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

[caribill]

We had great service from our regular waiters. My complaint would be that there were too many nights when they did open seating. And I can't quite figure out why. I knew it would be open seating the two nights we were in port the whole time during dinner. But we have open seating again tonight with a 7:30 all-aboard time.

 

Although a 7:30 all-aboard time works out well for late seating diners, it is after the time first seating passengers would be assigned to.

 

So it is open seating all evening so that those assigned to early seating but still on shore at dinner time can still have their meal in the usual dining room once they return.

[billco]

I was on this cruise. I thought most things went fine, but I do have a few thoughts I may mention in my review:

1. I am wondering the rationale for going from a single entrance to the buffet with a monitored Purel station to enter anywhere with a couple of hand wash stations. Has Princess determined the old way wasn’t effective? There was still a Purel at the entrance to the MDR.

2. I was looking forward to using Messenger on the Princess@Sea app on my iPhone for communicating with my wife and son, but I could not figure out how to get notifications to work rendering it useless.

3. I could understand not having BOGO on in port days, but wish Princess had hosted it on the at sea days.

4. We attended our first most traveled passenger cocktail party. We had dinner before attending so turned down most of the appetizers that were offered. Two ships’ officers made small talk at our table. We felt a bit uncomfortable and doubt we will attend another one.

[Cindy]

Thank you for sharing your trip with all of us! It helped me with my planning for next year, and for the last few days it's been a welcome and much needed diversion from Harvey.

 

 

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[FishinChris]

Thanks for sharing! It was nice meeting you and I will put up a photo review as soon as I process the pictures. We're currently at Heathrow waiting for our 2:10 flight to SFO.

 

 

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[Glenndale]

Thank you for taking us along with you on your holiday :)

[geoherb]

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

 

Disembarkation went smoothly for us. We went for breakfast in the Coral Dining Room a little before 8. We made it to Club Fusion at 8:30. Our official time to disembark was supposed to be 8:40, but they were running about 10 minutes behind. It was nice not to have to go through Customs and Immigration. We found our luggage right away, then shifted some items around to even out the weight of our bags. By the time we got to the bus, it was almost full. We took two seats a couple of rows from the very back. The seats behind us remained empty when the bus driver closed the door, so I shifted back a row. The bus had overhead storage compartments, but our backpacks were too big for them. It was nice to have a row to myself with my backpack beside DH in his row. The couple behind me had one of their backpacks in the seat beside me.

 

The bus trip to Heathrow took an hour and 35 minutes. Traffic seemed pretty heavy to me, but the bus driver actually made it 10 minutes quicker than he predicted. We went through Southampton by a different route than the train came in. I did not realize how sprawling that city is. It took about 25 minutes to get onto a freeway. I preferred the train ride down and think that's the better way to go if you have time and not as much luggage.

 

We did not have any problems checking in for our flight and checking our bags. Security was different. We got to keep our shoes on. We passed through the metal detector fine and did not have the additional screening where people have to hold their arms up. Some people were flagged for that screening as they went through the metal detector. And our carry-on bags and laptops did not trigger additional inspection either. The couple ahead of us had one of their trays get diverted for that.

 

Heathrow is crowded and busy. We had a two-hour wait for our gate assignment. We spent the rest of our paper currency and a good bit of our coins on some trinkets and lunch. Food is reasonably priced. We split a chicken, tomato, lettuce, and avocado sandwich (on a baguette) and a large cup of curried chicken and coconut soup along with a roll for 8 pounds and 10 pence. I bought a liter of Irish whisky for two friends who are getting married in two weeks. I previously bought two scotch glasses they had on their Crate and Barrel registry and made a couple of pottery whiskey tumblers for them as well. I'll fire my kiln after Labor Day.

 

The gate assignment came right as promised at 1 p.m. They started boarding immediately. We got very lucky. DH had an aisle seat on a window row and I had the aisle seat diagonally opposite him in the middle of the plane--and no one sat in either middle seat. We had a minor celebrity on the plane--Magenta from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." According to the flight attendant, she's heading to a Comic Con. She was sitting in the exit row in front of DH. The couple in front of me were celebrating their honeymoon. The lead flight attendant came back and moved them up front. I'm not sure if they got bumped up to business class or first class.

