CAN/NE pre cruise Land Tour-Colonial USA

[Gracie115]

Wondering if anyone has booked this 7 night pre cruise land tour or is this coming fall the first time it has been offered? It follows up with a 7 night Regal Princess cruise.

 

It has a wonderful itinerary....busy for sure, but has so many wonderful stops... would love to hear from someone who has been on it if this isn't it's first year.

 

Appreciate any info anyone has!!

[Ebony J]

Hello Gracie 115

 

We did the pre cruise land tour in October 2015 and absolutely loved it, loved, it, loved it!

 

We met up with our group in Washington DC - 45 of us touring plus our guide and driver who were with us every step of the way, right up to embarkation in New York. What a wonderful collection of people - 2 Scots (that was ourselves) 3 Welsh, 2 English, 1 Austrian, 4 Canadians and everyone else from the USA.

 

The pace of the tour was excellent and seamless and the content was amazing. We loved Mount Vernon and Monticello, but the absolute highlight for us was Williamsburg. We did so much there, including being part of "the jury" at a witch trial! I was also fascinated with Independence Hall in Philadelphia and could not wait to get my hands on a $2 bill to see the original states represented on the back.

 

I know a lot of Americans come to Europe to soak up the history here, but believe me, your "history" was absolutely fascinating and we honestly did not appreciate it until then.

 

We would not hesitate to recommend this trip and hope you accept these as words of encouragement to book. If you want to know anything else, please do not hesitate to ask - or if you want to post your email address, I can contact you direct.

 

Christine

[Gracie115]

Thank you so much for your reply.....I thought this would be a great tour and you have confirmed it!!:)

[zelker]

Hi, Ebony J (Christine) -

 

We, too, are considering doing this trip but my husband has reservations about the bus portion and says he's not sure he's ready to do (and I quote him) "an old people's bus tour". We're +/- 60) What would you say to him?

 

Thanks!

 

Barb

[cruzsnooze]

We did this trip at fall foliage time the last week of Sept first week of October. We started in Wash DC and went in 2 days early. It was the Doubletree in DC which was an isolated location as far as walking around.

The sights were lovely and our tour guide was great. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again or recommend it.

I must mention I did not like the Regal. The service was excellent, it was the size of the ship and the layout of the buffet I didn't care for.

Edited February 2, 2016 by cruzsnooze

[Gracie115]

We did this trip at fall foliage time the last week of Sept first week of October. We started in Wash DC and went in 2 days early. It was the Doubletree in DC which was an isolated location as far as walking around.

The sights were lovely and our tour guide was great. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again or recommend it.

I must mention I did not like the Regal. The service was excellent, it was the size of the ship and the layout of the buffet I didn't care for.

 

The description states the Doubletree is within walking distance of the White House and other landmarks....is that not true?

 

Glad you enjoyed the tour, we are looking forward to it!

 

We have been on the Regal before and liked the Centrum area very much, the buffet was huge, but I didn't particularly like the layout either....hopefully that will be a deterrent to us from eating too much!!:D

 

Our room steward was one of the best we've ever had.

[Ebony J]

Hi Zelker (Barb)

 

That made me smile....... I would say to your husband we thought exactly the same as him - however - we are both in our mid fifties, and were not the youngest on the trip! I would say the average age was around 60. Tell him I said he will love it.

 

Hi again Gracie 115

 

The Doubletree is within walking distance of the Whitehouse etc. We arrived in Washington DC a day early, walked to the Whitehouse (about 20 minutes) and then went on to The Smithsonian (about another 30 minutes) to meet friends who live nearby. We went for lunch in a beautiful restaurant near the Whitehouse called Old Ebbits Grill. The Doubletree is very close to numerous wonderful restaurants and shops and they have a great Happy Hour in their bar. The staff at the hotel were fantastic with advice and maps etc. I would however point out that the trip of Washington DC with Princess includes a visit to these landmarks, so you really don't have to do them yourself and the night time visit to the monuments is just wonderful.

 

Any other questions? I would be happy to answer.

 

Christine

[zelker]

Hi again, Christine -

 

And your reply made ME smile! LOL I just sent it to my husband so he could read it for himself and suspect he'll decide it will be just fine. :rolleyes: Ironically, of the four of us (Gracie115 and her husband and the two of us), MY husband is the youngest. Go figure.

 

If we do go in a day early, we're hoping to arrange a tour of the White House and then do one of the other Smithsonian museums other than Air and Space which I do know is included as part of the Princess tour.

