Golden Princess / British Isle Pre Cruise Ideas?

[JLC@SD]

We just booked the Golden Princess / British Isles cruise out of Southampton.

 

We all have been to London before, so this time, we are thinking of 3 or 4 days of excursions around Southern England.

 

Stonehedge, Salisbury, Bath, Portsmouth, Canterbury and Windsor are possibilties. We would appreciate hearing of your experiences and recommendations.

 

Thanks........:)

[spongerob]

I take it that you are planning to rent a car to get around. There is so much to see in southern England. If you were privileged enough to be stopping at Orkney, I'd say skip Stonehenge entirely (see my avatar - the neolithic sites are older, and you are permitted onto the sites, something that won't be allowed at Stonehenge). There is a fantastic naval museum at Portsmouth, covering almost the entire history of the Royal Navy. I could easily have spent an entire day there.

[Casshew]

Hi there,

 

Which British Isles cruise are you on? I am doing the August 10th departure and there is a link to Roll Call in my signature.

 

Bath is one of my favourite places on earth, and since you are in that area Stonehenge is a must. I also agree with the Spongeman on Portsmouth - where you can see The HMS Victory

 

Have fun planning!

[spongerob]

I also agree with the Spongeman on Portsmouth - where you can see The HMS Victory

 

Just watch your head if you are more than 5 feet tall. Shiver me timbers, those beams will put a knot in your head if you aren't careful! Victory is beautifully preserved. It was great to tour the ship, then see the memorial of Admiral Nelson's victory at Trafalgar celebrated at the Tattoo.

[the three Cs]

Hi Bath is a good place to visit. Any questions just ask us because we live in the Uk and have been to most places. And also we did that cruise June 05

:)

[cnmiranda]

Out of those two I'd visit Bath and/or Windsor with your time allotment. Windsor can be a half day tour, the others are full day tours. Most of the places you've mentioned can be arranged as guided visits through http://www.evanevans.co.uk. Their tour guides are historains. We did Windsor through evanevans and it stops on the way back through Hampton Court Palace. Hampton Court is well worth the visit on it's own. In fact, you can take the tube back to London direct if you wish to stay longer at the Palace and explore the mansion and it's gardens. I just quickly checked evanevans, looks as though they have a day tour that includes Windsor, Bath, and Stonehenge in one day or Windsor, Salisbury, and Stonehenge. Bath is worth an overnight stay, so beautiful:) I would even add the Cotswolds to the list of possibilities, the homes and gardens are some of the finest I've ever seen:)

[calikak]

We did the British Isles cruise last year and spent some time post-cruise in Bath. It's a lovely town, plus it makes a good base for exploring the area if you rent a car. You can even drive over to southern Wales, which we did because we missed our port call in Wales due to rough weather. We stayed at a lovely, incredibly inexpensive B&B about 3 blocks from the Roman Baths. There are lots of wonderful restaurants in Bath, and a few interesting evening activities (we loved the Bizarre Bath walk, although it definitely was bizarre). If you don't rent a car, you can also take a Mad Max tour out of Bath, they go to Stonehenge, Wells, Avebury, Glastonbury, etc.

[Casshew]

Hi calikak, what month did you travel? how was your weather?

[Travelgrrl]

I loved Bath (did a tour with EvanEvans that took us there), also Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge. Couldn't stop at Stonehenge because Hoof and Mouth was breaking out in the UK that week.

 

I'm a big Jane Austen fan and I could have spent a week in Bath. Even if you're not a Janeite, there is Bath Abbey, the crescent, the Roman viaducts, etc etc. Plus it seemed like a cool town.

 

If you like Austen, you could spend days just tracing her steps. They have free walking tours of her sites. There is a fun JA museum that is not in her actual home, but a similar one of the period which is close to one of the places she lived.

 

"For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?" Jane Austen

[calikak]

Hi calikak, what month did you travel? how was your weather?

 

We were there in May/early June, and it was pretty rainy. Since I'm from Seattle, I didn't mind the weather, except for the 2 ports we missed because of rough seas. We missed Holyhead because it was way too rough to tender that day. We missed Kirkwall because it was too rough to sail around the Hebrides the day before, so we couldn't get there in time. The upside to sailing that time of year is that lots of folks got upgrades because the sailing didn't sell out. We went from a BA to an AB, and so did several of our friends!