 

Our flight to JFK took about 7 hours. They fed us a light lunch consisting of mixed greens with pink slaw on top, choice of main dish, a little bit of boursin cheese and crackers, and a little lemon curd/lemon cheese cake pudding like dessert. I had the vegetarian curry dish. It was very good. DH said his chicken and pesto pasta dish was also good. They had run out of the pulled pork on the menu by the time they reached us. They served free wine and other alcoholic drinks with the meal. About 90 minutes before landing, they served tea--cheese and tomato relish sandwiches, crisps, and a small chocolate bar. I tried to drink a lot of water to keep from getting dehydrated. But I still enjoyed a little bottle of wine as well.

 

Going through Immigration and Customs in JFK was easy. They have kiosks to scan passports, take a photo, and print a receipt. We then handed the receipts to the agent along with our passports and Customs declaration. We did not even have to stop for Customs after retrieving our bags. I shifted the bottle of whisky to one of our checked bags. I hope it makes it without damage. I once had a bottle of coconut rum break in my luggage, but that time I was carrying a few more bottles. It was a mess.

 

We had a long wait to get through the TSA checkpoint. I wish there was a way to prevent us from having to do that again. We waited about 30 minutes, snaking back and forth in long lines. But we did not have to remove our laptops or shoes, which sped things up a little bit when finally getting up to the screeners. We then had the longest walk to our gate--the farthest we could go in our terminal. Our flight back home is delayed 20 minutes. We called our mothers since it will be too late to call them after landing.

 

Our flight started boarding around 30 minutes late. Once again, we got lucky that it was not a full flight. The two seats opposite us were empty, so DH moved after the guy in front of him reclined his seat. And then that guy moved to the empty exit row seat. When the pilot announced it was just a 70-minute flight, I thought we might be able to get home on time. But then we sat for 40 minutes on the tarmac. Right as our plane was joining the queue, the guy in the back seat decided to use the restroom. One of the flight attendants banged on the door, but he did not come out immediately. I was afraid that we were going to lose our place in line. But he eventually came out and our flight took off. It was a bumpy climb through the clouds for the first 15 minutes. The flight was smooth the rest of the way until just a little bit of turbulence right before landing.

 

Our bags were among the first ones off. We caught an Uber home. Now to get readjusted to the time change. I see a nap in my future today.

 

Overall, we had a great time. Next time we go to Europe, I'll know to plan even more time before and after our cruise.

[geoherb]

Although a 7:30 all-aboard time works out well for late seating diners, it is after the time first seating passengers would be assigned to.

 

So it is open seating all evening so that those assigned to early seating but still on shore at dinner time can still have their meal in the usual dining room once they return.

That makes sense in some ways, but it still doesn't make sense because Princess wasn't consistent. We had traditional dining several nights when the early folks would have missed their time if they stayed in port until close to the all-aboard time. We still had traditional dining when we the CB was scheduled to leave Cobh at 9:30, Dublin at 8:45, and South Queensferry at 6:30.

 

I figured before the cruise that we would have open seating for the overnight in Dublin and the 1:30 a.m. departure from Greenock. My solution would be to allow those with the early dining to go to the anytime dining rooms on those nights when they miss their assigned time, or allow those of us with second seating dining to reserve our table when we know all of us will be there.

Edited August 30, 2017 by geoherb

[geoherb]

Thanks for sharing! It was nice meeting you and I will put up a photo review as soon as I process the pictures. We're currently at Heathrow waiting for our 2:10 flight to SFO.

Looking forward to your review. Hope your trip home was uneventful.

[geoherb]

I was on this cruise. I thought most things went fine, but I do have a few thoughts I may mention in my review:

1. I am wondering the rationale for going from a single entrance to the buffet with a monitored Purel station to enter anywhere with a couple of hand wash stations. Has Princess determined the old way wasn’t effective? There was still a Purel at the entrance to the MDR.

2. I was looking forward to using Messenger on the Princess@Sea app on my iPhone for communicating with my wife and son, but I could not figure out how to get notifications to work rendering it useless.

