LIVE: Caribbean Princess, British Isles, Aug. 17, 2017

[shankill]

I am enjoying this thread so much! We did this cruise in June and I am reliving it. If Titanic interests you, go to the Titanic Museum in Belfast, where it was built. It is amazing. So well done. Have a great time!!

[canadarocks]

Great start to the cruise review! Awesome that you've included the entertainment and movie options. Enjoy!

[georgiacat]

I'm enjoying your review. Please continue.

[BrennerM]

Just got off this ship. Enjoy the cruise. If you get a chance, check out Laura Callaghan, a wonderful Irish guitar player and singer. She was playing somewhere every night, usually either Crooners or Wheelhouse. She was fantastic. Hopefully she's still on board for you. Also Micca (Cruise Director) is lots of fun in the game shows/trivia and Matt34 (entertainment staff - soon to be Cruise Director on the Royal!) is amazing in everything he does.

[ROWSE]

Thank you for doing a live thread! I love reading any and all of these even if I

am not headed to the same itinerary. We will be sailing the Caribbean Princess

in January however, so interested in ship happenings!

 

I know internet time is precious so if anyone else can answer this question please

chime in. You stated you flew Delta. We are doing a Mediterranean cruise out of Civitavecchia/Rome Oct. 2018, and I am playing with flights. Seems Delta is a carrier offered on Choice Air. (It is a Celebrity Cruise).

We have never flown to Europe. Does Delta charge for luggage on an international flight? My sons seems to think all international flights have free luggage. Is it true?

[Kevin's girl]

Really enjoying your review and can't wait to read more. We will be sailing on the CB August 29th and can't wait. Our night in Southampton will be spent at The Pig in the Wall.

Thank you for taking the time to write this. Enjoy your cruise :)

[sandij]

Enjoying your review, doing this cruise next June.

Rowse, we're flying Delta and get one suitcase free each.

[2forseas]

Thanks a million for sharing your precious time on this live thread. Joining the CB for TA cruise departing on 9/22/17. Thirsty for all knowledge of this ship. How do you like the new Princess beds?

 

Tom & Fran

[Woobstr112G]

Have a great cruise.....:):):)

 

Bob

[GrammySpo]

Excited to find a live thread for this cruise. Did this cruise July 24 and loved almost every minute of it. What I didn't love was our very short stay in Dublin which I notice will not happen for you since you are doing an overnight there. Traffic was horrific so getting anywhere was near impossible during our short stay. Checked our itinerary to see what is different and it appears you are missing Liverpool. We sure did love that stop too! Enjoy, and I look forward to reliving our wonderful cruise through you.

 

 

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[Papa Yoda]

We have a Sister and BIL on this cruise - they're not CC members or just recently joined - so it will be great fun to follow along on your live from thread so we can follow and ask fun questions when they get back! Thank you!

[Jentilben]

Great trip report so far - I look forward to reading more!

 

Terry

 

 

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[geoherb]

We were in the Wheelhouse Bar last night and listened to her. She is great. As answered, our bags on Delta were free--one per person up to 50 pounds. One of our bags was right a 48 pounds.

 

We had time for a swim before the muster drill. The water in the back pool and spa pool is nice and warm. The water in the middle pools is cool. We chose the back pool. I was not very impressed by the new serving lines in the buffet. We walked through them to get to the pool. It made more sense to me when there was a walking path not through the food serving area. Perhaps I'll learn to like it better once the cruise is underway. When we went through, only the main line on each side was open, along with sweets. The Steamers and Planks stations were closed to get ready for dinner I guess. A flyer in our cabin says both will be open for breakfast and lunch at no charge.

 

Our cabin steward dropped off a schedule for the suite, Elite, and Platinum event from 5 to 7 each evening in Skywalkers. The new $6.50 drink menu is in effect with all drinks available each evening. The food action station order is salsa with chips, shrimp fountain, wheel of stilton, carpaccio wrapped crissini, marinated goat's cheese, smoked salmon, then repeating. It's closed for the Captain's Circle Party on our day at sea following Greenock (Glasgow).

 

The cruise critic informal gathering after the muster drill was nice. We enjoyed several interesting conversations. We went to Skywalkers afterward for a small bite. It had great views of sailing away from Southampton. We went to the "Welcome Aboard" show before dinner. The dancers and one singer performed a "Tron"-like number with the band in the background. Then the cruise director's staff members introduced themselves. And finally Chas performed his comedy/guitar act. He was pretty good. The theater was not crowded at all. We found two seats near the front about five minutes before showtime.

 

We have second seating traditional dining. As always the first night, it was a bit of chaos getting into the dining room. We have a table for six in a quiet corner. A couple of nice Canadians ate with us. (Saying "nice Canadians" is probably redundant.) We'll find out if the other couple assigned to our table will ever show up. According to Micca, there are 1,798 U.S. citizens on board as passengers. He was our CD in December on the CB. Matt was hilarious in his brief intro.