 

Thanks for the positive feedback about the hotel staff (and Happy Hour). Also, thanks for the suggestion about Old Ebbitt Grill - will definitely check it out.

 

We're curious as to how the tour guide assigned seats on the bus each day. Do you know what their "system" was and do you think it will be easy enough to ask for the four of us to be able to sit together?

 

What kind of bag did you keep with you on the bus during the day (backpack? tote? something else?) and could you leave it on the bus if you wanted while touring?

 

Did they provide bottled water or any kind of snacks on the bus or is that something we'd want to bring?

 

Am sure I'll think of more questions but for now, that's enough!!

 

Thanks again!

 

Barb

 

PS - are you being affected much by the horrid storms I read about in Scotland?

[19woody19]

We did this Historic America land/sea cruise a few years ago and consider it one of the best we have ever been on. I believe I must have slept through all of my history classes because I learned more about American history in those seven days than all my school years. You can hear or read about places and events, but to see those places in person brings them all to reality. Wonderful experience. We went to D.C. 3 days early and could have stayed another week just to TRY to see all the historic buildings etc. DO NOT MISS ARLINGTON CEMETERY CHANGING OF THE GUARDS. Truly inspiring. We did the hop-on-hop-off bus each day and it was the best way to get around D.C.

The cruise portion to New England and Canada was also great. Went to the original Cheers and had the best clam chowder and hamburger while in Boston.

All in all, we would take this tour again in a heart beat. The only downside to the whole experience was that we wanted to spend more time in places like Williamsburg and the little Amish village we stopped at.

Oh, I used a backpack and took our own water and snacks which made the bus ride more tolerable.

bob

Edited February 3, 2016 by 19woody19

[Gracie115]

Hi Zelker (Barb)

 

That made me smile....... I would say to your husband we thought exactly the same as him - however - we are both in our mid fifties, and were not the youngest on the trip! I would say the average age was around 60. Tell him I said he will love it.

 

Hi again Gracie 115

 

The Doubletree is within walking distance of the Whitehouse etc. We arrived in Washington DC a day early, walked to the Whitehouse (about 20 minutes) and then went on to The Smithsonian (about another 30 minutes) to meet friends who live nearby. We went for lunch in a beautiful restaurant near the Whitehouse called Old Ebbits Grill. The Doubletree is very close to numerous wonderful restaurants and shops and they have a great Happy Hour in their bar. The staff at the hotel were fantastic with advice and maps etc. I would however point out that the trip of Washington DC with Princess includes a visit to these landmarks, so you really don't have to do them yourself and the night time visit to the monuments is just wonderful.

 

Any other questions? I would be happy to answer.

 

Christine

 

We did this Historic America land/sea cruise a few years ago and consider it one of the best we have ever been on. I believe I must have slept through all of my history classes because I learned more about American history in those seven days than all my school years. You can hear or read about places and events, but to see those places in person brings them all to reality. Wonderful experience. We went to D.C. 3 days early and could have stayed another week just to TRY to see all the historic buildings etc. DO NOT MISS ARLINGTON CEMETERY CHANGING OF THE GUARDS. Truly inspiring. We did the hop-on-hop-off bus each day and it was the best way to get around D.C.

The cruise portion to New England and Canada was also great. Went to the original Cheers and had the best clam chowder and hamburger while in Boston.

All in all, we would take this tour again in a heart beat. The only downside to the whole experience was that we wanted to spend more time in places like Williamsburg and the little Amish village we stopped at.

Oh, I used a backpack and took our own water and snacks which made the bus ride more tolerable.

bob

 

Thanks so much for all the helpful information. The tour sounds great and all the positive reviews are very encouraging. We would like to spend extra time in DC too so hope we can make that happen....there is so much to see there.

 

Approximately what time did the tour begin each day? It's such a busy agenda I imagine it's an early start, which is fine(it's 6AM as I type this...so early is not an issue:) ) just wondering about how when each day starts.

 

Jeanne

[cruzsnooze]

Most mornings were early, about 7 AM have your luggage out and breakfast was always included in what ever hotel you were at. Lunches and dinners were on your own with a few exceptions.

The bus seats were rotated every day so everyone gets to be up front. For us he had everyone move back 3 rows so there was a fair rotation.

They could easily make this a 10 day land tour since there is so much to see.

[Ebony J]

Hello Again!