3. I could understand not having BOGO on in port days, but wish Princess had hosted it on the at sea days.

4. We attended our first most traveled passenger cocktail party. We had dinner before attending so turned down most of the appetizers that were offered. Two ships’ officers made small talk at our table. We felt a bit uncomfortable and doubt we will attend another one.

1. We ate in the buffet a lot more this cruise than on previous cruises. I'm not sure anything will make me truly feel comfortable about the hygiene habits of some of our fellow passengers. For breakfast, for instance, I decline receiving a menu since I know what I want without looking at it. That's the one meal I use my hands more frequently instead of utensils to eat.

 

2. I never tried. We just left notes to each other in our cabin.

 

3. I think Princess is trying to encourage people to buy the all-inclusive drink package. Having BOGO times probably discourages some people from doing so.

 

4. Do you know the number of days that it took to get in? Our tablemates enjoyed it. They had 365 days. They were at a table with the food and beverage manager. I know we made the top 160 since there were only that many Elites on board.

[durangokid]

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

 

Overall, we had a great time. Next time we go to Europe, I'll know to plan even more time before and after our cruise.

 

geoherb thanks for the review .. We are contemplating this for our 50th wedding anniversary in 2020. We would probably stay and spend more time in Scotland after the cruise and have our kids fly over and join us for that. And Hi from one North Carolinian to another! :)

 

durangokid aka maryinnc

[billco]

1. We ate in the buffet a lot more this cruise than on previous cruises. I'm not sure anything will make me truly feel comfortable about the hygiene habits of some of our fellow passengers. For breakfast, for instance, I decline receiving a menu since I know what I want without looking at it. That's the one meal I use my hands more frequently instead of utensils to eat.

 

2. I never tried. We just left notes to each other in our cabin.

 

3. I think Princess is trying to encourage people to buy the all-inclusive drink package. Having BOGO times probably discourages some people from doing so.

 

4. Do you know the number of days that it took to get in? Our tablemates enjoyed it. They had 365 days. They were at a table with the food and beverage manager. I know we made the top 160 since there were only that many Elites on board.

 

1. We also ate in the Buffet more this cruise than usual. My youngest son joined us on his first cruise and he didn't care for dinner in the MDR (too noisy and took too long). I enjoyed breakfast in the Steamers/Planks Buffet area. There was a newer type omelet station in that I could fill a bowl with the makings and hand it to the cook who would then make the omelet. Also, there were pre-made omelets available. I didn't see this option available in the Marketplace Buffet, just scrambled or over easy. There may have been, but I stopped looking after the first day. Having an aft balcony on Riviera Deck, I found it convenient to enter through the door near the Adult Pool area. It took a couple of days to realize there was a hand washing station in the front of Planks/Steamers.

 

2. My son had an inside cabin, so Messenger would have been helpful to communicate with him if notifications worked.

 

3. We would never buy the all-inclusive drink package. However, we often end up buying an extra glass of wine or two after the BOGO has ended.

 

4. With only 278 days we were surprised to be invited the most traveled passenger cocktail party. Since we hope to sail with Princess on many more cruises, it was good to find out early this party isn't something for us. We actually prefer the regular Captains Cricle party.

[Ellipooh]

My understanding is that a design flaw in the Princess@Sea app prevents notifications. You have to keep checking to see if you have a new message.

[Woobstr112G]

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

 

Disembarkation went smoothly for us. We went for breakfast in the Coral Dining Room a little before 8. We made it to Club Fusion at 8:30. Our official time to disembark was supposed to be 8:40, but they were running about 10 minutes behind. It was nice not to have to go through Customs and Immigration. We found our luggage right away, then shifted some items around to even out the weight of our bags. By the time we got to the bus, it was almost full. We took two seats a couple of rows from the very back. The seats behind us remained empty when the bus driver closed the door, so I shifted back a row. The bus had overhead storage compartments, but our backpacks were too big for them. It was nice to have a row to myself with my backpack beside DH in his row. The couple behind me had one of their backpacks in the seat beside me.