 

The head waiter met with DH to discuss his dietary restrictions. We got to see the menu for tomorrow's lunch and dinner menus. They're serving lunch in the main dining room even though it's a port day. I guess it's because of the early departure time, or maybe they know how often Guernsey is skipped due to rough weather. Our waiter and his assistant are both excellent. He said there isn't any problem ordering two main courses if we want. The food was pretty good. I had the melon trio, fish, and flourless chocolate cake. Tendering tomorrow will be from the Island Dining Room. There's a note in the Patter saying that Elite and suite guests will be prioritized from there.

[grannylaw]

Thank you for posting all about your cruise. We were booked on the cruise last July 31 2016. My dream cruise because of the Tattoo! We skipped getting off in Guernsey -- too tired. We got off in Cobh for Cork. We went to the Blarney Woolen Mills store -- lots of fun stuff.

I could've spent all of my spending money there & I should have. While getting back onto the ship my mobility scooter crashed & I fell & shattered my hip & broke my pelvis. I spent 27 days between Cork & Dublin as they decided whether or not to operate.

I want to go back in 2019 for our 50th anniversary.

Enjoy your cruise & keep posting so I can relive it through you.

[maz48]

Thank you for your very detailed review. We will be on the Caribbean Princess TA in September, so it is great reading all about your experiences, particularly after the re-do. I also think I would like to take an around the British Isles cruise sometime too. It seems to be becoming more popular.

[geoherb]

So sorry to hear about your accident.

 

The new bed is great. I slept very well, especially after the thin mattress and one pillow at the Ibis Budget in Southampton. Our cabin steward Julia brought me an extra pillow. I have three kingsize pillows at home, but I can make do with three regular size ones in the smaller bed.

 

Our cabin on the Lido Deck is very convenient for the buffet. We ate breakfast there before heading down to catch an early tender. I noticed there are new wine and beer stations where you can swipe your card to dispense the drink yourself. The beer is Heineken. There are four wines: Genesis merlot, Clos du Bois cabernet sauvignon, Robert Mondavi chardonnay, and Danzanta pinot grigio. You can choose if you want just a taste, a medium portion, or a large. The prices ranged from $3.50 to $11. A sign at the dispenser said that the all-inclusive beverage package doesn't cover those drinks. Planks was serving sandwiches and side dishes at lunch today. Steamers had a choose your own ramen bar, with several different ingredients to customize your bowl of noodles and broth.

 

Guernsey was great. We had hardly any wait for a tender at 7:15. Everyone in the dining room meeting place got to go at once. I haven't talked with people on later tenders to see if the wait was worse then. Coming back from the island to the ship, we waited 12 minutes to get on a tender. Fortunately, we were among the last ones on that tender, and it left very soon after we boarded. The people seated next to us told me a horror story of their embarkation process. They had flown overnight, landing in London at 6 a.m. on embarkation day. They waited in Heathrow for a couple of hours. After getting to the port around 9:30, they had to wait over an hour to get inside. Then somehow they passed by the people handing out boarding numbers. By the time they realized, they ended up with a high number. They did not get on the ship until after 1.

 

Back to Guernsey, I had found some walking maps online before we got here. We walked up the hill to the Sunken Gardens, Candie Gardens, and Victoria Tower. I found out people can check out a key to the tower from the museum. Unfortunately, the museum did not open until 10 and we were there at 9. I toyed with the idea of going back on my own after we went to Castle Cornet. But there was so much to see inside the castle that we ended up going back together to the ship. I did get to walk to the end of the embankment to see the lighthouse and then down some stairs to rocks at the base of the wall. We were in port during low tide. We could see how dramatically the tides change. There was a warning sign near the lighthouse about being aware of unexpected waves of water over the breakhead.

 

We got back to the ship in time for lunch in the dining room. Almost everything was good. The succotash that came with my red snapper, however, was unusual. One of the couples at our table had taken an island highlight tour. They said it was very enjoyable. The highlight for them was the Little Chapel. The wife also talked about the dramatic rock formations on the other side of the island. The other couple at our table had stayed on the ship.

[GonzoWCS]

We did this itinerary back in May. Went to Orkney versus the overnight. Nice to relive the trip through you!

 

Cheers

Steve & Vicky

[MisterMet]

We are leaving tomorrow on the Caribbean Princess for a 12-day cruise around Great Britain. Our scheduled ports are Guernsey, Cobh (for Cork), Dublin (overnight), Belfast, Greenock (for Glasgow), Invergordon (for Inverness), South Queensferry (for Edinburgh), and Le Havre. We have booked a couple of independent group shore excursions for Cork (Blarney Castle) and Invergordon (Loch Ness). I bought tickets in advance for Edinburgh Castle. We don't have exact plans for the other ports. We'll do some by ear just as we did in London for the past three days.

