Caribbean Princess around the UK - Review June 25 - July 7 2016

[hksilverfox]

June 25 - July 7 2016

 

The following are my opinions only and hopefully will give you a few alternative ideas on what to do in some of the ports other than the cruise line tours.

 

We arrived in London a few days early and on embarkation day used Smiths for airports to take us to Southampton via Stonehenge. I would highly recommend both Smiths and the Stonehenge side trip. It is a couple of hours from downtown London and you need about 1.5 - 2 hours at Stonehenge. We had an embarkation time of 1345 and arrived at the dock about 1315. The process was one of the smoothest we have done and even though we were a bit early it was not an issue and we were on the ship before 1400 and our bags arrived by the time we had finished lunch! Our cabin, E728, was a mini suite which was spacious and had plenty of storage space for three adults. The pull out couch was a little short for a six foot adult but she still managed to get plenty of sleep!

Alerts - book Smiths well ahead, purchase Stonehenge tickets before you go, download the audio walking tour for free on your phone, ask for a foamy to put on the pull out bed.

 

GUERNSEY - this was the first day of the Greg tours as we call them, in other words tours I plan rather than organized ones. This was a tender port and we went to the lounge for tickets about 0900 and boarded about 0915. On arrival at the dock proceed straight ahead, cross the road at the stop light (where you will find bathrooms) and veer a little right and you will find the bus stop for the 91 and 92 which take you around the island. I recommend you go online and check the departure times before you arrive. I chose the #91 as it goes clockwise around the island. Sit on the left hand side of the bus facing forward as this will give you the best views as you follow the coastal road. The trip around the island took about 1 hour and 45 minutes and was the best value at just 1 pound each! We arrived back where we started and wandered along the front street which was closed off for a market as it was Sunday. We then wandered back to see Victor Hugo's house and we're back at the tender about 1220. Beware, we stood in line for an hour to get back to the ship and by 1230, when all the tours returned the line up for the tender was twice as long. We were lucky that the weather was lovely but the trip before was torrential rain and people were soaked and cold. There are bathrooms there but no place to sit or hide from the weather.

Alerts - check bus times (recommend #91) and get in bus line about 15mins early to get good seats (left side near the back as they sit higher up but seats are a bit small), be prepared to stand in line for the tender back to the ship for an hour and be prepared for the weather!

 

COBH - Today was Titanic day as DD has a huge interest. We took our time and departed the ship about 0915 and a 5 minute walk had us in town. We then proceeded out to see the Titanic memorial garden (about a 15 - 20min walk each way) and back to take the walking tour with Michael Martin (9.50Euros each) which was very informative and enjoyable and lasted about 75 minutes. We wandered back to the ship for lunch then went to the Titanic Experience (9.50 Euros each) lasting about 75 minutes. It was a good embellishment of the facts we heard earlier in the day and a good compliment to the morning tour. A wander up to the Cathedral took about 15 minutes then back to the ship for a very enjoyable day out. We booked both the tours ahead of time but think you could show up on the day and get in.

Alerts - Michael Martins tour runs at 1100. We booked it ahead of time but you can probably just show up. Titanic experience needs a specific booking time but you can go in anytime on that day. You can walk in off the street and if you did the walking tour will get a small discount.

 

DUBLIN - Cool (16C) with rain showers was the order of the day but as they say in Ireland there are good days and normal days! We left the ship about 0915 and waited about 30 minutes for a taxi into town. We were dropped off near the Dublin castle about 1010 (cost 17 Euro for 3 people) wandered around for a little while and found the meeting point for a free (by donation at the end) walking tour by Sandemans. It lasted about three hours and was excellent! Our guide Eoin, was superb. You can take a chance and show up on the day but just as easy to book a space ahead of time on line. It lasted about three hours with a break in the middle for about 20 minutes for coffee/Guiness/bathroom. We saw a good number of the main sights in town and headed back to the ship shortly after by cab (13 Euro). Was a lot better than $8 each on the shuttle bus each way!