 

The bus trip to Heathrow took an hour and 35 minutes. Traffic seemed pretty heavy to me, but the bus driver actually made it 10 minutes quicker than he predicted. We went through Southampton by a different route than the train came in. I did not realize how sprawling that city is. It took about 25 minutes to get onto a freeway. I preferred the train ride down and think that's the better way to go if you have time and not as much luggage.

 

We did not have any problems checking in for our flight and checking our bags. Security was different. We got to keep our shoes on. We passed through the metal detector fine and did not have the additional screening where people have to hold their arms up. Some people were flagged for that screening as they went through the metal detector. And our carry-on bags and laptops did not trigger additional inspection either. The couple ahead of us had one of their trays get diverted for that.

 

Heathrow is crowded and busy. We had a two-hour wait for our gate assignment. We spent the rest of our paper currency and a good bit of our coins on some trinkets and lunch. Food is reasonably priced. We split a chicken, tomato, lettuce, and avocado sandwich (on a baguette) and a large cup of curried chicken and coconut soup along with a roll for 8 pounds and 10 pence. I bought a liter of Irish whisky for two friends who are getting married in two weeks. I previously bought two scotch glasses they had on their Crate and Barrel registry and made a couple of pottery whiskey tumblers for them as well. I'll fire my kiln after Labor Day.

 

The gate assignment came right as promised at 1 p.m. They started boarding immediately. We got very lucky. DH had an aisle seat on a window row and I had the aisle seat diagonally opposite him in the middle of the plane--and no one sat in either middle seat. We had a minor celebrity on the plane--Magenta from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." According to the flight attendant, she's heading to a Comic Con. She was sitting in the exit row in front of DH. The couple in front of me were celebrating their honeymoon. The lead flight attendant came back and moved them up front. I'm not sure if they got bumped up to business class or first class.

 

Our flight to JFK took about 7 hours. They fed us a light lunch consisting of mixed greens with pink slaw on top, choice of main dish, a little bit of boursin cheese and crackers, and a little lemon curd/lemon cheese cake pudding like dessert. I had the vegetarian curry dish. It was very good. DH said his chicken and pesto pasta dish was also good. They had run out of the pulled pork on the menu by the time they reached us. They served free wine and other alcoholic drinks with the meal. About 90 minutes before landing, they served tea--cheese and tomato relish sandwiches, crisps, and a small chocolate bar. I tried to drink a lot of water to keep from getting dehydrated. But I still enjoyed a little bottle of wine as well.

 

Going through Immigration and Customs in JFK was easy. They have kiosks to scan passports, take a photo, and print a receipt. We then handed the receipts to the agent along with our passports and Customs declaration. We did not even have to stop for Customs after retrieving our bags. I shifted the bottle of whisky to one of our checked bags. I hope it makes it without damage. I once had a bottle of coconut rum break in my luggage, but that time I was carrying a few more bottles. It was a mess.

 

We had a long wait to get through the TSA checkpoint. I wish there was a way to prevent us from having to do that again. We waited about 30 minutes, snaking back and forth in long lines. But we did not have to remove our laptops or shoes, which sped things up a little bit when finally getting up to the screeners. We then had the longest walk to our gate--the farthest we could go in our terminal. Our flight back home is delayed 20 minutes. We called our mothers since it will be too late to call them after landing.

 

Our flight started boarding around 30 minutes late. Once again, we got lucky that it was not a full flight. The two seats opposite us were empty, so DH moved after the guy in front of him reclined his seat. And then that guy moved to the empty exit row seat. When the pilot announced it was just a 70-minute flight, I thought we might be able to get home on time. But then we sat for 40 minutes on the tarmac. Right as our plane was joining the queue, the guy in the back seat decided to use the restroom. One of the flight attendants banged on the door, but he did not come out immediately. I was afraid that we were going to lose our place in line. But he eventually came out and our flight took off. It was a bumpy climb through the clouds for the first 15 minutes. The flight was smooth the rest of the way until just a little bit of turbulence right before landing.

 

Our bags were among the first ones off. We caught an Uber home. Now to get readjusted to the time change. I see a nap in my future today.

 

Overall, we had a great time. Next time we go to Europe, I'll know to plan even more time before and after our cruise.

