. For dessert DW had Nutella ice cream, which tasted more like peanut butter and I had very nice apple tart. We also purchased our coffee cards and enjoyed a post lunch latte.

 

Returning to the room, we found our bags and quickly unpacked. After that we did a bit of exploring and relaxed on the balcony with some canapés. The muster drill was quite standard and just one deck below our room. The neighbors next door also said hello as they are from San Diego and we used to live there.

 

For dinner we went up to Sabatini's and I was blown away. Soup to nuts, a first class experience. It wasn't crowded and the view aft from deck 16 was gorgeous. The format has changed since last we dined at Sabatini's. Under the old menu, they would bring a wide variety of hot and cold appetizers, then the pasta and mains. Now, you order appetizers from the menu, have soup and salad options, the pasta course and then mains. Melissa got the artichoke and cheese soufflé, we split the caprese salad and I had deep fried soft shell crab. All were delicious, but the enormous serving of creamy mozzarella was a stand out. The pasta was spaghetti carbonara, rich and creamy goodness. We both opted for the lobster, two tails with a rich side pasta. As a New Englander, I am a harsh judge of lobster, these were cooked perfectly and fantastically sauced. For dessert, Melissa opted for the Zabiogne and I got a Napoleon, both were tasty, but by then we were so full that we couldn't finish.

 

I will admit, wasn't great about food and menu pictures yesterday, will endeavor to do better today. We are presently at anchor in St. Peter Port, going to the German occupation hospital on a tour shortly.

 

[cougaraz]

So, yesterday our adventure took us to St.Peter Port in Guernsey. Though our visit was short, we enjoyed it immensely and learned a lot. We woke up to the ship maneuvering into position for anchorage. It was very pleasant to lounge about and watch the captain get the ship settled. After we finally got ourselves ready we headed up to Sabatini's for breakfast and what a treat it was. The food was delicious, the staff attentive and you know you're doing it right when the next table over is the captain and his family.

 

We were booked on a Princess tour to visit the Occupation Museum and German Hospital. It was a bit expensive, but well worth it. The museum is privately owned which I found a bit unusual, but it added some character. The collection of items, newspaper clippings and original photos was impressive. There were many original items and mementos; it was a part of World War II history with which I was unfamiliar.

 

From there we moved on to the underground German hospital. There isn't much in the way of museum, mostly just the empty tunnels and halls, with a few key items. It took three and a half years of slave labor to build and then was only in use a short time. Inside it was very cold and wet with near constant dripping of water. Unfortunately, our time was up after the hospital so we headed back to the port to find a massive line for return tenders. To be fair, from joining the line to boarding only took twenty minutes. Had the length of the line matched the magnitude of complaining we might still be there. This was the first port I've seen that used ship's boats and commercially hired tender services.

 

I will mention our savvy guide knew that restrooms were limited at the museum and non existent at the hospital so he stopped at the airport for a quick pitstop.

 

Once back on the ship, we grazed a bit from the International Cafe to the burger bar before proceeding to the Cruise Critic meet and greet. Had a chance to meet some nice folks and the ship sent a solid compliment of officers including the cruise director, behold the power of social media.

 

Before formal night, we had our pictures taken and then enjoyed a drink in the Wheelhouse Bar. I enjoyed having my rye Manhattan while sitting next to a model of USS CONSTITUTION. Last night was our first night at our dining room table, second sitting in the Botticelli Dining Room, table for two, right next to a window. Our waiters, Roger and Cesar along with head waiter Emil were very friendly and attentive. From the smoked duck breast, crab quiche, Stilton tart to French onion soup, leg of lamb, shrimp and Bananas Foster, the food was well made, served with good style and piping hot. I enjoy that the Princess menu has some classics and they've added some new dishes. A night cap in Crooner's capped a great day.

 

Picture uploads are a little light due to internet minute limitations, but if I can score some free wifi ashore, I will push them, otherwise once we are home, I will get them to you.