Alerts - consider a taxi for 2 or more and you know where you need to go to. Booked the Sandemans tour online (check start times) but could walk up if you wanted. Thought they had a maximum number for each guide. Guide will make a small speech that this is his job but no hard push and worth the tip.

 

LIVERPOOL - when you come to Liverpool and are one of the 60's generation the first thing that comes to mind is The Beatles. One of our Cruise Critic members had arranged a private tour with Jackie Spencer (google her plus Beatles) and 15 of us jumped at the chance! We met at 0900 just off the ship in pouring rain and headed off for our 3 hour tour. It was worth every penny of the 20 pounds we each paid! Jackie knows her stuff and her tour really joined the Beatles history together culminating with a visit to the Cavern Club and a walk back to the ship on a cool, cloudy afternoon with no rain. Must have been all the Beatle sun songs we sang in the bus!

Alerts - if you want to use Jackie book her up very early! You should have no trouble selling out her tour. Max of about 15 people. Can arrange to go to the museum after, walk back from the Cavern or both.

 

BELFAST - after a lot of waffling I decided to do an organized tour with Odyssey Coach Tours, rated very highly on Trip Advisor and offering small coaches. I had booked it online ahead of time and found it to be cheaper than many of their competitors. We had been asked to be off the ship as soon as it docked and we were on the dock by about 0810. However, we had a few issues. We did not have a small bus but it was not full so we had lots of space, it was comfortable and did not stop us going anywhere. We did however end up waiting until 0850 for latecomers which meant we had to cut short our final tour of the city but it worked out better as we saw the Titanic docks and some Game of Thrones filming locations. The day out was excellent with us having photo/comfort stops in Bushmills, Dunluce Castle, Giants Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede Rope bridge and a great trip back along the water. I did like the fact that we did the "normal" route backwards so the crowds seemed to be less. It was an enjoyable day out with a knowledgeable guide and one I would recommend.

Alerts - Bushmills was only for a bathroom break, no whiskey and Dunluce for a photo. The bus will drop you off just before the entrance to the Causeway and it is about 15-20 minutes walk downhill to the Causeway. There is a shuttle bus that will take you down and back (for a small fee) if you need it but it was a nice walk. Doing it this way there is no charge. It is also a G of T filming location as is the rope bridge area.

You can hike down to the rope bridge and unless you really want to their is not a lot of draw to cross and there is a charge to cross. Beware, you can easily line up 20-30 minutes to come back across! It is about 15-20 minutes to walk each way to the bridge. The GofT film site is about 5 minutes in the opposite direction.

 

GLASGOW - It was about a 20 minute walk through town and the shopping mall to the train station where we caught a train into Glasgow central. They run about every 15 minutes and we bought a return ticket at the station, about 7 pounds each. Once there we walked about 10 minutes to George square (head toward Queen St station) and caught the HOHO bus. Round trip lasted just under 2 hours (1 day ticket about 14 pounds) and gave a good view of the city. For the first time visitor it was worth it! Back to the station and retraced our steps to the ship.

Alerts - you can purchase tickets on the train or at the station and there is WiFi on the train. Some of the return trains make 4 stops and some 10 but the time difference is only about 10 minutes.

 

INVERGORDON - The second port where we joined an "organized" tour, this one with WOW Scotland. Pick up at the dock shortly after 0800 in a large coach and into Inverness for a short walking tour of the town. Back on the bus and off to Brodie Castle where we were given a tour. Great to see inside this castle that had been lived in for over 800 years until the late 1990s. Back on the bus and off to Culloden battlefield, the Clava Cairns and then via Loch Ness to the city. A well run, enjoyable day out and a nice perk for Outlander fans! Make sure you book this well ahead on line as it filled up very quickly.

Alerts - pick up WOW outside the gates as that are not allowed in the coach parking lot. They fill up quickly and I believe if there is enough demand will try to put on a second bus - best to book early online!