 

Glad you made it across the pond safely.....:):):)

Bob

[thomsonfirsttimer]

Hi there - we really enjoyed your Live feed which was a great comprehensive review of the cruise. By the way, it sounds like you may be Sam who we met one day at trivia (apologies if this isn't the case). If so we are the British folks you met and chatted with at trivia at one day with our teenage sons and saw several times around the ship including at disembarkation. We talked about our son's pending exam results - he received great grades and is continuing to his final year in college and plans to enrol as an officer in the Royal Air Force next year! Happy travels to you and DH and hope to see you again on a future trip :D

[philliesgirl48]

1. We also ate in the Buffet more this cruise than usual. My youngest son joined us on his first cruise and he didn't care for dinner in the MDR (too noisy and took too long). I enjoyed breakfast in the Steamers/Planks Buffet area. There was a newer type omelet station in that I could fill a bowl with the makings and hand it to the cook who would then make the omelet. Also, there were pre-made omelets available. I didn't see this option available in the Marketplace Buffet, just scrambled or over easy. There may have been, but I stopped looking after the first day. Having an aft balcony on Riviera Deck, I found it convenient to enter through the door near the Adult Pool area. It took a couple of days to realize there was a hand washing station in the front of Planks/Steamers.

 

2. My son had an inside cabin, so Messenger would have been helpful to communicate with him if notifications worked.

 

3. We would never buy the all-inclusive drink package. However, we often end up buying an extra glass of wine or two after the BOGO has ended.

 

4. With only 278 days we were surprised to be invited the most traveled passenger cocktail party. Since we hope to sail with Princess on many more cruises, it was good to find out early this party isn't something for us. We actually prefer the regular Captains Cricle party.

 

What does BOGO stand for?

[canadarocks]

What does BOGO stand for?

 

Buy One Get One..... like Happy Hour. :)

[cherrypop]

What does BOGO stand for?

 

Buy One get one free but from what people have said the Caribbean Princess doesn't have it anymore.

[geoherb]

Hi there - we really enjoyed your Live feed which was a great comprehensive review of the cruise. By the way, it sounds like you may be Sam who we met one day at trivia (apologies if this isn't the case). If so we are the British folks you met and chatted with at trivia at one day with our teenage sons and saw several times around the ship including at disembarkation. We talked about our son's pending exam results - he received great grades and is continuing to his final year in college and plans to enrol as an officer in the Royal Air Force next year! Happy travels to you and DH and hope to see you again on a future trip :D

Congratulations to your son. I'm not Sam. He's the DH in my posts.

[thomsonfirsttimer]

:D thanks for clarifying - glad you folks made it home safely.

[caribill]

My understanding is that a design flaw in the Princess@Sea app prevents notifications. You have to keep checking to see if you have a new message.

 

I think of it as a design feature.

 

Passengers, presenters, entertainers, etc. are not disturbed by numerous beeps or other sounds as passengers get notifications.

[billco]

I think of it as a design feature.

 

Passengers, presenters, entertainers, etc. are not disturbed by numerous beeps or other sounds as passengers get notifications.

I don't think it would bother anyone if the phone is set to vibrate mode or a popup display. For my family, Messenger was useless without someway of letting us know there was a message.

[snakeboy]

Greetings geoherb and DH,

We are the Vancouver couple who you met in Alaska and in the line at the Blarney Stone. Sorry we did not see you on the last day. We got back from Le Havre at 6:30 pm and ate at the buffet. We also saw Paul Baker in the Princess Theater, but not you guys. We went up to Skywalker's afterwards. The next morning, we had to leave early at 6:45 am to go to Heathrow via Stonehenge. It was great to see you both again. I have sent an email to you. I am not sure if I have the right address. If you have not received it, here is an email you can write to: caplan_m@surreyschools.ca

We would love to hear from you. Maybe we will be on another cruise together! Hopefully, Irma will not affect the Carolinas too much.

[geoherb]

Great seeing you again. We looked for you the last night in the dining room. We had a later shuttle to Heathrow and did not get up until after you were gone.

[geoherb]

And just a little bit of rain where we are in North Carolina. The storm has weakened a lot and we're on the edge.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Thank you for taking us along! It's nice to know free shuttles were offered in a few of the ports.

 

 

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