[Casshew]

Sorry you missed 2 ports, but the upgrade was great!

 

I have been incredibly blessed with sunshine and warm temps whenever I have been to Britain/Scotland -so I am hoping it will be the same this next trip :)

[calikak]

We were definitely thrilled with the upgrade! I absolutely loved the British Isles, especially Scotland. Even with the pouring rain, the day we were in Greenock was one of the most memorable of our trip, which is saying a lot because we had a fabulous trip. It was actually fairly sunny in Edinburgh, and not too hot, which made our sightseeing there a breeze. If you can find the old Live from the Golden thread that was active last May, a few of us on our sailing posted there quite a bit (it got a little slow on the extra sea days, so we had time to post). It sounded like the later sailings had no difficulty at all with tendering and their weather was good, so in August you should be fine. :)

[Casshew]

thanks calicak, I will check it out :)

 

Have fun on the Tahitian Princess!

[katisdale]

I thought taking the chunnel train to Paris for the day was special. My grandfather was a signalman on the B&O railroad and he would have loved that ride.

[JLC@SD]

I appreciate everyone's information, there are some good ideas to work with. There will 4 of us, me, my identical twin brother and our wives, so were are considering getting a van and driving around four four days.

 

We know London is expensive, are the outer cities the same. As my brother said, as long as you consider a Pound as a Dollar, everything is not that expensive........:D

 

We would appreciate sources for unique bed and breakfast type places to stay in the area.

 

Spongerob.... my brother and I are both 6-4 so the Victory will be interesting. I will investigate Orkney.

 

Bath seems popular and it sound like we should consider a stop there. Is Stonehedge worth a stop or is it crowded with tourists.

 

Casshew.... we will be on the August 10th cruise, and I appreciate all the photos you have posted....they are great.......:)

[calikak]

I'm a big fan of Rick Steves for info on Europe (http://www.ricksteves.com). Love his PBS show. He has great taste in B&Bs, although he has terrible taste in restaurants. I usually cross-reference his hotel/B&B suggestions with TripAdvisor.com. That's how we found the place we stayed in Bath (Henry Guest House). The owners were super-nice, it was really close to the Roman baths and the abbey, and the room was comfortable. And it was insanely inexpensive, especially compared to London prices.

[spongerob]

Spongerob.... my brother and I are both 6-4 so the Victory will be interesting. I will investigate Orkney.

 

I doubt you'll be able to get to Orkney. It's too bad that it has been removed from the itinerary, it really is a unique place. I was very fortunate to hire a highly-recommended private guide who has been written in up by several of the notable "off the beaten path" authors like Rick Steves and Lonely Planet.

[JLC@SD]

I doubt you'll be able to get to Orkney. It's too bad that it has been removed from the itinerary, it really is a unique place. I was very fortunate to hire a highly-recommended private guide who has been written in up by several of the notable "off the beaten path" authors like Rick Steves and Lonely Planet.

 

I looked it up on the map, it is a long drive from Southampton.....:)

 

The only place further is the Shetland Islands.

[The Dragon]

 

We know London is expensive, are the outer cities the same. As my brother said, as long as you consider a Pound as a Dollar, everything is not that expensive........:D

 

London is by far the most expensive bit of the UK, but for tourists it gives you the most landmarks for your £ even if it is more expensive. Otherwise you have to traipse all over the place. Every City has its wonderful eccentricities. Manchester has Old Trafford, Liverpool has the Cavern, Birmingham has, er, um, well, it's our second city so must be worth a visit!

 

I am lucky enough to live in one of the most beautiful parts of the UK. The mildest climate, beautiful beaches, 2 National Parks, embarkation point of the Pilgrim fathers and the home of King Arthur amongst other things. If you are sick of the naff policeman's hat/red phone box photo opportunities the Westcountry is about two to three hours from Soton docks and well worth the visit.

 

Hannah

P.S. I'm a teacher, I don't work for the South West tourist board!