 

EDINBURGH - Of all the places we visited this is the one place that Princess really dropped the ball. We had a free walking tour (Sandemans) booked in town for 1000 and decided that we would give ourselves lots of time to get there and picked up our tender tickets at 0845 in the dining room where you are required to wait until your number is called. They ask you not to pick up your tickets until your whole group is ready to go which is fair. We then waited 50 minutes to be called! It took a few minutes to load and about a 10 minute ride. We had been told that a shuttle service was being operated from the pier into town. We had to wait again about 20 minutes for the shuttle (cost was 10 pounds each return) and then it was a 20 minute trip into town. We arrived in town at 1040 missing our tour. We then went up to the castle and wandered around there for about 4 hours. I had pre bought tickets and glad I did as there was a long line up to buy them at the ticket office. We purchased the audio guide which was well worth the money (about 3 pounds if I remember). We could easily have spent longer there but had been told the last shuttle back to the ship was at 1600. We wandered back About 1530 and waited again about 30 minutes for a shuttle to show up, another 20 minutes in the rain for the tender and back to the ship.

Alerts - no mention from Princess that tender lineups would be long so be prepared. Coming back you are standing outside with very little cover and no seats, some waited nearly an hour! Ladies washroom across the street and men's on the left by the road. The shuttle bus company will have no idea of how many people to expect and you can easily wait quite a while again, coming and going. Once again no shelter or seats. Take a taxi if you are in a rush!

Buy castle tickets online ahead of time and print them at home. Food in the castle is very expensive.

 

NORMANDY - the last organized tour which I arranged through Overlord Tours. I had searched a lot of places to find a tour that included the U.S. And Canadian sites but had no luck. I eventually contacted Overlord with my request and was fortunate enough to get the last guide available for that day. Two other couples joined us from Cruise Critic and we met at 0750 on the ship to start the adventure. It was a very full day as we did not get back to the ship until 1830! Our guide Jonathan was fantastic. We started at Pointe du Hoc and worked our way down Omaha Beach, the U.S. Cemetery, Juno Centre, Canada house and Juno beach, Canadian cemetery with a quick lunch in Courseules and a fascinating return to the ship. It is about 2 hours to Normandy from the ship but our guide managed to squeeze so much into the day. It was obvious on chatting with people later that we had seen so much more than they had.

Alerts - a very moving day and I had no idea of the scale of the operation. The distances between can be quite long. If you want to see more book a private tour but do it early. Overlord Tours were very cooperative in making an itinerary that I wanted, the van has WiFi and the cost was 980Euros for up to 8 people. Everyone agreed it was worth every penny! Canadian cemetery was a hidden gem.

 

SOUTHAMPTON - disembarkation went just as smoothly as the start did. We were in the appropriate lounge 5min early and went straight through to get our bags. We were on the coach within 10 minutes of leaving the lounge and the trip to LHR took about 90mins with steady traffic.

Alerts - bags requested to be out by 2000 or 2200 at the latest.

 

A thoroughly enjoyable itinerary! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Edited July 11, 2016 by hksilverfox
Title change

[Spideysmum]

Thank you for your report. We will be doing nearly the same cruise next May (exception no Liverpool ). Glad you had such a wonderful experience. Your Normandy tour sounds outstanding. You saw in a few hours what it took us three days to see ).

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dforeigner]

Thank you for taking time to write a review and providing us with some useful tips.

[Shogun]

Hi

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your review,

 

At Edinburgh you can take the train if fit to walk up the steps,

 

if a big line for return tenders head to the pub across the road :D

 

When we did a year back Normandy we wanted to see Commonwealth Graves and Pegasus Bridge,

 

Overland were not much help but found another company who were more

 

than happy to go to non US sites first, can not recall there name but have

 

similar web site. with 4 standard tours then custom tours.

 

yours Shogun

[Alaskanb]

Thanks so much --my kind of port days. We are on the May 25, 2017 cruise.

[Saltwater1974]

Just back from 6/25-7/7 British Isles on the CB as well.