 

Our tour guide organised us slightly differently. On the first morning we all met at breakfast and were given a table number to sit at, where your name card was. There were 10 people at our table - 6 people travelling together + another couple (so the tour guide knows if you are travelling as part of a group). On your name card you had a colour - we had yellow at our table and there were 3 colours for the entire party- so approx. 15 people in each colour group. Each day the guide let a different colour board the coach first, so you got to sit wherever you wanted as you boarded. We were given water every day on the coach and he also gave us little snacks, but to be honest the route was so well planned out that you did not spend lots of time just stuck on the coach. The driver stays with the coach all the time, so you can leave anything on it safely. Every evening when you got to your hotel room, your case was waiting on you already.

 

Prior to going on this trip, I posted on CC to see if anyone else had done it, and got zero response, so I went on to the Roll Call for the cruise part and met up with 2 other couples travelling together who were looking for another couple to make their group up to 6 - and we shared all the land tours with them. They too were fabulous!

 

Halifax - We had a hire car from Alamo which we picked up near the port and drove to Peggy's Cove. On the way there we stopped at Ryder's lobster shack and ordered lobster and stopped on the way back to eat it. Fabulous!

 

Saint John - The only day it poured with rain, and my oh my - it poured almost as bad as Scotland:eek: We still had a great time doing a trip with Dave's Taxi Tours for approx. 6 hours / Reversing Rapids, St Martins etc and stopped at The Caves for fish and chips. Our driver was great - as were the fish and chips.

 

Bar Harbour - The weather was beautiful - don't miss Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park. This was all included in a four hour tour with At your Service Taxi Co.

 

Boston - we got the bus into town from the port and a taxi back. We started with morning coffee and cannolis at Mike's Pastry Shop then went to see Cheers etc.

 

Newport - An unexpected treasure - we got a bus from the Visitor Centre to the start of the Cliff Walk which took us about 3 hours to do, but was absolutely spectacular.

 

Although the land tour was a hard act to follow, we still loved the cruise. We met 4 more wonderful people we now call our friends and with whom I am sure we will have more adventures one day and to add to it, we had met more than 40 other great people before we had even sailed.

 

Christine

[Gracie115]

Hello Again!

 

Our tour guide organised us slightly differently. On the first morning we all met at breakfast and were given a table number to sit at, where your name card was. There were 10 people at our table - 6 people travelling together + another couple (so the tour guide knows if you are travelling as part of a group). On your name card you had a colour - we had yellow at our table and there were 3 colours for the entire party- so approx. 15 people in each colour group. Each day the guide let a different colour board the coach first, so you got to sit wherever you wanted as you boarded. We were given water every day on the coach and he also gave us little snacks, but to be honest the route was so well planned out that you did not spend lots of time just stuck on the coach. The driver stays with the coach all the time, so you can leave anything on it safely. Every evening when you got to your hotel room, your case was waiting on you already.

 

Prior to going on this trip, I posted on CC to see if anyone else had done it, and got zero response, so I went on to the Roll Call for the cruise part and met up with 2 other couples travelling together who were looking for another couple to make their group up to 6 - and we shared all the land tours with them. They too were fabulous!

 

Halifax - We had a hire car from Alamo which we picked up near the port and drove to Peggy's Cove. On the way there we stopped at Ryder's lobster shack and ordered lobster and stopped on the way back to eat it. Fabulous!

 

Saint John - The only day it poured with rain, and my oh my - it poured almost as bad as Scotland:eek: We still had a great time doing a trip with Dave's Taxi Tours for approx. 6 hours / Reversing Rapids, St Martins etc and stopped at The Caves for fish and chips. Our driver was great - as were the fish and chips.

 

Bar Harbour - The weather was beautiful - don't miss Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park. This was all included in a four hour tour with At your Service Taxi Co.

 

Boston - we got the bus into town from the port and a taxi back. We started with morning coffee and cannolis at Mike's Pastry Shop then went to see Cheers etc.

 

Newport - An unexpected treasure - we got a bus from the Visitor Centre to the start of the Cliff Walk which took us about 3 hours to do, but was absolutely spectacular.

 

Although the land tour was a hard act to follow, we still loved the cruise. We met 4 more wonderful people we now call our friends and with whom I am sure we will have more adventures one day and to add to it, we had met more than 40 other great people before we had even sailed.

 

Christine

 

Hi Christine-

 

You make this trip sound like so much fun!!! I'm almost more excited about this then I am the one I'm taking on Reflection in April!!