 

 

Thanks for posting this. We are on the Sept 10th sailing and are enjoying your "Live" review.:)

[4x4bob]

geoherb-

 

Thanks for your review. We will be on the CB 22 Sept after a three day stay in London. You provided lots of useful information for us.

 

Bob

[GrammySpo]

Love Matt34 and would love to do another cruise with him. I believe is moving to the Royal in September, but how long will he be on that ship? I would so appreciate this info if possible.

 

 

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[Wesley66IN]

Thanks for the review! We fly out a week from today for the London (2 nights), then Southampton (1 night) and then 29 Aug departure. I'm still worried about whether to get money exchanged before we leave or to just trust in the ATM approach! Been a long time since i've traveled abroad so I'm anxious on the money! What did you do?

[Cruise-O-Matic]

GeoHerb, Thank you so much for this write up. As DW and I are doing this

cruise starting Sept 10 and the TA to Fort Lauderdale from Southampton on

the 22nd, you have answered many questions that I had. Your information

will be very helpful. Thanks again and enjoy your cruise.

Bob (Cruise-O-Matic)

[mamaw58]

Following

 

 

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[geocruiser]

The drizzle has stopped. Breakfast at McDonald's was pretty good. This one was very modern, with four huge screens to place your order. There's still one employee with whom you could your order if you didn't want to use the screen.

 

I did my old trick of turning hot tea into iced tea to go with my egg McMuffin. I'm not sure the employee realized why I kept asking for more scoops of ice in my courtesy cup.

I love your thread. I hope that you have a great cruise. Is iced tea not normally served in England?

[geoherb]

The last tenders getting back to the ship were late. According to some folks, they had to wait an hour in line to get a tender. Consequently, we left Guernsey behind schedule. And then the captain announced that there was a technical problem. Some of the lights would be on emergency service. I saw the lights in our corridor dim briefly, but they came back on fully 10 or 15 seconds afterward. To top it off, our cabin's toilet had backed up with sewage. It was disgusting. Our cabin steward said that was unrelated to the power being but. It was fixed by the time we came back from dinner.

 

The captain originally announced that the technical engineer said the repair would take a couple of hours. The ship was underway but not at full speed. I guess due to the ongoing technical problems with the CB, there's no way for us to make up the time. Instead of a scheduled 7:30 arrival in Cobh, the captain later announced it would be 10 with 11 before passengers get off the ship. Our excursion booked with eCoach says that the tour will change accordingly if the ship's sailing time changes. The captain announced right before our dinner time that we'll find out a renewed departure time in the morning. Our original time back from the excursion was 4 for a 5:30 all-aboard time.

 

The Cruise Critic meet-and-greet was great. Attendance was very good considering a lot of folks were not back on the tenders yet. It was held in Skywalkers. There were several officers there at the beginning mingling with us. I did not talk with any. Micca and his boss the entertainment director both spoke as did the future cruise consultant. Of course with the tendering operation still going on during our meeting time, the captain did not attend. The people who organized the meeting did a great job. They had nametags ready with blanks for our Cruise Critic handles and real names. They had door prizes. They helped people meet the ones going on independently booked excursions. It was one of the best I've been to.

 

I had time for a swim before afternoon trivia. I played on a team with a young couple in the U.S. Airforce who live in Germany. We came in third place. No prize for third other than knowing we did pretty well. I think having DH on our team would have pushed us into first place, but he did not come.

 

I enjoyed the Skywalkers event in the evening before the show. Tonight's was "Bravo"--light classics and showtunes with a Queen song sticking out incongruously near the beginning. The four lead singers were all good at showtunes. The guest soprano was as well, although I'm not a big fan of opera. The two female vocalists did the duet from "Lakme." Done right, this gives me chills. It did not tonight. Part of the problem was the sweetening track they used. The "Caribbean Princess Orchestra" was on stage to accompany the singers. I'm not sure why they go through with this ruse. Most of the instrumental parts are prerecorded. The violin and cello duo, which I've enjoyed in the atrium, were stuck playing backup a lot of the time when I could hear soaring strings playing in the background.

 

The champagne waterfall event was well attended, although there were several times when no one cared to pose for a photo. I had a taste of champagne. Micca gave apologies on behalf of the captain and introduced the senior officers present. We then went to our second seating traditional dining. A mother-daughter pair filled out our table for six. They're very nice. They went to the wrong dining room the first night by mistake and did not realize it until after starting their meal. Tonight was the first formal night. About 5 percent of men wore tuxedos in our dining room. Another 45 percent were wearing suit and tie and sports coat and tie. I noticed a few men in just dress shirts with ties. A few wore dress shirts without ties. And then a few were in other shirts with collars. I did not notice any in T-shirts and jeans or shorts.

 

The best dish I tasted was the shrimp main course. The Norman Love chocolate-hazelnut dessert was also very good. I had an appetizer size portion of the veal and bowtie pasta dish. The crab and cheese quiche appetizer did not thrill me as much.