I thought that "hksilverfox" wrote a terrific and helpful review of our trip....

 

Couple of quick thots to add:

1) GUERNSEY - ASK for BPS when you get change. We got back Gernsey and Jersey pound notes and no one would accept them during rest of trip anywhere (that includes several banks where we tried to exchange them)

Agree that island bus tour and Victor Hugo house were outstanding!

2) COBH/CORK-one of our favorite stops....Titanic experience, museum, and train to Cork really easy and fun...did the Cork intl Food Festival in the old City Hall building - free and a gourmet delight..

3) DUBLIN - Took Princess Shuttle to town and walked everywhere else...Trinity College, Book of Kels and Library great stuff, St Stevens Green nice, Guiness BIG Disappointment, crowded and not worth time or money, St Patricks terrific tour, Dublin Castle good, shopping good, Dublin big and really spread out...tough day to see it all.

4) LIVERPOOL - there is a FREE HoHo from ship that was available...we did the paid one - same bus stops..lol. Cathedrals a must see, Beatles Story and 3 museums at Albert Dock good, St George Hall impressive

5) BELFAST - Did ODESSEY Tours Giant Causeway, Antrim Coast, and Bridge...great tour at great price...very friendly folks

6) GREENOCK/GLASGOw - Took Train to Glasgow - prob one of most impressive cities with history.GlasGow Cathedral, KELVINGROVE Art Gallery at Glasgow Univ a MUST See, People's Palace, Glassgow Green - did HoHO tour...really good day

8)INVERGORDON/INVERNESS-Did Princess DUNROBIN Castle tour - storybook castle - 850 yrs one family lived there WOW - terrific grounds

9) EDINBURGH-There is a NEW SHUTTLE BUS right at end of Pier on your left...15 dollars or 10 pounds for round trip service...lots of times to catch buses back...really good deal.....Edinburgh Castle great, Princess Street Greens impressive, Royal Mile...Hallyrood BIG disappointment - Queen was there - all closed up and parlament not worth walk...

11)LeHAVRE-Took taxi to town (8Euros for taxi) - 10 minute walk back to ship...NO NEED to TAKE PRINCESS SHUTTLE or taxi....least favorite stop..was tired and not up for 5-6-7 yrs on a bus to Normandy or Paris...Ship Builders House on riverfront worth visit,

***Used CreditCard with chip and pin everywhere but for taxi's..did not need much cash in Euros or Pounds

*** Get up early and can pretty much do whole cruise ports on your own with exception of country-side trips to castles and Giant's Causeway

*** CB Entertainment Mgr BILLY best in 20+ Cruises...BRAVO show best we had ever seen at sea...rest of big shows so so.....Violinist outstanding and ventriloquist very good.

*** Intl Cafe - good for breakfast and Specialty coffees, etc.

*** Dinner on the Lido Deck Horizon Court very good...Main Dining Rooms took 2 1/2 hrs to get thru dinner...too long to wait and service very slow

*** Currency Exchange...do the ATM's to get daily best rate...they are everywhere - we used left over currencies for our gratuities/ tips at end of cruise (pounds, euros, and dollars, etc.)

*** Weather was between 55 and 75 whole trip...two days in the low 80's on back end of cruise - we took very light weight rain coats for rain showers, but had sunshine every day at some point to dry out...lol

SUMMARY - We loved the cruise itinerary, the ports, the people were very friendly and helpful everywhere...thoroughly enjoyed it! Wishing all a safe and enjoyable trip!

Edited July 11, 2016 by Saltwater1974

[Ellipooh]

Thanks to both posters, I really appreciate all the excursion tips. I'll be on this cruise next year!

[hansi]

Just back from 6/25-7/7 British Isles on the CB as well.

I thought that "hksilverfox" wrote a terrific and helpful review of our trip....

 

Couple of quick thots to add:

1) GUERNSEY - ASK for BPS when you get change. We got back Gernsey and Jersey pound notes and no one would accept them during rest of trip anywhere (that includes several banks where we tried to exchange them)

Agree that island bus tour and Victor Hugo house were outstanding!