 

Thanks for all the information, I'm sure I'll come up with a few more questions, you have been so helpful!! Thanks again.

 

Jeanne

[BMP57]

Hello Gracie 115

 

We did the pre cruise land tour in October 2015 and absolutely loved it, loved, it, loved it!

 

We met up with our group in Washington DC - 45 of us touring plus our guide and driver who were with us every step of the way, right up to embarkation in New York. What a wonderful collection of people - 2 Scots (that was ourselves) 3 Welsh, 2 English, 1 Austrian, 4 Canadians and everyone else from the USA.

 

The pace of the tour was excellent and seamless and the content was amazing. We loved Mount Vernon and Monticello, but the absolute highlight for us was Williamsburg. We did so much there, including being part of "the jury" at a witch trial! I was also fascinated with Independence Hall in Philadelphia and could not wait to get my hands on a $2 bill to see the original states represented on the back.

 

I know a lot of Americans come to Europe to soak up the history here, but believe me, your "history" was absolutely fascinating and we honestly did not appreciate it until then.

 

We would not hesitate to recommend this trip and hope you accept these as words of encouragement to book. If you want to know anything else, please do not hesitate to ask - or if you want to post your email address, I can contact you direct.

 

Christine

 

We took the same trip last year (Sept) for the land portion and October for the cruise. A great trip, we would repeat one day as well.

 

Brian

[zelker]

Halifax - We had a hire car from Alamo which we picked up near the port and drove to Peggy's Cove. On the way there we stopped at Ryder's lobster shack and ordered lobster and stopped on the way back to eat it. Fabulous!

 

We, too, rented a car on our previous visit to Halifax - drove up to Lunenburg, then Mahone Bay, then drove along the coast specifically to eat lobster at RYERS (LOVED IT!! best and freshest lobster we've ever had!!), then on to Peggy's Cove and then back to the ship. A great (if long) day! :D

 

PS - thanks for the other info as well ... extremely helpful.

[Gracie115]

Hello Again!

 

Our tour guide organised us slightly differently. On the first morning we all met at breakfast and were given a table number to sit at, where your name card was. There were 10 people at our table - 6 people travelling together + another couple (so the tour guide knows if you are travelling as part of a group). On your name card you had a colour - we had yellow at our table and there were 3 colours for the entire party- so approx. 15 people in each colour group. Each day the guide let a different colour board the coach first, so you got to sit wherever you wanted as you boarded. We were given water every day on the coach and he also gave us little snacks, but to be honest the route was so well planned out that you did not spend lots of time just stuck on the coach. The driver stays with the coach all the time, so you can leave anything on it safely. Every evening when you got to your hotel room, your case was waiting on you already.

 

Prior to going on this trip, I posted on CC to see if anyone else had done it, and got zero response, so I went on to the Roll Call for the cruise part and met up with 2 other couples travelling together who were looking for another couple to make their group up to 6 - and we shared all the land tours with them. They too were fabulous!

 

Halifax - We had a hire car from Alamo which we picked up near the port and drove to Peggy's Cove. On the way there we stopped at Ryder's lobster shack and ordered lobster and stopped on the way back to eat it. Fabulous!

 

Saint John - The only day it poured with rain, and my oh my - it poured almost as bad as Scotland:eek: We still had a great time doing a trip with Dave's Taxi Tours for approx. 6 hours / Reversing Rapids, St Martins etc and stopped at The Caves for fish and chips. Our driver was great - as were the fish and chips.

 

Bar Harbour - The weather was beautiful - don't miss Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park. This was all included in a four hour tour with At your Service Taxi Co.

 

Boston - we got the bus into town from the port and a taxi back. We started with morning coffee and cannolis at Mike's Pastry Shop then went to see Cheers etc.

 

Newport - An unexpected treasure - we got a bus from the Visitor Centre to the start of the Cliff Walk which took us about 3 hours to do, but was absolutely spectacular.

 

Although the land tour was a hard act to follow, we still loved the cruise. We met 4 more wonderful people we now call our friends and with whom I am sure we will have more adventures one day and to add to it, we had met more than 40 other great people before we had even sailed.

 

Christine

 

One more question for you or anyone who has done the tour.....about what time did you arrive at the ship for embarkation?

[cruzsnooze]

The description states the Doubletree is within walking distance of the White House and other landmarks....is that not true?

.

 

Which DoubleTree did you stay at? There are 3 of them in DC according to what i saw when I looked them up.