2) COBH/CORK-one of our favorite stops....Titanic experience, museum, and train to Cork really easy and fun...did the Cork intl Food Festival in the old City Hall building - free and a gourmet delight..

3) DUBLIN - Took Princess Shuttle to town and walked everywhere else...Trinity College, Book of Kels and Library great stuff, St Stevens Green nice, Guiness BIG Disappointment, crowded and not worth time or money, St Patricks terrific tour, Dublin Castle good, shopping good, Dublin big and really spread out...tough day to see it all.

4) LIVERPOOL - there is a FREE HoHo from ship that was available...we did the paid one - same bus stops..lol. Cathedrals a must see, Beatles Story and 3 museums at Albert Dock good, St George Hall impressive

5) BELFAST - Did ODESSEY Tours Giant Causeway, Antrim Coast, and Bridge...great tour at great price...very friendly folks

6) GREENOCK/GLASGOw - Took Train to Glasgow - prob one of most impressive cities with history.GlasGow Cathedral, KELVINGROVE Art Gallery at Glasgow Univ a MUST See, People's Palace, Glassgow Green - did HoHO tour...really good day

8)INVERGORDON/INVERNESS-Did Princess DUNROBIN Castle tour - storybook castle - 850 yrs one family lived there WOW - terrific grounds

9) EDINBURGH-There is a NEW SHUTTLE BUS right at end of Pier on your left...15 dollars or 10 pounds for round trip service...lots of times to catch buses back...really good deal.....Edinburgh Castle great, Princess Street Greens impressive, Royal Mile...Hallyrood BIG disappointment - Queen was there - all closed up and parlament not worth walk...

11)LeHAVRE-Took taxi to town (8Euros for taxi) - 10 minute walk back to ship...NO NEED to TAKE PRINCESS SHUTTLE or taxi....least favorite stop..was tired and not up for 5-6-7 yrs on a bus to Normandy or Paris...Ship Builders House on riverfront worth visit,

***Used CreditCard with chip and pin everywhere but for taxi's..did not need much cash in Euros or Pounds

*** Get up early and can pretty much do whole cruise ports on your own with exception of country-side trips to castles and Giant's Causeway

*** CB Entertainment Mgr BILLY best in 20+ Cruises...BRAVO show best we had ever seen at sea...rest of big shows so so.....Violinist outstanding and ventriloquist very good.

*** Intl Cafe - good for breakfast and Specialty coffees, etc.

*** Dinner on the Lido Deck Horizon Court very good...Main Dining Rooms took 2 1/2 hrs to get thru dinner...too long to wait and service very slow

*** Currency Exchange...do the ATM's to get daily best rate...they are everywhere - we used left over currencies for our gratuities/ tips at end of cruise (pounds, euros, and dollars, etc.)

*** Weather was between 55 and 75 whole trip...two days in the low 80's on back end of cruise - we took very light weight rain coats for rain showers, but had sunshine every day at some point to dry out...lol

SUMMARY - We loved the cruise itinerary, the ports, the people were very friendly and helpful everywhere...thoroughly enjoyed it! Wishing all a safe and enjoyable trip!

 

Great report but can't agree with you about the CD Billy, worst we have ever see bar JJ!

[caribill]

June 25 - July 7 2016

 

The following are my opinions only and hopefully will give you a few alternative ideas on what to do in some of the ports other than the cruise line tours.

 

 

COBH - Today was Titanic day as DD has a huge interest.

 

 

BELFAST - after a lot of waffling I decided to do an organized tour with Odyssey Coach Tours, rated very highly on Trip Advisor and offering small coaches. The day out was excellent with us having photo/comfort stops in Bushmills, Dunluce Castle, Giants Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede Rope bridge and a great trip back along the water. A great choice for your first trip to Belfast. If you go again with DD, see the Titantic Museum in Belfast. Fascinating. We spent our entire day there.