[Ebony J]

Jeanne, I think it was just after 11am when we arrived at the ship and it was very busy at that time. I know we had boarded and were sitting in the dining room for 1pm ordering lunch. :D

 

Have you and Barb been to Scotland?

 

We stayed in the Doubletree Rhode Island Avenue.

 

Christine:)

[zelker]

Have you and Barb been to Scotland?

 

Christine:)

 

John and I haven't been yet but it's definitely on our list of places to see. We want to rent a car and spend a few weeks touring around so won't do it by ship. Whereabouts do you guys live?

[Gracie115]

Jeanne, I think it was just after 11am when we arrived at the ship and it was very busy at that time. I know we had boarded and were sitting in the dining room for 1pm ordering lunch. :D

 

Have you and Barb been to Scotland?

 

We stayed in the Doubletree Rhode Island Avenue.

 

Christine:)

 

No we haven't been, but it is also on our "bucket list" hopefully we will be able to do that in the next few years....we would love to do a British Isles cruise sometime.

[Ebony J]

John and I haven't been yet but it's definitely on our list of places to see. We want to rent a car and spend a few weeks touring around so won't do it by ship. Whereabouts do you guys live?

 

We live mid-way between Glasgow and Edinburgh - best of both worlds!

[Carolyn&Phil]

We are going to book this cruise/land tour Monday. We took the land tour in Alaska several years ago, and loved it. Princess did an excellent job of everything. No worries.

 

Questions for the Washington DC land tour: Do they give you luggage tags the first day that say "meet me at the ship", "be in my hotel room tonight",etc?

 

Christine, I believe you said that most days started fairly early, "luggage outside your door by 7 a.m." Does that mean that after 7 you can have breakfast, then start the day like at 8 or so? Just wondering.

 

Are all admissions included? I ask this, because in Alaska there were "extra" tours offered as well as the package.

 

Thanks in advance for any information. We are very excited about this trip!

[Ebony J]

We are going to book this cruise/land tour Monday. We took the land tour in Alaska several years ago, and loved it. Princess did an excellent job of everything. No worries.

 

Questions for the Washington DC land tour: Do they give you luggage tags the first day that say "meet me at the ship", "be in my hotel room tonight",etc?

 

Christine, I believe you said that most days started fairly early, "luggage outside your door by 7 a.m." Does that mean that after 7 you can have breakfast, then start the day like at 8 or so? Just wondering.

 

Are all admissions included? I ask this, because in Alaska there were "extra" tours offered as well as the package.

 

Thanks in advance for any information. We are very excited about this trip!

 

Hi Carolyn&Phil

 

Yes, just as you say, luggage for the ship did not go to your hotel room - it was tagged in Washington DC and just stayed on the coach until we reached the port in New York and it was then passed to the porters.

 

We put our landtour luggage outside the hotel room each day then went for breakfast. Once we finished breakfast, back to the room to pick up our jackets, camera bag and hand luggage and off we went.

 

All admissions are included - you do not pay for anything at all - with the exception of Williamsburg. You are given a pass which allows you access to the whole town - however they put on extra events which you could pay for. We went to the witch trial which was on at 7.30 pm (or 9pm) and cost $18 per person. However there was so much to do in that town, I am amazed we managed to fit that in! The programme changes every day though - so there may be other things on offer that you may want to do, but looking at our programme there were only 5 events that you had to pay for and over 20 were included.

 

To be honest, there is not a lot of "free" time on the trip. In Philadelphia, after we had seen the Liberty Bell and checked into the hotel (which is very very nice) we went to the "Rocky" steps and went around on the sightseeing bus for an hour or so.

 

We are going on our first trip to Alaska in May and really looking forward to it. This has been on our bucket list for years. :D

 

Christine

[Carolyn&Phil]

Thank you, Christine, so much for the quick reply. All our questions have been answered by you. Thanks again.

 

You will love Alaska. We've been there 4 times, including a land tour with Princess. We went to McKinley, Denali, and Fairbanks on the land portion. We were pleasantly surprised at the prices of food in the Princess Lodges. If we can answer any questions for you, please ask.

 

Thanks again!

[Gracie115]

Hi Again Christine-

 

I'm wondering about the stop in Staunton. It looks on the itinerary as just a stop for an overnight stay..nothing mentioned about a tour in that area. Is that correct? Or are you there early enough to wander on your own?

 

Thanks for all your help & info on this adventure.

 

Jeanne