 

 

EDINBURGH - Of all the places we visited this is the one place that Princess really dropped the ball. We had a free walking tour (Sandemans) booked in town for 1000 and decided that we would give ourselves lots of time to get there and picked up our tender tickets at 0845 in the dining room where you are required to wait until your number is called. They ask you not to pick up your tickets until your whole group is ready to go which is fair. We then waited 50 minutes to be called! It took a few minutes to load and about a 10 minute ride. We had been told that a shuttle service was being operated from the pier into town. We had to wait again about 20 minutes for the shuttle (cost was 10 pounds each return) and then it was a 20 minute trip into town. We arrived in town at 1040 missing our tour.

 

Not sure why you say Princess dropped the ball. On a ship with 3100 passengers, most will be tendering in a tender port and it does take time to do this. And as you discovered in St Peter Port and again here, most of them will want to return to the ship at about the same time, so there will be lines.

 

 

Thanks for your very interesting report.

[Tak8]

I enjoyed reading your review. I'll be doing a similar British Isles cruise in May.

[Clarea]

Excellent report, thanks!

[flamomo]

I enjoyed reading your review. I'll be doing a similar British Isles cruise in May.

 

 

If your itinerary includes the Orkney Islands (Kirkwall), I would highly recommend visiting Skara Brae, either thru Princess or by private tour.

It is the site of a Neolithic village (from about 3000 BC).

 

We did the BI cruise in May of this year, preceded by the T/A from FLL, and took the Princess excursion there. It is very unique, and we thought it was well worth our time.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for taking the time to write and share your trip report/review.

 

Keith

[Sea Day Cruiser]

If your itinerary includes the Orkney Islands (Kirkwall), I would highly recommend visiting Skara Brae, either thru Princess or by private tour.

 

It is the site of a Neolithic village (from about 3000 BC).

 

 

 

I did the BI cruise last year and I agree with this. Skara Brae was one of the most interesting places on the whole trip. Be sure to walk around the whole area.

[jsmac3]

We recently completed the British Isles cruise that stopped at Liverpool . . . next time we'll take the cruise that stops at Kirkwall. My questions . . . are there Princess and/or Private tours that take you to the three primary sites - the large ring of stones, the tomb, and the village site?

 

I can't remember all the names.

 

Thanks.

[Shogun]

Hi All

Some links

 

 

Kirkwall

 

https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/skara-brae/

 

http://www.orkney.com/about/explore-orkney/kirkwall

 

http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/nessofbrodgar/

 

 

http://orkneyuncovered.co.uk/

 

http://www.peedieorkneytours.com/

 

http://www.see-orkney.co.uk/

 

yours Shogun

[jsmac3]

Thanks Shogun,

 

Do you believe you can visit these sites on your own when cruise ships are in port?

 

I seem to recall reading in a review that a private tour operator couldn't get their clients in one of the sites because cruise ships were there.

[Shogun]

Hi

 

No reason why private tours should not get access, sites are popular, if a

 

number of ships in at same time which does not happen often, may be a

 

bit of queuing, would be happy to go with local tour guide, we did, saw

 

so much.

 

yours Shogun

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Sonicsmash214]

We were on the same voyage. Everyone seemed to be amused with the wooden stool that we carried around each port :)

[iwannacruz]

Wanted to add my two cents about the cruise:

 

Did Cobh on our own - Titanic museum, walked around town, took train to Cork

Got the Dublin Pass which included the HOHO bus

Also used Odyssey Tours in Belfast- enjoyed it

Liverpool - Fab Four tour - great guide - loved to talk so we got a 4 hr tour for the price of a 3 hr tour

Glasgow and Inverness - took private tour with Clyde Coast (had James in Glasgow and John in Inverness) Both great guides and took us everywhere we wanted to go and then some. It was worth it since it was the 4 of us

Edinburg - did that on our own

Used Overlord Tours for Normandy Beach - not to be missed

London - two days - London Pass well worth it. Easy to use the tube as well